Tag Archives: Blame

Don’t Blame Buhari For Hunger In Nigeria- Fr. Mbaka

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Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Emene, Revd Fr. Ejike Mbaka has called for prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari and has absolved him of blame in the country’s economic challenges.
Fr. Mbaka, however, reassured Nigerians that the current economic condition in the country will soon be over.
In a sermon to mark the opening of the 2016/2017 Legal Year, organised by Enugu State Judiciary, Mbaka who prophesied Buhari’s victory in the 2015 presidential election recalled that, in 2012, he prophesied that doom time would follow the oil boom, if there was no good planning of the country’s resources.
“But, the past administration was one of ‘loot as much as you can.’ Look at a place like the Niger Delta and one of them became president and did nothing for his people and now, you want Buhari to perform magic. But, we are a mono economy and every country depending on oil is suffering the same fate with Nigeria today.
“Buhari is not the cause of hunger in the country; not the cause of starvation in Nigeria.
“The tap root of Nigeria’s economy has been cut; Buhari is just trying to hold a rolling vehicle; a vehicle that the brakes have been destroyed.
“So, Buhari is not the cause. If (former President Goodluck) Jonathan was the president today, the situation would have been worse.
“Economic recession will not last long; the solution will come in a super natural way.
“Just like Ebola, we thought everybody would die; where is it now? Recession will go as Ebola has gone. So, all we have to do is to pray for Buhari; he has good agenda but, many around him are planning to pull him down.”
On the recent arrest of judges by the Department of State Services (DSS), Mbaka said Nigerians are beginning to lose hope in the Judiciary, “but with Buhari’s revolutionary experience going on, I am not saying that all who are accused are guilty but, I am saying that judges ought to remain incorruptible.
“If they are corrupt, they should be arrested and whoever arrests them should be praised.
“So, if president Buhari has that courage, that lion heart, to touch the tiger’s tail, he is a hero.”
Mbaka lauded the performance of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and described it as “an exemplary display of visionary leadership which has enthroned peace, uniting diverse political interests.”
He called on the people of the state to continue to support his government which he said has been anointed by God.
In his speech to mark the legal year, Acting Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice N.P Emehelu commended the governor for giving rapid response to the needs of the Judiciary by providing the necessary requirements for the appointments of judges in the state as well as facilitating supervisory duties of the Customary Court of Appeal.
She made a request for a befitting Customary Court of Appeal complex in Enugu as well as complexes for the high courts and Magistrate Courts outside Enugu and called for more slots to be given the judiciary for appointment of high court judges following depletion in the number of judges occasioned by deaths and retirements.
Justice Emehelu thanked the Bar and Bench in the state for their cooperation urging them to redouble their efforts for a quicker and better dispensation of justice.
“I have noted the concern and suggestions of the Nigeria Bar Association as well as those of the learned magistrates and I wish to assure that God willing, we will partner with you in addressing those concerns and issues.”

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http://sunnewsonline.com/dont-blame-president-for-hunger-in-nigeria-fr-mbaka/

I Will Continue To Blame My Predecessors For Nigeria’s Woes– Buhari

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said despite the criticisms of many, he would continue to blame his predecessors for Nigeria’s woes.

He said passing the buck, which people have been frowning at, was important in order for Nigerians to know what went wrong with the country.

Buhari spoke at an event tagged, “The Conversation: An evening with creative youths,” held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The event, attended also by the President’s wife, Aisha; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; as well as governors and other top government officials, had “Creative youth as drivers of the change agenda” as its theme.

Buhari said, “I am going to bore you with what we met. I know that I am being accused in the papers of passing the buck, but passing the buck is sometimes absolutely necessary to remind people who take things for granted.

“When we came in, I screamed to high heavens because I had promised a lot while seeking votes.

“I said where is the saving? There was no saving. There was no infrastructure, power, rails, roads, there was none. What did we spend the money on? I was told buying food and petrol.

“Where were the billions going? We conducted a study and found out that the oil marketers were committing fraud on at least one third ?of what they were importing, which is about 25 per cent of our foreign exchange.

?”The youth must watch our elite, especially with the condition we found ourselves. It is unpatriotic for anybody to pretend that economically we have no problem.

“I have bored you with this long explanation because there are things that could be hidden from you by those that have mismanaged the country in the last 16, 17 years.”

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http://punchng.com/ill-continue-blame-predecessors-nigerias-woes-buhari/

Independent Marketers Accept Blame For Fuel Scarcity

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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has exonerated the federal government of any blames associated with the current lingering fuel shortages across the country, clarifying that Nigerians should rather blame the prolonged leadership crisis that had rocked the association as the cause of the crises.

The association also said the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, should not be held responsible for petrol scarcity as their nearly two years of fighting over leadership positions in the association had contributed maximally in the current petroleum product scarcity.

According to the Interim Management Secretary of IPMAN, Mr. Lawson Ngoa, the rivalry between two IPMAN national factions has crippled the importation and distribution of petroleum products in Nigeria especially by independent marketers who control about 80 per cent of the fuel distribution network.

Ngoa explained in Abuja that Kachikwu had only intervened to end the crisis in his resolve to end the current fuel scarcity and could not be blamed for it.

He noted Kachikwu in trying to reconcile the factions and revive sanity in their operations, inaugurated IPMAN reconciliation and interim management committee to resolve the crisis and how it contributes to scarcity of petroleum products.

While shielding Kachikwu from the blame, Ngoa stated in a statement that the minister is completely innocent of the petroleum products scarcity as he inherited a crises ridden petroleum sector.

He further stated that IPMAN accepts all responsibility for the difficulties suffered by Nigerians while agreeing that IPMAN is now ready to commence distribution of products following the reconciliation brokered by Kachikwu.
“With the increase in percentage of product to IPMAN and other incentives made available by the federal government through the minister of petroleum, the fuel scarcity will end in weeks,” said Ngoa.

Credit: Thisday

Doctors Blame Health Sector Crises On Judiciary, Ministry, Others

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Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, yesterday blamed industrial disharmony and other crises in the nation’s health sector on judiciary, health ministry, hospitals’ managements, and health workers in the country. The doctors specifically identified interpretations of health-related laws by judges in the country, alleged weaknesses of past and present governments to tackle issues headlong and deliberate attempts by non-doctors to hijack their roles in hospitals as fundamental reasons crises in the sector have worsened and lingered. The group repeatedly affirmed its leadership of the nation’s health sector, including all hospitals, and vowed never to concede it to any health worker other than doctors. The NMA urged Nigerians to prevail on the federal and other tiers of government to ensure all employees work according to their rules of engagement and discipline. The group however warned that the sector could witness “disaster and collapse” if the alleged trends were not addressed. A statement signed by president and General-Secretary of the group, Kayode Obembe and Adewunmi Alayaki respectively, called on the National Assembly to urgently hold a joint session to probe alleged anomalies in the sector. It also seeks the implementation of report of the Yayale Ahmed-led Presidential Committee on Harmony in the sector.

The association lamented that non-medical practitioners and doctors, who once worked in health facilities to save patients, now live like rats in hospitals. Condemning judicial pronouncement which favoured non-doctors, the association said: “The Nigerian Medical Association is highly appalled by the state of affairs in the healthcare delivery system which has been reinforced by the recent ruling of National Industrial Court. An ill-informed ruling as a result of a poor understanding of the meaning of medicine, its ramifications and appendages, the role and rights of practitioners of medicine and their relationship with allied healthcare professionals for the purpose of maintaining members of the public in a state of health.” Consequent upon hatred caused by crises in the sector, the doctors argued that “deep-rooted enmity of a lifetime and for future generations has been created among a group of people who work and live together as a team because of these interpretations that pacified only the crying baby without asking for the reason for the lamentation.” The group said it was furious over alleged attempts by non-doctors to usurp their functions through various tactics including being “aided by the acquiescence or collusion of some persons entrusted with power and authority to perform certain roles in the system, to foist a state of frozen conflict on the healthcare delivery system of Nigeria to the detriment of the public.”

It added that health workers have used a combination of “contrived” misapplication of government policy and establishment circulars and misused legislations to cause unimaginable divisions, segmentation, indiscipline and other vices in the healthcare system with attendant but avoidable injuries and deaths to unsuspecting members of the public.

Credit: NationalMirror

Stop Blaming APC For Nigeria’s Economic Challenges – Dogara

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Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, has called on the critics of the All Progressives Congress-led administration to stop blaming the government for the current economic challenges facing Nigeria.

 

Dogara made the call in a statement signed by Mr Turaki Hassan, his Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs and issued to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

 

The statement said Dogara made the statement when he received unemployed Aeronautic Engineers and Pilots from Bauchi State who paid him a courtesy visit.

 

He said that instead of the blaming the APC-led government, the people who brought Nigeria to its current state should be blamed.

 

Dogara said that the Buhari-led government was working hard to sanitise the system, adding that it would take some time to achieve the objective.

“You know that we are facing challenges in the country at the moment. Even though people do not want to talk about on the ground that we campaigned that we are going to fix the country,’’ he said.

 

“We have sowed in the wind and we are now reaping whirlwind and as long as the earth abides, there will be seed time and harvest time. We do not want to dwell in the past, we are facing the future,’’ he said.

 

The speaker urged unemployed youths in the country not to despair and assured them that government was doing everything possible to create job opportunities.

 

“Investment in education, skills and knowledge is never a wasted investment,’’ he said and expressed optimism in the ability of the government to reduce unemployment in the country. Don’t despair because no training is wasted; but it is our responsibility to open the private sector for job opportunities,’’ he said.

 

He urged Nigerians to join hands with the government to sanitise the system to enable it create job opportunities, especially for the youth.

 

“If youths are not employed, it will be a disservice to the society as well as discouragement to the graduates, ’’ he said.

 

Speaking earlier, the leader of the team, Capt. Bala Jibrin, said that the pilots and Aeronautic Engineers, who were sponsored by Bauchi State Government to acquire knowledge in the United States, graduated in 2011.

 

Jibrin, who said that the pilots and Aeronautic Engineers had been unemployed since their arrival in the country, requested the speaker to facilitate their employment.

 

He said that Bauchi government spent N1 billion to train the 20 youths drawn from the 20 Local government areas of the state.

 

 

(NAN)

Blame Obasanjo For The Failure In Power Sector- Atiku

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Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, has blamed his former boss, Nigeria’s ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, for the prolonged crisis in the power sector.

Atiku, who served under Obasanjo’s regime from 1999-2007, said this in an interview with Punch on Sunday, May 24, where he alleged that the latter’s adoption of a reform modeled after the gas power stations resulted in the lingering power crisis in the country.

Atiku said  he advised Obasanjo to adopt a short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to the power sector reform. He said the country had gotten foreign investors, who were prepared to come and invest between $250m and $500m to set up small and medium -size power stations.

He faulted Obasanjo’s  long term solution, which involved the building the of gas infrastructure.

“By now, we would have been self-sufficient, but he said, ‘Oh, we must go gas’ and I said, ‘Gas? There is a problem. It’s long term; a lot of investments. There is instability in the region (Niger Delta). You must bring peace, before they would allow you to evacuate the gas.”

Read More: naij

Blame Governors Over Unpaid Salaries– Okonjo-Iweala

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The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday cleared the FG of blame over the inability of some state governments to pay their workers’ salaries.

Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement by her Special Adviser on Communications, Paul Nwabuikwu said the governors of such states should be blamed for the development in their states because they were told through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee to make the issue of wage a priority.

She explained that despite the 50 per cent drop in gross federally collectible revenue, the Federal Government had made the issue of workers’ salaries a top priority in order to ensure that the “people do not feel the negative impact of the revenue drop on the economy.”

For instance, the minister said that contrary to the “misinformation being put forward by certain governors to the effect that federal workers are being owed, staff salaries at the Federal level are up-to-date.”

She said in the five paragraph statement that the states, being one of the three tiers of government that receive monthly allocations from the Federation Account, should be blamed for their predicament.

The statement read, “This is to clarify the misinformation put forward by certain governors to the effect that Federal workers are being owed salaries.

“This is incorrect. Staff salaries at the Federal level are up-to-date; workers have received their April salaries.

“Regarding difficulties in salary payments, certain governors are trying to blame the Federal Government for their predicament. This is wrong. They had been told through the FAAC to prioritise salaries but they chose not to do so, hence the backlog that some states are experiencing.

“The 50 per cent drop in revenues simply means that salaries should be prioritised.   The Federal Government should not be blamed for avoidable mistakes made at the state level.”

The APC governors   had during a meeting with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja on Tuesday, expressed frustrations about their inability to pay workers’ salaries.

They therefore appealed to Buhari to consider a bailout plan for all the 36 state governments after his inauguration on May 29.

They said, “One of the issues that became of concern to all of us is the state of the Nigerian economy which is really in a bad shape.

“We have come to notify the incoming president of the challenges ahead of him. As it stands today, most states of the federation have not been able to pay salaries and even the Federal Government has not paid April salaries and that is very worrisome, by May and June, that (salaries) will be in cumulative of three months.

“We wonder with the huge expectation of Nigerians and people who have voted us into power, we are hoping that the president-elect will do everything humanly possible to bring about a bailout not only for the states but the Federal Government, at least for people to get their salaries and turn around the economy.”

Credit: vanguardngr