The Federal Government has lashed out at US Congressman Tom Marino for writing to Secretary of State John Kerry, asking the US to withhold security assistance to Nigeria on the strength of some imaginary infraction by the Buhari Administration.
Describing the letter as ”sadly out of tune with reality,” the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Sunday, said Congressman Marino was poorly informed about the issues he commented on, wondering why he did not take the pains to get first hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in what is nothing but a ‘propaganda of his own imagination’.
The Minister said by asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the Congressman has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues.
‘’Insecurity anywhere is insecurity everywhere. Had Congressman Marino understood this, he would not have made the kind of call he made concerning the US security assistance to Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency that Nigeria has decisively dealt with under President Muhammadu Buhari is not just a Nigerian problem but a regional and international crisis,’’ he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said Congressman Marino definitely did not have Nigeria in mind when he wrote that the US should withhold security assistance to Nigeria until President Buhari ‘demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech’.
”An Administration that operates purely on the basis of respect for the rule of law and a strict adherence to constitutional order is not one to deny the citizens of their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. This Administration therefore does not need the goading of Congressman Marino or anyone for that matter to do what is right.
”Concerning running an inclusive government, had Congressman Marino done his home work before dispatching his letter, he would have realized that no part of the country is left out in the distribution of political appointments, for example, or in the appointment of Ministers, which was done in accordance with the Constitution that mandates that the President must appoint at least one minister from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
”Had the Congressman sought information from credible sources before engaging in a flight of fancy, he would have been presented with a comprehensive information on the appointment of CEOs for Federal Government’s parastatals, agencies and commissions that shows that the appoints were almost evenly matched along the line of the six geo-political zones in the country: With the North West having 51, North Central 46, North East 45, South East 41, South West 45 and South South 45,’’ he said. ‘’The Congressman may wish to note that each geo-political zone comprises 6 states, with the exception of North West (7) and South East (5).’’
The Minister described Congressman Marino’s description of the Administration’s anti-corruption efforts as ‘selective’ as a tired argument that clearly shows that the US lawmaker must have appended his signature to someone’s concocted line.
”That line was invented by those seeking to cause an unnecessary distraction from the Administration’s anti-corruption efforts, and it has been roundly rejected. Congressman Marino’s decision to exhume the dead postulation without an iota of proof is a reflection of whose side he has taken in the ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of corrupt elements. Needless to say that the anti-corruption battle will continue unhindered, irrespective of whose ox is gored. And in this fight, only the guilty needs be afraid,’’ he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said Nigeria is delighted that US Secretary of State John Kerry, to whom the Congressman addressed his letter, is more knowledgeable, better briefed and definitely more hands on concerning Nigerian issues.
Showing posts with label POLITICS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label POLITICS. Show all posts
When We Intend To Conclude Rivers Election – INEC Reveals
October 2016 has been announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the month for the completion of March 19, inconclusive election.
INEC while addressing leaders of 28 political parties in the state said it had concern that Rivers people do not have representatives at the national assembly till date.
Speaking on behalf of the electoral umpire, INEC National Commissioner in Charge of Operations, Mrs. Amina Zakari, stressed that the commission would do everything within its capacity to ensure that the election does not extent further than the last two weeks in October.
She called on politicians in the state to work hand in hand with the electoral body so that the state can meet up regarding election into National Assembly.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure that this election that was suspended in some local governments is concluded. We are looking at completing the elections within October. The first week of October is out of it because that week we would celebrate our independence.
“The meeting was convened in order to evolve a way to complete the election. Because the election was more of a war, we also need to cool ourselves as well as plan new strategies.
“We don’t have a stake in the election; we are only to support democracy to survive in our country. We are giving that period to ensure that we are prepared.”
Thanks for reading.
‘Missing N33trn’: PDP Rubbishes Oyegun’s Claim
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has slammed the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), John Oyegun over his allegation that former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration siphoned the sum of N33trillion from the country’s coffer. According to the PDP director of new media, Deji Adeyanju, the Jonathan administration never even had a budget that was as high as N33trn. He said, the total budget under the Jonathan for five years was only 22 trillion, so there couldn’t have been any case of N33trn. “Oyegun says N33trn was unaccounted for under Jonathan, but total budget for 5 years under GEJ was about N22trn.” he said.
Adeyanju went all out to mock the APC chairman by wondering how the Jonathan administration was able to manage the economy and carry out landmark infrastructural developments like the Kaduna-Abuja Rail, which the APC completed if more than its entire budget was missing. Thanks for reading.
Michael Moore: Trump does not want to be president
Documentary film-maker Michael Moore has said he knows “for a fact” that Donald Trump does not want to be president of the United States and claims the Republican nominee is now sabotaging his own campaign in order to avoid the Oval Office.
Moore, writing on The Huffington Post, says that Trump ran for president as a negotiating tactic, hoping to leverage a higher pay packet from NBC. The broadcaster had formerly employed Trump as the star of the reality TV show The Apprentice, but fired him after he called Mexican immigrants “drug dealers” and “rapists” at his campaign launch.
According to Moore, who does not name his source, Trump continued his campaign only to increase his stock with other television networks.
“And then something happened,” Moore writes. “And to be honest, if it happened to you, you might have reacted the same way. Trump, to his own surprise, ignited the country, especially among people who were the opposite of billionaires.”
Moore says Trump found the attention his campaign attracted intoxicating.
“Trump fell in love with himself all over again, and he soon forgot his mission to get a good deal for a TV show,” Moore writes. “He was no longer king of the deal-makers — he was King of the World!”
Moore then catalogues a series of incidents from the past few weeks that have seen Trump’s approval ratings plummet. Citing the nominee’s attacks on the family of Humayun Khan, a Muslim American who was killed while serving in Iraq, and his implication that “second amendment people” could use gun violence against Hillary Clinton, Moore suggests that Trump’s outlandish behaviour was an attempt to “self-sacrifice” his campaign.
“Maybe the meltdown of the past three weeks was no accident,” writes Moore. “Maybe it’s all part of his new strategy to get the hell out of a race he never intended to see through to its end anyway.”
Moore finally suggests that Trump would give up the Republican nomination rather than lose on election night.
“Trust me, I’ve met the guy. Spent an afternoon with him,” he writes. “He would rather invite the Clintons AND the Obamas to his next wedding than have that scarlet letter (“L”) branded on his forehead seconds after the last polls have closed on that night.” Thanks for reading.
How I Was Placed Under ‘House Arrest’ – Fayose
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has said that he was placed under ‘house arrest’ during the National convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held yesterday in the party’s secretariat in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. Governor Fayose, in a statement by his media aide, Lere Olayinka, claimed he was stopped by security operatives after they blocked the entrance to the old Presidential loge in Port Harcourt, where he currently resides. He said: “I was under house arrest in Port Harcourt. I was not at the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because I was placed under house arrest at the Old Presidential Lodge, River state Government House where I lodged”.
The Commissioner for the State Police, Francis Odesanya, has refuted the claims, stating that he had no knowledge of the house arrest and that operatives were only providing security to the Governor during his stay. Thanks for reading.
Tinubu, A Big Problem For Us – APC Aspirant Insists
governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, has accused the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, of causing problem within the Ondo State chapter of the party. Abayomi alleged that the preference of Tinubu for another governorship aspirant, Dr. Segun Abraham, had polarized the party ahead of its primary coming up next week. Abayomi maintained that it was wrong for the former governor of Lagos State to impose his choice on the party. Tinubu was alleged to have invited all the party leaders in the state to Lagos, where he allegedly directed them to ensure his anointed candidate, Abraham, won the primary. Abayomi said since Tinubu allegedly imposed a candidate, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, on the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in the 2012 governorship election in the state and failed, he should not repeat the same style in the 2016 governorship primary of the APC. This was contained in a letter he addressed to Tinubu on Tuesday, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent.
The letter was titled, “Tonic of democracy is the right of the people to choose their leaders. No: 2. The letter read, “I maintain, based on the reliable information of the attendees, that your meeting with the party leaders go beyond mere a ‘meeting’ or ‘assembly and talk’ as observed in your letter. You told them who the candidate of the party would be and directed them to work for him assuring them of your financial support. “I maintain that considering that all the aspirants had all been subjected to the same processes, including serious conditional payments, it would have been expected that as a national leader of the APC and especially as you have severally assured many aspirants who came to you, that the party would guarantee to all, equal protection in the process, you should have refrained from directing the party to support an aspirant. “Your summoning of party officials to a meeting and your instruction to them to support one aspirant, in my humble view, violated the right to fairness. It amounted to undue influence to unjustly favour an aspirant. “Perhaps, I need to add that the confusion in the APC in Ondo State at the moment, like it was in the ACN in 2012, emanated from the unfair directive you gave to the party on July 31, 2016.” The APC aspirant urged the national leader not to influence the emergence of the candidate of the party, adding that he should allow the party to conduct a credible primary
