₦airaland Forum

But Diran Fawibe, the chairman and chief operation officer of International Energy Services, said that the move by President Goodluck Jonathan to cut the amount to be spent on subsidy is a step in the right direction.He however fears that the labour unions and civil society groups may not allow Jonathan to implement the policy, especially in an election year.

He urged the president to carry the union members and civil society groups along.

He said there would be no point for the president to move such an idea without being able to carry it out, adding that the cost of fuel subsidy would continue to balloon, since the country has no functional refineries .

The Dangote Refinery which is the most viable one in sight, he said, would not come on stream until 2018.

Spending N458.6 billion on fuel subsidy according to him ,is still a lot of money and it would amount to creating jobs for indigenes of other countries .

President Goodluck Jonathan has proposed to cut fuel subsidies in half in a bid to reduce spending after a retreat in global crude prices.

According to David Mark, the Senate President, the government plans to reduce fuel subsidies next year to N458.6 billion ($2.6 billion) from N971.1 billion , citing a revised 2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper submitted by President Jonathan.

The global collapse in oil prices is biting into Nigeria’s income, 70 percent of which comes from crude exports. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala plans to cut expenditure by 6 percent next year and lower the budgeted benchmark oil price to $73 per barrel, from $77.5 this year.

Kerosene subsidies will also be cut to N156 billion, from N250 billion, according to the proposal.

Source: http://businessdayonline.com/2014/11/president-seeks-to-cut-fuel-subsidies-after-oil-decline/#.VG7T7Ye9KSM

“The drop in oil prices is a serious challenge which we must confront as a country. We must be prepared to make sacrifices where necessary. But we should also not forget that we re­tain some important advantages such as a broad economic base driven by the private sector and anchored on sound policies. Our strategy is to continue to strengthen the sectors that drive growth such as agriculture and housing while reducing waste with a renewed focus on prudence,” she noted.

Recalling that in the last three years, the executive, in its discussions on the budget with the National Assembly has consistently advocated prudence and a low budget benchmark to encourage more savings. She stressed that even though the drop in oil prices is a serious challenge, it is also an opportunity for the country to focus on greater diver­sification and refocus efforts towards the non-oil sectors in preparation for a future with less oil revenue.


http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=91265

We should expect multiple strike actions soon

A lot of suffering awaits the masses this Christmas. They have refused to reduce their bogus salaries and allowances and the savings they have made from subsidy due to the reduced price of crude oil will be eaten by them as well while they raise taxes for us.

Nigerians cannot be fooled forever!!

http://businessdayonline.com/2014/11/as-oil-trends-lower-nigeria-adopts-measures-to-stem-impact-on-economy/#.VGlOLYe9KSM


Government would tap up to half of the Excess Crude Account which now stands at $4.1 billion before the end of the year, to be able to meet up with expenditures that are crystallising at the moment, the finance minister said.

The Nigerian Government is working out some surcharges on certain luxury items to make the country’s rich pay a little bit more, as part of several quick measures to ramp up revenue shortfalls, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, co-ordinating minister for the economy and minister for finance, announced yesterday.

The government was adopting a multi-pronged strategic response to mitigate the adverse effects of the decline in global oil prices, which have seen a significant drop in oil revenues for Nigeria since June, Okonjo-Iweala said at a special press conference in Abuja.

Part of those measures is also that Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Budget 2015 proposal to the National Assembly have been revised, as government now proposes a benchmark of $73 dollars per barrel to the National Assembly, compared to the earlier $78. Government spending would also be tightened, especially on foreign travels and trainings, going forward.

“The idea behind the surcharge is that those Nigerians who are well off would be made to contribute a bit more to making the government coffers more robust, so that they share a bit more of the pain,” the minister told journalists in Abuja.

The minister, who stated this in Abuja at a briefing, stated that stringent measures would be adopted to stabilise the economy, stressing that this would include cutting excesses in all civil, public services, strict management of all parastatals, as well as addressing overlapping responsibility of agencies and parastatals.

“The response is a mix of measures designed to boost non-oil revenues further, plug loopholes and waste and cut unnecessary expenditures in order to cope with the situation,” the statement added.

Apart from the benchmark, the government added that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) would also be revised in line with the current trend.

In the statement, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, declared that the Federal Ministry of Finance had been keeping a close eye on movements in global oil prices because of the critical importance of oil as the country’s most important source of revenue.

http://tribune.com.ng/news/top-stories/item/21734-as-oil-prices-fall-2015-budget-to-be-reviewed-okonjo-iweala-to-reduce-budget-benchmark-to-73-expenses-in-civil-public-services-to-be-cut

According to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, there would be no more foreign travels by civil servants unless for purposes that could be fully defended as absolutely necessary.

In addition, foreign training programmes would be stopped and all trainings done in-country.
The exception, she said, would be to secure foreign sponsorship for such travels and training abroad.

The Minister added that the federal government would work to eliminate duplication among the functions of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, by working on the Steve Oronsaye Report.

She, however, observed that since the MDAs to be re-aligned were created by law the National Assembly would be required to repeal such laws before any administrative step could be taken.

Luxury Goods Tax
Part of the immediate steps to cushion the fall in oil revenue, the minister said, was to significantly increase non-oil revenue in the country, as she announced an aggressive tax administration in which, private jets, yachts, Champagne and a list of others to be announced would be taxed.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/fg-introduces-austerity-measures/#sthash.NXFJmECq.dpuf

Comments from Nigerians on Punch newspaper blog:

Ever since the Federal Government has beenrealizing excesses from the crude oil.....nobody knows how much the bench mark was. Now that the bubble is almost burst.....the Federal Government knows that Nigerians are still in existence and decide that it is time to tax them. In the Minister's(Okonjo-Iweala) briefing, she did not mention the hefty wages of the executives, legislatures and the excessive white elephant projects that is being executed to siphon money into privileged and corrupt politicians. None of them will ever take pay-cut including her honorable self. AUSTERITY MEASURE MY FOOT. GOD KNOWS HIS PEOPLE OOOOOOOOOOO.
Ayodele Sanni

Ayelala
Back to 1983.Except this time,there are thousands of corrupt, private jet riding,parasites and leeches


lanre
i dont know how we nigerians allowed madam okonjo to take us for a ride for so long. she's just a con, pure and simple


Bostonceltics
It shows how dishonest and visionless our leaders are.If the youths and Nigerians don't take their destiny in their own hands now the sooner this useless leaders will destroy Nigeria completely.

How can a nation so depend on oil without looking into other sectors . Dubai was once a desert, a leader woke up one day and had a vision for the country and his people and made it today the number one tourist destination in the world.India, china Brazil,malaysia are a force to reckon with in the world because of their leaders

What is the vision of our leaders for Nigeria, Austerity, lack of electricity, stealing and corruption. boko haram etc

Nigeria is the number one country where you go to bed as a Nigerian and wake up the next day as Bill Gate and no one will ask you any question. What did they do when we had surplus, now the price is falling and Nigerians are the ones to pay the price. This is really unfair

APC comment on the new Austerity measures:

The All Progressives Congress, through its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, described the proposed austerity measures as a reflection of the massive corruption inherent in the Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party government .

It argued that it was unfair for the Federal Government to subject Nigerians to austerity measures after frittering away the “petrodollars accruable to the country in the last 15 years.”

The APC said, “This country enjoyed high crude oil prices in the last 15 years. What has the PDP-led Federal Government done with the money in the last 15 years? They simply frittered the money away in massive corruption and misgovernment.

“They now want Nigerians to pay for their corruption and misdirection. Are Nigerians not already under austerity measure? They only want to impoverish us the more. Their ultimate aim is to devalue the naira; that’s their ultimate destination and this is very unfair.

“To make Nigerians, who did not participate in corruption, to suffer is not fair. What provisions have they made for the rainy days?”

Meanwhile, financial experts have said that Nigerians should be ready for a harsh economy in the nearest future as a result of the continued fall in the prices of oil.

The experts, while reacting to the measures adopted by the Federal Government, stated that the decline was only the beginning.

A renowned economist and Chief Executive, Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismark Rewane, stated that the step by the government was a good start, but wondered if the measures would actually cushion the impact of the falling oil prices.

He said, “That is a good start. The most important thing is the fact that the government has come to accept that it has to do something with respect to the falling oil prices. What we are seeing now is not a short-term phenomenon. Whether the therapy is adequate is another issue. But I think it is a good move and it has not ruled out other moves.

“On the $2bn withdrawal from the ECA, I don’t think that will make any impact. The reality is that we have to look at what is important. And what is important is that the Nigerian government has come to terms to the fact that it has to start austerity. So it is encouraging and this is the beginning of a number of steps to be adopted.”

On whether there might be more measures, Rewane said, “Certainly, this is just the beginning. And I will like to say that it will be good for Nigeria to accept the reality on ground presently.”

Also, a former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, said the government’s resolve to adopt austerity measures was not surprising.

He said, “About 80 per cent of our earning is from oil and so it is not a surprise that the government is adopting austerity measures considering the fact that oil prices are falling. This is actually the beginning o things to happen. Apart from imposing tax on luxuries, they should look at how to diversify the economy by creating enabling environment so that industries can thrive.

“Panic is not a strategy. It’s important that our strategies are based on facts and a clear understanding of both the strengths of the economy and the challenges posed by the drop in oil prices which is currently at $79 for our premium Bonny Light Crude.

“The drop in oil prices is a serious challenge which we must confront as a country. We must be prepared to make sacrifices where necessary.

Okonjo-Iweala noted that the reduction in the price of oil might continue but gave assurance that the government was fully prepared to ensure that the economy was not worse-off.

To this end, she said from the $4.1bn (N656bn) in the Excess Crude Account, the government would be withdrawing $2bn (N320bn) between now and the end of this year to take care of critical expenditure.

She said, “We will work in such a way that we won’t deplete the ECA because we have to leave something for next year but we might go to tap about a half of it ($2bn) or slightly less than half to be able to meet expenditures that are crystalising at the moment that we need to make.”

The decline in the price of crude oil may have started taking its toll on Nigeria as the Federal Government on Sunday announced measures aimed at cushioning its impact on the economy.

The Minister of Finance and the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy , Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced this Abuja while addressing journalists on the Federal Government’s response to the crisis in Abuja on Sunday.

The measures which will see Nigerians paying tax on luxury goods, comes barely six days after President Goodluck Jonathan formally announced his intention to contest the February 14, 2015 election.

Okonjo-Iweala, in company with the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Dr Bright Okogu; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla; the Acting Chair, FIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mashi and other top officials, told the journalists that the nation would be experiencing a challenging time owing to the global fall in oil prices.

http://www.punchng.com/news/oil-slump-fg-unveils-austerity-measures/


The minister stressed that even though the drop in oil prices was a serious challenge, it was also an opportunity for the country to refocus efforts towards the non-oil sectors in preparation for a future with less oil revenue.

As part of the efforts to reduce expenditure, she said international travel within the public service would be severely curtailed, adding however, that critical infrastructure projects would not be affected because they were key to economic growth, development and job creation.


She stated that the decline in oil prices had given additional impetus to the Federal Government’s focus on increasing non-oil revenues.

In this regard, the collection target for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which has been working with Mckinsey to increase receipts will be revised upwards for next year.

Se said the country had recorded good success in reaching the initial target set this year of N75bn; noting that so far N65bn of this had been collected.

For 2015, the minister put the revised target at N160bn above the 2014 base.

Okonjo-Iweala also unveiled plans by the government to introduce what she called “tax on luxurious goods,” stating that this was a part of measures aimed at increasing revenue from non-oil sources.

She said that users of luxurious items, such as private jets, yachts, alcoholic beverages and expensive cars, would be required to pay special taxes for such goods.

This will be my last post on Nairaland. There is a conspiracy from the moderators to shut me down.

I broke this story and I was completely ignored like several of my previous posts. Thank you all for your support reading my posts.

I am not craving front page but aknowledgement. I break a story, someone copies it and you transfer the person's post to front page. No hard feelings

They are toying with fire. They told all resident doctors to leave their hospital accommodation with immediate effect

The full circular from the Ministry of Health

Government wants to privatize all hospitals

The Federal Government had just sacked all doctors on strike!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilprices/11030129/Petrol-prices-expected-to-fall-after-Saudis-open-the-oil-taps.html

Petrol prices are poised to fall further after the cost of a barrel of crude oil reached its lowest level this year.

The fall followed the publication of an influential report that showed a glut of crude from Saudi Arabia flowing on to the market and rising stockpiles.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency, the leading oil think tank, said yesterday that the world will consume less crude than experts had thought this year. Saudi Arabia’s supplies are running at the highest level since last September and crude from Libya is back on the market.

Recent figures from Experian Catalist, a petrol analyst, show the typical price of unleaded petrol is almost unchanged this year at 131.3p a litre and the cost of diesel is down from 138.3p to 135.6p.

However, supermarkets are already cutting prices at the pumps in a battle for customers that could be intensified by the slump in crude.

The most powerful force now holding down global prices is the US fracking industry. Shale will boost US output by a further 1.2m b/d this year to a total of 11.5m, increasing America’s lead as the world’s biggest producer.

The agency said OECD inventories rose by 88m barrels in the second quarter, the most since 2006.The sudden shift in the balance of the market has allowed the OECD club of rich states to build up their oil stocks at the fastest rate in eight years.

Supply rises by a further 300,000 b/d beyond what was already planned. The warning sent Brent crude prices tumbling to $104 a barrel, the lowest this year.

Falling prices will ratchet up the pressure on[b] Russia, which needs a price near $110 to balance its budget.[/b] While it has a reserve fund to cover any shortfall, this would be depleted fast if oil falls anywhere near $80 and Russia goes into a deep recession. Most of Russia’s energy revenues come from oil, not gas.

Libya’s output doubled to 430,000 b/d in July from a month earlier despite the continuing war between rival militias for control of the country’s oil wealth. Saudi Arabia cranked up its production to more than 10m b/d, the highest since last September.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilprices/11029810/Russia-vulnerable-as-oil-prices-hit-nine-month-low-on-IEA-glut-warnings.html


Oil prices have fallen to a nine-month low as surging supply from Opec and the US floods the market and fresh demand wilts, leading to an “oil glut” in the Atlantic region despite the twin crises in Iraq and Russia.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its forecast for the rise in global consumption to just 1m barrels a day (b/d) this year due to near recession conditions in Europe and as pervasive weakness in the world economy disappoints.

This comes as supply rises by a further 300,000 b/d beyond what was already planned. The warning sent Brent crude prices tumbling to $104 a barrel, the lowest this year.


The United States are trying to cause severe damage to the Russian economy along with the Saudis like what they did earlier that lead to the break up of the Soviet Union when oil hovered between $10-20 for decades.

The question is are we prepared for the 1) Upcoming oil glut and crash in crude prices 2) Economic effects of protracted Ebola infections and fear

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-12/one-question-about-ebola-nobody-can-seem-answer

Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog,

How in the world is it possible that more than 170 health workers have been infected by the Ebola virus? That is the one question about Ebola that nobody can seem to answer. The World Health Organization is reporting this as a fact, but no explanation is given as to why this is happening.

We are just assured that Ebola “is not airborne” and that getting infected “requires close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person”. If this is true, then how have more than 170 health workers caught the disease? These workers are dressed head to toe in suits that are specifically designed to prevent the spread of the virus.

So how is this happening? I could understand a handful of “mistakes” by health workers, but this is unlike anything that we have ever seen in the history of infectious diseases. These health workers take extraordinary precautions to keep from getting the virus. If it is spreading so easily to them, what chance is the general population going to have?

http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2014/08/10/cdc-changes-risk-criteria-for-ebola-transmission-to-being-in-the-same-room-or-within-3-feet-of-infected-individual/

The key extract is contained within the second image which says:

Low risk exposures
A low risk exposure includes any of the following

Household member or other casual contact1 with an EVD patient

Providing patient care or casual contact1 without high-risk exposure with EVD patients in health care facilities in EVD outbreak affected countries*

The footnote (1) which is highlighted in the section above says the following:

1 Casual contact is defined as a) being within approximately 3 feet (1 meter) or within the room or care area for a prolonged period of time (e.g., healthcare personnel, household members) while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment (i.e., droplet and contact precautions–see Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations); or b) having direct brief contact (e.g., shaking hands) with an EVD case while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment (i.e., droplet and contact precautions–see Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations). At this time, brief interactions, such as walking by a person or moving through a hospital, do not constitute casual contact.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-10/cdcs-worst-nightmare-or-what-nigeria-has-look-forward




Dr. Tom Frieden ✔ @DrFriedenCDC
Follow
Deeply concerned about Ebola spread in Lagos, Nigeria. Urgent emergency response needed.
4:17 AM - 5 Aug 2014

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ebola-how-50-year-old-nurse-and-mother-of-four-succumbed-to-death-after-treating-liberian-weapon-of-mass-destruction/185934/

But there are fears about how feasible it would be to identify all secondary contacts. For instance, the driver who conveyed Sawyer from the airport to First Consultant Hospital was said to have ran to his village before he was later found and quarantined for further observation.
Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, noted this while confirming that relvant authorities know the whereabouts of all primary contacts, but "secondary contacts are much more in number and knowing about them depends on information given by the primary contact.”

There are also worries about the dearth of care-givers at the quarantine center. It was gathered that only one caregiver, who is a WHO official, is attending to the seven confirmed carriers of the virus at the center, all of whom are said to be in a hall – a development that showed that Nigeria was really not prepared for this kind of an infectious disease outbreak.

Already President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a national emergency and approved N1.9 billion special fund to combat the disease, while the minister of health has announced government’s intention to provide insurance cover for those willing to be caregivers.

Four new cases of Ebola were reported in Nigeria on Aug. 8, and all of the cases were in people who had contact with the Liberian-American man who died from Ebola last month, The Washington Post first reported.

Gregory Hartl, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, told The Washington Post that “they’re all contacts of Patrick Sawyer,” and that they include cleaners and hospital and health care workers.

Sawyer collapsed after getting off a plane in Nigeria, having traveled from Liberia. A doctor and nurse who treated him have also contracted the virus and died.

The WHO reports that there are now 13 probable or suspected cases of Ebola in Nigeria.

The news comes as Nigeria’s president declared a national state of emergency over the outbreak. Nigeria’s president also approved emergency funds equivalent to $11.7 million to “strengthen steps to contain the virus such as … additional isolation centers, case management, contact tracing, deployment of additional personnel, screening at borders, and the procurement of required items and facilities,” a spokesman for the president told Reuters.

The World Health Organization also declared the current West Africa Ebola outbreak to be an international public health emergency; Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have reported cases and deaths of the deadly virus. Nearly 1,000 people have died from the outbreak since it started earlier this year

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/08/nigeria-ebola-cases-patrick-sawyer_n_5662732.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

It's been confirmed. She had her baby at First Consultant Hospital before Sawyer was admitted but had to take her baby back because of a fever while sawyer was in chronic conditions.

She went to another hospital when the facility was shut down by the govt after saeyer's death. When she came to NNPC Clinic few days ago with 41 degrees fever, she lied about being anywhere near First Consultant Hospital after delivery until a nurse on routine visit saw her and confirmed that she was there while sawyer was there too.

This nursing mother had 3 other children and just like other patients discharged from First Consultant Hospital when it was shut, she's had interactions with several other patients and health officials without being checked or screened first, especially interactions with doctors and patients alike at NNPC Clinic.

This means the primary and secondary contacts of these people and also their primary and secondary contacts are potentially susceptible to this virus. And NNPC Clinic has closed down and sent all its patients and personnel away without testing/screening them first. I'm just resting on the hope that contacts were made while the virus wasn't yet contagious.

We need help, we need screening centers and laboratories where Nigerians can check their status.

We also need sensible directives from organizational heads to try screening potential carriers instead of sending them on their ways to further interact with the uninfected populace. We need help to halt the spread of this virus fast! Lord please help my motherland!!

“Easily this present outbreak is going to surpass that in fatalities, as well as overall cases,” he said. “It is clear to say that the disease is uncontained and it is out of control in West Africa. The international response to the disease has been a failure, and it is important to understand that.”

As of Thursday, WHO reported that the Ebola crisis ravaging Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria had killed 932 people, with 1,711 confirmed and suspected cases.

“Our epidemiologists and medical personnel believe that these numbers represent 25 to 50 percent of what is happening,” Isaacs testified.

Ebola only spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids. It cannot be transmitted through airborne particles. But there is no cure or treatment for the virus, which has a death rate of roughly 60 percent.


Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/07/5093279/ebola-effort-criticized.html#storylink=cpy

Isaacs told of a prominent Liberian doctor who “openly mocked the existence of Ebola” by trying to enter a hospital isolation ward with no gloves or protective clothing. He and another man who accompanied him to the hospital both died within five days, Isaacs said.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/07/5093279/ebola-effort-criticized.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/07/5093279/ebola-effort-criticized.html#.U-Uut4e9KSM

WASHINGTON In stark, often chilling congressional testimony on Thursday, an official with a relief organization responding to the Ebola crisis in West Africa labeled efforts to control the virus a failure.

Ken Isaacs, a vice president with Samaritan’s Purse, a North Carolina-based Christian humanitarian organization, also said the number of Ebola cases and deaths reported by the World Health Organization are probably 25 percent to 50 percent below actual levels.

During testimony before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Isaacs told lawmakers that volunteers in the affected countries were in dire need of enhanced international support, including aircraft equipped to transport Ebola patients, more laboratories to speed the processing of blood tests and more security for health workers who face violence and a lack of cooperation from distrustful villagers.