₦airaland Forum

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/vaption-former-president-olusegun-obasanjo/201562/


He expressed the view that Buhari would be well equipped to combat corruption and restore the fighting spirit to an army that has struggled in the face of the onslaught by Boko Haram, which has seized a swath of territory in the North-east.

“It’s a question of leadership — political and military,” Obasanjo said of the crisis facing the army.

“I think you need to ask (Jonathan) how has he let (the army) go to this extent… Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; welfare was bad.”

The former leader also expressed dismay at the extent to which billions of dollars in oil revenues had “all disappeared” since he left office, when reserves had reached $45 billion and the government had $20bn more in rainy day savings (Excess Crude Account).

Speaking ironically of the negative impact on tumbling oil prices on government reserves, Obasanjo added: “There’ll be less in the pot, for stealing or corruption.”

In a related development, Buhari has asked Jonathan and the PDP to come clean on the speculations in the public domain that there are plans by his government to scuttle elections and impose an interim government on the country.

A statement from the Buhari Presidential Organisation also decried what it termed embedded vested interests and sinister motives behind the postponement of the polls, warning that Jonathan should open up in order to avert unrest and possible civil disobedience that could scuttle the country’s hard-earned democracy.

The statement issued yesterday on behalf of Buhari by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Council, Malam Garba Shehu, frowned on the unholy alliance between the Jonathan government, the PDP and the military for the purpose of subverting the franchise of the people in the rescheduled presidential and other elections on March 28 and April 11, respectively.

“If the witch cried in the night and the baby died in the morning, it would not be a mere coincidence. Hence, the body of civilised and democratic people around the world believes that the security excuse used by this unpopular government to prolong the polls is untrue and pretentious.

“What type of democracy allows compromising security chiefs to determine when elections would hold or not? Now, the National Security Adviser (NSA) has become the megaphone for this government.

“He went to Chatham House in the UK to call for election postponement which he has now obtained. Next, he claims he would crush Boko Haram within six weeks. What if he can’t, will there be a further excuse to extend the elections and create a constitutional impasse? Nigerians are no fools and nobody can pull soiled cotton over our eyes anymore.

“We are inundated with information as to how this government wants to tamper with due process by discrediting INEC and even sack its chairman, raise false alarms, rig the elections with military connivance and eventually scuttle democracy, replacing it with an interim government.

“For all we know and can see, the contraption of an interim government has no place in the constitution as former President Obasanjo said on BBC Monday night.

“President Jonathan must come clean on these allegations. He is the Commander-in-Chief, and not the NSA. Hence he must, as a matter of urgency, speak to the nation and the world on these salient allegations.

The list contains tax cheats and drug dealers

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-09/if-your-name-list-prepare-be-audited-or-worse

In November 2014, Forbes magazine ranked him as the richest man in Africa and the 23rd in the world with an estimated fortune of $21.6 billion. Aliko Dangote is the founder and the current CEO of the Dangote Group, a conglomerate operating in 16 African countries. The Nigerian mogul made his fortune in the production of four major commodities: sugar, salt, flour and cement. However, his businesses have expanded to other sectors, including oil and real estate. He is also the president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Reuters reported a Nigerian government announcement in the summer of 2014 that Dangote Group had donated $150 million to stop the spread of Ebola. In October 2014, Nigeria was declared Ebola free.

File details

He became an HSBC client in 2003 and was a beneficial owner of a client account with the Swiss bank from July 2003 to August 2004. The account appeared in the name of Development Projects Corporation. The leaked files placed its registration address in the British Virgin Islands.

Thanks

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/daily/business/44987-naira-at-record-low-trade-at-n195-dollar-at-bdc

Naira yesterday traded at record low against the United State of America’s dollar, both the interbank and street markets.

At the Bureaux De Change market, the currency traded at N195 to a dollar in Abuja and around 193 in Lagos, which is the lowest in the history.

While at the interbank, trading opened with the naira fell to a record intraday low of 191.97 to the dollar, recovering to 190.45 naira by 1220 GMT. It had closed at a record low of 189.20 the previous day, before a central bank decision on interest rates, according to Reuters.

It took the intervention of Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA), after their meeting in Lagos yesterday to save the currency. The dealers agreed to halt trading if there is a more than 2 percent intraday slide in the naira, which is being hit by the oil price slump and is at risk of speculative attacks.

Dealers said they feared that if they did not act to curb the naira’s slide, the currency could head to 200 to the dollar, creating extreme volatility and adding to deteriorating liquidity conditions.

Accumulation of Dollars is the way forward as Inflation will soon eat away at peoples savings!!!

Time to stock up on Dollars before it becomes 250 to the Naira!!

This is to inform all authorized dealers that in continuation of the review of developments in the foreign exchange market and to curb speculative demand in the market, both rDAS and interbank funds should henceforth be used, strictly for funding of Letters of Credits, Bills for Collection and Other invisible transactions, subject to appropriate documentation as provided by extant regulations.

Consequently, RDAS and Interbank funds no longer be sold to BDCs and other Authorised Buyers.

Meanwhile, the weekly sales of forex to BDCs will be sustained by the CBN based on the liquidity needs of the market.

In addition, the Net Foreign Exchange trading position has been reviewed upward, from 0.1% of the “shareholder's fund" unimpaired by losses, to 0.5% of the "shareholder's fund" unimpaired by losses.

Todays Rate on Black Market: BUY 193, SELL 195 and definitely set to rise higher. There is FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN !!!


http://www.proshareng.com/news/25691

“I know that God did not create Nigeria not to be rich or great. Is it that the people he created in Nigeria are not knowledgeable enough or not intelligent enough? Or is it that they don’t know their rights? Our problems in Nigeria lie with the leadership. Let’s look at the foundation of our leadership.

In the profession I know very well, the military, what we normally say is that there are no bad soldiers but bad officers. If you see a situation where the soldiers are not doing well, we need to examine the officers in charge. So it is in the family, the community, the town and the country.

“Truly, the price of crude has fallen, but anyone who is wise enough should know that since we depend on just one resource and since we have no control over its pricing, we should be planning for this type of situation and the way out of it. Our inability to have a reserve has brought us into this economic quagmire.

“If we are going to solve unemployment problem, it is through agriculture and not through oil and gas. Now, we have no alternative. Agriculture is renewable because the land can be used over and over again, but, once a barrel of oil is gone, it’s gone forever.”
On the February elections, Obasanjo claimed that he’s not apprehensive as being speculated. He also advised the electorate to vote for candidates with integrity and good records.

This is how much Buhari is loved in the North, a PDP campaign poster carries his face in the middle!!

God help us

Besides, it was gathered that President Goodluck Jonathan had, during his recent visit to the Minna Hilltop home of former military leader; General Ibrahim Babangida, discussed details of Buhari’s health with the former military leader, a development that was said to have prompted the Minna General to turn his support to Jonathan.

It was also gathered that prominent Northern leaders have already got wind of the discussions between IBB and Jonathan, leading to red hot discussions on the way forward in 2015.

“If anything happens to Buhari, power will return to the South-West less than a decade after President Obasanjo left Aso Rock. The prospects are grim, both for the North and even the South-East that is queuing for their own turn,” another Northern top brass said at the weekend.

The APC must really be deceitful to bring him up as their joint candidate, wasnt there other options. Even Atiku is more articulate

When was this interview?

The exchange rate for the dollar in Abuja parallel market, otherwise called the black market, on Wednesday rose to between N182 and N186, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the nation’s currency by N13, an investigation by a News Agency of Nigeria correspondent revealed.

This is against the new official exchange rate N168 announced on Tuesday by the Governor of CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

The NAN correspondent, who checked near the Sheraton Hotel, Zone 4, Abuja, the rendezvous for most ‘black’ market operators, found that the lowest naira exchange to the official exchange rate was N182.

Some of the operators told NAN that the difference between their rate and the official rate was to accommodate the “extra charges’’ they pay to “dealers’’ they got the hard currency from.

http://www.punchng.com/news/devaluation-naira-hits-n186-in-parallel-market/

On the black market you will need 182 Naira today to buy Dollar.

http://313bdc.com/

http://nairametrics.com/b-r-e-a-k-i-n-g-cbn-devalues-the-naira/

The Central Bank Just concluded its Monetary Policy Meeting where it announced that was going to devalue the Naira from the current N155 to N168 representing a 7.7% devaluation and by far one of the most drastic decision ever taken by a fresh CBN Governor.

Here are highlights of the MPR Communique

Devalued the naira from N155 to N168 with a 5% corridor
Increase Private sector CRR to 20%
Increase Monetary Policy Rate to 13% from 12%

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-25/nigeria-raises-rates-devalues-defend-collapsing-currency-oil-price-blowback-spreads

Having exposed the demise of various oil-producing nations' currencies previously, it is noteworthy that Nigeria folded today and devalued the Naira peg to the USDollar by over 8% from 155 to 168 and widened its 'intervention' bands from 3% to 5% (the upper band is where the market is trading).

Furthermore, the central bank raised rates from 12% to 13%.

All oil-producing nations are seeing dramatic pressure on their currencies since oil topped...

The adjusted peg appears to 'try' to cap the collapse of the currency at current levels after the old peg-band was crushed a few weeks ago... and Nigeria is rapidly running out of reserves to defend its currency.

This shows you the envy people have for doctors. They can call them names but if anybody else should strike it is ok even if they die.
I think Nigerians generally have an extremely low IQ and poor sense of self esteem and that is why i advise people to go into preaching to maximize gains from the gullible citizens of this country.

UCH is completely grounded meanwhile it means nothing to the public but if doctors just threaten strikes; we are called witches and wizards. A very daft public i must say.

Nigeria tried to end subsidy in 2012 in efforts to cut government spending and encourage badly needed investment in local refining, doubling the price of a litre of petrol overnight to about 150 naira ($0.93) from about 65 naira.

The move angered citizens, who see cheap petrol prices as the only benefit they derive from living in an oil-rich country, and lead to 8 days of nationwide strikes. The government later reinstated part of the subsidy to end the strikes.

The budget proposals assumed an exchange rate of 162 naira to the U.S. dollar for 2015, weaker than 160 naira assumed for 2014.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKCN0J604220141122

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria plans to cut subsidies on petroleum products by half next year after sharp falls in global crude prices, spurred the government to revise its 2015 budget downwards, data from the revised budget seen by Reuters showed on Friday.

President Goodluck Jonathan submitted the revised budget figures to lawmakers this week, proposing to spend 458.68 billion naira ($2.59 bln) on petrol subsidy in 2015, down from 971.14 billion naira presented for 2014.

It also assumed further cuts to petrol subsidies in 2016 to 408.68 billion naira and 371.18 billion naira for 2017.

Nigeria's finance minister has proposed lowering the assumed benchmark oil price for the country's 2015 budget to $73 per barrel from the $78 proposed in September, after global crude prices collapsed.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on Thursday that declines in the price of oil, which has lost almost 30 percent since July, would impact Africa's largest economy and top oil producer, requiring the government to cut non-essential spending and raise more revenues.

This is the current rate

Please use xe.com to get the real rate and not your 419 website

This is what happened on Wednesday:-

http://businessdayonline.com/2014/11/cbns-300m-forex-supply-fails-to-lift-naira/#.VG9lYzTF_To

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) supply of $300 million at the bi-weekly Retail Dutch Auction (RDAS) could not lift the nation’s currency as the naira continued its falling spree with 85k loss to the US dollar at the inter-bank market.

After trading on Wednesday, the local currency closed at N174.15 against N173.30 on Tuesday, compounding the volatility in the foreign exchange market.

The CBN on Wednesday offered a total of $300 million but only $114 million was sold to some banks at the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS).

The apex bank has spent billions of dollars defending the naira, hit by falling global oil prices, in the past month. But despite repeated interventions, the naira closed at a new low of N174.15 on Wednesday.

http://businessdayonline.com/2014/11/naira-shed-0-76-percent-to-close-at-a-record-low-of-177-45/#.VG9i-zTF_To

The naira shed 0.76 percent on Friday to close at a record low of 177.45 against the dollar, despite the central bank intervening for a fifth straight day with dollar sales to try to prop up the currency, dealers said.

“The demand (for dollars) out there is quite serious … The market is absorbing all central bank intervention and still depreciating,” one dealer said.

“We had FDI (foreign portfolio investments) inflows in the past … which has dried up,” he said.

http://businessdayonline.com/2014/11/naira-shed-0-76-percent-to-close-at-a-record-low-of-177-45/#.VG9i-zTF_To


The naira shed 0.76 percent on Friday to close at a record low of 177.45 against the dollar, despite the central bank intervening for a fifth straight day with dollar sales to try to prop up the currency, dealers said.

“The demand (for dollars) out there is quite serious … The market is absorbing all central bank intervention and still depreciating,” one dealer said.

“We had FDI (foreign portfolio investments) inflows in the past … which has dried up,” he said.

Jaiyeola Andrews in Abuja

Owing to the slump in oil prices, the federal government on Thursday disclosed that it had mapped out measures to increase taxes and other forms of internally generated revenue (IGR) in the country.

The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, stated this when she briefed State House correspondents after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held at the Presidential Villa.

The NEC also called for a review of the proposed amendment to the Act on the harmonisation of taxes and levies across the federation.

She added that the measures were announced by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“It further directed the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Joint Tax Board and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to commence the process of amending the VAT Act with emphasis on a review of the rate.

“Council also considered and approved the attached schedule containing the reviewed list of taxes and levies collectable by the three tiers of government for publication by the Joint Tax Board (JTB).

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/oil-price-slump-fg-to-increase-taxes-igr/194681/

Political Office holders consume up to 30% of our entire budget. They are the ones to make sacrifices and not us. Don't let them feed you with lies from a compromised press who they have got in their pockets.

They are also increasing VAT and all taxes too so as to impoverish us more

Fuel queues will start appearing this December, please store fuel safely to avoid the effect of scarcity this December.

Imagine fuel scarcity with useless Naira, the Naira is 176 to Dollar officially and 180 in the black market.

What a black December awaits Nigerians

Speaking in the same vein , Austin Nweze of Pan Atlantic University said that subsidy would create jobs for other countries at the expense of Nigerians

He said in the short run, the cut may affect the price of fuel, as it would go up temporarily, but in the long run, it would benefit Nigerians.

The government, he said, should remove subsidy completely and encourage the establishment of refineries in the country, adding that such a move would encourage competition in the price of fuel.

He however expressed fears that corruption may pose as an obstacle, as those that are benefitting from the corrupt system may work against the proposal.



Wicked Nigerians. The price of fuel will not go up because crude oil has dropped and refined fuel is about 95 Naira per liter on the international market. Nigerians are just too greedy.