Nigerians need not worry about the health of President Muhammadu Buhari because he is fit and healthy, Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, told Thiday’s Arise TV yesterday in Abuja.
‘’Last Sunday, the president stood for one hour; and if he is not fit he would have collapsed. I do not think we should discuss president’s medical history. What are we worrying about? I will soon go for 10 days’ vacation, in which I will go for medical check-up. The rumour about his death or he is alive, is all nonsense,’’ he said.
News of purported death of the president had gone viral in rumour circles on Friday, forcing the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu to deny the speculation on his Twitter handle.
The president is on a 10-day vacation in London, during which he plans to undergo routine medical check-up, according to his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
Amaechi also spoke on other sundry issues, including the impending closure of the Nnamidi Azikiwe International Airport and Buhari’s plan to redevelop the Niger Delta.
He said the airport had to be closed because its runway was being rebuilt entirely.
The minister said: ‘’I do not know whether we have done enough enlightenment to let the public know what the situation is. The first problem is that we are not rehabilitating the runway; we are rebuilding a completely damaged runway.
‘’The airport was built to last for 20 years, but it lasted for 24 years. If it is rehabilitation, it will just last for about three days; but it has gone beyond that. We should ask the past government why the airport was allowed to deteriorate to this level.
‘’There was a time under former President Umaru Yar’Adua that the federal government wanted to build the second runway, but the National Assembly removed it from the budget. If we had done the second runway, we would not have closed the airport while we rebuild the first one. We need 24 hours for six weeks to reconstruct the runway. We will make sure it does not go beyond those six weeks.’’
On the inadequate facilities at the alternative airport, the Kaduna Airport, Amaechi assured Nigerians that everything will be fixed before March.
‘’Abuja/Kaduna Road will be reconstructed; we are buying more coaches for the railway; anybody who does not want to use the road can use the railway. A lot of agencies are involved’’, he said.
Amaechi told Arise TV that while the Buhari administration was committed to the development of the Niger Delta, it would not do so by sharing money to its political elites as it was done in the past.
Rather, he said, the president would invest hugely in the region’s infrastructure development and human capacity building.
‘’The conversation on Niger Delta is on-going; recently Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was in Niger Delta to continue with the dialogue. And President Buhari is committed to resolving the issues,’’ the minister said.
He added: ‘’But, unlike in the past, where the political elite were interfacing with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Presidential Amnesty Office and sharing money met for the development of the region, we will invest in infrastructure development and capacity building in the area.’’
Amaechi also gave reason for the present economic recession in the country, saying it was largely caused by the corruption of the past government.
‘’We are in recession because when former president Olusegun Obasanjo was leaving office, he left $68 billion in foreign reserve. What happened to the $68 billion? Don’t forget we were in recession in 2009; we have forgotten that the then President Yar’Adua had to go to excess crude account to take a billion dollars every month to fund the economy,’’ Amaechi claimed.
He explained: “By the time Yar’Adua died, about $48 billion was left in the excess crude account. They said the Governors’ Forum said they should share the money; fine. They should also ask why the governors said they should share the money.
‘’At that time we used to hold monthly economic council meeting. The constitution says there must be at least one economic council meeting every month. Under the watch of former President Goodluck Jonathan, they stopped the meeting.
‘’Do you know why they stopped it? Because any time we come for the meeting, $48 billion will come down to $47 billion and when we ask, they will tell us the President said they should use it.’’
He added that the excess crude account belongs to the three tiers of government, saying the federal government does not have the right to spend that money without taking into account the feeling of the states and local governments.
‘’At that point I became the chairman of the Governors Forum and when we looked at the way the money was going, we said we should share the money. We shared only $10 billion. But by the time Buhari took over, what was handed over was $2.5 billion from the excess crude account’’, he added.
He said the federal government is doing everything to fight corruption using the relevant anti-corruption agencies by following the due process.
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2015 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
