Jonathan: We’ve done things we shouldn’t have done

 President Goodluck Jonathan

Outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan has asked for forgiveness from Nigerians hurt directly or indirectly by his actions during his tenure as Vice- President, acting President and President.

He explained to worshippers at a farewell service organised   in his honour   at the Aso Villa Chapel in Abuja on Sunday, that those actions were not deliberately done.

Jonathan pointed out that there were times one would take a decision in the best interest of all but friends and associates might not understand why.

The President said, “Nothing is perfect; if you wait for perfection, you cannot achieve anything. No system is perfect. Every human system has an element of imperfection.

“So, for the eight years that I have been here as Vice-President, acting President and President, I can say that no one is perfect.

“We have done certain things that probably we shouldn’t have done, but we didn’t do them deliberately.

“So, for those that we offended, it was not deliberate; it was as a result of the exigencies of the office.

“We plead that such people should forgive us; I think we have done our best. You may do your own best and your friends and associates may misunderstand you.”

Jonathan thanked God and those who stood by him and his family in the last eight years, saying he had every reason to be thankful.

While admitting that public office holders have different roles, the President said no head of government, be it at the national or sub- regional levels, could do everything.

He however said it was normal for office holders to set and achieve targets so that their tenure would be remembered.

Jonathan recalled that when he was the governor of Bayelsa State, his target was to construct two bridges in the state annually.

But he said   that that dream was cut short when he was nominated as the vice presidential candidate of the then Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Umaru Yar’Adua (late).

The President said although he was leaving as President and his wife as the First Lady, they would not leave members of the Aso Rock Chapel who were relentless in praying for them.

Jonathan added, “I believe some of you may even come closer and even do more meaningful things together when we leave office.

“The office is quite challenging; some of you may desire to see us but I believe that as we move forward, things will get better.

“I don’t   believe that it is only in government that one can do things; outside it (government), you can do a lot.

“The richest people in the world don’t even serve in government. (Aliko) Dangote has never been in government, yet he is doing so much.

“Bill Gates too has never been in government, yet he is the richest man in the world. So outside government, a lot of things happen; It is for us to be committed and be focused.

Joyful atmosphere pervaded the chapel during   the service which was the last time Jonathan and his family would be worshipping there (chapel) before May 29.

There will not be service at the chapel on May 24 because of an   interdenominational service to commemorate the nation’s Democracy Day at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

Colourfully-dressed chapel members, friends and associates of Jonathan and his family as well as top government officials turned out en masse to wish them well.

The chapel committee and   the children presented gifts to Jonathan, his wife, Patience, and his mother, Eunice.

The President later led his family members to dance at the altar for a special thanksgiving to express gratitude to God for being with them in the last five years.

The President’s Chaplain, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba, in a short message titled, “To God be the Glory” thanked God for keeping the Jonathan family safe throughout their stay in the Presidential Villa.

Mrs. Jonathan read the first lesson of the service from Numbers 6:22-27 while the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission,   John Kennedy-Okpara, read the second lesson from 2 Chorinthians 13:11-14.

The service featured special presentation by the children, presentation by the chapel committee and   special prayers for the nation.

A five-year-old girl, Juliet Ishola of the children church, stole the show with a memory verse taken from 1 Timothy 6: 6-7.

She got a standing ovation   from the congregation when after reading the verse, she turned to Jonathan and said, “For emphasis, I will take verse 7 of I Timothy chapter 6 again which says “For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we will not take anything away.”

Juliet went on to tell the President, “You seem to understand this verse more than all of us by your reaction to the results of the 2015 presidential election.

“God bless you sir for allowing peace to reign in the country.”

Osinbajo fails to take over chapel

However, the expectation that   Jonathan would formally hand over the chapel to the Vice President-elect, Yemi Osinbajo, on Sunday did not materialise.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was said to have handed over the worship centre to Jonathan   as the Vice President since the then   President-elect(Yar’Adua) was a Muslim.

The same process would have taken place on Sunday but for Osinbajo’s absence.

Onwuzurumba later confirmed to State House correspondents that the handover process was part of the programme packaged for the day.

He said it could not be done because the President-elect did not attend the service in person.

“We actually invited the President-elect for the handing over of the chapel but for one reason or the other, he was absent.

“But he   was represented in the service by a regional pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The handover will be done later.”

Pastor Emmanuel Ibitaye from the RCCG was one of the guests recognised during the service but he was not introduced as Osinbajo’s representative.

Among the prominent persons who attended the service were   Peter Obi,   Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, members of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council as well as heads of government agencies and parastatals.

APC disowns ministerial list

Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The All Progressives Congress on Sunday dismissed as mere fiction, a list of ministers being circulated by some online journalists.

According to the APC, the party has nothing to do with the said list and urged Nigerians to wait for the authentic one which would be made public through the appropriate channels.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja.

Mohammed said, “Nigerians should disregard these lists and await the authentic list which will be communicated through the appropriate channels at the right time.”

The APC also cautioned the media against using statements attributing actions to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, without clarification.

The party urged the media to clarify with the authentic officials of the party and the Buhari Campaign Organisation any issue having to do with the actions of the President-elect, in order to avoid presenting falsehood as facts.

APC said, “The appeal becomes necessary following recent media reports on the actions which the President-elect will purportedly embark upon once he is sworn into office.

“Various people have been quoted in the media on what the President-elect will do or will not do once he assumes office.

“The truth is that these people do not speak for the President-elect, hence the need for the media to clarify such issues with the Chairman of the party, its National Publicity Secretary or the spokesman for the Buhari Campaign Organisation. These officials are always available to clarify issues.”

The party noted that the ongoing transition is a delicate period that fifth columnists could capitalise on to cause disaffection or overheat the polity, hence the need for all stakeholders to be extra-cautious and to put the national interest above all other interests.

Nigeria is broke, Amaechi insists

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi

The Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has again declared that Nigeria is broke and blamed the inability of the state and others to pay workers’ salaries and pensions on the nation’s current poor financial condition.

Amaechi said that the nation’s economic condition could be noticed through the dwindling statutory monthly allocation usually received by the state from the Federal Government.

Speaking during a thanksgiving service organised by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and his campaign outfit, the Greater Campaign Organisation in Port Harcourt on Sunday, the governor recalled that he was described as an alarmist last year when he cried out over Nigeria’s poor financial state.

Amaechi pointed out that the nation’s economy had continued to fall since he made the statement in December 2014.

“When I said sometime last year that Nigeria’s finances was in a dire strait, some people referred to me as an alarmist. Since I made that statement in December last year, the statutory allocation to the state has continued to decline.

“Now, almost all the states are finding it difficult to pay salaries. The state government owes civil servants their April salaries and pensioners’ four months’ salary arrears because the state does not have the money to pay them,” the governor said.

Amaechi explained that he decided to channel financial resources towards the completion of ongoing projects, which he promised would be completed before the end of his administration on May 29, 2015.

He said, “Some people have chosen to make an issue of the difficulty we are currently experiencing in paying the salaries of civil servants as well as the arrears of our retirees. It is not our making.

“No government will deliberately refuse to pay the salaries of its workers. We will pay as soon as we receive our share of our statutory monthly allocation from the Federal Government.

“It is not easy to joggle the payment of salaries and the implementation of capital projects that are actually geared towards developing the state, creating jobs and improving the economy of the state because more monies go into the society when you award contracts and pay the contractors on time so that they can also pay their workers on time.”

We’re open to merger, says PDP

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh

The Peoples Democratic Party has said that it is not contemplating a change of identity, noting that the vision of its founding fathers remains timeless.

The party also said it was open to merging with other political parties and associations that shared its ideals.

The party insisted that it was still a national political party with the strength and spread to regain pre-eminence, despite losing control of the Federal Government and some states in the last general elections.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on Sunday, said that “having been the guardian of Nigerian democracy for 16 years during which it nurtured and blossomed democratic governance as well as etched its name in the pantheon of good governance, the PDP will not in the circumstance of ephemeral loss of power change its identity or its time-honoured characteristic values.”

The party said though it was committed to its present structures, it would not close its doors to other political parties wishing to be assimilated into its fold as the best vehicle for the fulfillment of political aspirations of all Nigerians regardless of tribe and religion.

It said, “We have a name, tradition and values. Sixteen fruitful years as the guardian of Nigerian democracy cannot be nullified by the reason of a temporary setback. We shall rise beyond all and regain our rhythm.

“Our colour remains green, white and red and power still belongs to the people. And to assert that we are proud of the successes of our successive leaders in taking Nigeria to its present height is an understatement, which the passage of the next four years under the All Progressives Congress will certainly prove.”

The party added that the fact that it was going into opposition would not mitigate its ability as the flagship of democracy, maintaining that it would soar higher in providing credible alternative as a constructive opposition, “far removed from the wrathful destruction that the APC lived thus far.”

I was flown out for surgery during campaigns –Patience Jonathan

Mrs. Patience Jonathan

Wife of the President,   Patience Jonathan, on Sunday disclosed that she battled with another round of ill-health   during the re-election campaigns of her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mrs Jonathan, who was flown abroad about two years ago on health grounds, said the latest   was so severe   that she had to be sneaked out of the country to Germany in January for a   major surgery.

She spoke during a farewell service in honour of the Jonathan family at the Aso Villa Chapel.

The President’s wife said before she left the German hospital after the operation, she was billed for another in a bigger hospital immediately after the elections but that God miraculously healed her.

She said after her husband lost his re-election bid, she returned to Germany for the surgery.

According to her, she was about to be taken into the theatre when doctors decided to carry out another round of checks on her.

Like her previous health challenge about two years ago,   Mrs. Jonathan   did not disclose the nature of the last ailment.

She said, “During the   last campaign period, the devil struck   again. I was in pain and was rushed to the hospital in January and the doctors told me, ‘mama, you have to go for a major operation now now.’

“What again? I asked. The campaign was still going on and I wondered how we were going to explain to Nigerians.

“You know that even when you go for medical check-up, they will be writing in newspapers, saying all sorts of things.

“I said my husband will continue with his campaign until the last day. That was how I went in for the first major operation (surgery) in the end of January.

“By God’s grace, I went for the operation (surgery) and came out. On my return from there,   I went straight to the campaign ground.

“They said to me when I was leaving the hospital: ‘mama, there is another bigger operation that you have to go in for again. This one will not be in this hospital. This hospital is too small for the type of operation you need when you come back. You have to go to a bigger hospital.’

“I said ‘ha! while   will you tear   my body again after I had done 12   operations within one month last year?

“I said my God will see me through because he created me for a purpose. I told my prayer partner to continue praying for me. I said to myself that I will never be used   for a sacrifice.

“I was booked for the operation in a bigger hospital and I was asked to go back to Nigeria and return after the campaign. They gave me a date. When I went back, I paid for everything and just when I was   to be taken into the theatre, the doctors   said, ‘let’s check her again.’

“By then, my husband had lost the election. I had packed out of the Villa. Behold! I went to four hospitals again and the thing was said to have vanished. My doctors were surprised; they didn’t believe that that could happen.”

Mrs. Jonathan recalled that many people thought it had ended for her when she went through 12 surgeries about two years ago.

She said although she was “dead,” God sent her back to complete her work.

But the President’s wife added that her husband’s electoral loss was an indication to her that she had completed the work given her by God.

She said, “I thank God for keeping me alive today. God is so wonderful. Just two years ago, I went through operations upon operations. Within one month, I passed through 12 operations.

“Some people said I was dead, yes, I was dead but God resurrected me.

“God told me, ‘my daughter, go back, I will give you a second chance, go and finish your work.’

“And since my husband lost the election, I believe God has made me to finish the work.”

Mrs. Jonathan said she would forever remain thankful to God because many people had prophesied that either her or the President would not leave the Presidential Villa alive.

She recalled that that was what happened in the case of Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who died while her husband was still in office.

She said it was gladdening that she and her husband would be leaving the Villa on May 29 hale and hearty.

Mrs. Jonathan said she would continue to thank God for His mercies because she never dreamt of becoming a wife of a deputy governor much less of a President’s wife.

She   said, “I never thought in my life that I will be First Lady. I never dreamt of being the wife of a deputy governor because my husband was not a politician. But God made it possible and God lifted us up from deputy governorship position and here we are.

“We should be grateful to God for what he has done. To me and my family, we praise God.

“To our followers, today, it might not be too good but I want them to be grateful to God because they have followed us for a long time from deputy governor, governor, Vice President to President.

“You know that no position is for a life- time. There is no permanent thing so I want you to take it in good faith that it is the will of God. You should be praising God. God is really wonderful.”

Mrs. Jonathan disclosed that some unnamed persons had been visiting her since the March 28 presidential election with the hope that they would meet her in a mourning mood.

Thereafter, Mrs. Jonathan danced forward for a special thanksgiving to God for sparing her life throughout their stay in the Villa despite her sickness.

ISIL seizes control of Iraq’s Ramadi

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group have overrun one of the last remaining districts held by government forces in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, security officials have said.

Iraqi special forces soldiers were reported to be fleeing the city on Sunday as the armed group succeeded in breaching their last holdout.

The armed group had earlier made significant gains in its battle to control Ramadi, besieging the army base and killing 15 soldiers in multiple suicide car bomb attacks.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Baghdad, said government officials had requested reinforcements from Shia factions in response to the ISIL advance, a move that could provoke opposition from the government’s Sunni tribal allies.

“There are many influential tribes in Anbar who have warned against this decision for some time now,” Khodr said.

The involvement of Shia militias has been condemned by leading tribal figure, Sheikh Ali al-Hatim, who said it would be considered an “Iranian occupation”.

N/Assembly management asks lawmakers to vacate offices today

National Assembly building, Abuja

The National Assembly bureaucracy has asked members of the House of Representatives to pack all their personal belongings out of their offices latest Monday, May 18 (today), with just 17 days to the end of their tenure.

Findings by The PUNCH on Sunday showed that an internal memo from the management conveyed the directive to the 360 outgoing lawmakers.

Senior legislative aides and other non-civil service members of staff in the lawmakers’ offices reportedly received a similar memo.

“They started receiving the memo on Wednesday last week, specifically asking them to move their personal effects out of the offices by May 18 (today).

“Many of them actually started complying almost immediately, particularly members who are not coming back to be part of the 8th Assembly.

“I have seen a couple of lawmakers’ aides moving personal property out of the offices since the memo came in,” a National Assembly source informed The PUNCH in Abuja on Sunday.

More than 233 of the current members will be out of the House by June 5, though the memo was addressed to both returning and non-returning ones.

One official, who did not want to be named, claimed that the directive was “procedural” and meant to prepare the offices for re-allocation in the weeks ahead.

The official explained, “We have to prepare the offices because there is a lot of work ahead to be done.

“We are welcoming a new House. Most of the offices will be re-allocated. The name tags will change. Some ranking members will have to change offices.

“The same thing will apply to the sitting arrangements in the chambers. If we don’t start work now, we will not meet up with the schedule before the inauguration of the 8th Assembly.”

The official added that, “with or without memo,” it was expected that members would start moving their belongings out of the offices since the tenure was over.

When contacted, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, confirmed knowledge of the memo, but he dismissed it as “nothing serious.”

He said, “That one (memo) is nothing serious. I think it has to do with some renovations or repairs that they have to do in some of the offices.

“It is just to say, ‘give some space for the repairs’, a normal thing that happens.”

I won’t share govt money to anybody – el-Rufai

Nasir el-Rufai

The Kaduna State Governor-elect, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, says it will be a wishful thinking for anybody to believe that he will share public fund to individuals or groups in the state after May 29.

He said his administration would not condone the sharing of public funds to anybody in the name of godfather or group, no matter how highly placed.

Rather than doing that, el-Rufai said the state resources would be judiously utilised for the development of the state and the people.

This was just as the governor-elect said that the debt profile of the state would run into N100bn before the May 29 hand over date.

El-Rufai noted that as the administration of the Peoples Democratic Party ended in May, both at the federal and state levels, what both the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari and himself needed was prayers from Nigerians to succeed.

The former Minister of the FCT added that the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and that of Governor Mukhtar Yero had become so bad that they had to obtain loans to pay salaries.

According to el-Rufai, Nigerians should stop congratulating him and the President-elect but should rather pity them and pray for them to succeed because of the “bankrupt economy” they would inherit.

El-Rufai spoke at a reception organised for him by the Kaduna Peoples Association at the Arewa House, Kaduna on Saturday.

The governor-elect , who told the gathering that the state, led by Yero, had incurred N90bn debt, noted that before the May 29 hand over date, the debt might increase to N100bn.

Meanwhile, at a prayer session for them by the APC Yoruba Political Forum in Kaduna State on Saturday, el-Rufai insisted that the incoming government needed nothing but prayers from Nigerians.

The governor-elect said, “When people call to congratulate me or come to congratulate me and General Buhari, I always tell them, thank you, but what we need is your sympathy and prayers.

“This is because, myself and Buhari are taking over bankrupt governments; it is so bad that the Jonathan administration is finding it difficult to pay salaries. In fact, they had to obtain loan to pay salaries.

“In the case of Kaduna State, the Peoples Democratic Party’s government has incurred debt to the tune of over N90bn and this may get to N100bn before May 29. Therefore, what you have done is exactly what we need to succeed.”

El-Rufai urged other elected officers to strive hard to deliver the dividend of democracy to the electorates.

He warned that if they (elected officers) failed in the discharge of their duties to the people, they would be voted out like the PDP come 2019.

He assured the people that in his administration, there would be no discrimination among indigenes or settlers while noting that the Yoruba community had lived peacefully with their hosts over the years in the state.

My wife is not a model, says Oshiomhole

Gov. Adams Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Sunday said his new wife, Lara, was not a model.

He said he would rather described his new wife as “a model in my heart.”

Oshiomhole, who made this known at a special thanksgiving mass held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Auchi in honour of the new couple, added that Lara was not a replacement for his late wife, Clara.

The mass was attended by the governor’s children – Steve, Jane and Adams (Jnr.); the parents of his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Fortes, as well as other dignitaries.

The governor also debunked media reports that his new wife “is a top model,” a speculation he said might have been generated because of her “poise and beauty.”

“When I read newspaper stories and they say that Comrade has married a ‘top model’ I’m like, ‘Maybe it’s another person.’

“The lady that God has directed to my path and heart to marry is not and was not a model. Of course, she looks beautiful and I understand that is why people assume that this kind of a lady must be a model; but of course, she is a model in my heart and we hope and pray that we will be models in the heart of our God and I think that is the most important thing,” Oshiomhole stated.

He, however, called for prayers from Nigerians to support him and his new wife.

The governor said, “I ask you to please continue to pray for us; it is not easy. I lost my first wife and it is not possible to replace her. Yes, I have married another, but it is not a replacement.

“You cannot replace a wife, especially the one you married when you were young and you were anonymous. Nobody knew you from anywhere; you had nothing; no car, no house. Now, that you can never replace, but I understand that under the Catholic doctrine I am entitled to have another wife which is what I am trying to do.”

Earlier, the parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Valentine Anavbeokhai, in a homily titled, “Communicate the truth in Christ,” had urged Christians “to avoid misrepresenting the truth in their daily communication as they all had an obligation to speak the truth, live the truth and, if the need arose, die for the truth.”

He also blessed the couple and wished them well.