Lets go there

;d

@alexleo: you sure say you go fit occupy dat place??

what next?

We don't need to free more fund to the pulse of federal government as govt don't need additional fund for infrastructural development. I said this because budget implementation for capital expenditures was always below 40% every year while implementation for recurrent was always above 90%. This annoying practice still continue with GEJ's govt. The question is why do they need more fund when you're returning over 60% capital budget unspent every year?

Watz up folks? Why is nobody talkin' abt d ASUU Strike? Seriously itz really getting sickening not hearin any thing about d strike.

Those of us who call our leader corrupt polititians check urselves well n u will c that if u get half chance 2 be there u will be more corrupt than them. So let stop all these nonesense n think of hw 2 move forward, let's protest d spat of boko haram instead of acting as the cabals wish. GEJ all d way!

i love this event of past week, it has created massive awareness for the youths of Nigeria and the story is becoming more interesting. PEGASSAN should play their own role by shutting down oil production. if that happens then the next role will be by the masses-unrest. The army will then become the protagonist by expelling the current government and conducting an election in the next 3 months. the next government will become more aware of the section 2 of chapter 2 of the constitution - sovereignty belongs to the people and the government from the constitution shall derive all its powers and authority

K-nash:

Watz up folks? Why is nobody talkin' abt d ASUU Strike? Seriously itz really getting sickening not hearin any thing about d strike.

that is nigeria for you, one bad news will take over another, yet bh continues to wreck havoc but are out of headlines.

GEJ the so called weak President I hope his showing the haters that call him a WEAK PRESIDENT!! Now Ơ̴̴͡.̮Ơ̴̴̴͡. How weak he is

Homar:

Gej your own don finish. R I P

gej RIP in advance Gaddafi way

The carnival continues

Hear SLS:
Central Bank of Nigeria
Governor Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi (SLS) responds
to some Internet
Inquiries on fuel subsidy
and wrote: If you will
patiently read this mail
to the end you will
understand my position.
I won't be able to
repeat everything I
have said over the past
few years on fuel
subsidy, but in
summary; Fraud like
theft thrives not only
because of the
existence of greed and
benefit but of
opportunity. Place
yourself in
the shoes of the
average nigerian
"businessman" or
"entrepreneur"-polite
euphemisms for rent
seeking parasites.
You establish an elcee
for importing 20,000MT
of PMS and the PPPRA
says this is at a landed
cost of N145 for
example per litre. So u
know that for every
litre in that vessel you
will get at least N85 as
subsidy. Now you have
a number of
"possiblities":
1. You can off load 5,000
MT and bribe customs
and other officials to
sign papers confirming u
offloaded 20k MT. Then
do the same across the
chain with a paper trail
showing you delivered
20k MT to a tank farm,
and maybe even that u
transported it to
Maiduguri entitling you
to a share of the price
equalization fund. Maybe
for N20-N30 per litre u
bribe all those who sign
the papers. The 15k MT
you take to Benin or
Ghana or Cameroun and
sell at market price thus
makin an additional
"profit" of N55/ltr on
15,000MT!
2 you can just forge
documents and have
them stamped without
bringing in anything and
collect the subsidy-
PPPRA pays based on
DOCUMENTS.
3 you can bring in the
fuel, load on tankers,
sell some at N65N some
at 80 some at 100
some across the land
borders.
You can do all this and
no one can catch it or
prove it because
somebody was paid to
sign off on docs. And
with a high enough
margin there is too
much temptation to be
resisted and firepower
for bribing officials.
When I spoke to the
house of reps I told
them why I was
suspecting fraud. It
starts from PPPRA
"allocations" based on
"capacity". You will find a
company like Mobil with
capacity for say 60,000
MT and a relatively
unknown name with a
capacity of say 90k MT.
Red alert number 1.
Although PPPRA is
supposed to give license
only to marketers with
a national distribution
network you see names
of companies where
you have never seen a
filling station in their
name.
I was a chief risk officer
in UBA and in FBN for
many years approving
loans so I know the
name of every big
player in every industry
that nigerian banks lend
to as these are among
the biggest banks in the
country. I see names on
the list I don't recognise
either from portfolios. I
looked at or industry
studies over the years.
Red alert number 2.
I studied the papers
presented to PPPRA in a
short period in 2010 (I
won't tell you how I got
them!). And I was
surprised that on some
days over 10 vessels
are said to have
discharged cargo in
lagos on the same day-
clearly the same
officers stamping and
"verifying" that the
vessels were SEEN. Is it
really realistic that on
the same day 13-15
vessels can discharge in
Lagos? Red alert number
3.
Why was I interested in
fuel marketing. Because
the two sectors that
led to the near collapse
of the banking industry
were capital markets
and oil marketing. I am
not giving any
confidential info out as
AMCON MD has already
disclosed publicly that
two companies alone-
zenon and AP-owned by
the same businessman
owed the nigerian
banking industry N220b.
And we all saw the
amount of subsidy paid
to those companies
published by
BusinessDay.
So money had been
taken, subsidy had been
collected but loans were
not repaid, and we
couldn't see the money
either as product in tank
farms or in fuel stations
or credit sales. So I
became obsessed with
trying to understand
how that industry
operated and the more I
saw the more I hated it
and I started the war
against subsidies.
It is actually better to
do a direct cash payout
or add a line item to
salaries called petroleum
support or transport
allowance capped at say
N300b p/a than to keep
paying it. It goes to pay
middle men, rent-
seekers and corrupt
officers and there is no
amount of preaching
that will stop this fraud
so long as the policy is
so badly defined.
Everytime oil price goes
up and everytime the
naira is devalued and
everytime the quantity
of imports increases
the "subsidy" and thus
the "rent" increases and
there is more gravy to
go round. So every year
we "import" more and
more and deplete our
reserves, and the
government borrows
more and more to pay
for subsidy and the
beneficiaries are a smal
group of marketers,
govt officials and
neighbouring countries
which get fuel without
losing forex! And while a
person who applies
intelligence can see
what is happening you
can't prove it in a court
of law. If the man says
he sighted the vessel
and it was 20kMT you
have to accept it. It
was a year ago!
So for two years I have
been convinced that this
thing is a scam and that
it cannot be stopped
because the entire
controls have been
compromised. NNPC
sells domestic crude,
Pays whatever subsidy
PPPRA says and then
gives the balance after
JVC to the federation
account. And while fani
kayode is right to speak
up, the truth is that it
was obasanjo who first
subverted the process
by allowing NNPC to
make the deductions
before paying into
federation account.
Because once money
goes into that account
it is to be shared among
3 tiers of government
so strictly speaking the
deductions have always
been unconstitutional as
the FG was paying
subsidy on behalf of
itself and state and LGs
without their approval.
So yes, I am willing to
take all the criticism and
labels and be unpopular
but this has to stop and
govt can find other
ways of alleviating pain.
Iran removed subsidies
and started cash
transfers directly to the
poor. It is up to fiscal
authorities to figure out
safety nets but from
where I sit and what I
know this decision is
not only correct but
necessary and overdue.
I also confirm that I
have revealed nothing
here I haven't spoken
about before in public
and it is just that
Nigerians never listen!
I am not complaining
about insults I am used
to that. I just believe
that an insult is not an
argument and when
people resort to
personal abuse they
have run out of logic.
But to then go beyond
me and extend it to my
dead grandfather and
his "descendants" ie my
late father his siblings
etc I think goes beyond
the pale. As a Nigerian-
and as an economist- I
can take a position on
economic matters and
this position is one I
have had for years even
before coming in to the
central bank.
I have also explained
the position on several
occasions and criticised
government for not
doing this before. In
2010 at a public hearing
in the House of Reps on
the 25% saga I alerted
the nation of what I
considered a potential
big scam around
subsidies and urged for
its removal. No one paid
attention. The
economics is very clear
to me. That it is
unpopular is also
understandable.
The British public is
unhappy with Tory
budget cuts. The Greeks
went on riot over
austerity. Italian
parliamentarians came
to blows before
Berlusconi was thrown
out of office. The US
congress is yet to
approve Obamas tax
increases.
Economic decisions-by
definition-ALWAYS
must involve a cost or
an opportunity cost
since for them to
qualify as economic
they must involve a
choice in resource
allocation among
competing uses. An
enlightened debate is
one that weighs the
pros and cons of
removing subsidy and
continuing with it.
Removing it has costs in
terms of nigerians
paying more for PMS-
which by the way is not
the fuel for genrators,
power plants,
production facilities,
heavy duty goods
transportation trucks
and even luxury buses.
It is fuel used by the
middle class and car
owners to drove around
town and from city to
city not to employ
workers and produce
goods and services.
Diesel which is critical to
manufacturing and
employment creation is
not subsidized as the
subsidy was removed
years ago by obasanjo.
Nigerians said nothing
then because it was
blue collar workers that
got retrenched by
factories.
Those speaking now on
the internet and
facebook and twitter
and newspapers are not
workers but middle
class elite who use PMS
in their smart cars so
let's stop all the
ideological pretence.
This is not about elite
and masses but an
intra-elite discourse.
I will summarise the
issues and I write as a
Nigerrian economist and
public intellectual not as
a public servant:
1. I am a strong
advocate for subsidies
if they are for
production and not
consumption, and if
they benefit the poor
and not middle men and
rent seekers. The US
government subsidizes
cotton and wheat
farmers and nigeria
spends its reserves
importing wheat from
america and keeping
american farmers
employed. The OECD
countried pay subsidies
to cattle farmers.
Today Promasidor
imports powdered milk
from New Zealand and
packages in nigeria using
our foreign exchange
while we have cattle.
WAMCO imports milk
from the UK and adds
water and tins it and
calls it "production" of
Peak milk. We use our
forex to import
petroleum products and
keep refineries and jobs
open in europe.
Meanwhile precisely
because of market
distortions there can be
no private sector
investment in refineries
since no one can make
profit seling at the
regulated price unless
we are going to provide
private refineries with
crude for next to
nothing. Certainly no one
can purchase crude at
market price, refine it
and sell at N65 without
huge losses so this
explains why there are
no private refineries.
2. what I mention above
is at the heart of the
problem with
government economic
policy which needs to be
changed. The economy
since SAP is one that
supports imported
consumption and not
local production,
perpetuating
dependency, non
inclusive growth and
insecurity. Why is it that
the economy is growing
at 7pct annually but the
people are getting
poorer. Because growth
gains are not evenly
distributed. Personal
income is skewed
towards people in the oil
industry, telecomms,
high finance, stock
market, real estate and
yes civil servants and
politicians who feed on
corruption. We produce
crude oil but import
petroleum products
(today the UKs highest
exports to nigeria are
petroleum products).
We have a large cotton
belt but import textiles
from china (thus
keeping their subsidized
factories open and jobs
in china). We are the
world's number 1
producer of cassava but
import cassava starch
from europe. We have a
huge tomato belt in
kadawa, jigawa and
chad basin but are the
world's largest importer
of tomato paste-from
China and Italy. We can
produce rice but we
import rice from
Thailand and India-most
of it from grain
reserves that have
been in stock for over 5
3. If above is clear then
it is evident that this
trajectory can only lead
to disaster. We will
continue to spend our
resources promoting
growth and
employment in our
trading partners. Terms
of trade shift against
us, we can only have
foreign reserves
because by the good
grace of God we have Oil
which will be exhausted
soon and with new
discoveries may become
so cheap it loses value.
We don't create any
value added jobs as the
only real production is
peasant farming. Oill,
telecomms, finance and
real estate are not
employment intensive.
So everyone becomes a
civil servant as the
economy cannot create
jobs. Result? In 2012
budget out of a total
N1.8tr recurrent
expenditure for the
executive arm N1.6tr is
on personnel costs not
overheads. To reduce
this you have to cut
salaries or pensions or
retrench civil servants.
This is the classic
trajectory of
underdevelopment, de-
development and de-
industrialisation.
4. For the above reasons
I am a strong proponent
of structural reform and
this begins from the
fiscal framework. The
limited resources of
government should be
allocated to supporting
production-especially if
we are running a budget
deficit. We cannot keep
borrowing to support
conspicuous
consumption. To
support a job creating
economy we need to
fund power,
transportation
infrastructure, market
infrastructure and
access, technical and
vocational education etc.
We need to build rice
processing plants,
produce starch and
cassava flour and
ethanol, process our
tomato and milk locally,
regenerate our textiles
firms (which used to
employ 600,000
workers but now
employ 30,000!), refine
our own crude etc. We
cannot even begin to do
this if 30pct of govt
expenditure is on fuel
subsidy, if out of the
balance 70pct is
recurrent spending,
10pct is debt service,
10pct goes to the niger
delta and only 10pct is
capital expenditure. So it
is about a choice-what
do we spend money on
and how do we allocate
resources?
5. We often compare
ourselves to other oil
producing countries like
saudi arabia. What are
the facts? With a
population of over 160m
we produce 2mbpd ie 1
barrel for every 80+
citizens daily. Govt share
of revenues if like 50pct
of every barrel so it is
effectively a barrel for
160 citizens. Saudi
Arabia with a 24m
population produces
over 8mbpd or one
barrel for every 3
citizens. In fact in 2010
the nearest OPEC
country to nigeria in
production per capita
was Algeria with a
barrel for 30 and algeria
is more gas than oil.
With one barrel for 3
citizens dailt saudi
arabia is able to provide
infrastructure,
education, healthcare
and social safety nets
and have huge savings.
It can provide
subsidised fuel at a
total cost that is a
fraction of its savings
and even export refined
products. It is paying for
subsidies ouy od its
fiscal savings and not
borrowing to pay. We
are like a poor man with
a rich neighbour. The
neighbour buids a good
house, buys several
cars, eat expensive
food, travel abroad
every year and still have
huge balances in sevral
current accounts. Then
you choose to live that
lifestyle and mortgage
your house, take an
overdraft from the
bank to finance it. Next
year it is time to repay
the bank, u don't have
the money so u go to
another bank, borrow
enough to pay the first
bank principal plus
interest and also fund
the continuation of the
lifestyle. It continues till
u can't borrow anymore
and the bank throws u
and your family out of
your house and you
everything.
A responsible father
would have long since
faced reality and told his
family he doesn't earn
as much as his
neighbour and
expectations need to be
moderated if they to
keep their roof. Of
course the children
won't be happy at not
going to Hawaii for
summer and having to
take public transport
rather than own cars
like their neighbour's
children. Maybe they will
even abuse the father
behind his back and call
him a miser. That is the
cost of leadership.
Finally: removing subsidy
is not a silver bullet that
solves our economic
problems. And there is a
huge trust deficit that
government has to
address. Government
needs to investigate
subsidy payments and
punish any violations of
extant guidelines. It
needs to cut on
unnecessary and waste
ful expenditure. It needs
to fight corruption and
show seriousness in
that. It needs to deliver
on capital projects,
power and
infrastructure including
irrigation, farm-level
storage and agri-
processing. These are all
valid issues that are to
be taken IN ADDITION
to and not in place of
subsidy removal

MMIA on 14 Jan, 2012: Are people leaving or this is just the stranded crowd?

@Remii

[table]MMIA on 14 Jan, 2012: Are people leaving or this is just the stranded crowd?
[/table]

This does not look like people travelling, please what is happening ooooooo??

Are people running away from Nigeria>

when is the next meeting?

Those calling for military intervention are basically r.e.tar.ded!! Is the military transparent?? All they will do is loot till a new leader is sworn in!!
HATE IT OR LOVE IT, SUBSIDY (FUEL) MUST GO!!!
We will keep our eyes on all govt officials to be accountable (including the local govt chairmen). They must be transparent and cut waste. Naija must move forward. Reverting to 65 is retrogression. Period!

Rest in Peace Jonathan!

Thanks for post![img]http://2.s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=E6E6E5/txt=E6E6E5/border=E6E6E5/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

for better or worst corruptn must be brought to d minimal level jus as it has happen in education sector so it must happen in other sector, ALUTA CONTINUAL

Its such a pity dat we are living in a country where there are so many resources but are not utilised and all most all its income is spent and looted by the people governing it (I went on forbes some time ago and was surprised to see some nigerians on the list of wealthiest persons in africa ranking tops)these peoples worth are measured in the billions of dollers, our schools and especially higher institutions are in decay , You visit universities and you see so many brilliant students living in deplorable conditions and constantly being victimised by the same teachers who claim to be teaching them , Am sick of this country ,

Please what was the NLC insisting on?

I hope they are not settling for N100 and it has to be N65 or Nothing,

You don't have to miss this GET BBPINS ONLINE FOR FREE!! http://naijamediaworld..com/2012/01/get-bbpins-online-for-free.html?spref=tw

no one rmenba d masterplanner of ALL d atrocity in   9nja, OBJ


wht about Tinubu who betrayed his pple and sold ACN to PDP in d presdential election?



why is he silent now?

karl max:

GEJ the so called weak President I hope his showing the haters that call him a WEAK PRESIDENT!! Now  Ơ̴̴͡.̮Ơ̴̴̴͡. How weak he is

Ijaw man weak? Never!

som of us ar rejoicn ovr anoda round 2 protest,uhm! Nigerians lts wisen up and nt play into dia hands(5th columnist),cos if project Nigeria fails,al of us ar gona pay for it whyl dis rich men wil tak d next flight out wit dia families. Av we sat dwn to tink dat we myt nt survive dis next week protest if it continues,d boko harams ar waitn for any smal comma to finaly execut dia agenda of d disolution of Nigeria,politicians dat lost out ar also inciting pple wit untru and unbalancd facts.security is vry important,d security forces ar overstretchd at d moment,while they ar pursuing bokoharam they ar also batling to kip d protesters at bay.lts reasn al dis.GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

Hmmmmm very pathetic state too bad

GEJ, going the way of Ghadaffi. Very soon, it will be Nigeria Vs Jonah, and we will throw him into the crocrodilos!

i people said jonathan is weak?

The generation of leaders currently in Nigeria need to cover their eyes with their hands if their was a better word to use they are a disgrace to humanity looting is such a moral word to use when referring to them outright theivery is what they do. Its a pity and a shame for some of us to sell ourselves short image some people not realising that the reason why fuel costs are higher in some area then in others may not "may not be" as a result of the few that pay back remittances to the same political associates but because roads are bad no infrastructure and cost of maintenance must be born by the entrepreneurs and as a result it pays to supply where my physical costs are reduced as against in the creeks or east where the roads are damned tell them when they come and meet you that if julius berger would handled our construction we do not need an over sized irrelevant miunistry of works, if private investors will invest in transportation we do not need a waste filled ministry of transport with a thousand agencies if we want to stop the importation of some basic things all our borders have to closed to other thins as well we're are no more interested in NEEDS,SEEDS, SURE VISION 202020 we are interested in people grown plan which looks and address the needs of the masses a collective agreement by us the people and not a whom want to institutionalize corruption a few whom haven't walked the streets looking for what to eat or a president that believes in putting the blame on another mans door step for his inadequacy's a president that went from state to state local govt to local govt was voted for because we felt he would reason with us and lay solid foundations and antecedents for the fight against corruption is now intoxicated with temporary power what a shame on the S.S their best product is a DRAGON that drinks like a fish, and as direction less as a old OSHODI market.

I can't stop calling on My Airtel

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asha 80:

i people said jonathan is weak?

what do you call someone weak against the few strong and strong against the multitude weak? Eni a le mu laa ledi mo, lol

@CEEJALOVE - Guy u got it all wrong here. i am sick & tired of all dis selfish ppl here who come out to tell us "majic" economics dat makes one want 2 throw! what do u know about subsidy dat makes u think hard working nigerians are enjoying "awuf" subsidy? america subsidies to farmers on most thinks used by them yet subsidy was removed on feritilizer here in nigeria by dis "democrazy" looters. Can u point to me just 1 single benefit dat our farmers can point 2 after after dat calous & senseless removal of d subsidy?
d nigerian govt is only good at giving reasons why dey will subsidies but all benefits dat have been promised so far have died along with d silence dat 4lowed after d useless noise.