Arms probe: Jonathan under attack (Newspaper review)

Nigerian Newspapers on Wednesday, October 26, have focused on the comments by former President Goodluck Jonathan that a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd,), did not steal $2.1bn, amongst other top stories.

Jonathan had stated that it was inconceivable to say that Dasuki stole $2.2bn, contending that his government, where Dasuki served as the NSA, bought warships, aircraft and a lot of equipment for the military during the period.

The former president made this known when he delivered a lecture on Youth Entrepreneurship at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, October 25.

He said that he kept quiet all this while to allow the court to handle the on-going prosecution of the former NSA, so as he would not to be seen as a former president challenging a sitting administration.

READ ALSO: Newspaper Review: NJC talks tough over judges arrests

He also admitted that while it was true that there were some corruption cases during his administration, some of the cases were exaggerated.

However, his remark has been greeted with extreme repugnance by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to a report on The Punch, Timi Frank, the deputy national publicity secretary of the APC, urged Jonathan to assist Dasuki to make his case in court.

Frank said it was not enough for the ex-President to say his former NSA didn’t steal the $2.1bn, but it would be more appropriate to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

He said: “First, I wonder why it took former President Jonathan such a long time to speak out. Why now? If Colonel Dasuki is as clean as he wants us to believe, it would be nice if he can assist his former NSA to prove his case in court.

“The courts deal with evidence; let them prove their case.”

Reacting to Jonathan’s comment, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), said the former president’s position on the controversial arms money was different from information available to Nigerians, especially through the media, Vanguard reports.

Acting Secretary General of TUC, Simeso Amachree, contended that Dr. Jonathan was being economical with words, saying: “From information at our disposal, especially from the media, the former president is being economical with words. It is a matter that should be thoroughly investigated. Everybody involved should be invited for questioning and all efforts should be made to recover the money. Nobody should be spared.

“We are keeping watch on the development and we are insisting that every kobo should be recovered. If the need arises, the former president should be invited to explain how the money was spent. The money does not belong to him. It belongs to the nation and now that the country is in recession, the money would do a lot of good. He should be invited to explain what happened to the money since it was under his watch that the money either got missing or was diverted.”

Still on the corruption war, Ibrahim Magu, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has revealed that they have the mandate to investigate every government official, including ministers, irrespective of political party affiliations, The Sun reports.

Speaking on Tuesday, October 25, Magu said the mandate was part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s measures towards winning the war against corruption, disclosed that, “every government official is under investigation without them knowing it.”

He said this during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the National Union of Textiles and Garment Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), in Kaduna.

However, Magu dispelled insinuations in some quarters that EFCC operations was one-sided in the fight against corruption.

“We have course to investigate; in fact, we are investigating those in government without them knowing. Not only that, the president has given me the mandate to investigate every corrupt Nigerian leader irrespective of his political affiliation. I don’t think we have the monopoly of knowledge to tackle corruption. But, more than that, the fight against corruption is designed and structured to boost confidence in the economy as well as to attract investors both within and outside the country,” Magu added.

Moving away from the anti-corruption war, President Muhammadu Buhari has approached the National Assembly for N180, 839, 254, 430 billion virement from the N500 billion Special Intervention Fund, The Nation reports.

The letter conveying the President’s request, dated October 24, 2016, was read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, October 25. It lists some agencies for which the fund is being sought.

READ ALSO: Drama as Fayose challenges EFCC, Fani-Kayode fumes

Of the cash, N71.8 billion will go to addressing shortfalls in Public Service Wage Adjustment. The Amnesty Programme will get N35 billion.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will get N19.7 billion; Foreign Mission (N14.6 billion), Operation Lafiya Dole (N13.9 billion), Internal Operations of Armed Forces (N5.2 billion) and Margin for Increase in Cost  (N2 billion).

Others include Nigeria Air Force (N12.7 billion), Presidential Initiative for the North East (N1.5 billion), Public Complaint Commission (N1.2 billion), Contingency for Service-Wide Vote (N1.2 billion), Police Academy, Kano, (N9.3 million), Federal Ministry of Education (N900 million), among others.

Of the N180 billion, N166.6 is expected to be drawn for recurrent expenditure. The remaining N14.2 will be for capital expenditure.

Moving on, Nigeria will be increasing its external debt by as much as 150% in the next two years if the National Assembly approves President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to borrow $29.960 billion (about N9.12 trillion) within the period, The Guardian reports.

The president’s request to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, October 25, explained that the N9.12 trillion would help the country tackle its socio-economic challenges.

In a correspondence read by the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara at the plenary session, Buhari explained that the borrowing would span 2016 to 2018 and be used to implement projects across all sectors of the economy.

In the world of sports, out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has held showdown talks with  Blues  manager  Antonio Conte  after being  frozen out of the team by the Italian, Complete Sports reports.

According to the report, Mikel’s competing with the likes of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante for a spot in defensive midfield and the Nigerian’s confirmed he’s spoken to Conte about his frustrations at the club.

He said: “I hope I will get some playing time against West Ham [in the EFL Cup], but it is down to the manager.

“He has been open and honest with me. I respect him for that. He has explained the situation and I totally understand.

“When you have been at a club for a long time, these things happen where a club wants to move forward.

“I just have to be professional, work as hard as I can to try and get into the team. I work twice as hard every day and it’s because I appreciate this club.”

Catch these stories and many more on the pages of your favourite newspapers today, October 26.

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