Surulere Insider

Why do people leave the performance of governance of their Local Government Area and focus solely on the performance of Federal and State Government governance? WHY?

We can't stop laughing. LOL.

Is this budget of change or budget of corruption and misplaced priority? Let's think Nigerians.

Femi Aribisala is back with his controversial opinion pieces

Instead of giving Nigerians the change you championed, give them excuses. Blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything.

In six years of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the opposition told us again and again the man was “clueless.” It made sure the tag stuck to him like glue. But now we have a new sheriff in town, with the APC claiming to be better at everything than the PDP. While that might still be subject to debate, there is overwhelming evidence that in the cluelessness department, the PDP is certainly no match for the APC.

Here is a compendium from the APC textbook of cluelessness, provided within barely one year in office. If you want to know how to be a clueless president, this is the APC blueprint.

Blame Game

Instead of giving Nigerians the change you championed, give them excuses. Blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything, including the harmattan. Whenever you make a blunder, pass the buck to the former president. If there is petrol shortage, blame it on Goodluck Jonathan. If the budget is dead on arrival, blame it on Goodluck Jonathan.

In the middle of an economic crisis, promise to provide Nigerians with free education; free meals daily for millions of Nigerian public school-children; free tertiary education; free health-care and free houses. Facing a drastic drop in Nigeria’s income, declare you will be giving grants of $1.5 billion a year to Nigeria’s poor. When you fail to deliver on any on these highfalutin promises, blame it quickly on Goodluck Jonathan.

Blunders

Forget the name of you vice-presidential running-mate. Call him Yemi Osunbade instead of Yemi Osinbajo. Tell President Obama the name of your political party is the All Nigeria’s Peoples’ Congress when it is All Progressives Congress. Call your party on CNN the All Progressives Confidence.

Tell Al Jazeera INEC means Independent Nigerian Electoral Commission instead of Independent National Electoral Commission. Even though West Germany ceased to exist in 1999 and the current German president is Joachim Gauck, refer to German Chancellor, Angela Merkel as “President Michelle of West Germany.”

Destroy INEC by turning it into a National Commission for Inconclusive Elections. Go to the United Nations and give rousing speech about fighting Boko Haram, then fail to attend the crucial meeting on Boko Haram at the same U.N. session. Tell the Americans the Chibok girls were abducted from their “hotels” instead of their “hostels.”

Tell Nigerians there is nothing like petroleum subsidy. Then as president, announce the removal of the non-existent petroleum subsidy. Claim Jonathan diverted $700 million from the $1.1 billion Chinese loan for the Lagos/Kano rail project when only $400 million was earmarked for Lagos/Kano rail. Announce that foreign exchange can now be paid into domiciliary accounts without specifying if depositors will be allowed to withdraw them.

Anti-corruption rigmarole

Declare that you will kill corruption in Nigeria while being surrounded and bankrolled by corrupt politicians. Then invite those with corruption allegations hanging over their heads into your cabinet. Maintain: “Jonathan’s ministers stole 150 billion dollars.” But fail to prosecute them for stealing $150 billion. Tell Nigerians $2.5 billion was stolen by the PDP through Dasukigate, but charge people to court for stealing no more than $100 million.

Believe that trying members of the PDP for corruption on the pages of newspapers amounts to waging a serious war on corruption and is a substitute for national economic policy. Say: “We cannot build an economy where corruption is the working capital.” Then declare to no effect that recovered stolen monies will be used to revamp the national economy.

Insist Abacha never stole any money, and then probe the PDP for the mismanagement of the non-existent Abacha loot recovered from abroad. Fail to recognise that with the official exchange-rate at N198 to $1, while the parallel market rate is $305 to $1, you have created the widest parallel market margin ever recorded in Nigeria’s history of Nigeria and laid the foundation for widespread corruption in the banks.

Accuse the opposition of using public funds to finance its election campaign, but fail to disclose where you got the money to finance your own very expensive election campaign. Claim to be so cash-strapped, you had to borrow N27.5 million to pay for the presidential nomination papers of your party; then state in your assets declaration that you have N30 million in your bank account. Commend INEC for running the ostensibly free and fair election that brought you to power; then challenge in court every election conducted by the same INEC that your party lost.

Contradictions
Claim you inherited an empty treasury in spite of the over $30 billion left in our foreign reserves. Say you met no money in the treasury, then spend N2.2 billion on a four-day junket to the U.S. with no agenda and with nothing achieved.

Say: the federal government of Nigeria is: “the biggest Boko Haram.” Then become the head of the federal government of Nigeria. Declare grandiloquently: “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.” Then say: “The constituents (that) gave me 97 percent cannot in all honesty be treated on some issues with constituencies that gave me 5 percent.” Say you belong to everybody but ensure that your personal aides are virtually all Northerners.

Say: “I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone.” “There will be no paying off old scores. The past is prologue.” Then send EFCC dogs after Elder Godsday Erubebe.

Say: “I pledge myself and the government to the rule of law, in which none shall be so above the law that they are not subject to its dictates, and none shall be so below it that they are not availed of its protection.” Then seek to replace the rule of law with the rule of fear. Go on national television and tell Nigerians you will not be obeying the courts in the cases of Dasuki and Kanu. Interfere in the judicial process by publicly declaring your enemies guilty without trial.

Tell Christiane Amanpour on CNN that you will defeat Boko Haram within two months if elected. Then say you did not say so. Declare that you will defeat Boko Haram by the end of December 2015, then say you only meant to defeat it “technically” after it unleashes mayhem on Maiduguri while you were busy celebrating its fictional defeat.

Say: “Boko Haram is a typical example of small fires causing large fires. An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra judicial murder at the hands of the police.” Then send troops to massacre hundreds of Shiites in Zaria. Involve Nigeria in a Middle Eastern regional struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran by joining the Saudi led anti-terrorist coalition. Open the door for wider terrorist attacks on Nigeria by killing Shi’ites in the North while the Saudis execute Shi’ite mullahs and prisoners in Saudi Arabia.

Prosecute avoidable wars on several home-fronts: against Boko Haramites in the North-East; Shi’ites in the North-West; Biafrans in the South-East; and Niger Deltans in the South-South.

Nonsensical policies

Grind the country to a halt by making yourself Sole Administrator of Nigeria for six months. Squander your vital first 100 days in office doing absolutely nothing; while receiving cheers as “Baba Go-Slow.” Present “body language” as a substitute for policy. Ensure that over N5 trillion is wiped off the Nigerian Stock Exchange within six months of your coming to office.

Promise: “I will stabilise global oil price.” Then watch as the oil price tumbles from $50 to $28 within eight months of your presidency. Also ball-watch as the naira tumbles to a record-breaking N305 to one dollar.

Declare when the country is broke: “I will provide one meal a day for children in public primary schools.” “I will make direct cash transfer of 5,000 naira to the 25 million poorest and most vulnerable citizens.” Propose through your Minister of Science Fiction to create 3.4 million jobs in Nigeria in 2016 through the production of pencils. Plan to have 365 cultural festivals 365 days a year under your Ministry of Culture.

Shout “chanji, chanji” while a large chunk of your party-members are turncoats from the same PDP that ruled the country for the last 16 years. Refer to ministers as noisemakers then establish a Cabinet of ministers. Take six months to choose a cabinet then come out with old cargoes. Tell Nigerians you delayed appointing ministers because you were looking for saints and angels, then appoint many known devils. Say: “The corrupt will not be appointed into my administration.” Then appoint those with corruption allegations hanging over their heads.

Delight in putting square pegs in round holes. Make Kayode Fayemi, who has a Ph.D. in War Studies, Minister for Solid Minerals instead of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Make Professor Anthony Anwukah, a professor of Education and a former vice-chancellor a Junior Minister to a journalist, Adamu Adamu, in the Ministry of Education. Make Solomon Dalong, a former Assistant Inspector of Prisons the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. Make Muhammadu Bello, who headed the National Hajj Commission for eight years, FCT Minister.

Budgeting

Propose a N6 trillion budget in 2016 for a nation that failed to meet revenue estimates of N4 trillion in 2015. Predicate this on borrowing N2.2 trillion, which requires N1.2 billion daily to service.

Benchmark your budget on the price of oil being $38 in 2016, making it dead on arrival with the oil price falling to $28 within a fortnight of your budget presentation. Fail to anticipate that, once sanctions against Iran are lifted, the oil price will go further down as Iranian oil is added to the international oil glut. Allocate N40 billion to look for oil in the North-East in the middle of an oil glut when Nigeria needs to diversify from oil.

Within the framework of a drastic cut in Nigeria’s income, raise the budget for A*o Rock from N6.6 billion in 2015 to N18 billion in 2016. Earmark N3.6 billion for the purchase of several BMW saloon cars! Budget N1.75 billion for feeding in A*o Rock in 2016 when Jonathan only budgeted N530 million in 2015. Allocate only N29 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture, while earmarking N39 billion for the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Present the budget to the National Assembly without first scrutinising it. Present the budget with fanfare, then send someone to steal it from the National Assembly. Present the budget, then withdraw it after reading it. Remember this: when the budget fails, blame it on Goodluck Jonathan!

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has gave gave reason why President Buhari has not congratulated Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson, on his re-election as the governor of the state. Seriake who was the PDP flag bearer in the keenly contested election, beat Timipre Sylva who was the APC candidate ..
While speaking at a press conference in Abuja today Jan. 18th, Lai said:
"This president is not in the business of interfering and intervening in elections. What if he sent a congratulatory message and they go to court and the election is overturned, will he call back the congratulatory message? This president believes that the presidency should be insulated from the conduct of elections and their outcomes".
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What about when he called mama Taraba-her excellency during ministerial appointment? Now he is saying he doesn't involve in politics. Mr Lai!!

ARE WE STILL PRACTICING DEMOCRACY???

1. Jamaica can never 4get = BOB MARLEY
2. America can never 4get = MICHEAL JACKSON
3. South Africa can never 4get = MANDELA
4. Argentina can never 4get = MARADONA
5. England can never 4get = QUEEN ELIZABETH
6. Nigeria can never 4get who....... ???
Comment Your Answer.

We don't want roads and schools. All we want is our children- Chibok parent.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1548551752135320&id=100009415301717

Politics - 'Angry' President Buhari Storms Out Meeting With #BringBackOurGirls Group,Chibok Parents President Muhammadu Buhari today stormed out of a meeting with campaigners and parents of the missing Chibok school girls. See...

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WHO ELSE ARE WE TO TALK ABOUT? The answer is not far fetched, it's APC. We express our views .

THE KOGI DEBACLE AND THE LAW by Akintola Makinde
My silent prayer after my friend broke the news of Prince Abubakar Audu’s death to me on whatsApp, was that it would turn one of those wolf cries by those I call busy body mushroom bloggers. But in a bid to substantiate his claims, he came up with screen shots of credible sites and blogs. At this point I was left with nothing but to philosophize on the ephemeralness of life. I reminded myself of one of my lines that “this breath may just be my last”. While I felt pity for the Audu’s, the government and good people of KogiState and as well pray for the needed fortitude to bear the loss, I, in no time began receiving calls from friends and associates demanding for my opinion on the legal implication of the circumstance. At that point, having not had a fresh consultation on thespecific laws on the subject, I had to make do with the reserved idea on the matter in expressing my opinion. The opinion barring any superior legal argument, after due consultation, appears the exact position of the law.
The legal issue in vogue is the position of the law, when a substantive candidate in an election dies during the holding of that election. Opinions would necessarily be divided between two lines to wit:
1. That the running mate be made to assume the position of the demised candidate; or
2. That a fresh election be conducted, having regard to the procedures outlined in the Electoral laws.
For the proponents of the earlier view, their argument would be that, since they ran on a joint ticket, it will be left for the running mate to be sworn in.
The most convenient port to sail from in an issue as this, is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended); being the captain of the gamut of our laws. For reason of aptness, consideration shall be had of section 181 of the Constitution. It provides:
1. “If a person duly elected as Governor dies before taking and subscribing the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office, or is unable for any reason whatsoever to be sworn in, the person elected with him as Deputy governor shall be sworn in as Governor and he shall nominate a new Deputy-Governor who shall be appointed by the Governor with the approval of a simple majority of the House of Assembly of the State”.
The above perhaps, is what informs the opinion of the proponents of the former view. In sharp deference however, note must be taken of the operative phrases of “duly elected” and “dies before subscribing the oath of allegiance and oath of office”. In simple terms, the provision invariably emphasizes on the time of death, being after a due election and before being sworn in as a governor.
Such reasonable question as “when is a person deemed to have been duly elected” will then follow. Again, recourse is had to Section 179 (2) of the Constitution. In interpreting when a candidate will deemed to have been duly elected, it states that-
“a candidate for the office of governor of a state shall be deemed to have been duly elected where there being two or more candidates-
(a) He has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and
(b) He has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state.
By the further implication of section 27 of the Electoral Act, only the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), through its officers, has the power to announce a candidate as having won any election; subject however to the jurisdiction of Courts and Tribunals.
As straight as the instant case would have been if INEC had before the death, declared Abubakar Audu the winner Of the Kogi election, news however emerged that election had been declared inconclusive. To this extent, no candidate of the election under consideration could have been deemed as already duly elected, and for which reason, Section181 of the Constitution becomes inapplicable in the circumstance.
Another provision worthy of consideration is Section 36 of the Electoral Act. It provides that if after the delivery of nomination paper and before the commencement of the poll, a nominated candidate dies, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (in the instant case),shall countermand the polling which the deceased candidate was meant to participate and the commission shall appoint a convenient date for the election within 14 days. This provision would have in all fours been considered the saving point. Alas, this will not be the case, as the time of death again raises another distinguishing element. Had Aududied before the commencement of this election, then the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Kogi State would have been under legal obligation to postpone the election to another convenient date within 14 days. During such time, the party would beunder an obligation to as a matter of internal arrangement nominate another candidate for the election. Unfortunately, this circumstance is not the case.
So many other legal factors informs the position that the Deputy may not be in the right position to assume the votes accredited to Abubakar Audu. The Supreme Court authority of ROTIMI AMAECHI v. INEC which used to be the law that the political parties in an election is the subject of the election and not the candidate who stood the election, has been overruled. Following the amendment to the Electoral Act, the Supreme Court overruled itself in the latter case of CONGRESS FOR PROGRESSIVE CHANGE & ANOR V. HON. EMMANUEL DAVID OMBUGADU & ANOR (2013) LPELR-21007(SC). While interpreting Section 141 of the Electoral Act, the Court held that parties do not contest, win or lose election directly; but that they do so by the candidates they sponsored and before a person can be returned as elected by a tribunal or Court, that person must have fully participated in all the stages of the election, starting from nomination to the actual voting. Ngwuta JSC, expressly stated that the National Assembly has by section 141 of the Electoral Act, set aside the decision of the court in AMAECHI v. INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt 1080) page 227 at 296. It is for the reason that it must be observed that notwithstanding the fact that both Abubakar Audu and AbiodunFaleke contested under a joint ticket, while Audu contested as the governor, Faleke only contested as a deputy and was being voted as such.
Although it is conceded that the circumstance poses some novelty to our laws, it only appeals to legal reasoning that the needful for INEC in the circumstance is to issue directions as to the conduct of a fresh election and to direct that parties nominate candidates in line with the Electoral Act.
Equally considering the triteness of the law that the government cannot operate in vacuum, the question as to who acts upon the expiration of Captain Idris Wada’s term also becomes pertinent. It is my view that the incumbent Speaker will so act, and upon the inauguration of a new Assembly, the new Speaker will also succeed the incumbent speaker both as the speaker of the House of Assembly and the Acting governor of the State.
Akintola Makinde is a legal practitioner and a public affairs analyst. He writes from Abuja.