₦airaland Forum

A pregnant British woman accused of smuggling heroin has been found guilty in Laos and sentenced to life in jail.

Samantha Orobator, 20, from south London, was caught with 1.5lb (680g) of the drug at Wattay airport in the capital, Vientiane, last August.

Her trial had been delayed while Laotian officials tried to find out how she became pregnant in prison.

She would have faced a mandatory death sentence, but the execution of pregnant prisoners is not allowed in Laos.

The court took only three hours to reach its verdict, and during questioning by the prosecution and the three judges, [size=13pt]Orobator admitted to carrying more than half a kilogram of heroin in an effort to try and take it out of the country to Australia. [/size]

Orobator's mother was in court. She did not say anything, nor did Orobator as she was taken back to prison. British officials have applied to see her to ask what she wants to do next.

The UK has recently signed a prisoner transfer agreement with Laos, which means Orobator could serve any potential sentence in a British jail.

Orobator has been held for nine months in Phongthong prison, where she reportedly became pregnant in December.

Reprieve has called for her to be returned to the UK before the final stages of her pregnancy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8080968.stm

The poster meant a " a relaunch"

A MAJOR policy shift, which gives priority to meeting local gas demand as against the present focus on the international market, has been introduced by the Federal Government.

To achieve the goal, the government has put on hold all gas projects designed to enhance Nigeria's export potential of the commodity.

The lid on the projects, The Guardian learnt, would last till 2014 when the government hopes to meet domestic gas need, especially for the Independent Power Projects (IPPs).

It was learnt that the initiative was part of the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Gas Supply that government should place premium on meeting the demand of the power projects and the entire industrial sector.

The projects that are likely to be affected by the decision are the Trans-Saharan Gas Project, Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Project, the expansion of Trains 7 and 8 by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), and the gas to liquids project, a joint venture of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and American oil giant, Chevron. The project was under internal review, due to cost variation and other issues relating to its implementation.

Officials of the venture operators and the Federal Government, who spoke on the development yesterday, explained that these projects would not be entirely jettisoned but a calculated delay would be employed in their execution to pave way for an accelerated completion of some onshore and offshore gas gathering schemes to meet the domestic need. They also said it was a deliberate strategy to check the crisis in the energy supply need of the country.

Already, Final Investment Decision (FID) on Brass LNG and OK LNG are yet to be taken, including that of NLNG Trains 7 and 8 of the nation's premier LNG export firm.

A senior manager with one of the multinational oil firms said the government's decision was contradictory because it recently approved 12 firms to explore and produce from an estimated N198 trillion standard cubic feet gas reserve in the country.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=030609&ptitle=Govt%20suspends%20gas%20export%20projects

[b] THE current expenses scandal in the UK House of Commons throws up useful lessons about decorum and accountability for lawmakers and legislatures in all parts of the world. The incident should bear special resonance with particular reference to the legislature in Nigeria where scant attention is often paid to issues of probity and accountability. [/b]In Britain, for the past month or thereabout, members of Parliament have had to resign their positions, or offer apologies to the state and the people, party leaders have expressed disappointment and the people, shock and outrage - over disclosures and admissions that members of parliament in making expenses claims, had cheated tax payers.

Such outrage as has attended this incident is uncommon in Nigeria where attempts at instilling discipline in official corridors are often overtaken by ethnic, religious, or emotional considerations. In Britain, the authorities did not have to set up a committee or adopt any bureaucratic strong-arm tactics to draw out confessions and regrets. The Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin has since resigned his position. There have been talks about far-reaching reforms of parliament. On display is so much character and leadership, and a resolve to restore trust in public politics. These are much needed values in the Nigerian society.

Many of the British MPs insist that they obtained the approval of the parliamentary fees office, but still public concerns about their expenses claims, beginning with disclosures by the Daily Telegraph and Sky News have yielded not a spate of arrogance but contrition. [/b]Some of the unjustified amounts at issue are about £50 or less. In some cases, £250 or more. One MP was accused of cheating the taxpayer to buy sacks of horse manure, another submitted a claim for clearing the moat at his country home. In all 340 MPs including cabinet ministers and bank benchers have been accused of misconduct.[size=14pt][b] Many of the MPs have since returned money to the fees office.[/size]

In Nigeria, all of this could have been regarded as a storm in a tea cup. But the main lesson is that public officials, no matter how highly placed, are not expected or allowed to use the system for purposes of self-enrichment. It is equally noteworthy that the leadership of both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party as well as other political parties - the Liberal Democratic Party, the UK Independence Party and the British National Party - have been unanimous in condemning the abuses. They do not see this as an opportunity to protect party members, but as a wake-up call to clean up the political system. In addition, the Queen has expressed concern that the sordid revelations could damage Parliament.

[size=15pt]This sort of leadership is what is conspicuously missing in Nigeria despite the brazenness with which Nigerian officials abuse the system. For example, criticisms of the obsession of Nigerian lawmakers at state and national levels, with jumbo salaries, perquisites and constituency allowances have often fallen on deaf ears. Besides, the professional political class, particularly the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is fond of covering up the iniquities of its members.[/size]

Britain has raised the bar by its current handling of the parliamentary expenses scandal, which indicates that to strengthen a political system, no individual can be above the law. In addition, the two main political parties have initiated internal party inquiries. Nigerian politicians might wish to emulate this attitude both for their self-esteem and as a genuine attempt at developing the country. Public officials require a sense of probity; they must be able to differentiate between what is right or wrong.

[size=15pt]The British media deserves commendation for the determination and thoroughness with which it has reported and analysed the scandal so far. The Daily Telegraph which broke the story has in particular done great public service. [/size]This has been a fine advertisement of the bounden duty of the media as the watchdog of society, the conduct of the British media is equally a triumph of investigative journalism. This has been made possible partly by the open and free access to information in Britain. But despite the environmental and legal constraints which restrict access to information in Nigeria, the local media can also invest more in investigative journalism as a means of checking impunity in government.

The numerous vices being perpetrated by public officials and their cohorts in Nigeria should be subjected to closer scrutiny. Corruption is the bane of the governance process in Nigeria. It is sad that our political leaders are often indifferent to disclosures of grand corruption and that the political parties lack integrity. The lessons of the current situation in the United Kingdom should not be lost on the local leadership elite: the character, integrity and conduct of public officials are central to the making of a good and just society.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=030609&ptitle=Lessons%20of%20the%20UK%20expenses%20scandal

@ poster

This topic is not for the politics section


Fix up

;d

big grammer that cant pay mortgage or utility bills


Useless people.  With all the PHD they still remain broke and busted.

brein:
What do u wish?
Lets kip watching.

Like u hve watching the halliburton case get swept under the table

This country sounds like Venezuela. Clueless Leader leading a clueless nation.

I will tell God will never forgive him for his crimes he has committed and still commiting against Nigeria.

senator4u:
[b][/b][color=#000099][/color] IMMUNITY HAVE IT DONE US ANY GOOD?

Please expand more

thanks

oloye-agba:
strange

what is strange about the document

By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi and Chesa Chesa, Abuja

President Umaru Yar'Adua on Monday announced, as speculated, the appointment of First Bank Managing Director, Lamido Sanusi, as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He replaces Chukwuma Soludo, whose term of five years expired on May 29.

But National Assembly (NASS) sources confided on Monday evening that the nomination of Sanusi hangs in the balance, regardless of his clearance last week by the State Security Service (SSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Uncertainty pervades the economic cabinet of Yar'Adua as feelers from Aso Rock say he wants to tinker with the Federal Executive Council (FEC), in deference to the public outcry over his violation of the Federal Character Act, which stipulates that every state be represented in the federal cabinet.

He, however, seems to have made up his mind about Soludo, whom a source said would not be re-appointed if the hawks in Aso Rock have their way.

The source disclosed that Yar'Adua is considering "doing away with Finance Minister, Mansur Mukhtar, because of complaints in government circles over his style at the ministry.

[size=20pt]"The next available option for the Finance Ministry, is the Minister of State, Remi Babalola, representing Oyo State in the cabinet; but is ill and away on medical treatment abroad.[/size]

"One thing is for sure, Yar'Adua is sensitive to the yearnings of Nigerians that all his economic team should not come from Kano or Katsina State. That is why the Senate, as at 12 noon on Monday was still not sure of the confirmation of Sanusi" who is from Kano.

Even with that, Yar'Adua has requested the Senate to expeditiously confirm Sanusi, in a letter he sent on Monday to Senate President, David Mark, in which he also asked the lawmakers to confirm the renewal, for a second term, of the appointment of Babatunde Lemo as CBN Deputy Governor.

He wrote another letter to Soludo where he commended him for his dedication to service and asked him to make himself available for any future national assignment.

"As your tenure as Governor of the (CBN) comes to a glorious end," Yar'Adua said, "I write on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria to place on record our debt of gratitude to you for your dedicated service and uncommon sense of duty over the past five years.

"I am confident that your worthy antecedents in the CBN and in prior appointments in the service of our nation remain sources of inspiration to an entire generation.

"As I wish you even more astounding successes in the years ahead, it is my fervent hope that you will readily avail us of your distinguished service when the need arises in the future."

Sanusi has experience of more than two decades in the banking industry, including at United Bank for Africa (UBA), where he spearheaded its drive to comply with Basel 2 capital adequacy requirements.

He will face a heady list of investor expectations - steering Africa's biggest oil producer and most populous nation through the global downturn, tightening banking supervision, and forging ahead with monetary policy reform.

Among analysts who welcomed his appointment is Razia Khan, Head of Africa Research at Standard Chartered, who said Sanusi would "bring to the table his experience as a banker and is in a position to tackle the issues facing the banking sector from the perspective of an insider well-acquainted with the current regulatory system."

Sanusi is expected to continue Soludo's banking reform, which created some of Africa's biggest financial services institutions, deepening the country's capital markets, and attracting a new wave of foreign investment.

"It is a welcome development for the market," noted Kemi Owonubi, Head of Research for Vetiva Capital Management, since "Sanusi has a background in risk management and I expect that he should continue with what Soludo has done."

But Yar'Adua's choice of Sanusi is against the clamour by the Igala Cultural and Development Association (ICDA) to have Jibrin Isa, an Executive Director of Afribank, replace Soludo.

A statement issued by ICDA Chairman, Mohammed Salihu, urged Yar'Adua to consider acceptability and balance in the geographical spread of positions, so as not to short change and cause grief for any section of the country.

"Taking into cognisance the need to reflect fairness, vibrancy, dynamism, and impeccable brilliance in this appointment, we, the ICDA, humbly appeal to the good conscience of (Yar'Adua) in appointing (Isa)," the statement added.

"Isa's choice of candidacy is premised on (his) vast years of experience in the banking sector, and his notch for steering revolution and transformation in all his places of work.

"Besides his enviable professionalism, we further appeal to (Yar'Adua) to consider the North Central zone in his choice of CBN Governor."

Salihu argued that despite the avalanche of professionals from the North Central in the banking sector and their contribution to the country, no one from the zone has been given a shot as CBN Governor.

http://www.independentngonline.com/news/tfpg/article01

Some months ago, the Lagos State Government sounded a word of caution to road users concerning the use of siren in the state. The governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, while issuing the caution noted, among other things, that the use of siren constituted an unacceptable slur on the traffic management system of the state. Fashola, who specifically referred to visiting governors and public officials in his address, pleaded for patience while on the roads even as he stressed that there was no need terrorising other road users.

"I have successfully demonstrated that you need patience and not siren to negotiate through traffic in Lagos. I seek the cooperation of all and sundry to demonstrate its benefits including visiting governors and other public officials", the governor said.

"Let us get rid of these nuisance on which we spend millions of our hard earned money to keep the producers in Europe and America in business while we use it to terrorise the tax payers whom we serve". However several months have past but the governor's advise seems to hold no water because day in day out motorists are still being terrorised by the siren users who have come to see the use of siren as nothing but status symbol.

An incident which is an indicator to this misconception occurred on Friday around Mile 2 (Oke) along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. An unmarked siren-blaring vehicle piloting a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) nearly caused what would have become a ghastly multiple accidents. There was a slight traffic jam caused by some vehicles that were trying to descend down to the Mile 2 bridge to Lagos-Badary Expressway. The driver of the vehicle with siren suddenly triggered off and blared it menacingly. This abrupt action threw other motorists into quandary and as they tried to avoid the intimidating vehicle, ran into one another. The saving grace however was that the siren driver was not speeding compared with the blaring of the siren, yet a female passenger was not that lucky as a commercial bus 'brushed' her and she fell and had dislocation in one of her legs and bruise in her arm. Some good Samaritans came to her help but then the siren-blaring vehicle had disappearance into the distance not knowing the near-death situation it had caused.

" Where are they (the occupiers) rushing to that they want to snuff live out of fellow human beings with over-speeding", asked a passerby.

"May God save us in this country; everything we do is different from other civilised people", remarked a witness at the scene. Another reference point to what siren can cause was the one that involved Ozoma Okere and some naval ratings officers escorting Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade when Ozoma was beating blue for allegedly not clearing off the road in time while the siren was blaring.

There is no doubt that many people would be very happy if the directives on the use of siren is observed in the state, because of its abuse by both private and public officers.

"It should be banned outright in all the states of the federation. Of what use is siren for someone who already has security men to protect him or her. If they find themselves in heavy traffic, rather than scare people, the security men ought to help in clearing the traffic", said Benson Akindele. Akindele told Daily Independent that the first experience he had was when a siren-blazing vehicle riding roughshod on the road and terrifying other road users and he was trying to get off the road in a hurry and swerved his car but ended up hitting a big concrete by the gutter which did not only damaged his vehicles but caused bodily injury to him.

Ordinarily siren ought to be used during emergency like when an ambulance is moving a sick person to the hospital or when fire fighters are racing to the scene of an inferno, but to demonstrate the characteristic impatience that has become the trade mark of many Nigerians, at any slightest of hold-up, any vehicle that has a siren would activate it and add more commotion into an already chaotic situation on the road. There are many vehicles that have sirens, from military, para-military, security outfit, private individuals and those referred to 'money miss road' among others. To obtain permission to use siren is an easy one and it appears they are not acquired for any other purpose but to terrorise defenseless individuals on the street .

Ezekiel Isidahomen, the President Queens School of Security Management and Studies (QSSMS) Lagos did not only condemn the indiscriminate use of the instrument, saying "it is a kind of environmental nuisance" but maintained that "it shows the tendencies of Nigerians to overate themselves". He shared the state government concern but expressed worry that the pronouncement may not take effect judging by the past record.

According to him, moves had been made in the past to restrict the use of siren to some specific personalities but the rules were floated as soon as they were made. To the security expert, the appropriate time siren ought to be used is when there is an emergency situation and advised that the state government should be firm to ensure that the indiscriminate use is stopped even as he suggested outright arrest of anyone who flouts the order this time around. "People should learn to respect simple law. Anyone who flouts it should be arrested and prosecuted", he said.

The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Bishop Law Edema wondered where those using the siren derived their power from, concluding that it is an unnecessary display of power and influence.

"Is the use of siren in the constitution?, he queried, adding that in civilised societies it is never used the way it is being used in this country.

"At least I have been to many parts of the world. You will not even know that the president is passing but here even Aide-de-Camp (ADC) use it".

He said he was in support of Fashola's position on the use of siren on Lagos roads because apart from the fact that the practice is at variance with what obtains internationally, it also has health implication.

Also expressing his view about the state government's move, a commercial bus driver who gave his name as Muti maintained that it is a right step in the right direction because the practice has been so abused. To him, it seems anybody that the use of siren catches his fancy go for it and so it has become a commonplace on the road. Besides, he asserted that the drivers of vehicles with siren are more reckless than any other motorists because they can easily scare other road user. He maintained that they contribute to many of the accidents that happen on the roads.

"We don't even know who has the right to use it or not because it looks like anybody who likes just put it on his vehicle. And once they put it there, they want every other road users to run out of the road once they are coming; they are very reckless and have many accidents on the roads", he said.

http://www.independentngonline.com/news/metr/article01

Lagos is a state that is uniquely different from others because of its peculiarity as a heavily populated settlement charaterised by incessant traffic jams. So how far it can go in effecting the minimal use of siren, let alone stop its abuse is left to be seen as it is moving towards its mega city with construction and renovation of the roads to make driving less stressful.

;d

There are strong indications that the Federal Government may make public names of top politicians, personalities and organisations including banks allegedly backing militants in the Niger Delta region.
THISDAY learnt yesterday in Abuja that at present, the Presidency is sifting through incriminating documents recovered by the Joint Task Force (JTF) during the raid on the dreaded Camp 5 belonging to wanted militant leader, Government Ekmukpolo alias Tompolo.
It was learnt that names of some of the militants’ political backers, minutes of meetings held and account details of bunkering money paid to prominent chiefs and politicians are now being scrutinised by security operatives.
Names and addresses of foreign contacts, names of Nigerian middlemen, documents of arms purchase, dates and details of attacks on oil facilities and those behind them as well as insiders within the oil companies are said to be contained in the documents.
Also contained in the documents, THISDAY gathered, are names of countries and details of how stolen crude oil are disposed and how some of the proceeds are shared as well as the local beneficiaries.
The documents also showed details of meetings held between militants and some notable politicians and the minutes of what transpired at the meetings.
Also being perused are some unnamed bank accounts in which top government officials in Niger Delta paid “protection money” to the militants.
Attempts to acquire gun-ships, bombs, and rocket-launchers from an East European country were also uncovered by the documents.
The offensive against the militants launched about three weeks ago by JTF has been the most virulent since the Niger Delta crisis turned violent.
However, there have been discordant tunes from some Niger Delta leaders over the military attack.
While some are worried at the JTF’s pounding of the militants and the refugee crisis being thrown up others argue that it’s the only opportunity to stop the continued criminality in the region.
The military high command, has, however, said the action will continue until the missing soldiers are found.
Meanwhile, the JTF yesterday averted what could have been a major vandalism of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) facility at Awoba, Rivers State by suspected militants who were spotted on routine patrol by troops deployed to guard the facility.
This is as controversy trailed the promised release of a Briton, Mr. Mathew Maguire, who has been in custody of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) for nearly one year as his promised release today to coincide with his birthday has run into a hitch.
A statement from the Joint Media Campaign Centre of JTF said the force spotted the vandals before they could carry out their nefarious activity and took to their heels on sighting the troops.
JTF Spokesman, Col. Rabe Abubakar, in a statement made available to THISDAY claimed that the military had also arrested two suspected militants, Mr. John Seikeke and Mr. Boloma Atokudo, following a tip-off by some community people at Torugbene, Benesede in Bayelsa State.
The duo were allegedly arrested while in possession of an AK47 and one round of 7.62mm.
Abubakar further stated that JTF had commenced full investigations into their level of complicity in the ongoing hostilities in the region.
He said: “The Joint Task Force, Operation Restore Hope, has arrested two men suspected to be militants, following a tip-off about 7 am, 31 May 2009, at Torugbene Community in Benesede, Bayelsa State while conducting a Cordon and Search Operation.
“Mr. John Seikeke and Mr. Boloma Atokudu were arrested in possession of an AK 47 with one round of 7.62mm ammunition with registration number XQ2354. Investigation is still going on and the suspects are assisting the JTF with information on how they came about the firearm and ammunition.
“In another related development, an attempted pipeline vandalisation by men suspected to be militants was averted by JTF troops at Awoba Community of Rivers State.
The troops who were deployed at the Shell Platform were on their normal routine check of the area when the vandals were discovered. They ran away on sighting men of the task force and no arrest was made, the general situation of the area is being monitored closely, to avoid similar occurrences in the future.”
Attempts to confirm the foiled attack from SPDC Spokesman, Precious Okolobo, met a brick wall as he said he was not permitted to speak on security matters.
The expected release of Maguire, according latest inquiries by THISDAY, may no longer hold as scheduled as MEND Spokesman Gbomo Jomo claimed that they had intelligence that JTF troops wanted to ambush the boys that would go and hand over Maguire after the handover at an agreed drop off point.
MEND had earlier said in a statement that, “Today (yesterday), June 1, is Mathew Maguire's birthday. He has spent close to 9 months in captivity and we hoped to release him as his birthday gift.
“Due to safety concerns, we wish to alert the British High Commission of our intentions so they can inform the government to put a leash on the overzealous JTF who may plan to ambush the fighters along with Mathew to score cheap publicity that he was rescued by them.
“His company may begin the process of receiving him tonight while we make arrangements for a safe drop off zone”.
However, when THISDAY chatted with Gbomo online and inquired whether the Briton had been released, he replied, “No he has not. There have been some security hitches”.
Prodded further on why the change of mind, he said, “The JTF hoped to ambush the guys after they would have dropped him off. We got intelligence report.”

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=145028

By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku, 06.02.2009


Nigeria ’s power generation has suffered yet another set back, following the shutting down yesterday of Afam V1 Power Station, belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
The development came just as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Mr Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, said the country plans to add five billion cubic feet per day to domestic gas supply by 2013.
The Afam plant, which has the capacity to generate 300mw would be shut down for two days, to enable engineers carry out routine maintenance on the station’s gas facilities.
A statement by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) yesterday said sequel to the shut down, the current 300mw capacity being generated by the power plant will not be available in the national grid, a development which will result in minimal daily load-shedding to maintain system stability.
Addressing an energy conference in Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Barkindo said Nigeria plans to add five billion cubic feet per day to domestic gas supply by 2013.
He said gas supply should rise by 1.2 billion cfd by the end of this year, as Nigeria is poised to ensure availability of adequate gas for power generation.
A Reuters report stated that Nigeria would spend nearly $5 billion from windfall oil savings to develop the shambolic power sector. Nigeria has the capacity to generate about 3000mw, but generation often plunges below 1000mw, owing to lack of gas to power the turbines.
Nigeria as the world's seventh-largest gas reserves, and as part of its gas master plan, invited foreign oil companies to help build three major gas gathering plants and pipelines that would provide supplies to the power sector.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=145026

thanks pataki


i figured that out when i clicked on the headline link and it was asking for money.

oh sorry

it is just the headlines that are free . oh shit

Obviously it looks like the initial move might have backfired.

ode remo:
@tudor and horus

i have been reading most of you guys posts and the amount of effort put into them are mind boggling, well the wealth of knowledge as well , waoh . i would have enjoy reading your protagonist as well if only they invest a bit of energy into their rebuttals , as you might notice religion is not my thingy but when that politics section become boring, the religion section throw such tantalising menu and i become glue to all the posts and i must say by reading most one become more enlighten or otherwise .
all i can is RELIGION WHAT RELIGION.

Please dont mind these people - They are all demon incarnated - here to pave way for their father the Anti Christ.

@ikey


who ban u ?

nice one midas

u be mechanic for yankkee?

I saw becomrich a fomer senior electrician in kwara state sweeping the streets of ontario

na wa o

;d

brein:
I hope this Niger Delta guys are here on NL. Please tell MEN not to stop the fight or cease fire oo!, you’ve all got to take back your birth-right.

Rather than hope for the fight not to end - why not sign up

luckiest:
where the ak47, abi warri no follow

i was suprised as well - i was expecting gunboats, RPGs, and etc

* Only N3.921trillion spent on capital projects

* Civil/Public servants wages gulp N8.307trillion

Nigeria has made over N30 trillion in federally generated revenue since the country’s return to democracy 10 years ago with the Federal Government retaining N10.881 trillion of this amount, according to figures obtained by Sunday Vanguard.

Federal Government’s expenditure outlay during the period is N12.548 trillion of which only N3.921 trillion is for capital projects while the balance of N8.307 trillion is for recurrent.
In clear terms, much of the public funds accruing to the centre during the last ten years has been spent not for the general welfare of Nigerians but to pay the salaries and allowances of civil and public servants.

The situation reveals an interlocking set of vicious circles that perpetuates economic stagnation and rural poverty.
One of such circles is the savings - investment gap in the rural parts of the country.
Another is the problem of shortage of dedicated government administrators.

The result is often incompetence, worsened by endemic bribery, corruption and favouritism. Besides the ineffective system of taxation over the years has failed to mobilize financial resources for capital formation. Bad as this situation is, it is worsened by investment allocation. Nigeria in the bid to foster unity in diversity set up and allocated investment in ways that hardly promote economic growth. Appointments to offices are not based on merit and performance but on ethnic arithmetic while public enterprises operated at a loss, draining off scarce capital rather than creating it.

Government, realising that it cannot do well in business, has made attempt to privatise enterprises that have been a source of economic rent to bureaucrats If Nigeria’s economy is to achieve a self sustaining growth, its workforce must develop the motivation and discipline essential to industrial production. Nigerian farmers must become commercial farmers open to technological innovation in agriculture as against the subsistence farming and the use of old implements that is of today

A large percentage of the capital votes all these years was not spent but held by the various Ministries, Department and Agencies of government. The lid on how this practice was dragging the nation backward was blown open when President Umaru Yar’Adua came on board and demanded that all unspent allocations be returned to the federal treasury.
Government recovered N360 billion of such unspent allocation to ministries, Department and Agencies. Unspent funds from last year’s budgetary allocations to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) totalling N360 billion have been recovered by the Federal Government.

The MDAs, according to the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, returned N 300 billion from their capital vote allocations and another N60 billion from their recurrent expenditures for last 2007.
The issue of unspent funds has become thorny under the present government, with two ministers losing their positions recently for failing to comply with the government policy.

National treasury

Dr. Yakubu Tanimu, the Chief Economic Adviser to the President told journalists that the Federal Government was expecting an additional N40 billion to be returned by the MDAs. This pushed the total returned funds to the national treasury to N 400 billion by the time the directive was fully complied with.

“When the present administration came on board, we discovered that government doesn’t have enough resources to implement what the president promised during his campaign. So, the president directed the recall of MDAs’ capital votes and we recovered over N300 billion. About N60 billion was also returned from their recurrent expenditure.

“So it was obvious that the MDAs were just executing projects without any feasibility study. Hence, it was clear that what needed to be done was to clean the Federal Government’s balance sheet,” he said.

Commenting on the power sector that has generated a lot of controversy, he explained that given the amount of funds already spent, additional 16,000 megawatts ought to have been generated but the reverse was the case because of the way it was executed. He said it was because of this development that Yar’Adua insisted that he would no longer pump money into the sector until he was sure that additional power would be generated.

In Nigeria, productivity is low because investment is low and investment is low because savings is low. In turn, savings is low because income is low; income is low because productivity is low.

The situation remains largely the same as savings has not improved beyond what it was in the 1980s if not worse off. Going by World Bank reckoning, while Korea achieved about 94 per cent level of secondary school and tertiary enrolment, Nigeria, during the same period (1965-1986) achieved 29 per cent.

The implication is that while these countries have reached a self sustaining growth, Nigeria has been trapped in poverty, deficit budgeting N315 billion in 2002, N202 billion, N172.6 billion in 2004, N161 billion in 2005 and N117 billion in 2007and population explosion of 140 million 2008. The effect is that the living standard of the populace is on onward decline and this has dragged more Nigerians into the poverty line. In fact, a recent study shows that more than 70 per cent of Nigerians live below one dollar a day. The situation has not changed much. These are the realities starring the populace in the face as Nigeria celebrates10 years of Democracy

In the financial management of Nigeria resources, two issues stand out, one that of unspent budget and resources generated by Agencies of government that are not well accounted for. According to those close to Aso Rock, the President “in keeping with his total commitment to upholding the principles of openness, transparency and full accountability in the management of public funds, has not approved the operation of any special account or the withholding of details of such accounts from the National Assembly and the public.

Indeed, the president directed the minister of finance to make an immediate and full disclosure to the National Assembly of all accounts kept and operated by the Federal Government.” The President his aides said has expressed his willingness to cooperate with the National Assembly for “speedy provision” of all required facts and figures. The Senate has resolved that, henceforth, funds appropriated but could not be expended within the years of appropriation must not be carried over or warehoused. It also urged President Yar’Adua to effect the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission as provided for by the enabling Act.

For instance as it is the case with most budget the implementation of the 2004 budget fell below target as most ministries and parastatals did not show determination and willingness to execute capital projects for which money was made available by the federal government.

Only 43 per cent of the money released by the federal government to ministries and parastatal for budget execution was utilised in the first half of 2004. This being the first year of the implementation of Nigeria’s poverty reduction strategy NEEDS, except concrete steps are taken, implementation will once again stifle life out of the programme.

Figures released by the federal ministry of Finance showed that in the first six month of the year, out of the N174.788billion budgeted for capital project in 2004, N199.585billion was released to the various ministries and parastatal in which only N86.420billion was actually utilised by these ministries for capital project implementation. This show that only 43.3 per cent of the capital project was implemented by the federal government. It was the same story for the 2007 and 2008 budget where provisions for capital projects were not implemented.

Yet in Nigeria services such as power supply, transportation, storage, communication etc that are indispensable to modern industry and agriculture are grossly inadequate and not available on regular basis. What is more, power supply is erratic, transportation chaotic but budget allocation to these sector are never fully implemented.
The phantom power probe that has stalled Integrated Power Project is an example. Yet, the problems are not being adequately tackled by subsequent government. Inadequate transportation and communication block the exploitation of rural resources in Nigeria. As a result poverty has taken over the land.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36887&Itemid=41

"That is a sign of disintegration in PDP. Papa Destroy Pikin." by Prince Nosa from Vanguard reviews

From John-Abba Ogbodo, Abuja

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denounced its deputy national chairman, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, over the statement that the Embassy of the United States of America in Nigeria was collaborating with the opposition to undermine the democratic structure in the country.

Mohammed, last week, issued a statement to the effect that some people within the opposition had a meeting in Kaduna State and drew up an agenda to meet with the President of the U.S., Barack Obama, in Ghana during his visit to the country and canvass economic blockade of Nigeria, among other sanctions, so that the nascent democracy would be stifled.

But the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, yesterday dissociated the party from the statement issued by Mohammed.

Ogbulafor's statement, signed by the national publicity secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, read in full:

"The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a widely circulated statement issued by Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, Deputy National Chairman of the Party in which he is said to have accused the United States government, particularly the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, of colluding with opposition elements to destabilise the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"The Peoples Democratic Party hereby dissociates itself from the views expressed by Dr. Bello Mohammed, which have never been discussed at any level or organ of the Party. The statement at best represents his personal opinion.

"Giving the enormity of the issues raised and the likely effect they may have on the relationship between the U.S. government and Nigeria, the Party will investigate the matter and come up with a position in due course.

"There may be plans by some politicians to take advantage of President Obama's visit to Ghana in July to meet with him for whatever reasons.

"However, in view of the cordial relations between the government of Nigeria and the United States, we expect no meaningful impact from such a meeting even if it ever takes place.

"It is our fervent belief that the long-standing relations between the U.S. and Nigeria will not be sacrificed to suit the whims of a few disgruntled politicians, who are desperately seeking relevance."

:p

Redman44:
I'm happy President Obama is snubbing Nigeria. Yar'Adua is not a good president. The guy is sick for God's sake!!! How can a sick man lead us? What were his achievements when he was the Governor of Katsina State? When I see Yar'Adua's pictures, I'm always having a feeling that he might die in office He looks frail. A sick man leading Nigeria is a bad omen. It has spiritual connotations for the future of our country. We need to do something dramatic in 2011. Cheers.

lol

Naija people them don come again with interpretation.