PDP, APC Reps’ clash over alleged stolen N30tn
February 4, 2015
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal
The
two major political parties’ caucuses of the House of Representatives,
the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress, on
Tuesday disagreed over the N30tn alleged to have either been “stolen” or
“mismanaged” under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan
till date.
A former Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, made the allegation on Monday in a
widely circulated article he wrote on the alleged mismanagement of the
Nigerian economy under Jonathan’s watch.
The House caucuses held opposing views on the matter in separate interviews with our correspondent.
While the APC caucus demanded an
immediate investigation into the allegation by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, the PDP caucus simply dismissed it as a
“wild, baseless and unsubstantiated allegation.”
Speaking on behalf of the APC, the House
Minority Leader and caucus leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the
magnitude of the amount involved should cause sleepless nights for any
government.
He noted that aside being a renowned
economist, Soludo served as the governor of the CBN and was in a
position to know the financial dealings of the Federal Government.
“It is a common knowledge that our economy has been leaking profusely over the years due to mismanagement and outright theft.
“However, no one could have imagined the
magnitude and volume as suggested by Prof. Soludo. Now, because he is a
former CBN governor and an internationally-acclaimed economist, he
should know and be taken serious,” Gbajabiamila told our correspondent.
He argued that, even if the money involved was N15tn or N20tn, it could still cripple any economy.
The APC lawmaker from Lagos State spoke
further, “Now, let us assume for argument sake that he embellished and
exaggerated his N30tn figure.
“Let us slash it by a 50 per cent margin
of error to say N15tn or even N20tn, it still beats the imagination and
shocks the system.”
Calling on the EFCC to investigate the
allegation, he added, “This will be the biggest case of economic and
financial crime for which the EFCC was established to look into.
“Ignoring this allegation makes everyone
or authority in Nigeria that keeps quiet an accessory, after the fact
and just as guilty if the crime is established.”
However, Deputy House Majority Leader,
Mr. Leo Ogor, stated that he was surprised to hear an economist of
Soludo’s status make such an allegation.
Ogor argued that the former CBN
governor’s article appeared more like a product of “guess work and
unsubstantiated figures” than anything that should be taken seriously.
The lawmaker from Delta State also
claimed that anybody with the intent of “running down a government could
easily put figures together and make them appear so convincing.”
He added that when such figures and
allegations were subjected to investigation, “you will find out that
that the person making all the noise becomes tongue-tied.”
“Our laws stipulate clearly that he who makes allegations must be prepared to show proof.
“Sometimes, some of these our so-called technocrats that have turned politicians overnight, are seeking relevance.
“It is even more embarrassing coming from somebody like Soludo.
“He should go the extra mile to provide
all the documents or we should just ignore him and concentrate on good
governance as we are already doing,” he stated.
Ogor also dismissed any call to investigate the allegation, saying that Soludo’s article had no “basis at all.”
He claimed that the House in particular
would not consider such a move because there was no evidence before it
suggesting that N30tn was either stolen or unaccounted for by the
Jonathan administration.
“We don’t probe unnecessary allegations. We have been carrying out our budget oversight on all government bodies.
“There is nowhere we have this evidence.
This is merely intended to divert attention and it should be quickly
ignored,” he added.
He said but for Soludo’s clarification
that he was not looking for a job, he (Ogor) would have concluded that
the former CBN governor urgently needed to catch the attention of
Jonathan for a job.
“If he needs a job, he should say so. There is nothing bad in admitting it.
“But, he says it is not about job,” Ogor told The PUNCH on the telephone.
I’ve fulfilled all my promises –Jonathan
February 4, 2015
President Goodluck Jonathan
The
presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, President
Goodluck Jonathan, has said that he has fulfilled all the promises he
made during his inauguration speech in 2011.
He also said the Federal Government would
soon come up with an automobile policy that would ensure that vehicles
would be assembled in Nigeria.
He added that the Federal Government
would mandate vehicle assembly plants in the country to source 65 per
cent of their raw materials within the country to boost
industrialisation, employment generation and economic development.
Jonathan spoke in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, during the PDP presidential campaign rally.
The President also said if re-elected,
his administration would show greater commitment to sectors that were
critical to Nigeria’s economy.
He reiterated his commitment to addressing insurgency, corruption and other developmental challenges of the country.
He said the Federal Government was
committed to reactivating the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State to
full production capacity so that more jobs would be available to the
jobless people and also to boost the economy of Nigeria and that of Kogi
State.
According to him, all the legal tussles surrounding the ailing Ajaokuta Steel Company had been resolved.
He appealed to the electorate in the
state to vote him for another term. He claimed that he had fulfilled all
the promises he made during his inauguration speech in 2011.
Jonathan said, “The legal process of
Ajaokuta Steel Company has been completed. Investors can now come in and
harness the opportunities that abound in the iron ore company.
“We are coming up with automobile policy
where vehicles will be assembled in the country. With that, Ajaokuta
Steel Company will be empowered to produce iron sheets.”
The Vice-President, Namadi Sambo said the Federal Government under Jonathan had transformed Nigeria.
Explosives found at Cairo international airport
February 4, 2015
Two
explosive devices have been found at the Cairo international airport,
and an explosion has gone off in central Cairo, officials said.
Airport
security officials told the AFP news agency that two “sound bombs” were
also found near a parking lot at Cairo International Airport, adding
that the devices were later defused.
Elsewhere in
Egypt , a roadside bomb killed a bystander and injured two others in
the beachfront town of Agamy, on the western outskirts of Alexandria.
Meanwhile,
an improvised explosive device went off in the vicinity of Talaat Harb
Square in downtown Cairo early on Tuesday, reportedly without causing
casualties.
Alaa Abbdel Zaher, head of the explosives administration at the Cairo Security Headquarters, told news website Aswat Masriya that the explosion occurred at a passage near the square.
Initial
investigations said an IED was placed inside an electricity booth. The
explosion caused damage on the glass fronts of some shops.
“A small
bomb hidden in a roadside electrical transformer went off, damaging the
transformer but causing no casualties,” a police officer told the AFP
news agency.
The explosion was heard throughout downtown Cairo, eyewitnesses said.
Violence
erupted nationwide starting on Saturday, ahead of the fourth anniversary
of the January 2011 uprising which toppled the government of former
President Hosni Mubarak.
The anniversary day, Sunday, was marred by violence, with at least 23 reported deaths nationwide.
Several explosions have been reported nationwide since then.
Nine dead as Taiwan plane crash-lands in river
February 4, 2015
| credits: Aljazeera
A
passenger plane with 58 people on board has plunged into a river
outside the Taiwanese capital Taipei, killing nine people, according to
national media reports.
About 16 people were rescued, but dozens were still trapped inside, reports said.
The
TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane was on a domestic flight when it
hit a road bridge before crashing into the river, the reports said.
Rescuers were trying to reach the trapped passengers, they said.
Television footage showed passengers wearing life jackets wading and swimming clear of the river.
Emergency
rescue officials in inflatable boats crowded around the partially
submerged fuselage, lying on its side in the river, trying to help those
on board.
The
civilian aeronautic authority said soon after the crash that two people
had been killed. Taiwanese television later reported the death toll had
risen to nine.
The
aeronautic authority reported 16 people had been rescued, meaning as
many as 33 people were still missing, according to the Reuters news
agency.
Other
Taiwanese government authorities said the plane was carrying 58
passengers and crew, including 31 tourists from mainland China, the
agency said.
The
weather appeared to be clear when the plane took off. Television
pictures also showed some damage to a bridge next to the river, with
small pieces of the aircraft scattered along the road.
The
crash-landing is the latest in a string of mishaps to hit Asian
carriers in the past 12 months. An AirAsia jet bound for Singapore
crashed soon after taking off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya on
December 28, killing all 162 people on board.
Also
last year, a Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared and one of its sister
planes was downed over Ukraine with a combined loss of 539 lives.
TransAsia
is Taiwan’s third-largest carrier. One of its ATR 72-500 planes crashed
while trying to land at Penghu Island last year, killing 48 of the 58
passengers and crew on board.
The
plane involved in Wednesday’s mishap was among the first of the ATR
72-600s, the latest variant of the turboprop aircraft, that TransAsia
received in 2014.
They
are among an order of eight placed by TransAsia in 2012. The aircraft
have 72 seats each. The planes are mainly used to connect Taiwan’s
capital, Taipei, to the island’s smaller cities.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)