The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned the presidency’s hysterical reaction to the recent speech at the British African Diaspora Conference in London by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing as unnecessary and diversionary the name calling and personal attacks against the ACN leader. And that the presidency should tell Nigerian Nigerians whether indeed the poverty level in the country has reduced since 1999 when the PDP assumed power. In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said instead of reading the speech objectively, the presidency pressed the panic button by sending its self- confessed ”attack dog” to criticise a report he had barely read and denigrate the ACN and its leader, an action that is now the favourite pastime of the presidency. ”The presidency went after the messenger, rather than the message, rehashing its old and stale cliches about the ACN and its leader for daring to carry out an objective analysis of the state of our economy as well as the state of the nation and also suggesting the way forward,” it said ACN challenged the presidency to controvert what can be described as the kernel of the speech concerning the economy. ”Quoting the late British economist Dudley Seers, Asiwaju had raised the following questions to be asked about a country’s development: What has become of poverty? What has happened to unemployment? What is the state of socio-economic inequality? ”The ACN leader further posited: ‘If all three have declined from high levels, then development has occurred. But if one or two of these central problems have grown worse, especially if all three have, it would be wrong to call the result ‘development’ even if GDP has improved’.” The party said the presidency should rather tell Nigerians whether indeed the poverty level in the country has reduced since 1999 when the PDP assumed power at the centre, as well as how much unemployment has been tamed and how far the socio-economic inequality has been curbed. ”This is how to counter any perceived incorrect assertion by any critic, instead of engaging in name calling,” it said. ”The assertion by Asiwaju in his speech tallies with our earlier statement that what we are experiencing in Nigeria, under the Jonathan Presidency which has been reeling out highfalutin economic statistics, is growth without development, which is useless.” ACN also challenged the presidency to prove to Nigerians that the country’s leadership in the past 14 years has been visionary,disciplined and courageous – what Asiwaju described as the ”missing link” that has led to the retrogression of the three key drivers of development. ”As Asiwaju said, ‘the gap between poor and rich widens. There is grinding poverty and people have to work twice as hard each day to make ends meet. There is massive unemployment. Of what use is any leadership that does little to solve these problems?”’ The party also challenged the presidency to deny that it had turned the concept of democracy, especially one man, one vote, on its head, especially against the background of its (presidency’s) antics in the recently- conducted election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. ”Here is what Asiwaju said in his speech on that election: ‘Look at the recent controversy surrounding election of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) chairman. Thirty-five state governors assembled to vote for the chairmanship. They did this among themselves by secret ballot. One contestant earned 19 votes. The other attracted 16. In a place where honesty matters, the result would be clear and undisputed. ”’But not in today’s Nigeria under the current leadership. The chap who earned fewer votes was declared the winner by those who backed him. In Nigeria, the tenets of basic arithmetic have little application concerning elections. Votes do not count, they are concocted. Elections are not necessarily won by the candidate with the highest votes. Elections are won by the candidate of the powerful and mighty. Consequently, a group comprising all the nations’ governors could not even conduct a simple 35-person election without a disputed outcome’.” ACN said these are the issues that the presidency should have addressed in its hurried, poorly-articulated and highly unimaginative response to the well- received speech, adding ”Let our public discourse be about issues, not personalities.”http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/has-poverty-level-reduced-acn-asks-jonathan/

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Yes'
According to UN

Ask Fashola and Tinubu too who decide to toll all state bridges in Lagos.They will soon toll all the pedestran bridge in Lagos

Good Question! Expecting pro-government lackeys while pretending to be neutral onlookers to resort to their usual manipulative streaks and vitriols, in a bid to derail the thread by attacking the messenger without addressing the message when the harsh reality of worsening poverty stare us all in the face!


Government and its economic managers are fond of singing aloud tunes discordant with reality on the ground, an economic boom in the face of a rising debt profile at an unprecedented rate, soaring poverty and unemployment rate.

Most Nigerians are no longer in pursuit of a good life but only worry about their daily survival from a short, nasty and brutish end. Waste and mediocrity on the part of those in government has starved a generation in the circle of poverty of hope, ideals and the basic necessities of life! Our resources are a curse to us, but prosperity to a few! A "Transformation Agenda"aimed at transforming the lives of those in government and their friends positively, while Majority of Nigerians remain disillusioned and despondent, placing their faith in "E GO BETTER"!

teskyg: Ask Fashola and Tinubu too who decide to toll all state bridges in Lagos.They will soon toll all the pedestran bridge in Lagos

Dude, the action of tolling bridges has been alive in this world for long. And i will be glad to wet ur dry brain with some erudition as regard the reasons:

1. We all knw the poor man alwys want things for free, the rich are ready to pay. Wen the rich ones pay the tolls, the cash will still be used to provide free amenities for u poor lots!

2. If the bridge was open to all, it won't be effective in it's main purpose to reduce traffic. Do u wanna knw why? Do the math!

3. Income from tolling will be used to maintain the bridge as we knw dt cable bridges require constant maintenance.

That being said:

Askin jonathan to be evasive in answering that question is jes an act of cowardice! Of course we knw he is, together with his chest beating brothers

There is no question that PDP has failed, whether APC can do better is an unknown and quite frankly it is beside the point, voting PDP out in 2015 is a national imperative, their ineptitude is palpable.

Why are we being taken on an intellectual ride?
Has Fashola's good governance in Lagos reduced poverty in Lagos state?
There are foundations on which the future can be built and that is what is really important.

Dracula27%:
Why are we being taken on an intellectual ride?
Has Fashola's good governance in Lagos reduced poverty in Lagos state?
There a foundations on which the future can be built and that is what is really important.

It is hard to reduce poverty in any state if you have limited powers to regulate the population or economy. What happens in Lagos is greatly influenced by forces Fashola has no power over, much of this is thanks to the constitution but most straight forward is the fact that we have a constant stream of poor people running to Lagos every day, that there is the nugget. Even if the lives of residents living in Lagos when Fashola assumed office has improved it won't mean much owing to the fact that a few million more people have moved there and have now become his responsibility. For any governor to enrich his state, they all must and that guarantees the failure of Nigeria.

CROWÉ:

It is hard to reduce poverty in any state if you have limited powers to regulate the population or economy. What happens in Lagos is greatly influenced by forces Fashola has no power over, much of this is thanks to the constitution but most straight forward is the fact that we have a constant stream of poor people running to Lagos every day, that there is the nugget. Even if the lives of residents living in Lagos when Fashola assumed office has improved it won't mean much owing to the fact that a few million more people have moved there and have now become his responsibility. For any governor to enrich his state, they all must and that guarantees the failure of Nigeria.

Aptly written! One cannot single out a state governor to tackle poverty, its a collective responsibility of the entire ruling class. Though, State governors also fritter away monies meant for infrastructural and human development on a daily basis, the bottom is knocked off the implementation of fiscal policy. The FG takes the larger percentage of revenue, it foisted the business-unfriendly fiscal and monetary policies on the economy, so most of the blame is hers! It is the FG who propound several economic policies, mostly out of tune with reality. What we need is good governance from top to bottom!

We will never surrender the presidency, NO SURRENDER



[size=16pt]GEJ[/size] [size=16pt]CARRY GO[/size] [size=16pt]2015[/size]

SLIDE waxie:
Dude, the action of tolling bridges has been alive in this world for long. And i will be glad to wet ur dry brain with some erudition as regard the reasons:

1. We all knw the poor man alwys want things for free, the rich are ready to pay. Wen the rich ones pay the tolls, the cash will still be used to provide free amenities for u poor lots!

2. If the bridge was open to all, it won't be effective in it's main purpose to reduce traffic. Do u wanna knw why? Do the math!

3. Income from tolling will be used to maintain the bridge as we knw dt cable bridges require constant maintenance.

That being said:

Askin jonathan to be evasive in answering that question is jes an act of cowardice! Of course we knw he is, together with his chest beating brothers

I like the way you broke down the reason backing the idea of tolling. You can't see a tolled road by the LASG on the mainland because that's where majority of the middle/low income earners stay. I now use people's views on tolling to rate their intelligence. The only crime would now be for the LASG not to execute any project with the money collected from tolling.

ba7man: I like the way you broke down the reason backing the idea of tolling. You can't see a tolled road by the LASG on the mainland because that's where majority of the middle/low income earners stay. I now use people's views on tolling to rate their intelligence. The only crime would now be for the LASG not to execute any project with the money collected from tolling.

he even called the lekki ikoyi bridge cable bridge and these are the riff raffs that would call a nigerian president all manner of names. Those that don't know the difference between a cable bridge and a bridge . He may not even live in Lagos all he. Feed himself with is the propaganda of the opposition.

In my own assessment, poverty has reduced in Nigeria.
I went to buy fuel and saw others also buying comfortably at N97 per litre, I thought to myself, is this the same product that caused mass protest when its price was increased from N26 to N42 in 2003?
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What is the difference?
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Although things cost less then but because of poverty then people could not afford it at that price.
Today because of the improvement in the economic welfare and purchasing power of the people, someone can afford to buy 10litres of fuel to enable his family to watch Super Story.
Prices of cars are many times higher than 2006 but people are finding it easier to buy cars and fuel them.
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People may talk about the exchange rate but economically that is a one-sided view of the whole picture.
The Japanese Yen to is 97.55 to a dollar, that is high but the economy is strong.
It is the stability of the exchange rate that matters and not the value to the dollar. And in that regards, GEJ has scored another high.

ITbomb: In my own assessment, poverty has reduced in Nigeria.
I went to buy fuel and saw others also buying comfortably at N97 per litre, I thought to myself, is this the same product that caused mass protest when its price was increased from N26 to N42 in 2003?
.
What is the difference?
.
Although things cost less then but because of poverty then people could not afford it at that price.
Today because of the improvement in the economic welfare and purchasing power of the people, someone can afford to buy 10litres of fuel to enable his family to watch Super Story.
Prices of cars are many times higher than 2006 but people are finding it easier to buy cars and fuel them.
.
People may talk about the exchange rate but economically that is a one-sided view of the whole picture.
The Japanese Yen to is 97.55 to a dollar, that is high but the economy is strong.
It is the stability of the exchange rate that matters and not the value to the dollar. And in that regards, GEJ has scored another high.

Its called inflation, poverty reducing is when the people can afford to buy more things, not the same things at higher prices, inflation is unavoidable.

CROWÉ:

Its called inflation, poverty reducing is when the people can afford to buy more things, not the same things at higher prices, inflation is unavoidable.

Are we not saying the same thing @ the bolden?
I dont understand what you meant by higher price.
Still using petrol as an example, Nigeria has a low petrol price in the world at $0.62 compared with Ghana at $0.92, SA at $1.38, Kenya at$1.37, US at 0.97 and UK at $2.17. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EP.PMP.SGAS.CD
Same with cars ordered and sold at global prices in Nigeria.
Even in most establishments, Salaries are paid at globally competitive rates and a Samsung phone launched in US is also launched in Nigeria selling at the same price and more Nigerians are buying comfortably than before..
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You want to know what inflation is? Go to Zimbabwe .

ITbomb:
Are we not saying the same thing @ the bolden?
I dont understand what you meant by higher price.
Still using petrol as an example, Nigeria has a low petrol price in the world at $0.62 compared with Ghana at $0.92, SA at $1.38, Kenya at$1.37, US at 0.97 and UK at $2.17. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EP.PMP.SGAS.CD
Same with cars ordered and sold at global prices in Nigeria.
Even in most establishments, Salaries are paid at globally competitive rates and a Samsung phone launched in US is also launched in Nigeria selling at the same price and more Nigerians are buying comfortably than before..
.
You want to know what inflation is? Go to Zimbabwe .

The price of oil could and should be much lower and in the united states things like htc one, iphone 5 are pretty standard items, in Nigeria they are luxury. People were buying the latest Nokia by the bulk when it was hip in the early 2000s as well so buying latest phones doesn't mean jack, how many of those people actually bought it within budget, are they more than there are people in villages with out jobs or clothes, are they more than the people who live in dumps and zinc houses? The country is not working, it is that simple. You are like one of those nobles in France who saw their friends living large and assumed king Henry must be working, until the commoners came and beheaded the full. Go to the dumps in the country and tell me if the number of people who live there has reduced then tell me if those people who no longer go there have found jobs, until then stop judging the nation by the lives of people who live in your directly observable range. I doubt you pay much attention to the people who live under bridges when you drive by.

Dracula27%:
Why are we being taken on an intellectual ride?
Has Fashola's good governance in Lagos reduced poverty in Lagos state?
There a foundations on which the future can be built and that is what is really important.

The poverty in Lagos is federal poverty.

Why are poeple equating lagos situation as a basis for defining poverty?
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS CALLED POVERTY, GO TO VILLAGES.
NOT JUST IN THE NORTH(WHICH IS WORSE) BUT EVEN THE SO CALLE SOUTH AND SOUTH-SOUTH(THOUGH BUNKERING IS HELPING THEM OUT).

CROWÉ:

It is hard to reduce poverty in any state if you have limited powers to regulate the population or economy. What happens in Lagos is greatly influenced by forces Fashola has no power over, much of this is thanks to the constitution but most straight forward is the fact that we have a constant stream of poor people running to Lagos every day, that there is the nugget. Even if the lives of residents living in Lagos when Fashola assumed office has improved it won't mean much owing to the fact that a few million more people have moved there and have now become his responsibility. For any governor to enrich his state, they all must and that guarantees the failure of Nigeria.

I appreciate your answer.
My point is that it is not a realistic question that was being asked.
Asking Fashola that question is also not realistic because they are other issues involved.
The FG can also say that WA is a border-less economic bloc so the impact of government is being mopped up by immigration. The issue is a comparism between micro and macro economics. One party is claiming to be making macro economic progress and the other party is challenging the claim not even on micro economic terms but on parameters even narrower than that. With where Nigeria is, a proper foundation needs to be established. The present FG might not be the best but i think their direction is correct.

bloggernaija:

The poverty in Lagos is federal poverty.

No naa we should not talk like that. If there is good in Lagos it is Lagos good, if there is poverty in Lagos it is federal poverty.
Let us be fair in our evaluation.
The poverty situation was not built in a day and would not go suddenly.
Using it as a rallying cry would hold great appeal because hunger dey Nigeria but knowledgeable people know there is no magic formula to make it disappear.
We would have to work towards it.

Immigration is something the federal government is empowered to tackle, assuming we are talking about the illegal kind so that doesn't count as an excuse . More importantly do you know that the federal government has more powers within a states than the state governments themselves? In addition to this they also have overruling powers on any move made by the states, security and law enforcement within the states is also federal jurisdiction, it can be argued that the mandate to govern states is federal and the states are just there for babysitting, crossing t's and dotting i's. So yes, considering that the only person paying any real attention to Lagos is Fashola any good that comes out of there is definitely his doing but since the federal government has claimed most of the powers in the state they must take the blame of whatever goes wrong there.

If you'd notice, the biggest problem in Nigeria is the structure of government, the federal government has claimed responsibility and means over places it does not intend to govern, leaving these lands to governors and then limiting their means to do anything productive so if anything good it done it will always be in spite of the federal government and when bad things happen it will always be because of the federal government. Unfortunately the system is excessively weighted towards nothing positive happening and this is ingrained largely because while states are technically individual their finances are not so while you are planning for the economy of one state your formula would have to include 35 other states and a federal government that you do not have any power over, also whatever plan you have will require that all the others, I mean all of them are equally prosperous, which is impractical and grossly improbable. So, if by correct direction you mean giving the states the financial autonomy and considerable powers over their states they need then yes I agree with you, otherwise they are just throwing good money after bad. These are the problems that must be fixed otherwise its all moot.