Monday, 2 March 2015

N175 billion Fraud: 'Imo 'll Repay Okorocha's Financial Recklessness by Voting Him Out'

Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives and Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP Gubernatorial candidate in Imo State,Chief Emeka Ihedioha has restated that the state Governor,Rochas Okorocha misappropriated N175 billion fund belonging to the local governments in the state and as such Imo people have rejected him for a second term in office.

Speaking to Imo indigenes in Onitsha, Anambra State,
Ihedioha pointed out that investigation discovered that the outgoing governor of Imo State had collected from the Federation Account over N175 billion council funds from May2011 to December 2014 which the APC administration cannot account for.

He said that there has not been any clear explanation from the state government as to how the funds were expended,adding that the governor has a case to answer over the misappropriated funds. “We have asked them what they used the money to do, they told us that they have used the money of the local government system collected between May 2011
and December 2014 to build 305 schools in Imo State, they told us that they used the money to build 27 hospitals in Imo State.We know that these projects have not been completed.

“We asked them how much did they use to build each of them.They also said that they used the proceeds from Ada Palm about N4billion as concessioned to Roche to build the 305 primary schools and the same 27 hospitals. They also told us that they used part of the N18.5 billion bond they collected from Ikedi Ohakim’s administration to also build the same
primary schools and hospitals.”

According to the governorship hopeful, “to utilise funds
belonging to local governments to other purposes other than the development of the council areas is breach of the constitution and breach of the will of the people and that offence is punishable. The way to punish that offence is to vote that government of Rochas out.”

He however assured that when by the Grace of God he
becomes the governor of the state he would govern the state by the rule of law, adding that Imo government would be a government of collectivity.

The deputy speaker assured the mammoth crowd: “when you elect me governor your labour will never be in vain and I know how to say thank you because I am a grateful man, I shall always show graditude and the way to show graditude is to give you good goverance which you shall not regret.”

While acknowleding the support given to him outside the state, he promised also to rule the state with the fear of God by the strength that would be given to him by Imo people through their votes.
Ihedioha who also visited the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka and former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi,promised to restore the dignity of Imo man, give education the pride of place, to restore the dignity of labour, to enter into partnership with the youths, to provide enabling environment for industries, to restore the 10,000 jobs disbanded by Okorocha, to restore the santity of local government administration and development centres in the state.

Also speaking, former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi while calling on the people to vote for Ihedioha and President Goodluck Jonathan accused Governor Okorocha of huge debt burden, regretting that Imo State “is now indebted to the tune of N30billion.”

He also expressed regret over the fallen standard of
education in Imo State, adding that the state which used to be the pride of South East in the time past is today at the bottom of ladder in examinations .

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri who presented the President urged the people to vote massively for President Jonathan and PDP candidates, adding that what the president has done for Nigerians he deserves to be returned to continue with his good works.

Also the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh
urged the people to ensure that they vote for the government at the centre, adding that the development in Anambra State was because the immediate past administration keyed into the Federal Government.

Others present at the event held at Holiday Resort, Onitsha include Senators Jerry Alagbaoso, Joy Emordi, PDP National Woman leader, Ambassador Kema Chikwe, House of Representatves members and top businessmen and women.

Group Confirms Tinubu's Secret Plot against Buhari

Ahead of the 2015 presidential elections, the group, Northern Youths under the aegis of Arewa Youth Integrity Forum,have confirmed secret plot by Bola Tinubu and his cronies to tactically move power to the West, citing the health condition of Buhari whom some consider may not be strong enough to survive the four years of presidency.

The group is lending credence to the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is critically ill and unfit to be president.

According to a statement signed by the president of the group, Mal. Ibrahim Abubakar, the northern youths have aligned to the allegation that the fronting of Buhari by Bola Tinubu and his cronies is an attempt to tactically move power to the West over the health condition of its presidential candidate, General Buhari.

It said the alliance of Tinubu and Olusegun Obasanjo is
similar to what happened in 2006 when the north was
tactically denied presidency by fostering it on a sick Umar Yar’adua who died to bequeath the seat to a Southerner.

“We strongly believe this to be another scheme by the
Tinubu/Obasanjo alliance which does not like the north, to deny the north of the presidency. It smacks of the same scheme employed by Obasanjo in 2006 when he presented a sick Yar’adua as the North’s candidate amidst many healthy and vibrant aspirant knowing full well that the latter's health condition will not allow for him to live through the tenure. We strongly refuse this tactic in 2015". It read in part.

Accusing Tinubu of trying to usurp the presidency, the group also queried the reason why the person chosen to be Vice-President to the ailing Buhari whom they allege will be the defacto president perchance the APC wins, is Tinubu ' s aide which will give him the opportunity to loot. Proving their allegation, they queried why it was Tinubu who is in charge of receiving donations for the campaign and logistics.

The statement also called on all well-meaning northerners to queue behind Goodluck Jonathan in the forthcoming polls as the best option for the north so that power will return to it after four years rather than allow those described as haters of the north to tactically cause power to evade the north for
another eight years.

Meanwhile the group has also prayed for the safe recovery of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who they believe is alleged to be critically ill and under intensive care in a Florida hospital in America. They however advice the former head of state to give his ambition a serious think while in America so as to save from soiling his name and return to the position of statesmanship he truly deserves.

My desire to meet my girlfriend’s demands drove me into robbery – 17-yr-old suspect

Men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of
the Enugu State police command, have arrested one
Uchenna Ikwuegbu who was preparing to carry out
a robbery attack on residents of Maryland axis of
Enugu.

The 17-year-old suspect who hails from Odida-
Abatete, Idemili North Local Government Area of
Anambra State, residing at 10, Road 23, Upper-
North, Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, was arrested on
February 16, following surveillance reports.

SARS operatives said the suspect was arrested
with a cut-to-size locally-made pistol with two live
cartridges.

“I acquired the gun from a timber mill at Maryland.
The urge to meet up with the demands from my
girlfriend, Chinaza, living at Uwani axis of Enugu,
propelled me into robbery.

“I had acquired the gun to unleash robbery attacks
on residents of Maryland in order to dispossess
them of their valuables. “I was on the verge of
carrying out the act when the operatives swooped
on me. I do not know how they knew I was carrying
a gun. I am so ashamed of myself now. I do not
know what led me into this.

“My parents are crying their hearts out over this
incident. They are so disappointed in me. I want to
call on teenagers like me to shun robbery and other
nefarious activities because the security operatives
are always watching,” the suspect said.

Senate to pass N4.357 trillion 2015 budget before general elections

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation,
Sen. Ahmed Maccido, has expressed optimism that
the Senate would pass the N4.357 trillion 2015
Appropriation Bill before the general elections.

Maccido told newsmen on Sunday in Abuja that the
Senate had set a two-week deadline to pass the
budget.

He said that the Senate decided to peg the oil
benchmark at 52 dollars per barrel in view of the
dwindling oil price, preparatory to the passage of
the Bill.

He added that the Senate took the initiative as
against 65 dollars per barrel as proposed by the
Executive in the Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper
(FSP).

He explained that “we always have pre-budget
meetings; the legislature and the executive. We
have been having these series of meetings even
before the budget was brought to us.

“This is a forum where we iron out certain issues
which could hinder the passage of the budget.

“We had a meeting where certain parameters were
agreed upon but this particular one, I assure you,
we didn’t agree on the 65 dollars per barrel of oil
proposed by the executive.

“This is purely the initiative of the Senate, having
seen how the economy is going and we believe that
the 52-dollar oil benchmark is the most realistic for
the 2015 budget.

“Nigeria is not broke, we are expecting the passage
of the 2015 budget as soon as in the next two
weeks,” he said.

Speaking on implementation of projects before the
expiration of the present administration, Maccido
said the National Assembly was more concerned
with completion of ongoing capital projects than
initiating new ones.

He said the National Assembly always emphasised
on completion of projects rather than embarking on
new ones.

He added that “considering the shortage in
revenues, I believe the executive finds it expedient
not to begin new capital expenditure but to
complete ongoing ones.

“We have been asking the executive to initiate
meaningful projects and try as much as possible to
avoid bringing up new ones except if absolutely
necessary.”

NAN reports that Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs) have commenced budget defence
before relevant standing committees of the Senate.
The budget defence was preparatory to the
passage of the 2015 Appropriation Bill.

Sunday, 1 March 2015

A MUST READ!!!! WHAT THE NEWSPAPERS FORGOT TO PUBLISH ABOUT GOV. FASHOLA!

Fashola claims he spent the sum of N1.5Billion of un appropriated funds, without approval in demolishing and planting grass at Oshodi. No newspaper reported this.Between January and June 2009, Fashola’s Chief of Staff and PAs spent N290 million in sending TEXT Messages and making phone CALLS on their lines.
Of course, no newspaper reported this.

P.S: Please, someone, kindly remind me – what did Stella Oduah do again? SMH.Now, permit me to introduce Dr. Tunji Olowolafe. He is the owner of DEUX PROJECT LIMITED. He is Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola’s crony. He is also their biggest proxy.
Most contracts that Fashola awards to himself are done using DEUX PROJECT LIMITED. For instance, between January and August 2009, 11 out of 19 contracts in the Lagos State Ministry of health were awarded to this company. Out of N5.6Billion contract in the Ministry of Health, Olowolafe alone collected N5.1Billion worth and was paid 70 percent upfront in cash.No newspaper or other news media reported this.
For a State that earns averagely N360Billion, annually,
from taxes, isn’t it befuddling that its state-own
University, LASU, cannot boast of a hostel facility? Yet,Fashola had the temerity to increase school fees from N25k to N250K.

No newspaper has ever written a report or editorial
about this.

Remember the Bank of Industry (BOI) building at Lagos
Island that partially collapsed in March, 2006?
On the 21st of September, 2008 the building was
eventually demolished. Now guess how much Fashola spent to demolish it? A whooping N1.5Billion! Please, be reminded that this amount is just to demolish a building. Not to build one. Anyway, that isn’t the end of the story. The government of Lagos, a.k.a Fashola administration, later acquired the land (Layeni’s compound) adjacent to the demolished building in the “public interest”. He later resold it to his proxy Tunji Olowolafe.

No newspaper has ever reported this.

During the Bola Tinubu administration, he awarded the
construction of City Hall for N2.3Billion. When Fashola
later came on board, he increased the contract sum to
N5.2Billion. This project was increased by 126%. The only input he eventually made to City Hall was to change the floor tiles to marble tiles.
The news media conveniently missed this news item.
The SSA (Media) to Fashola spends approximately
N200million quarterly on press coverage and on news
media editors. In other words, it is from this money that news media editors are paid to gag them from reporting anything unsavoury about Fashola or his administration.

Note that this fund is outside the approved budget, but
funded directly from the Governor’s Office. Now, you know why no news media outlets broadcast or publish anything negative about Fashola and his administration. Also,propaganda against their political adversaries is fuelled by this largesse to the media authorities.Of course, this is not the sort of news that Sahara Reporters report about.

The Critical Care unit at the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja, built and equipped with state funds, is now owned personally by Fashola’s god-father, BolaTinubu. He put one Dr. Sikiru Tinubu, (a supposed cousin of his) to run the outfit. It is run as a private unit and the proceeds are pocketed by the duo. The unit charges its users exorbitantly and most Lagosians can hardly afford to pay its high charges. Most of the revenue
is derived from fees paid by the State Government for
patients referred there by its General Hospitals.
Oddly, this news item evaded all news media.

Fashola’s god-father, Bola Tinubu, converted all the plots of land where Lagos Polytechnic was located at Ikosi, near the old toll gate. He chased away the Polytechnic in 2006 and went ahead to allocate the choice plots to himself. The headquarters of Television Continental (TVC) and Radio Continental, which is owned by him, is currently located there. He deprived the youths of Lagos of decent education because of his primitive desire to acquire every real estate that he can lay his hands on in Lagos. As to be expected,Television Continental (TVC) and Radio Continental did not report this. Lagos State generates an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of an average of N25Billion to N30Billion Monthly (At least, that is what they declare. It could be more). The company that is contracted to collect IGR is Alpha Beta Consultants (ABC). The company is owned by Bola Ahmed
Tinubu. The company collects 10% commission of taxes
collected in Lagos. This amounts to between N2.5Billion to N3Billion monthly. On what basis is this 10% commission when the same work can be done by the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue?

No newspaper has ever written a report or editorial
about this.

Fashola administration once spent N1Billion Naira on
“bangers” and fireworks during the New Year Crossover Night. This is a state that its university – Lagos State University (LASU) – cannot boast of a hostel facility.

No newspaper reported this.

Between January and June 2009, now guess how much Fashola claimed to have used to fuel the fleet of vehicles attached to his office alone?
Please, brace up for the figure.N135 million!
This amounts to about N800, 000 per day. Interestingly,this was at a time that petrol was sold for N65 per litre,and we all know that government always gets it cheaper.

But Fashola claimed to have bought it at N85 per litre.
This particular revelation surfaced at a time when members of the Lagos State House of Assembly were looking for a reason to impeach him in 2010. These “Honourables”, led by the Speaker of the house – Adeyemi Ikuforiji, are loyal to Bola Tinubu. They were angry with Fashola for daring to suggest a downward review of the 10% that their god-father, Tinubu, earns from all collected taxes in Lagos.

Thus, this revelation came to light. However, when the rift between Tinubu and his prodigal god-son, Fashola, was settled, the case was magically swept under the rug.Of course, this news never made the press.
During the Bola Tinubu administration, the LASU IBA road was awarded for N6.2Billion. In less than two weeks when Fashola came on board, the amount was jerked up to N10 Billion. The reason for this reckless increase was never stated.

No newspaper reported this.

Fashola awarded the contract for the reconstruction of part of Western Avenue (Funsho Williams Road). The road is a two kilometers road (between Abalti Barracks and Costain). The project was carried out by Julius Berger. This 2 KM road costs a staggering N7.7 Billion. Mind you, the contract didn’t include the construction of any bridge.

No newspaper reported this.

The prime land of 157 hectares with 2.5km of Atlantic
beachfront valued at about N10billion and stolen by Tinubu from the communities of Siriwon, Igbekodo, Apakin, etc in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government and given to Mr. Ibukun Fakeye (his crony) to build a golf course and luxury villa with little or no compensation to the villagers. In addition, Tinubu paid $20million (N4billion) out of public treasury to Ibukun Fakeye to commence the project in late 2006.Fashola has since released additional funding for this project, which is not owned by the state government.
TVC and Radio Continental will never report this.
Fashola’s wife travels abroad at least once in two months.Whenever she travels, she takes N30million per trip fromthe State coffers, apart from her monthly running cost.

No newspaper would report this.

What is the status of the Bus Assembly Company-a joint venture between the Lagos State Government and
Marcopolo Bus Company of Brazil of which about N2Billion was paid to a foreign consultant and a Nigerian friend of Bola Tinubu in 2006? The objective of the project was to build a bus maintenance facility at the old LMTS yard at Cappa, Oshodi of which nothing has been done till date? Gov Fashola should update the public on this. No newspaper has reported this. Fashola awarded a contract to construct a road and drainage inside Gbagada General Hospital. Of course, the contract was awarded to his usual proxy, Dr. Tunji Olowolafe’s company (DEUX Projects Limited). Now, guess the contract amount? Over N1.8 billion!
No newspaper editorial was ever written about this.
The Fashola administration boasts of restoring safety and security to Lagos State. However, what is their
justification for the Fashola administration, within 6
months (January to June 2009) spending N420million on hiring private security to guard him despite his heavy investment in the Police Force through the State Security Trust Fund.

No newspaper would report this.

Over 70% of Lagos State Government contracts are
concentrated in the hands of his proxy – Dr. Tunji
Olowolafe. However, this is the clearest indication of the betrayal of trust by Governor Fashola. This is against the Oath of Office he swore to. It is a violation of Sections 14(4), 15(5) and 17(2a) of the 1999 Constitution on which social objective of a just, free and equitable social order is founded.

No newspaper would report this.

Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, is a road of about 1KM. The contract for the supply of dissel for the generators that power the street lights was awarded to a Bale (community ruler). The Bale is a very close ally of Fashola and Bola Tinubu. The Bale is paid N16m monthly.

No newspaper reported this.

In a State where pipe-borne water is almost non-existent, Fashola spent over N13Billion on planting grass and flowers in just a few places that constitute less than 1% of Lagos land mass. According to them, most of the money was spent in importing palm trees from Niger Republic, a sahel region belt, when Lagos is in the rain forest. This explains why most of the trees have dried up.The news media conveniently didn’t get a hint of this news item. The INDICATOR magazine, a magazine that focuses on the activities of the Lagos State government, is falsely passed off to the public as a private magazine. It is not. It is actually co-ordinated and published by Tunji Olowolafe and
Hakeem Bello, SSA (Media) to BRF with government
money.Of course, no newspaper would report this.
Fashola’s god-father, Bola Tinubu, while he was the
governor, allocated to himself the former Strabag yard that is located beside the Lagos State Secretariat at Alausa,Ikeja. The land has now been developed to bear one of his investments – The Ikeja Shopping Mall (Ikeja Shoprite).

No newspaper would report this.

In six months (between January and June 2009) Fashola spent money on several faceless organizations in the form of subventions, grants and donations, A total of N2 billion was given out in the process.

No newspaper would report this.

The 14-hectare Parkview Ikoyi Estate foreshore land
reclaimed by Lagos State Government is now owned by
Bola Tinubu.

No newspaper has reported this.

The contract for the installation of CCTVs on the street of Lagos was awarded to one of Fashola’s relatives. The relative claimed to be acting for CISCO. The contract was awarded for $62 million dollars, while the rejected quotation for the contract was $30 million. It is important to note that this was only a pilot scheme.

No newspaper reported this.

Prince Dipo Eludoyin is a personal friend and proxy for ex-Gov Tinubu and Gov. Fashola. They had arrangements with him (Eludoyin) for some prime lands in Lagos to be sold to him. These lands were eventually sold to him at ridiculously low prices. Some of the lands include: : The 3.8-hectare of land of Lagos State Fisheries office in VI (beside the Institute of Oceanography), the fishery landing jetty at Badore (where the Ilubirin fishermen were to be relocated);
the entire Ogudu foreshore scheme initially earmarked for a low-cost housing scheme; the Ilubinrin housing estate (which used to house Lagos state civil servants and judges up till 2007); the former Julius Berger yard at Oko Orisan,Epe.

No newspaper would report this.

The entire maintenance contract and management of
hospital equipment at the LASUTH was solely concessioned to Olowolafe’s company by the Tinubu administration at an annual payment of N850m paid upfront. The Fashola’s government retains this arrangement

No newspaper would report this.

Billions of naira have been paid not once, not twice for the development of Oyingbo market for which no appreciable level of work has been done? Oyingbo market is still in the same state that it has always been. The evidence is there for the public to see.

No newspaper would report this.

Fashola lambasts the federal government, consistently, for its failure to provide steady power supply.
No newspaper editorial has ever been written to ask him why he has failed, in 8 years, to provide Lagosians with pipe-borne water. In a State where children are sitting on the floor in classrooms, where unemployment is rampant and poverty
pervasive, Fashola paid the wife of a controversial pastor over N600 million, in two years, for Xmas Decorations for about six streets in Lagos.

No newspaper reported this.

A 250-hectare of land valued at about N35billion and
strategically located adjacent to the Ajah-Badore junctionon Lekki-Epe road. It was original earmarked to build a general hospital to serve the people of Eti-Osa. However, it was stolen by Tinubu and handed over to Trojan Estate Ltd – a company owned by Deji and Wale Tinubu. Today,that property has been developed to become what is today known as the Royal Garden Housing Estate. All these at
the expense of the taxpayers of Lagos.

No news media ever reported this.

Bola Tinubu appropriated to himself a choice public property situated along the Lekki-Epe expressway. It was on this land that he built and part-owns the multi-billion Naira “Oriental Hotels” at the “Admiralty Circle” Maroko.Media houses conveniently turned a blind eye to this news item.
In 2005-2006, the Cook County Hospital in Chicago,
Illinois, USA donated a set of medical equipment to the
Lagos State government free-of-charge. This was when
Bola Tinubu was still the governor of Lagos State. Yet,
records showed that a company belonging to Tunji
Olowolafe was paid for it by way of Letters of Credit for the same equipment. The payment was made during
Fashola’s administration.

No newspaper editorial was written about this.

Mrs. Animashahun heads the Lagos State Building Control Agency. She is a relative of the governor. Also, one Dr.Mrs. Adesina who calls the shots as the Special Adviser to the Governor is equally a relative of the Governor. One Ms.Azeez, a sister to the closest friend of the Governor,Demola Azeez, heads the EKO Project and directly reports to him. There is hardly any Agency in the State today that the Fashola family or Animashaun Family does not prominently feature. This is aside from the in-laws and many relatives of the Governor who returned from the United Kingdom to populate most Lagos State agencies.

No newspaper would report this.

In 2009, Fashola claimed to have bought two helicopters for an unbelievable N5Billion. It was purchased without a transparent bidding process. They also claimed that the helicopter was built for emergency evacuation, rescue or to even combat urban fire. This was a blatant lie. The
helicopters were of generic design. Before public attention was brought to this grand heist by the Fashola administration, the seal of Lagos State was not on it. It wasn’t even in Lagos, but in the Niger-Delta making money for some private people in government. The fraudulent purported acquisition of 2 Bell 412 EP Series Helicopters from a Canadian firm constitute a flagrant violation of Section 123(1) and (2) and Section 120(4) of the 1999 Constitution.
Only ThisDay Newspaper reported this (See ThisDay
December 19, 2009). However, the consequence of daring to report this, is the reason why the beautiful and imposing “ThisDay Dome”, an exquisite event place, situated along the Lekki Epe Expressway, Lekki, is no more there. Emperor Fashola literarily harassed them out of the state.The Mayegun Scheme was sold to Olowolafe and otherfriends and cronies of Fashola against public interestwithout any independent valuation by relevant agency of
government? Why is the size of the scheme shielded in
secrecy? Why was N5.2 billion for which the land was sold untraceable? Where is the over N2 billion loan borrowed to sand-fill the place? What is the fate of the Tourism and Art-craft sellers chased away from the place?

No newspaper reported this.

Former Gov Tinubu gave away Hectares of land belonging to several communities-Sirinwon, Igbekodo, Apakin etc in Ibeju Lekki local government to his crony, one Ibukun Fakeye to develop a golf course and housing estate with no regard for the right of the community? In addition, why did the Lagos State Government pay a whopping sum of N5billion for the take-off of the project which today is being singularly handled by Ibukun Fakeye as a private project at the exclusion of any Lagos State Government official? Was this project ever approved by the Lagos
State House of Assembly or the amount appropriated in the 2006 or 2007 budgets?

No newspaper would report this.

Ms. Yinka Fashola is the immediate elder sister of the Gov. Fashola. She is the one superintending over the on-going Lagos State Residents Registration exercise. Nothing less than 7 Billion Naira has been expended on the exercise thus far. Unfortunately, more than a year since the commencement of the programme, they have only succeeded in registering 164,000 people. Mathematically, it translates to N42,682, 926.82 to register one person. Pure waste of tax payers funds.

No newspaper would report this.

The entire Ogudu Foreshore scheme initially earmarked for low cost housing scheme sold to a company belonging to Prince Dipo Eludoyin – a crony of Bola Tinubu? How much was this piece of real estate sold? And where did the money end up in?

No newspaper would report this.

Bola Tinubu’s wife, Remi Tinubu, built the massive New Era Foundation youth camp at the junction of Eleko, off the Lekki-Epe express road, with Lagos State funds. Today,the project is now her personal property.

No newspaper would report this.

Fashola during his electioneering campaign of 2011, in no uncertain terms, promised that he would build the 4th Mainland Bridge. Today, there are no signs of the project kicking off. No newspaper editorial reminded him of this campaign promise.
The 1,000 hectares of land valued at about N75billion
located at Lakowe near Abijo at Ibeju-Lekki Local
Government and given to Lekki Concession Company (LCC). It is partly- owned by Tinubu and Fashola. It has been been developed into a golf course and housing estate by Assets and Resource Management Ltd (ARM) as ADIVA project. We are still waiting for a newspaper to do an editorial on this. Fashola built a bridge to connect Lekki to Ikoyi. The bridge,the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge, is described as a “suspended bridge”. The bridge is by no means a suspended bridge. Most Lagosians are clueless of what a suspended bridge is.
However, they accept it as that. The bridge costs the State a staggering N38 Billion ( they creatively skimmed off N2b from N40B, to make it N38Billion, in order to give the project amount some decency). The House of Assembly’s verification exercise rated the bridge as being not worth more than N7 billion. Whatever happened to N31Billion is best left to the imagination of the tax payers.

No newspaper has reported this.

Still on the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge. The Lekki-Ikoyi “suspended” bridge is a 1.8km bridge. It is built on low-tide (shallow) waters. It was built at an incredible cost of N38Billion.That is over $250m dollar for a 1.8km bridge!Mathematically, that translates to about N18million permeter length (over $120k per length). In other words,N420, 200 per inch ($40, 0000 per inch). Perhaps, the bridge was built with gold-plated gravel and steel.However, this leaves one wondering how much it would then take Fashola to build the fabled 4TH Mainland bridge,a bridge that is expected to span 15km.

Nigerians Decides - JONATHAN VS THE GENERALS

In the now brazen, even indecent, effort to bully President Goodluck Jonathan out of office, strange, unseemly things have been happening. Reputations are being blown up,principles are being twisted, people are being told to act on faith and ignore the facts, and those peddling change are hiding the contents of the vessel.

For the reputations, the first casualty, to me, is that of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Attahiru Jega, a man I could have trusted with my choice belongings. But w hen h e repeatedly stated that the INEC was ready to conduct the presidential elections on 14th February 2015 when every fact contradicted him, he lost me,perhaps, forever.

Second is Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. It is not that he had much of a reputation to begin with. I was an undergraduate in 1978 during the “Ali Must Go” students’ protests. H e lost m e then, and I would never have voted for him as a civilian president because I know he has not changed and will never change.

What he was in 1978 is what he is today. I have had occasions to admire his courage. But he was Nigeria’s President, with all the prestige t he title confers. He cannot be ignored; he must be respected in spite of himself.

Early in the week, Gen. Obasanjo made a little spectacle of tearing his membership card of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in Nigeria, which provided him the ladder to be Nigeria’s President, not once but twice. After the ritual, he declared to the audience that he has now become a statesman; confirming my point that he has not changed and cannot change. Given all the education he received and the exposure he has had he was still ‘clueless’ about the word “statesman.” He seems unaware t hat it is not a nickname. It is not a title you can stick to yourself at your choosing. ‘A statesman’ is a title others give you in appreciation of extraordinary service in the service of your country, for your statesmanship. O n t he contrary, Burke must have had Obasanjo in mind when he wrote that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

In January 2009 the whole world watched President George W.Bush leave office, handing over to Mr. Barack Obama who had embarrassed the Republicans by defeating their Vietnam War hero John McCain in a landslide. At the inauguration cer­emonies, everyone could see Obama in his humane, humble naturalness (Jonathan has a similar disposition, by the way)treat the Bushes with utmost respect, walking them the whole distance to the helicopter and bidding them farewell on their departure from the White House.

The Obamas returned for the swearing-in, watched by an enrap­tured world and a disbelieving, almost shell-shocked
Republicans, some say, racist, America. The next day, the Re­publican hailstorm on the Obama presidency began. It got worse by the day. It was unrelenting. Then in April, the Tea Party, which was the modern version of the Ku Klux Klan without the burning cross, was born.

President Obama could not get a single Republican vote for anything from the Economic Recovery Act to the Affordable Healthcare Act. But as Republicans piled on Obama, for over two years, not one uncomplimentary word came from George W. Bush. They had blamed him for their defeat, now he was further alienated by the Republican Party for not joining in attacking the Obama administration. Not Bush Jr. He refused to attack Obama, no matter what his party thought or said.I’m not so sure of the event where President Bush had to speak with the Press and he had to answer questions. Soon, the inevitable question was posed: Why has he never uttered a word against President Obama. Bush is a good natured man. He chuckled, shook his head and said, “Being President of the United States is difficult enough, without the added pressure of criticisms from a former President.” He didn’t add to it.

In contrast, Gen. Obasanjo has since 2013 kept President Jonathan under withering criticism, none of it supported by facts or any shred of evidence. His grouse: he wanted to anoint another candidate for president, and Jonathan seeking a second term was complicating his game plan.

One of the most sensational of his allegations against
President Jonathan was contained in the 18-page open letter of 2nd December 2013: “Allegations of keeping 1,000 people on political watch list rather than criminal or security watch list and training snipers and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his own killers, if it is true, cannot augur well for the initiator, the government and the people of Nigeria.”

Obasanjo was accusing a sitting Nigerian president of
conspiracy to murder. “Corruption has reached the level of impunity. And if you are not ready to name, shame, prosecute and stoutly fight against corruption, whatever you do will be hollow. It will be a laughing matter,” Obasanjo wrote.

The above were in addition to scores of other deadly
accusations each of which is capable of sinking any regime if it were factual or provable. Indeed, in Jonathan’s brief response in which he denied all the accusations, he challenged Obasanjo to prove even a single allegation of corruption: “I urge you to furnish me with the name, facts and figures of a single
verifiable case of high corruption which you say stinks all around my administration and see whether the corrective action you advocate does not follow promptly.” Obasanjo never picked up the challenge.

Obasanjo’s malice does not bother about f acts o r p roof. Knowing t hat Nigerians want to believe the worst, it was enough for his purpose to invent the accusations and let it circulate among Nigerians who are most likely to  believe them as gospel truths.

As every Nigerian could see, Obasanjo could not be converted into a democrat even after he was practically bribed with the presidency. As president, he was the same dictator he was during the military era. Governors who crossed him, were impeached; those he disliked, were jailed.

Obasanjo and Gen. Buhari are two sides of the same coin. Like Obasanjo, Buhari cannot change. It was the same mistake Nigerians made in permitting the generals to appropriate their democracy in 1999 by drafting Obasanjo whose primary mission was to cover up for the generals – the only mission he truly accomplished. In other countries of the world, these gener­als would be in prison for corruption and gross human rights abuses as happened in South Korea, Chile and Argentina. A hundred cases of gross abuse of human rights can be proved in court against General Buhari by a pupil lawyer.

The manifest conspiracy of the generals against Jonathan, who is a natural democrat, ought to raise an alarm inside any Nigerian who values democracy. The generals do not un­derstand democracy even when they are bribed to lead it. It cannot now be inserted in their DNA. It is too late. In Buhari’s particular case, he is even less disposed toward democracy than Obasanjo whose raw survival instinct could force to accommodate the legislature. Buhari never accepted that he lost in any of his last three elections. He always felt he had been defrauded. When he loses in court, it is the judges’ fault, not the law. H e has no patience f or due process. The Igbos say you can’t learn to be left-handed (leftie) at old age.

All the efforts to manipulate Nigerians into thinking of a different Buhari without any sign or proof is simply what it is– an effort to win an election by exploiting the credulity of Nigerians a s happened in 1999. History is about to repeat itself.

Nigerians Decides - BETWEEN JONATHAN AND BUHARI.

“My presidential ambition is not worth the blood of any
Nigerian.” So said President Goodluck Jonathan before the 2011
presidential ballot. To this day, he has continued to reiterate
his pacifist message. But entrenched in an antipodal zone is
General Buhari who made the following incendiary statement in
the Vanguard of May 15, 2012: “If what happened in 2011
should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and
the baboon would be soaked in blood.” So, where is the basis
for comparison between the Nigerian President and the
presidential candidate of the APC? Wetin concern centre rank
with open order?

The opposition is daily on television, advertising General
Obasanjo – a man who traitorously tried but woefully failed to
wangle himself into a third, unconstitutional term of
presidential office –peering into a script and croakily
announcing that Dr. Jonathan had committed himself to a single
term of office as President of Nigeria. The opposition’s
intention is to portray President Jonathan as untrustworthy.

But, all the money thrown into that dubious political advert is
achieved nothing. This is because, had there been a commitment
to a single term, it would have had to come from the mouth of
the one expected to live the commitment. But, there sat Dr.
Jonathan, astonished, as Obasanjo read a script of his own
and his cohorts’ composition, aimed at scoring points that can
only be devious. Of course, President Jonathan couldn’t
possibly be tied to a questionable pact whose enunciation he
knew next to nothing about.

Contrast this to General Muhammadu Buhari, who upon his
third successive thrashing at the presidential ballot, addressed
a press conference, telling Nigerians on live television that he
was through with further participation in partisan politics,
including presidential elections. Who then has taken Nigerians
for a ride? The one on whose account various schemes were
devised to impose a single presidential tenure, or the one who
said “No more” only to renege?
In discussing Nigeria’s economy, the best person to speak for
the Jonathan administration is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the
Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of
Finance:“We are improving infrastructure across the country.

For example, 22 airport terminals are being refurbished, and
five new international airport terminals under construction in
Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, and Enugu…
“Various road and bridge projects have either been completed
or are under construction. Those completed include the Enugu –
Abakaliki road in Enugu/Ebonyi States, the Oturkpo–Oweto
road in Benue State, the Benin–Ore–Shagamu highway, and the
Abuja–Abaji–Lokoja dualisation, and the Kano–Maiduguri
dualisation. The Lagos – Ibadan expressway and the Second
Niger Bridge are under construction.

“Rail from Lagos to Kano is now functional, as are parts of the
rail link between Port Harcourt and Maiduguri. All these have
brought transport costs down. We recognize that more needs
to be done in the power sector, but bold steps (like the
privatization of the GENCOs and DISCOs) have been taken,
and our gas infrastructure is being developed to power
electricity generation
“In Agriculture, over 6 million farmers now have access to
inputs like fertilizers and seeds through an e-wallet system,
which is more than the 403,222 that had access in 2011. Rice
paddy production took off for the first time in our history,
adding about 7 million MT to rice supply. An additional 1.3
million MT of Cassava has also been produced and as a result,
the rate of food price increase has slowed considerably,
according to the NBS.

What is General Buhari going to do about the Nigerian
economy? An answer can be found in APC’s manifesto on
which Economics Professor, Charles Soludo, an ardent
sympathizer of the party, has the following adverse
commentary: “Buhari and his team must realize that they do
not yet have a coherent, credible agenda that is consistent
with the fundamentals of the economy currently. The APC
manifesto contains some good principles and wish-lists, but as
a blue print for Nigeria’s security and prosperity, it is largely
hollow. The numbers do not add up.” Buhari, a former military
Head of State, has thrice tried to be elected president and is
currently a presidential candidate. How does one explain that
he has but only a “largely hollow” manifesto regarding the
country’s future?

While this is pondered, attention should be turned to national
security. Alhaji Shehu Shagari is alive and well, thanks to
God’s abiding mercies. The ex-President can confirm that, after
Maitatsine insurgents were crushed under his watch, he told an
interviewer that he was grateful to God that the insurgency
had happened in his home region because, had it taken place
elsewhere, opposition politicians would have accused him of
killing civilians who were not his kith and kin. President
Jonathan has been in this dilemma. He ordered troops fighting
Boko Haram terrorists to be wary of collateral damage. It was
one reason the initial sightings of the kidnapped Chibok girls
did not lead to military offensive, given that such an action
could have endangered the lives of the young girls everybody
wants returned alive. Yet, every military move against the
terrorists is followed by strident opposition threats to head to
The Hague and file suits against “human rights” abuses.
Gallant Nigerian soldiers and other security officers are dying
on a daily basis, to provide security for the rest of society.

Yet, opposition flanks consider the war to be President
Jonathan’s alone, refusing to lend support, but exaggerating
every tiny reverse suffered. Buhari says he will end the
insurgency in weeks, if not days. Nowhere in the world, not in
Afghanistan, Colombia, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya,
Syria or Yemen has terrorism ever been turned off like an
electric switch. No one has the least idea how General Buhari
intends to perform his promised miracle. Perhaps he knows
what most Nigerians are starkly ignorant of. But it is on
record that Boko Haram nominated him their negotiator at a
proposed peace conference, which he declined.

The fact is that President Jonathan’s best efforts and
commendable achievements have, at every turn, been vitiated
by negative press contrived by the opposition and promoted by
international lobbyists who religiously collect their dollars by
the millions but care not a hoot whether Nigeria burns or
drowns. There is one consolation though: no one can bury the
truth.