The
top ten most controversial excuses of the President Muhammadu Buhari
administration has been laid bare in this enthralling piece.
More often than not, leaders across the world are put on the
defensive either in form of a backlash for a policy misstep or by the ferocious
snap of their political detractors.
Also as frequent, though, is the tendency of their aides to
swiftly intervene and minimise the magnitude of public relations damage a
controversy could inflict on their principals.
This is what top officials of the Buhari administration have
done over the past two and a half years.
Within this period, the government has endured its fair share of
public relations nightmare.
From disowning its official campaign document following
citizens’ demand for fulfilment of promises; to blaming rats for budget
inconsistencies, some of Buhari administration’s excuses could stack up well
with those of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, Saddam Hussein’s spokesperson who was
declaring victory on TV even when invading Americans could be seen launching
sorties in the background.
Following the recent blaming of the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party for the scandalous recall of a dismissed fugitive into public
service —an excuse that rivals the legendary dog-ate-my-homework parlance—
PREMIUM TIMES collates 10 of the government’s most controversial, even
ridiculous, excuses.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but here’s our top 11 in no
particular order:
1. Rats invasion compelled president to work from home
The administration came under intense ridicule when it claimed
that President Buhari was compelled to work from home because he discovered
that rats had taken over his office when he returned from his latest medical
vacation in the U.K.
The presidency was trying to disabuse the public from reports
that the president might not have recovered well enough to undertake
presidential duties.
2. Ministers are noisemakers
When Mr. Buhari began feeling the heat from the public after
failing to appoint ministers nearly four months into his term, he excused
himself by undermining the role of ministers.
“The ministers are there, I think, to make a lot of noise,” the president said during a trip to
Paris in September 2015. He hyped the efforts of civil servants as crucial to
running public service.
While civil servants play long-term roles by virtue of their
career, the ministers have constitutional roles to play in government.
While the civil servants could be delegated by the president,
ministers help drive the policy of an administration. They sit at federal
executive council meetings with the president for policy directives.
The policy agenda of an administration based on its ideology is
foisted on civil servants to implement through the ministers, who are political
appointees and usually members of the ruling party.
3. Rats tampered with budget
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, blamed rats for
manipulating the budget of his ministry — subsequently disowning it.
The excuse competed with an earlier claim by lawmakers that
their version of the same 2016 budget had suddenly gone missing.
4. PDP responsible for Maina scandal
Abdulrasheed Maina, a civil servant and former chairman of
presidential task reform team, was dismissed from service as an assistant
director in 2013 by President Goodluck Jonathan for alleged corruption.
Mr. Maina was recommended for prosecution, but he fled from the
law to Dubai. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission then declared him
wanted.
In 2015, Mr. Buhari defeated Mr. Jonathan’s bid to return for a
second term in office.
No one had heard much from Mr. Maina since he bolted until two
weeks ago when PREMIUM TIMES revealed that the Buhari administration, despite
its claims to be tough on corruption, had surreptitiously reinstated him into
the civil service.
The public outrage that followed the report sent the
administration reeling.
But rather than take serious disciplinary measures against those
responsible for the gross violations and implement changes that would forestall
future occurrences, the presidency decided to shirk responsibility — in the
most bizarre way it could.
Mr. Shehu, unsurprisingly, issued a statement, putting the blame
of Mr. Maina’s return on Mr. Jonathan, who had stopped directing Nigeria’s
affairs for 875 days preceding the scandal.
Of course, Mr. Jonathan lashed out at the administration,
describing it as “uncoordinated and rudderless“. But even this wasn’t nearly as
scathing as the barrage of insults directed at Mr. Buhari and his aides for
passing the buck.
5. Recession is just a word
When Nigeria’s economy plunged into recession last year, the
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, moved to assuage the fears of Nigerians.
Mrs. Adeosun urged citizens not to be frightened about the
development, saying a recession is just “a word.”
Following public backlash, she later denied ownership of the
Twitter account, saying she could not have altered such. The tweet was also
deleted.
But two days later, PREMIUM TIMES spotted a video that showed
Mrs. Adeosun actually making those statements.
“I know people are concerned about recession. Recession is a
word,” Mrs. Adeosun said. “We
can come out of recession.”
6. Handover notes delayed ministerial appointment
Apparently having forgotten that he had earlier downplayed the
importance of ministers and said he was not in a hurry to appoint them, Mr.
Buhari in November 2015 said Jonathan administration officials were to blame
for delay in ministerial appointments.
During a speech at the National Democratic Institute, which came
a few days after he inaugurated the first set of ministers, the president
blamed the Jonathan administration for submitting “vague” handover notes to his
own government.
Throughout the speech, which was read by Lai Mohammed, the
minister of information who represented him at the event, nowhere did the
government highlight the specific aspects of Mr. Jonathan’s handover notes that
were vague.
This excuse is ridiculous because handover notes are optional
and, all over the world, incoming leaders are known to have selected key
cabinet positions even before their inauguration.
When the National Assembly considered major amendments to the
Constitution, it included a timeframe within which a new president must name
cabinet members.
The lawmakers did not consider the significance of any handover
note before imposing no longer than 30 days from the day of assumption of
office because they know it’s not mandatory, even though it’s part of the
democratic process.
7. Buhari postponed Federal Executive Council meeting to receive
a report
Mr. Buhari returned from his latest medical vacation in London
on Saturday, August 19. His first FEC meeting was supposed to be Wednesday,
August 23, but the president postponed it.
A State House statement said the decision was taken to give the
president a chance to receive a report on alleged corruption by suspended
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, as well as the
discovered Ikoyi cash haul involving the National Intelligence Agency.
A picture later circulated shortly after the statement, which
showed that the president received some documents from the Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo.
Receiving a report should take a few minutes at most. And this
could be done before or after the FEC meeting, which usually holds between
10:00 a.m. and noon.
8. PDP to blame for all that ails Buhari’s government
Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali,
dropped a hoopla on Friday when he held the PDP responsible for Mr. Buhari’s
shortcomings.
Mr. Ali, a key ally of the president, declared that the
administration has failed, but said all the recorded misfortunes could be
ascribed to PDP’s alleged influence over Mr. Buhari’s choices.
9. Federal Executive Council meeting cancelled because of Sallah
The FEC meeting for Wednesday, September 6, was cancelled since
ministers had no time to prepare their paperwork due to Sallah break, according
to Mr. Mohammed.
The government declared public holidays for Friday, September 1
and Monday, September 4 for 2017 Sallah. The celebration itself held on
September 1.
The excuse sent tongues wagging across the country since the FEC
has a fixed date that all cabinet members are aware of.
In 2014, Sallah holidays were on October 6 and 7, yet the
Jonathan administration convened FEC on October 8.
It was only in 2013 that FEC was cancelled because October 15
and 16, Tuesday and Wednesday, fell on public holidays for that year’s Sallah.
10. Unnamed official made scandalous insertion into president’s
speech
While launching a campaign to preach against “widespread act of
immorality” a year ago, Mr. Buhari lifted quotes from Barack Obama without
attribution while reading from a prepared speech.
The plagiarism was later observed by a THISDAY columnist, Adeola
Akinremi, earning the president another round of public condemnation.
The presidency subsequently blamed the scandal on an unnamed
deputy director at the State House, even after Mr. Buhari himself had
apologised for the damage.
11. SSS Recruitment Scandal
When, in April, PREMIUM TIMES uncovered how the State Security
Service quietly recruited far more persons in from the north than the south
against the country’s federal character laws, the presidency responded.
In a distributed statement on the same day, the Buhari
administration confirmed the lopsidedness but said it was informed by an
alleged imbalance in previous recruitments carried out by the agency.
But no evidence was provided to support this claim, despite
requests that the nominal roll of the agency showing staff distribution by
states be published. It was clear that the presidency was only playing up some
of the excuses that were adduced on social media by the administration’s
loyalists.
***
Culled from Premium Times
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