http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200708291502318

Is the present government trying to pull down everything OBJ? What next will be cancelled? The same government that found it hard to cancel the fuel increase has found it easy to cancel so many other policies due to what is called undue process? Someone tell me whats up!

All we are saying, give us more private universities. I don't care about the public ones!

Seun and how many people can afford to go to a private University? why can the government modernize the public university? I am not sure if this story is true do you know We have most graduates comming out of Nigerian in % more than the so called Americans?

The more private universities we can have, the cheaper they will be. Just like private secondary schools!
There are private secondary schools that collect a million naira per term, and those that collect N2000 too.

If there are private universities in abundance, the biggest and most reputable ones will start offering financial aid to students who are studious but poor. Why? In order to raise their standard. Everyone wins!

Seun:

The more private universities we can have, the cheaper they will be. Just like private secondary schools!
There are private secondary schools that collect a million naira per term, and those that collect N2000 too.

If there are private universities in abundance, the biggest and most reputable ones will start offering financial aid to students who are studious but poor. Why? In order to raise their standard. Everyone wins!

Financial aid, and how will they collect the funds back in a country where we can't trace or find people? we don't have a unique identifier like social security number. you can't justify the knowledge someone will get and the special care you get for spending a million to someone spending 200,000. you can't compare YALE or Harvard to a local private university.

We have to be sure that the agency giving them the go-ahead is properly screening them as to the availability of facilities and other neccessary educational needs.Is the screening programme effective enough to prevent pople with the intent of making money.We dont want the private institutions to be like the federal & State ones that produce half-baked graduates every year.Caution.

All we are saying, give us more private universities.  I don't care about the public ones!

-Security
-Medical
-Education
These 3 essential elements are the most important responsibilities of any sensible government.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in introducing more private universities, but we must also think about the ordinary citizens who find it extremely difficult to afford a meal per day.
Let us think broadly and recognize the fact that, just because few of us can afford private universities doesn't mean others could do the same; and it doesn't matter how little the fees may be.

Do not let us settle for less; it is still the responsibility of the federal government to ensure an unblemished education opportunities to the citizens.
Therefore, I say, public universities standard should be elevated to the next level and made reliable for the future of our great nation.
Anything less will result into selling the pride and the future of our nation at a very cheap price.

May God bless Nigeria.

selling the pride and the future of our nation at a very cheap price @BIGB1 the pride of the nation was already sold when IBB forgot about agriculture and went after the oil revenue. People like AWOLOWO spend their life promotion education for all at no cost. People like SHAGARI promote operation feed the nation. Now back to the topic, I must agree with you we do need to elevate the level of the public university, lol

why do u people like diverting the topic? Seun inclusive?

this is next

http://punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20070830213276

[b] FG scraps NNPC , sets up five new firms, National Council on Energy
By Ihuoma Chiedozie, Clara Nwachukwu and Olalekan Adetayo
Published: Thursday, 30 Aug 2007

The Federal Government on Wednesday announced the scrapping of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Skip to next paragraph
click to expand image
File

President Umaru Yar‘adua

The decision, which was okayed by the Federal Executive Council at its bi-monthly meeting in Abuja, is aimed at making the country’s energy sector more efficient.

The Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum), Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, who made this known to journalists, added that five agencies had been created to handle activities in the sector.

They are the National Petroleum Directorate, the National Oil Company, the Petroleum Inspectorate Commission, the Petroleum Products Distribution Agency, and the National Oil and Gas Assets Holding and Management Company.

The NPD replaces the Ministry of Energy, while the NOC takes over the core roles of the NNPC.

The NOC is expected to go into full-time operation in the petroleum sector.

The PIC will play the roles hitherto assigned to the Department of Petroleum Resources.

Also, the functions that were carried out by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services Company are now to be handled by the NOGAHMSC.

Ajumogobia gave indications that the five agencies would report to him.

The minister explained that the scrapping of the NNPC was in line with the new National Oil and Gas Policy.

A National Council on Energy, according to him, has also been established to implement the policy within six months.

The establishment of the NCE is expected to herald the declaration of the emergency in the energy sector by the President.

The council, which will be chaired by President Umaru Yar’Adua, has Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan as the deputy chairman.

Other members of the council are Ajumogobia, his counterparts in charge of Gas, Mr Olusina Emmanuel; and Power, Mrs. Fatima Ibrahim.

Also included in the Council are the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa; the Minister of Finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman; the Minister of National Planning, Senator Sanusi Daggash; the Honorary Strategic Adviser to the President on Energy, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman; and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Ibrahim Mukhtar.

Four other members are to be appointed by the President.

Ajumogobia said, “The Council today (Wednesday) put an end to the speculation as regards the new oil and gas policy.

“The Council received memorandum on the proposed National Oil and Gas policy, the recommendation arising from the sector reform implementation committee, which was inaugurated in 2000 under the chairmanship of Lukman.

“That committee was charged with the responsibility of restructuring Nigeria ’s oil and gas sector.

“The National Council on Privatisation received the report of the committee in 2005. It has been five years of work within which experts in the industry have come together to put together this report that was presented to the council.

“Almost simultaneously, the NCP had also set up a committee to look at the oil and gas industry.

“Those two reports came up at about the same time and a committee was set up under the then Minister of Petroleum Resources to harmonise the reports because there were significant overlap.

“Those two reports were presented to the council today (Wednesday) with a working document, including the one that came from the NCP.

“The only thing that was added to that report was the creation of the National Energy Council.

“The Council also approved the implementation of the National Oil and Gas Policy within a period not exceeding six months.

“One of the highlights of the new policy is the unbundling of the NNPC. This means creating five new organisations out of the existing structure.

“A new Petroleum Directorate is to be set up. A National Oil Company, that is NNPC itself as it is now known, is to be reorganised to empower it to conduct itself like any other oil and gas company.

“It will be isolated from some of its other functions. For example, the Department of Petroleum Resources currently is a department in the Ministry of Energy and this will be replaced by a commission known as Petroleum Inspectorate Commission that would be independent and empowered to monitor the industry effectively.

“There is Petroleum Product Distribution Authority, which is another new organisation. There is also the NOGAHMSC which will effectively replace NAPIMS to manage the assets that are currently being managed under the umbrella of the NNPC.

“The Council approved the constitution of the energy council which will work within the six months time frame to implement the policy”

“It is expected that the constitution of the energy council will herald the declaration of emergency in the country’s energy sector.

“The President had revealed in his address at the opening session of the recently-concluded presidential retreat that emergency will be declared after the establishment of the Council, which he said would work out ways to realise self-sufficiency in the energy sector.”

The Punch had exclusively reported on August 11, 2007 that the government intended to restructure the oil and gas industry and establish five new agencies to replace the existing ones.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Baba-Gana Kingibe, had in June, submitted a report on the restructuring of the industry to Yar’Adua.

In the report titled, “Roadmap for the Restructuring of the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria,” the SGF also called for “the urgent constitution of an Implementation Steering Committee, comprising the heads of all the new outfits as conceived in the report amongst others.”

The NNPC was established by Decree 33 of April 1, 1977 as a public organisation to manage government’s interests in the oil industry.

In addition to its exploration activities, the corporation was given powers and operational interests in refining, petrochemicals, products transportation and marketing.

In 1988, the NNPC was commercialised into 12 strategic business units, covering the entire spectrum of oil industry operations.

The units include the National Petroleum Investment Management Services; the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company; the Nigerian Gas Company; the Products and Pipelines Marketing Company; and the Integrated Data Services Limited.

Others are the Nigerian LNG Limited; the National Engineering and Technical Company Limited; Hydrocarbon Services Nigeria Limited; the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited; the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited; the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited; and the Eleme Petrochemicals Company Limited.

In addition to these subsidiaries, the industry is also regulated by the DPR, a department within the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

Meanwhile, the President, West African Bar Association, Mr. Femi Falana, has described the scrapping of the NNPC as illegal and unconstitutional.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Wednesday, Falana said the decision was also a total subversion of the rule of law.

He regretted that the decision was taken barely two days after Yar‘Adua reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to follow due process and rule of law while addressing the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association.

He said, “Today (Wednesday), a decision has been taken which has treated with disdain and contempt all impending cases involving the NNPC and make a mockery of all binding joint venture agreements between the corporation and local as well as international corporate bodies.

“The Federal Government should therefore be advised to reverse this legal monstrosity and forward a bill to the National Assembly for the repeal of the NNPC and incorporation of the proposed companies without any delay.

“The government should also be advised to stop running Nigeria like a Banana Republic whereby pronouncements are made only to have them reversed on the basis of public denunciation of such decisions.”

Another legal practitioner, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN), agreed that the government would have to repeal the law and reenact another one.

He said, ”What I think they are doing is to show an intention. They will have to repeal the law and then reenact another law.”[/b]

Mamajama:

Seun and how many people can afford to go to a private University? why can the government modernize the public university? I am not sure if this story is true do you know We have most graduates comming out of Nigerian in % more than the so called Americans?

university education is not for everybody

It is good that FG stopped the consolidation of universities and poly. Let B.sc and HND be, like UK after your HND u can go for a top up course and obtain a B.Sc. So why scrap HND because there is discrimination between the two.

Sijien:

university education is not for everybody

I agree

@saintchux
There should n't be discrimination in the first place between holders of Bsc and HND in Nigeria. Government should just empower polytechnics to run their own post-graduate programs up to PhD level thats all.

What good has Ph.D done for Nigerian?