ASUU strike, evidence of govt failure –Rep

A member of the House of Representatives from Ekiti State, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, on Thursday, described the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as failure of the Peoples Democratic Party-led government.

He called on the National Assembly to probe the N186bn given to 15 companies under Power Airlines Intervention Fund. He also said that the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to remove the Director General of Security and Exchange Commission, Mrs. Arunma Oteh, despite the recommendation of the NASS, was a gross violation of the SEC Act.

He spoke in an interview with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday night.

Daramola, a member of the All Progressives Congress, said that the Federal Government had failed to tackle the rot in the education sector because the children of members of the ruling party were not schooling in Nigerian universities.

He said, “The Federal Government has been foot-dragging in resolving the present ASUU strike because their children are not in any of the Nigerian universities. This is a failure on the part of the government.”

The lawmaker representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency I said that the massive corruption in the country would wreck the nation’s economy soon.

Speaking on why the executive viewed the resolutions of the National Assembly with disdain, the lawmaker said this was so because the resolutions did not carry the force of law.

He said, “As at today, the NASS  is operating at sub-optimal capacity. That accounted for what is happening in SEC. The probe into the activities of SEC is not about Mrs. Arunma Oteh, it is about SEC as the regulator, and what it has put in place to restore the confidence of the people to come back to the capital market and invest.

“We recommended that she should be sacked because she is not qualified. The law that established SEC states that whoever will be the DG should have 15 years cognate experience and must be a financial member. She is still keeping her job because of ego. The DG of BPE, Bola Onagoruwa was sacked because Senate said she was not qualified. So, if the President loves Mrs. Oteh that much, she can appoint her as a Minister, as a way of respecting the law. She must understand that President Jonathan will leave, no matter how long, but the law will remain because individuals will go but the law will remain.”

Daramola also called on the National Assembly to institute a probe into the PAIF, an initiative of the CBN and the African Finance Corporation.

He said, “There is a need to investigate the N186bn given to 15 companies under Power Airlines Intervention Fund.  This is practically shoving the nation’s money into the pockets of 15 people.

“This same administration, under President Goodluck Jonathan, has given stimulus packages to several kinds of agencies, individuals and companies of interest to them under the PAIF. One organisation received N668m under the name, Odeingaga Aviation Services. They gave Caverton Helicopters, belonging to an individual, over N600m.

“This country is going aground and it is already grounding. The manifestations are on the streets and faces of all Nigerians. The day of reckoning is coming.”

cued from punch news