The Way Forward For Nigeria

Developing a country is definitely a gigantic task, but keeping some basic tasks in mind and implementing those can make this mammoth task achievable. The following are not just opinion based tips, in fact today’s developed countries in the world left examples that these are the key measures. The following tips include but not limited to all the tips. Few things might vary depending on the country’s situation and economy.Ensure political stability since a good government is the key to success.

Ensure law and order. If people’s life and assets are not secure, the economy won’t boost.

There is no alternative to education. A country has to have a quality education system that produce responsible, honest, helpful citizen. Education that does not produce honest and responsible citizen won’t help much.

Corruption destroys a country, so the government bodies have to be corruption free.

Supply of enough food and drinks is an essential, since a hungry nation can’t work well and contribute to the economy. It is a wrong idea that only the farmers will grow food. Everyone should grow food wherever they can rooftop to the balcony, every single space should be utilized to grow fruits or vegetables.

 Uninterrupted supply power, gas, telephone, water need to be ensured. Good transport system contribute the economy a lot as well.

Consumers need to buy products made in their own country to boost up the manufacturing industries.

Good medical treatment facility needs to be ensured to have healthy nation.

The nation has to be drug free as you know it disables one’s ability to think and work properly.

Both the government and the people in general need to be environment conscious. This is what APC is preaching.

My unusual government, my critics and my judgment day, by Aregbesola

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

Gov. Aregbesola with students of the O’ School Reform initiative.

Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola agrees with his critics that he is running an unusual government. In name, structure and philosophy, Osun State is unusual, drawing flaks and favour from foes and friends respectively. In this interview, Aregbesola responds to some of the issues that have trailed his three year administration of Osun State. Excerpts:

How have you been faring with the challenges of governance in the last three years?
We are being driven by the passion to turn around the economy of Osun State. We believe strongly in the divine intervention for guidance and success. This foundation made it possible for us to be guided in the appointment of the right people in the right places.

We cannot ascribe the success to ourselves but to the Almighty who will continue to support and make it possible for us to achieve our plans to execute mega projects that will attract investments to the state. And that passion definitely inspired more than ordinary effort to get our resources to drive our vision. However, God has established His laws; it is left to human beings to take maximum advantage of the laws of God for their benefits.

So, with the abundance of God’s provisions, human beings only need to put their minds in what they want and help from sources that are never envisaged will just come.

Management of resources
Yes, what we are doing in all spheres of life are definitely beyond the capacity of a state. So, effective, efficient and prudent management of our resources have helped to push the frontier of development. Our success in that regard is beyond the capacity to prudently, effectively and efficiently manage the economy.

That is where the divine angle comes in. You just realize that even with the best management skill, which we have on ground is just beyond the human comprehension. It is the gargantuan scope of our development strides that has inebriated the opposition to the point of hallucination. Now, they don’t even know what to say or what to do, others promote lies about debt burden.

They cannot talk about lack of performance because that is beyond them to do, even with their somewhat skilled sense of evaluation to whittle down our achievements and appreciation by the people. They still go about this totally uncoordinated hype on phantom debt burden which is unsustainable if you are going to be honest with it.

So, I used to tell people, in addition to what I just told you that I served under one of the best public finance experts in the person of the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The tutelage paid off so handsomely and the result is what you are witnessing in Osun today.

You are one of the most criticized Governors in the country, what are you doing to limit the criticisms against your government?
When a man is criticized the way we are criticized, it is due to success. Success brings criticism definitely. In fact, what I will say is that success largely brings controversy. Probably that is what is making people to criticize our government. Success brings controversy, success brings hostility and success brings envy.
We are indeed successful in our programmes and projects. You see, we were not unconscious of the reactions some of our programmes, projects and activities would attract.

Don’t forget, we heartily called our administration even during the campaigns ‘an unusual government’. We branded our government ‘an unusual government’ even during the campaigns. So, it would be difficult to be abnormal not to have the spate of antagonism that we have experienced over this period of time. It would be totally abnormal not to have such reactions.

Election for your second term in office is just few months away, how prepared are you for the election?
We have been working from the very first day with the firm belief that there will be a day of reckoning which elections usually mean to politicians. Elections are the days of reckoning.They are the judgment days for politicians. So, from the day we were sworn-in until now, we have been working assiduously for that auspicious day that our electorates will have the opportunity to renew our mandate for another period of time. For a thing that we have been working at for the past 37 months, I will want to say we are doing well at it.

The PDP has been engulfed in leadership crisis for some time now, what are the effects of the PDP crisis on the APC?
There was no crisis in PDP when we assumed office. To us, whether the party is one, fragmented or weakened by internal crisis, it is their own headache. We are engaged by the people and that is important to us.
Our engagement with the people has been so firm, so serious, so symbiotic and so wholesome. Whatever is the situation of PDP in Osun, it is of no importance to us. If they are together, they do not matter because the people are the sovereign. The people are the sole decider of victory or defeat in an election. Parties will only mobilize support from the people.

Parties cannot force the people. Parties can stimulate the interest of the people in their activities. Parties cannot compel the people to adopt or accept their programmes.
So, since we realized this from the very beginning, our works, our programmes, our activities are directed at meeting the needs of the people, satisfying the people, mobilizing the people to accept our programmes and policies, believe in us as their friends and people who are committed to their progress, welfare, peace and prosperity.

Our people-oriented programmes are also designed to adopt us as their own representatives. So once those critical or those fundamentals of engagement with the people are met, the rest is little.
With what we have done with the people, with the response we have from the people, it does not matter the crisis or no crisis in PDP. The crisis in PDP doesn’t matter anymore. Whether they are together or divided, weakened or strong, as long as we are one with the people and represent the aspirations of the people to give our people the hope of realizing their desires and wants, let other parties do whatever they wish to do. God be with us, success is our own.

How will you rate the economy in Osun State today?
For a state within such bad-managed nation to seek to isolate a constituent of such a nation, in economic analysis will be very difficult.
This is particularly a hard task when you bear in mind that this is a state that has been administered along the line of the Laize Faire economic management for over 19 years before our advent. Indeed, this will be very tough and I want you to see it from that angle.

Attracting investments
Bearing that in mind, we are turning the economy of Osun around. Even with the obvious challenge we have as a nation, we have grown the income of the state. For instance, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state has jumped from N300 million to over N1.6 billion per month. We are attracting investments to specific sectors of the state and hope to achieve over N3 billion IGR.

We are supporting farmers at all levels, from peasant to new generation farmers and high commercial farmers. We are empowering our people to produce food and help them with the market for their products. We are supporting market men and women in their businesses. Part of the industrial development that took place since we assumed office is the Omoluabi Garment Factory where uniforms are being made for our students on a commercial and large scale basis.

This was initiated not only to reduce the cost but increase the quality of wears. Today, the factory is not only producing uniforms but it is producing other garments and uniforms for school children nationwide. It is producing other garments from other wears to T-shirts and sports wears.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/01/unusual-government-critics-judgment-day-aregbesola/#sthash.I1hI8zpr.dpuf

Rivers police claim arrest of 320 B’Haram suspects....

THE police command in Rivers State on Sunday said its men had arrested 320 persons suspected to be members of the violent Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

The suspects were said to have been in a convoy of 17 buses when they were nabbed at about 5am on Sunday between the border of Imo and Rivers states. Young women were said to be among the arrested suspects.

The convoy of the suspected insurgents was said to have been led by a man identified as Bala Dambam and they were said to be coming from Jigawa State, in buses belonging to a transport firm owned by a former Inspector General of Police.

Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, who confirmed the arrest of the suspects, said he would not make any comment until the end of police investigation into the matter.

Mbu said, “It is a top security issue. I don’t know how you got the information and I won’t ask you. But there cannot be any comment now from the Rivers State Police Command until we finish the investigation.

“The issue of Boko Haram is a very sensitive matter. It borders on national security. Investigation is on-going and the Rivers State Police Command will not give out any information until investigation is concluded.

“Boko Haram is a highly sensitive issue of state policy. Investigations into matters that have to do with Boko Haram are conducted with utmost sensitivity.

“At this moment, the Rivers State Police Command has no information for the media or for anyone who is not involved in the investigation. And I will not offer you any comments whatsoever.”

The police did not allow journalists to sight the arrested suspects.

Some residents of Port Harcourt, who heard about the arrest of the Boko Haram suspects, expressed fear that the group had finally found their way into the state.

A student of the University of Port Harcourt, Magnus Ndele, told The PUNCH that the presence of Boko Haram members in the state was a looming danger.

“Boko Haram means danger to all of us in this state. We hear how they throw bombs and many lives are lost. The police and other security agencies should do more to ensure they stop the operation of the group anywhere in Rivers State,” Ndele said.

We will crush APC anti-budget plot —PDP lawmakers

David Mark and Aminu Tambuwal

Senators and House of Representatives members elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have vowed to crush a plan by the opposition All Progressives Congress to block the passage of the 2014 budget.

The APC, after a meeting of its National Executive Council meeting on Thursday, had directed its members to stop the passage of the budget until the “rule of law” was restored in Rivers State.

The party blamed the Presidency and the PDP for allegedly fuelling the crisis in Rivers and using government machinery like the police to hound the opposition in the state.

But the PDP caucus in the House told SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja on Friday that it would not lose sleep over the plan of the APC to shut down government.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, told one of our correspondents that passing the budget was a joint responsibility of the Senate and the House that did not require a simple majority to be done.

He said, “Both the Senate and the House will pass the budget without losing sleep if the APC members choose to stay away.

“There is no problem in the Senate and I can assure you there will be no problem in the House as well. The quorum for sitting is one-third of 360 members; so do the arithmetic.

“What that means is that if all the APC members boycott the House, our business will go on smoothly because there will be still more than one-third of members sitting.

“The budget is a national assignment; for us, we are here to serve Nigerians, not a particular political party.”

Similarly, Senator Smart Adeyemi of the PDP said the APC was not being reasonable and that its stance on the budget would not endear it to Nigerians.

He said, “I do not think any Senator who has the mandate of his people will believe in what the APC is calling for. Their senators will find it difficult to take this position because the party is asking them to go against the interest of the people, to put the people in perpetual slavery and suffering.”

In the House, a cross-section of PDP lawmakers who pleaded anonymity expressed same sentiments as those of their counterparts in the Senate. According to them, the House could take major and minor decisions without APC members.

One of the PDP representatives, Mr. Mike Akpan-Umoh, said APC members could “choose to stay away, but the budget will be passed.”

APC lawmakers, however, said their PDP colleagues had lost touch with the “reality of the Nigerian situation.”

A key APC member and Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Mr. Ali Ahmad, stated that the party’s directive was just a way of calling government to order.

He added, “A directive is a directive; the APC is a disciplined party and we will comply.”

Similarly, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, insisted that his APC colleagues in the Senate would abide by the directive of their leaders by ensuring that due attention was drawn to the looming danger in Rivers State.

“You know the process of passing budget is unique, it will undergo a debate on the floor of the Senate before it would be referred to the various committees. It will then be brought back to the floor again for approval.

“We are prepared to employ lawful means to draw the nation’s attention to the crisis in Rivers,” he said

In a related development, Interim Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the APC, Dr. Davies Ikanya, who hailed the decision of the party’s national leadership, said the directive would restore sanity to the nation’s polity.

Ikanya, who spoke on Friday through his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, said apart from growing the country’s democracy, the directive would prove to the PDP that it was no longer the majority in the National Assembly.

“From Rivers State, which they have virtually made ungovernable to the National Assembly, where they have also exported their lawlessness, the PDP and the Jonathan Presidency have shown beyond every reasonable doubt that the only language they understand is force,” Ikanya said.

The PDP in the state, however, faulted the threat by the APC to block all proposals by the presidency through its members in the National Assembly for allegedly supporting lawlessness and impunity in Rivers State.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser, Media, to the State Chairman, Mr. Jerry Needam, added that the APC’s threat in itself was an act of lawlessness and impunity aimed at grounding the lawmaking machinery of government.

Stopping Jonathan in 2015 will have grave consequences – Ezeife

By OKEY NDIRIBE

Dr. Ezeife

A former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, is angry over the current   political developments in the country. In this  interview, he says the panacea for a   united Nigeria  is the re-election of President Jonathan next year.

What is your view about unfolding political events in the country?
I want to use this opportunity to emphasize something central to the problems we are presently facing. The explanation I am about to give provides insight into the defection of the G-5 governors, the activities of the fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, or even the   present status of the All Progressives Congress, APC,   which is the   leading opposition party in the country.

All the attacks   by these groups on   President Goodluck Jonathan stem from one thing: Some people believe they are born to rule while others are born to be ruled. They therefore see the present situation where a person who was born to be ruled is now ruling as a reversal of the natural order of things. How have they reacted?
After Jonathan’s victory in 2011, mayhem was unleashed on parts of Nigeria.

Blood flowed; the Igbo have not recovered from the losses  they suffered due to the massacre of their people that year. A prominent APC member is already setting the stage for  another  carnage after the 2015 elections.
Should such  candidate win? These people ruled the country for 38 and a  half years. In the course of ruling the country, they ruined Nigeria. However, they ruined the North  more than they ruined other parts of Nigeria.
Every attack from these groups against President Jonathan   is designed to prevent him from running for the 2015 election.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo ignited  the problem. The G-7 or G-5 governors also played their part. They toured almost the entire country and visited all past military heads of state. Obasanjo also consulted other former military rulers before writing his   letter. All these activities are geared towards proving   only one thing: the person who is ruling was not born to rule.

Can you comment on the view held by some Nigerians that President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposed National Dialogue was designed to actualise his political ambition of being re-elected in 2015?
At this juncture in Nigerian history, President Jonathan’s interest and Nigerians   interest in the continued existence of the country have become coterminous. If you   say because you oppose President Jonathan’s bid for a second term in office, you are also opposed to a National Dialogue, you are saying no to one Nigeria.
The truth of the matter is that opposing President Jonathan’s second term is like opposing the continued existence of Nigeria as one united country.

What do you think would happen if as a result of the handiwork of the opposition, President Jonathan is disallowed from running for second term? Can you control what would happen?   Whether you are from the North, South or West, you can’t stop President Jonathan from going for  second term and winning.   Everybody can make noise but if those who are making noise should think deeply, they would realize that the continued existence of Nigeria as one country is anchored on Jonathan’s continuation in office come 2015.

What happens if President Jonathan contests the 2015 election and loses?
We would be faced with the same problem. Niger Delta boys would blow up all the oil pipelines and then a part of the country could say they are no longer interested in Nigeria; they could say Nigeria legally expired when the nation marked its centenary and that they are now on their own. This is not what I want, but I am afraid it could happen if we foolishly think of only our short term interest instead of thinking   of the long term implications.   However, if he contests and loses in a free and fair atmosphere where Nigerians truly vote against him, it would be less bloody than if he is not allowed   to contest.

But there have been those who have also threatened that blood would flow if   President Jonathan insists on contesting the election…..
Junaid Mohammed and his fellow travelers must know that we don’t want the blood of ordinary Nigerians to flow again. This time around, it is the   blood of those who are threatening to spill blood that would flow. It is just like somebody   who is   claiming he is born to rule. He should rule himself only. People should stop making intimidating statements.

I am making a plea to all Nigerians, be they from the North, South, East or West to consider that it is in the nation’s long term interest to give the continued existence of Nigeria a chance. From we the Igbo, we are not issuing any threats. We have been absorbing all kinds of punishment.   We in the East are for one Nigeria. The people of the West and North should also be interested in one Nigeria.

What do you have to say about  President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposed National Dialogue especially against the background of the criticisms by the opposition?
For a long time, those who understand   and love Nigeria  have been demanding   for a Constitutional Conference. This month marks 100 years of the amalgamation of Nigeria. Some see it as an opportunity to quit Nigeria; others see it as a period for a review of our basic laws. For me, whatever I say   I am saying it based on my commitment to the continued existence of one Nigeria.

Both small and big ethnic groups in this country today would find that their long term interest is anchored on the persistence and sustainability of one Nigeria.
For instance, if you consider the Igbo, we have voted with our feet for one Nigeria; by our action of developing and commercializing   whereever we are as if we are at home, we have demonstrated our commitment to one Nigeria in action. We have invested more outside Igbo land than within Igbo land. So, I don’t see the Igbo wanting to leave Nigeria tomorrow.

For the Yoruba, even though   it is rumored that they are ready for any eventuality and already have their constitution, flag and anthem, they remain the dominant group in finance and   industry in Nigeria. Therefore, they still like the big market a united Nigeria offers. In the North, the Hausa-Fulani are the greatest beneficiaries of one Nigeria.

In the beginning, the amalgamation was motivated by the need to cover the economic deficiency of the North with the surplus   from the South. There was a resource gap.   Today, the resource gap is wider than it was in 1914. The biggest resource for development today is education; and the gap between the North and South in education today is so wide. When you talk about agriculture, the North has a huge mass of land.

National resources have been used to build a lot dams in the North and this has facilitated the development of agriculture in the region. Today, the North is feeding the whole country. Would they want to be exporting their food stuff to America?   Apart from the big groups, the minorities are also benefitting from Nigeria which is a big country. This is because if they are on their own, they would be irrelevant but since they belong to Nigeria, they benefit from its status as a big country.   No group in this country would triumphantly walk away from a Nigeria that is properly structured, well organized and works.

President Jonathan would become the greatest leader Nigeria ever had if he organizes a successful National Conference.   He would then be the reason for the continued existence of one Nigeria.   In addition,   there is need for the Federal Government to take urgent action over the constant clashes between farmers and herdsmen in different parts of the country.   These incessant killings must stop.   Nobody is prepared to drive herdsmen away but if these killings persist, then some people may begin to avoid cow meat and eat only chicken meat so that peace can reign in the country.

Can   you comment on the recent   brickbat between Prof Ben Nwabueze and the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee PAC   on the proposed National Dialogue, Senator Femi Okorounmu?
This is a matter of monumental confusion. What I read concerning Okorounmu’s statement was that Igbo Leaders of Thought led by Prof. Nwabueze are complaining about something that may not be in the report submitted by the committee. This is what is implied in Okorounmu’s statement. Some of   the recommendations we made for the confab were on equality of zones for representation. We also reached an agreement on   the process of selecting members to the confab and   on the issue of  referendum. There was an agreement on these issues by the entire southern Nigeria and some parts of the North.

However, Okorounmu said he didn’t know what the Igbo Leaders of   Thought were talking about. He insisted that what they were talking about was not in the report. This is where the monumental confusion comes in. How would Prof. Nwabueze not know what he is talking about? How would he be referring to a non-existent recommendation.

We are waiting to see what happens next; but we sent competent people to the committee. Prof. Nwabueze himself was nominated into the committee but he turned down the nomination for personal reasons. We then had to replace him with Prof. Anya O. Anya who is also very competent; a holder of the National Merit Award and a solid academic. We also had Dr. George Obiozor.

If   the recommendations of delegates from southern Nigeria who were in that committee were omitted, then there must be compelling reasons for that to happen. We cannot throw away the baby with the bath water; we can find a way of continuing.

What do you think would be the fate of the 2014 Budget now that it appears that the All Progressives Congress, APC, has become the majority party in the National Assembly?
Whether  the APC has 100 percent membership in the National Assembly or not, Nigeria must continue. I appeal to the National Assembly  not to indulge in too much politics. Do they want to demonstrate that nothing has been achieved by President Jonathan? If an institution  becomes the obstacle to Nigeria’s development, would members of that same body turn around to accuse the President of not developing the country?

The performance of President Jonathan is already far ahead of that of his predecessors. If the National Assembly uses its  power to approve or not to approve the budget to make Nigerians suffer and you come back to tell us that the President has not performed and that we should vote for you, we are not fools.

Therefore, the National Assembly should ensure that   excessive politicking is not disruptive of the system and the welfare of the people. We have heard of the 50 questions that were presented to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. We have also heard that the answering of those 50 questions must come  before the consideration of the budget. Yes, it is easy to criticize a person or group that has been in power for long. It is easy to find fault with the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

If the Federal Government is starved of funds to provide  for the welfare of Nigerians in 2014, we know who to hold responsible. We must not allow people   to gain from any negative outcome.
The President must also make the  effort to reach an understanding with the National Assembly. The problem the Presidency has with the National Assembly reared its ugly head right from the beginning of   President Jonathan’s current tenure in office.

The PDP zoned the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South-west. But due to political intrigues, members of the House from the South-west sold the speakership to another zone. Infact, what we are witnessing  is that those who sold the office that was zoned to their own part of the country are now turning round to blame the President for what happened.

I am not blaming the National Assembly all the way because there are certain things that I   have observed where the National Assembly stands on issues affecting certain individuals; and the Executive insists on following a parallel line. This should not be the case especially when the issues involved are not major. The President must find ways of working with the National Assembly,  especially the House of Representatives. Otherwise, they could for one minor issue suffocate the whole country.

What is your reaction to the recent face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi?
President Goodluck Jonathan should immediately suspend him over the   false alarm he raised concerning the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC’s alleged non-remittance of $49.8 billion into   the Federation Account.
I am surprised. I didn’t know that the report of the CBN indicating that a whopping sum of $49.8 billion was missing from the Federation Account   was false.

That gives the impression that the CBN Governor is working against the government he is serving. He tried to make President Jonathan look bad in the eyes of the public. The money involved was so huge that to lie about it   was a serious affair.

Irrespective of who is involved or my personal relationship with  him, given the present situation, the President should act presidentially. There is no way the Governor of CBN could   be trading words with the President.   He should   be suspended immediately from office. If this had happened under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the CBN Governor wouldn’t have been allowed to enter his office again after making a bold statement that the President could not remove him from office.

I read the second statement made by the CBN over the alleged missing billions of dollars but there was no mention of the fact that the Governor’s earlier claim was a mistake. The statement simply mentioned the role of the CBN. That kind of mistake is impossible. It was a deliberate action to impugn the President and his government. This is not a matter of being a   humble and simple Christian; there are presidential powers that must be respected.

Media   reports   in circulation   give the impression that the President can never bite even though he has teeth.   Sometimes the President needs to exercise his powers. This time around,   even though the President won’t   bite anybody, he needs to show his teeth and perhaps bite.

Falsehood from Sanusi or anybody   is not acceptable. Suspending him won’t affect the economy.   Even though the CBN Governor   insisted that $10 billion of the sum NNPC   ought to have paid into the Federation Account is   still missing,   the difference between approximately   $50 billion and $10 billion is like the difference between night and day. My position is that his later admission that it was a mistake and now   only   $10 billion   is like the action of a sinking man who is ready to hold on to any straw to prevent him from going under.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/01/stopping-jonathan-2015-will-grave-consequences-ezeife/#sthash.l4L8IUdY.dpuf

Matters Arising......

Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo

The Presidency may have put on hold its earlier directive to  the State Security Service  to investigate the weighty allegations contained in the controversial letter  written by  former  president Olusegun Obasanjo to  President Goodluck Jonathan in December last year.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the Presidency decided to halt the investigation of  the issues raised in the former president’s  letter in order to amicably settle the rift between President Jonathan  and his political benefactor.

It was learnt that notable political leaders in the country were already engrossed in moves to bring the President and Obasanjo together.

It was further gathered that security operatives were directed   to stop the investigation as a result of the ongoing efforts in high political circles to broker a truce between the two political figures.

A  source close to the Presidency, who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the President, told one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday  that the President was more interested in settling his differences with Obasanjo than carrying out the investigation that could deepen the crisis.

“The President was the one that gave the directive but I think another counter directive is in force now; they might not go into investigating all those things in the letter. I think they are making efforts to settle this matter.

“Political elders are intervening in it so the President asked them to stay action on it; so, for now there is nothing on it.

“There is the need to take a look at the political implication of the course of action. Besides, the President believes that his differences with Obasanjo are not irreconcilable,” the source said.

Security operatives had earlier contacted   the former president  over the controversial letter two weeks ago in response to an earlier directive by President Goodluck Jonathan.

A security source told one of our correspondents   that the SSS wrote Obasanjo following a presidential directive to security operatives to investigate the grave issues raised by the former president in his letter to the President late last year.

It was learnt that the SSS wrote to notify Obasanjo of the impending investigation.

Obasanjo had in an 18-page letter to the President, accused him, among other things, of not honouring his words that he would not run in 2015, and taking actions calculated at destroying Nigeria.

In the letter dated December 2, 2013 and titled, “Before it is too late”, Obasanjo accused the President of pursuing “selfish personal and political interests” based on advice from his “self-centred aides.”

He also alleged that the President had failed to deliver on his promises to Nigerians and to curb insurgency and corruption in the country.

Obasanjo also alleged that the President had put 1,000 politicians on a watch list and was training snipers.

“Nigeria is bleeding and the haemorrhage must be stopped,” an obviously angry Obasanjo had lamented. He went ahead to declare that “Jonathan had betrayed God and Nigerians,” who voted him into power.

In his response, Jonathan described the former president’s letter as a threat to national security.

The source added that the agency wrote Obasanjo on the week he wrote the then Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to announce his decision to withdraw from the activities of the PDP at the national and regional levels.

It was further learnt that the leadership of the SSS might decide to put the investigation on hold because of a move by the Federal Government and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party to resolve the matter through peaceful means.

The source said, “Obasanjo ought to have been summoned, but we have also been instructed to put investigation on hold for a possible peaceful resolution of the issues at stake.’’

However, a source close to the former president said that the SSS could not have summoned the former President even though the person was not specific in denying if a letter was written to the former President to notify him of the investigation.

The source also said that the issue of the SSS inviting Obasanjo was not likely as ‘they couldn’t have done so’ now that efforts were being made to settle the whole problem.

The source added that Obasanjo had been out of the country since last week, noting that he was expected back into the country within the week.

When contacted on Thursday, SSS Deputy Director, Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, pleaded for time to find out the status of the probe. “I will find out and get back to you,” the SSS spokesperson said.

But attempts to get Ogar’s reaction on Friday did not yield fruits as she neither pick her calls nor respond to text messages sent to her phone.

The police however claimed that they were not involved in the probe of the allegations made by former president Obasanjo.

A senior police officer confided in one of our correspondents that the police did not have record of investigation of the allegations made by Obasanjo.

The officer described the issues as political which he said would be resolved by the parties concerned. He added adding that the Force would not be involved in political issues.

“Do we have any record of such an investigation of Obasanjo’s allegations? I will say we don’t have such information with us. In any case, there is no way we can investigate the former president and those close to him would not know. Such an investigation cannot be hidden and the police will have to comment on it publicly if it is true, but for now, there is no information or record on any probe against Obasanjo,” the source said.

In previous attempts to confirm the status of the probe with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, he had always said he would not comment on alleged reversal of any directive that was officially issued by the President.

But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Olisah Metuh, has said  that the new National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, is likely to  meet former president Obasanjo as he commences efforts to woo aggrieved PDP members to the party next week.

Metuh said that the new chairman of the party would unveil his agenda for reconciliation in the party with effect from next week.

He said that Mu’azu placed emphasis on the issue of reconciliation when he hosted the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, in Abuja.

He said that Mu’azu’s agenda for reconciliation also included how to get the former president to participate in the party’s activities.

Metuh said, “The National Chairman is unveiling his agenda next week, but he has already said that the issue of reconciliation is paramount and very important.

“He stated this when he received the Governor of Jigawa State and he said categorically that he would try and bring the people that left.

“And the National Chairman has enormous, complete respect for our former President and our former Chairman, Board of Trustees, (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) and I am sure that he would unveil his agenda and the way that he would engage him in the coming weeks.

“He is unveiling his agenda for reconciliation and everything from next week, and would include the process of engaging the former President to ensure that he remains involved in the activities of the party, but let us wait for the national chairman to unveil his agenda from next week; from next week, he would start making policy statements on it.”