₦airaland Forum

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@red, which one be your own?

Allow those involved to speak for themselves

@malele, you are funny

@k20, thats strange. Do you mean it?

If you knew you wouldn't wakeup tomorrow, what would you have done today to ensure you left world with something behind. Who would you have asked for forgiveness from and who will you forgive?. Who would you have donated to and who would you have inspired and encouraged with your last words?. Where will you spend your today,with who and why? Which secrete would you have revealed and what will you say to nairalanders.

Home » News & Reports » News
News and Reports
$31 Billion Stolen Under President Jonathan Of Nigeria –PUNCH
Posted: November 25, 2012 - 00:57
President Goodluck Jonathan
By Toyosi Ogunseye, Allwell Okpi and Leke Baiyewu

Over N5tn in government funds have been stolen through fraud, embezzlement and theft since President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office on May 6, 2010, aSUNDAY PUNCH investigation has found.

Our correspondents arrived at the stolen sum after poring over the reports of the various committees set up by the President to probe some sectors of the economy, particularly oil and gas. SUNDAY PUNCHalso relied on disclosures by some senior government officials.

Five trillion naira is the summation of government funds said to have been stolen, according to the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Task Force report; the Minister of Trade and Investment’s report on stolen crude; the House of Representatives fuel subsidy report and investigations into the ecological fund, SIM card registration and frequency band spectrum sale.

The Ribadu report on the oil and gas sector put daily crude oil theft at a high 250,000 barrels daily at a cost of $6.3bn (N1.2trn) a year. This puts the total amount lost through oil theft in the two years of Jonathan’s government at over $12.6bn (N2trn).

Oil theft is common in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. In June, a special naval team impounded a French ship, MT Vannessa, at Brass Loading Terminal, Bayelsa State, for allegedly stealing 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the country.

Our sister publication, SATURDAY PUNCH, had reported that the suspects, in their confessional statements, indicted some political office holders, many fuel marketers and some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Department of Petroleum Resources.

In October, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, in a letter to the President, said 24 million barrels of oil worth $1.6bn (N252bn) was stolen between July and September.

According to Aganga, his signature was forged on the Export Clearance Permit that was used to export the crude oil from Nigeria.

Confirming that oil theft was depleting Nigeria’s resources, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in May, said the government lost a fifth of its oil revenues to theft in April.

Apart from income lost through oil theft, the Ribadu report also said ministers of Petroleum Resources between 2008 and 2011 handed out seven discretionary oil licences and that government lost $183m (N29bn) in signature bonuses via these deals.

The Ribadu panel discovered that three of the oil licences were awarded under the current petroleum minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who took up her position in 2010. Alison-Madueke, however, denied knowledge of the discretionary awards.

Shortly before the Ribadu report, the House of Representatives had raised the alarm that the N2.6trn the Federal Government paid for oil subsidy in 2011 could not be properly accounted for.

The House said, “Fuel subsidy payments amounted to N261.1bn in 2006, N278.8bn in 2007 and N346.7bn in 2008, but, even after the subsidy on diesel had been removed, the ‘subsidy’ payments jumped to N2.58trn in 2011 — more than 900 per cent of the sum appropriated for the year (N245bn).”
A subsequent report by the Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payments, led by Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, revealed that in 2011, 197 subsidy transactions worth N232bn were illegitimate.

These frauds are not limited to the oil industry, as similar probes have shown that almost all sectors are involved.

In July, the House of Representatives Committee on Environment discovered a tree seedling fraud worth N2bn awarded by the Ecological Fund office.
Chairman of the committee on environment, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, said this during an investigative hearing on the mismanagement of ecological funds for the development of tree nurseries and seedlings in the 36 states.

According to her, out of the N3bn approved by the Presidency in 2010, N2bn was released to the contractors and consultants without government getting value.

Minister of Environment Hadiza Mailafia, however, said the contract was awarded by her predecessor.

In the telecommunications sector, the House instituted a probe into the sale of the frequency brand spectrum, which was reportedly sold for less than its value.

The 450MHz frequency, which was valued at over $50m, was allegedly sold for less than $6m (a difference of $44m or N6.9bn) by the Nigeria Communications Commission.

In the same sector, the reps, earlier this year, commenced investigations into the N6.1bn SIM card registration project embarked upon by the NCC in 2011.

The investigation followed the delay in completing the exercise and the request by NCC for additional N1bn for the project in its 2012 budget.
The lawmakers insisted that the NCC had no business embarking on the project since various service providers were already registering their subscribers.
Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Mr. Usman Bawa, had said, “The NCC has no business with SIM card registration. Apart from that, the service providers have done about 80 per cent of the registration because they started before the NCC. To me, for the regulatory body to be involved in the registration is a duplication of effort, a waste of resources and time.

“Even, the manner with which the bill for the N6.1bn was passed during the Sixth Assembly showed that there was more to it than meets the eyes. From our investigations, from which our report was compiled, our interactions with the NCC contractors for the SIM card registration and the service providers, a lot has been exposed and this was part of the reason why we removed the N1bn that was budgeted for the same SIM card registration in the last budget.”
It would be recalled that the then Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, had, in August, 2010, agreed that the amount budgeted for SIM card registration was exorbitant.

Reacting to the massive frauds that have greeted Jonathan’s tenure, Transparency International, told one of our correspondents that Nigeria would continue to slack in development as long as it keeps paying lip service to the fight against corruption.

It said via electronic mail, “President Jonathan should insist that those accused of corruption are properly investigated and punished if found guilty, irrespective of their positions and connections. The judiciary must be seen as impartial and fair.

“To signal a break with the past, the government should set up an independent investigatory panel to review charges of corruption within government and the private sector. President Jonathan should endorse the panel and commit to ensure it has both the scope and the power to investigate and prosecute.

“This is not just a matter of justice; fighting corruption can affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The current culture of corruption hurts the majority of Nigerians while the inequality gap widens.”

Also speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, the Director, Centre for Applied Economics, Lagos Business School, Prof. Pat Utomi, said the spate of corruption in the country was unprecedented.

The political economist argued that prosecution and jail terms for corrupt individuals would not be as effective as building a societal institution that would prevent corruption.

A former Vice Chancellor, Crescent University, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, also warned that corruption would spell doom for the country if the trend continued.
He said, “It is unfortunate that the country will not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals. There is a need for the masses to hold a three-day protest against corruption to force government to prosecute those indicted for corruption.”

Similarly, Executive Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said, “For Jonathan to fight corruption, he must start with his cabinet. The way Jonathan is going about his campaign against corruption is not the best way to go about it.”

A global audit and financial advisory firm, KPMG, had on Thursday stated that Nigeria accounted for the highest number of fraud cases in Africa in the first half of 2012.

The cost of fraud in the country during the period was put at $1.5bn (N225bn).

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/31-billion-stolen-under-president-jonathan-nigeria-%E2%80%93punch

why you they vex now?

Few weeks ago or is it month ago, some people in Enugu state declared a Biafra Republic which according to them,would fight against any nation fighting Israel.

Many of my Igbo friends dissociated themselves from such group and i still have some including here on nairaland that supported it.


To those who supported it,can you please provide us with the latest development regarding the Biafra republic as declared? i am asking because i have not heard anything regarding it ever since.

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so even those shouting aregbe don't even no anything his policies? hum..supporters indeed.

why?

Cristiano Ronaldo has donated 'Golden
Boot' worth € 1.5 million for Palestinian
children in Gaza.

May Allah guide him to the right path and reward him abundantly Aameen
....What a noble gesture from a world class player.....Halla Madrid

[Please. Tag, Share]

Source : News Tribe.
occupiedpalestine.
For more' google it'

lol

we are talking about living ex-president. dead people cant talk

LOL

Who among the former Nigerian Presidents will speak and the whole country would listen and why?

1.Olusegun Obasanjo
2.Ibrahim Babangida
3.Muhammed Buhari
4.AbdulSalam Abubakar
5.Yakubu Gowon

Court refuses to strike out insanity suit against Aregbesola
Details Published on Monday, 19 November 2012 21:48 Written by Sunday Ejike Benjamin Hits: 12

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday refused to grant an application brought before it by Governor, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state seeking to dismiss the insanity suit instituted against him by a Non Government Organisation, the Egalitarian Mission Africa,

The trial Judge, Justice A. R Mohammed, in his ruling on the application, said, “The court cannot entertain the 1st defendant’s application seeking the striking out the suit, because hearing notice was not served on the plaintiff as ordered”.

Governor Aregbesola’s counsel, Mr. Ebuka Nwaeze, while moving the application seeking to strike out of the suit, told the court that there was no sign of the plaintiff and its legal representatives, even when they are aware of the hearing date and urged the court to apply Order 19 Rule 3 of the federal high court procedure to strike out the matter.

When contacted over his absence in court, the plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, a human right lawyer, told reporters that he was before the Court of Appeal, Ibadan division and sent two legal representatives led by Mr. Emeka Amadi to court six for the hearing, but wondered why the court was re-numbered court seven instead of the court six where the case was assigned previously, without official communication from the court to him or his client.

“I detailed two lawyers led by Mr. Emeka Amadi to handle the matter while I was away, but upon reaching court Six, they were told that no case was before the court in that name, if the court had informed us of the numerical changes, we could have attended today’s hearing” Ajulo stated.

“On the last adjourned date of 24th October, 2012, we were told that the Judge assigned to the case had been transferred, so how does that translate to want of diligent prosecution? The inability of the court to inform us about the numerical changes of the courts overnight cannot translate to want of diligent prosecution on our part” he added.

Ajulo said the plaintiff is ready and committed to prosecuting the case it instituted against the governor, noting that Amadi, had been detailed to hold his brief before the court and the inability to communicate the changes in the court’s numbering was responsible for the inability to hear the matter yesterday.

“It is our contention that the Governor in recent time has exhibited some behaviour that requires inquiry into his sanity. We want the court to determine whether the mental health and sanity of the governor is of public concern”, he stated. The matter was adjourned to December 10, 2012 with an order that hearing notice to be served on all the parties in the matter, including the plaintiff.

hum

the above is one of the bad style of the Nigerian leaders to deny the people free access to communication.

even co robbers fight and split when one want to out smart the other

elombah.com

WHO IS THE REAL KING OF FUJI?

Fuji is a popular Nigerian musical genre. It arose from the improvisation Ajisari/were music tradition, which is a kind of music performed to wake muslims before dawn during the Ramadan fasting season. Were music/Ajisari itself was made popular by the late Alhaji Sikiru Ayiinde Barister. The music is vastly listened to across the southern side of Nigeria and have over the years been shipped across the world.

The music’s popularity amongst Africans home and abroad over the years have made the industry enormously big and financially rewarding. We now have so many musicians creatively and fiercely competing through their musical craft and fan weights to dominate the scene.

Before the recent death of the creator of the music genre Fuji itself early this year. Alhaji Ayinde Barrister was known across the atlantic, given an honourary citizenship in the USA for the creation of fuji and MFR in the federal republic of Nigeria. He was well respected, won many awards, enormously wealthy and powerful.

He has also made headlines for many controversial reasons, amongst which are; for marrying his friends daughter, his long fierce battle with Alhaji Kollington, a fellow fuji musican who claimed he also founded the genre of fuji. But of recent was the controversy about who the real king of fuji was.

So , who is the real King of Fuji ?

This is the big question in the mind of every Nigeria Fuji fan. Is it king Wasiu Ayinde marshal, Abass Akande Obesere, king Saheed Osupa, king Sule Alao Malaika, Adewale Ayuba, Sina Akanni or Sefiu Alao.

Of recent the title contention and battle has been between the old veteran wasiu ayinde Marshall and new generation lyricist ,King Saheed Osupa.

Some would argue and say, Wasiu is the king of classical Fuji , and Saheed Osupa deserves the crown with his wisdom educating poetry. Statistics tell us that the Nigeria masses are hugely behind Osupa Saheed to bear the crown for the king of Fuji and also the Nigeria music marketers have been said to have recorded a high demand in the sale of saheed osupa’s album in the present decade. However, we cannot put aside the genre rebranding and innovation wasiu ayinde brought into Fuji. People would argue wasiu ayinde introduced new beats into the music and made it more worldwide acclaimed and appealing to the Nigeria youths.

Recently the father and, creator of Fuji, Late Dr sikiru Ayinde barrister declared Saheed Osupa as the king of music. This declaration sparked a bit of confusion between Fuji musicians and gave saheed Osupa the much needed confidence to challenge wasiu for the throne. This move was criticised by a few and applauded by the masses. However, wasiu still hold the wealthiest fan section of the Fuji fan base. He is a big boy in his own rights and of recent has compiled a new group out of the Fuji musician association called the “ARAMBAMBI FAMILY”. The arambambi family are believed to be a combination of Wasiu ayinde supporters in the industry, it consist of fellow fuji musician who look up to him or believe he is the true King of the Fuji Throne.

Arabambi Family is like the Italian mafia family with no guns but music and fame.

Alabi Pasuma (The first fuji Global com Ambassador)( Arambambi 2), Taiye currency( Arambambi 3), Safejo Amama ( Arambambi speaker), Sefiu Alao( Aramambi plus), Lanre Teriba Atorise( arambambi gospel). This are few amongst many other fuji musicans who signed their alliance with King wasiu ayinde marshall by officially speaking to their PR officer, or playing gigs with him across the country to pledge their loyalty to him.

This has certainly got the street talking, marketers capitalising on it to make huge funds and great tension of divide in the music scenery.

We must also not forget Saheed Osupa has is own supporters within the Fuji musicians association and have recently come up with their own gang, ThE OLUFIMO FAMILY. An upcoming Fuji artist with Saheed Acapella style and voice called Saridon 2 kamoru is presently Saheed Osupa’s Vice-president, and we have been told Wasiu Ayinde past enemy, Abass Akande Obesere has been a big supporter of saheed Osupa having fought for the throne himself in the past and claimed wasiu ayinde is fund of putting other fuji musician below him and knocking them out of competition. Among Saheed many other supporters are veterans like Rasheed ayinde Merenge, who helped him in opening what one his new mansions in the city of Ibadan last year.

Many fuji music analyst are believed to be overwhelmed by Osupa’s latest popularity and state presence. However, they all agree to the fact a very healthy competition is good for the music growth and even more beneficiary for the music marketers.

So what are we to consider while looking for the genuine king of fuji. Is it the lyrics, drums, dance, album sales, street credibility, connections, achievements, innovation, or music composition in general? It still remains an ever puzzling question, who is the king of fuji music?

http://tjconnects.com/?p=38

i just enjoy all together

lol

English language can be so sweet,but what i find more pleasant is speaking English and pigin aswell as other Nigerian Languages at the same time. It just makes feel comfortable,seeing myself speaking many languages at the same time.

Fore example, I may say, My guy (pigin) where have you been (english) lati ojoyi (yoruba).

meaning,referring to a friend that, where have you been all this while..

Share your thought

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but can you say the number of jobs is equal to money received?

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has alerted President Goodluck Jonathan to a looming acute fuel shortage if the Federal Government fails to pay N1.13trn subsidy owed it (NNPC), The PUNCH learnt.

The NNPC top management, led by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the corporation’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, reportedly made this known to Jonathan at a recent meeting.

Our correspondent learnt that team told the President that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had failed to pay the debt.

At the meeting, the corporation was said to have hinged its capacity to continue the importation of fuel on the payment of the debt which had accumulated over the months.

The NNPC, The PUNCH learnt, told the President that fuel might disappear from filling stations across the country if government failed to pay the debt. This is in addition to the fear that the N971bn subsidy provision in the 2013 budget is seen as grossly inadequate.

“Yes, we have made a presentation to the President. We are waiting for his response because it (payment of the subsidy claim) is very imperative for our capacity to import fuel ,” a source at the NNPC, who was privy to discussion at the meeting told one of our correspondents.

Alison-Madueke and the NNPC management were said to have requested for the meeting with the President after their failed attempts to make Okonjo-Iweala pay the subsidy claim.

The corporation has remained the only importer of fuel since the controversy over the payment of subsidy claims to importers commenced. Oil marketers have refused to import the product because the government has declined to pay some claims which the government described as spurious.

Attempts to speak with the NNPC Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs , Mr. Fidel Pepple, on the meeting with the President proved abortive as he did not answer his telephone calls. He also failed to respond to text messages sent to his phone on the matter.

However, Pepple in June had confirmed in an interview with Reuters that the organisation owed N1.13trn in subsidy arrears.

He had said, “As at the end of May 2012, NNPC had unpaid claims of N1.134trn.

“We are concerned about the shortages but just to put it on record, NNPC has been the only organisation importing products since January when the fuel subsidy issue began.”

Okonjo-Iweala’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, did not pick his call either. He also did not respond to a text message sent to his mobile phone on why the ministry had not paid the subsidy claims.

Oil marketers under the Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners have however faulted the N971bn budgeted for the subsidy in the 2013 fiscal year.

The group said the amount would not be enough to guarantee adequate supply of petroleum products.

The Executive Secretary, JEPTFON, Mr. Enoch Kenawa, said this during a telephone interview with one of our correspondents.

He said, “It (N971bn) will not be adequate. What the government is doing is putting Nigerians in double jeopardy. They said they are subsidising fuel, yet people can’t see the products to buy and where they have fuel, people still pay very high to get it.

“The N971bn for fuel subsidy can never be adequate. At 35 million litres of fuel consumption per day, the money can’t be enough.”

He said rather than N971bn, the government should have provided for between N1.2trn and N1.5trn, based on the current consumption pattern.

“If they want to remove, let them remove it (subsidy) instead of what they are doing right now. Based on the demand, the amount that would be reasonable for fuel subsidy should be between N1.2trn and N1.5trn,”Kenawa added.

He attributed the fuel scarcity in many parts of the country to the N888bn voted for subsidy this year, which was not enough.

The Federal Government had in January announced the total removal of subsidy on petrol and consequently hiked the pump price of the product from N65 to N141.

The government, however, reduced the price to N97 following mass protests organised by labour unions and civil society groups.

The protest also inspired the House of Representatives to institute a probe into the subsidy regime. The committee headed by Mr. Farouk Lawan had found widespread abuse of the subsidy regime. The committee’s report indicated that the country had been short-changed to the tune of N1.7trn under the subsidy regime.

Although the report was tainted by allegations of bribery against Lawan by an oil marketer, Femi Otedola, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has started the prosecution of some of the oil marketers indicted by the report.

http://www.punchng.com/news/unpaid-subsidy-diezani-nnpc-report-okonjo-iweala-to-jonathan/

CONMESS: LAGOS DOCTORS RESIGNING OVER NON IMPLEMENTATION
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The non implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) by Lagos State government has been attributed to the mass resignation of doctors from the service of public hospitals in the state. This was made known by the State Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote at a press conference to announce the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Medical Guild at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja,Lagos.

Odusote who said the shortage of doctors was already impacting on health care services negatively, therefore called on state government to address the shortage urgently by implementing CONMESS. According to State Chairman of the Medical Guild, “the resignation of these doctors has increased the burden of work on those that are still in service, "
...

“Some colleagues who cannot cope have left the system, with increasing burden on others who remain in service. This shortage of doctor is worse in LASUTH,” he said. Odusote claimed that some patients now have to wait for close to five months or more to access the service of a surgeon. He explained that the acute shortage of doctors is experienced in all the 26 units of hospitals across the state with that of LASUTH being the most prominent.

He however said, "This has been brought to the attention of the authorities and we hope urgent action will be taken to prevent further deterioration in service delivery." The Medical practitioner who gave a sad statistics of the situation in LASUTH said the facility now has 24 House Officers instead of 80 that used to work there. He highlighted three key issues that have remained outstanding in CONMESS as: Teaching allowance to Doctors on level 10 & 12 are yet to be paid; Consultants are still being employed on GL 15 Step 1 as opposed to Grade Level 15 Step 4; and the demotion to Step five of some doctors which is yet to be corrected.

While he noted efforts of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to resolve the issues, "We have met government once with Lagos NMA to discuss these issues and other fallout of the crisis without any headway the national body of the NMA has since requested a meeting with the government, but this has not yet been fixed by government." Instead of addressing the problems by employing more doctors, the government has resorted to employing locum doctors who are said to be better paid, but lack the commitment to provide care service.

http://www.compassnewspaper.org/index.php/component/content/article/90-front-page-/10079-conmess-lagos-doctors-resigning-over-non-implementation