November 4 , 2007
PRESS RELEASE
EMERGENCY POWER SECTOR ORCHESTRA OF DECEPTION
Conference of Nigeria Political Parties{CNPP}, in Central Working Committee of Saturday 3 rd November 2007, resolved to congratulate the Integrity Group of House of Representatives and the new Speaker, Hon Dimeji Bankole and accordingly calls on Nigerians to gird their loins on the struggle to free the country from the deception, indecision and incapacity of the Yaradua administration.
CNPP notes with regret, that the grand orchestra of deception mounted by President Umaru Yaradua is manifesting by the day. In his inaugural speech, he unveiled a seven point agenda, prominent of which was open declaration of emergency on the power sector, which was hailed by many across the country.
We then maintained that the seven point agenda was pronounced without concrete conceived plan; though in consonance with the tradition of deceiving people, the hallmark of the Peoples Democratic Party{PDP}.
It could be recalled that to ice the cake, President Yaradua promised that by mid 2008, full regular power supply will be in place, which reminds us that similar promise was made in 1999 by the former regime, a continuation of sort. The promise goes on as Mr President sounded tough, declaring that by 2020, Nigeria will be among the first 20 robust economies in the world.
Whereas Nigerians were flattered and upbeat on the good tidings chanted loudly, we cautiously queried the absence of concrete plans to transform the decadence and total collapse of infrastructure, consequent upon gross corruption and massive looting by the PDP leadership.
CNPP had maintained that the reform programme of the PDP is a farce and anti-people, for it aims not only to achieve an industrial state, without funding adequately basic infrastructure, but to enrich only a few.. PDP administration had unwittingly pegged its hope on direct foreign investment, not minding that it cannot come from the same collaborators who bank for them, the stolen assets from Nigeria, which is impossible for they know better.
While Nigerians were recovering from the bomb shell that the opposition was the cause of the crisis in the Niger Delta imbroglio; on Monday 29 th October 2007, the cat was let out of the bag and alarm bell rang, when presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, told a bewildered nation that the emergency on power sector has been abandoned. His reason was that the Federal Government cannot fund the power projects, because it cannot access the excess crude account. What the statement failed to tell us was what happened to the excess crude account, which we were severally assured was kept for the rainy day.
Consequently, CNPP with all sense of modesty, wishes to highlight the grand-expo the statement from the presidency gazetted interalia:
Firstly, the statement is an official covert announcement that the oil windfall has been squandered and fleeced abroad into private pockets. Otherwise, lets Mr President as a matter of urgent national importance give us full account disclosures on the allocation of the windfall to all the three tiers of government, who got what, when and how?
Secondly, the statement exposed President Umaru Yaradua’s crass ignorance of the depth of the decay in the system or his guile of deception. Otherwise, what was in his mind when he promised total transformation of the power sector?
Thirdly, the statement exposed the power sector as the cash cow and conduit pipe, second only to the NNPC exploited by ex-president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and confederates to fleece our commonwealth for personal aggrandizement. Otherwise, where is the over $9 billion expended in power plants, generation, transmission and distribution of electricity since 1999?
Fourthly, the statement exposes the truism that there is no effective leadership in Nigeria today. Otherwise if there is effective leadership, political will, skill and genuine intent, is it difficult or impossible to coordinate the three tiers of government in advancing common projects as germane as electricity? For there is subsisting national consensus that we cannot enlist among the first 20 robust economies in 2020 with erratic power supply.
Lastly, Nigeria at this trajectory of development, urgently yearns for a Decisive –Leader not a Servant-Leader led by the nose. Otherwise, how do we harvest from the golden window opened by the United Nations initiative, Stolen Assets Recovery {StAR}? The StAR initiative, instead of waiting for the elusive direct foreign investment, is the only option open for a patriotic and decisive leadership of Nigeria genre, to exploit to recover over $500 billion stolen assets starched abroad.
CNPP consequently, challenges President Umaru Yaradua to as a matter of urgent national importance, to release the full account of the oil windfall and embark on the recovery of stolen assets through the UN StAR initiative. This is the only solution to the Niger Delta crisis and indeed the despondency in the land.
Osita Okechukwu
National Publicity Secretary
CNPP
08039738870