Buhari Makes Shocking
Revelation In Today's Newspaper.
Though Nigerians are already aware of the
dwindling finances that accompanied the
drastic fall in crude oil price, the situation
might be worse than they think as
President Muhammadu Buhari, revealed
how dire the financial predicament of the
nation is.
President Buhari says Nigeria’s treasury
is empty, I inherited empty treasury,
huge debts- Buhari, Bail-out for states
doubtful as Buhari laments empty
treasury as well as Buhari can’t
continue in office makes the front pages
of the national dailies for Tuesday, June
23, 2015.
VANGUARD reports that President
Muhammadu Buhari on his first day at
the Aso Rock Villa, after his swearing in
on May 29, said he inherited a
“virtually empty treasury”, from his
predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan with
debts running into hundreds of millions
of dollars. Mr. President, who disclosed
this on Monday, June 22, during a
meeting with members of the state
house press corps, blamed the situation
on bad management, adding that it was
a disgrace that Nigeria is unable to pay
workers’ salaries.
Buhari admitted that there is already a
lot of pressure on his government due to
the huge expectations of Nigerians. The
president, yesterday held a meeting
with the three service chiefs, who were
led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air
Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.
The Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Ismail Aliyu,
who addressed state house
correspondents after the meeting, said
Buhari ordered the withdrawal of the
military from internal security
operations as part of a comprehensive
review of national security operations.
He said the directive was given because
Nigeria and four other countries in the
Lake Chad sub-region had for the first
time developed a united military
strategy against the regional menace,
Boko Haram. He said after the president
ordered the withdrawal of military
checkpoints, he directed the police to
henceforth take firm control of internal
security.
The permanent secretary said Buhari
told the security chiefs to liaise with the
authorities of the Nigeria Police Force to
finalise arrangements for Police to
effectively take over internal security.
He revealed that the meeting with the
security chiefs was to give them the
opportunity to brief the president on
the implementations of recent decisions
reached on the fight against insurgency.
Still on the issue of empty treasury, THE
PUNCH reports that President
Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, June
22, during a meeting with state house
correspondent to mark his first day in
the Aso Rock office, said he inherited an
empty treasury, adding that his
government was being weighed down
by debts running into millions of
dollars. Though the president declined
to disclose the amount of debt he met,
he vowed to put in his best to salvage
the country from the brink of collapse.
Buhari, who said it was disgraceful for
state and federal workers not to be paid
their salaries as at when due, told the
correspondents that he would need their
help to avoid a situation where
Nigerians might march on him. He said
the tradition of assessing government’s
performance in the first 100 days in
office was putting pressure on him due
to the mismanaged economy he met.
The President revealed that it was not
by accident that he appointed one of the
best journalists in the country, Femi
Adesina, as his special adviser on media
and publicity. He explained that he
appointed Adesina so that he could
consistently defend him against his co-
journalists. He, however, expressed
optimism that what happened under
former president Goodluck Jonathan,
when a state house correspondent was
expelled would not happen under his
administration. Buhari was
accompanied to the meeting by Adesina
and his Senior Special Assistant on
Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Buhari, immediately after resuming
work, had earlier met with Vice-
President Yemi Osinbajo and some of
his key aides, before meeting behind
closed doors with the service chiefs.
Now that the president has made it
public that the country is broke, the
next question that then comes to mind
is, what will be the fate of the states
owing civil servants no fewer than six
to nine months salaries? THE GUARDIAN
reports that after President
Muhammadu Buhari announced that he
met an empty treasury, the anticipated
bailout for states by the federal
government may have temporarily hit
the rocks.
The President, who said it was the duty
of government at every level to ensure
that workers’ salaries are paid,
lamented that the bad management of
the economy had put a strain on the
ability of state governments and some
federal government agencies to pay
their workers. He underscored a smooth
working relationship between the
government and the media as essential,
noting that, such relationship would go
a long way in ensuring that Nigerians
enjoy a quality dividend of democracy.
Meanwhile, the president, who had a
very busy day yesterday, upon resuming
work at his Aso Rock Villa office, might
be welcomed with a lawsuit. THE UNION
reports that a lawyer and human rights
activist, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, has
opined that President Muhammadu
Buhari’s inability to constitute a cabinet
25 days after his inauguration is a
subject of litigation. The legal
practitioner, on Monday, approached a
Federal High Court in Lagos seeking an
order restraining Buhari from
continuing in office as the country’s
president.
The lawyer in a suit he filed said by
virtue of constitutional provisions the
president is barred from functioning in
his office without appointing ministers
to constitute the Federal Executive
Council. He said if the president is not
prepared to appoint qualified persons
into office as ministers of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, he should not be
allowed to continue to function in office
as the president. He said such
development is a flagrant violation of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria.
The human right activist, who dragged
the president to court by way of an
originating summons, lamented in an
affidavit deposed to by him in support
of his application that although the
president had admitted that old age
would limit his performance and had
also taken his oath of office nearly 25
days ago, he had yet to appoint
ministers to constitute the FEC to assist
him in executing the business of the
nation.
Adegboruwa said Buhari’s delay is not
only unwarranted, but also smacks of a
dictatorial tendency with abrasive effect
on the economy. He said the failure,
neglect or refusal to appoint qualified
persons into the offices of Ministers of
the government of the federation almost
25 days after he assumed the office of
the president is capable of collapsing
the economy of this nation. He also
noted that it was gross misnomer for the
president, who was only a
commissioned officer of the Nigerian
army, to continue to function as a lone
ranger, stressing the development was
tantamount to usurping the functions of
other professionals and technocrats,
who ought to constitute his cabinet, such
as the attorney general of the
federation, among others.
As the President is taking heat from
concerned citizens over his inability to
constitute his cabinet, the internal tussle
in the ruling All Progressive Congress
has taken a new turn as the party
leaders have adopted candidates for top
principal position in the Assembly. THE
NATION reports that the party leaders
are supporting Ahmed Lawan, Femi
Gbajabiamila, George Akume and five
others as principal officers of the
National Assembly. The APC reportedly
adopted the lists submitted to it by The
Unity Forum (Senate) and The Loyalists
(House of Representatives) to heal the
wounds and reconcile all after the June
9 controversial elections.
It was gathered that the move has put
pressure on Senate President Bukola
Saraki and House of Representatives
Speaker Yakubu Dogara as over 12
members of the APC National Working
Committee backed the candidates
recommended by The Unity Forum and
The Loyalists. The senators
recommended by the APC as principal
officers are Lawan (Majority Leader);
Prof. Sola Adeyeye (Chief Whip); Sen.
George Akume (Deputy Majority
Leader); and Sen. Abu Ibrahim (Deputy
Chief Whip).
The list for the House of Representatives
has Gbajabiamila (House Leader); Hon.
Alhassan Ado Doguwa (Deputy House
Leader); M. T. Monguno (Chief Whip)
and Hon. Pally Iriase (Deputy Chief
Whip). A source, who didn’t want to be
named, said most members of the NWC
and leaders of the APC are fully in
support of the lists from the Unity
Forum and The Loyalists. He said they
need to heal wounds and move forward,
adding that it will only be fair and just
if the aggrieved legislators are allowed
to choose among themselves the
principal officers.
Meanwhile, the leaderships of the two
groups also compiled lists and sent to
the APC National Chairman, John
Odigie-Oyegun, who is expected to send
them to the Senate President.
A top source, who spoke in confidence,
disclosed that for the first time after the
crisis of confidence erupted among APC
Senators Saraki and Lawan met at
Oyegun’s residence to explore the
possibility of reconciliation. He said
after the party’s chairman sued for
reconciliation, Saraki and Lawan were
asked to go into a room for “frank
talks.”
