@all,

Culled from Sahara reporters:Written by Dora Akuyili
Thursday, 04 February 2010 17:55

The memo presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday by Information Minister Dora Akunyili asking Yar’Adua to present a letter of vacation to the Senate as required by section 145 of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution. The full text of the memo below:
STATE OF THE NATION

1. I want to start my humble submission by stating that I am a 100 per cent loyalist of President Yar’Adua. He appointed all of us because he trusts us and wants us to help him to run government effectively and efficiently. Mr. President has given all of us seated in this chamber the opportunity to serve our nation as members of this council.

I believe that in the choice of all of us, as individuals and group, Mr. President must have considered our ability to guide him aright to serve our people better, promote and protect the constitution in line with the oath of office taken before him in this chamber by each and every one of us. President Yar’Adua is very dear to me just as he is to all of you.

2. We are all aware of what has been happening in Nigeria, especially as it concerns the issue of making the Vice President an acting President. There have been debates for and against. 3. Some have argued that there is no vacuum and that it is okay for the Vice President to function as Vice President, not as Acting President pending the return and recovery of Mr. President. For the proponents of this theory, I want to remind them that Permanent Secretaries had been waiting to be sworn in for over two months now. Consequently, many ministries are without Permanent Secretaries including my ministry.

As it is today, the Vice President cannot take any document to National Assembly. In a very desperate situation like the recent Jos crisis, the Vice President deployed troops to Plateau, but many have openly said that he does not have the right because there cannot be two Commanders-in-Chief at a time.

4. Just recently, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, has opted out of the amnesty and resumed hostility. They argued that they have been kept in limbo since the President took ill and they appeared to have been abandoned since nobody could talk to them or keep the promise made to them. Our economy is once more being threatened.

5. The past Chief Justice of the Federation swore in his successor for the first time in the history of our nation. The power vacuum at that level has also compounded our ‘poor image’ at the international level because of our failure to rise to international expectations, commitments and engagements that require the presence of our President.

Many of those opportunities have existed in the past 70 days that I do not need to recount. I do not need to repeat the uncomplimentary statements made by United States, United Kingdom and EU concerning the current state of affairs in Nigeria .

6. There has been persistent agitation by the public for members of the Federal Executive Council to do something. Nigerians expect us to rise to this challenge on behalf of our President as the leader of this administration. Some eminent citizens have spoken. They include former Heads of State and others who have served our nation in various capacities.

The Senate has also taken a position of which we are all aware. The looming crisis in the system is over boiling. Our hard earned democracy is being threatened by the day.

7. What went wrong? We love our President but we should remember that he is not infallible. Before he left Nigeria he had a moral and constitutional obligation to officially inform the Senate and hand over the mantle of leadership to the Vice President pending his return and recovery. That did not happen. Yes, the mistake has been made by our Boss and our brother.

Mr. President is ill and did not choose to be sick. But while we continue to pray for his recovery, we should try to right the wrong.

8. Some have argued that he left the country in a hurry. This argument has been punctured by the fact that he signed the Appropriation Bill for National Assembly. If he could sign the Bill, why did he not sign a letter for Vice President to act on his behalf until he is well enough?

9. We have a local proverb that says that “A goat does not get strangulated by the rope used in tying it when an adult is present.” We are all in a better position to know that the polity is overheated to a frightening level. Posterity will judge us harshly if we do not positively intervene to resolve this logjam.

10. I wish to call on the Federal Executive Council to act now in the best interest of our dear President and our dear Nation.

We also need to save ourselves from shame because our stand is becoming very embarrassing. He has been away for about 70 days now, even if he returns tomorrow, is it not better for him to rest and recover before taking over from the Vice President?

11. We need to do what is morally right and constitutional for the President to officially hand over to the Vice President to function as Acting President. If he does not, we can evoke whichever aspect of the constitution that should make the Vice President an Acting President.

On the other hand we can take advantage of the 14 days ultimatum by the court which will expire on Friday. When the President resumes duty as soon as he recovers, by the grace of God, he takes over his position.

12. I am not saying that President Yar’Adua should resign or condemn him for being sick. He did not choose to be sick. We will continue to pray for him, but all I am saying is, let us encourage him do the right thing so that our hard earned democracy will not be truncated. Anybody who feels otherwise is unfair to our President (who has been preaching the rule of law), and utterly unfair to our country.

13. The name of our President and all his achievements are being rubbished by this unfortunate debacle. The President and his family are also being put under undue pressure which will not help his recovery.

14. If we fail to act now, history will not forgive us. I rest my case.

where this sahara people de get all these things sef.

Meanwhile I hail Dora.
Dora for president!!!

onye_ngbu:

where this sahara people de get all these things sef.

Meanwhile I hail Dora.
Dora for president!!!

dat sahara reporter guy go either get person for white house sorry Aso rock or make him dey hack into systems database to spool vital infos

I love this Woman for this bold front. Pls Dora, press on and dont resign your position.
Stay and fight on,
ALUTA Continua ,  Victoria Acerta.

nethacker:

dat sahara reporter guy go either get person for white house sorry Aso rock or make him dey hack into systems database to spool vital infos

 
Anyhow, anytime any day, I hail SReporters. They are so smart.

No matter the source, this presentation encapsulates the general feeling in the polity.
I could not have added or removed any sentence.

THE QUESTION IS , WILL THEY LISTEN?

citizenY:


THE QUESTION IS , WILL THEY LISTEN?

Whether they listen or not, we Nigerians know who is on the side of the people and those who would prefer the country slides into anarchy because of some selfish reasons. If they fail to act now, a time is coming that they shall individually be called upon to answer for the roles they played in this whole saga and we know those that will receive rather harsh judgement.

For this singular reason, Dora has had her name engraved in gold.

This is just the beginning, the whole episode is getting more exciting by the day!!

onye_ngbu:

where this sahara people de get all these things sef.

Even Channels TV has the PDF on their website through the link below.
http://www.channelstv.com/headlines.php
Stop wondering how news circulates. That's their job and forget not some people's interests will be furthered if Yaradua exits and some if he stays. How come he called BBC when the rumor of his death hit the streets courtesy American Chronicle?
Didn't some people use that as a kite to draw him out of hiatus?
Get ready for more anti and pro Yaradua news leaks.

Meanwhile I hail Dora.
Dora for president!!!

Them don come again O!
Been patriotic is what is expected of her and the rest of 'em FEC.
Her stand should have shown up long time ago not just now.
However it's still a bold move in a council peopled with men that have seared consciences.

The truth is bitter. She has said it all. If they fail to heed her advice, we shall have a good history to write. Well done, Dora.

I wish we could have SaharaReporter on DSTV just like we have Aljazeera,FOX and CNN today.
FEC can withdraw the memo from all the FEC members present at the meeting but not from Sahara Reporters.

I hope Vanguard,Tribune,Punch,Sun and Guardian are learning what it means for a journalist to go the extra mile.
Give us the koko,quit splashing bogus headlines you cant substantiate.

citizenY:


THE QUESTION IS , WILL THEY LISTEN?

f^ck them. we dey listen oh

Kx:



I hope Vanguard,Tribune,Punch,Sun and Guardian are learning what it means for a journalist to go the extra mile.
Give us the koko,quit splashing bogus headlines you cant substantiate.

Word

The woman is gradually retracing her step and lost glory

Dora has said it all and history will vindicate her. As for those swine in the FEC, senate and rep their end is very near.

That group of animals in borrowed human skin will not understand one sentence from that memo. Useless goats in Abuja.

RichyBlacK:

That group of animals in borrowed human skin will not understand one sentence from that memo. Useless goats in Abuja.

The F.O.O.L.S quickly asked her to take back her Memo and let the status quo remain. . . . . .

abubaka:


12. I am not saying that President Yar’Adua should resign or condemn him for being sick. He did not choose to be sick. We will continue to pray for him, but all I am saying is, let us encourage him do the right thing so that our hard earned democracy will not be truncated. Anybody who feels otherwise is unfair to our President (who has been preaching the rule of law), and utterly unfair to our country.


14. If we fail to act now, history will not forgive us. I rest my case.

Am still seriously wondering why it took DORA over 70 days to suddenly wake up and discover that our president/govt has being preaching rule of law?

I also thut she was rebranding us as Great Nation Good People? What will she call a great nation and good people who it will take over 70 days to speak out against an illegality in the system?

Am happy the Good People in the 'FEC' has just shown her how Good they truely are!

Am sure history will not forgive her for supporting illegality for these long.

For once people have come to realise that Sahara stands taller than any News organisation in Nigeria. For long we have been saying this but folks disagreed.

As for Dora and Yar'adua. While this is a bold step, it is the best option for Yar'adua and provides him and his handlers a face saving window. They can either be wise by doing the right thing or remain narrow minded like they have been.

I think the content of Dora's memo is that of an honest friend to the President not a rebel minister. She has not denied her loyalty and support for Yar'adua.

This is no time to analyse what impact this can have on Dora's integrity, rather we should focus on capturing more allies within the FEC who agree that loyal to country and constitution is bigger than loyal to friends and if necessary the truth must be said.

chosen04:

Am still seriously wondering why it took DORA over 70 days to suddenly wake up and discover that our president/govt has being preaching rule of law?

Am sure history will not forgive her for supporting illegality for these long.

Bia nne, wetin this woman do you sef?

If she no talk, you for talk say she no talk, now she don talk your complain be say she no talk early.

So she for begin bring memo when yaradua neva reach saudi.

make you go siddon jare.

Hey Madam, you try but remember you are stepping on your masters toes. So be careful and now Aondonaka is calling for your resignation.

O! Dora,if truly you wrote this,you have once more made an indelible mark in the affairs of this nation.You will always be remembered in history as a woman of honour and indeed a rare gem.I salute your courage.

It is not enough for her to present this literature to her colleagues at the ECF. She should resign if her stand is rejected. To do otherwise will translate into a failure to stand for her belatedly expressed beliefs.

so history will forgive the animals on Nairaland and by extension Nigeria who use every opportunity to abuse any tribe that's not their own in the name of some useless and backward ethnic nationalism?

The letter is wonderful. Let's see how many other cabinet members will back her up.
Is there a Col. Fajuyi in the house
It's time to show how loves this country and who doesn't.

^^ why dont you lead the way and die like Fajuyi?

^^^^^
I'm not in the federal executive council; in case you forgot.

Dora Akunyili has taken a huge and positive step. She may be on the way to redeeming her image after soiling the hell out of it. I hate to say but I dont trust her or anyone who has tasted power as part of an evil cabal like we have today. Like a fat old thief said - ''Na siddon look I dey''

mikeansy:

For once people have come to realise that Sahara stands taller than any News organisation in Nigeria. For long we have been saying this but folks disagreed.

As for Dora and Yar'adua. While this is a bold step, it is the best option for Yar'adua and provides him and his handlers a face saving window. They can either be wise by doing the right thing or remain narrow minded like they have been.

I think the content of Dora's memo is that of an honest friend to the President not a rebel minister. She has not denied her loyalty and support for Yar'adua.

This is no time to analyse what impact this can have on Dora's integrity, rather we should focus on capturing more allies within the FEC who agree that loyal to country and constitution is bigger than loyal to friends and if necessary the truth must be said.

mikeansy,

I don't recall disagreeing with you, but thanks for the post.

naijaking1:

^^^^^
I'm not in the federal executive council; in case you forgot.

you dont have to be in the executive council to die for what you believe in.

As the Minister of Information, she should have informed Nigerians the present state of Mr. President’s health condition instead of letting Nigerians into her political shenanigans about the constitution and transition of power to the VP.

How come nobody is saying "That's why I love Igbos"? If this were something like: 'Akunyili Backs Yar'Adua', the Igbo haters like bk/ba. . .(whatever) would bring out their guns, Becomricch would map out maps like mad, showing how the Igbo would end up in the North or in Haiti. . .

Better late than never!

If we fail to act now, history will not forgive us.

Dora is trailing the path of honour, the part of morality. No wonder she has stopped commenting on issues.