The Guru’s Discussed Menu at Lagos Talks 91.3 FM, Monday, April 19, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s Discussd Menu @ Lagos Talks 91.3 FM, Monday, April 19, 2021

  1. REPS, COAS IN FACEOFF OVER ARMS DEAL – DAILY POST
  2. El-Rufai announces plan to lay off public servants in Kaduna – Premium Times
  3. Obaseki: Nigeria in financial trouble — FG printed N60bn to share in March – The Cable [read out everything he said]
  4. Finance Minister Reacts to Obaseki’s Claim that FG Printed N60bn, Says Edo Gov Lied – Thisday
  5. Calls for sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed thickens as CBN admits printing money – Daily Post [“OUR PARTY IS WORRIED OVER THE HUGE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF INDISCRIMINATE PRINTING OF CURRENCY WHICH HAS LED TO THE UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN INFLATION RATE TO 18.17% AS DISCLOSED BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS ON THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021.]
  6. Police take over venue of Yoruba self-determination rally – Punch
  7. Why northern PDP govs worked against Jonathan in 2015 –Ex-gov Aliyu – Punch

Historical Perspective

Following the revoking of its charter, the the Royal Niger Company sold its holdings to the British government for £865,000 (£46,407,250 today). That amount, £46,407,250 (NGN12,550,427,783.81 at today’s exchange rate) was effectively the price Britain paid, to buy the territory which was to become known as Nigeria – this was April 28, 2014 exchange rate, but the price then paid, in 1899, should be standing something around N24,557,233,234.63 today, at today’s rate] in 1899.

Periscope

Periscope today shall be travelling to Chibok, to have a look at what happened there since April 14, 2014, when the first-ever massive kidnapping of school girls in West Africa took place.

Background

In April 2014, 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped in government secondary school Chibok, a town in Borno State Nigeria. Some of the girls escaped captivity on their own, while others were later released following intense campaigning efforts by civil society organizations and negotiations by the government. However, more than 100 girls remain in captivity, along with children abducted in subsequent attacks.

In April 2014, members of the jihadist group Boko Haram ambushed an all-girls boarding school in Chibok in the middle of the night and kidnapped 276 students before vanishing into the forest. Some of the girls managed to escape on their own, while others were later rescued or freed following negotiations. But the fate of many has remained unknown.

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276mostly Christian female students were kidnapped from the Secondary School by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. 57 of the schoolgirls escaped in the months following the incident, while others were rescued by Nigerian military forces on several occasions since. Some have described their capture in appearances at international human rights conferences. A child born to one of the girls and believed by medical personnel to be about 20 months old also was released, according to the Nigerian president’s office.

Since then hopes were raised on various occasions that the 219 remaining girls might be released. Newspaper reports suggested that Boko Haram was hoping to use the girls as negotiating pawns in exchange for some of their commanders in jail.

In May 2016, one of the missing girls, Amina Ali, was found. She claimed that the remaining girls were still there, but that six had died. A further 21 girls were freed in October 2016, while another was rescued the next month. Another was found in January 2017. 82 more girls were freed in May 2017. One of the girls was rescued in January 2018. An unknown additional number of girls escaped in January 2021, but many still remain missing.

The girls kidnapped in Chibok in 2014 are only a small percentage of the total number of people abducted by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. Amnesty International estimated in 2015 that at least 2,000 women and girls had been abducted by the Islamic terrorist group since 2014, many of whom had been forced into sexual slavery

[1]

Reps, COAS in faceoff over arms deal

Daily Post of April 13, 2021

On Monday, the Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Attairu Ibrahim appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating arms procurement. The appearance caused a standoff between the Army Chief and the Committee members, as the latter refused to apologize over his inability to attend prior invitations.

It would be recalled that the Committee had summoned the COAS and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele on the 22nd of March and the 7th of April respectively. During his appearance on Monday, the COAS said he was unable to make it to the summons due to different engagements over internal security. He also refused to speak on the report he submitted to the committee.

“An explanation is as good as an apology. Even a blind man knows that there are internal security challenges in the country. The same way you work for the people that are the same way I work for the people. I have a command under me and they are also Nigerians. On the report, he said the executive summary should suffice. This position angered some members of the committee who argued that he should speak under oath.

Bede Eke, a member of the Committee asked the “COAS to speak on the road, to be sure that it emanated from the office of the COAS.”

[2]

EL-RUFAI ANNOUNCES PLAN TO LAY OFF PUBLIC SERVANTS IN KADUNA

Premium Times of April 12, 2021

The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, made known his plan to disengage some public servants in the state for fiscal reasons. This was contained in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Muyiwa Adekeye. Mr Adekeye stated that the decision was one of the necessary moves to salvage the state’s finances. He said a significant amount of the statutory federal allocations is being spent on the wages of public servants monthly. A part of the statement read “Therefore, the state government has no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service. It is a painful but necessary step to take, for the sake of the majority of the people of this state.

“The public service of the state with less than 100,000 employees and their families) cannot be consuming more than 90% of government resources, with little left to positively impact the lives of the more than 9 million that are not political appointees or civil servants. “It is gross injustice for such a micro minority to consume the majority of the resources of the State,” he said.

Therefore, the state government has no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service. It is a painful but necessary step to take, for the sake of the majority of the people of this state. The public service of the state with less than 100,000 employees and their families) cannot be consuming more than 90% of government resources, with little left to positively impact the lives of the more than 9 million that are not political appointees or civil servants. It is gross injustice for such a micro minority to consume the majority of the resources of the State.

In September 2019, the Kaduna State Government became the first government in the country to pay the new minimum wage and consequential adjustments. The state government followed this up by increasing the minimum pension of persons on the defined benefits scheme to N30,000 monthly.

This step to advance the welfare of workers significantly increased the wage burden of the state government and immediately sapped up the funds of many local governments. While the Kaduna State Government believes that public sector wages overall are still relatively low, their current levels are obviously limited by the resources available to the government. What each public servant earns might be puny in comparison to private sector wages, but the total wage bill consumes much of the revenues of the state. The desire to pay more is a sentiment that must bow to the limits prescribed by the ability to pay.

Kaduna State public finances have been severely stretched by the higher wage bills at a time when revenues from the Federation Account allocations Committee (FAAC) have not increased. KDSG has made significant progress in increasing its collection of internally generated revenue (IGR). Without hiking tax rates, the state government has almost quadrupled IGR from about N13bn in 2015 to over N50bn in 2020.

What the Kaduna State Government receives from FAAC since the middle of 2020, like most other sub-nationals, can barely pay salaries and overheads. In November 2020, KDSG had only N162.8m left after paying salaries. That month, Kaduna State got N4.83bn from FAAC and paid N4.66bn as wages. In the last six months, personnel costs have accounted for between 84.97% and 96.63% of FAAC transfers received by the Kaduna State Government. In March 2021, Kaduna State had only N321m left after settling personnel costs. That month, the state got N4.819bn from FAAC and paid out N4.498bn, representing 93% of the money received. This does not include standing orders for overheads, funding security operations, running costs of schools and hospitals, and other overhead costs that the state has to bear for the machinery of government to run, for which the state government taps into IGR earnings.

This Kaduna State Government was elected to develop the state, not just to pay the salaries of public servants. It was elected to promote equality of opportunity to build and run schools and hospitals, upgrade infrastructure and make the state more secure and attractive to the private sector for jobs and investments. Under the leadership of Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the Kaduna State Government is faithfully implementing this mandate, amidst challenges and constraints

The government is an institution organised to deliver public goods, not to minister solely to the interests of the persons employed to help deliver mandate. Therefore, the state government has no choice but to shed some weight and reduce the size of the public service. It is a painful but necessary step to take, for the sake of the majority of the people of this state. The public service of the state with less than 100,000 employees and their families) cannot be consuming more than 90% of government resources, with little left to positively impact the lives of the more than 9 million that are not political appointees or civil servants. It is gross injustice for such a micro minority to consume the majority of the resources of the State.

Measures taken to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic have shown clearly that the public service requires much fewer persons than it currently employs. The public service is an important institution, and it should therefore maintain only an optimum size. Faced with a difficult situation, the Kaduna State Government is persuaded that it cannot refuse to act or act in ways that only conduce to populist sentiment, without solving the fundamental problem. The redundancies to be declared will affect political appointees and civil servants, and its purpose is to save funds and ensure that a strong and efficient public service exists to use those resources to implement progressive programmes and projects for the people, and thereby develop the state.

While seeking the responsibility to lead Kaduna State during the 2015 elections, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai ran on a manifesto that included a commitment to a strong public service. The Kaduna State Government has therefore made it clear that the progress and future of the state depends on a competent public service, lean in size but super efficient in conceiving programmes and delivering services, savvy with modern technology and well connected to the public it serves. In pursuit of this goal, KDSG launched the public service reform and revitalisation programme in 2016.

This was in line with the Kaduna State Government’s announcement at inception in May 2015 that it is determined to eliminate waste and ensure that government resources serve a majority of citizens rather than the few persons working for government, including political appointees and other public servants. Therefore, KDSG began conducting verification of civil servants in 2015 to help ensure the integrity of the government payroll and weed out ghost workers. This verification needed to be a continuous exercise, undertaken at intervals to check and maintain the integrity of the personnel records.

The state government also signalled its discomfort at the high recurrent costs of the state, which meant that most public funds went into paying the wages of less than 100,000 public servants in a state with close to 10m people, While affirming the principle that those who work must be paid, the state government also asserted its recognition of the obligation to ensure that the people of the state must also be served by their government.

As part of the 2016 public service reform process, KDSG also reviewed salaries and was ready to announce new wages before the FG announced in 2018 that it was initiating a new national minimum wage process. It was that early preparation that enabled the Kaduna State Government to promptly comply with the new national minimum wage before any other government could or did.

In these tough times, government cannot encourage the illusion that the public service can be immune from the measures required to cope with the reality of low revenues. The extent of these required actions is being worked out at the State and Local Government levels, based on very transparent and objective criteria across all the three branches of the Government. The stories circulating in the social media about pruning local government personnel to 50, converting junior staff to casual staff and the like are false and should therefore be disregarded. These false claims are a rehash of the contents of a forged letter that was circulated just prior to the 2019 elections. Each and every decision taken will be in full compliance with the Kaduna State Public Service Law and any regulations made pursuant thereto, and other extant laws.

Government realises that the disengagements may have short term psychological and financial impacts on the persons to be affected. Therefore, KDSG will not only work with the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAS) to expedite payments of any contributory pension benefits due to those so entitled to them but will also give preferential treatment to those disengaged that are willing to take advantage of the state government’s various agricultural and entrepreneurship development schemes KDSG appeals for the understanding of everyone in Kaduna State and urges officers that may be affected to embrace alternatives in the private sector,

[3]

OBASEKI: NIGERIA IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE — FG PRINTED N60BN TO SHARE IN MARCH

Obaseki: Nigeria in financial trouble — FG printed N60bn to share in March

The Cable of April 10, 2021

Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, says Nigeria is in huge financial trouble.

Obaseki said the federal government printed N60 billion as part of federal allocation for March. Speaking at the Edo state transition committee stakeholders’ engagement on Thursday, the governor said the economy is no longer what it used to be.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s total public debt stock as of the third quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020) rose by N6.01 trillion within a year. The agency’s report noted that Nigeria’s total public debt stock constituting of external and domestic debts stood at N32.22 trillion ($84.57 billion) as of September 30, 2020.

Obaseki said the rising debt profile is worrisome as dependence on crude oil is no longer sustainable. “Nigeria has changed. The economy of Nigeria is not the same again whether we like it or not. Since the civil war, we have been managing, saying money is not our problem as long as we are pumping crude oil every day,” he said. “So we have run a very strange economy and strange presidential system where the local, state and federal government, at the end of the month, go and earn salary. We are the only country in the world that does that. “Everywhere else, government relies on the people to produce taxes and that is what they use to run the local government, state and the federation.

“But with the way we run Nigeria, the country can go to sleep. At the end of the month, we just go to Abuja, collect money and we come back to spend. We are in trouble, huge financial trouble. “The current price of crude oil is only a mirage. The major oil companies who are the ones producing are no longer investing much in oil. Shell is pulling out of Nigeria and Chevron is now one of the world’s largest investors in alternative fuel, so in another year or so, where will we find this money that we go to share in Abuja?”

He expressed worry that the country has continued to borrow despite unclear means of refunding payments. The governor said the government must live up to its social contract with citizens.

“When we got FAAC for March, the federal government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top-up for us to share,” he said. “This April, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, our total borrowing is going to be within N15-N16 trillion. Imagine a family that is just borrowing without any means to pay back and nobody is looking at that, everybody is looking at 2023, everybody is blaming Mr. President as if he is a magician.”

[4]

FINANCE MINISTER REACTS TO OBASEKI’S CLAIM THAT FG PRINTED N60BN, SAYS EDO GOV LIED

Thisday Newspaper of April 14, 2021

The Federal Government has reacted formally to the recent disclosure by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state that N60 billion was printed to fund federal allocation to states, saying the information was not only untrue but unfortunate. It also emphasised that despite Obaseki’s worry about the rising debt profile of the country, the nation’s current debt profile which is 23 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falls within sustainable limit.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who made this known at the end of the weekly virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), described as untrue, sad and unfortunate the statement credited to Governor Obaseki that the federal government had to print N60 billion to fund the March, 2021 federal allocation to the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Edo state Governor was quoted as saying at the Edo transition committee stakeholders engagement penultimate Saturday that, “When we got FAAC for March, the federal government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top-up for us to share. This April, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, our total borrowings are going to be within N15-N16 trillion.”

Answering reporters’ questions on the issue after the FEC meeting, the Minister said what was shared among the states which Obaseki was referring to was internally generated revenue of government which was even made public through the website of the Finance Ministry.

Ahmed said: “The issue that was raised by the Edo State Governor for me is very, very sad. Because it is not a fact. What we distribute at FAAC is a revenue that is generated and in fact distribution revenue is a public information. We publish revenue generated by FIRS, the Customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC. So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC, it is not true”.

She also allayed the fears of Obaseki over the debt portfolio of Nigeria saying there was nothing to worry about as such debts falls within sustainable limit.The Minister, however, stressed the need for federal government to improve on its revenue generating mechanisms for optimal result.

Her words: “On the issue of the borrowing, the Nigerian debt is still within sustainable limit. What we need to do as I have said several times is to improve our revenue to enhance our capacity to service not only our debt but to service the needs of running government on day to day basis. So our debt currently at about 23% to GDP is at a very sustainable level if you look at all the reports that you see from multilateral institutions.”

[5]

CALLS FOR SACK OF FINANCE MINISTER, ZAINAB AHMED THICKENS AS CBN ADMITS PRINTING MONEY

Daily Post of April 17, 2021

Nigerians have joined the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged printing of N60 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support the federal allocation to the three tiers of government for the month of March, 2021, calling on the Federal Government to come out clean by telling Nigerians, not just if it indeed printed the money as alleged but also the real situation with the nation’s economy.

DAILY POST reports that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State kick-started the controversy, when he alleged, during the Edo transition committee stakeholders engagement in Benin, that the Federal Government had to print N60 billion to support allocation for the month of March.

The governor, who painted a grim picture of the economic situation in the country, said: “Nigeria has changed. The economy of Nigeria is not the same again whether we like it or not. Since the civil war, we have been managing, saying money is not our problem as long as we are pumping crude oil every day. So, we have run a very strange economy and strange presidential system where the local, state and federal government, at the end of the month, go and earn salaries. We are the only country in the world that does that.

“Everywhere else, the government relies on the people to produce taxes and that is what they use to run the local government, state and the federation. But with the way we run Nigeria, the country can go to sleep. At the end of the month, we just go to Abuja, collect money and we come back to spend. We are in trouble, huge financial trouble”, he said. Not done, Obaseki, released the bomb that has continued to reverberate all over, when he said: “When we got FAAC for March, the Federal Government printed an additional N50-N60bn to top up for us to share. This April, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, our total borrowing is going to be within N15trn to N16trn.’’

This revelation has continued to upset many, including the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, who both reacted but differently. While the finance minister outrightly denied printing of the said amount and insisted that whatever money was shared came from the country’s revenue, Emefiele tried to be smart by half, without completely admitting or denying but rationalizing such a hugely important national discourse.

In her response, the Minister, Ahmed said the claim by Obaseki was not just false but sad, insisting that the money being shared monthly at FAAC is revenue generated. “The issue that was raised by the Edo State Governor, for me, is very sad because it is not a fact. “What we distribute at FAAC is a revenue that is generated and in fact, distribution revenue is a public information. “We publish revenue generated by FIRS, the Customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC. “So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC. It is not true’, Zainab Ahmed said with a bold face.

However, standing by his claim, Obaseki called out the finance minister, accusing her of playing the Ostrich and the federal government of monetary rascality, in a series of tweets. Obaseki tweeted: “While we do not want to join issues with the Federal Ministry of Finance, we believe it is our duty to offer useful advice for the benefit of our country. “The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed should rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing our country. “Rather than play the Ostrich, we urge the government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality, so as to prevent the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further. “We believe it is imperative to approach the Nigerian project with all sense of responsibility and commitment and not play to the gallery because ultimately, time shall be the judge of us all.”

Emefiele, while trying to rationalise and justify the action of the government, ended up painting a grimmer picture of the state of the economy, even worse than Obaseki had done in his initial allegation.

According to the CBN Governor, it was the job of the CBN to print money and lend it to government, slamming the allegation by Obaseki, which he failed to deny, as “unfortunate and totally inappropriate”. Insisting that printing is a key mandate of the apex bank, Emefiele said the bank must always act to support the government at times of ‘financial difficulties.’ He said: “If you understand the concept of printing of money. The concept printing of money is about lending money. “That’s our job – to print. It’s about lending money and so there’s no need putting the controversy about printing of money as if we are going into the factory, printing the Naira and start distributing on the streets. “For us to see some people playing some games, overheating the polity talking about printing of money, I think it is unfortunate and totally inappropriate. I would like to advise that this should stop. We should all work for the growth of our country and not play politics. “It is very inappropriate for people to just give some colouration to the word ‘printing of money’ as if it is a foreign word coming from the sky.

“In 2015/2016, we were in a similar [fiscal] situation, but it is far worse today. We provided budget support facility to all the states of the country and that loan remains unpaid till now. We are going to insist on the states paying the loan back since they are effectively accusing us of giving them loans.

“Most countries of the world today are confronted by not just the health crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic but also economic crisis. I keep saying this: it would be irresponsible of the Central Bank of Nigeria or any Central Bank to stand idle and refuse to support its government at this time. Whatever we do in Nigeria is being done in any clime.

“Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation and we cannot pretend about it in the sense that we are facing problems about productivity output which is gross domestic product (GDP). We are working very hard to see how we can get our heads above water. We are also concerned with issues of inflation.”

For Emefiele, printing of money to lend to government for sharing among the three tiers is not a new thing, as he alluded that it had been done in 2015/2016 when the situation was not this bad. He also said it is the same thing that is being done in other countries facing similar challenges.

The question most Nigerians are asking is why the finance minister, Zainab Ahmed denied the allegation. Most of them are worried as to why she tried to cover up what will eventually become public knowledge with time.

For many Nigerians, Minister Ahmed’s denial only follows what the Nigerian government has been known for over the years; denying the obvious and painting the picture of an Eldorado that only exists in the minds of government officials and their spin doctors.

ACCORDING TO OLADELE BELLO, A BANKER AND ECONOMIC EXPERT, WHAT IS HAPPENING IS OBVIOUS, AS THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT HAS TRIED HARD TO KEEP THE REAL SITUATION AWAY FROM NIGERIANS, JUST TO HOODWINK CITIZENS WITH FAKE REPORTS OF PERFORMANCE AND REELING OUT NUMBERS THAT ONLY EXIST IN THEIR IMAGINATIONS. “THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, THE BOAT OF GOVERNMENT WAS ROCKED BY THE REVELATION BY GOVERNOR GODWIN OBASEKI. I CAN TELL YOU FOR FREE THAT THEY NEVER EXPECTED THAT THE PRINTING OF THE MONEY WILL BECOME PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, THEREBY, ROCKING THE BOAT OF THE ARTIFICIAL IMAGE OF PERFORMANCE AND ROBUST ECONOMY IT HAD ALWAYS LAID CLAIM TO. “THE REALITY IS THAT NIGERIA IS NOT JUST BROKE BUT THE ECONOMY IS ALREADY IN SHAMBLES. GOVERNMENT IS NOT GENERATING ENOUGH REVENUE TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT IS NEEDED, AND THEY DO NOT WANT TO ADMIT IT. WE ARE INDEED IN TROUBLE WITH THE INSATIABLE APPETITE OF THIS ADMINISTRATION FOR LOANS, WITH THOSE SADDLED WITH RUNNING THE ECONOMY CONSTANTLY TELLING US THAT THE NATION’S DEBT IS STILL TOLERABLE. HOW CAN THE DEBT PROFILE OF A COUNTRY THAT USES A HUGE CHUNK OF ITS BUDGET TO SERVICE BE TOLERABLE? THESE PEOPLE QUALIFY TO BE CALLED VOODOO ECONOMISTS!”, HE SAID.

FOR AKINTOBA OLAORE, A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT WITH AN AUDIT FIRM IN THE IKEJA AREA OF LAGOS, WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DID IS INDEFENSIBLE, REEKS OF FINANCIAL RECKLESSNESS AND PORTENDS GREATER DANGER FOR THE NATION.

OLAORE SAID: “WHAT GOVERNMENT DID THROUGH THE CBN CANNOT BE DEFENDED AT ALL. IT IS BETTER GOVERNMENT OPENS UP THAT THE NATION IS IN DISTRESS AND WE ALL WILL KNOW WHAT HAS COME UPON US. I DO NOT THINK IT IS RIGHT HIDING BEHIND ONE FINGER, TELLING NIGERIANS ALL IS WELL WHEN NOTHING IS ACTUALLY WELL. THAT’S DECEPTION AND IT WILL NOT HELP THIS GOVERNMENT OR NIGERIANS.

“AS IT STANDS, WHAT GOVERNMENT HAS DONE IS CONCEALING THE TRUE POSITION OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY FROM NIGERIANS. IT IS JUST LIKE THE MANAGEMENT OR BOARD OF A PUBLICLY QUOTED COMPANY CONCEALING THE TRUE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE COMPANY FROM SHAREHOLDERS. IT IS A MAJOR CORPORATE INFRACTION THAT CAN LEAD TO THE SACKING OF THE BOARD. GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO URGENTLY GIVE A FULL DISCLOSURE OF THE TRUE SITUATION OF THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY AND STOP LIVING IN DENIAL.

“ALSO, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MUST KNOW THAT THEIR OFFICES AND POSITIONS ARE HELD IN TRUST FOR THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE AND THEY MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THEM AT ALL TIMES. THE PEOPLE ARE THEIR EMPLOYERS AND ONLY THEM DESERVE THEIR LOYALTIES.”

Also, reacting to the controversy, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called for the sacking of the Finance Minister for attempting to cover up the printing of the money.

According to the PDP, the admission by the CBN Governor has vindicated it that the apex bank has been printing the nation’s currency at the behest of the Buhari administration and that the government under the APC has been characterized by “concealments, deceit, and falsehood”.

The party said in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday: “Indeed, the admission by the CBN governor that “Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation” further justifies our position that the Buhari-led APC administration has wrecked the economy of our nation.

“OUR PARTY IS WORRIED OVER THE HUGE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF INDISCRIMINATE PRINTING OF CURRENCY WHICH HAS LED TO THE UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN INFLATION RATE TO 18.17% AS DISCLOSED BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS ON THURSDAY.

“The PDP calls out President Buhari to come clean on the amount that has been printed so far by the CBN to finance the deficit caused by the financial mismanagement of his government as well as what the funds had been used for.

“Furthermore, for failing the full disclosure test, the PDP demands that the Minister of Finance should immediately be relieved of her position, while the President accepts responsibility for the indiscriminate printing of currency in our Naira.

“Our party implores President Buhari to save our nation by allowing better hands to manage and salvage our economy before it is too late.”

[6]

POLICE TAKE OVER VENUE OF YORUBA SELF-DETERMINATION RALLY

Punch Newspaper of Saturday, April 17, 2021

The police have taken over Mapo Hall, Ibadan the venue of the rally organised by the Prof Banji Akintoye-led Ilana Odua to sensitise people about Yoruba self-determination. Akintoye, who is an 86-year-old Emeritus Professor of History, was scheduled to lead the rally but our correspondent observed that the venue is surrounded by armed policemen and armour personnel carrier.

There are more than 20 police vehicles including patrol vans in Mapo Area. The organisers have also not been seen at the venue although some members were said to have come earlier and left because of the situation there. However, a truck-mounted with a megaphone was later seen with a few Yoruba agitators going towards Oritamerin from Bere side.

Calls put across to some of the organisers were not picked. But it was gathered that they were strategising for the next line of action.

[7]

WHY NORTHERN PDP GOVS WORKED AGAINST JONATHAN IN 2015 –EX-GOV ALIYU

Punch Newspaper of Friday, April 16, 2021

A former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, on Friday revealed why northern governors of the Peoples Democratic Party worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. He said they worked against Jonathan’s re-election because he reneged on an agreement not to seek a second term.

Aliyu said this in a statement he signed titled, ‘Why We Opposed Jonathan’s Second Term Bid –Babangida Aliyu.’ He was reacting to his purported suspension by the PDP in Chachanga Local Government Area of Niger State for alleged anti-party activities, including working against Jonathan in 2015.

Jonathan lost to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

He said, “All the governors in the North under the PDP supported the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to complete the remaining years of Yar’Adua’s tenure and to contest the next presidential election as a sole candidate of our great party. “However, midway, President Goodluck Jonathan insisted to run for the office in 2015 against the grain of our earlier agreement.

“Since this was against the grain of our earlier agreement in the party, and which we, the governors in the North felt the North would have been short-changed if Jonathan had succeeded, we rose stoutly to insist on the agreement we all had. “On that premise, we opposed Jonathan. But all along, Goodluck Jonathan had enjoyed every support from the governors in the north and the entire region.”

Aliyu, who was a former chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum and a former leader of a PDP faction, said the North stood disadvantaged by Yar’Adua’s death and the insistence that Jonathan should run for the office of president in 2015.

He said, “We acted in good spirit and argued our points based on principle and on the subsisting agreement we had with Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. That agreement was written and accepted by all.

“We didn’t oppose Jonathan but we were opposed to his insistence on a second term in office because the North would have lost out completely.” “It is, therefore, wrong for anyone to erroneously say that I, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, had opposed Goodluck Jonathan,” he added.

Knowledge Dropbox

The League of Nations, abbreviated as LON, was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. Founded on 10 January 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War, it ceased operations on 20 April 1946. Wikipedia

Founder: Woodrow Wilson [Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921…. As President, Wilson led the United States into World War I in 1917.]

Founded: 10 January 1920

Ceased operations: 20 April 1946

Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

Common languages: French and English

Historical era: Interwar period

Status: Intergovernmental organization

The League of Nations aimed to stop wars, improve people’s lives and jobs, encourage disarmament and enforce the Treaty of Versailles. 

WHAT WERE THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN THE 1920s?

Judged against these aims, the League was quite successful in the 1920s.

  1. It stopped border disputes turning into wars. In Silesia in 1921 it held a plebiscite and suggested a partition, which stopped a war between Germany and Poland. It arbitrated between Sweden and Finland over the Aaland Islands in 1921 – its investigation showed that the islands belonged to Finland. When the League rejected Turkey’s claim to Mosul, a part of Iraq (a British mandate), Turkey agreed.   Finally, when Greece invaded Bulgaria in 1925, the League ordered Greece to withdraw, which it did.   The highest point of the League’s work was the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, an Act of the League’s Assembly, supported by 65 nations, which outlawed war.
  2. The League also improved people’s lives. It took 400,000 Prisoners of War home. It set up refugee camps after the 1922 war between Turkey and Greece. The Health Committee worked against leprosy and malaria. The League closed down four Swiss companies which were selling drugs, and attacked slave owners in Burma and Sierra Leone, setting free 200,000 slaves.   Finally, its economics experts helped Austria (1922) and Hungary (1923).

These successes, however, are balanced by some failures.

  1. The League sometimes failed to enforce the Treaty of Versailles. In 1920, the Poles captured Vilna (the capital of Lithuania) and refused to withdraw when the League ordered it to; the League could do nothing. And when, in 1923, Lithuania seized Memel, a German port under League control, the League told Lithuania to leave, but the Conference of Ambassadors gave Memel to Lithuania.
  2. The League could not stop wars when powerful nations were involved. Turkey drove the Greeks out of Smyrna in 1922 – all the League could do was agree. France invaded the Ruhr in 1923 when the Germans did not pay reparations; the League was not even consulted. Again, in 1923, after an Italian general named Tellini was murdered in Greece, Italy occupied Corfu. Greece asked the League for help, which ordered Mussolini to leave – but the Conference of Ambassadors overruled the League and forced Greece to pay compensation to Italy. Other treaties such as the Washington Treaty (1921) and the Locarno Pact (1925) are a sign that nations did not think the League could stop wars.
  3. There were other failures. The ILO failed to persuade member’s countries to adopt a 48-hour week. A disarmament conference in 1923 failed because Britain objected. It took until 1931 to arrange another conference, which was wrecked when Germany demanded equal armaments with Britain and France.
  4. So, the League of Nations was successful in small ways in the 1920s, stopping small wars and improving lives. But it could not defend the Treaty of Versailles, it failed to get disarmament, and it could not persuade powerful countries to stop fighting. The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect t on January 10, 1920.

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