Newspaper Roundup 30/06/15: Buhari Really Pissed With Saraki and US Diplomat Jerks Around With Nigeria

National Economic Council accuses former Minister of Finance and coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Okonjo Iweala of spending the whooping sum of $2.1b from the ECA without authorization.
This statement was taken from The Punch.
"We looked at the numbers for the Excess Crude Account. The last time the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reported to the council, and it is in the minutes, she reported by November 2014 that we had $4.1 bn."
Consequently, the Federal Government has constituted Oshiomhole, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel; and Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, into a panel to probe the NNPC and the ECA between 2012 and May, 2015.
The Punch reports that the President is not happy with Saraki and Dogara for flaying Party rules in appointing key officers in the NASS. Quoting an APC chieftain,
'He said the President was in support of the candidacy of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the senate presidency and had told Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to support APC's candidates for the principal posts.
"The President has refused to see Saraki and Dogara since they emerged as senate president and speaker respectively. You can see that the President has seen the Lawan group; this shows where his support lies,"
This certainly contradicts the notion being sold during that rancous NASS election period that Buhari being pro-democracy is not willing to interfere with the politics of the legislators. Heck, the president even called to congratulate Saraki and co after their victory.
All Progressive Congress insists on removal of Ekweremadu as deputy speaker to ensure performance. This was taken from The Punch this morning.
"Ekweremadu and his PDP co-travellers will hamper the policies of the Buhari government. By the virtue of Senate rules, a member of the minority is not supposed to be the deputy senate leader; so, he is occupying the post illegally.
"We know the body language of some of these elements to anti-corruption. Nigerians know the stance of Buhari on corruption and insecurity. These elements occupying positions in the National Assembly must be removed. Otherwise, this administration is dead on arrival."
So people, if God forbid, this adminstration of change fails, it will be because of Ekweremadu and his PDP co-travellers.
The pioneer Executive Secretary of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and immediate past Executive Secretary of Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Dr. Oluwole Oluleye has Revealed why the Obasanjo administration was regularly hiking the price of petrol. This excerpt was taken from Thisday newspaper.
"Under the civilian administration of former Obasanjo, the price of petrol was adjusted seven times. Oluleye stated that Obasanjo reviewed the prices upward regularly to ensure that the subsidy bill was sustainable.
According to him, the subsidy claims rose from less than N300 billion when he was the Executive Secretary of PPPRA to the current figures of over N1 trillion because the government did not increase the price of petrol from 2007 when Obasanjo left to 2012."
Also from Thisday, the Debt Management Office says our foreign debt stands at $9.4bn. Read the breakdown.
On The Nation, Raymond Mordi writes a deserving farewell report on the outgoing INEC boss, Prof. Atahiru Jega.
"AFTER serving his five- year tenure meritoriously , the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ), Prof . Attahiru Jega , is bowing out on a blaze of glory. When former President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Jega as the Chairman of INEC in June, 2010, it was borne out of the conviction that he was found worthy of a position that had a history of lacking in men that live up to the creed such an office demands— unimpeachable integrity and being a consistent stickler for truth".
Finally, here is something to ponder upon about how western residents of Nigeria feels about their stay in the country.
Olukorede Yishau of The Nation had an interview with Jeffrey Hawkins who will next month bow out of Nigeria as the United States Consul-General and Hawkins had this to say about the challenges he faced in Nigeria.
"Nigerians that move to the United States tend to do very well and Americans here have challenges and issues… but diplomats who have served here tend to have a good memory".
In other words, Nigerians go to the US and have a good life while Americans who come to Nigeria only have challenges and issues except they are diplomats who live in the American Embassy. Seriously, fuck you Hawkins.