Nairaland Forum

bory09: This is what we call intelligence he win award from any angle while Chinua Achebe didn't get to this height yet he is called the greatest. Seriously i don't know what wole soyinka will be called if he die. Maybe the African great greatest of literature or the william shakespeare of our time.

chinua achebe was one of the greatst,very respectd internationaly..dat he wasnt honourd didnt make any of his work unnoticeable

vanguardngr.com/2013/04/killings-in-the-north-return-home-if-they-dont-want-you-orji-tells-ndi-igbo/

UMUAHIA — FOLLOWING the incessant
killing if Ndi Igbo in some parts of the
North, Abia State governor, Theodore
Orji, has advised Igbo resident in that
part of the country to come home if they
were no longer wanted by their host
communities.
Governor Orji’s position was prompted
by the latest motor park bombing in
Kano which caused the death of scores
of Ndi Igbo.
According to him, if Ndigbo are
continuously being killed in the North, it
meant that they were not accepted and
the best option for them was to think
home where their safety was
guaranteed.
He said: “No sane person will continue
living in an atmosphere where his life is
at stake.”
He pointed out that home remained the
most comfortable place for anyone
whose life was in danger.
Governor Orji also spoke on the death of
Prof. Chinua Achebe, saying though he
was a respected Igbo son, his death had
not created political leadership vacuum
for Ndi Igbo because he was not a
political leader of Ndi Igbo but a literary
icon.
The governor maintained that Ndi Igbo
still had leaders but noted that the
problem of Ndigbo was who to
galvanise the rest of the people and give
them focus.
Orji, however, said that if Ndigbo could
choose a credible leader and rally round
him, the region would forge ahead.

little forces that can destroy vine....

MICHAEL EBOH
The Federal Government in a bid to
curtail the epileptic power situation in
the country has spent about N5 trillion ($
31.45 billion) from 1999 till date. But it
has only been able to increase the
country’s electricity generating capacity
by about 2,500 mega watts over the last
14 years.
This is a far cry compared to its peers —
South Africa and Brazil. Brazil recorded
an investment of $58 billion in its power
sector between 1994 and 2008, while it
currently produces about 100,000MW of
electricity. South Africa on the other
hand, currently produces about
40,000MW of electricity, with plans to
invest additional $37 billion over the next
couple of years to triple current capacity.
Investments in power since 1999
Between 1999 and 2013, Federal
Government’s budgetary provisions for
power stood at N2.8 trillion of which
over N2.326 trillion went into the
National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP
and various power intervention projects.
Specifically, yearly allocations as
contained in statistics from the Budget.
However, these appropriations do not
include investments by state
governments, who have since been co-
opted to intervene in their localities to
improve the power supply situation, as
according to the Nigerian Constitution,
Power is exclusively the preserve of the
Federal Government.
Recalled that the House of
Representatives in 2008, confirmed that
the Federal Government approved the
sum of N2.544 trillion ($16 billion) for
the power sector between 1999 and
2007, which led to a public outcry, as
there was hardly anything to show for it,
as the lights got dimmer instead of
brighter.
The uproar led to further investigations
in which it was discovered that only able
to disburse N2.067 trillion ($13 billion)
was disbursed in the eight year period,
representing more than 81 percent
funding.
Also, a Presidential Review Panel on the
National Integrated Power Project, NIPP,
in a presentation to the National
Economic Council, NEC, in 2009, revealed
that as at 2007, the NIPP got N1.627
trillion, plus the N318 billion Federal
Government’s counterpart funding for
the Mambilla Hydro Power project, and
N222.6 billion ($1.4 billion) for additional
nine turbines.
The panel however revealed that only
N489.72 billion ($3.08 billion) was
funded and scrutinised with advance
payment guarantees from first class
Nigerian banks and Letters of Credits
issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN. It also stated that over N238.5
billion ($1.5 billion) of the sum was still in
the custody of the banks as at then.
In addition, Mr. James Olotu, Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer, Niger
Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC,
last year disclosed that the Federal
Government is spending N1.26 trillion on
10 National Integrated Power Projects
across the country.
He said about N492.4 billion ($3.12
billion) was budgeted for the first phase
of the project, which started in 2006 and
ended in 2007. This allocation covered
seven power projects, while N920 billion
($5.82 billion) was budgeted to be
utilized in the second phase starting
from 2007. Olotu further disclosed that
the funds were kept in the custody of JP
Morgan and the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, while N882.4 billion had been
disbursed to the NDPHC till date.
According to him, four of the projects
had been completed, while six others are
at various stages of completion. He said;
“In totality, Nigerians have contributed $
8 billion to build 10 power generation
plants, which after completion, will give a
total of 4,774MW.
“We are also building substations,
transmission and distribution lines, as
well as gas pipelines to ensure that the
plants get gas when they are
completed.”
He listed the completed projects as:
Omotosho in Ondo State – 451MW
Alaoji, Abia State – 1,074MW
Sapele, Delta State – 451MW
Olorunsogo, Ogun State – 750MW
Those close to completion are:
Ihovbor power project in Edo State –
451MW
Geregu, Kogi State – 434MW
Egbema, Imo State – 338MW
Gbarain, Bayelsa State – 225MW
Omoku, Rivers State – 225MW
Calabar, Cross River State – 561MW
Concerns over funds’ utilisation
Despite the huge budgetary provisions,
the House of Representatives’ Committee
on Power still expressed concern over
the poor utilisation of funds
appropriated for the sector.
Mr. Patrick Ikhariale, the Committee
Chairman disclosed that whereas the
sum of N75 billion was appropriated less
than half or N34.7 billion or 46 percent
was released to the Ministry of Finance,
while only N19.7 billion (56 percent) was
utilised by the Ministry of Power.
He argued that this implies that the
Ministry did not require as much funding
as it demanded, especially as it lacked
the capacity to implement its capital
budget.
This contrasts sharply with constant
claims by the ministry that the country
required at least $10billion annually for
10 years to get power right.
*PHCN transformer
2,500MW added since 1999
Despite these huge investments, Nigeria
has only been able to increase its
electricity generating capacity from
about 2,000MW in 1999 to about
4,500MW as at today.
There appears to be no end in sight to
the sufferings of Nigerians as power
supply remains epileptic at an average of
between three to four hours daily.
Equally, industries, particularly the small
and medium scale, SME sub-sect have
closed shop on account of lack electricity
to power their operations. Even
businesses in operation record their
highest operating costs from electricity,
as many invest in multiple generating
sets to run their tools.
Commenting on the funds allocated to
the power sector and its impact on
power generation, Mr. Michael Olawale-
Cole, President and Chairman of Council
of the Nigerian Institute of Management,
expressed concern that despite the huge
allocation to the sector over the years,
power generation is yet to record
significant improvement.
He said, “Government’s sundry attempts
at generating adequate power for the
nation in the recent past have ended
disastrously what with the scandals of
monumental misappropriation of funds
that trailed the various NIPPs across the
country.
“There is no guarantee that the situation
is going to change for the better in the
near future,” adding that “the country
seems to be at crossroads with the issue
of power generation at the moment.”
He argued that “Once the issue of power
generation and distribution is resolved,
the nation’s firm match to greatness will
be guaranteed.”
Underscoring how critical power is to
economic growth, Prof. Rahamon Bello,
Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos,
lamented that in spite of the abundant
energy resources in the country and
significant government investments in
the sector over the last ten years,
electricity supply remains a serious
challenge to Nigeria’s socio-economic
development.
He said majority of Nigeria’s power
infrastructure were built in the 1970s
and 1980s and due to a freeze in
investment in the sector, lack of
maintenance and adequate expansion of
the facilities over the years, Nigeria had
to contend with epileptic and erratic
power supply.
According to him, as at today, less than
50 per cent of Nigeria’s population has
access to the national grid due to
inadequate transmission and
distribution networks.
Impact of power on economic
development
Steady power is essential for national
development, especially as it positively
influences socio economic activities as
well as the living standard of citizens.
In addition, ageing and poorly
maintained infrastructure, weak
network configuration and overloaded
transformers, result in frequent system
collapse, high transmission and
distribution losses among others.
Analysts are of the view that lack of
access to electric power, and modern
energy in general, also has a negative
effect on productivity and has limited the
economic opportunities available to
developing countries including Nigeria.
This, they said, is compounded by the
poor state of existing infrastructure,
which creates the dual challenge of
finding resources for maintenance of
existing facilities and also to build new
power plants.
They contend that improving access to
modern energy is a necessary condition
for boosting growth and reducing
poverty in not only Nigeria but Africa in
general.
In comparison to other countries,
Nigeria’s installed capacity is grossly
inadequate. As at 2010, only about 3,700
megawatts was available for a
population of 140 million people due to
various reasons including gas supply
constraints, inadequate maintenance of
equipment that stems from procurement
constraints, dearth of skilled
maintenance personnel and the
dependence on imports of parts and
foreign experts to carry out repairs and
overhauls.
Bello, who is a Professor of Chemical
Engineering, noted that in 2000, power
generation capacity was as low as
1,500MW, due, mainly to lack of
investment in maintenance and
expansion programmes on existing
power plants.
Way forward
Even as the implementation of the Power
Sector Reform Programme is well
advanced, Bello called for appropriate
commercial framework to support
private investments to the sector.
He maintained that to proceed with the
reform programme, it is necessary to
develop a comprehensive action plan to
holistically implement the programme as
encapsulated in the Electric Power Sector
Reform Act, EPSRA, 2005
He further advocated for a feasible
incentive scheme backed by policy to
encourage private sector investment in
generation and distribution.
“Financial institutions and market
systems that will support power
procurement between generation
companies and distribution companies
should be put in place. Empowerment
should be given to the office of the
market operator to commence shadow
trading,” Bello added.
On his part, Olawale-Cole said, “It is a
common knowledge that Nigeria has
been backward in the areas of
successful start-up businesses, Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and
industrialisation generally which are the
core catalysts for real national
development due to poor power
generation.
“Many companies have continued to
operate at just break-even point and
below installed capacity while the ones
that cannot cope under the harsh
operating climate occasioned by ever-
mounting overhead costs have since
closed shop or relocated to smaller
neighbouring countries where there is
steadier power supply.”
He also reiterated that security is key to
future investments in the economy,
while calling on the citizenry to support
government’s efforts in order to move

MICHAEL EBOH
The Federal Government in a bid to
curtail the epileptic power situation in
the country has spent about N5 trillion ($
31.45 billion) from 1999 till date. But it
has only been able to increase the
country’s electricity generating capacity
by about 2,500 mega watts over the last
14 years.
This is a far cry compared to its peers —
South Africa and Brazil. Brazil recorded
an investment of $58 billion in its power
sector between 1994 and 2008, while it
currently produces about 100,000MW of
electricity. South Africa on the other
hand, currently produces about
40,000MW of electricity, with plans to
invest additional $37 billion over the next
couple of years to triple current capacity.
Investments in power since 1999
Between 1999 and 2013, Federal
Government’s budgetary provisions for
power stood at N2.8 trillion of which
over N2.326 trillion went into the
National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP
and various power intervention projects.
Specifically, yearly allocations as
contained in statistics from the Budget.
However, these appropriations do not
include investments by state
governments, who have since been co-
opted to intervene in their localities to
improve the power supply situation, as
according to the Nigerian Constitution,
Power is exclusively the preserve of the
Federal Government.
Recalled that the House of
Representatives in 2008, confirmed that
the Federal Government approved the
sum of N2.544 trillion ($16 billion) for
the power sector between 1999 and
2007, which led to a public outcry, as
there was hardly anything to show for it,
as the lights got dimmer instead of
brighter.
The uproar led to further investigations
in which it was discovered that only able
to disburse N2.067 trillion ($13 billion)
was disbursed in the eight year period,
representing more than 81 percent
funding.
Also, a Presidential Review Panel on the
National Integrated Power Project, NIPP,
in a presentation to the National
Economic Council, NEC, in 2009, revealed
that as at 2007, the NIPP got N1.627
trillion, plus the N318 billion Federal
Government’s counterpart funding for
the Mambilla Hydro Power project, and
N222.6 billion ($1.4 billion) for additional
nine turbines.
The panel however revealed that only
N489.72 billion ($3.08 billion) was
funded and scrutinised with advance
payment guarantees from first class
Nigerian banks and Letters of Credits
issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN. It also stated that over N238.5
billion ($1.5 billion) of the sum was still in
the custody of the banks as at then.
In addition, Mr. James Olotu, Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer, Niger
Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC,
last year disclosed that the Federal
Government is spending N1.26 trillion on
10 National Integrated Power Projects
across the country.
He said about N492.4 billion ($3.12
billion) was budgeted for the first phase
of the project, which started in 2006 and
ended in 2007. This allocation covered
seven power projects, while N920 billion
($5.82 billion) was budgeted to be
utilized in the second phase starting
from 2007. Olotu further disclosed that
the funds were kept in the custody of JP
Morgan and the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, while N882.4 billion had been
disbursed to the NDPHC till date.
According to him, four of the projects
had been completed, while six others are
at various stages of completion. He said;
“In totality, Nigerians have contributed $
8 billion to build 10 power generation
plants, which after completion, will give a
total of 4,774MW.
“We are also building substations,
transmission and distribution lines, as
well as gas pipelines to ensure that the
plants get gas when they are
completed.”
He listed the completed projects as:
Omotosho in Ondo State – 451MW
Alaoji, Abia State – 1,074MW
Sapele, Delta State – 451MW
Olorunsogo, Ogun State – 750MW
Those close to completion are:
Ihovbor power project in Edo State –
451MW
Geregu, Kogi State – 434MW
Egbema, Imo State – 338MW
Gbarain, Bayelsa State – 225MW
Omoku, Rivers State – 225MW
Calabar, Cross River State – 561MW
Concerns over funds’ utilisation
Despite the huge budgetary provisions,
the House of Representatives’ Committee
on Power still expressed concern over
the poor utilisation of funds
appropriated for the sector.
Mr. Patrick Ikhariale, the Committee
Chairman disclosed that whereas the
sum of N75 billion was appropriated less
than half or N34.7 billion or 46 percent
was released to the Ministry of Finance,
while only N19.7 billion (56 percent) was
utilised by the Ministry of Power.
He argued that this implies that the
Ministry did not require as much funding
as it demanded, especially as it lacked
the capacity to implement its capital
budget.
This contrasts sharply with constant
claims by the ministry that the country
required at least $10billion annually for
10 years to get power right.
*PHCN transformer
2,500MW added since 1999
Despite these huge investments, Nigeria
has only been able to increase its
electricity generating capacity from
about 2,000MW in 1999 to about
4,500MW as at today.
There appears to be no end in sight to
the sufferings of Nigerians as power
supply remains epileptic at an average of
between three to four hours daily.
Equally, industries, particularly the small
and medium scale, SME sub-sect have
closed shop on account of lack electricity
to power their operations. Even
businesses in operation record their
highest operating costs from electricity,
as many invest in multiple generating
sets to run their tools.
Commenting on the funds allocated to
the power sector and its impact on
power generation, Mr. Michael Olawale-
Cole, President and Chairman of Council
of the Nigerian Institute of Management,
expressed concern that despite the huge
allocation to the sector over the years,
power generation is yet to record
significant improvement.
He said, “Government’s sundry attempts
at generating adequate power for the
nation in the recent past have ended
disastrously what with the scandals of
monumental misappropriation of funds
that trailed the various NIPPs across the
country.
“There is no guarantee that the situation
is going to change for the better in the
near future,” adding that “the country
seems to be at crossroads with the issue
of power generation at the moment.”
He argued that “Once the issue of power
generation and distribution is resolved,
the nation’s firm match to greatness will
be guaranteed.”
Underscoring how critical power is to
economic growth, Prof. Rahamon Bello,
Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos,
lamented that in spite of the abundant
energy resources in the country and
significant government investments in
the sector over the last ten years,
electricity supply remains a serious
challenge to Nigeria’s socio-economic
development.
He said majority of Nigeria’s power
infrastructure were built in the 1970s
and 1980s and due to a freeze in
investment in the sector, lack of
maintenance and adequate expansion of
the facilities over the years, Nigeria had
to contend with epileptic and erratic
power supply.
According to him, as at today, less than
50 per cent of Nigeria’s population has
access to the national grid due to
inadequate transmission and
distribution networks.
Impact of power on economic
development
Steady power is essential for national
development, especially as it positively
influences socio economic activities as
well as the living standard of citizens.
In addition, ageing and poorly
maintained infrastructure, weak
network configuration and overloaded
transformers, result in frequent system
collapse, high transmission and
distribution losses among others.
Analysts are of the view that lack of
access to electric power, and modern
energy in general, also has a negative
effect on productivity and has limited the
economic opportunities available to
developing countries including Nigeria.
This, they said, is compounded by the
poor state of existing infrastructure,
which creates the dual challenge of
finding resources for maintenance of
existing facilities and also to build new
power plants.
They contend that improving access to
modern energy is a necessary condition
for boosting growth and reducing
poverty in not only Nigeria but Africa in
general.
In comparison to other countries,
Nigeria’s installed capacity is grossly
inadequate. As at 2010, only about 3,700
megawatts was available for a
population of 140 million people due to
various reasons including gas supply
constraints, inadequate maintenance of
equipment that stems from procurement
constraints, dearth of skilled
maintenance personnel and the
dependence on imports of parts and
foreign experts to carry out repairs and
overhauls.
Bello, who is a Professor of Chemical
Engineering, noted that in 2000, power
generation capacity was as low as
1,500MW, due, mainly to lack of
investment in maintenance and
expansion programmes on existing
power plants.
Way forward
Even as the implementation of the Power
Sector Reform Programme is well
advanced, Bello called for appropriate
commercial framework to support
private investments to the sector.
He maintained that to proceed with the
reform programme, it is necessary to
develop a comprehensive action plan to
holistically implement the programme as
encapsulated in the Electric Power Sector
Reform Act, EPSRA, 2005
He further advocated for a feasible
incentive scheme backed by policy to
encourage private sector investment in
generation and distribution.
“Financial institutions and market
systems that will support power
procurement between generation
companies and distribution companies
should be put in place. Empowerment
should be given to the office of the
market operator to commence shadow
trading,” Bello added.
On his part, Olawale-Cole said, “It is a
common knowledge that Nigeria has
been backward in the areas of
successful start-up businesses, Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and
industrialisation generally which are the
core catalysts for real national
development due to poor power
generation.
“Many companies have continued to
operate at just break-even point and
below installed capacity while the ones
that cannot cope under the harsh
operating climate occasioned by ever-
mounting overhead costs have since
closed shop or relocated to smaller
neighbouring countries where there is
steadier power supply.”
He also reiterated that security is key to
future investments in the economy,
while calling on the citizenry to support
government’s efforts in order to move

badesco: A paltry sum of N3k for flood victims? It is an insult of the highest order, it is even better not to give than to give some unreasonable.

....dnt u knw dat the federal government after the flood increased the monthly allocation amonth states that sufferd frm the flood.....apart frm this private individula/corparat bodies contributed...wht can 3000 do?

kaorama: I think Rochas will be disgraced. He is better described as a comedian. Udenwa is better than him and Ohakim put together. His free eduation is crumbling. Someone here tell me one project Rochas has accomplished
outside his Orlu zone. All he does is to go and dance with market women, buying and chewing roasted corn by the roadside, claiming to be the man of the people. But Imo eeople are too wise to be led astray. He can't deceive all.

God punish ur mouth....nt Eva mention ohakim or thief like them....am sure u are not in imo.....the free education stuff work to an extend only dat d student are to pay 20,000 while the government will pay 100,000
compare this with other southeast university and tell me who is the man of the people...

Can anyone help here to remind us promises Nigeria government both military and democratical elected president has made but unfufilled
here are some few i can remember:
1 power supply: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had promised Nigerians steady power supply after one year in office, left office eight years later, without achieving this undertaking. The former president later blamed lack of funds for his inability to deliver on his promise. But it is instructive to know that Chief Bola Ige, who served as minister of power under Obasanjo in his first tenure, had a problem with some top officials of the former National Electric Power Authority, NEPA (a forerunner of PHCN), whom he accused of sabotaging efforts made by the federal government to achieve steady power supply in the country about 16 billion dollars was sink into this sector yet no improvement.
Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who declared state of emergency on the power sector, could not achieve much in this regard before his demise
president Jonathan also made a promise last year that from december same year Nigerians wil be celebrating one week,month or probably a year of uninterrupted power supply..this is march 2013 yet koko below is the link
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/power-promise-a-year-after-expectations-for-electricity-get-darker/
2 Acess to safe drinking water: the Nigerian government promised safe drinking water throught the UN special programm for Children (1990), which established goals of universal access to safe drinking water ..
3 10million casava employment oppurtunities: the Obansanjo adminstration promise to provide about 10million jobs to Nigerian youth throught the casava export programm and the youth then were given false hope stil yet we are yet to hear or see anytin like that
4. Free education up to university level: the government promised free education up to university level come year 2000 that was btwn babangidas regim/abachas regim,thy thought year 2000 will not come to pass,evry body including the poor had false hope that their childrn will be able to access university education
pls feel free to remind us the ones you can remember

Lagos-Star:
Not suprised a bit. Another Igbo man taking over from a Yoruba man. Well done Madam Minister. We siddon dey look o.

And some wonder why other ethnics dont want an Igbo man in Aso Rock.

Stakeholder pressure my foot!

since the civil war the yorubas has occupy all the position in evry ministry..hadly u wil see an igbo man now wen thy hear an igbo man being appointed they wil shout foul...wht wil need is federal charecter

moyin1: @mikeoh.I scaled thru to the 2nd stage pls can we chat @ b_moyinoluwa@yahoo.com i need to ask some questions to be able to move on with my submission.Thanks

mumikefx42@gmail.com

moyin1: @mikeoh.I scaled thru to the 2nd stage pls can we chat @ b_moyinoluwa@yahoo.com i need to ask some questions to be able to move on with my submission.Thanks

.....i wil send u a messag on ur email check it nd then ask the qustn tru it

neksummi:

Now I'm not deviating but I want to add somethings to the the business I first submitted e.g I submitted for poultry. Can I now add crop production to it making it poultry and crop production?

if u feel like adding sumthin to it let it be sumtin about livstock...lik pig,turkey,laying birds dat produces eggs,browlers all this constitute poultry addin crops will look as if u wnt to go into defrnt lin of busines..so dat in can go under one groupin .

dougivilla: What of the amount requested for? Can it be bloated or trimmed down now? Thanks to you once again. God bless!

if u ask for lik 9m grant try as much as posible to justify the amount u requestd for...thy too knw wht the busines woth lik in d first edition a guy as for 7m but thy increasd it to 10m.....hes got to do wit mechines.. Dnt bloat the amount....

dougivilla: Thanks a lot. But one cannot change the proposed idea half way na, abi?

....no u av to continue wit the same buzns proposal if its poultry u startd wit continue wit it in dis second stage dnt deviat...thy will stil ask u to state ur cash flow here...mind u ,u av to give a well detail discreption about the buz sort for more information online

dougivilla: Its true. My wife and I put heads together to make the first stage application. She was not only shortlisted, but has long gone for the training and received a mail for the second phase yesterday. We did not know anyone anywhere. I was only informed about it and its genuiness by a friend (a sacked former employee of Diamond bank) who got a =N=9M grant to run his dream, a now thriving fish farm in Benin city. As i write this, i am in Benin to see d farm and get more info about the nitty grities of the youwin biz plan competition.

congrat...but never over rate the amount of grant u needed because thy too will analyse the plan and waigh the amount needed to start it up.....and do a good cash flow analysis this is one of the major area thy uses to approve ur bus idea lik ur likely turn over....and lastly thy lik approvin higher amount to the manufacturin sector lik beverages...sachet/pure water,and anytin dat requires the use of machines

free2ryhme:


u became a winner for a female only competition ... U 2 much

u dnt knw anytin about the programm u shud ask questions instead of counterin my opinion .......last year edition comprises both male and female....but was dominated by the male...so dis year thy made it specially for women only may be next year men might be include just as last year

dis is the most credible programm dat d federal governmnt has ever embark on since 1960....u dnt av to knw any body in abuja....only ur business idea/plan get u there....i was a winner in the last year edition ...never traveld to lagos not to talk of abuja befor i emarg a winner

I am a student of imo state university and i have stayed in owerri for years and its my home town
Rochas okorocha has been the best governor so far after late Same mbakwe.....evry roads in owerri capital has been awarded and under construction...not only in owerri but also one in each local government area ....combine with the free education not totally free cos indigiens are ment to pay 20,000 ...u dnt expect the governor to perform margic and complet these projects in just a year...look at the money allocated to the state plus internally generated revenue and all the projects being handle....somtimes i wonder were the state will get the money to complete them....recently in Heroes square i was there when the Governor had to pay off pensioners hold by past administration for the past 20years he payed them all..not to talk about the renovation of schools and the main libary uche obguagwu normally make mockery off .as far as am concern owerri has the best road no road with major potholes and the refuse u talk about where are thy ?wht i must say is that some1 payes u to critiziced the governo...now how many roads did Ohakim builts, or do u wnt to talk about the eight years of Achike?

ypzilanti:

The program is a good one, and apparently one of the few government programs that has not become a party loyalty scheme.

A more serious government however would have a more comprehensive scheme that would affect the lives of more people.

Consider, for instance, if government gave such a grant to every 2.1 graduate in Nigeria every year. The conditions would be simple: you attend a 3 month business training workshop, which at the end, you draw up a comprehensive business plan. With your NYSC number, you collect your loan/grant, and launch your business. That would affect more lives and make more meaning. They can even give you a case officer/mentor to monitor your progress.

It appears to me sometimes that government is just trying to do as little as possible to achieve a little sense of governance. Just create a tiny semblance of governance to give a little hope, but the main aim really is looting.

They should go and study Lulu da Silva of Brazil's presidency. With small loans to poverty stricken families, 10 million people were lifted out of poverty in 8 years in power. That is what I call governance...not stipends to a thousand Nigerians out of 160 million people.

bro this youwin programme is not a small excercise,government is even crying that thy av not handel this kind of project before..and its true if u knw how much thy pourd into this program
and now u said thy shud give about 1.2million coup members the same money? If the govenmnt dose that hen dis country is bound to collaps...just 1200 billions was spent....i was a sucessful winner of last years own and if i may educate u more that billions was sank on last year progarmm ...thy spent money on seminers up on seminers,bot camp training,inviting secessful enterprineaur and lot more....d programm is not an avenue to lot

mrkels: The 2012 winners who and who did they employ apart from their friends and families? I didn't see any advert requesting for capable/qualified manpower. I stand corrected though.

u dnt expect some one that is just setting up a business with out making profit to beging to umployed highly paid personal personal....its little by little as the business continues to expand then thy will sort for more employes
as for now most of the 2012 winners are yet to employ more than 3 employees but as busines continues to expand and years role by then thy will employe....but it is only with time maybe frm 3years upward of existance

hahahaha waitin the day obj,buhari,gowon and co will appologise for biafrians thy killd...durin the war.......even obj for ruiinin nigeria

A founding member of the ruling Peoples’
Democratic Party (PDP) and a former
member of the highest legislative body in
the country, Senator Rowland Owie has
accused former president Olusegun
Obasanjo of being the master-mind
behind the destruction of the dream of
the founding fathers of the party and
what the party stood for.
According to him, Obasanjo “is the worst
thing that has happened to the country”.
Senator Owie said that he was ready to
challenge Obasanjo to a public debate on
any news medium locally or
internationally, “and I will prove that he is
the worst thing that has happened to this
country”. Senator Owie who represented
Edo South senatorial district during his
time in the senate said that former
president Obasanjo had scant regard for
the party ethos, just as he willfully
circumvented the party’s constitution to
achieve his personal goals.
Owie who spoke to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY
exclusively, said that the former president
lacks the moral high ground to attack
President Goodluck Jonathan, as
according to him, President Jonathan in
his two years in the saddle has achieved
more than what Obasanjo did in eight
years.
There appears to be no love-lust between
President Jonathan and the former
president, believed to be his benefactor.
The matter came to the fore with
Obasanjo declaring that power must
return to the geo-political North in 2015.
The implication being that he would not
support President Jonathan’s second term.
It is widely believed that Obasanjo is
propping up the governor of Jigawa state,
Alhaji Sule Lamido to vie for the party’s
presidential ticket. Obasanjo who stepped
down as the chairman of the party’s
Board of Trustees (BOT) unceremoniously,
is also believed to be fronting another
candidate as a replacement for the office.
This, it was learnt, has pitched him and his
group against President Jonathan.
Only recently, Obasanjo told the national
chairman of PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, who
had reached out to him in his Ota Farm,
that he would not stop criticizing the
party. But speaking with LEADERSHIP
SUNDAY yesterday, Senator Owie said that
Obasanjo superintended the desecration
of the party.
His words; “It is shocking and amazing
that Obasanjo can now talk about being
passionate about PDP. Obasanjo was in jail
when well meaning Nigerians like late
Chief Sunday Awoniyi, the late Dr. Chuba
Okadigbo, Chief Solomon Lar, Malam
Adamu Ciroma, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Atiku
Abubakar led many of us to the PDP.
“The vision of the founding fathers was
destroyed by Obasanjo. The party
guidelines for choosing candidates for the
1999 elections were very clear. To qualify
to contest for the office of president then,
the candidate must win his state, his
senatorial district etc,.”
He recalled that the former president lost
both his polling booth and Ward to the
then Alliance for Democracy (AD), which he
said, ought to have disqualified Obasanjo
from the contest but for the timely
intervention of eminent citizens such as
former military heads of state, Ibrahim
Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar,
Generals T.Y. Danjuma and Aliyu
Mohammed Gusau.
Owie also alleged that the former
president induced members of the
National Assembly to ‘install stoogies as
heads of both arms of the NASS’.
Furthermore, the former federal lawmaker
accused the former president of ‘blattantly
rigged the national chairmanship election
between the late Chief Awoniyi and Chief
Bernabas Gemade, which Germade
eventually won. When he couldn’t stand
the guts of Gemade, he removed him and
imposed Colonel Ahmadu Ali (retd)’.

Source
http://sardaunamagazine.com/ index.php/component/k2/item/1311- obasanjo-worst-thing-to-have-happened-to- nigeria-%E2%80%93-owie

Awo wanted nothing less than to "crush"
Biafra by any means as he declared
during
the Commonwealth Conference of Prime
Ministers in London in 1969: "This war
must
be fought to the finish and the federal
government is poised for the final push"
Mr.
Ofeimun may have forgotten; the honest
accounts of that war are available, and
among the great chroniclers of the event
is
a woman called Suzanne Cronje whose
book
published in 1972 indicts Awolowo and
the
Nigerian government. I recommend that
Nigerians seeking honest intellection read
this book side by side with Achebe's and
the
truth will set us free from writers who
wish
that other writers be tried for telling the
truth.

It is not just enough to defend
Awolowo. It is important to defend him
with
facts; to show that Achebe has lied
against
him. But the evidence is too compelling.
Achebe has not lied against Awo.
Even in his 1983 interview re-published to
prove and indemnify his innocence,
Awolowo does not deny his policy of
starvation. He accounts for how he visited
the East in the heat of the conflict, in his
official capacity; saw "Kwashiokor
children"
and found out that the food allegedly sent
by the Red Cross and Caritas was being
hijacked by soldiers: "So I decided to stop
sending the food there.
In the process the civilians will suffer. But
the soldiers will suffer most." This is
illogical
and counterintuitive,and it is a compelling
evidence of Awolowo's deliberate policy
of
starvation. It is enough to bring him
before
the International Criminals Court to face
the
kind of Justice meted out to Milosevic and
Charles Taylor in whose company he
belongs

The clear evidence of
Achebe's allegation is based on Awo's
own
statement: "All is fair in war, and
starvation
is one of the weapons of war..." But we
do
know that all is not fair in war.
There is something called the "Geneva
Convention" and Awo's war policy
violated
it. You do not starve civilian populations in
war. It is called a war crime. Awo's storm
troopers and Brownshirts have
nonetheless
trooped out in great strength and have
come only short of calling for Chinua
Achebe's head for his exposure of
Awolowo. Calls ranging from a ban of all
his
books to a "Nuremberg trial" of him and
all
the Biafrans have been made in response.
An obscure two-penny actor, who also
claims to write books by the name Femi
Robinson says Achebe's books, from
Things
Fall Apart, should be banned. Ayo
Opadokun
has made innuendos of ethnic cleansing
by
reminding the Igbo that much of their
property is in Lagos, and presumably the
Igbo, like Achebe, should be circumspect
about the war.
It is a great wonder what Igbo property
in
Lagos and Yoruba
magnanimity"permitting"
the Igbo to reside and thrive in Lagos has
to
do with Achebe's book, except to draw,
as
did many of such fierce and ignorant
diatribes, Achebe as somehow voicing an
"Igbo agenda." I think Ayo Opadokun
exhibits not only pitiable small-
mindedness
but ought to be censored and warned

tanx ....dats d hand work of God

u can apply by visitin their website www.youwin.org.ng .....its not by connection and i dnt av anybody in abuja havin not been to abuja since i was born not untill we were invietd by the presidnt.

i joined nairaland 2010 broke and needed help....but this site kept me inform on evry job vacancies and it is still keeping me inform... Though i was not a graduate still seaching for admision then when some one advertise the youwin programm and some one encourage evryone to apply since it wnt cost u anything except ur time and ur mb used in browsein.....i yeilded and apply and submmited my business plan and my business was pick and finance by the government.....her i am being my own boss....at this young age still in uni

pls can any one pls past d names of those that are sucessfull.we cant acess the page ....pls

check ur inbox to see if u pass the first stage.....or go straight to www. Youwin.org.ng to check ur name