Presidency defends prevention of Amaechi

The Presidency on Thursday defended  the prevention of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State from exchanging pleasantries with President Goodluck Jonathan by a security operative during dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday.

It said the  incident was purely a security issue that should not be politicised,especially by opposition political parties.

The governor, who was sitting two tables away from the President, had risen to greet him but the security  operative attached to the President stopped him halfway.

 In order not to create a scene at the event that had nearly all his colleagues and two  heads of government (Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia) in attendance, Amaechi quietly returned to his seat and waited for  about five minutes before leaving the venue.

But as  the Action Congress of Nigeria and Congress for Progressive Change berated Jonathan over  the incident, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak,  said it was tantamount to a breach of protocol and security if Amaechi was allowed access to  his  boss  who  was already seated before the governor arrived.

Gulak  said,  “The President has a good relationship with all state governors and he meets with them regularly. The case in point is a pure security issue and it should be treated as a security issue that should not be politicised.

“The question the ACN and others who may want to politicise this issue need to ask is whether the President arrived at the venue of the dinner and was already seated before the governor arrived.

“Usual practice across the world is that once the President arrives a place, nobody whether a governor or not, is allowed entrance. That is the protocol. Even(Barack)  Obama  of the United States cannot be on his seat and a governor will be allowed to come in.

“If that was the situation in this case that the President was already on his seat,  it would have been a breach of protocol and security for any security person to allow the governor access to the President. Such a security person would have been sanctioned if he had done that.”

Wondering  why the ACN  was interested in the  matter, the presidential aide advised the opposition political parties to   “concentrate on issues concerning them and stop politicising everything.”

 The ACN  had in a statement by its  National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, condemned the action of the operative and called on Jonathan to order an immediate  probe into  it.

It said, “We are making this call because we do not believe that, in spite of the reported frosty relations between the two, President Jonathan – as the father of the nation – will lend the weight of his high office to such a demeaning action as exhibited by the presidential security personnel.

“To believe that anyone occupying the esteemed office of the President of one of Africa’s most important nations will be a party to a situation in which any security aide will wilfully fence a state chief executive from paying his respect to the President at such an open gathering will be to think the worst of the occupier of that office. That is why we have chosen not to believe that this indeed occurred, and why we are calling on Mr. President to tell Nigerians that ‘it ain’t so’ “We shudder to think of what efforts are being made – including the use of national institutions – to undermine Gov. Amaechi if the treatment reportedly meted out to him at the dinner has the approval of the powers that be. We are even more worried at what will happen to a governor from the opposition who falls out of favour with the President, if a governor from the same party as the President can be so publicly humiliated.”

ACN said it was particularly incumbent on the President to clarify the report because Amaechi, the authentic Chairman  of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,  extended an olive branch to him  by attending the dinner, despite the fact that  he (President) was publicly supporting the losing faction of the NGF, in what was being seen as a “democratic faux pas.”

The party said the President must learn to separate politics from governance by rising above petty partisanship as he steered the affairs of state.

On its part, the Congress for Progressive Change   said it was clear to many discerning minds that “the government of President Jonathan  is being run like a mafia organisation where you have the head at the Villa.”

 “This is the kind of price we pay when we sacrifice competence on the altar of exigency,” the CPC  said through its  National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin.

The party added, “We have always said it that the way President Jonathan is running this country;  he will  run it  aground.

“No Nigerian can be proud of what is happening in a situation where nations of the world are improving their democratic credentials; we are going towards further isolation.

“A situation where a chief  executive is being blocked by security apparatus of the President, you ask yourself what hope mortals like us have under the  Jonathan government.”

The Senate on Thursday began investigation into alleged disappearance of 27 million dollars proceeds from the sales of Nigerian properties in New York.
Two former Nigeria ambassadors and the incumbent appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs in Abuja.
They are: Dr George Obiozor (2004 to 2006); Prof. Joy Ogwu (2006 to 2007), and the incumbent  Mr Ade Adefuye, who assumed duty in March 2010.
The probe followed a petition by Transform Nigeria Citizen Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, over alleged misappropriation of funds by the officials of the Nigerian embassy in Washington D.C.
The petition was signed by one Mr Daniel Elombah.
Elombah had urged the Senate to investigate why the proceeds from the sale of some Nigerian government properties in the US between 2004 and 2007 were not accounted for.
He said, “Available records showed that between 2004 and 2007, the Embassy of Nigeria sold four prime properties of the Nigerian Government located in Washington D.C and Maryland.
“It also commenced sale of a fifth property located in San Francisco, California.
“For the sale of those properties, the government of Nigeria retained the services of ECULAW Law Firm. Out of those sales, Nigeria realised the sum of 27 million dollars.
“All funds realised from these sales, except those set aside as fees, were remitted to the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington D.C,’’ the petitioner alleged.
He alleged that all the funds and transactions were duly confirmed in June 2007 by ECULAW Law firm when it met with embassy officials at the Embassy premises in Washington D.C.
He alleged that instead of remitting the proceeds to Nigeria, the funds were lodged in Washington bank.
“M&T Bank had been the bank the embassy used for other transactions and had about three different accounts with that bank.
“It was confirmed in clear terms that their bank was holding huge deposits comprising the proceeds of the sales of these properties.
“This remained the position after Dr George Obiozor had returned to Nigeria upon completing his service in Washington.
“However, and surprisingly, the Embassy of Nigeria left that money in Washington partly because it yielded substantial monthly interests, which the embassy officials would never have to account for.’’
The petitioner further alleged that the money in the accounts, disappeared, without trace in March 2012.
 “This became clear when the M&T Bank was forced to close the accounts of Nigerian Embassy and to terminate all banking relations with the embassy at the beginning of 2012.
According to him, since March 2012, no explanation had been given as to the whereabouts of funds which were in the bank accounts when the incumbent assumed office.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Matthew Nwagwu, said the committee had received a petition alleging embezzlement of funds in Nigeria’s Embassy in Washington.
“There is a petition before the committee on the issue. We have the petition and we are taking it on the face value.
“We are giving this opportunity to the minister and ambassador to explain what happened. It is alleged that the resources were squandered by embassy officials.
“Ours is to give you a chance to address the committee, to tell us what you know about the administration and management of the fund within your tenure from 2004 till date.
Journalists were, however, ordered out of the Committee Room before the testimonies of the three envoys were taken. (NAN)
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