DaBullIT:
Congratulations to BadLuck Egbere JoSatan. You succeeded in ruining the country with corruption

Mind your choice of word and don't think your coded identity cannot be deciphered. You are not immune to the consequences of libel.

citizenisb:
http://www.punchng.com/news/oil-slump-fg-unveils-austerity-measures/


The minister stressed that even though the drop in oil prices was a serious challenge, it was also an opportunity for the country to refocus efforts towards the non-oil sectors in preparation for a future with less oil revenue.

As part of the efforts to reduce expenditure, she said international travel within the public service would be severely curtailed, adding however, that critical infrastructure projects would not be affected because they were key to economic growth, development and job creation.


She stated that the decline in oil prices had given additional impetus to the Federal Government’s focus on increasing non-oil revenues.

In this regard, the collection target for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which has been working with Mckinsey to increase receipts will be revised upwards for next year.

Se said the country had recorded good success in reaching the initial target set this year of N75bn; noting that so far N65bn of this had been collected.

For 2015, the minister put the revised target at N160bn above the 2014 base.

Okonjo-Iweala also unveiled plans by the government to introduce what she called “tax on luxurious goods,” stating that this was a part of measures aimed at increasing revenue from non-oil sources.

She said that users of luxurious items, such as private jets, yachts, alcoholic beverages and expensive cars, would be required to pay special taxes for such goods.

You don't want to deal with corruption but you want to increase taxation, same movie script of 2011, leave corruption in tact, increase the suffering of the people.

Okonjo iweala is a Fvcktard

retepmurt:
Ok.Some of us are no more gullible,our leaders have failed us.All their economic measures are always theoretical and nt practical as obtained in other countries.Anybody that believes this govt can believe anything.

It's not about believing the government. Its about having an understanding of politics. Jonathan is [b]NOT [/b]going to increase the burden on the masses by cutting capital expenditure or increasing taxes. This is because he wants to be reelected come 2015. Do you know what will happen to his supporters base if he were to increase taxes on the masses? Its the same reason why the government has vehemently refused to devalue the naira from our current levels to 200 to 1 dollar and have instead opted to use our reserves to support the naira. Its all for the 2015 elections.

DaBullIT:
Congratulations to BadLuck Egbere JoSatan. You succeeded in ruining the country with corruption

Mind your choice of words buddy and don't think your coded identity cannot be deciphered. You are not immune to the consequences of libel.

Gistdutch:
Why do you think is only the elite that will be affected ,can you explain better for us to learn ?

First they are limiting travel for public office holders. This means less money coming from the masses to support thier trips.

The second is by increasing taxes on luxury goods only the rich will be affected. These are not regular goods that the average Nigerian can afford.

Such things like Wine, Armoured vehicles, Diamonds, Yahcts, high level cars like porshe, e.t.c

Also since majority of our luxury goods are imported the increase in taxes will not be able to touch the common man.

Infact an increase in taxes on a luxury good like wine will be good for the economy. Since a substitute good to wine is beer, I see more rich Nigerians spending their money on beer, and since we manufacture our own beer in this country it means more money going into the economy.

Think about the 68,000 households in abuja with $150,000 of spending power paying higher taxes and channeling their money back into the economy.

“We have the benefit of being able to compare those two markets. In Abuja, there are over 68,000 households with annual expenditure of over $150,000 per household which is quite fantastic. For a retailer and investor, this statistics is quite compelling and emboldening. We know all these because we conduct our research which emboldens us in our investments.”

http://businessdayonline.com/2013/10/equity-investor-targets-150000-household-spend-in-abuja-with-jabi-mall/#.VGnYAvnF-So

Blue murder.

I can't believe Ngozi Okonjo Iweala can look Nigerians in the face and propose Austerity measures.

In this present day reckless government,

In this country where Billions of Dollarz get stolen everyday by people in government circles.

In this country where crude oil can't be accounted for.

In this country where Militants are living Affluently.

In this same country where the Masses are opressed,

Where people die of bomb blast on daily basis,

Now Austerity for the Masses..

How much more can this government imporverish its people.

"Government dey fati with biggy money and the rest dey hungary".. (Rest in peace Fela)


Austerity should never ever be channeled against the masses, these same masses where unemployment is at its highest..

These massess that don't enjoy Roads, water, Electricity, these same masses that don't have access to any form of basic social security..


Ok, let's say u bench mark oil price as low as $73 dollars, u think I don't know how much Crude oil has fallen to in the international markets?

Should the fate of Nigerians in the first be tied around only price of Crude oil?

I tot as finance minister, the country should be buffered so much so it should be immuned to external shocks..

Too much cluelessness indeed.

The only way Government wants to justify their recklessness is Austerity Measures..


The last and most recent Austerity measures I ever heard of was in Greece,
Greece has Functional Transportation systems, air, road and rail. Basic social ammenities, water, electricity, roads, health.

Greece is a far more developed democracy than ours..

But the truth is, at the end of the day. The greek government made arrest of Greedy corrupt Politicians..

because Greece is in the European union, every european is to have the same value in the Euro, the single currency in europe. Germany wanted the value of one Euro in Germany to be the same value in Greece because that is the concept of the european union.

However, there is efficiency and productivity In Germany but there was laxity and laziness and greed and corruption in Greece.

How did Germany had to tidy things up?
Ok. Germany is the big brother in Europe,

When greece got broke and needed a bail-out, Germany was the one to dictate how much they inject into greece for greeks to run on.

Germany pointed out that Greece had Corrupt Politicians that later faced legal actions.


Before Ngozi prescribes the bitter medicine of austerity for Nigerians, She should tell GEJ to Detain and arrest and prosecute all corrupt public officials, every contrctor that has abscunded with public funds, every unjustful spendings, every extra budgetary activities, every money that has not been accounted for? The one Sanusi lamido sanusi screemed about, are u telling me Sanusi is a kid and doesn't know his left from his right, Same Sanusi is an Emir now..

All these stolen money, all this recklessness must be accounted for before austerity measures issues should ever arise.


Do u know how much crude oil is stolen everyday in this country?

People should be held accountable first before Mrs Ngozi comes out to prescribe Austerity Measure, except she's telling us the government of the day has no Moral standing to try any corrupt official..


EFCC, ICPC. Do these agencies still exist.

Austerity is too expensive for the man who just lost his family to a bomb blast in mubi.

Austerity is too expensive for the family of the graduate who died in seeking employment at the Nigerian immigration.


Austerity would be too expensive for parents of those Chibok Girls.

Is Nigeria turning to Sudan or Something? Or Somalia?

Where are we actually headed?

For crying out loud, for christ sake.


The government should remove the log in its eyes before removing the spec in the eyes of the masses.


Ngozi Okonjo iweala is a world renowned economist, she's served with world bank, Yes! But I refuse to associate with prescription of Austerity measure as the next best thing to heal our land..

Pls don't add more pain to suffering.
People are suffering, People are suffering and People in Aso Rock don't even have a feel what an average nigeria is going thru.

In one same country, gap between the haves and have not is so wide!


Mind you, Austerity measures in Greece, Greece had no Crude oil ooo! Greece is just a Tourist Destination, Just sight for Ancient mythology and all of that, their major Source of Foreign exchange is Tourism..

In Nigeria, what has Happened to Yankari Game's Reserves?

What has happened to Jos Water falls,

What has happened to OlumoRock?

What has happened to the Gurara Water falls?

What has happened to Tinapa, Ogudu Cattle ranch..

Government is so irresponsible she can't even think to develop any sector outside of Crude oil, can't government make money from outside crude oil,

What of Groundnut pyramid in Kano?


What happens to Nigeria if Crude Dries up in the Niger-Delta Tommorow?

All the crooks that wrecked this country, relocate and find citizenship else where.


Nigeria is not doing fine, the earlier we admit it to ourselves the better.

Austerity would not cure this sickness but push people more to volatilities and extremes.

Austerity to me at this stage is like fueling a bad situation.


Nigeria shouldn't even be compared with Greece that faced austerity because Greece doesn't have Crude.

Nigeria should be compared with Countries that have Crude if Crude is our main stay..

Nigeria should be compared with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, UAE, and most other rich Gulf Nations..

We have crude but the Crude is not a blessing for the nation collectively but only for a few and yet you say we have one Nation..


Is crude oil a blessing to Nigeria or a curse.

Ahn ahn. I taya for naija.

People talking about how the masses would suffer should pls think for once. When govt said they wanted to take off subsidy totally so as to end the fraud and wastage in the subsidy scheme as it wasn't being felt by the common man,you guys revolted and said no. Some of the thieves who were benefitting from it,sponsored you guys to revolt and go on strike. Govt bent to your demands and didn't impose full subsidy removal. Later on,you guys heard about the scam in subsidy payments and all you could do,was to blame the govt and accuse the govt of stealing money. The same govt that hitherto warned you about this fraud and suggested that it be removed totally so as to avoid this wastage? Aren't you guys confused? The mistake most of you make,is to think that govt is all about GEJ or NOI or Diezanni. Let me be factual with you;if there's a sytem that encourages corruption,most people would partake in it(even though they would not naturally do that on a good day) and the reason is this: no one wants to be left out of the free for all money. Paying money on subsidy for petroleum products,is the easiest way to make one a billionaire in Nigeria. International trade is more of paper work. Nobody will sit down and start measuring how many barrels of oil you brought in. Secondly,if there's anybody to measure it,His/Her conscience could easily be bought with several millions(free money) available to the importers. Those of you bribing your way through school,and to get other favours or escape certain punishments for breaking the law,can't come and tell me that you'd become automatically immune from taking bribes when you get to work in govt agencies where bribery is the order of the day.

Until Nigerians are ready to look at issues critically,we'd continue in this same circle year-in,year-out.

Can some explain things in plain language, i just dey hear drop in oil price. Is it that the price we are exporting our oil has drop or what?.
Pls me no go school o

If only nigeria leaders and the citizens can shun CORRUPTION this country will be good place to live in even without oil.

davitogreat:
the only people that are going to be affected by these austerity measure are the elites. So I don't know why people are all up in arms about it.
These means the decline in oil is making our leaders wake up to their responsibilities.

Are you serious about this? You think with the drop in oil prices, the value of Naira won't be affected? And if the value of naira is affected as it is already been affected ( now 172 to a dollar ), you honestly think fuel pump prices won't go up?

Oil marketers will simply tell you they pay more to import and jack up their own prices or government ( who is getting broke ) increases the money pay for subsidy.

Think bro. This will have a very big negative impact on the economy.

lonelydora:
Thank God I have dual citizenship

I have "tri citizenship" doesn't make me less a Nigerian. Self centred thinking got us here in the first place.

With this thinking, you are not more than the greedy politicians. They consider only themselves just as you are doing.

Oya...austerity....welcomeo!

As I have said over and over again, the problem with Nigeria is that we are too reliant on oil. It is our over-reliance on oil that accounts for our underdevelopment, and our lack of prosperity. It is our over-reliance on oil that leads to economic stagnation, and serious issue with our economy.

I think that it is high time each and every Nigerian wakes up to the fact that we are not a rich country....and the oil money is not meant to keep us like rich and pampered beautiful housewives and househusbands. We are going to have to work for our bread, boys and girls. And if we refuse to do so....well, I lived through the 1980's, and it was tuff,men!

Until Nigerians wake up to the fact that a proper economy is not an economy where we share dividends of democracy....and instead is one where the leaders and followers work together to attract money to the economy (not play pretend with rebasing nonsesne)....Nigeria will continue to suffer.

But we can make lemon out of this lemonade. Of course, the fuel subsidy must go.School fees must jump up.Price of foodstuffs must rise. We must spend more and groan a lot more. But at the same time we must finish Ajaokuta, spend more on technical education, get our power supply working properly (and generating more than that yeye 4000 or is it 3000mw that we like dancing azonto about).....and our senators and house of reps must take salary cuts. Drastic salary cuts.

Nigerians.....we must follow South Korea, Japan, and China,nations that were behind us in 1950....but are far ahead of us today...down the road of industrial self reliance. It is a hard road....but we must be serious. We are not the children/spouse of a rich husband.Our Husband and father is poor....now we must all go out and work.

Oil is a CURSE.

citizenisb:
“Panic is not a strategy. It’s important that our strategies are based on facts and a clear understanding of both the strengths of the economy and the challenges posed by the drop in oil prices which is currently at $79 for our premium Bonny Light Crude.

“The drop in oil prices is a serious challenge which we must confront as a country. We must be prepared to make sacrifices where necessary.

Okonjo-Iweala noted that the reduction in the price of oil might continue but gave assurance that the government was fully prepared to ensure that the economy was not worse-off.

To this end, she said from the $4.1bn (N656bn) in the Excess Crude Account, the government would be withdrawing $2bn (N320bn) between now and the end of this year to take care of critical expenditure.

She said, “We will work in such a way that we won’t deplete the ECA because we have to leave something for next year but we might go to tap about a half of it ($2bn) or slightly less than half to be able to meet expenditures that are crystalising at the moment that we need to make.”

Hmmmm....I think I need to buy some dollars now that it's at 172, cos by January we are looking at 200 for sure.

chronique:
People talking about how the masses would suffer should pls think for once. When govt said they wanted to take off subsidy totally so as to end the fraud and wastage in the subsidy scheme as it wasn't being felt by the common man,you guys revolted and said no. Some of the thieves who were benefitting from it,sponsored you guys to revolt and go on strike. Govt bent to your demands and didn't impose full subsidy removal. Later on,you guys heard about the scam in subsidy payments and all you could do,was to blame the govt and accuse the govt of stealing money. The same govt that hitherto warned you about this fraud and suggested that it be removed totally so as to avoid this wastage? Aren't you guys confused? The mistake most of you make,is to think that govt is all about GEJ or NOI or Diezanni. Let me be factual with you;if there's a sytem that encourages corruption,most people would partake in it(even though they would not naturally do that on a good day) and the reason is this: no one wants to be left out of the free for all money. Paying money on subsidy for petroleum products,is the easiest way to make one a billionaire in Nigeria. International trade is more of paper work. Nobody will sit down and start measuring how many barrels of oil you brought in. Secondly,if there's anybody to measure it,His/Her conscience could easily be bought with several millions(free money) available to the importers. Those of you bribing your way through school,and to get other favours or escape certain punishments for breaking the law,can't come and tell me that you'd become automatically immune from taking bribes when you get to work in govt agencies where bribery is the order of the day.

Until Nigerians are ready to look at issues critically,we'd continue in this same circle year-in,year-out.

Are you serious? Okay, answer these questions.

1. What has government done with the extra money made from increasing the fuel pump price?

2. What has government done with the excess accrued from the extremely high oil prices when we had the benchmark price at $70? and price was circa $100-$140

3. Who has stopped the government from been less dependent on oil?

4. Why must the masses suffer for government incompetence? Do you expect the masses to be the ones ensuring the money from oil subsidy is been well and rightly spent?

5. If there is fraud, why has no one been jailed? Or is it the masses that will prosecute those who are enriching themselves at the disadvantage of the general citizenry?

oduastates:
Austerity :aka

You suffer, we enjoy

............and continue stealing.

For those who are not well versed,Austerity goes like this.
1There is a downturn In the economy.
2 the money going out is more than what is coming in.
Basically spending more than you earn( akotileta).

The sensible thing to do,
Cut waste,tax the wealthy and only concentrate on the essential.
Waste like constituency projects, Abuja tower,closing down or handing over all the rubbish glorified landing strips("airport ",reducing the number of ministries and getting rid of political jobbers like the assistant to the assistant deputy assistant to the minister of education.



What they willactually do :

1 Nothing about the waste and corruption
2 remove Subsidy but continue to award Subsidy
3 borrow borrow but it will all end in foreign banks
4 the number of private jet will continue to increase
5 they will start selling government property to themselves for peanuts( refineries, railways, government buildings, airports etc
6(..........put anything want in this space...............


What will happen
1 your petrol prices will rise, expect N150 per litre.
2 expect to pay more than N200 for $1
3 Everything imported into the country will get more expensive like rice( that one for ekiti). Since we make almost nothing,you will become poorer.fori instance, most nigerians are more or less 21% poorer than they were 2 months ago. You will be paying 20 naira more for every N100 you spend.
4 predictable,the useless civil service will go on strike
5 every other thing after number 4

On point

arsetalks:
Are you serious about this? You think with the drop in oil prices, the value of Naira won't be affected? And if the value of naira is affected as it is already been affected ( now 172 to a dollar ), you honestly think fuel pump prices won't go up?

Oil marketers will simply tell you they pay more to import and jack up their own prices or government ( who is getting broke ) increases the money pay for subsidy.

Think bro. This will have a very big negative impact on the economy.

We are not talking about oil prices. This thread is about austerity measures the government is taking which Is limiting public office holders travels and increase in taxes on ostentatious goods and oil is NOT an ostentatious good.

Again this thread is about the steps govt is taking to cushion the effect of falling oil prices. What you are talking about is a whole other topic.

davitogreat:


We are not talking about oil prices. This thread is about austerity measures the government is taking which Is limiting public office holders travels and increase in taxes on ostentatious goods and oil is NOT an ostentatious good.

Again this thread is about the steps govt is taking to cushion the effect of falling oil prices. What you are talking about is a whole other topic.

Austerity? They are using English to deceive you. She simply means " ways through milk the citizenry ) the more for their own mistakes. Forget the English she is speaking.

Austerity step would have been reduce wages of public office holders, reduce total cost of goverment by cutting down on the number of aides each government official has.

Sell off all those needless jets and fleets of cars.

She will do f*ck all. They will instead devalue the naira and in the end you and I will be affected. Don't get fooled bro.

APRIDE:


Mind your choice of words buddy and don't think your coded identity cannot be deciphered. You are not immune to the consequences of libel.

Thanks I'll take that under advisement , meanwhile

Libel = a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.
synonyms: defamation, defamation of character, character assassination, calumny, misrepresentation, scandalmongering;

Corruption = dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.
"the journalist who wants to expose corruption in high places"
synonyms: dishonesty, unscrupulousness, double-dealing, fraud, fraudulence, misconduct, crime, criminality, wrongdoing;


Stealing “simply means to take something that belongs to someone else illegally or without the owner’s permission”. While “corruption refers to dishonest exploitation of power for personal gain

255 Million naira for 2 BMW
Police Pension Scam
20 billion dollars or is it naira?
billions used in maintaining private jets.
[size=20pt]
I guess I should have said he destroyed the country with stealing , not corruption , sorry that's my mistake [/size]

And if there's a SOB whose birth certificate bears the name BadLuck Egbere JoSatan let that person send his lawyers to arrest me

FYI I'm not hiding behind any pseudonym , after all somebody already paid an isreali company $40M to spy on Nigerian internet users , detecting who I am is the easiest task , and for you Mr We will arrest you for saying the truth , You don chop national cake abi ? He come dey block your sense otherwise you for know say your choice of words is a direct threat to my well being and violation of my freedom of speech right

davitogreat:


We are not talking about oil prices. This thread is about austerity measures the government is taking which Is limiting public office holders travels and increase in taxes on ostentatious goods and oil is NOT an ostentatious good.

Again this thread is about the steps govt is taking to cushion the effect of falling oil prices. What you are talking about is a whole other topic.

I'm pitying you. Wait until they reveal what they consider to be "luxurious items". You think because she said "yachts and jets" you are safe. How many of such things can they tax? What measly amount can they generate from the relatively tiny number of such items?

But you missed where she snuck in "alcoholic beverages".

Anything not a necessity can be called a luxury. The word is subjective. Just wait.

omenka:
Okonjo your second coming has been nothing short of a colossal disaster!!

Before you people talk austerity, tell your employer to sell off 70% of the fleet of cars and jets attached to his office, he doesn't need them.

Afterwards, tell him to slash his culinary bill by 80%, he can survive on even less.

Tell him to stop creating bogus offices to reward his praise singers.

Tell him to stop conniving with that froggy eyed woman to fleece this country.

Tell him to grow even a single ball and prosecute people like Ifeanyi, Bello's son, Tukur's sons, Otedola, and the rest of the oil subsidy crooks. We can easily raise 1.9trillion naira from them!!

Tell him to stop creating fictitious policies to rob this country. (YOUWIN, SURE-P, etc).

Tell him to stop borrowing monies to prosecute his uncanny political agenda using the country as collateral.

Then when you are done, kindly resign and submit yourself to EFCC for spreading lies through that concocted NOI polls off yours. You are a Disgrace madam!

Best thing I have read on nairaland in recent time.

signz:


If she comes out to say that Nigeria is broke, that will be worse. Our stock market will crash to zero under 24 hours. It will affect investor confidence in Nigeria.

@ OP, we should all know that this is just the beginning. We should expect removal of fuel subsidies immediately after 2015 elections irrespective of who wins the elections but before that NOI must tell us how they've reduced NASS members salaries/allowances and also the reduction of backroom staffs/allowances of all top government functionaries.

Do you think investors are fools? Most already know the government is broke anyway.

nairaman66:


Gbam! Sure-P is a national draining pipe! How did Nigeria get here??

Some devious perverts devised this dubious scheme as an uncontrolled means of funding elephant projects irregularly without accountability, and to serve as compensation for folks who fail to make it into elective offices.
Sure-profligacy is a sea-deep financial gully.

So officially Nigeria is Broke!
What happened to the doctored GDP and the fallacy that we are the largest Economy in Africa.
Well we can now see where this government is leading us to after all. I guess the money with the FG have been earmarked for 2015, so the people will have to be taxed to bear the other expenses.
What a vampire government we have in Nigeria

Nigerian youths are so docile in fact, they are all COWARDS! Rant all of you and go back to your miserable lives.

APC be blaming PDP as if there Governors have not been getting allocations all along and siphoning it away; how much does an APC governor earn annually, how much is there security allocation, how many aides, cars, whores, houses e.t.c do they have? and yet they would not let us hear a word. They are just as Corrupt and wasteful as Jonathan, who feeds on =N=1,000,000,000 annually, and we NIGERIANS let them put us in this hole.

arsetalks:
Austerity? They are using English to deceive you. She simply means " ways through milk the citizenry ) the more for their own mistakes. Forget the English she is speaking.

Austerity step would have been reduce wages of public office holders, reduce total cost of goverment by cutting down on the number of aides each government official has.

Sell off all those needless jets and fleets of cars.

She will do f*ck all. They will instead devalue the naira and in the end you and I will be affected. Don't get fooled bro.

They Will NOT devalue the naira before 2015 elections. Every Nigerian should know this by now. Just as they will not increase taxes on the populace before the elections, this is basic political strategy.

Why do you think the cbn and oil companies have been using our reserves to support the naira these past 2 months?

Again they will not devalue before feb 2015.

Also by the time February 2015 arrives the value of oil should stabilize somewhere between 80-90 dollars which is more than enough to run Nigeria. So all this austerity will talk will be long forgotten.


Plus due to nigeria running a surplus for the past few years The government has the ability to lower the benchmark oil price and still execute capital projects. ( that's good for the masses)

Nigeria has problems but the country is no where as Bleep.ed as some political analysts want to paint it.

MissMeiya:


I'm pitying you. Wait until they reveal what they consider to be "luxurious items". You think because she said "yachts and jets" you are safe. How many of such things can they tax? What measly amount can they generate from the relatively tiny number of such items?

But you missed where she snuck in "alcoholic beverages".

Anything not a necessity can be called a luxury. The word is subjective. Just wait.

No need to pity me. Let us both wait and see what the govt will include as luxury items.
I can assure you whatever they include will have very little effect if any at all on the average man. After all 2015 elections are around the corner.

Seriously I shouldn't be telling you guys this. All you guys claim to be such geniuses who are never easily fooled by the government but yet you guys don't understand basic political strategy.
Impoverishing the masses further shortly before an election is off the cards right now. So no increase in taxes and no naira devaluation before feb 2015.

experimentist:
So Mrs Okonjo Shepopotamus Iwela is saying that winter is coming right? Ok! Tell that gorilla in Aso rock to forfeit his gadem $1 billion meal.. See how she carry head like balloon wey wan bust!

guy,na fait

davitogreat:


No need to pity me. Let us both wait and see what the govt will include as luxury items.
I can assure you whatever they include will have very little effect if any at all on the average man. After all 2015 elections are around the corner.

Seriously I shouldn't be telling you guys this. All you guys claim to be such geniuses who are never easily fooled by the government but yet you guys don't understand basic political strategy.
Impoverishing the masses further shortly before an election is off the cards right now. So no increase in taxes and no naira devaluation before feb 2015.

So what would happen if they review the luxury items list after the election sir?

Oil price will plummet as low as $40 per barrel, or even lower...it will happen! A dollar is just 172 naira, we never see anything o! It's just sad that this is happening at a time when our leaders are busy "hustling" for political posts. For those who are smart, this is the best time to cut down on wasteful spendings and start saving the little you can. The 'Pilots' of the 'Nigerian vessel' do not have the capacity to save the situation...or, are they even willing to do so at all?

davitogreat:


They Will NOT devalue the naira before 2015 elections. Every Nigerian should know this by now. Just as they will not increase taxes on the populace before the elections, this is basic political strategy.

Why do you think the cbn and oil companies have been using our reserves to support the naira these past 2 months?

Again they will not devalue before feb 2015.

Also by the time February 2015 arrives the value of oil should stabilize somewhere between 80-90 dollars which is more than enough to run Nigeria. So all this austerity will talk will be long forgotten.


Plus due to nigeria running a surplus for the past few years The government has the ability to lower the benchmark oil price and still execute capital projects. ( that's good for the masses)

Nigeria has problems but the country is no where as Bleep.ed as some political analysts want to paint it.

Well, dollar is now 172 to naira. Not devalued?

pro2010:


So what would happen if they review the luxury items list after the election sir?

This whole talk of austerity is due to the present fall in oil prices. Oil is not going to stay this low. Oil is very oversold and is touching an enormous support area ($70 a barrel) by feb 2015 I see oil stabilizing between 80-90 dollars a barrel which is a good price for the nigerian govt. so there will be no need for austerity.

You also have to remember that due to the trade surpluses nigeria has been having over the years, our government has been able to run a budget deficit and can still execute capital projects.


One other thing to look out for is Russia. These sanctions are taking a toll on the country and if Russia is to implode look for oil to shoot up to historical levels even with the increase in shale production from the U.S.

davitogreat:


No need to pity me. Let us both wait and see what the govt will include as luxury items.
I can assure you whatever they include will have very little effect if any at all on the average man. After all 2015 elections are around the corner.

Seriously I shouldn't be telling you guys this. All you guys claim to be such geniuses who are never easily fooled by the government but yet you guys don't understand basic political strategy.
Impoverishing the masses further shortly before an election is off the cards right now. So no increase in taxes and no naira devaluation before feb 2015.

Is Feb 2015 the end of the world? Seriously, you think you're making sense.