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It’s Characteristic of Buhari to Blame Others for His Failures, Dogara Fires Back
Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has blasted President Muhammadu Buhari for always blaming people for his personal failings.
Buhari, while speaking, on Monday in an interview broadcast on the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA said “I asked them how they felt to hold the country at ransom for seven months without passing a budget. Unfortunately, they were not hurting me; they were hurting the country. So, really, in terms of patriotism, I think I rated them very low indeed.”
Reacting to the allegations in a statement on Tuesday, Dogara said: “His first budget was the 2016 budget, which was submitted on December 22, 2015, exactly nine days to the end of the fiscal year.
“The minimum time the National Assembly requires to pass a budget is three months. But he presented it just nine days to 2016’ and that ‘what Nigerians didn’t know and the President won’t say is that the Executive through the various ministries continued to propose additional projects to be included in the 2018 budget even as at April and May which further delayed the passage of the 2018 budget. These were communicated officially and if anyone is in doubt, the letters are there with the dates they were written and received. But here’s Buhari blaming the National Assembly.’
“President Muhammadu Buhari a few days ago, in his usual characteristics of self-righteousness, and buck-passing blamed tardiness in the passage of budgets by the National Assembly for the delay in the completion of projects across the country by his government.
“To be precise, the president said, ‘If the National Assembly takes seven months to pass a budget, then we should be commended for the much that we have achieved, and can still achieve. I personally feel very disappointed. I spoke with the leaders of the National Assembly on the issue that seven months is a long time to work on a budget.”
“Even though buck passing and blame game is not new to Buhari as it is now his stock in trade; in the past few days and weeks, there is no day that passes without the President blaming others in a desperate move to exonerate himself from any blame or failure of the Executive under his leadership to execute projects across the country.
“In fact, very recently, Buhari blamed all his predecessors for failing to build infrastructure. And I wonder why? It was the general consensus that the former employees didn’t perform as expected and that was why Nigerians hired him for a job he has sought for four conservative times but here he is blaming the same people he replaced. If you are the boss of ” Nigeria limited”, what will you do this employee?
“Some weeks ago, he even blamed the media for failing to showcase his achievements.
“I’m very disappointed with the Nigerian press. They didn’t give this government the credit of the go back to the land programme,” he said on 26 October. Time and space would not permit me to list all his “blaming”.
“However, it is disingenuous for President Muhammad Buhari to blame the National Assembly for his government’s inability to implement budget and execute projects that affect the lives of Nigerians in the last three years.
“To set the record straight, this is a President who, from the inception of his government didn’t show any sign that he was well prepared and ready for the job he sought for four times in 16 years and for which we voted for him.
“For instance, it took him six months, yes six months not six weeks to form his cabinet. It also took him two years to appoint board chairmen for most government agencies. This was his greatest undoing and was principally responsible for plunging Nigeria into recession because activities in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government were brought to a half for the period since civil servants could not take decisions due to the absence of political heads in a country where public sector spending drives the economy. At a point, he even said he was happily working with civil servants because ministers or politicians were noisemakers because “they are only there to make a lot of noises”, he told a French television station in September 2015.
“Now, after three years, with the election in three months, the President is at it again, exonerating himself from the apparent failure of his government thereby throwing the blame right at the doorstep of the legislature. But facts don’t lie and they could be stubborn and here are the facts.
“Since his assuming office, the president has been unable to present the budget on time. His first budget was the 2016 budget which was submitted on December 22, 2015, exactly nine days to the end of the fiscal year.
“The minimum the National Assembly requires to pass a budget is three months. But he presented it just nine days to 2016.
“Again, the 2017 budget was presented on December 14, 2016, just 17 days to the end of 2016. ‘The earliest he presented budget was on November 7, 2017, which was the 2018 appropriations bill. It was less than two months to the end of the year.
“However, his ministers refused to appear before National Assembly committees to defend the budget for five months thereby delaying the passage.
“It was after the leadership of the National Assembly sought the President’s intervention on March 16, 2018, that the ministers reluctantly appeared before the committees, an exercise that takes at least one month to complete.
“In fact, some of them who felt they were super ministers sent in their permanent secretaries.
“What Nigerians didn’t know and the President won’t say is that the Executive through the various ministries continued to propose additional projects to be included in the 2018 budget even as at April and May which further delayed the passage of the 2018 budget. These were communicated officially and if anyone is in doubt the letters are there with the dates they were written and received. But here’s Buhari blaming the National Assembly.
“Violation of Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 ‘Since the inception of the Buhari administration, it has been in constant violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act which stipulates that budgets should be presented in early September. The wisdom or import of the FRA is that the National Assembly will have at least three full months to work on the budget bill.
“Intact, the Executive admitted its failure and inability to abide by the law on August 24,2018 when former minister of Budget and National Planning, now minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed disclosed that the Federal government will present the 2019 budget in September in a bid to restore the budget circle from January to December but here we are in November without the budget estimates before the lawmakers.
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Fast-growing Lagos-based Entertainment and hospitality hub, Avalanche has announced the birth of its educational arm, The Avalanche Creative Academy.
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The Christmas/End of Year party of the Igbobi College Old Boys Association (ICOBA) was filled with excitement, pomp and pageantry as the 84-86 set celebrated its 40th anniversary of leaving the school.
The highlight of the event was the donation of N20 million from the set’s endowment to serve as a seed fund for the national body’s endowment through the National ICOBA. The donation was received by Mr Femi Banwo, President ICOBA International and Mr Kunle Elebute, Chairman ICOBA National Endowment Committee
The 84-86 set’s Board of Trustees Endowment Committee had established an independent endowment in 2009 with a vision to create a lasting legacy for the set. Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman of the ICOBA 84-86 Board of Trustees and Endowment Committee, Dr. Falil Ayo Abina, expressed his delight, stating that it was a dream come true.
Dr. Abina explained that one of the core lessons learned at Igbobi College was “self-denial.”
He reminisced about the Self-Denial Fund (SDF), where students were taught to contribute their weekly “widow’s mite” to share with the less privileged in society. Dr. Abina emphasized that when the endowment committee conceived the idea of the endowment 15 years ago, they had this legacy in mind, aiming to serve a purpose greater than self.
The donation of N20 million to the national endowment is expected to inspire others within the alumni and other school alumni associations to follow suit.
This generous donation is the first in ICOBA’s history and arguably in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
The 13-member endowment committee, also include Demola Ipaye, Fola Laguda, Gbenga Aina, Demola Oladeinde, Jimi Onanuga, Abayomi Alabi, Kwami Adadevoh, Bayo Ayoade, Tunde Sadare, Wole Ogunbajo, Tunji Akinwummi, and Lanre Olusola, worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality and it was indeed mission accomplished for the ‘Nobles Nigerians ‘ as Igbobians are called.
The recent US presidential election should be praised for its credibility and peaceful conduct. The election serves as a model for Nigeria, highlighting the importance of free, fair and transparent polls, according to the publisher of online platform, Bluefames Media, Mr. Victor Udoh
The US election saw Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, emerge victorious over Democrat, vice president Kamala Harris. Trump secured 270 electoral votes, surpassing Harris’s votes.
While congratulating Trump on his victory, Udoh noted that the election’s smooth process, devoid of issues like ballot box snatching, violence and technical glitches.
In contrast, Nigeria’s electoral process often faces challenges, including delays, vote-buying and disputes over results, he lamented. Udoh emphasized the need for Nigeria to learn from the US example, ensuring credible elections that reflect the will of the people.
He said: “Nigerians and the international community monitored the outcomes of the US election. You could see that the US electoral process demonstrates the value of credible and peaceful elections, which experience Nigeria can draw lessons from to improve its own electoral system.
“By embracing transparency, accountability and peaceful conduct, Nigeria can strengthen its democracy and ensure governance that truly represents the people’s will.”
Udoh, a publicist and motivator, pointed out that learning from the US experience, Nigeria can address its electoral weaknesses and foster a more robust democracy, which in turn, can lead to better governance, economic growth and improved living standards for Nigerians.
“Nigeria must prioritize electoral reform and transparency to ensure that its citizens’ voices are heard and valued,” he stressed.
He, however, warned that “a second Trump term may have significant implications for global issues like dollar value, immigration, energy and geopolitical stability.”
Victor Udoh is the publisher of online platform, Bluefames Media
