ECOLOGICAL FUNDS: EL-RUFAI LASHES OUT AT JONATHAN; SAYS FRM PRESIDENT DOES NOT OWN UP TO RESPONSIBILITIES
Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai is one man who is renowned for taking up bigger opponents in the political space in Nigeria.
As chairman of the National Economic Council interim ad-hoc Committee on Ecological Funds, the Kaduna state governor, while addressing journalists immediately after the meeting, had spoken on the contents of the Interim Report.
"Dr. Jonathan cannot argue with the facts that the payments are in the records of the Ecological Fund. He knowingly engaged in discriminatory disbursement of Federal Funds. The legality of that is open to question, despite the existence of Presidential discretion.
" Thankfully, Dr. Jonathan did not deny that the N2bn payments were skewed to certain states. His mindset in trying to create an equivalence between those payments and Federal support for the Green Wall Projects in some of the northern states can be easily seen as a disingenuous argument."
“Dr. Jonathan claimed El-Rufai is a liar, quoting sources that did not once mention any lie that can be attributed to him. One of El-Rufai’s identified weakness in the Nigerian political space is his bluntness and fidelity to principles. Even his enemies admit that grudgingly about him"
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai will not allow Dr. Jonathan to make him the issue when the criteria the former president used in allocating N2bn each to allied state governments remain so murky. There is no need to cry wolf before the Final Report of the Committee is presented.
“In the aftermath of the success attained with Zaria Water, some cowards have been using the anonymity of social media to spread lies. The comments attributed to Dr. Jonathan on social media posts falsely alleging that Malam Nasir El-Rufai sought an appointment with the Jonathan government and got N200m contribution for his campaign is one of the latest smears. Dr. Jonathan cannot make such claims because he knows they are not true."
“For the avoidance of doubt, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has not only never sought to work with Dr. Jonathan, but he actively persuaded others not to accept any offers to avoid destroying their credibility"
“But the Governor draws the line at those making religiously-charged posts with fabricated quotes about his position on fasting. This is a governor that has insisted that religion is a private matter. He pulled the state government out of sponsoring religious pilgrimage and Ramadan feeding within weeks of taking office in 2015"
“When a citizen was attacked in June 2016 in the Kakuri area of Kaduna for reasons attributed to religious differences during Ramadan, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and his Deputy Barnabas Bala visited the victim at the Saint Gerards’ Hospital on 8th June 2016, and he made an emphatic statement for religious freedom, declaring that “there is no compulsion in religion. It is a free country, and that means no imposition of faith or religious practices on anyone.”
Arunwa said the governor had warned that nobody can impose the tenet of his faith on another person while the decision to observe any religious activity is the prerogative of the an individual.explaining that even a "Muslim cannot be compelled to fast."
"What Malam Nasir El-Rufai would not do is to allow anybody to get away with bad behaviour by citing their religious, regional or ethnic identity. Equality before the law requires that every citizen must be held responsible for their conduct."
" The legion of cowards and fraudsters ever ready to spread and amplify falsehood on social media, without any effort at verification, must know that they can be held responsible for what they share. The laws of our land rightly protect the freedom of speech, but the same laws provide remedies against defamation and incitement, even in cyberspace."he warned
Only recently, the governor squared up to the former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who he accused of indiscriminate disbursement of federal funds under the guise of "ecological funds to favoured states during his administration".
In responding to the allegations by Governor el-Rufai, former President Jonathan had revealed how the Kaduna state governor solicited for his support for funding his gubernatorial campaigns.
Jonathan, in his response, called el-Rufai a "liar" promising to make public, the details.
Known for his party penchant in engaging in media wars, el-Rufai has countered Jonathan on the issue, challenging him to mention one lie he, Nasi el-Rufai had said.
el-Rufai's counter came via a press conference by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan in Kaduna.
As chairman of the National Economic Council interim ad-hoc Committee on Ecological Funds, the Kaduna state governor, while addressing journalists immediately after the meeting, had spoken on the contents of the Interim Report.
"ASHe did not speak in his personal capacity either as Ahmad Nasir el-Rufai as a nigerian who has rights to express his views about a communication neither did he speak as the governor of Kaduna. He spoke as chairman of the ad-hoc Committee of a political forum.
According to el-Rufai's media aide, the ad-hoc Committee comprises of 7 state governors which includes Kaduna, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Borno, Imo and Oyo states and the Honourable Minister of Finance, Minister of State, Environment, Secretary Ecological Fund Office, Permanent Secretary of the National Planning Committee are all members of the committee".
"On the 5th of May 2017, Malam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai presented an interim report of the management of the Ecological Fund. This committee was set up on the 24th February 2017 with 7 members, Governors, Ministers, Permanent Secretaries".
"The interim report detailed how 17 states each received, #2bn direct supply of ecological fund in 2013 are as follows: Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Ondo, Ebonyi, Delta, Enugu, Plateau,Taraba".
"19 other states and the FCT did not receive this direct support. Any perusal of this list will show clearly which political party controlled them as at 2013. 15 of the 17 cleared states showed had Governors of the PDP while Governors of Ondo and Anambra were PDP allied parties. As the chairman of the ad-hoc Committee, Malam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai drew the attention of National Economic Council, as a body to this skewed attempt of allocating the ecological fund".
"Former President Goodluck Jonathan has responded to this disclosure by launching a personal attack on Ahmad Nasir el-Rufai. He did not make a distinction between a committee of the National Economic Council and the person chairing it like I did explain. Why this unfortunate and calculated attack with broad headline, Dr. Jonathan failed to explain away, this strange pattern of funds allocation but the facts cannot be ignored as it has official records that cannot be erased by slinging mud at people"
"As chairman of the ad-hoc committee of the National Economic Council on Ecological Fund, Malam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai wishes to advise Dr. Jonathan to wait for the presentation of the final report of the committee on the disbursed funds".
"While we all await the final report, Malam Ahmed Nasir el-Rufai wishes to respond to the personal attack on him".
"Former President Goodluck Jonathan is not a man that can take responsibility for anything. In March 2015 not long after his famous call to President Buhari, he summoned his party's leadership to reject the results of an election that he had congratulated and conceded defeat".
"That effort at duplicity failed spectacularly and the will of the people prevailed".
So, no one should be surprised that he is denying presiding over the skewed distribution of ecological funds. His denial gives rise the questions like; what special circumstances ensured that only states that were controlled by the PDP and its allied parties qualified for N2bn each?
"Is it not curious that not only were his allies the only ones who got the funds, but that the various ecological problems in all 17 states required the same N2bn across the states?
“Almighty God made it possible for the Sun to shine on all. But Dr. Jonathan exercised his powers as president as if he governed for only his party or his family"
"The Jonathan's government was so conscious that there was something untoward with sharing public funds in that manner that they did not publicize the payments to their preferred states".
"Is it not curious that not only were his allies the only ones who got the funds, but that the various ecological problems in all 17 states required the same N2bn across the states?
“Almighty God made it possible for the Sun to shine on all. But Dr. Jonathan exercised his powers as president as if he governed for only his party or his family"
"The Jonathan's government was so conscious that there was something untoward with sharing public funds in that manner that they did not publicize the payments to their preferred states".
"Dr. Jonathan cannot argue with the facts that the payments are in the records of the Ecological Fund. He knowingly engaged in discriminatory disbursement of Federal Funds. The legality of that is open to question, despite the existence of Presidential discretion.
" Thankfully, Dr. Jonathan did not deny that the N2bn payments were skewed to certain states. His mindset in trying to create an equivalence between those payments and Federal support for the Green Wall Projects in some of the northern states can be easily seen as a disingenuous argument."
“Dr. Jonathan claimed El-Rufai is a liar, quoting sources that did not once mention any lie that can be attributed to him. One of El-Rufai’s identified weakness in the Nigerian political space is his bluntness and fidelity to principles. Even his enemies admit that grudgingly about him"
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai will not allow Dr. Jonathan to make him the issue when the criteria the former president used in allocating N2bn each to allied state governments remain so murky. There is no need to cry wolf before the Final Report of the Committee is presented.
“In the aftermath of the success attained with Zaria Water, some cowards have been using the anonymity of social media to spread lies. The comments attributed to Dr. Jonathan on social media posts falsely alleging that Malam Nasir El-Rufai sought an appointment with the Jonathan government and got N200m contribution for his campaign is one of the latest smears. Dr. Jonathan cannot make such claims because he knows they are not true."
“For the avoidance of doubt, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has not only never sought to work with Dr. Jonathan, but he actively persuaded others not to accept any offers to avoid destroying their credibility"
“But the Governor draws the line at those making religiously-charged posts with fabricated quotes about his position on fasting. This is a governor that has insisted that religion is a private matter. He pulled the state government out of sponsoring religious pilgrimage and Ramadan feeding within weeks of taking office in 2015"
“When a citizen was attacked in June 2016 in the Kakuri area of Kaduna for reasons attributed to religious differences during Ramadan, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and his Deputy Barnabas Bala visited the victim at the Saint Gerards’ Hospital on 8th June 2016, and he made an emphatic statement for religious freedom, declaring that “there is no compulsion in religion. It is a free country, and that means no imposition of faith or religious practices on anyone.”
Arunwa said the governor had warned that nobody can impose the tenet of his faith on another person while the decision to observe any religious activity is the prerogative of the an individual.explaining that even a "Muslim cannot be compelled to fast."
"What Malam Nasir El-Rufai would not do is to allow anybody to get away with bad behaviour by citing their religious, regional or ethnic identity. Equality before the law requires that every citizen must be held responsible for their conduct."
" The legion of cowards and fraudsters ever ready to spread and amplify falsehood on social media, without any effort at verification, must know that they can be held responsible for what they share. The laws of our land rightly protect the freedom of speech, but the same laws provide remedies against defamation and incitement, even in cyberspace."he warned
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