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| Diezeani Alison Madueke - former Petroleum Minister of Nigeria |
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams
Oshiomhole, on Tuesday said he was not surprised by the current travails
of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke, in the United Kingdom given that the nation’s economy
had been badly managed over the years.
Oshiomhole said no average Nigerian
fared better under the ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration
despite the media hype over a reported rebasing of the economy.
The Edo governor spoke with State House
correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said, “For me, I don’t think anybody
should be surprised (about Alison-Madueke’s trial in the UK) because
even the most favourable commentator on the Nigerian condition, the
economy, the polity and the society, agrees that our economy was badly
mismanaged over the years. I have not seen one commentator that
disagrees.
“Even when they talk about rebasing, and
so what? Have you rebased the level of poverty? Have you rebased
prosperity? Have you rebased unemployment? Have you rebased
homelessness? Have you rebased hunger?
“So, I have not seen anyone that says
Nigerian people are doing better. This was never my issue. I was only a
spokesman for the National Economic Council.
“But in this country, when you speak
out, all the arrows would be fashioned to attack you. But one of the
things I learnt in life at the age of 17 when I got into the leadership
of labour is that the truth does not require supporters’ club. It can
stand on its feet any day. You can hit it. You can kick it. You can bomb
it, but you can’t destroy it.”
Oshiomhole said the truth had been that a lot of money was stolen under Jonathan’s watch.
He said the ongoing travails of Alison-Madueke could only be described as a tip of the iceberg.
The governor said, “The truth is that a
lot of money was stolen and what you are seeing is just a tip of the
iceberg because when you imagine what accrued to Nigeria consistently
from $140 (per barrel) averaging $108 over a long period of time and yet
your treasury is empty and you were running a budget deficit.
“You were devoting 85 per cent of your
budget for four consecutive years to recurrent; you were borrowing and
you drew the entire pensions fund.
“Yesterday, I saw a lot of analysis of how pension fund should be invested on infrastructure.
“You challenge PenCom and the Ministry
of Finance, you will discover that over N3.5tn was drawn down by the
previous government from the pension fund to support recurrent
expenditure, not to support infrastructure.
“I wonder why you want to hear it from
me because some of the issues we parrot flow from what we have read from
your electronic media and print media arising from what you have
observed.
“There have been probes, there have been
revelations where whistleblowers have been removed from office, and
they became guilty for speaking out.
“I believe that time will tell how much
was taken and who was involved. I think what you are hearing now is like
appetiser. It is sickening. It used to come from America, now it’s from
Britain.”
When asked if the Federal Government had
a hand in the former minister’s ordeal, Oshiomhole said, “It is not
about who has a hand in what. I think it’s about law and order. In other
climes, institutions do their work. They are not at the beck and call
of the political authority. They have their mandate and the law
specifies this and it is scrupulously followed.”
He said he was the happiest person
concerning the current developments because he had been in government
for seven years without being in power.
He said his happiness was not because of personal benefit alone but also because of the changes he was seeing.
He said, “I am the happiest person
because I have been in government for seven years without being in
power. I was in government; I could not call a commissioner of police
and talk as a chief security officer.
“I was haunted by all manners of
persons. You kill a snake in Edo, they will put the snake on life
support in Abuja and they keep harassing us.
“Now, all that venom is dead and buried.
For the first time, I am excited and happy not just for personal
benefit but for the changes I am beginning to see.
“They have not started scrutinising,
just blocking the holes; it’s no longer flowing like before and so the
propensity to indulge in those conspicuous habit already curbing
themselves.
“People are regaining sanity, human
rationality is returning and the idle class that makes money without
office or business address, whose only address is an iPad and cell phone
with appropriate phone numbers is lamenting and not sure of tomorrow.”
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