Government claims there is an improvement in power supply despite public admission of not meeting target.

Nigerians are used to so many things that they hv believd it is impossible to enjoy efficiency in power supply. Simply asked,can PHCN give us light for 24 hours non-stop? Comment either by yes/no pls and state reasons.

Egypt has won again.

It is because coins can cause injury to people's faces when being sprayed in owambe parties.

I did my NYSC in Jos between 2000 and 2001.There was relative peace throughout that period.I still cant fathom ugly incidents that keep recurring in that ancient city now.This carnage is one too many.Nigeria is a rudderless ship heading for the rocks.

NIGERIANS continued yesterday to live under the hobbling impact of fuel scarcity as the product still sold for N100 instead of the official N65.

The development made the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to call on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to disengage completely from retailing petroleum products.

Despite assurance from the NNPC on Monday that it had made available 18 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to oil marketers from its Ore Depot in Ondo State, investigations by The Guardian showed that fuel scarcity persisted in Lagos yesterday with filling stations in the state selling petrol at N100 per litre.

The NNPC, in the bid to ease the distribution challenges that had led to the resurgence of queues at filling stations across the country, said on Monday that it was distributing 18 million litres of petrol to fuel marketers to ease of the scarcity.

Group General Manager of the corporation's Public Affairs Division, Levi Ajuonuma, stated this while reacting to media reports that NNPC contractors had suspended importation of products on account of debts owed them by the corporation.

Ajuonuma maintained that the NNPC has a robust stock of petroleum products that could serve the nation for the next 24 days, adding that cargo ships were scheduled to supply the country with enough products all through the year.

Reacting to the worsening fuel crisis in the country, LCCI President, Femi Deru in a statement yesterday in Lagos, said the ongoing acquisition of retail outlets by the NNPC was inconsistent with the proposed reforms in the sector.

In the statement, LCCI wrote: "Retail outlets are the least of the problems in the sector. The commitment of public funds to the acquisition of retail outlets is absolutely unacceptable."

According to Deru, "there should be a strong regulatory institution with clear guidelines to guide investors in the sector and protect the interest of the consumers. The outcome of the adoption of the foregoing is greater private investment in refineries, procurement, distribution and marketing of petroleum products in the economy."

He said that the economy would save the huge sums of money currently being disbursed as subsidy and bridging funds and would be rescued from the massive rent-seeking activities and economic parasites in the downstream sector.

Deru observed that the current fuel scarcity has led to sharp increases in transportation costs, which compounded the challenges of travelling and shot up the cost of product distribution in the economy.

He lamented: "Small and Micro Enterprises who rely on petrol generators had been going through severe stress in the past couple of weeks. There has been loss of valuable man-hours as many people spend several hours on fuel queues.

"It has also led to severe disruptions to traffic in the major cities as a consequence of the obstructions arising from the fuel queues. It has exposed lives and property to fire risk as tendency for domestic storage of petrol increases because of the prevailing uncertainty in supply".

Deru attributed the current fuel crisis to the outcome of alleged ineptitude by the NNPC in the management of the downstream oil sector of the economy.

He said: "The truth is that as long as the NNPC continues to play a dominant role in the procurement, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products, the Nigerian economy would remain burdened by the sorry state of affairs in the sector. This situation manifests in profound inefficiency characterised by grave integrity and transparency issues."

In order to deal with the recurring problem of fuel scarcity, Deru stressed the need to address the fundamental issues in the supply chain.

His words: "A critical factor in the current crisis is the fact that public institutions are still the main drivers of the downstream oil sector. This is the paramount obstacle to investment growths, operational efficiency, commercial viability and the transactions integrity in the downstream sector.

"Therefore, the exit of public enterprises in the entire production and supply chain is vital, urgent, imperative and inevitable as a major component of the solution. This is what was intended with the proposed reform of the downstream sector with deregulation and liberalisation as the major planks of the reform."

The reform process, according to Deru, appears to be on the reverse gear. "The truth is that the public sector bureaucracy is not structured to guarantee the efficiency and optimality, which the downstream sector desperately needs. The question is not about the people; it is about the system and the architecture of public institutions in Nigeria," he added.

Deru also expressed concern over the subsidy on imported petroleum products, which he said, runs into hundreds of billions of naira, through the Petroleum Support Funds (PSF); the colossal sum of taxpayers' money spent on the bridging of petroleum products through the Petroleum Equalisation Funds (PEF); and the profound integrity and transparency issues associated with the management of subsidies, the bridging funds and the refineries.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article04//indexn2_html?pdate=060110&ptitle=Fuel%20scarcity%20persists,%20sells%20for%20N100%20per%20litre

This is shocking.I do not believe this thread.

I predict Yar'Adua is coming back to Nigeria very soon. Keep praying for his quick recovery. Nothing dey happen.

One million lawyers cannot force him to resign.Yar'Adua dey kampe.
God bless Nigeria.

Mass sacking in Nigerian banks.

Nigerians, be ready to be screened with body scanners when travelling to Europe and America. You must also subject yourself to HIV and Cancer screening in all those airports. Whether u like it or not, ur status must be determined!

This man has shown an impeccable love towards the development of the society. He truly deserves the award as he is an epitome of true leadership in a country where people run after crass materialism when elected into public office.
He has displayed the efficacy of the magic wand he possesses to transform Lagos into a cynosure of all eyes. Ride on Fashola.

Nairalanders, please help me on how to post a newspaper report on NR as a fresh topic to be deliberated upon. I have tried unsuccessfully after reading some articles on newspaper websites but found it difficult to lift such articles and paste on NR.
I need all the steps to take urgently.
God bless u.

Fhemmmy:

For Ecowas to have taken this long to come to this kinda concussion, they are just as useless as i thought.

You lack knowledge of public admin and international relations. Is it a crime for sb to b indisposed? Put urself in Yar's shoes. Idiot.

agabaI23:

Have they replaced him yet?

Are u qualified to replace him? Check your unsellable credentials.

Godwin02:

May God forgive the initiator of this sacking stuff. His days are numbered. How could he/she/them ever attempt to compltetly wipe out law abidng nigerian workers and their benefactors from the surface of the earth 08062626245

What is the relevance of ur photograph to this thread? It shows your level of unseriousness in this very sensitive topic. Ur photo has depicted how scarce you are in national discourse.
You hv totally disappointed nairalanders.

Nigerians we need to speak out if next year holds anything good for us. I know some of us are still queueing in filling stations fighting to buy fuel at N90 per litre.

THE HOPE EMBEDDED IN 2010 IS BEING ENTANGLED WITH FUEL CRISIS AND STRIKE ACTIONS.

DEREGULATION IS YET TO BE IMPLEMENTED BUT NIGERIANS HAVE STARTED PURCHASING PETROL AT N150 PER LITRE IN BONNY, RIVERS STATE, AN OIL/GAS PRODUCING REGION. AFTER DEREGULATION, THE PRICE IS PREDICTED TO JUMP TO N200 PER LITRE ALBEIT OTHER PARTS OF NIGERIA.

BANKS,TELECOMS AND OTHERS ARE ON A SACKING SPREE THROWING GRADUATES INTO UNEMPLOYMENT MARKET AGAIN. FRESH GRADUATES SHOULD 4GET BEING EMPLOYED IN ANY OF THESE PLACES THAT CONSTITUTE OUR OWN MIDDLE CLASS.

CORRUPTION IS BEING CELEBRATED AS OUR COURTS HAVE FAILED TO PROPERLY PASS THE RIGHT JUDGEMENT ON PUBLIC OFFICERS CAUGHT EMBEZZLING PUBLIC FUNDS MEANT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR SOCIETY. EVEN EFCC IS CRYING THAT JUSTICE IS NOT METED OUT TO THOSE UNDER TRIAL, HENCE, OTHERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE TO LOOT OUR TREASURY.

Andre Uweh:

Above all, 2010 will see improved relationship between moderators and forumites. There will not be hostilities.

I really appreciate your hope for a better Nigeria come 2010. Are there signs showing it will not add sorrow to the lives of Nigerians with the way termination letters are flying from our banks and poverty is skyrocketting all over?
Can we expect an improvement in the economy critically speaking?

2009 is gradually running to an end but it has failed to better the lives of average Nigerians. Infact, the gap between the rich and the poor is incomparable now. Nigerians are becoming impoverished day in day out.

Politics and economy have diminished the aspirations of many a Nigerian. Unemployment is rising astronomically and nobody feels concerned. Can we get out of the woods soon?

Pacodas, this thread already exists in a better form and heavily responded to. Just close it and rest.
Think of another topic.

He is irreplaceable. His death is a big blow to all of us.
The question is -Do u care for the downtrodden?
Is it not that u oppress others?

He lived, he saw, he fought, he conquered.
He was not afraid of anybody.
He didnt care whose ox is gored.
He lamented and cried out against military incursion into politics.
Nobody I mean nobody can replace him.
Our values and norms have been bastardized on the platter of wealth aggradizement.
We run after crass materialism nowadays.
We are ungrateful to Gani as Nigerians.
I am yet to see any human rights lawyer who is upright and transparent like Gani.

He was the voice of the voiceless, the hope of the hopeless,

Gani touched so many lives. He was a force to be reckoned with.

A country whose foundation has been reinforced with corruption, nepotism, lawlessness and oppression may not get a good replacement for Gani.

You and I dont care about the masses but only wealth creation and this has negatively affected the very existence of the nation. Deep in our hearts, we have failed the masses. People are now clamouring for the abolishment of SAN arguing it has been bastardized and institutionalized to benefit a few privileged lawyers based on either family popularity or government romance. Good character and pure merit are being sliced into pieces while nominating lawyers for SAN.

It is a sad development we are experiencing.

Most youths nowadays are awashed with the phenomenon of crass materialism, hence, we find it difficult to nominate who replaces Gani. Names like Falana, Agbakoba, Keyamo have been mentioned but have they truly stood on the side of the masses? Do they really care for the common man or what they stand to gain from legal suits?

Let us think deeply and we will find a big vacuum on who replaces Gani. People care more about self aggradizement and cheap popularity pushing aside probity, accountability and integrity. How many of our young lawyers are ready to serve the masses? How many of our human rights champions truly defend the masses sacrificially?

Nigeria has lost the single challenger of government and its policies. Please tell me that person in modern Nigeria who can wear Gani's shoes?

Festus Keyamo is trying but can he be the best replacement?

Let us think deeply on the good things Gani did while he was on earth.
He was an incurable defender of the masses and the downtrodden. No doubt, he was labelled the Senior Advocate of the Masses (SAM)- the title he valued more than SAN.

He was relentless in fighting for human rights even in the face of intimidation and probably death. He spoke vehemently against tyranny and oppression. He was imprisoned several times and even at 71 was not afraid to go to jail. He did not compromise principles and was very straightforward in behaviour.

He was a lawyer who made sacrificial appearances in courts to prove many cases where people have been cheated or rights trampled upon. Who else can sustain this fight against injustice in Nigeria where corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of the society?

Can we really get a good replacement for Gani among our crop of present-day human rights activists?

Nigeria has lost a rare gem.
Gani was a symbol of good governance. He fought tirelessly for the enthronement of democracy.
He was the masses' fighter.
His life spoke volumes of transparency, probity and accountability.
He will be greatly missed.
MY QUESTION IS - WHO CAN FILL HIS POSITION NOW?
PLS THINK DEEPLY.

nex:

You're complaining about Thor's pictures? Wait till you see what he's done with pictures of Somalia.

I am an incurable optimist and will never allow somebody like him to rubbish the image of this country. I know he is being sponsored by those who see nothing good in Nigeria.

Thor, You must be very mad.
I know u have lost ur senses.
Your cartoons are not funny but only depict your shallow mind.
Nigeria will become a nation to be reckoned with despite your unbelief.

Our President is doing his best in our quest for industrial revolution.
He must be supported by all Nigerians.