Beleaguered
Nigerian leader, Goodluck Jonathan embarked on his unpopular trip to
the Earth Summit in Rio de janeiro, Brazil with a 116-man delegation, it
emerged yesterday.
President Jonathan ignored critics and jetted out, Monday, to the Environment conference, leaving behind a country torn apart by days of bloody sectarian violence provoked by the extremist group, Boko Haram.
The
unwieldy presidential entourage, according to Presidency sources, had
25 personal aides of Jonathan; 18 aides of his wife, Patience; two
members of the National Assembly; five ministers; two governors; and 63
officials from the ministries of Environment, Foreign Affairs, National
Planning, and Petroleum Resources.
The president’s large delegation runs counter to his pledge, in January, to cut down on grandiose expenses, in the wake of public rejection of the fuel subsidy removal policy and the call for cuts in wastages in government.
After days of relentless street protests that shut down the country, the president tried to appease angry citizens by hurriedly proposing cuts in government’s overheads and foreign trips.
“To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices. On the part of government, we are taking several measures aimed at cutting the size and cost of governance, including on-going and continuous effort to reduce the size of our recurrent expenditure and increase capital spending.
“In this regard, I have directed that overseas travels by all political office holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum.
“The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved,” Jonathan promised in a statement.
Five months after, the president has clearly gone back on his promise given the large party he took to the Brazilian jamboree.
Meanwhile, the president’s minders have dismissed widespread criticism that he embarked on a foreign trip when the nation was under fire of renewed blood-letting in the north of the country.
Information Minister, Labaran Maku yesterday rose in stout defence of Jonathan, saying his absence created no vacuum in government, and that the president was in contact with key officials “on an hourly basis”.
“The President can take decision from anywhere in the world. His absence will not hamper his power to act.”
cuuled from pmnews
President Jonathan ignored critics and jetted out, Monday, to the Environment conference, leaving behind a country torn apart by days of bloody sectarian violence provoked by the extremist group, Boko Haram.
President Goodluck Jonathan
The president’s large delegation runs counter to his pledge, in January, to cut down on grandiose expenses, in the wake of public rejection of the fuel subsidy removal policy and the call for cuts in wastages in government.
After days of relentless street protests that shut down the country, the president tried to appease angry citizens by hurriedly proposing cuts in government’s overheads and foreign trips.
“To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices. On the part of government, we are taking several measures aimed at cutting the size and cost of governance, including on-going and continuous effort to reduce the size of our recurrent expenditure and increase capital spending.
“In this regard, I have directed that overseas travels by all political office holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum.
“The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved,” Jonathan promised in a statement.
Five months after, the president has clearly gone back on his promise given the large party he took to the Brazilian jamboree.
Meanwhile, the president’s minders have dismissed widespread criticism that he embarked on a foreign trip when the nation was under fire of renewed blood-letting in the north of the country.
Information Minister, Labaran Maku yesterday rose in stout defence of Jonathan, saying his absence created no vacuum in government, and that the president was in contact with key officials “on an hourly basis”.
“The President can take decision from anywhere in the world. His absence will not hamper his power to act.”
cuuled from pmnews
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