The federal government has dissociated itself from the conviction of Mr Henry Okah, the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) by a South African court following threats by the group to resume hostilities.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, said this not the time for any group to threaten the peace and unity of the nation.

He appealed to Nigerians to team up with the federal government in sustaining the peace being enjoyed in most parts of the country.

MEND had on Saturday in a statement signed by Comrade Azizi, threatened to unleash series of attack which would include nuclear attacks over the conviction of Henry Okah in South Africa.

The militant group stated that it will unleash a campaign of terror with plans to destabilize and break up Nigeria.

The group also declared the Minister of the Niger Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, persona non grata, advising him to stay away from the region.

South Africans resident in Nigeria were also asked to advise their home government to steer clear of Nigeria’s affairs.

Mr. Okah, was last week found guilty on 13 counts and faces a minimum sentence of life in prison in South Africa, where he was found guilty of masterminding two car bombs that killed at least 10 people in Abuja at the Independence Day ceremony in 2010.

Spurious allegations

On the statement credited to a former Vice President of the World Bank, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, that the Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan government had squandered the $67 billion (about N10.6trillion) in foreign reserves, saved by the Obasanjo administration, the Minister of information described the statements as spurious allegations and inaccurate.

Acknowledging that Nigeria still faces some challenges, most of which were built up over a long period, the Minister appealed to those who have been privileged to serve the nation to desist from making statements that are untrue.

The former Minister of Solid Minerals and of Education, had made the allegation while delivering the keynote paper at the 42nd convocation of the University of Nigeria.

The Information Minister who was flanked by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe; Economic Adviser, Prof. Nwanze Okedegbo and Special Adviser on Performance Monitoring, Prof. Sylvester Monye; said the allegations of Ezekwesili were curious in the light of the fact that she has been part of governance in the past.

“The statement by the former World Bank Vice President that the governments of Presidents Musa Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan have squandered $67 billion in reserves (including $45 billion in external reserves and $22 billion in the Excess Crude Account) left by the Obasanjo Administration at the end of May 2007 is factually incorrect.”

“At the end of May 2007, Nigeria’s gross reserves stood at $43.13 billion – comprising the CBN’s external reserves of $31.5 billion, $9.43 billion in the Excess Crude Account, and $2.18 billion in the Federal Government’s savings”, he explained, adding that “these figures can be independently verified from the CBN’s records.”

“The figure of $67 billion alleged in her statement is therefore clearly fictitious” stated Mr Maku.

He further adds that “however, since President Obasanjo left office, the reserves have experienced fluctuations, rising from $43.13 billion in May 2007, peaking at $62 billion in September 2008 during the Yar’adua/Jonathan Administration when oil prices peaked at $147 per barrel, and falling subsequently to a low of $31.7 in September 2011.”

“This fall in reserves was a result of the vicissitudes of the global financial crisis which caused CBN interventions in the currency market to defend the value of the Naira. The Excess Crude savings, a component of the reserves, was also used to stimulate the economy at the height of the global financial crisis to the tune of about $1 billion (or 0.5 percent of our 2009 GDP). As a result, Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world that did not seek assistance from international financial institutions.”

“It should be noted that the fiscal stimulus used to shore up the economy during that period was shared by all 3-tiers of government, including commitments of about $5.5 billion made under the Obasanjo Administration for power projects” the Minister stated.