Public Notice Magazine

Ezekwesili Reiterates Challenge of Federal Government to Debate Transparency and Accountability
Oby Ezekwesili, who at the weekend accused Nigeria’s governments since 2007 of “squandering of the significant sum of $45 Billion in foreign reserve account and another $22Billion in the Excess Crude Account,” today said she remains resolute “in demanding full disclosure and accountability by the Federal Government on the issues of poor management of oil revenues.”
The former World Bank Vice President for Africa made her original remarks during last week’s convocation lecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, following which the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, accused Mrs. Ezekwesili of “misinformation” and “a surprisingly limited understanding of government finances.”
Although Maku made these sweeping statements, he did not provide any substance to his attempted rebuttal of Mrs. Ezekwesili, who was briefly the Minister of Education before her departure for the World Bank.
But Minister Maku did say of Mrs. Ezekwesili that she “collected” N352.3 billion as Minister of Education, suggesting that Ministerial budgets are normally “collected” by Ministers.
“I wish to reassure Nigerians that my integrity and transparent record in public office can never be tarnished by baseless allegations regarding my ten months as Minister of Education,” Mrs. Ezekwesili responded today.
She added: “Citizens who follow Education sector closely will know that the Education Sector budget which the Government spokesperson carelessly referred to represents the consolidated direct budgetary allocation by the National Assembly to the 22 parastatals plus all the Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education in the country. At no time does a sitting Minister of Education have access to the Budgets of statutory bodies under her Ministry.”
During her lecture, Mrs. Ezekwesili said, among others, “Six years after the administration I served handed over such humongous national wealth to another one; most Nigerians but especially the poor continue to suffer the effects of failing public health and education systems as well as decrepit infrastructure and battered institutions. One cannot but ask, what exactly does Nigeria convey with this level of brazen misappropriation of public resources? Where did all that money go? Where is the accountability for the use of both these resources plus the additional several hundred billions of dollars realized from oil sale by the two administrations that have governed our nation in the last six years? How were these resources applied or more appropriately, misapplied? Tragic choices! Yes. Our national dignity continues to be degraded by cycles of stagnation because of the terrible choices my generation and those before repeatedly make as a result of free oil money. The wealth and poverty of a nation never found a better Symbol!"
An apparently startled government, finding itself under such withering assault from a credible international figure, responded through Mr. Maku, who seemed determined only to inflict a personal attack on the speaker. Not once did he focus on the challenge offered by Mrs. Ezekwesili, which is on good governance on the grounds of transparency and accountability.
The former Minister, who was also widely-known for her leadership of the Due Process department in the presidency before she became a Minister, pounced: “I have already asked the Federal Government to a PUBLIC DEBATE of the FACTS raised in my speech,” she said in her response today.
“Such an open debate of facts and figures of oil revenue since 2007 would help situate public accountability as the centerpoint of our democracy. In accepting to publicly debate the questions raised in my speech, the Federal Government would model the democratic culture of responding to citizens' demands for accountability especially at a time when the general public is eager for improvements in the good governance records of the Administration.”
Shying away from the central issue, Mr. Maku merely urged Nigerians to acknowledge the achievements of the government. He did not say what those achievements are.
Nor did he say whether the government will accept the challenge to publicly debate the facts concerning government expenditure of Nigeria’s oil revenues.
In December 2011, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo similarly blasted the Goodluck Jonathan government, saying it had squandered over $35 billion of Nigeria’s foreign reserves since May 2007. The former President said the money may have been “shared.”
Mr. Jonathan has since declared that the only entity that is fighting corruption more than his administration is the United States.

Afcon 2013 SA | FIXTURES
All times CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Saturday 19 January 2013
1 South Africa v Cape Verde Islands National Stadium 18:00
2 Angola v Morocco National Stadium 21:00
Sunday 20 January 2013
3 Ghana v DR Congo Nelson Mandela Bay 17:00
4 Mali v Niger Nelson Mandela Bay 20:00
Monday 21 January 2013
5 Zambia v Ethiopia Mbombela Stadium 17:00
6 Nigeria v Burkina Faso Mbombela Stadium 20:00
Tuesday 22 January 2013
7 Ivory Coast v Togo Royal Bafokeng Stadium 17:00
8 Tunisia v Algeria Royal Bafokeng Stadium 20:00
Wednesday 23 January 2013
9 South Africa v Angola Moses Mabhida Stadium 17:00
10 Morocco v Cape Verde Islands Moses Mabhida Stadium 20:00
Thursday 24 January 2013
11 Ghana v Mali Nelson Mandela Bay 17:00
12 Niger v DR Congo Nelson Mandela Bay 20:00
Friday 25 January 2013
13 Zambia v Nigeria Mbombela Stadium 17:00
14 Burkina Faso v Ethiopia Mbombela Stadium 20:00
Saturday 26 January 2013
15 Ivory Coast v Tunisia Royal Bafokeng Stadium 17:00
16 Algeria v Togo Royal Bafokeng Stadium 20:00
Sunday 27 January 2013
17 Morocco v South Africa Moses Mabhida Stadium 19:00
18 Cape Verde Islands v Angola Nelson Mandela Bay 19:00
Monday 28 January 2013
19 Niger v Ghana Nelson Mandela Bay 19:00
20 DR Congo v Mali Moses Mabhida Stadium 19:00
Tuesday 29 January 2013
21 Burkina Faso v Zambia Mbombela Stadium 19:00
22 Ethiopia v Nigeria Royal Bafokeng Stadium 19:00
Wednesday 30 January 2013
23 Algeria v Ivory Coast Royal Bafokeng Stadium 19:00
24 Togo v Tunisia Mbombela Stadium 19:00

Ronaldinho was spotted crying non-stop on Friday when he received the sad news that his father had died in the hospital after his battle with heart attack. None of his football fans has ever seen the sportsman cry this way before. May his dad’s soul rest in perfect peace. Amen!

First Nigerian troops to reach Mali in 24 hours

ABUJA - The first of a planned 900 Nigerian troops will deploy to Mali in the next 24 hours as part of a UN-mandated African force aimed at helping the country battle Islamists, a defence spokesman said Tuesday.

“The president approved the deployment of a battalion, and in the next 24 hours a company of the battalion will be deployed,” Colonel Mohammed Yerima told journalists. “The remainder will be deployed later.”

He added that Nigeria’s total commitment will be around 900 troops, or 300 more than previously announced. The first company will include 190 personnel, he said.

The planned 3,300-strong African force is to be commanded by a Nigerian, Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir, previously his country’s chief of army standards and evaluation.

Nigeria announced at the weekend that a Nigerian military technical team as well as the commander were already on the ground carrying out support and preparation work.

The country, the continent’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, has the biggest military in 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS, which is organising the African intervention.

France began an air assault against Islamists who control northern Mali last week after the extremists took a key central town and threatened to push further south.

French defence sources said Tuesday that Paris is planning to triple the size of its force in Mali to a total of 2,500 troops.

The Islamists’ advance has raised fears that Mali could become a safe haven for Al Qaeda-linked extremists and criminal gangs, posing risks to the region and beyond.

Meanwhile, west African army chiefs met in Bamako on Tuesday on plans to send the African troops. A summit of west African leaders is also to be held on Saturday.

Since the French air offensive was launched on Friday, the Islamists have fled three key towns under their control: Timbuktu, where residents have suffered some of the worst abuses of the past 10 months, as well as Gao, also in the north, and Douentza in Mali’s centre.

Though driven from their strongholds by French Rafale fighter jets, the Islamists struck back Monday in the government-held south, capturing the small town of Diabaly some 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Bamako.

The African force had not been due to deploy before September, but the Islamists’ advance further south last week, sparking the French assault, led to expedited plans.

Regional countries have since been pledging troops for the force, with most committing 500. Nigeria has so far committed the largest number. (AFP)