New York Times calls GEJ lousy, says he's trying to frustrate Buhari

In an article titled 'Nigeria's Miserable Choices' Published on New York Times yesterday Monday February 16th, and written by the editorial board of the US newspaper, they described Nigerian president as a 'lousy incumbent' & described Buhari as a 'former autocratic leader'. 

 

See article below

The Nigerian government was supposed to hold presidential elections this past weekend, which presented voters with the dispiriting choice of keeping a lousy incumbent or returning to power a former autocratic leader. Now they will have to wait at least six weeks to cast votes.

The Nigerian election commission said earlier this month that it had pushed back the vote until at least March 28, after the country’s security chiefs warned that they could not guarantee the safety of voters in northeastern areas of the country where Boko Haram, the extremist militant group, captured international attention last spring when it abducted hundreds of schoolgirls. On Friday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in neighboring Chad for the first time, an alarming sign of the group’s expanding strength in a region that also includes areas of Cameroon and Niger.

Any argument to delay the vote might be more credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year playing down the threat posed by the militants and if there were a reasonable expectation that the country’s weak military has the ability to improve security in a matter of weeks.

It appears more likely Mr. Jonathan grew alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to crack down on Boko Haram. By dragging out the race, Mr. Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers, while he continues to use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.

That Mr. Buhari, who helped launch a coup against a democratically elected government in 1983 and ruled until late 1985, has emerged as potential winner is more of an indictment of Mr. Jonathan’s dismal rule than a recognition of the former military chief’s appeal.

Nigerian voters have grown increasingly worried about the stunning rise of Boko Haram, which has committed terrorist atrocities including bombings. 

The abductions and attacks by the group have exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s armed forces and the dysfunction of the government. Although Mr. Jonathan’s government has in the past been less than enthusiastic, and at times obstructive, in response to offers of American and European aid, he appears to be growing increasingly worried. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, he said he would welcome American troops to fight the insurgency. 

Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s financial bedrock, has fallen have also caused Nigerians to look for new leadership. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, and a relatively young democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis. That would only set back the faltering effort to reassert government control in districts where Boko Haram is sowing terror. The security forces may not be able to safeguard many districts on Election Day. But postponement is very likely to make the security threat worse.

 

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Naira hits N213 to dollar at Bureau De Change, black market

The naira lost N4 to the dollar to sell at N213 at the black market and N210 at the Bureau De Change (BDCs) segment of the official market.

 

A dealer, who preferred anonymity, told NAN that the depreciation might not be unconnected with the closure of trading at the interbank market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The dealer also said that the CBN’s decision, which was meant to control speculations in the market, might be responsible for the depreciation.

Meanwhile the naira against the pound sold at N307 and N314 at the BDCs and black market respectively. However, it exchanged against the euro at N235 at the BDCs, while it sold for N237 at the black market.

On January 28, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, directed that only BDCs and banks with genuine demand for foreign exchange should get forex allocation. He said the apex bank put up measures to calm the strong volatility observed in the forex market to save the naira from further depreciation. It increased the weekly supply of dollars per BDC operator from 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars and also set aside extra 30,000 dollars to the BDC sector. The banking sector regulator said the move was part of measures to deepen the BDCs segment.

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Prof Osinbajo calls out GEJ over his comment about corruption

When asked to clarify his statement "Stealing is not corruption" during the presidential media chat yesterday evening, president Jonathan said he made the statement quoting the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Dahiru Mustafa, who explained to him that his analysis of corruption cases in Nigeria showed that most of the cases tagged as corruption were theft. President Jonathan said that referring to stealing as corruption minimizes the crime. "Ole (thief in Yoruba) should be called Ole and given that treatment. Let us communicate properly. The word corruption, we have abused it." GEJ said. .

Not satisfied with President Jonathan's response, Prof Osinbajo took to his Facebook wall to react.

Forensic audit report indicts NNPC, NPDC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company were on Thursday indicted by the investigative forensic audit done by PriceWater House Coopers into the allegations of unremitted funds to the Federation Accounts.

The highlights of the report was released by the Auditor General for the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, in Abuja.

In the report, the accounting firm asked both organisations to refund to the federation account “a minimum of $1.48bn.”

PriceWater House, was last year hired to carry out the exercise following an allegation by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, that $20bn was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC.

Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, had written a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan that $49bn was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC.

But following the controversy which the letter generated, a committee was set up to reconcile the account.Sanusi later recanted and said the unremitted fund was $12bn which he later changed to $20bn.

Photos: Protests against LUTH after woman detained for unsettled hospital bill dies

Family members and youths in the Idi-Araba area of Lagos state last Thursday January 29th took to the streets of Idi Araba, to protest the death of one Mrs. Folake Oduyoye who reportedly died on Dec. 13th 2014 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, after her husband could not offset her medical bill of N1.3million while she was admitted in the hospital for post delivery complications she developed after having a child at the hospital. 

According to Sahara Reporters, Mrs Oduyoye's husband, Mr Oduyoye said she was transferred to LUTH following post delivery complications. He said after she was admitted into the hospital, she was treated and given a bill of N1m which he was able to offset through the help of relatives and associates from his wife's fashion trade. Mr Oduyoye said after his wife was officially discharged by the hospital, he was issued another bill of about N1.3million.

Mr Oduyoye said that he was able to raise N300,000 out of the bill and then had an agreement with management of LUTH to discharge her on the condition that he would provide a guarantor who would stand to ensure that he pays up the balance in a systematic manner and that the guarantor must be a staff of LUTH. He said his inability to provide a guarantor within their workforce made the hospital management detain his wife who in the process developed other illnesses with symptomatic cough. He said the hospital refused to treat his wife's new illness because of the unsettled bill.

"At this point they [hospital management] policed me everywhere, saying I might smuggle my wife out of the hospital. I slept beside her all 45 days in the hospital, watching other patients die on daily basis,” he said.

Sadly his wife passed away in the hospital on 13th of December, 2014,

"She asked me if we would go home any time soon, since she was said to be discharged a month and half ago. But that was only the last five minutes into end for her, I didn't know. At about 2a.m on 13th of December, she finally dropped on my lap,” he said.

One of the leaders of the protest and frontline human rights activist, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin said this was a case of government corruption.

"This is neglect and a rip off. Where is the National Health Insurance Scheme and where are the billions earmarked for public healthcare?", Okei-Odumakin said.

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