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PoliticsRe: Buruji Kashamu Threathens To Commit Suicide by angelsing(m): 4:35pm On May 23, 2015
Firefire:
APC, note this... A man that spits into the air spits on his self.
What has APC got to do with this now?...He has accused is party man Bode george behind all this. Clearly stating that Bode george is using is wife against him...So I don't understand how APC came into this oga FireFire
PoliticsRe: Cabinet Members Who Failed Jonathan - The Nation by angelsing(m): 12:38pm On May 23, 2015
ichidodo:
[color=#1980BC] Thieffnubu's propaganda newspaper should leave out Okonjo in these matters,afterall she fought to stabilize the economy despite the economic crushing activities of the political class, heck at a point she became public enemy number one for insisting we save our excess revenue liquidity back in the day when $100 was equal to less than a barrel but Amaechi and his goons were adamant......Ofcourse the proliferations of private Jets,yatchs and Dubai property asset acquisitions should point out where the money went to.Tis a miracle Nigeria is still afloat,all thanks to the economy miracle worker,NoI..
.She's like the Arsene Wenger of African Economics yet illiterates and the naive wonder why Yale University honoured her.
[/color]
no wonder why we are so rich and bless with fuel and constant power supply...All hail the special women
PoliticsRe: NDLEA Sorrounds The Home Of Kashamu Buruji by angelsing(m): 11:34am On May 23, 2015
Truckpusher:
When are we extraditing Dick Cheeney? undecided
When Nigeria starts playing its international politics right...Is there an arrest warrant on Dick cheeney in nigeria presently?..At list if there is we can begin to process it for him to come and answer for his crime
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 11:26am On May 23, 2015
baralatie:
let us start up
1.oil and gas reforms
ever before now indigenous contractors were a no go area the best you are in your own backyard is supplier.
under Gej following the reforms initiated I can't count the number of indigenous Nigerians participating actively in oil and gas.that one alone is a big achievement.
now Nigerian companies are building refineries at least one.this was not existent before
2.Railway
I have been to railway compound in ebute metta.I
have seen the Chinese compound.I now rail tracks that had goats,cows roaming on them but now I see trains working.
3Have been to murtala international airport lately do you know how it looked like before.
4.I have the opportunity to travel frequently on Nigerian road.if you say there is nothing done.please remember east west road,Benin ore road.
5.banking reforms
this very sector was not like this before.
6.freedom of speech
abeg no era has ever matched what we experienced under this regime when it comes to freedom of speech
7.foreign direct investment. you might not understand this one.
8.come to akwa ibom,I have never seen a place as beautiful as this state.
all name it under Gej regime.
and the achievements are still unending!
Like I said our opinion on this will differ...the question is how well have this better our economy?..Can u compare the state of the economy right now to when Obj and yaradua left it?...our opinion will always be different but to me the economy is on its knees right now..Let's us just call a truce on this argument because our opinion will never be in sync no matter how we argue it to and fro
PoliticsRe: NDLEA Sorrounds The Home Of Kashamu Buruji by angelsing(m): 11:17am On May 23, 2015
Truckpusher:
This isn't about playing the racial card my friend,it's about equality and fairness.
I agree with u but it is still the prerogative of the outgoing or incoming government to wash their hands off any tainted person...If Tinubu is guilty too he should be shipped off to answer for his crime no matter what party he belongs to..ordinarily those documented allegation against Buruji should have dissuaded people for voting him but as Nigeria is concern such things does not matter so long as he can spend the cash
PoliticsRe: NDLEA Sorrounds The Home Of Kashamu Buruji by angelsing(m): 11:09am On May 23, 2015
hugafella:
East vs West. Who does drugs better? I think the west have it!!
hey stop there!...you want to turn this thread to another tribal war!...seems some of u guys get off on this tribal spite
PoliticsRe: NDLEA Sorrounds The Home Of Kashamu Buruji by angelsing(m): 11:01am On May 23, 2015
Truckpusher:
When are they extraditing Dick Cheeney from the U.S. to face charges for his involvement in the Halliburton scam? undecided

It is a shame that we have to put our people at the mercy of these imperialists whose crime against black Africa has never been paid for in any manner. Jonathan should stop this mess , let Buhari do it himself .


Sometimes I'm forced to believe that the Black man is the most iidiotic being ever created by God if at all God exists .
My guy don't pour garri buruji's sand sand ooo...He will prefer to serve his jail term over there than here in Nigeria...pls don't defend what is wrong by trying to play the racial card
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 10:23am On May 23, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
It's because the debt Fashola is leaving behind can only be compared to the federal govt's debt. If you out it side by side with any other state, you may end up asking for Fashola's head.

For starters, the entire 36 states in Nigeria owe about 3.2 billion dollars and Lagos state alone owes 1.16 billion dollars out of the whole lot. That is more than 40%.

Na only Fashola waka come?

http://www.dmo.gov.ng/oci/subn/docs/Federal%20and%20State%20Governments%20External%20Debt%20Stock%20as%20at%2031st%20December%202014.pdf

On the MDG report, what do you disagree with? Do you have any superior argument backed by empirical evidence?
I did ask you to check the performance of Lagos state against their debt..You went to check and claim 80percent of it was PPP assisted project...Can u show me the debt of the country against their performance...You should also know most debt lagos accrued were for Capital project and not debt they owe to pay salary
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 10:11am On May 23, 2015
baralatie:
well I have good news for you!
you can say and relate the performance of Nigeria as well it is faaar better than six years ago!
Well base on this, our opinion will surely differs...If am correct u are in Nigeria presently, how is the country any different from where Jonathan met it...We have so many IDP, no light, no fuel, depleted foreign reserve,economy crashing, naira lost value..As much as I can rate GEJ for the reviving of railway sector, the construction of few roads and freedom of speech, all in all I can't boldly say the country has tremendously change under those 6yrs...my opinion
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 10:02am On May 23, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
Dude, the bottom line of all governmental projects is to add to the improvement of all human development indices which are in turn reflected on the attainment of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

So, effectiveness of governance should and is measured by their impact on the populace viz a viz human development indices.

Commissioning an empty building and calling it a hospital doesn't improve the health and well being of the masses neither does commissioning a school without well trained and motivated manpower improve academic performances. As long as the projects are not reflected on people's lives, all monies expended on them are wasted.

In the light of the above, kindly download the latest MDG report for your perusal and then make a judgement on who is performing.

http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pages/download/254

cc: angelsing
This question I like to ask u again is why are we comparing Lagos and Nigeria?...is Lagos now a country?..The fact we dragged lagos into this conversation just goes to show we have turned the issue to APC vs PDP because under normal circumstances I don't see how we will be comparing the whole country to a state...I read through the MDG report and there are so many report I tend to disagree with.
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 9:49am On May 23, 2015
baralatie:
so Lagos state debt is irrelevant?
No one is saying lagos debt is irrelevant but u can relate the performance of lagos state government with their Debt. I doubt if we can say the same for our dear country Nigeria
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 10:21pm On May 22, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
I went through the thread and 80% of the projects commissioned there were private sector financed PPP projects.
You are funny...so what u are saying is only 20percent of the project are actual lagos state own project...lol..okay oo I have heard you
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 7:51pm On May 22, 2015
baralatie:
the APC had never shared an optimistic view of govt policies.it made itself clear to distance it actions when voted into power from this outgoing govt
Now back to this fuel crisis,the APC took a bold stand that the fuel subsidy bruhaha was a scam and should not be accepted.it spearheaded the famous "ojota demonstration".
the APC was a big critique of okonjo labelling her as IMF lapdog.
now the incoming walked into
1.50% revenue shortage
2.a 40million/day PMS with an Nnpc+ marketers wage bill
3.excetera
APC should just get to work with their manifesto
1.continue paying the subsidy(now they have realised it exist)
2.find ways to increase revenue without interfering on the sovereignty of states(don't forget their debts)
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 7:03pm On May 22, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
Not until after you've highlighted the assets Fashola is leaving behind and also juxtaposing same with the situation in Lagos.
The fact is am so lazy to go start digging out all fashola asset and legacy in lagos state but if u care to check, go and see that thread by Aresa on Lagos vs Akwa ibom...There u will find all u need to know
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 6:58pm On May 22, 2015
baralatie:
please don't forget the APC and the APC media team SPENT SIX(6) YEARS SPEARHEADING A CAMPAIGN THAT THE MEASURES TAKEN CONCERNING THESE

PROBLEMS WERE INEFFECTIVE,INAPPROPRIATE, NOT WORKING,IT LEAD TO CONTINUED IMPROVISHMENT OF THE MASSES AND THE HEAD OF GOVT CLUENESS.

Now these incoming govt also spearheaded a massive campaign to SOLVE these problems like MAGIC!

NOW,The outgoing govt has presented the same problems IN A DOCUMENT.

THE INCOMING IS NOW SAYING IT WANTS THE MEASURES THAT WERE TAKEN.

don't you think it does not add?
you should take note that not all measures taken by the past Government is bad but sometimes the implementation of such measures are actually the problem...A case study is the removal of subsidy, a good measure but wrong implementation of the money realised from the subsidy removal...since the word involve in all this is Transition, they will give full details and make recommendation!...No matter how the APC might have criticise the outgoing president over the way they handle the country, it is still prerogative of the outgoing government to do what is required of them in a Transition to a new government
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 6:44pm On May 22, 2015
baralatie:
let us put it in the correct perspective.
in a company with a chief accountant working and another accountant spent 6 years proving to the board that the sitting accountant is doing the job wrongly and improperly also only spear heading a campaign against the sitting accountant that it is clueless.
Now the board hires the new accountant and he is being given the job.the new accountant is now saying "GOING BY THE FACTS PROVIDED ON GROUND WE HAVE AN IDEA OF THE PROBLEMS BUT THE OUTGOING ACCOUNTANT IS NOT PROVIDING SOLUTIONS ON HOW TO CURB THE CHALLENGES AND THE OUTGOING ACCOUNTANT IS NOT HELPING"
Oya take it from there!
Come you don tay for this forum oooo.. Since 2006?...Seun suppose honour you!
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 6:38pm On May 22, 2015
baralatie:
let us put it in the correct perspective.
in a company with a chief accountant working and another accountant spent 6 years proving to the board that the sitting accountant is doing the job wrongly and improperly also only spear heading a campaign against the sitting accountant that it is clueless.
Now the board hires the new accountant and he is being given the job.the new accountant is now saying "GOING BY THE FACTS PROVIDED ON GROUND WE HAVE AN IDEA OF THE PROBLEMS BUT THE OUTGOING ACCOUNTANT IS NOT PROVIDING SOLUTIONS ON HOW TO CURB THE CHALLENGES AND THE OUTGOING ACCOUNTANT IS NOT HELPING"
Oya take it from there!
I don't think Buhari team are asking for an idea on how to solve the problem but asking for details of what measures they have taking so far so has to know where to begin when they fully take over..That is why this is a transition, they are suppose to give full details of everything then make recommendation on it....it is now left for the incoming government to study and know if they will continue with the recommendation or come up with a better measures to solve the problem..The Keyword in all this is "TRANSITION" not COMPETITION
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 6:30pm On May 22, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
Are you not also aware of the assets Jonathan is leaving behind?
Which assets if I may ask?...juxtapose the asset with the situation of the country presently but first highlight those assets for me
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 5:13pm On May 22, 2015
mrtheo33:
Do GMB n his team want d handover note to be handed over to them b4 29th May? D acceptable practise is, on d day of handover every document will be hnded to them. So dey can take some wks out 2 study them.
Moreova, they're nt comin frm d moon. Dey should spare us all dis media wahala.
They hand over officially on May 29 but the transition team would have worked together with the outgoing team before the official hand over date
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 5:09pm On May 22, 2015
PointB:
GEJ cannot tell him everything, he (GEJ) has other issues he's dealing with!

Running a country is not for semi-literates like Buhari; it requires a lot of thinking and creativity.
Buhari should be with his cows in Duara, visiting them once a while is not enough! cheesy
You expect GEJ not say anything because u put ur person first before the country...So because he is voted out he should not tell the president anything?...guess u have no idea what a transition is all about....Buhari is not GeJ's enemy, only people like u who are so bitter because ur person lost an election
PoliticsRe: May 29 Handover: No Facts From Jonathan On Fuel Crisis – Buhari by angelsing(m): 5:04pm On May 22, 2015
PointB:
You are dull!

If the fuel attendant brags all year long that he's ready to take over sales having studied the system for a while, and such fuel attendant boasts that he has new and better ways of dispensing fuel and serving customers, does such fuel attendant require ages to start dispensing fuel? What if some of the machines were vandalized and previous day figures are not available, would he go weeping all day long, or use the experience and ideas he boasts he has to hit the ground running?

Basically, the semi-literate Buhari Buhari should stop regaling us with his boring tales and pathetic tears of not being handed over to properly. What exactly constitute proper handover? The semi-literate Buhari should brace up for his job and be creative about it. Crying 'Jonathan is not giving me advise' everyday on pages of newspaper will not cut it! There will be very little margin for errors, and excuses will NOT be tolerated!
Dude stop trying to sound intelligent with ur lame example and explanation...Here is a better example, u have an accountant who has been with u company for so long and he is about to leave, he is to handover to the new accountant telling him exactly how much is the debt and expenditure they have as well as showing the new accountant all the document and file to back all of it...It is now left to the new accountant to go about how to recover such debt and run the account dutifully without any deficit...How do u hand over to the new accountant without telling him which of the issues are priority for easy implementation...Am still saying it, majority of u guys who supported GEJ pray so much for this country to fail just to satisfy ur bruise Ego and I consider you guys Enemies of this country.....No one ask the outgoing president to Fail the country why pray others to fail...Wicked set of people!
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 10:45am On May 21, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
Fashola is handing over the worst debt in the history of Lagos state to Ambode.
This is Fashola's response to the issue of Lagos state debt as written in the punch this morning:

It has been said that you are leaving behind
about N418bn debt and one wonders what is
responsible for the huge debt profile despite
the huge revenue generated by the Lagos
State Government.
I have answered this question many times and it
seems people just dwell on debt but in the
context of debt, let us look at the assets too. I
am leaving behind hundreds of kilometres of
roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, courtrooms,
social services, skill centres, streetlights and
traffic lights. I am leaving behind also people
who now have jobs, who did not have jobs seven
years ago. I am leaving behind a stronger
security force; a stronger LASTMA, a stronger
KAI. That is where the money went. I am leaving
behind a rail system. I am leaving behind so
many assets for the continuity of life. I am also
leaving behind a bigger workforce – a better
equipped workforce. I think we should talk less
about debt and more about development.
Lagos State Government still has to continue to
raise more money and this takes me to the
Internally Generated Revenue that you are
talking about. The IGR – standing on its own – is
averagely N20 billion. Let us do the math. Some
months it is more than that, some months it
drops. The monthly allocation from the
Federation Account is averagely N10 billion;
sometimes it goes up to N11 billion, sometimes
it drops to N9 billion. Let us use an average of
N10 billion, even though in the last few months it
dropped to six and half (N6.5 billion). If we have
averagely N30 billion, do the math, divide it by
21 million people. You will get one thousand four
hundred and something naira per person in
Lagos. It is easy then to say let us collect the IGR
you think is big but you are seeing the IGR alone
and not seeing the responsibilities.
Our population has also grown by forced
migration in terms of the Internally Displaced
Persons across Nigeria. I just sent a team to
somewhere in Apapa where there are people
displaced from the North-East of Nigeria in
camps. We have to go and intervene; we cannot
leave them there without help. The sanitary
condition there is horrendous. If we want a
government that only deals with what is
available, then every month is the government
going to tell everybody, ‘go and take your
N1,400; go and build your roads, go and build
your schools, go and build your hospitals,
manage your security?’ But we have to be
futuristic, we have to think ahead. The IGR that
you also talked about does not come as N20
billion to us. It comes when somebody pays N1
million for land today, somebody pays for his
vehicle registration tomorrow, and somebody
pays his ground (land) rent. It is because we are
accountable that we always announce at the end
of the month, ‘this is what we got.’ If we wait for
30 days for the money to accrue, it means we
won’t do any work.
People should understand that we won’t do any
work because the money has not accrued. What
do we do? We borrow against it. The banks
which we collect it from know that we will pay
because the money (IGR) comes through them.
So, we take a loan. But we don’t borrow to pay
salaries; we don’t borrow for recurrent
expenditure, we borrow for capital investments.
I cannot go and tell the person who is waiting to
take his child to the hospital and there is no
hospital space; that they should ‘wait, I am
waiting to collect money.’ If I give you the
contract to build a hospital, I cannot tell you
‘take one naira today, I am waiting for two naira
tomorrow.’ It is not a way to plan construction.
You must gather your building materials and you
must move men to the site. We borrow from the
banks. When the monies come, the banks
deduct them.
The borrowing you are even talking about,
measure it against the assets. We took N275bn
bond over eight years. The first thing we had to
do was to repay the old bond of N15 billion
because the Lagos State Government drew N15
billion out of the N25 billion bond. We had to
repay that so that we could take the full benefit
of what we were planning to do, which was
going to be issued in series. And we did all these
in public. What did we use these monies to
finance? We used them to finance infrastructure.
As the monthly IGR is coming, we are returning
15 per cent of the IGR into a consolidated debt
service account. We can’t touch it. Take out 15
per cent of N20bn. We have over a N100 billion
in that account to pay the debts. Those who are
saying we owe, the system for paying bond is
secured. We just paid the second bond, which
was the first that I took. We paid it last year. The
next bond will be due in 2017 and it is about N60
billion or N70 billion but we have N100 billion in
the account. In any event, we have over-secured
our liabilities as far as the bonds are concerned.
As far as the local short-term loans from banks
are concerned, we were able to pay.
PoliticsRe: By Conceding Defeat, Jonathan Averted Evil - Fashola by angelsing(op): 10:40am On May 21, 2015
poiZon:
op u sure say na journalist interview am or na essay wey him wryt about him life?
na journalist oo..it is in the punch this morning...
PoliticsRe: Osibanjo Is Inheriting Debt From FG But Ambode Is Not Inheriting Debt Frm Fash by angelsing(m): 10:36am On May 21, 2015
Sunnybobo3:
Fashola is handing over the worst debt in the history of Lagos state to Ambode.
What is wrong with you guys?...We are talking about the country not a state..Is lagos state our country?..if u want to talk about lagos debt go and open a thread of that enough of this bringing lagos state issue every time we re talking about Nigeria
PoliticsRe: Demonising Tinubu, And The Limit Of Lies....lateef Raji by angelsing(m): 9:29am On May 21, 2015
WombRaiders:
Buhari has no more use for Tinubu and the cabal has already moved into take over Buhari govt

Amaechi is more tolerable to Buhari than tinubu and the north even though he has no political value but for the sake that Amaechi owes his freedom to Buhari's emergence

Osunbade will remain in Aguda House as the most ceremonial vp whose role will be limited to representing Buhari in any of the numerous sycophant book launches and events in the South West

The north has selected fashola to spite Tinubu and also because fashola is highly subservient and will do whatever Buhari tells him to do just as Tinubu controlled him like a spaniel on a leash

Buhari will bypass Tinubu
You guys have not stop seeing the future...just like all ur assumption, presumption and premonition did not make u see that GEJ will lose the election...Stop acting like u know what goes on inside the APC camp because even ur own PDP camp u have no idea what transpires there..Your assumption is noted but it as flaw as a man getting pregnant
PoliticsRe: Demonising Tinubu, And The Limit Of Lies....lateef Raji by angelsing(m): 9:16am On May 21, 2015
barcanista:
“Abia is number one (of corrupt state) not because it is number one alphabetically, but because we have one of the biggest established cases of stealing, money laundering, diversion of fund against Governor Kalu. The governor used his mother, daughter, wife and brother to divert N35billion to build his business empire including Slok Airlines, Slok Pharmaceuticals and newspaper house…Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu corruption is of international dimension.- Then EFCC Chairman Mallam Nuhu Rubadu in his statement before the Senate on September 27, 2006.

1. Tinubu never went to court to prove his innocence nor sue Ribadu for defamation.

2. Tinubu was Governor for 8years but became stupendously rich after leaving office. How much is Alpha beta earning from Lagos Tax payers money?

3. How did Tinubu manage to convert State properties including his Present residence in Bourdillon to himself and will Tinubu swear that due process was followed or he never abused his office in the process?

4. We don't need to check through CAC with respect to numerous companies linked to him because politicians float companies via surrugates.

In truth, Tinubu is smart and an achiever as Governor of Lagos state. Most of Fashola's policies (except flower planting) were actually his. I admire his Leadership but a comprehensive probe of his administration will determine whether he is corrupt or not. However, the indices on ground point to the fact that he IS CORRUPT!

He's just a smart thief!
All this allegation just point to one thing, all our security agency are bunch of lazy Arrow...What stops them from investigating him to the point he can be arrested..All nuhu Ribadu said was just personal assertion without any evidence to back up his claim..The Alpha beta company as quoted is also collecting tax for both APC/PDP state..in as much as I can not categorically stand with all assuredness that Tinubu is not corrupt, I still think evidence should be find against him so he can be prosecuted...Almost forgot, Ribadu will allegedly had shared from same corrupt money when he was still at APC.
PoliticsRe: By Conceding Defeat, Jonathan Averted Evil - Fashola by angelsing(op): 8:35am On May 21, 2015
ta4ba3:
Dude are u writing a novel
hahhhhhahah...lol..actually no ooo, just posting an interview some journalist had with Fashola and as usual it is enlightening and shed some light on some issues will like to ask the governor..
PoliticsRe: By Conceding Defeat, Jonathan Averted Evil - Fashola by angelsing(op): 8:32am On May 21, 2015
Continue
During your years in office, can you recollect some of the wrong decisions you took and what things you could have done differently? As for things I could have done differently, hindsight is always 20/20. As I said recently at an event, our job is like that of actors on a public stage but the stage is live. We are making videos; live production of cinemas on any production. Unlike the great movies in which you can edit and retake, we don’t have the opportunity to edit and retake. It is done, it is done. In that sense, for two thousand nine hundred and something days – every minute of the day – I am called to act either on a file, on the phone, through text or in a meeting. If you do that from morning till night, almost 16 to 17 hours every day; I have taken hundreds of thousands of decisions. Can I think that I would have got all of them right? Certainly, not. I acted in the circumstance of what I understood the problem to be; I acted in the circumstance of what time of the day it was; I acted in the circumstance of how tired I was. I will rather make a decision than postpone a decision. I will rather make a wrong decision than be found not to have decided anything. In that sense, I cannot get everything right. And I will never know how any people were adversely affected by my decisions. I always make people to understand that this is a public trust; it is not personal. President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat at the presidential election and that step has earned him commendations worldwide. Do you think that action elevated him? I won’t join the debate because it is a raging debate; some say he is now a statesman, some say he is now a hero, others say he is not a hero as he did what he was expected to do. I will just say that first you must understand what we have become. All of us are looking at an election. Do we normally, as a people, accept that we have been defeated? Let us ask ourselves that question. Let me animate it a little: can you remember how many times in football that we lost – we can’t qualify – and some people will still be saying ‘no, if somebody beats somebody by 20-0, we will qualify?’ And they will continue to raise hope where, clearly, hope is gone. Logic says to you ‘this is over.’ That is us. We don’t accept that it is over. It can be a positive energy somewhere else, to fight to the last. But in that context, I think we should acknowledge what President Jonathan did as the right thing. If you lose, you should concede that you have lost. I won’t join the debate on whether he is a hero or a statesman, people will have their views. But was that the right thing to do? Yes. And I hope that from there we can pick an example. Was it courageous? I would think so in the circumstance that I have created. He had to go and tell a party that wanted to rule for 60 years that we have lost and I have accepted it. There is a saying that while it seems ordinary to praise people for doing what is right or what is good, we must understand that it is not just for doing what is right or good that they got the praise or acknowledgement. It is because they avoided evil. And the kind of evil we could have seen is unfolding in Burundi now. The question is to ask the many ifs; ‘what if he (Jonathan) had said no?’ That is my final word. The National Assembly was on the verge of amending the nation’s constitution but the executive stopped the process through the judiciary. Do you think it was right for the executive to do so? My general disposition is to first say that the constitution is the supreme law of the country and it is not a law you want to easily change as if you are changing your underwear or as if you are amending the minutes of a village meeting. There must be very serious and compelling reasons to amend a constitution. And to see that our constitution has been amended in the last eight years – we have had all sorts of amendments to the constitution – the first question I am asking myself is that those things that we have amended in the constitution, are they things that probably should are been put in a law – an Act of the National Assembly? Something is wrong with a nation that amends the constitution almost in every parliament. We probably put too much in there. We are putting dates for elections, dates for this and that; they should not be in the constitution. We have ‘over legislated’ our lives and put everything in the constitution. Sometimes, it is very difficult because constitution amendment is a major event in any country. The whole nation almost comes to a halt on what is going to change. Now they are amending the constitution and we are just carrying on with our lives. Constitution amendment is a very serious business, if you ask me. The question I ask is ‘is it the constitution that is the problem or is it us?’ Let us look in the mirror and see whether we like what we see. I have argued publicly that when there is a common purpose; when there is candour; when there is a shared value, even a bad constitution will work. And no constitution will ever be perfect because it is made by men and women. And when there is something that looks like a “perfect constitution,” with the bad values, without candour, without a shared purpose, it won’t work. The APC merger was not without the shared value of the people who formed the APC was united by a common purpose – to take the PDP out. And that was why people were willing to compromise even if they were not comfortable. They did not get everything they wanted. The ACN went into that merger with six governors; it lost its colour, it lost its name. Therefore, you don’t need a constitution to put us together; we set up the merger before the constitution came. That is the sense. It is a shared purpose – it was us. What are we willing to sacrifice in order to get the nation going? Is everybody going to say ‘this is my position and I am not moving from it?’ No constitution can supplant that.
PoliticsRe: By Conceding Defeat, Jonathan Averted Evil - Fashola by angelsing(op): 8:28am On May 21, 2015
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If we don’t want a life of debt, then Lagosians must agree that we reduce our budget to what we earn. We have a budget of about N489 billion. Let us use our IGR as an example: N30 billion multiplied by 12 months is N360 billion. We are already in a hole of about N119bn. If Lagosians want us to reduce it, then will Lagosians agree to stop demanding more services? Certainly, no! Thus, this is the context. And when you look at the countries we aspire to be like: America owes $16 trillion – they owe the whole world – but they have the best space ships, aircraft and army, and they can decide what our military does with the debt they owe the world. What is the biggest problem you are leaving behind for your successor? I did not govern to leave problems for my successor. Let me say, first of all, that government loses its relevance when there are no more challenges. The only reason why government exists is to solve problems. I inherited my challenges; my predecessor inherited his challenges but I can say that what we expect to see is that the job gets easier as we move on. All we have done here is to improve the quality of what we met in order to make it easier for the next person. We have built stronger institutions, we have strengthened ministries; we have increased revenues in order to meet increasing demands, we strengthened government capacity to respond to services. We just set up a citizens’ relation management platform on the Internet so that the government will be able to more efficiently respond to issues, using current communication methods with Internet and telephone. But every problem that we solve creates a new problem. That is life. About 200 years ago – I’m not sure precisely, the average life expectancy in Europe was less than 30 years. You got married; you had a child; you would be expecting to die. But what did the government do? The government started to expand the frontiers of health care. Today, life expectancy is about 70 or 80 but it has created new problems. They have won on health, they now have social problems. People are not dying quickly enough and no government can come out to say it wants people to die quickly. What that has created is huge pension bills. You saw the debate in the last British election – the pressure on the National Health Service is largely by the ageing population. But that is the price of the success of health care. The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, said states are responsible for their inability to pay salaries. Do you agree? I won’t want to have a public debate with the Finance Minister because if it was a matter she was willing to debate, let her call a meeting and we will have a public debate on it. I think the sense for the public to understand is that the country made a budget on the basis of certain assumptions. There was a national budget. Those assumptions have become unrealistic. If you are leading a family, and your children or members of your household trust you or trust your leadership, and you say that these are the things that you expect to happen; that this road is safe, let us walk it together and that road turns out to be unsafe because the nation did not earn enough, so your assumptions were faulty and what the nation earned is mired in debate and controversy about how accurate the accounting has been in terms of oil proceeds and sales. Is it morally right to say it was the fault of the children that they couldn’t go to school when the revenue and resources to go to school had been halved because you led them to believe that this amount would come in? I think the time has come when people must take responsibility for their actions and to say ‘you know what, I got this wrong. I am sorry.’ It is possible for the uninformed members of the public to misunderstand that statement and think that they couldn’t pay salaries because they didn’t want to pay. But the admission you must first make is that their income has declined. Let us go forward and all of us must understand this: the money that goes to each state from the federation account is for the entire state, not for the public service. Let us understand that. It is for water, for road, for security, for this and that. It is not to pay salaries alone. What number does the workforce constitute and what proportion of that money do they take every month? After paying salaries, government cannot fold its hands to security and it cannot close its eyes to health care issues. It seems to me that if there were more revenue, the states would not be in this position. That does not suggest that all the right choices have been made. I think the larger issue that I want to address is that it provokes us to rethink the viability of the current state structure. When the debate for the creation of more states started, one of the things I said was that I did not think we should have more states. One of things I said – and I think I was the only one who said it – was that it was time for people to think out of the box; that the states that felt they were not viable on their own could merge. Some people had some scathing words for me on that matter. But the way I view life is that if you unbundle something and it does not work, you must have the courage to put it back. And we cannot entrap ourselves that there is no other answer. The same way that we put back the decentralised Police Force many years ago, we are now afraid to unbundle it again. But it is not working. This is the way that I think public trust and even our private lives should be. How can we say a state is not viable when the state executive has up to 2,000 aides being paid? We must really decide what we want. It is important that we own our government. How many of the people that we call aides are, just for example, the immediate family members of the governor that we can fairly accuse him of nepotism? They are members of the society who want jobs. They are your friends, your cousins, your brothers. The man (governor) does not advertise that he is looking for workers. I still got a CV this afternoon of somebody looking for work. It is always a top-line thing to keep on your head: how does this add to my cost of running government? Suddenly, you will see the numbers. The man does not advertise that he does not have aides; he probably has more than he needs. Somebody like you and me put the pressure. Therefore, we are using employment as our social safety net; employing some people in some instances that we really do not need. That is why whenever I hear that there is no social safety net in Nigeria, I just chuckle and laugh. In some organisations, privately, and in some organisations, publicly, you will see that one person can do the work three people are doing but we cannot afford to lay off people because we will only create more social problems. We speak to ourselves and I know the burden. ‘Please, help me; please, help me.’ And even when I could not employ, I have met people in the private sector, ‘Please help me to place this person.’ And when I don’t hear a reply, I know what the reply is – that ‘we are watching our balance sheet’ because they are there for profit and the profit is cash and dividends. The profit of government is the welfare of its people. And so, one more person who can go to work, the government can say ‘I have created a place for this person.’
PoliticsBy Conceding Defeat, Jonathan Averted Evil - Fashola by angelsing(op): 8:25am On May 21, 2015
The outgoing Governor of Lagos State, Mr.
Babatunde Fashola, a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, speaks on his eight-year administration
of the state, non-payment of salaries by states
and sundry matters in an interview with
journalists from select media houses. KAYODE
FALADE, KEMI ASHEFON and LEKE BAIYEWU
were there
What are the things you are going to miss
the most when you leave office?
I cannot think of missing anything. This is a
public trust; it has a beginning and an end. And it
finishes when it is finished. My life did not
change when I took this job; not in any way that
I know. My food has not changed; my clothing
has not changed. Perhaps, the only thing I had to
do more was travel, and now I will travel less.
This is not something to miss; this is something
to say that you have done your bit, get off the
stage and let the next manager take over.
Does it mean you are going to be relieved
after leaving?
I will not use the word relief. I will just be done.
Are you leaving a fulfilled man?
Yes, to the extent that I was able to deliver
substantially on everything I promised, and
more. I have done my bit. You must
contextualise fulfilment with the nature of the
undertaking. It is an undertaking that never
ends; it is a job that never finishes. The question
is ‘did you add value?’ Yes. ‘Did you make an
effort?’ Yes.
It has been said that you are leaving behind
about N418bn debt and one wonders what is
responsible for the huge debt profile despite
the huge revenue generated by the Lagos
State Government.
I have answered this question many times and it
seems people just dwell on debt but in the
context of debt, let us look at the assets too. I
am leaving behind hundreds of kilometres of
roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, courtrooms,
social services, skill centres, streetlights and
traffic lights. I am leaving behind also people
who now have jobs, who did not have jobs seven
years ago. I am leaving behind a stronger
security force; a stronger LASTMA, a stronger
KAI. That is where the money went. I am leaving
behind a rail system. I am leaving behind so
many assets for the continuity of life. I am also
leaving behind a bigger workforce – a better
equipped workforce. I think we should talk less
about debt and more about development.
Lagos State Government still has to continue to
raise more money and this takes me to the
Internally Generated Revenue that you are
talking about. The IGR – standing on its own – is
averagely N20 billion. Let us do the math. Some
months it is more than that, some months it
drops. The monthly allocation from the
Federation Account is averagely N10 billion;
sometimes it goes up to N11 billion, sometimes
it drops to N9 billion. Let us use an average of
N10 billion, even though in the last few months it
dropped to six and half (N6.5 billion). If we have
averagely N30 billion, do the math, divide it by
21 million people. You will get one thousand four
hundred and something naira per person in
Lagos. It is easy then to say let us collect the IGR
you think is big but you are seeing the IGR alone
and not seeing the responsibilities.
Our population has also grown by forced
migration in terms of the Internally Displaced
Persons across Nigeria. I just sent a team to
somewhere in Apapa where there are people
displaced from the North-East of Nigeria in
camps. We have to go and intervene; we cannot
leave them there without help. The sanitary
condition there is horrendous. If we want a
government that only deals with what is
available, then every month is the government
going to tell everybody, ‘go and take your
N1,400; go and build your roads, go and build
your schools, go and build your hospitals,
manage your security?’ But we have to be
futuristic, we have to think ahead. The IGR that
you also talked about does not come as N20
billion to us. It comes when somebody pays N1
million for land today, somebody pays for his
vehicle registration tomorrow, and somebody
pays his ground (land) rent. It is because we are
accountable that we always announce at the end
of the month, ‘this is what we got.’ If we wait for
30 days for the money to accrue, it means we
won’t do any work.
People should understand that we won’t do any
work because the money has not accrued. What
do we do? We borrow against it. The banks
which we collect it from know that we will pay
because the money (IGR) comes through them.
So, we take a loan. But we don’t borrow to pay
salaries; we don’t borrow for recurrent
expenditure, we borrow for capital investments.
I cannot go and tell the person who is waiting to
take his child to the hospital and there is no
hospital space; that they should ‘wait, I am
waiting to collect money.’ If I give you the
contract to build a hospital, I cannot tell you
‘take one naira today, I am waiting for two naira
tomorrow.’ It is not a way to plan construction.
You must gather your building materials and you
must move men to the site. We borrow from the
banks. When the monies come, the banks
deduct them.
The borrowing you are even talking about,
measure it against the assets. We took N275bn
bond over eight years. The first thing we had to
do was to repay the old bond of N15 billion
because the Lagos State Government drew N15
billion out of the N25 billion bond. We had to
repay that so that we could take the full benefit
of what we were planning to do, which was
going to be issued in series. And we did all these
in public. What did we use these monies to
finance? We used them to finance infrastructure.
As the monthly IGR is coming, we are returning
15 per cent of the IGR into a consolidated debt
service account. We can’t touch it. Take out 15
per cent of N20bn. We have over a N100 billion
in that account to pay the debts. Those who are
saying we owe, the system for paying bond is
secured. We just paid the second bond, which
was the first that I took. We paid it last year. The
next bond will be due in 2017 and it is about N60
billion or N70 billion but we have N100 billion in
the account. In any event, we have over-secured
our liabilities as far as the bonds are concerned.
As far as the local short-term loans from banks
are concerned, we were able to pay.

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