Blame Obasanjo, other leaders for Nigeria’s woes — SARAKI

By Henry Umoru & Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—SENATE President, Bukola Saraki, yesterday, responded informally to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to him last week, blaming all past leaders since 1999 for the woes the country is presently facing.

Saraki said rather than blame an individual, all past leaders of the country since the return of democracy in 1999 were culpable of the present economic problems of the country.

He insisted that all public office holders in Nigeria since 1999 , were involved in one way or the other, in the mistakes of the past that led the country to the present political and economic mess.

The Senate  President spoke while responding to questions from journalists on the alleged secrecy of the National Assembly’s budget and corruption leveled against it by former President Obasanjo in a recent letter. He noted that it was wrong for anybody to hold an individual or group of people solely responsible for the mess of the past.
Saraki  said rather than trading blames on the woes afflicting the country now, what was needed from all stakeholders was a collective participation of all for the good of all Nigerian.

He vowed that details of the N115 billion National Assembly budget on section by section basis, would be transparently put into the public domain this year as against the practice of one item in the past.

He said: “We’ve all been here since 1999 up to the recent past when things were not done right; we are all part of it. I was there, you were there, every other political office holder in different capacities were there as well.”

“My own view  from the 8th  National Assembly is that the time for collective participation for the good of all Nigerians is here with us in line with the change mantra of the present administration . We are all on the same page for things to be done differently.

“I think what we need now from all stakeholders , is more of cooperation, encouragement and participation   as oppose to trying to hold one person responsible for the mistakes of the past that we are all part of .It is clearly not the right thing needed now.

“I Appeal to you , appeal to all Nigerians that we should work together just as I assure you all that we will do well here in  NASS  to practically complement the change agenda, ‘’ he said.

Piracy: Armed Attacks From Foreign Fishing Trawlers Spark Violent Protest In Bayelsa

Scores of indigenes from the coastal communities of Middleton, Koluama, Fish town, Akassa, Pennington and Brass in Bayelsa and Rivers States yesterday threatened to engage foreign fishing trawler owners in a bloody clash over alleged armed attacks on local fishermen in the area.
The local fishermen from the aggrieved communities in protest letters to the leadership of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and other security agencies, accused the foreign fishing trawler owners operating on the high sea of indiscriminate gun attacks on local fishermen engaged in fishing activities close to their trawlers.
While the leaders of the aggrieved communities claimed that the gun attacks had led to some fishermen sustaining serious injuries and were unable to fish on the high sea, some concerned indigenes excused the decision by the foreign fishing operators to procure arms and defend themselves alleging that the decision was based on increased armed attacks from pirates and unknown criminal elements from the host communities.
Some of the aggrieved communities accused the Chinese fishing trawler owners of the armed attacks on the indigenes of the communities.
But a source close to some of the foreign operators informed LEADERSHIP that the aggrieved communities have, in the last  few months, become areas for sea pirates to show their abilities on defenseless seafarers by way of forcefully collecting their valuables.

Halliburton, Siemens’ cases not closed —FG

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor
ABUJA — The Federal Government has said that it had not closed any criminal case being investigated in the country, technically raising the potential for some prominent Nigerians implicated in the legendary Siemens and Halliburton scandals to face trial.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, who made the disclosure in an interview with Vanguard in Abuja, also dismissed as untenable the notion that President Muhammadu Buhari was afraid of taking the Halliburton and Siemens cases because the key suspects were top military leaders. Malami was responding to enquiries about the claim that Buhari’s administration had jettisoned the probe into the Halliburton and Siemens corruption scandals, in which Nigeria lost billions of Naira to high-ranking Nigerians who held sway at the time.
Media reports yet to be dispelled by the administration had claimed that the government was afraid to confront the powerful beneficiaries of the scam which had landed other suspects in the United States, Germany and others in jail.
Nigeria is said to have lost over $182 million to the Halliburton corruption case alone.
Malami said Buhari was not a man who could be restrained by fear from doing what was right and in the overall best interest of Nigerians he had sworn to defend and protect from harm’s way.
The minister said those who had jumped to the erroneous conclusion that the major corruption scandals had been swept under the carpet should note that the present administration had zero tolerance for corruption and would, therefore, not close any criminal case.
Extraneous influences
Malami, however, said in tackling the corruption cases, the Federal Government would not be assuaged by what he called ‘extraneous influences’ or action by available prima facie evidence.
Malami said: “The idea of fear does not come in at all as far as this President is concerned in the fight against graft. Don’t forget that whatever Mr. President does is guided by the rule of law and available evidence.
“It must be noted, however, that no extraneous influence can influence our actions as we move to fight corruption in all its ramifications. To be noted also is the clear fact that no criminal case can be closed once the facts are handy regardless of who is involved.”
Buhari has come under criticism for not taking up the two major corruption scandals that predated the Jonathan era. The verbal attack arose out of the decision of Buhari’s administration to limit its probe of corrupt officials to the Jonathan administration.