Plagiarism: Embarrassed Buhari Orders Probe •Govt Blames Deputy Director, Says It Was A Mistake •BBC Posts Video Clips of Obama’s, Buhari’s Speeches

Heads may roll in the Presidency soon over the plagiarized speech that President Muhammadu Buhari was made to deliver at the recent launch of “Change Begins with Me” campaign.

Portions of the speech have been found to have been lifted from a speech delivered by United States President Barack Obama in 2008.

Saturday Tribune’s investigation discovered that the speech originated from the Federal Ministry of Information, organizers of the campaign, but it was sent to the Office of the Chief of Staff for onward transmission to the President.

The insertion of a paragraph from President Obama’s 2008 speech was done in the presidency before it was passed to Buhari.

As the scandal broke on Friday, many local and foreign news outlets latched on to it with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) posting video clips of the US president’s speech and that of Buhari to show the similarity.

The paragraph from President Buhari’s speech reads: “We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long. Let us summon a new spirit of responsibility, spirit of service, of patriotism and sacrifice, Let us all resolve to pitch in and work hard and look after, not only ourselves but one another. What the current problem has taught us is that we cannot have a thriving army of rent seekers and vested interests, while the majority suffers.”

The paragraph from Obama’s speech reads: “Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other. Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.”

Presidency owns up

THE Presidency Friday night admitted that there were similarities between aspects of President Muhammadu Buhari’s “Change Begins with Me’’ address and the one he was accused of plagiarizing from President Obama’s 2008 speech.

A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, blamed it on a Deputy Director in the Presidency who it said had already accepted responsibility.

It said an investigation has already been launched into the incident.

The statement read: “President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that prompt and appropriate disciplinary action be taken against those responsible for a wrongful insertion in his speech delivered on September 8, 2016 at the launch of the “Change Begins with Me’’ campaign.

“It was observed that the similarities between a paragraph in President Obama’s 2008 Victory Speech and what President Buhari read in paragraph nine of the sixteen-paragraph address while inaugurating the Campaign on Thursday, September 8, 2016 are too close to be passed as coincidence.

“There was a mistake by an overzealous staff and we regret that this has happened.

“Already, a Deputy Director in the Presidency has accepted responsibility for the insertion of the contentious paragraph.

“This serious oversight will be investigated thoroughly and appropriate sanction meted.

“The Presidency wishes to state in the clearest possible terms that it regrets this unfortunate incident and will ensure that this does not happen again.

“President Buhari urges Nigerians to look beyond this incident and focus on the message of change which the country needs in order to restore our cherished value systems.”

Tribune

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FG Releases Another N350bn To Fight Recession, Boost Economy

In a bid to stimulate economic activities, the Federal Government says it is releasing additional N350bn for capital projects as was captured in the 2016 budget.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, gave the figure on Friday while briefing journalists on interventions measures being taken by the government to reflate the economy which is currently in recession.

She said that the release of the additional N350bn brings the total capital releases made by the government to N760bn.

She said with the economy in recession, the level of consumer demand would be reduced drastically hence the need for government to step in by injecting more money.

She said, “What government wants to do is to step in and begin to spend and pushing more money into the economy and then get things moving again.

“Since the budget was passed in May we have released and cash backed fully N420bn capital releases. As we speak now, we are about releasing another N350bn that’s between May and now.

“One of the sectors we spent the money on, of course the largest has been power, works and housing. Quite a lot has gone on defence because we need to rebuild the credibility of our army to continue in their efforts in the new phase, interior, transport.”

The minister said out of the N350bn, the government would be setting aside N60bn for the implementation of the social intervention programme, to make poor Nigerians smile.

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FRSC: Oct 1 Speed Limiting Device Deadline Sacrosanct

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said the installation of speed limiting device on vehicles is in accordance with the commission’s Establishment Act.

Assistant Corps Marshall Kayode Olagunju spoke yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar.

Olagunju said the act empowered the commission to determine and enforce speed limiter for all vehicles.

According to him, it also empowers the commission to control the use of speed limiting devices.

He explained that the National Road Travelling Regulation Act 2012, Regulation 152 Sub-section (4) “says a person cannot drive a vehicle that is not fitted with speed limiter on any public road.

“I wish to tell Nigerians that the planned installation of the speed limiting device is legal. Section 10, Sub-section (3m) of the FRSC Establishment Act 2007 empowers the commission with the mandate to enforce the use of the device.

“The same Regulation 152 Sub-section 5 specifies penalty of N3,000 or three months’ imprisonment for defaulters.

“This is not an administrative issue; it is something that is backed by law made by the National Assembly.

“We decided not to implement it on April 1, because we thought we needed to do more public education on it and to also get the collaboration of stakeholders.’’

According to him, the corps. will start installation of the device with commercial vehicles on October 1, as commercial vehicles account for about 60 per cent of road accidents.

On driver’s licence, Olagunju cautioned officers against issuing fake licences to the public, warning that the commission will not tolerate unwholesome practices.

TheNation

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$20m Accounts: Should FG Probe Jonathan, Patience? | Punch

Of course, the government can probe anybody. For me, probing the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, and his wife, Patience, is not a big deal. If they are able to defend themselves, it is okay. Otherwise, the law should take its course. Anytime the government is suspicious of an individual, the person involved should be invited for questioning.

I think such is good for the country. It would send a signal to those who are in power that there would be a day of reckoning. It implies that another person would, sometime in the future, question those who in power now.

Where many people have gone wrong is calling for the arrest of the ex-President and his wife. You cannot arrest an accused person while an investigation is ongoing. It is only in Nigeria that you arrest people before looking for evidence against them.

That should not be encouraged as it is against the rule of law. The law presumes an accused person innocent until it is proved otherwise. There is no basis for the call for the arrest of the ex-President or his wife.- •Yusuf Ali (A Senior Advocate of Nigeria)

Besides the millions of dollar that have been traced to Patience Jonathan, the Federal Government has the power to investigate anybody. A mere suspicion is enough to probe Mrs. Jonathan just like any other person much less the fact that a huge amount of money has been traced to her.

The foreign account saga means that Jonathan and his wife should be probed. Mrs. Jonathan was promoted to the position of permanent secretary during the Jonathan administration. That was the highest office she held. How much did all her salaries amount to? Where could the money have come from? Was her wealth declared as of when her husband was elected as President?

We need to know the source of the money. Certainly, this calls for a fresh probe of Jonathan and his wife. Already, there is a presumption that the money belongs to the public. She has to prove otherwise. We need to send a strong signal that we would not continue to allow profligacy. – •Osita Ogbu (Professor of Law/Director, Centre for Advancement of Democracy & Rule of Law)

For me, the discovery of the money should be divorced from the personality of Mrs. Patience Jonathan. It could have been any other person. It is one of the results of the efforts of the anti-graft agencies to find out how public funds were looted in the past. It could have been anybody that benefitted from the alleged corruption.

Anybody caught with suspicious money should be able to explain the source of the money. In this, it is coincidental that the money belongs to Mrs. Jonathan.

What is important now is to investigate the sources of the money. There is the need for a thorough investigation to know the sources of the money and when it was lodged in the accounts. If the wife of the former president is able to convince the law enforcement agencies that the money was genuinely earned, there is no issue about it. – •Auwal Musa (Board Chairman, Amnesty International, Nigeria)

This is no longer an allegation. It is a statement of an oath by Patience Jonathan that the money belongs to her. But we know that millions of dollars could not have been legally earned from the position of a permanent secretary, a position she held in Bayelsa State until her resignation from public service.

As a president’s wife, Patience’s office during the Goodluck Jonathan administration was not a constitutional one. So, she could not have earned such money from her position. She has to prove that she legitimately earned the money.

Just as she swore to an oath that the money is hers, she has an obligation to prove the source of the money. She should tell the country exactly how she got the money. If the authorities are not satisfied with her explanation, she should be prosecuted.

We should not forget that the Money Laundry Act and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act were set up to address financial and economic crimes.

As a permanent secretary in the Bayelsa State Government, could Mrs. Jonathan have earned such money legitimately? Was she into a business that could have fetched her that amount? She has to prove that it is not ill-gotten money.

Whether Jonathan himself should be probed depends on other facts that could be unveiled. We have always stated that there should be no witch-hunt under the guise of anti-corruption war. If Jonathan is not connected to the allegation, there is no point dragging him into the issue. There has to be evidence that he has a question to answer before he could be invited. For now, I don’t see any reason why Jonathan should be involved. – •Rommy Mom (Executive Director, Lawyers Alert)

For me, it should not just be about the money traced to Mrs. Patience Jonathan. It should be about how public officers loot the treasury. We should remember that Mrs. Jonathan’s office during her husband’s administration was not formal. She was not entitled to salaries or budgetary allocations. But whether the money belongs to her husband is of public interest.

What is important is to examine her worth before her husband became president and the financial status of Jonathan himself before he became president. If there are wide discrepancies that are not explainable, then there could be questions on the sources.

However, that does not imply that I support the so-called ongoing anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari. I think it is political. Otherwise, there is no former public office holder, including the President himself that did not profit from corruption. What they spend on themselves alone, much less what they keep in bank accounts, is much more than what they earn legally.

Today, the President cannot claim that corruption has not continued under his watch. It is embarrassing that public officials have continued to collect millions of naira as ‘estacodes’ while many states pay either half salaries or nothing. Interestingly, when the President visited Osun State recently, he did not mention the fact that the civil servants of the state have been collecting a fraction of their salaries. What has happened to the bailouts the Federal Government gave to the governors? – •Alfred Adegoke (A lawyer)

The ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife should be investigated for corruption. It is clear that Jonathan, directly or indirectly, encouraged a high-level of corruption. If it were in other climes, there are sufficient enough reasons to prosecute Jonathan. It is clear that he supervised a massive looting of the country’s treasury.

If President Muhammadu Buhari is serious in fighting corruption, the first person to prosecute is Jonathan. It does not matter how anybody would look at the issue; somebody was at the helm of affairs when the looting was going on. What can any team do when its head is rotten?

A former Minister of Works and Housing, Chief Tony Anenih; and Chief Olu Falae, another former minister, confessed that they have proofs that directly link Jonathan to ‘Dasukigate’. What other evidence do we need? The ex-president should be thoroughly investigated. Now that his wife has been linked with a case of corruption, he should be invited for questioning. Investigation does not mean that one is guilty. – •Declan Ihekaire (National Coordinator, Activists for Good Governance)

Compiled by: Geoff Iyatse

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