President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday said that there was
no on-going dialogue between the Federal Government and the Islamic insurgent
group, Boko Haram, and it is not likely that there would be any for as long as
they continue their bombing campaigns, and remain faceless.
The President, who was answering questions from a panel of editors during a Presidential media Chat broadcast live on national television and relayed on radio stations, on the issue of Boko Haram and the condition given to the Federal Government by the group for negotiation and ceasefire, said it was media reports that suggested there was an ongoing dialogue between the government and the group.
He said that since Boko Haram was still killing and bombing in different parts of the country, it only meant that there was no discussion going on between it and the Federal Government.
He said, “Presently, the government is not in dialogue with Boko Haram. There is no dialogue with any group. Though there was a news item that there is dialogue. The Boko Haram is still operating under cover. They have no face. There is no way you are going to negotiate without a face. So far, nobody is discussing with the government, so far, no dialogue.”
He, however, also ruled out the use of maximum force against Boko Haram, as was done in Odi, Rivers State by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Explaining why he would not opt for the Odi treatment, as recently suggested by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Jonathan said the invasion of the Rivers community then led only to the killing of old men, old women and children, while none of the militants whose cold blooded murder of 12 police officers led to the invasion, was killed.
The President, who was Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State then when the Odi incident happened, said after the invasion, himself and his then boss visited the community, saying “we entered houses and saw some dead people... most of the people that died were old men, old women and children. None of those militants was killed. None.”
He said if the attack on Odi had solved the problem of militancy in the Niger Delta, “then the Yar'Adua government, in which I also had the privilege of being Vice President, wouldn't have come up with the Amnesty programme. This is to tell you that the attack on Odi couldn't have solved the militancy problem.” He also noted that the Odi invasion attracted international condemnation.
The President asked Nigerians to give him up till 2014 before raising questions on whether he would run for a second term or not.
He expressed optimism that the future of the country remained bright, insisting that despite the security challenges, which he described as the biggest problem facing the country now, Nigerians would in May 2015 acknowledge that “Jonathan and his team have done well”.
The president was also very clear that contrary to the impressions created all over the world that his government has not been fighting corruption, his government has indeed been very strong in the fight against corruption.
He said that there was no other government in the history of the country that has fought corruption the way his administration has done, adding that his administration has fought corruption in the area of political corruption by sanitising the electoral process; in the area of breaking the fertiliser racketeering and now the fight in the oil sector.
He said that his government would continue to fight corruption but will not rush at certain key issues because according to him, “it is better slow than to make mistakes along the way”.
The president said, “I believe that the effort this government has put in terms of fighting corruption, I don’t think any other person has done that. It is an issue of perception and I have always said that perception is different from reality. I am not saying that there are not elements of corruption.
We have done very well in terms of fighting corruption but there is the issue of perception. If today somebody is driving on the road and has an accident, they will say it is because of corruption, possibly there is a pot hole somewhere, and that is why he had an accident.
But I tell you, in most of the studies that we have conducted, you find out that corruption probably gets 10 per cent of the votes as our problem. “Corruption is there. We are fighting it and we will continue to fight corruption.
This government has tried to fight corruption associated with election - mammoth, we sanitised it; corruption involving fertiliser - enormous, we sanitised it. We are now going into the oil sector. We are working on that now.”
Jonathan also stated that he was long aware that there was massive corruption in the oil industry as he had on assumption of office as the president told the then Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga to source for the best auditors from around the globe to audit the country’s oil industry.
The president also said that he has not said that there is going to be total deregulation of the oil sector soon. Rather, he said that he was responding to a question that there were 60 refineries in Canada, while Nigeria had only four. He said the refineries in Canada were privately owned but a controlled under certain guidelines by regulation agencies of the public sector.
“I did not say that we are going to deregulate it. Already we have provisions in the 2013 budget. If we want to remove subsidy from January as you are fearing, we couldn’t have made provision for it in the budget, but we have made provision from January to December.
But all what we are saying is that if we are to get to that level of Canada that the student talked about, then the system that operates in Canada which is basically private sector driven, you have to adopt that in Nigeria. But if you don’t do that it is difficult for you to attain that level”.
Jonathan, however, added that he did not know the real reasons for the fuel scarcity, but said that it was not un connected with the massive investigation that are ongoing in the oil sector. He stated that it was also difficult to have private licensees operate refineries in Nigeria because of the subsidy issue. He said the ongoing probe in the oil industry could manifest in different ways. But he said that as soon as the investigations were over, the queues will disappear.
Jonathan, while answering a question on the state of affairs of his party the PDP, in the light of the electoral loss in Edo, Imo and Ondo states, said it was dangerous for democracy if the PDP wins everywhere in the country. He said it was not in the best interest of democracy and Nigeria, if the PDP wins every election conducted, even as he made excuses that the PDP faced incumbent governors in Edo and Ondo states.
He said that as the president of the country, he believed that the country should stick to the constitution even in the amendment of the constitution.
Asked if he will run for a second term, Jonathan said, “Before you ask me if the president will contest again, give us up to 2014”. He said that was necessary in order not to divert the attention from governance.
On road infrastructure, President Jonathan said his administration has performed creditably well especially with regards to the Lagos/ Benin and Ore Express Road. He submitted that massive rehabilitations have gone into the road network and more is still being done to ensure that Nigerians and commuters enjoy a smooth ride.
He, however, expressed reservations on the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway concessioned to Bi Courtney Company Limited. He faulted the transaction and concluded that the company cannot handle the project and as such, the executive council will soon intervene.
The President added that the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway is the busiest in the country and as such requires more than perfunctory repairs but an aggressive one which of course, the present company cannot handle.
The President, who was answering questions from a panel of editors during a Presidential media Chat broadcast live on national television and relayed on radio stations, on the issue of Boko Haram and the condition given to the Federal Government by the group for negotiation and ceasefire, said it was media reports that suggested there was an ongoing dialogue between the government and the group.
He said that since Boko Haram was still killing and bombing in different parts of the country, it only meant that there was no discussion going on between it and the Federal Government.
He said, “Presently, the government is not in dialogue with Boko Haram. There is no dialogue with any group. Though there was a news item that there is dialogue. The Boko Haram is still operating under cover. They have no face. There is no way you are going to negotiate without a face. So far, nobody is discussing with the government, so far, no dialogue.”
He, however, also ruled out the use of maximum force against Boko Haram, as was done in Odi, Rivers State by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Explaining why he would not opt for the Odi treatment, as recently suggested by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Jonathan said the invasion of the Rivers community then led only to the killing of old men, old women and children, while none of the militants whose cold blooded murder of 12 police officers led to the invasion, was killed.
The President, who was Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State then when the Odi incident happened, said after the invasion, himself and his then boss visited the community, saying “we entered houses and saw some dead people... most of the people that died were old men, old women and children. None of those militants was killed. None.”
He said if the attack on Odi had solved the problem of militancy in the Niger Delta, “then the Yar'Adua government, in which I also had the privilege of being Vice President, wouldn't have come up with the Amnesty programme. This is to tell you that the attack on Odi couldn't have solved the militancy problem.” He also noted that the Odi invasion attracted international condemnation.
The President asked Nigerians to give him up till 2014 before raising questions on whether he would run for a second term or not.
He expressed optimism that the future of the country remained bright, insisting that despite the security challenges, which he described as the biggest problem facing the country now, Nigerians would in May 2015 acknowledge that “Jonathan and his team have done well”.
The president was also very clear that contrary to the impressions created all over the world that his government has not been fighting corruption, his government has indeed been very strong in the fight against corruption.
He said that there was no other government in the history of the country that has fought corruption the way his administration has done, adding that his administration has fought corruption in the area of political corruption by sanitising the electoral process; in the area of breaking the fertiliser racketeering and now the fight in the oil sector.
He said that his government would continue to fight corruption but will not rush at certain key issues because according to him, “it is better slow than to make mistakes along the way”.
The president said, “I believe that the effort this government has put in terms of fighting corruption, I don’t think any other person has done that. It is an issue of perception and I have always said that perception is different from reality. I am not saying that there are not elements of corruption.
We have done very well in terms of fighting corruption but there is the issue of perception. If today somebody is driving on the road and has an accident, they will say it is because of corruption, possibly there is a pot hole somewhere, and that is why he had an accident.
But I tell you, in most of the studies that we have conducted, you find out that corruption probably gets 10 per cent of the votes as our problem. “Corruption is there. We are fighting it and we will continue to fight corruption.
This government has tried to fight corruption associated with election - mammoth, we sanitised it; corruption involving fertiliser - enormous, we sanitised it. We are now going into the oil sector. We are working on that now.”
Jonathan also stated that he was long aware that there was massive corruption in the oil industry as he had on assumption of office as the president told the then Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga to source for the best auditors from around the globe to audit the country’s oil industry.
The president also said that he has not said that there is going to be total deregulation of the oil sector soon. Rather, he said that he was responding to a question that there were 60 refineries in Canada, while Nigeria had only four. He said the refineries in Canada were privately owned but a controlled under certain guidelines by regulation agencies of the public sector.
“I did not say that we are going to deregulate it. Already we have provisions in the 2013 budget. If we want to remove subsidy from January as you are fearing, we couldn’t have made provision for it in the budget, but we have made provision from January to December.
But all what we are saying is that if we are to get to that level of Canada that the student talked about, then the system that operates in Canada which is basically private sector driven, you have to adopt that in Nigeria. But if you don’t do that it is difficult for you to attain that level”.
Jonathan, however, added that he did not know the real reasons for the fuel scarcity, but said that it was not un connected with the massive investigation that are ongoing in the oil sector. He stated that it was also difficult to have private licensees operate refineries in Nigeria because of the subsidy issue. He said the ongoing probe in the oil industry could manifest in different ways. But he said that as soon as the investigations were over, the queues will disappear.
Jonathan, while answering a question on the state of affairs of his party the PDP, in the light of the electoral loss in Edo, Imo and Ondo states, said it was dangerous for democracy if the PDP wins everywhere in the country. He said it was not in the best interest of democracy and Nigeria, if the PDP wins every election conducted, even as he made excuses that the PDP faced incumbent governors in Edo and Ondo states.
He said that as the president of the country, he believed that the country should stick to the constitution even in the amendment of the constitution.
Asked if he will run for a second term, Jonathan said, “Before you ask me if the president will contest again, give us up to 2014”. He said that was necessary in order not to divert the attention from governance.
On road infrastructure, President Jonathan said his administration has performed creditably well especially with regards to the Lagos/ Benin and Ore Express Road. He submitted that massive rehabilitations have gone into the road network and more is still being done to ensure that Nigerians and commuters enjoy a smooth ride.
He, however, expressed reservations on the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway concessioned to Bi Courtney Company Limited. He faulted the transaction and concluded that the company cannot handle the project and as such, the executive council will soon intervene.
The President added that the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway is the busiest in the country and as such requires more than perfunctory repairs but an aggressive one which of course, the present company cannot handle.
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