Obasanjo and his critics 2 - Vanguard

Last week I argued that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his critics are part of the hunchbacks that have been weighing the country down since the end of the civil war.

I also stated that unless these morally primitive men and others like them are rendered impotent in the geopolitical power equation of this country, our legitimate aspiration for a better future in Nigeria would be an exercise in futility.

Now, I wish to enlarge on some of the issues I broached last time in order to bring into bold relief the problem of mediocre leadership that has retarded Nigeria ’s evolution to a great country.

I would like to begin our analysis with Chief Obasanjo. Clearly if the former president is honest to himself, he must accept that his eight year tenure was characterized more by failures than by successes.

Taking the power sector first because the on-going probe by the House of Representatives committee on Power and Steel has thrown the sordid happenings in that sector from 1999 to 2008 to the front burner of public discourse, Obasanjo’s failure is heart-rending.

ow can 13.28 billion dollars be spent on power and yet the energy situation in the country presently is worse than what obtained during the much inveighed regime of late Sani Abacha? Can the former president, in moments of solitary silent meditation, sincerely accept that he did a good job in the energy sector? Full Story

Grange, Others As Casualties of Yar'Adua's Corruption War - Daily Champion

FOR obvious reason, a number of thoughts would be running through the mind of Prof. Adenike Grange now. Since last Tuesday when she and the minister of state in the ministry, Gabriel Aduku bowed to pressure and bade an unwilling farewell to the cabinet of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua over a N300m scam, Grange may have been inaundated with thoughts of how she could have avoided her unceremonious ouster.

However, no matter the plethora of thoughts that may be cruising through her mind, it is absolutely too late in the day for the woman. What would be troubling the former minister is not just that she was booted out of the administration in less than a year, but that she left the cabinet with her face down. Full Story

The Health Ministry scandal - Daily Sun

Last week, the Minister of Health, Professor (Mrs.) Adenike Grange, and the Minister of State in the health ministry, Mr. Gabriel Aduku, took a disgraceful exit from public office over alleged financial misconduct. The ministers were forced to resign their appointments by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on March 25, 2008, for flouting a Presidential directive which required that all unspent money from the 2007 budget be returned to the treasury, at the end of 2007.

Grange and Aduku were alleged to have joined four directors and eight other officials of the Health Ministry to share N300 million from the unspent funds through last minute contracts that did not follow due process and fraudulent " Christmas bonuses" for themselves. The Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Health were reported to have also got about N20 million of the looted funds for a capacity building trip to Ghana, although the House of Representatives Committee claims to have returned the money and put the trip on hold when it realized the funds were looted.

Ministry officials involved in the scam have been suspended from their duties in line with civil service regulations. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which investigated the scandal following a tip off by a disgruntled health ministry official, says it has established sufficient grounds for the prosecution of the two ministers. They are to be prosecuted by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa.
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Two Parties Reject Ballot Papers - Daily Champion

AHEAD of tomorrow's governorship election in Kogi State, All Nigeria People Party (ANPP) and Action Congress (AC) have rejected the ballot papers, threatening to boycott the election if they were not changed.

Also, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 8, Mr. Tunji Alapini has declared Col. Suleiman Babanawa (rtd), Karimi Osama and Mr. Jeremiah Abu wanted for allegedly sponsoring violence and politically-motivated killings that engulfed the state in recent times.

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Yar'Adua Fires the First Salvo? - Thisday

26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008

Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo
Lagos

As President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua finally weighs in on the financial misconduct that has dogged the Federal Ministry of Health, which snags the Minister, Prof. Adenike Grange, the Minister of State, Chief Gabriel Aduku, and several directors of her ministry in the EFCC web, the question now is: has the President finally sighted the starting blocks for work to begin?

Precisely a fortnight ago, EFCC sources told newsmen that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Professor Samuel Ogamdi, Director of Administration, H.B Oyedepo, and the Director of Finance were also guests of the anti-graft agency. Full Story

Yar’Adua re-appoints provost for Yola COE - The Tide

President Umaru Yar’Adua has approved the re-appointment of Dr Aminu Chiroma as the provost of the Federal College of Education, Yola, Adamawa.

A statement signed by Malam Suleman Garba, Head Public Relations Unit of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, said the re-appointment took effect from March 2008.

The letter signed by the Minister of Education, Dr Igwe Ajah-Nwachukwu congratulated the provost and wished him a successful tenure. Full Story

Playing Hanky-Panky With Budget 2008 - Leadership

It is totally disgusting that the National Assembly has continued to play hanky-panky over the 2008 budget proposal submitted to it since November last year by President Yar'Adua, for vetting.

By the provisions of s. 80 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, "No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the fund by this Constitution or where the issue of those moneys has been authorized by an Appropriation Act or an Act passed in pursuance of section 81 of this Constitution". Section 80 (3) stresses that "No moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund of the Federation, other than the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, unless the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Act of the National Assembly", while s. 80 (4) drives home the intendment of these provisions by stating that "No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the Federation, except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly". Full Story