₦airaland Forum

phemmyjohnson:
Striping him of his security details doesn't mean he is not still the speaker..
Tell ur Jonathan to strip bokoharam sponsors off their security details,
Not abusing powers off the grid...

You are the one calling him speaker, is he still a member of the house? Come Dec 2, the house PDP caucus will do the needful.

What was Tambuwal expectiing You are about to lose on both ends, in Abuja and Sokoto.

SamIkenna:
Why should he do that? That's an express encouragement to lawlessness and men who perpetuate it. I understand Tompolo is making big buck from oil brigandry even before the inception of GEJ's administration and I have no problems with it for the simple reason that Nigeria's oil belongs to his people. But to threaten a responsible citizen who is, perhaps, one of the remaining faces of constitutionalism is madness. He needs to learn how to drink his oil in absolute silence else he'll go the way of small men who, after filling their stomachs to the brim, storm out in the open to challenge the gods.

Keyamo is telling us a one sided story. If he truly has any problem with Tompolo, he should call him and resolve his problems. This is not about Tomopolo making any kind of big bucks, with or without GEJ the likes of Tompolo have come to stay. That is the reality people will learn to accept in Nigeria.. Tompolo will drink his oil in silence, when all the flies and parasites disturbing his drinking process pack and go, till then you have no choice but live with his noise.

phantom:
you are shameless! look at your response to an issue of this severity.
little wonder people take the youths of Niger delta as a bunch of never do wells. its a pity.

when people say Jonathan has institutionalised violence and corruption,you people scream blue murder.
we can all see Jonathan's FG projects in the Niger Delta i.e empowering thieves and crooks.
on a good day tompolo, should be houseboy to keyamos driver but look at where we are as a nation where thieves are rewarded and merit is sneered at.

What fuccking issue are you talking about, bloody mor00n. Do you know any other facts besides what the papers are reporting? Don't worry about the youths of the Nigerdelta, is either yours or your father's problem. Now go hang your alamjiris asssss

Keyamo, pickup the phone and call Tompolo,so this matter can be settled.

The government of 1979 was formed by NPN/NPP. That was how NPP gained the speaker's seat, before a formal decampment by the speaker to NPN, after the 1981 crises.

God save us from the revisionist.

Let's bear with Amaechi and his gang of demons. In about 5 months, he will return to Ghana.

Youths Protest Against Amaechi’s Comment On Presidency

Men and women under the aegis of Wakirike in Port Harcourt have staged a protest and threatened to make Rivers State ungovernable if Governor Chibuike Amaechi continues to make what they called insulting statements about the Presidency.



The group also accused the Governor of wasting a whooping sum of 19 billion naira to organise an APC rally.

A PDP lawmaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly told journalists on behalf of the protesters that they would no longer tolerate unguarded statements by the Governor.

However, the Chief of Staff and Political Adviser to the Rivers State Governor, Tony Okocha, has called on security agencies to investigate the threat of making the state ungovernable by the persons.

“All these allegations by these group of persons are borne out of political desperation and have no truth in them. The office of the President is a public office and is subject to criticisms by the governor on behalf of Rivers people and that is not tantamount to insulting the President.

“Governor Amaechi remains a disciplined man and will never be involved in the release of prisoners,” he said.

As the political tension in the state increases ahead of the 2015 elections, politicians have been advised to avoid making statements capable of jeopardizing the democratic process.

http://www.channelstv.com/2014/10/30/youths-protest-against-amaechis-comment-on-presidency

Which house are we talking about here?

When will he be evicted from the speaker's residence.

Doing business in Nigeria now easier – World Bank

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
ABUJA—The World Bank has given a positive assessment of doing business in Nigeria and 34 other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the global body, the report of this year’s study on Doing Business indicated that almost all nations in the continent took deliberate steps to implement reforms which made doing business easier for private sector operators.
“The report, Sub-Saharan Africa has had a great year of reform, with 35 of 47 economies recording at least one reform that makes it easier to do business – 75 reforms in total”, it said yesterday.Tomatoes market
Nigeria alone undertook 10 regulatory reforms in its push towards making private sector operators take charge of the economy.
Majority focused on improving business incorporation, trade, and credit reporting systems, allowing Nigeria to gradually narrow the gap with the best regulatory practices in the region.
The report finds that Nigeria ranks among the top five economies in Sub-Saharan Africa in two areas – the ease of getting credit and the strength of minority investor protections.

Between 2013 and 2014, Nigeria saw an increase of 3.6 points in its distance to frontier score, greater than the global average increase of 0.8.
This, the World Bank report said “is due in large part to an increase in the coverage rate of Nigeria’s credit reporting system and a reduction in the company registration fee that made it less costly to start a business.”
Nigeria is one of the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million where the report now covers two cities, providing new insights into the variability of business regulation within economies. Lagos and Kano were covered in the report.
“This year, for the first time, the DB team analyzes business regulations in Kano as well as Lagos making Nigeria one of few countries where the report covers two cities”, the bank said.
It added, “Francophone Africa had an excellent year, with Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Togo counted among the top ten reformers globally. Senegal is the global top reformer, with 6 reforms, closely followed by Cote d’Ivoire and the DRC with 5 reforms each”.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/business-nigeria-now-easier-world-bank/#sthash.sQgPPXf7.dpuf

This party boxed themselves in, before the voting started. Amaechi is the only choice they have. They need his money.

The Federal Government’s new automotive policy is expected to cause a paradigm shift from the trend of importing fully built new vehicles to the importation of newly built automobile components (spare parts) for the utilisation of the assembly plants that are springing up in the country, analysts have said.

This development, they said, is likely going to shape the growth and content of Nigeria’s containerised imports in 2015 as the automobile spare parts are expected to come into the nation’s seaport packed in container boxes.

Investigation reveals that since the increase in the duty and levy paid on imported new vehicles from 20 percent to 70 percent by the Federal Government, Nigeria’s automotive market has started witnessing a systematic drop in the volume of imported new vehicles.

However, this development is also opening up new market opportunities and frontiers for importers, auto dealers, shipping companies and the entire business community.

BusinessDay further discovered that several auto makers like PAN-Nigeria Limited, VON Automobile (Stallion Group); Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing and Transit Support Services are already making in-roads into the business of assembling new vehicles in Nigeria. Also, Cosharis Motors, Globe Motors and Peace Mass Transit are among the category of auto makers that are currently at preliminary stage to kick-starting their individual assembly plants.

“Nigeria’s containerised import market is expected to enjoy positive growth of about eight percent on the back of the importation of new auto spare parts for the upcoming assembly plants in Nigeria,” a recent Maersk Nigeria trade report noted.

The projected growth, the report stated, is seen as the new opportunities inherent in the shipment of finished auto parts to service the demand of the assembly plants that are expected to take-off and to drive the local production of made-in-Nigeria vehicles as projected by the Federal Government.

“The implementation of the new automotive import policy will see an increase in containerisation of vehicles in knocked down condition shipped to new assembly plants in the country. All of these indications suggest positive volume growth in containerised imports in 2015,” says Jan Thorhauge, managing director of Maersk Nigeria Limited

In his own view, Tony Anakebe, a renowned maritime analyst, who confirmed to BusinessDay in a telephone chat that there would be an increase in the volume of imported completely knocked down (CKD) spare parts in 2015, also questioned the place of this increase in volume on the market price of new vehicles that are assembled in Nigeria especially as it concerns the purchasing power of an average Nigeria.

Anakebe, who also affirmed that the assembly plants and vehicle manufacturing in Nigeria will create huge employment in the country, also expressed skepticism about the quality of vehicles that would be produced in-country compared to the quality of imported ones.

Explaining further, he stated that currently with a minimum of N1.8 million that an average Nigerian can buy a very good ‘tokunbo’ vehicle that would serve him for a minimum of five years but the least price for a new car assembled in Nigeria would go for about N3 million.
http://businessdayonline.com/2014/10/fgs-new-automotive-policy-to-open-up-more-opportunities-in-import-business

HNosegbe:
Rubbish. If they're serious about the part in bold then they should start by publishing the NNPC's financial statements as is done by reputable companies the world over.

is NNPC a company?

OP don't worry, some people are trying to rewrite history. All they have achieved is opening up old wounds.

So, APC was expecting to win a ward in delta state? Una head no correct.

datolee:
Thank you sir, I still don't know why these people still argue blindly even when the evidence is there for them to see.. It is known fact that Nigeria became a member state of OIC under IBB regime, but Buhari first started the movement and had his regime not cut short, he would have accomplished it.

Take heart with the APC minions. They say lots of words, which normally amounts to nothing.

barcanista:
You are a BIG LIAR along with your source. When did GMB made the application? What year and Deat specifically? Who are the delegations that went there? Buhari was toppled in 1985, Nigeria became a member 1986. He never initiated ANYTHING

On the contrary,
http://nigeriaworld.com/columnist/ajayi/intolerance.html

You are not worth my time, how some of you, try to wish the past away is really disturbing. You are quoting a columnist to challenge a study from the library of congress.

Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Nigeria: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991.
http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/30.htm

The Babangida regime had a rocky start. A countercoup in December 1985 failed but made it clear that not everyone in the military sided with the Armed Forces Ruling Council. The most serious opposition centered in the labor movement and on the university campuses. In May 1986, students at Ahmadu Bello University and Kaduna Polytechnic staged demonstrations that led to military occupation of those campuses and to the deaths of a number of students. The student movement had considerable support at other universities. On June 4, 1986, the Nigerian Labour Congress in alliance with students and university teachers organized a national day of sympathy, which led to the arrest of many union leaders. There was also considerable controversy over Nigeria's entry into the Organization of the Islamic Conference, an international body of Muslim states, in 1986. Buhari's regime had made the application, which Babangida allowed to stand. The strong reaction among many Christians, led by the Christian Association of Nigeria (formed in 1976), proved to be an embarrassment to the regime.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nigeria2.htm

Look at the comments coming from our apc rats, none has the presence of mind to condemn this show of shame.

The disconnect between Amaechi and the political temperature across Rivers State and the Niger delta in general is simply amazing. How can a person be so blind?

[s]

Abagworo:
Asari and his fellow liars should just park one side. Why are you and your Madam against Ogoni being Governor of Rivers State? Why have you people been marginalising Ogoni in almost everything but yet you are claiming to be Saro Wiwa's friend. The truth is that Amaechi has opened the eye of Ogoni to the scheme of things in Rivers State with developments and political emancipation. He has built Stadium Road and named it after Ken Saro Wiwa and he is a pillar behind the Ogoni project 2015 which every Nigerian with conscience should support. Will it be a sin if PDP fields an Ogoni man as its Presidential candidate or are they not also South-South?

[/s]

Let's have 38 years of leadership by the South or the SS, then we compare what Tafawa belewa till Abacha built to what we will build in the same 38 years time line.

Maybe all these Northerners as Amaechi wants us to believe built all these structures with groundnut monies.

Can someone tell us how many of these plants are in government hands today, and why?

SLIDEwaxie:
so, he must leak butts abi?

Bros, wetin u talk is not patented only to SS govs abeg..

He does not have to lick anyone's butt, common sense is needed. Sofar, he has shown common sense is not common to him. The same people cheering him on today, will be the same ones calling him names in less than 6 months.

When will SS govs get some sense. After 2015, Amachei will run away from Nigeria. The same people supporting you today, will be the same ones laughing at you. When will some of my people get some sense in this one Nigeria.

GEJ till 2019

By Tim Cocks

Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has not only survived, he will seek reelection in February stronger than ever, after five years in a job no one expected him to get.

Jonathan's support base within the ruling party is now unchallenged, a rare feat for the often fractious People's Democratic Party (PDP), while the main opposition APC coalition is split between two contestants for the presidency.

The government announced a ceasefire with the Islamist Boko Haram rebels 10 days ago, ahead of talks in neighboring Chad to secure the release of more than 200 girls seized from Chibok village in April in an abduction that shocked the world.

If the talks are successful it would help the president's image. But nothing has come of it yet and violence has since surged, with dozens more children kidnapped.

Jonathan has defended his overstretched military's efforts against a Boko Haram insurgency that has killed thousands. In the case of the failure to free the schoolgirls, he has said any rescue attempt would endanger their lives.

Meanwhile, apart from the security challenges, his government also has been beset by corruption allegations.

A parliamentary report detailed a $6.8 billion fuel subsidy fraud. A government investigation revealed corrupt cut price crude sales to oil majors that cost the treasury billions. And a former central banker has reported that between $10 and billion $20 billion had been diverted by the state oil firm over 18 months between 2012 and last year.

The government pledged to investigate the first two cases and denied the third.

Last month, South Africa froze two payments from the Jonathan administration totaling $15 million that it suspected were for illegal arms deals. Nigeria said the deals were legal.

Yet it is a testament to Nigeria's complex mix of ethnic rivalry, patronage and intense competition for centralized oil wealth in Africa's top producer that Jonathan can brush off these various scandals and attract a high level of support.

WEAKER OPPOSITION

Jonathan, a Christian southerner, was an accidental president, taking over in 2009 after President Umaru Yar'adua, a Muslim from the north, died from illness.

When Jonathan was elected to his own term in 2011, many in the north resented his decision to run, believing he had torn up an unwritten rule that power should rotate between mainly Muslim north and mainly Christian south every two terms.

Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who lost to Jonathan in 2011, and defected PDP ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar are vying for the opposition APC ticket. Both launched bids in the past month, focusing on security and graft.

Roddy Barclay, senior Africa analyst at Control Risks, a political risk consultancy, sees two "principle factors for Jonathan's robust position in spite of the scandals and failings which have rocked his government".

"Firstly, the primacy of money and patronage in determining electoral outcomes in Nigeria," means an incumbent gets a huge advantage, and second, "the opposition lacks steadfast unity".

That marks a big change from less than a year ago. In December it was the PDP that was in crisis. Thirty seven lawmakers defected to the APC that month, demolishing the PDP's lower house majority. Rotimi Amaechi, powerful governor of the oil hub state of Rivers, also defected.

The same month, Jonathan's mentor and PDP Godfather, ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, wrote a scathing letter saying it would be "fatally morally flawed" for Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015 because of corruption under his rule. Jonathan called the intervention "unjustifiable and indecorous".

Ten months on and the APC has failed to capitalize. It has not agreed on a presidential candidate and several disillusioned APC figures have flipped to the PDP, underscoring the fluid nature of Nigerian party politics.

They include popular two-term ex-governor of Kano state Ibrahim Shakarau, a Buhari rival, and former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu, denying the APC a strong anti-graft platform, although Buhari still has strong anti-corruption credentials.

"MODEST EXPECTATIONS"

In June, the APC then lost a governorship election in southwestern Ekiti state to the ruling party.

"The opposition is cannibalizing itself. Its top elites are vying against one another. That's a glide path for President Jonathan," said Eurasia Group's Philippe de Pontet.

"Had the APC sustained its momentum from 5-6 months ago ... we'd be in a different world."

On Dec 2, the dynamic could shift when the party picks its candidate. Buhari earned a reputation for cracking down on corruption during his time in power in 1983-85, and most Nigerians agree he did not use the post to enrich himself, but it is not clear whether he would win votes from APC supporters in the south.

The emotional conflict felt by Barrister Isaac Matthew illustrates Jonathan's staying power.

Driven by the plight of the schoolgirls to leave a court case he was defending to join protesters demanding more action to rescue them, he says Jonathan bears ultimate responsibility since "leaders are supposed to protect their people".

"I'm still probably going to vote for him," he said, citing Jonathan's concentration on power reform and some works Matthew said had greatly improved the road network.

"The opposition has no credible candidate to stand against him. Not Atiku (Abubakar) and not Buhari."

The power sector is under improvement, but that may not draw votes since the supply in one of the world's most electricity-starved countries has fallen in the short term.

Many voters are likely to see the Boko Haram insurgency, which only affects the remote northeast apart from occasional bomb attacks in the capital or other cities, as just one problem in their large, diverse country.

"Expectations in the electorate are fairly modest and they are hugely disenfranchised, despite ... years of civilian rule," said Antony Goldman, head of Nigeria-focused PM Consulting.

"You don't need to be popular or successful in conventional terms to win an election in Nigeria," he said, although he added that no president had managed to stay popular after four years in office, and the APC had yet to present a clear alternative.

EBOLA NOT A FACTOR SO FAR

One issue that has not yet played an important role is Ebola, rampant in some other West African states. A mixture of luck and impressively decisive action has meant Africa's most populous country was able to avoid a potentially devastating epidemic after a Liberian brought it to the megacity of Lagos, but the virus could still come back to plague Nigeria, with unpredictable political consequences.

Jonathan's assumed decision to run has widened a divide between elites in Nigeria's south and north because of a feeling in the north that it is still their "turn" to rule.

That makes violence likely, especially if the poll is close. In 2011, more than 800 were killed and 65,000 displaced in three days of violence after Jonathan beat Buhari in the poll.

If Buhari, now 71, gets the ticket but loses the election again, his supporters may have less reason to end the mayhem so quickly if they sense he has missed his last chance.

http://news.yahoo.com/nigerias-jonathan-brushes-off-scandals-lead-2015-election-

PhockPhockMan:
I don't understand you, the fact that Aregbesola himself came to power through the same means will raise the profile of the electoral system. Mind you, judiciary is part of electoral system.

I agree the judiciary is a part of the process, but I was really hoping Nigeria, has passed that level. Where an examination of electoral materials will produce almost 100,000 votes swing and not the same tally as on election day, give or take 1%. If this turns out to be true then all bets are off come 2015.

PhockPhockMan:
It's unimaginable that APC counted election materials used in ekiti election for Aregbesola.
Thieves.

The fact is INEC counted the ballots, not APC. As much as I like to see APC in disarray, I believe Nigeria elections will lose credibility, if this proves to be true.