GOODBYE JONATHAN, WE ARE TIRED OF LIES AND FAIL PROMISES. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• In accordance with the order of succession in the Nigerian constitution following President Umaru YarAduas death on 5 May 2010, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 6 May 2010, becoming Nigerias 14th Head of State. He cited anti-corruption, power and electoral reforms as focuses of his administration. He stated that he came to office under very sad and unusual circumstances. Acting President Jonathan also promised to continue implementing the Seven-point agenda policy framework of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. On 2 August 2010 Jonathan launched his Roadmap for Power Sector Reform‘. Its primary goal was to achieve stable electricity in Nigeria. The Nigerian Power Sector has been historically plagued by blackouts. Economists estimate that the power outages cost Nigeria, Africas biggest economy, billions of dollars on imported diesel for generators and in lost output. Jonathan has been overseeing the privatisation of his countrys power sector, the end goal being an efficient and reliable power supply for the Nigerian population. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria, which acted as the state electricity provider, has been broken up into 15 firms, with Nigeria handing over control of state electricity assets to 15 private bidding companies. The Nigerian government contracted the services of CPCS Transcom Limited, a Canada-based consulting firm specialising in transportation and energy infrastructure projects, to act as the transaction adviser for the handover of state electricity assets. After he spent Billions of naira and privatization of electricity it yielded no result but instead it get worse than before it was under control of NEPA to the extent that big firms and companies that gave Nigerians job relocate to the neighboring country. On 11 October 2011, President Jonathan launched the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) Initiative which he stated was an innovative business plan competition that harnesses the creative energies of young people between the ages of 18 and 35. The YOUWIN Initiative is expected to create between 40,000 to 50,000 sustainable jobs by 2014. 2014 has come and gone, no single job created under YOUWIN. On 11 September 2013, President Jonathan sacked the creator and coordinator of the Transformation Agenda, Shamsudeen Usman, the Minister of National Planning. He was sacked along with eight other cabinet ministers amid a rift in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to President Jonathan, Nigerias foreign policy was reviewed to reflect a “citizen-focused” foreign policy designed to “accord this vision of defending the dignity of humanity the highest priority and connect foreign policy to domestic policy while placing a greater emphasis on economic diplomacy. Yet our economy and our naira continue to deteriorate in world economy. In 2011 Goodluck Jonathans government facilitated the transfer of payment of $1.1bn to a fake company set up by a controversial former Petroleum Minister under Sani Abachas corrupt regime, Dan Etete. The fake company, Malabu Oil and Gas was set up in 1998 by Etete using a false identity so as to award himself a lucrative oil block, OPL245, for which he paid only $2m of the $20m legally required by the state. At the time of Jonathans government helping to facilitate the transfer of payment from Shell and Eni to the fake company, Etete was already a convicted felon of money laundering in France. The Economist reports that only $800m out of the $1.1bn meant for Malabu Oil and Gas was ever remitted by the Nigerian government. The Nigerian Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who signed the documents involved in facilitating the payments, denied the rest was shared by public officials. The transfer to convicted felon, Etete, only came to public light when a Russian lawyer that claimed to have helped Malabu negotiate a deal with the Jonathans government sued in New York for a $66m unpaid commission. Both Shell and Eni, as at September 2014, are under investigation for corruption by the UK and Italy authorities for the incidence. On September 5th, 2014, South African customs officers at Lanseria Airport seized undisclosed and undeclared $9.3m stuffed in three suitcases carried on a private jet by 2 Nigerians and an Israeli. Afterwards, Jonathans government admitted to ownership of the funds and claimed it was intended for procurement of arms and ammunition. The money was not declared as required by law upon leaving Nigeria or arriving at South Africa. It was later revealed the private jet used to transport the money was owned by the head of Christians Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. Jonathans government progressed to avoid going through the South African judiciary system to reclaim the money and instead preferring to employ diplomatic and political channels directly through Jacob Zuma, the South African President, to get the money back. On 25 October 2014, it was announced by the South African Ambassador to Nigeria that the money has been released to the Nigerian government. So far, Jonathans government have refused to name the Nigerians on the plane but the Israeli has been identified by investigation of the press as Eyal Mesika. In 2010 after the Nigerian football team failed to progress beyond the group stage at FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Jonathan declared a two-year ban on the countrys national football team from all international competitions. FIFA, the world football governing body, objected and stated that it would expel Nigeria from world football if the government interfered. Subsequently Jonathan bowed to pressure and lifted the ban.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:52:02 +0000
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