Rivers State Governor and Chairman of
Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Mr.
Chibuike Amaechi, has said he is opposed
to President Goodluck Jonathan because
the South-south region where the
president comes from has not benefitted
from his administration.
He also listed the parlous state of the
economy, the poverty rate and the poor
infrastructure, especially the East-West
Road, as some of the reasons he is
opposed to Jonathan’s presidency.
Amaechi was reacting to comments by the
Coordinating Minister for the Economy
and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, and Delta State Governor,
Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, on the nation's
economy and the South-south’s support
for Jonathan respectively.
Amaechi stated that the Nigerian
economy is struggling to survive, contrary
to the rosy picture painted by the finance
minister.
According to him, the federal government
was yet to fully pay the Rivers State
allocation for July.
Amaechi spoke at a programme organised
by the Rotary International, District 9140
for young future leaders at the Rivers
State University of Science and
Technology, Port Harcourt, Thursday,
during which he engaged the audience in
an interactive session and drew
responses from participants.
On Uduaghan’s remarks that opposition
to Jonathan should not come from the
president’s South-south region, Amaechi
stated that he considered Nigeria’s
national interest far and above any other
interest.
He bemoaned the fact that those fighting
a just cause were being maligned on the
altar of public criticism, pointing out that
Nigerians usually suffered for not asking
the relevant questions.
He said: “When you are principled in
Nigeria and you stand on your principles,
what do they call you?”
“Stubborn,” the audience chorused.
“They expect you to compromise at a
point but when you refuse to
compromise, you are a very stubborn
man.
“We (NGF) asked the Minister of Finance
to resign if she is not able to manage the
economy and she replied, ‘I dey kampe’.
As at now, we are yet to receive the
complete federation allocation for July.
“How strong is an economy that cannot
fund its statutory state government
federal allocation? Our entitlement as
Rivers State Government in July was N19
billion, they have paid us only N14 billion,
you get the point?
“Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) published
(revenue) receipts of N1.05 trillion in July,
so why do they say that there is no
money? If we receive N1.05 trillion by
July, why are they saying there is no
money?” he queried.
He said he was opening up to the youths,
because as potential leaders they should
learn how to ask their leaders questions.
He added: “Now, why am I saying this to
you? I am saying it because as potential
leaders, you must learn to ask questions.
If you think that the youths spur me, you
don’t, you don’t inspire me. Why don’t
you inspire me? Because you are learning
to be like us. Let me paint the image of
us – corrupt, poor leadership, that’s what
you are copying.
“We produce oil and we are one of the
poorest nations in the world, are we not?
Which nation would allow a Commissioner
of Police like (Joseph) Mbu to continue as
commissioner other than in Nigeria?”
“Iraq, Syria,” the crowd replied.
Responding, he said: “Maybe Syria. So
you see our peers – Syria, Iraq, Pakistan. I
am sharing experiences with you before I
talk about the issue of leadership.
“Now, I read today’s paper and my friend
(Emmanuel) Uduaghan says anybody who
is from South-south should not oppose
our president, should not have a different
view from our president. Did you read it?
“I will reply him but let me start replying
him from here. First, I am a Nigerian. The
reason why you have the South-south,
South-west, South-east, south this, North-
west, north that, is because in Nigeria
what you have in leadership is a wrecked
culture.
“I would have brought you a book titled
‘It’s Our Turn to Eat’ on Kenya. In
Nigeria, it should be what, ‘It’s Our Turn
to Chop’.
“The reason you have this South-west,
South-east, North-west, north this, north
that and all that is because you have a
wrecked culture, where all we care about
is how to share the till.
“So the South-south has shared for four
years, how many of you have benefitted
from the sharing for four years, raise
your hands; how many of you?”
“None,” the crowd again responded.
“So none. How many of you passed
through the East-West Road, how was the
road?”
“Bad,” the audience said.
“And our president is from the South-
south, so you see; should I support the
president?” he asked.
“Nooooo,” the crowd drawled in unison.
“So the basic rule is that none of us
should oppose our president if you are
from South-south, that is what the man
(Uduaghan) tells us,” he said.
He urged the youths to arm themselves
with education to revive Nigeria which is
comatose, expressing sadness that the
country’s poverty rate had risen to
unbearable levels where many Nigerians
hardly get enough to eat.
“Now for you as young men and women,
we present you a nation that is yearning
for repair. For me, the nation does not
only need repair, it requires change.
“In 1970, the poverty rate in Nigeria was
30 per cent. How many of you know the
poverty rate now? I was in a meeting
where I said it was 70 per cent but the
Minister of Finance said it was 68 per
cent. What’s the difference between 68
and 70? So we are giving you a nation
that is in a comatose state, that’s what we
are handing over to you.
“If it is a nation that is progressing, from
30 per cent in 1970, we should be talking
of about 15 per cent now. So you have
work to do and the first step to that work
is get an education,” Amaechi said.
He explained that his administration
introduced free education in the state to
provide everyone, particularly poor
parents, the opportunity to send their
children to school, lamenting that the cost
of education in the country had denied
education to most Nigerians.
Amaechi also used the occasion to
commend Rotary International for
complementing the state governors in the
fight against polio.
Earlier, the District Governor of Rotary
International District 9140, Dr. Charles
Oniawan, said Rotary unites people from
all nationalities and backgrounds, adding
that the programme was designed to give
youths leadership skills to serve the
people and humanity.
However, Amaechi’s position on the
finance minister was faulted yesterday by
the Chairman, House of Representatives
Committee on Finance, Hon. Abdulmumin
Jibrin, who said the call for her
resingation was improper given the
efforts of the minister in the revitalisation
of the economy.
Jibrin argued that Amaechi and his faction
of the NGF missed the point and did not
put all the issues in the proper
perspective.
He said rather than harassing Okonjo-
Iweala, the group should have focused
their energy on the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke,
who controls the sector that yields the
revenue.
“The NGF should take a second look at
this matter, articulate their position and
present to the Minister of Petroleum
Resources. If anybody should be asked to
resign, it should not be the Minister of
Finance but Diezani Alison-Madueke, the
Minister of Petroleum Resources.
“The whole issue has to do with
government projected funds and since
our economy is oil and gas-based, it is
hasty to call for the resignation of the
minister of finance without looking at the
background of the issues involved.
“To me and our committee, where we
should put our searchlight and lay more
emphasis is the petroleum resources
sector – the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke,
and the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC).
“The Minister of Petroleum Resources
should be called to answer questions and
give account of what is happening; it is
not the Minister of Finance.
“Substantially, the money we are talking
about comes from the oil sector, from
crude sales. Till today, we have been
asking how much crude are we even
producing per day?
“Nobody knows the quantum of crude we
produce per day in this country, the
minister is not giving out any information
on it and nobody is asking her.
“Transparency and accountability in NNPC
is abysmally low, the system is still
shrouded in absolute secrecy. Nobody
understands how they operate,” he said.
Jibrin advised the NGF to seek
explanations from Alison-Madueke on the
rising incidence of crude oil theft and
alleged corruption in the oil and gas
sector.
On the management of the Sovereign
Wealth Fund (SWF), Jibrin faulted the
federal government on the move to hand
over the fund to foreign banks.
The SWF, he said, was not federal
government property, but the heritage of
the federation comprising the three tiers
of government.
Jibrin said the relationship between the
officials of the foreign firms managing the
SWF and officials of the Nigerian
government was questionable and
amounted to a conflict of interest.
In the meantime, an Abuja High Court
yesterday struck out a suit that sought to
determine the authentic winner of the
May 25 contentious NGF election.
The order of the court striking out the
suit, followed an earlier application for
discontinuance brought by the plaintiff
and Governor of Lagos State, Mr.
Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN).
Prior to the application to discontinue the
suit, Fashola had through his counsel,
Prof. Yemi Osibanjo (SAN), asked the
court via a writ of summons, for an order
of court restraining the Plateau State
Governor and claimant to the
chairmanship of the forum, Mr. Jonah
Jang, from parading himself as such.
His contention was that Amaechi had won
the May 25 poll, having scored 19 votes,
to beat Jang, who scored 16 votes.
However, before the court could resolve
the dispute which arose among counsel
over who was briefed to represent the
feuding parties, Osibanjo brought an
application for discontinuance/
withdrawal of the suit.
The application was fiercely opposed by
the counsel to Jang, Chief Tayo Oyetibo
(SAN) and Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN) as well
as counsel to Osaro Onaiwu, the third
defendant.
Their respective opposition was initially
upheld by the trial judge, Justice Peter
Affen, on the grounds that a leave of
court was not sought and obtained first,
before the application for withdrawal was
moved.
Consequent upon a proper application
for discontinuance filed on July 16,
Osibanjo prayed the court to strike out
the suit, submitting that it was the right of
the plaintiff to decide at any stage to
discontinue his case.
He further submitted that it was not the
business of counsel to the defendants to
preempt the plaintiff's next step, more so
that the matter was still at its preliminary
stage.
In his ruling yesterday, Justice Affen
agreed with Fashola’s postion that the
suit be struck out, rather than an outright
dismissal.
Affen held that “the law is trite that a
plaintiff can discontinue or withdraw his
claim against the defendants” whenever
he deems appropriate.
Source Thisday
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