safariman:

Soludo should have also responded to Sanusi when he (Sanusi) called him up on Soludo's tenor as CBN governor, that is more of a challenge than anything else. This to me coming from an aspirant Atiku's presidential campaigner seems to me like a political shot at what everybody know that GEJ is doing business as usual. We knew that most of the economic reform Atiku was advocating for was that of Soludos

And I am not an Aganga fan because he is not strong enough to curb all those spending in an election year and the "wayo" being used to justified the debt

I am sure you cannot present a single evidence of Sanusi taking on Soludo. NEVER. The worst Sanusi has said is that if Soludo had done what he is doing now, things would not have been this bad. That is simply laughable.

The only different thing he brought on board is the strategy of harassment. . .which may have worked in its stead. . .yea i give him the credit. And of course the fact that he told the lawmakers to their face that their consumption rate is driving inflation crazy and making his job more difficult. period

sandra123:

In a recent telephone conversation with CP-Africa, the Nuhu Ribadu campaign organization confirmed today that Dr. Sunny Ugochukwu has been picked as Mallam Ribadu’s running mate for the upcoming 2011 elections.

However, doubts and controversy about Mallam Ribadu’s commitment to his pick and the circumstances surrounding the selection process remain. Here are some commentary to this effect…

PM News Nigeria:

“Despite the fact the Mr Stanley Ugochukwu has been sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the running mate of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in the 2011 Presidential elections, PM News can reveal that the search for a viable Vice Presidential candidate for the for the former anti corruption czar is still on.
Sources told PM News yesterday told PM News this morning that the name sent to INEC yesterday is a stop gap and that the real candidate that will run alongside Ribadu will emerge between this evening and latest tomorrow. The source indicates that the ACN presidential candidate will use the window provided for substitution of candidates by INEC to bring in his final choice of Vice President.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, former Nigerian Finance and Foreign Affairs Minister and currently, a managing director at World Bank has been variously rumored as a likely running mate for Ribadu PM NEWS can however not confirm if she is still one of those being considered for the position. Other leading presidential candidates submitted the names of their running mates alongside their names to the Independent National Electoral Commission yesterday.”

Leadership Editors:

“But for the secret political manoeuvres by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governors, observers said Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the ACN presidential flagbearer, would have been a formidable candidate in the April polls. An insider said Ribadu, who was adopted as the presidential candidate of the ACN on January 14, is having political disagreement with Tinubu and some of his loyalists.

Dr. Sunny Ugochukwu, a United States of America-based educationist, was picked yesterday as the presidential running mate to Ribadu.”

http://www.cp-africa.com/2011/02/01/nuhu-ribadus-campaign-confirms-sunny-ugochukwu-pick-doubts-controversy-remain/

Is this a joke?

Dis Guy:

Thank you, I have never criticised Soludo of anything but HIS FAILURE to regulate the banks properly and perhaps his closeness to their CEOs

so all these talk of expansion into other countries without conquering its own environment first is flashy in my opinion


calyx, i'm not a bigot thank you very much

Soludo didn't do the basic that's my point and the basics is to regulate the banks before the obscene marketing he lead,

its easy to be called an expert during a boom

I withdraw the use of that word. . .I hope you understand I was just trying to make a valid point

Dis Guy:

well the basics comes first doesn't it? creating and developing an environment where bank chiefs rob investors blind is not an achievement, some will rather avoid that controversy than claim it as  new heights!! Why will you be supporting people that steal billions to buy properties and private jets without collateral only to deal with them later, wont you remove the theif before assisting the firm

some people sef

Are you serious? This contribution is completely bigoted. . .okay at best ignorant!

ALL we have heard is shouts of people who have stolen billions and billions and billions and yet all we see is Cecilia Ibru who was committed to six months jail because she approved credits above her limits and instead of serving her 5-year jail term as applicable for the crime, her family opted for a plea bargain, giving up about N191 bn worth of assets so she can serve only 6 months in Jail. . .the 6 months she ended up serving in her house.

Would this be all there is to do with the time of a CBN governor? Pray what is an achievement? So the new one is that Ideas-lacking cronies are now claiming that a mere lull in the economy in now a new heights. Show me Nigeria of our dreams. . .

Ma_J_Blige:

Why didnt Soludo answer this major question?

They are the same people who told us that our banks are safe, there are no non-performing loans, What happened when the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi came on board? The can was opened, everything was completely rotten.

He had said it over and and over and over again even after his regime in CBN. The Banks were absolutely safe in his CBN. Was there a problem? Yes! Bad loans. Was CBN willing, ready and capable of containing the problem? Yes and that was already in progress but quiet. The Banks were not going to fail. The only thing that was different was STYLE.

While Sanusi took printed money and took over the banks thus sacking their heads, Soludo was giving the banks, financial support via the background pending when they are up on their own. I also know that recapitalization of banks were being worked out as a result of some of the issues. This would ultimately have led to the removal of some of the bank heads. Would Cecilia have gone to prison? That I cant tell but I dont think Soludo's priority at the time was sending people to prison.

The thing that is being missed between Soludo and Sanusi is that while the former was bound to CREATE, DEVELOP and ATTAIN new heights in the financial markets, even with the attendant risks, the latter threads very carefully, content with just doing the basics and avoiding controversies

Gbawe:

Indeed. In this particular triumvirate of financial and economic experts Sanusi is by far the only praiseworthy individual. Soludo may be brilliant and he may have started well but he turned out , in the end , to be just another callously materialistic and self-serving hack who let down the most vulnerable folks in the banking system he supervised . This is the same thing callous politicians , to the detriment of our nation , have done always i.e fail to protect and act in the interest of the most vulnerable in society - ordinary Nigerians. The good people of Anambra should count themselves lucky Soludo did not become their Governor.

Aganga too , we can assume , is brilliant to have risen to the heights he did before joining Government . He is however personally dishonest and perhaps transparently so . This is probably what attracted the GEJ Government. A desperate Government that would need a 'friendly' financial administrator to 'legitimise' the dissapearance of billions into thin air found its man in Aganga. So far he has performed admirably as a rabid dog blindly defending its master.

Sanusi is a better human being than Soludo and Aganga . He is not afraid to speak his mind and is not beholden to the elite system that has arisen to profit from the misery of ordinary Nigerians. Soludo belongs in jail and Aganga , by the end of his tenure , will probably deserve to be in jail also. Sanusi , on the other hand , seems a decent individual who understands his job responsibilities in its entirety. The appointment of Sanusi , along with the amnesty program, is Yar Adua's finest achievement IMO.

Am sure you are more intelligent than these rabid statements (in bold)

violent:

^^^^

Are you kidding? my inclination towards grammar is part of Nigeria's problem? now that's some hilarious stuff!. . . i bet it should also be responsible for Jos riots and shocking poverty rates across the country.

[b]What's wrong in expecting that a former CBN governor expresses himself in a coucher, more responsible manner when addressing public issues or even private issues in the public?[/b]It does look as though everything that was written in that article was penned by a distraught secondary school economics major during class break, not some economics professor who once occupied one of the highest governmental offices.

Everything is wrong with stifling your expressions or lacing them up just because you were once a CBN governor.

Its also obvious from the letter that Soludo is trying to pick a fight which is welcome if it must help us address some of these economic issues.

violent:

Aganga's appointment is a misleading attempt to fit a round peg in a square hole.  The dude has an impressive background having graduated from oxford and held positions in Hedge Fund management, but as a minister of Finance, what you need is an in depth well rounded background in Economics, NOT banking and Finance.

However, i consider it a shameful thing that a former CBN governor could write in a careless brazen manner as though the letter was addressed to his mistress. such a shameful thing indeed!
On a personal note, i could pick out a hundred unforgivable grammatical errors with each paragraph, looks as though the manifestation of the rot in Nigerian's educational system is skin deep.

I searched and failed to see the "unforgivable grammatical errors" you'd make us believe infested this eye popping letter.

And for how Soludo addressed Aganga, he can choose as an individual to address another individual in any mix of languages/words provided they are not abusive

foreman:

well, 70million in two weeks is not bad.

To make 70million in two weeks, he needs to register 70/14 = 5million in a day. Considering that we have 120,000 centers, he needs to register 5000000/120000 =42 people per center per day

and 42 people per center in 8 hrs (8am to 4pm) is approximately 11 mins/person. An AMPLE time for common registration if you ask me.

The MTN/ZAIN guys that registered my sim card didnt take more than 40 secs each. The sim registration was even a little more tasking when zain was asking for all manner of things.

I think Jega has failed woefully

ADAOBIM .C:

I' M ADAOBI FRM EASTERN NIGERIA. A 2nd YEAR SOCIOLOGY STUDENT IN ONE OF THE UNIVERSITY'S IN NIGERIA.

I REALLY NEED A GOD FARING , CARING, DECENT & RESPECTFUL MAN THAT ADORES A WOMAN FOR A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP.

INTERESTED PERSON SHOULD CONTACT ME THROUGH MY PERSONAL NUMBER- O81381O3277.

PLZ IF U'RE NOT GOD FARING MAN, DON'T CALL.

Please attach your picture

Marry the guy and love him. Your friend should go to. . .

bisiaet:

[code]God save us in this country please what make it a big deal now that Bianca was given special adviser for such portfolio? Is this portfolio that much an important position? Why do all things means something else to Nigerians for God sake? Anybody appointed for any position people will say something same was the blablabla during Anenih wife appointment to women affairs and today she is doing her best. Can any one tell me the crime Bianca has commited? Can anyone tells me how what Gej did has anything to do with gaining political support? Political support from who? Ojukwu or who? Does he need Ojukwu or whatever for any support? Or is Bianca and her husband a member of PDP at all?

  

I find it so hard to understand my fellow country men. Does Bianca step on anybody's toes or corrupt or stole anybody's money please why cant she get the appointment is she not a humanbeign? Special adviser is not Minister, not a governor, not Perm. Sec, not a commissioner so what is the big deal in this appointment?

We just like Noise! Noise!! Noise!!! and Noise to create unecessary dissaffection, A much younger generation was appointed to come on board still we complain no wonder IBB says the youth are not ready to lead Nigeria because how do the youth get into the system is it not through this minor appointment for God sake? He did not choose IBB son or daughter nor Atiku or the so called political demons children but a wife of a respected man of Ojukwu status so why all all this noise and rants? God have mercy. No offense this is my own view.

Apologies but this post is senseless

I never thought Jega was going to get this exercise right. It was obvious with all of the hiccups heralding the exercise that a lot could go wrong with the very little or no planning.

And to imagine Jega actually thought he was going to get 70 million ppl registered in 14 days. . .

We know better. . .

Pornodude:

Some months ago when travelling to Eastern Nigeria, just near owerri, we happened across a bunch of misfits / revelers driving a pick-up wagon recklessly and waving a colorful flag and all the while, releasing round after round of shotgun fire into the air like there was no tomorrow. I noticed they kept ululating a particular word at every gunshot fired. the word was Biafra. i cringed inwardly to see that this were a certain group who were to enlighten and educate the public on the gains of joining Biafra. these youths looked drunk and stoned and extremely dangerous. well, on settling down in the motherland, i noticed that the only groups of people that upheld biafra and the biafran dream were the drunks, troublemakers, and the downcast. one welder even boasted openly that he would be one of the governors when biafra takes sit. i cringed once again, but openly. Biafra is a pipe-dream that some who weren't even born when it seemed like a good idea cling to like it were life's bosom. My Igbo brothers and Barbies, pls when the whole world is becoming a global village, would it be proper to continue smoking the pipe of biafra and giving ourselves lucid hallucinations over what wouldn't work in this present time and age. Biafra is not worth all the trouble when i consider the ilk of people who uphold it.

Kpam. i have spoken. pls withhold every attack cos it would only be counterproductive.

You cant be too sure bro

Know something about temperaments This guy is very likely an introvert and your description of him is a major characteristic.

With guys like this, there are positives and negatives. The key negative is that he can get very very insecure and always on the tab to ensure you aint doing the wrong things. Positives? You can almost be sure that this guy will not do anything to break your heart if you dont give him reason to. They are mostly good guys and rarely cheat amongst others.

I dont think you should leave him but you need to do some work of emphasizing your loyalty to the relationship (thats if you really want to keep him)

You must not marry who you love. Just try and love who you have decided to marry.

flipping disaster

johndoe200:

I will not dignify the rubbish you posted above by calling it thought. Why is it that people who are ignorant just come and open their mouths and say things that are untrue? Don't they know it's severely annoying to people with a brain?

GEJ has outlined his vision on so many occasions it is old news. His visions are being made reality while these brainless louts are on a forum trying to irritate us to death. Please do your research before you post, the ability to finger type on a computer keyboard is not a substitute for factual posts.

Of course the nation now understands Goodluck Jonathan's plan. Is it different from the scam 2011 budget he has refused to defend?

Beaf:

And you think the police can be fixed in the next 5 years? I wonder how some people reason. Dude, you are really clueless.
Did you really think before posting this?
It is best not to post than make foolish statements in public.

Pray what does the National Security Adviser (NSA) do? Does Jonathan really have to appoint another Adviser on Terrorism or since when did terrorism cease to be a part of security issues?

@Beaf

If your claim is true that Jonathan is a very popular president, how come you are the only one in many threads who rise in support of Jonathan whenever any issue is up.

Is it that you like to live in illusion or that your just doing what they have asked of you?

t-luv:

Good pple of Nairaland, compliments of d season to y'all. Pls guys, i nid your opinion and advise.


Presently i work wid Airtel as a call center agent (on contract n im stil in deir training skol ).
I got lucky n was offered Access Bank Entry Level. The training skool is likely to resume in early January.


Pls guys, where do u tink I should go for.
Airtel pays 74k wid 24k airtime. I dunno ow much Access will pay cos i heard gist dat dey reviewed d salary downward.

I would go with Access Bank. I was in Access Bank training school too for four months and it doesnt kill anyone. I think the pay in training is now about 45k. we earned 30k when we were there.

Depending on the career you really want to pursue, I think Access Bank in many ways will give you a greater leverage to launch your career because all of the bad things the bank is known for like stressing their staff, tough training etc only make the staff very attractive to other companies (in case you want to jump ship later). . .and you know am saying this from experience.

When you are done with training, the pay will not be less than 100k. Normal executive trainees earn abt 174k but fresh exec trainees will start from a lower level but I hear that the pay differential is not much so it could be well above 100k.

And then, job security in Access Bank is the highest in this industry because we have a very low staff strength so relatively, there is work to do. You can be asked to resign o dont get me wrong but then it must have to do with fraud or fraud related activities. We rarely ask people to resign because of performance these days because such people are now put in a special programme called PIP(performance improvement plan). And of course you know that with all of these CBN issues, no one was laid off from here.

So its ur choice really but Access Bank training school is the next best thing that can happen to anybody (you can find out).

I dont know too much about Airtel so am sorry I cant help you there.

Goodluck as you decide.

Ofido:

Most times u pple talk with lack of the proper information on the things on ground that is why u called our governor Gov. chris obi instead of Peter Obi. But let me ask you,,,,, are from Anambra state? If not why talk wat u do not know. We love the Uba,s in case u do not know. There are fellow brothers so back off anambra issue. We are at peace with them.

Sorry, YOU love the Ubas and of course this would be understandable by the time your profile is identified.

Jonathan can do anything to win PDP primaries even it means destabilizing states that have enjoyed relative peace for sometime now.

Beaf:

I read that one sentence and almost laughed. You are too far from home, come back and make a difference, so you don't view the country through religious eyes. GEJ's only real opponent is the mega thief, Atiku. Who would you rather have?

Buhari could not win his home state and Ribadu is being thrown under the bus by ACN, not that they even begin to compare with GEJ anyway.

Dude, come home and see things as they are on the ground.

am sure a lot of people already said it in this forum.
It will be a very sad day, the day Jonathan becomes a president of this country for another one day after May 29th.

Jonathan as a matter of fact is the worst of all the other guys you have mentioned. This Jonathan just makes me greatly miss late President Yar'Adua

How come Jonathan is looking like an  i.diot in  that picture. . .mumu presido

Hey, hows the handsome-six footer-rich-UK based single guy search goin, mygold-digger

Please keep the leaks coming

I believe very very strongly without any apologies that Soludo is still one of the very few people in this country today that can put forth ideas to develop the economy of this country.

The Zoning arrangement might just be the tool that Nigeria, at this nascence of its democratic experience, will deploy to avoid the maladi that is the case in Cote d'Ivoire today.

Can these guys in EFCC ever stop joking

My sentiments too. . .The guy took his time

Sanusi and National Assembly: A wasted opportunity


Opinion-- "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." Thomas Paine.

The CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) made a statement during a two hour speech in an academic community which made headlines as it touched on the growing debate over the huge cost of government for which, in the light of our decaying national infrastructure, increased borrowing and need to prioritise spending has captured the attention of everyone concerned about the consequences.

The NASS responded to this use of data expectedly - seeking to stem the momentum the CBN Governors statement had stirred up - by inviting him and the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga for a public hearing over two days.

If anyone had thought that this meeting would benefit the Nigerian tax payers, this expectation quickly evaporated as the exchanges went on. It however remains an instructive episode - the video tape of which should be made and shown in schools with a title - A Wasted Opportunity!

THE SENATE HEARING - SUMMARY

Bearing in mind that the foundational data for this controversy emanated from the Budget Office, the NASS public hearing succeeded in revealing three things:

1. that the figures used in managing the economy is subject to dispute between the principal officers of the executive on the one hand and the legislature on the other hand;

2. that the Ministry of Finance has an issue with internal alignment of statistics and data as exemplified in the exchanges described above; and

3. that there remains a need for a clarification of the definition and component parts of what makes up government overheads/recurrent expenditure.

Definition of what is overhead: A follow-through revealed that the CBN relied on two key documents as a guide for its understanding of what constitutes overheads:

(i) the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper from the Ministry of Finance which was forwarded to the NASS under cover letter from the President, in which, on page 40, the total Federal Government overhead as a line item is stated as N536.27b. The CBN represents that this aligns with internal figures.

(ii) The "Citizens' Guidelines to Understanding the 2009 FG Budget", a document published on the MoF official website (http://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/), in which the components of Recurrent Expenditure and Overheads are clearly stated (see Part A, under General Issues, Recurrent Overheads -http://www.proshareng.com/reports/3055)

The exchange between the NASS, HMoF and SLS highlighted the important issue about the unacceptability of a situation where there are different versions on the same statistic/data for decision making in our economy.

The question that however comes to mind is that - why should there be a total overhead figure as stated in (1) above without the inclusion of the 'service-wide' overheads? Why should a 50 year old nation have issues with what constitute its overheads?

THE UNDERLYING MESSAGE

SLS was indeed validating what every Nigerian already knows and is worried about; something I suspect the NASS appreciates but has not fully addressed, or is unable to address without public intervention - that our income side continues to go down while both our capital and recurrent side continues to widen, the consequence of which the monies previously kept aside for a rainy day such as the Excess Crude Account (ECA) no longer exist requiring us now to resort to borrowings - a desperate and unsustainable measure.

The underlying concerns are situated in the following:

1. The widening cost of running Government;

2. The need to be austere, fiscally disciplined and prioritise expenses; and

3. The cost and nature of our political culture, one steeped in patronage and not performance, which alters actions.

Indeed, the nation should be alarmed that if the CBN Governor is making a claim purely on the basis of data contained in the Federal Governments Budget, and he chooses to use same to highlight a point to the next generation - he was simply stating the obvious. Anyone accessing the MoF website can access the same information and arrive at the same conclusions.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED?

1. The CBN Governor publishes his presentation and the source of the publicly available information he relied on. Given that speakers often introduce a comment here and there, a video clip of his presentation can be shown on TV/online. It would appear that not doing this absolves the media of overtly sensationalising the story.

2. The National Assembly issues a rejoinder stating its position or compels the Budget Office to immediately clarify the figures using data it provided the NASS and the CBN Governor.

3. The visit of the HMoF and the CBN Governor presents an opportunity to discuss the main substance of the lecture - the high cost of government and the implications for the economy.

TAKE AWAYS! - LESSONS LEARNT

The increase in apathy and society's disenchantment with the NASS is the symptom of a vacuum in our management of democracy's deliverables. If we are to develop as a nation and strengthen our democracy, this episode offers us valuable lessons that must not be lost, viz:

1. Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character, and SLS sent a message to the future generation that will reverberate for as long as he remains consistent. Based on personal integrity, he inspired all to stand up to the system - that is how change and progress will be achieved.

2. Olusegun Aganga had an opportunity to make a case for the better management of the economy starting with the need to prune down the cost of Government.

3. Legislators cannot heckle, bully or be seen to intimidate invited guests in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly - the heart and soul of our democracy where freedom of thought and expression is protected. This is a learning point in the legislature-executive exchanges for the future; just as invited guests are also expected to conduct themselves properly by giving reasoned responses and information even when not under oath.

4. NASS, it would seem missed the opportunity to engage the public on the cost of running our democracy - be it 3% or 25% - thus rendering the time spent organizing the public inquisition a considered waste.

5. Inter-agency co-operation within government appears disjointed and work is required to ensure that data is centrally co-ordinated - gathered, stored and easily retrievable by those cleared to access same.

6. The day of reckoning is nigh as our resort to borrowings to fund recurrent expenditure appears unsustainable - here the Minister of Finance and the CBN Governor appear to have a congruence of thought.

7. The growing number of unemployed youths and out-of-school young men for whom the legislature ought to be concerned about has reached intolerable proportions and any ray of hope that existed before has been eroded by a creeping feeling of hopelessness, as seen in the misplaced priorities of the NASS who have spent 3 days now addressing a needless subject.

There are decent and hardworking men and women in the NASS who simply want to serve their country and just like what obtains in every sphere of human life, they often go unheard, their efforts fail to make the front pages of newspapers or their voices are drowned in the noise that pervades the clime.

Now, the NASS has an opportunity to do the right thing and draw the curtain on this episode. Our democracy requires it and the people demand for it.

What we however must not do is to miss the opportunity we have now to resolve the challenges exposed about inter-governmental relations; and the reliability, credibility and access to information from the budget office. We are all shareholders in the stock of Nigeria Plc.

By Olufemi Awoyemi, ceo@proshareng.com


http://www.worldstagegroup.com/worldstage/index.php?&id=1373&active=news