₦airaland Forum

bejeiodus:
Everyone has a right to fair hearing. If any of the retired officers feels slighted, the courts have not shut their doors.

“Look at the list of those retired. These are brigade commanders, GOCs
and commanding officers, who served in all the states lost by the APC to
PDP. What is our offence? Would we have forced the people to vote for
candidates other than their choice?

blackpanda:
Gbam! Amaechi for President 2019

Nigeria is at a crossroads. Just over a year ago, people voted in a historic democratic election to end corruption and business as usual, opting instead to build an economy that delivers for all Nigerians.

The old order was based on an unsustainable commodities supercycle. While the boom had many positives and contributed to Nigeria becoming Africa’s largest economy, it fostered an epidemic of corruption and inefficiency. Foreign businesses and financial institutions also benefited as some people spent and sometimes hid huge sums abroad, lifted by the rising tide of oil exports and dollar revenues.

Now we are living in a new world of low energy prices. The economy has slowed while unemployment and inflation have jumped. Longstanding structural imbalances and overdependence on imports have been cruelly exposed. We are an oil-rich nation that imports most of our gasoline. We are a farming nation that imports most of our basic food staples. This is simply not acceptable or sustainable.

Our solutions must be in proportion to the challenges. Fundamental change takes time and we are driving not one but three changes to reposition Nigeria for inclusive growth.

• Restore trust: We have begun to tackle the endemic corruption and mismanagement that is crippling our economy and corroding trust in our institutions. The anticorruption fight is at the heart of combating poverty and improving security. We have stepped up enforcement and new prosecutions to get our house in order, and I have called for foreign governments to work with us to identify where funds stolen during previous administrations are lodged and for multistate cooperation to combat oil theft.

Fighting corruption is not enough. We need accountable government and a public sector that can do more with less. We have already taken initial steps by bringing all government finances into a single treasury account where we can monitor spending and impose discipline, implementing zero-based budgets and benchmarks targeted at waste and fraud, and establishing electronic platforms for government agency interface.

• Rebalance our economy: In a world of lower oil prices and dollar revenues, the only sustainable path is to reduce Nigerians’ overreliance on imports. We must rebalance our economy by empowering entrepreneurs and producers, big and small, to create more of what their fellow Nigerians demand. The supply of foreign exchange to the economy must be increased. This requires radically increasing exports and productivity and improving the investment climate and ease of doing business.

Nigeria’s growth and job creation will be led by the private sector. We are a young, entrepreneurial society with vibrant success stories in new industries such as telecommunications, technology and entertainment. Government is doing its part to lower taxes on small businesses, eliminate bureaucracy to bring the informal economy out of the shadows and provide development funding for priority sectors such as agriculture. The central bank has moved to introduce greater flexibility in our exchange-rate policy. These actions are a downpayment on our people’s ability to succeed.

• Regenerate growth: We must reposition our economy by attracting investment in domestic industries and infrastructure. Nigeria has huge untapped gas reserves and also a critical shortage of electricity. Our private sector loses too much of its revenue due to brownouts and power outages. Half of my fellow Nigerians have no access to the power grid. Investment in our power infrastructure, restructuring of the state-run oil-and-gas sector and development of other industries such as solid minerals, metals and petrochemicals will help to create a virtuous circle of growth and exports while creating jobs and reducing poverty.

I am optimistic that our actions are providing the breathing room Nigeria needs during this period of fundamental change. But we cannot improve living conditions and restore fiscal health without making people feel safe and secure—just as we cannot defeat militancy without reducing poverty and dislocation.

One of our main achievements this past year has been to unite regional and global allies to push back Boko Haram. What we do in the next three years to build an economic bridge to Nigeria’s future will be just as important for bringing lasting peace and prosperity.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

The Naira on Monday dipped against the dollar at the parallel market, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Nigerian currency shed N8 to exchange at N360 to the dollar, from N352 it traded on Friday.

Also, the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N515 and N405 respectively.

Meanwhile, the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rate remained at N197 to a dollar.



Traders at the market attributed the unstable nature of the Naira to the scarcity of the greenback and hoarding of foreign exchange by currency speculators. (NAN)

Lalasticlala

myfantasies:
U can't begin to imagine

Me dat don't want any distraction wen i have entered another realm

myfantasies:
Tank God say i no get interest to be mod

myfantasies:
U no dey hear word

If na me maybe i for don ban u comot for dis world go planet Mars

myfantasies:
U still dey Nairaland

Kondomatic:
*in Jay-Z's voice* "Forever young, I wanna be forever young."

myfantasies:
My eyes just noticed something in the last pics

Let me close my eyes and leave dis thread

Infact let me take one last peek before i walk out of dis thread

Babatunde Fashola, minister of works, power and housing, says he wants to witness the fulfillment of the Nigerian promise before he dies, and this thought keeps him awake.

Fashola lamented that Nigeria is currently bedevilled by a number of challenges, but he vowed to do his best in tackling them.

“I’m a thinking person and I’m always looking for solutions to solutions. When I’ve found one solution, I’m not always convinced that it’s the best solution, so even when I’m implementing it, I’m looking for ways to make it better,” he told Channels Television in an interview aired on Monday.

“Generally, the promise of this country keeps me awake. I know that it is a country of so much promise; I want to see some of those promises before I die. I want to see sustainable, reliable electricity; I want to see more people get access to electricity.

“I want to see more people pay mortgages for their own homes. I want to see roads in this country smoother… to be more efficient so that people have more pleasant journey time. Nigeria is a very beautiful place.”

He traced that the challenges in the power sector to 1950 when the first electricity ordinance was passed.

“We’ve been trying to generate sustainable energy for 66 years and I’ve spent 6.5, 7 months. I have learnt a lot to convince me that the problems can be solved,” Fashola added.

“I haven’t visited all the power plants but I intend to. I intend to visit all the power facilities so that I understand what I’m expected to manage. If I wanted to do that in a whole month, it wouldn’t be enough.

“One whole year perhaps wouldn’t be enough. But every power plant I go to, every transmission facility I see, every substation that I visit… I visited a nuclear manufacturing plant privately set up a few weeks ago, everything that I saw convinced me that it can be done. The more I see, the more I believe we can solve it.”

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

Speaking on his housing plans, he said: “There are many people who need accommodation. There are people to build; they just want land, some people want duplexes, some want semi-detached house, some want a flat, one bedroom, or two bedrooms.

“Those are the people that are most at risk and those are the people that should first concern us. So I think what we should first create is to connect between what is available and what is affordable.

“In America, for working people, affordability means the person must not spend more than 20-25 percent of his monthly income on his accommodation and must not spend more than 40 or 50 percent of his total income on utilities. So affordability is not necessarily the unit cost but the payment mode.

“Affordability, we are looking at the civil servant as our guide. Civil servants around level nine to about level 14/15; that income bracket is not extrapolated to the private sector who are the people who earn this kind of money also I the private sector; taxi drivers, food vendors but what is called a benchmark for the kind of people who fall within the cadre that we would be really concerned about in the short term.

Ado-Ekiti—Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has blamed his inability to pay workers salaries on the huge debt inherited from the immediate past administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi. According to Fayose, the N25 billion bonds from the Capital Market and another N31 billion commercial loans, by the Fayemi’s administration are responsible for the poor financial condition of the state and the challenges faced in the payment of workers’ salaries.

Fayose, who stated this while reacting to the no-shift-ground stance of the striking workers, said about N1.2 billion is being deducted monthly from the state’s allocation to service the loans which the Kayode Fayemi administration took in its four years in the saddle.

The governor said if the N1.2 billion being deducted is added to the state’s monthly allocations, his administration will not owe workers. Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Fayose took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, which he said had been encouraging the labour not to call off the strike action. He said it was quite unfortunate that the Fayemi administration also diverted the N850 million meant for the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board and thereby leading to the suspension of the state from the Universal Basic Education Commission programmes since 2012.

Fayose said he was surprised that when Fayemi took the loans which now made payment of workers’ salaries difficult, the labour did not kick against the moves. The governor said the strike had been politicised because of his criticism of the bad policies of the Federal Government and his fight against tyranny.

APC asks DMO to clarify Ekiti debts profile

Perturbed by the claim of the Governor, APC in Ekiti State has pleaded with the Debts Management Office (DMO) in the Federal Ministry of Finance to make another public clarification on the status of the state’s debts to put to rest inconsistent debt figures being presented by Governor Ayodele Fayose to the public to justify non-payment of workers’ salaries and pensions after taking 20 months federal allocations and N9.6bn bailout cash.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party said this became imperative as the governor had been giving inconsistent figures on different occasions that had cast doubts on the integrity of the state’s financial application.

On Fayose’s claim that the Fayemi administration borrowed another N31 billion commercial loan apart from the N25 billion bond, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Olatunbosun challenged him to provide evidence of this loan and what it what used for as records are there in the office of the Account General if he is sure of his facts. The truth of the matter is that Fayose has resorted to blatant lies to cover up his many shady financial transactions and misapplication of state funds, Olatunbosun said.”

[size=15pt]Ankio Briggs, an activist from the Niger Delta region has claimed that members of the Niger Delta Avengers are not from Nigeria but from Somalia.[/size]

Ms Briggs who is a close ally of former president, Goodluck Jonathan spoke at the 17th annual convention of the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) with the theme “Nigeria, still in pursuit of true fiscal federalism”.

The activist condemned the activities of the militants and insisted they were not from the Niger Delta region but from Somalia.

She also criticised murder of one Bridget Agbamihe by a mob in Kano for blasphemy and the activities of Fulani herdsmen in some parts of the country.



The Niger Delta Avengers have claimed responsibility for a series of bombing of oil and gas pipeline in the region and has vowed to continue to do so until all oil production from the region is grounded.

Lalasticlala

Presidential media aide, Femi Adesina, has disclosed how Muhammadu Buhari usually spends the day at the Aso Villa.

Special adviser to the president on media and publicity said this in the interview granted to Church Times, leading Christian newspaper.

Adesina spoke on the first year anniversary of the incumbent administration, fear of religious domination in the country, the antics of inveterate critics, and other issues.

While being asked what the typical day like with the itinerary of the president in Aso Rock, he said: “A typical day in the life of the president is determined by what he has to do for that day. He is a stickler for time, and if his day must begin at 7 a.m, or even earlier, you find him there right on time.

“But on a usual day, the first thing he does on getting to the office is to look at media highlights, which we would have prepared before he arrives. He goes through, and reads the newspapers in full later in the day.

“He takes scheduled activities, observing prayer hours in-between. And when he is done for the day, which is usually about 5 p.m, except there is any scheduled event, he goes home to rest.

“After prayer and dinner, he attends to people who have been booked to see him at home, and he does that till bedtime. Unless there are crucial meetings, which at times could last into the wee hours, the president does not keep very late nights. He is a very organized and methodical person.”

He also debunked rumours that President Buhari has an Islamic agenda for Nigeria.

“It is so very easy to fall into the bogey of an Islamic agenda, or a Christian agenda in Nigeria, depending on who is in power. It is one of the primordial fault lines in our country,” Buhari’s spokesman said.

“Yes, every person has a right to defend his faith, but in President Buhari, I have never seen anything that bears the slightest affinity to religious extremism. A good number of his personal staff are Christians. Before the last Christmas, the President personally told me he would allow me some days off, so I could spend Christmas with my family. Is that a religious bigot? No. In fact, I have never seen anything with the slightest link to bigotry in him. When my mother passed away in 2013, and we held a commendation service for her in Lagos, the then Gen Buhari came, and sat through the Christian service. That is the man for you.

“I think we have a problem of mindset in the country. It is a bogey of domination, which has made us paranoid about any faith that is not our own. For me, I fear no Islamic domination. I just want to be the best Christian I can be. When that happens, I spread the fragrance of Jesus Christ wherever I go, and I need not fear anything.

“It is so very easy to fall into the bogey of an Islamic agenda, or a Christian agenda in Nigeria, depending on who is in power. It is one of the primordial fault lines in our country. Yes, every person has a right to defend his faith, but in President Buhari, I have never seen anything that bears the slightest affinity to religious extremism. A good number of his personal staff are Christians. Before the last Christmas, the President personally told me he would allow me some days off, so I could spend Christmas with my family. Is that a religious bigot? No. In fact, I have never seen anything with the slightest link to bigotry in him. When my mother passed away in 2013, and we held a commendation service for her in Lagos, the then Gen Buhari came, and sat through the Christian service. That is the man for you.”


He further added: “I think we have a problem of mindset in the country. It is a bogey of domination, which has made us paranoid about any faith that is not our own. For me, I fear no Islamic domination. I just want to be the best Christian I can be. When that happens, I spread the fragrance of Jesus Christ wherever I go, and I need not fear anything.”

President Buhari is currently resting in London, United Kingdom.

The leader of the nation is expected back to Nigeria on June 16, Thursday.

The rumours earlier emerged that Buhari was spending 10 days in London to hold “secret talks” with Niger Delta militants and not to rest and treat an ear infection.
However, the UK government denied such claims.

Lalasticlala

Dr Alex Ekwueme, Second Republic Vice-President, former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana and others, have reiterated their call for true federalism and devolution of powers to the states.

They said that restructuring and resource control by regions was a panacea to end acts of uprising across the country.

Ekwueme spoke in Enugu on Sunday at the 17th Annual Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) with the theme `Nigeria, still in pursuit of true fiscal federalism’.

The former vice-president, who chaired the event, said that the British colonialists had earlier divided the country to enable each region control and manage its resources without interference.



“The British colonial masters divided the country in such a way that every region will operate within its constitution,” he said.

The guest speaker and former Information Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana, said that the key solution to Nigeria’s problem was through true federalism and devolution of powers to states.

“True fiscal federalism is the only form of association that will allow peace and stability in the country and each region should be allowed to manage its resources the way they want it,” Gana said.

He noted that the formula for allocating revenue made the Federal Government to get richer while the states operated like beggars.

“States should be allowed to manage its resources to enable them govern their people the way they want and allocate some percentage to the Federal Government.

“Government should not be far from the people and the federating unit should be made strong to meet the needs of the people,” he said.

Gana recommended continuous dialogue and the implementation of the resolutions of national confab by the government as the only means the recent agitation and other national demand could be handled.

A Yoruba leader, Chief Ayo Adeabayo, said that the various acts of political instability in the country were because the constitution under which the country was governed was not good for heterogeneous country like Nigeria.

“To put a stop at the various uprising in the country such as Niger Delta Avengers, MASSOB, IPOB etc, our constitution needs to be changed to allow for restructuring of the country under true federalism.

In her remarks, a Niger Delta Activist, Ms Annkio Briggs, condemned the blasphemy killing of a woman, Bridget Agbamihe, in Kano as well as herdsmen attacks in Nimbo, Enugu State and other parts of the country.

Briggs condemned the destruction of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta, alleging that those avengers were not from Ijaw but Somalia.

Earlier, the founder of IYM, Mr Elliot Uko, said that the event was to honour prominent Nigerians who had contributed to the growth and development of the country.

He said Igbo youths was committed to building a stronger Nigeria and reduced the tension in the region, adding that true federalism would help the country to grow and prosper.

Highlight of the event was presentation of awards to Gana, Adebayo, Nnamdi Kalu and Briggs, for their struggle for peaceful Nigeria.

The event was attended by former governors of Anambra, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife and Mr Peter Obi, as well as Mrs Maria Okwor, Dr Arthur Nwankwo, and some students from tertiary institutions in the South-East. (NAN)