The All Progressives Congress
presidential candidate, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has listed
the strategies that he would adopt to end insecurity in the country if
elected President.
The methods, The PUNCH learnt, were unveiled by Buhari during his meeting with the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, in Lagos on Sunday.
The source, who was one of the APC
members that also attended the meeting, said on Monday that the
strategies included the elimination of corruption, transparency in the
management of defence budgets and an overhaul of the nation’s security
apparatuses.
He said that Buhari highlighted the plans when Kerry expressed concern about the spate of insecurity in the North-East.
The source added, “Kerry said the US was
interested in someone that could curb the Boko Haram menace. He said
the concern of President Barack Obama was that terrorism should not
spread beyond the North-East as it seemed to be doing so gradually.
“Kerry asked what the strategy of the APC would be in fighting insecurity.”
One of our correspondents gathered
that while responding, Buhari said since he knows that corruption and
lack of political will are some of the problems militating against the
war against insurgency, he would tackle them headlong if elected.
Buhari was said to have told Kerry that
the Goodluck Jonathan administration had spent billions of dollars on
defence and that a large portion of the money was diverted by those in
power.
It was also learnt that the APC candidate informed the Secretary of State that the President had turned a blind eye to this.
Buhari was said to have also stated that
there was something wrong with the intelligence-gathering mechanism of
the military. He therefore promised that he would revamp the security
apparatuses of the government.
According to our source, the APC
candidate said “that Boko Haram members were not ghosts but that
they were gaining ground because the security agencies had been
compromised.”
He said that the former Head of State
also promised that transparency would be his watchword in the
disbursement of defence budgets.
It was gathered that Buhari
“promised to ensure that every kobo spent on security would be accounted
for as this would ensure that our soldiers get the appropriate
equipment and have their morale boosted.”
He was also said to have told Kerry that
the Jonathan government once scuttled a hearing by the National
Assembly on defence spending, an act that clearly showed that it was not
ready to promote transparency in the management of the nation’s
affairs.
“Buhari said when the National Assembly
set up a hearing with the heads of security agencies to know how the
defence budgets were being spent, the Presidency scuttled it because it
was obvious that the money for equipment was not being spent
judiciously. He said by such an act, the Jonathan government was not
encouraging transparency in the way and manner money meant for security
was being spent.”
The PUNCH gathered that APC
leaders like the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Asiwaju
Bola Tinubu and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who were also
at the meeting, urged the US to impress it upon the Jonathan government
to ensure that next month’s elections were not postponed.
Kerry was said to have expressed worry
at the pre-election violence in the country but the APC leaders told
him that they had nothing to do with it.
The APC Presidential Campaign
Organisation has however welcomed the call by the US for free, fair
and peaceful elections in Nigeria.
The organisation, in a statement by
its Director, Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it fully
identified with Washington’s appeal to political parties to ensure
credible polls.
According to the statement, the Jonathan
administration and all responsible politicians should support the
objectives of free, fair and peaceful polls as advocated by the US
government.
The statement read in part, “He(Kerry)
explained that the US and other members of the international community
should not leave the Jonathan administration to its devices or whims and
caprices, adding that the government must be held to these commitments
to avoid any hanky-panky during the elections.
“On the US threat to deny visa to
politicians that engage in electoral violence and malpractices, the APC
Campaign organisation said it fully endorsed the measure to serve as a
deterrent and give credibility to Nigeria’s democracy and electoral
system.”
I can’t fight corruption by jailing people, Jonathan insists
Meanwhile, Jonathan has insisted that he will not fight corruption by jailing people.
He, however, stated that he would build a system that would block people’s direct access to funds.
The President said this at a corporate forum titled, ‘An Evening with Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan’ in Lagos on Sunday.
He said even if five million Nigerians
were thrown into jail for corruption, graft would still continue if the
system was porous.
He said, “People always say government
is not fighting corruption but our position is very clear. We are
fighting corruption and our position is that fighting corruption is not
all about jailing people and showing them on television sets.
“In this country, we never had armed
robbery until the civil war when small arms were being used. Initially,
armed robbers were being shot in public and later in secret. But it
did not stop armed robbery; so our commitment is in the British law
system that states that it is better for nine criminals to go free than
for one innocent person to suffer undue punishment. In that case, the
concept of beyond reasonable doubt is always difficult to prove in
corrupt cases and that is why they even accuse the EFCC (Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission) of going for plea bargain.
“In the area of arrest, the EFCC has
prosecuted more people and has secured more convictions than before but
even if you prosecute 10 million Nigerians and convict five million, it
will not stop corruption. Yes, you are fighting corruption which must
continue but the most important thing is to block those avenues that
corruption can occur.”
The President also promised to bring the fight against insurgency to an end if re-elected.
Earlier, many of his key ministers had spoken about the administration’s achievements.
For instance, the Minister of Finance,
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the recent rebasing of the GDP showed that
the Jonathan administration had actually diversified the economy better
than its predecessors.
Okonjo-Iweala, however, warned that
there would be tough days ahead but maintained that the diversification
of the economy would cushion the drop in the price of crude oil.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources,
Diezani Alison-Madueke, said there had been giant strides in the oil
sector but lamented that pipeline vandalism was affecting both oil
production and revenue.
She said over 60,000 barrels of crude were still being lost to the act daily.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Dangote
Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the economy should be diversified such
that oil would constitute only about 40 per cent of the nation’s
revenue.
Dangote, who called on the government to
ensure job creation, said it was unfortunate that within 90 days the
price of oil went from $110 per barrel to less than $50.
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