Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Posted in: Man in the News

By Chukwudi Nweje

Assistant Features Editor

Allegations had been rife that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke had never travelled on a commercial aircraft since she was appointed to that office in April 2010. Rather, it is said that she has reportedly been going on chartered private jets at the expenses of tax payers. In fact, they say she has about two or three of them and the average cost per trip of the chartered private jets is put at about $300,000. Recently, a motion endorsed by the House indicated that Alison-Madueke allegedly spent N10b to run the jet for her personal trips within the country and abroad. It had also been said that it costs about $500,000 per month to maintain the jets. Some pertinent questions analysts have been asking since these information started trickling out many months ago included how does she pay for the services of these jets? Is there a budgetary provision? Who approved it? As a minister of the Federal Republic, is she entitled to a private jet funded by public resources?

It is in the light of this that the decision of the House of Representatives to probe the estimated N3.120b the Minister allegedly spent on the maintenance of these private jets is a welcome development. The decision followed a motion by Babatunde Adejare, (APC) Lagos State, who informed the House that maintaining the jet alone, gulped N3.120b in the last two years and that the minister reportedly spent N130m monthly to keep the jets. Continue reading “Allison Madueke and the N3.120b private jets”

President Goodluck Jonathan

The Coalition against Corrupt Leaders has decried President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent statement that corruption in the country has been blown out of proportion.

President Goodluck Jonathan, at a meeting with the Nigerian community in Windhoek, Namibia on Thursday, had said corruption in Nigeria had been exaggerated and the trend had negatively affected the image of the country.

The President also noted that his administration would not condone the menace, but that using the proverbial big stick would not be a solution to end corruption. Continue reading “Corruption not overstated, CACOL tells Jonathan”

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke

Some civil society groups have called for the suspension of the Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and her Petroleum Resources counterpart, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, pending the time accounts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation are audited.

One of the groups said it was filing its second petition to President Goodluck Jonathan to press home its demand that the ministers should stay out of office pending the time the NNPC audit lasted. Continue reading “$20bn: Groups ask Jonathan to suspend Okonjo-Iweala, Diezani”

Culled from The Guardian Mobile

Friday 21st March, 2014
AS delegates to the National Conference prepare to resume for serious business on Monday, the Secretariat has completed the draft of the rules for the modus operandi and course of action.

The Assistant Secretary, Media and Communications, James Akpandem, in a statement Thursday in Abuja said the “draft Rules of Procedure for the National Conference to delegates will enable them prepare for the debate, ratification and subsequent adoption on Monday, March 24, 2014 when the plenary resumes.”

Akpandem, who did not make clear what is contained in the rules, said it is expected that the delegates will adopt it and “when adopted, the provisions will form the official rules of proceedings for the Conference.”

The statement also noted that a copy of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was also made available to delegates on Thursday as indicated during the inaugural sitting by the Chairman of Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi. Continue reading “Confab procedure rules drafted, for adoption Monday • Group condemns delegates’ demand for extra allowance”