₦airaland Forum

I am downcast that this man wants us to revise our projections to tolerate his incompetence which is manifesting in his obvious lack of preparation; a seeming confusion about the state of things and the need for urgency and decisiveness. To think that he finds it convenient to waste our time with suspense and leave us to speculate on his advisers and cabinet at this point makes it the more frustrating. If he thinks we would give him all of four years to stay dazed, then he has grossly underestimated us!

These Igbo groups are damn irritating! The same fellas whose threat was ignored by the Oba of Lagos and same empty chest-beating gangsters who were humbled by Lagosians. This ethnic stock is the most guilty of celebrating criminals and condoning criminality. Ojukwu was a loser as such they should raise a fresh warlord and grow the balls to execute their threat. Enough of the hot air already! They should bring it on

Nice concept that is. Buh on the strenght of the promises this man and his party made before the elections, he is doomed to fail because they are both senseless and unrealistic. How he intends to feed school children; give a category of unemployed people 5000 naira stipend monthly; fight corruption after he conned us about making his Assets' Declaration public; pursue reforms when he doesn't seem to know what our problems are beats me. He has my best wishes for the success of his administration but so far he is yet to justify the confidence some of us had in him.

Kenobus:
Those people pretending that there is no subsidy should discount and discredit this report. GMB and Apc must be told to do something quick before the situation get worse. GMB is acting as if nothing is happening; instead of him to give direction. Afterall the Ministry of petroleum is there.
The shame of our past mistake is what is preventing Nigerians from actions so far and equally giving the new Government some time to settle. However, the suffering is getting worse by the day. Thank God that some major marketers are selling at N87; while many are selling at N120.
I expect Prof Tam David-West to prove this report wrong.

In making my contribution, I'd assume PMB would show sensitivity and act in a timely manner to abort this unsustainable subsidy regime. While himself and that blockhead Tam David West study the related hand-over notes to understand that there is indeed subsidy, though returning a bloated bill, the better for us. This men should understand that while these marketers are pocketing an extra 20 naira at least, in addition to their agreed margins while the mass of the people gain nothing.

God forbid that we may one day wish that Jonathan retained the position. I feel immensely disappointed that Buhari seem to have aspired for the presidency for more than 12yrs without an idea of what to do for the good of the public. How disgusting it is to think that a man of 73 seem unable to assert himself because he may have his eyes set on a second term. With the deceit of a public declaration of asset already executed, it won't be wrong to say PMB is grossly overrated on his 'unique' selling points of honesty and integrity. All too soon, I am beginning to realise we have elevated a loafer to draw salaries and allowances for the next 4yrs while condemning our country to either stagnation or regression. . . .and to all these hausa people priding themselves as powerbrokers and emerging from the blues, we are watching you.

dapyd1:
I think very soon, if things continue like this unemployed graduates will just form a union, blow up a few strategic locations and demand amnesty.
What sort of country do we live in that every one who performs an act of treason is granted amnesty.
It shows military weakness.
It shows criminality encouragement.
It shows leadership frailties.
It doesn't work eventually except you want to keep it running forever.

Just how insensitive and irresponsible can this man be? Amnesty with his father's money? Does this demented public servant have a care for the welbeing of this country at all? While a lot of us from the SS are rooting for the discontinuation of the amnesty for ND militants, this buffoon comes around to insult us with a demand for amnesty for BH? Does it mean that if unemployed graduates can network to cause mayhem in the country, they would get amnesty? Honestly speaking, it's high time we revise the parameters for continuing this union called Nigeria. If we can't get regional autonomy, then Nigeria can cease to exist! Such way, they are free to breed their militia; decimate their population; ravage their economy and grant them amnesty from the proceeds from their urine and faeces. What nonsense!

PointB:
Okonjo Iweala herself has stated she's not perfect.

I think it's uncharitable to indeed call NOI publication of the ECA figures as 'activism'. This is not the first time her office has reacted to malicious and downright mischievous claim by the governors, or indeed anyone at that. Clarifying insinuations has been a consistent policy of her office. So calling it activism, or acting out of fear as Governor Oshiomole called it is downright laughable. Actually, Oshimole fits that profile by miles on the basis on this belated rants.

Now to the issue raised by Governor Oshiomole. Isn't it interesting that on one hand Governor Oshiomole claimed that the administration of the ECA fund is shrouded in mystery, while on the other hand he's rolling out figures claiming how the ECA funds was ran? If he doesn't have the details as he claimed, then on what basis is he feeding us with the unsubstantiated figures? What are his sources? Are his claims correct, complete, and accurate? Who corroborates him? Why should I swallow hooks, line, and sinker, the words of a man who started by confirming his ignorance? What kind of people believe a self confessed ignoramus?

Isn't it time we ascertain facts dispassionately, rather than being fickle minded to believe everything we read?

Where was Oshiomole, when NOI stated that a some point, as revenue dropped, allocations to States were augmented with funds from ECA? Is this information true or not? Is Governor Oshiomole also ignorant of the drop in revenue as oil price crashed? Didn't he receive the augmented allocation?

Is also true that State Commissioner for Finance of the various State Government are present at some of those meeting where these decisions were taken? Did Oshiomole debrief his commissioner to get clearer picture? If he didn't, why blame the Minister for his laziness induce ignorance?

As far as this issue is concerned, 3 versions would be least number that can unravel: Oshiomhole's, NOI's and the truth! But in all of these, be assured that my perspective is both rational and without bias. From Oshio baba's article it appears the only thing he is sure of is the withdrawal/disbursement of $4bn. All other analysis are empirically based on a bopd production figure of 2.3m; an average price of $108 per bbl and extrapolated from 2013. I may have to retract the use of the word 'activism' to describe NOI's publication in agreement with your argument that she has been consistent with such action whenever there is a contestation, however holes as highlighted by Oshiomhole and myself should be easy to spot by a discerning mind.

AfricanGod2:
I think we're getting to the same page here. Like I said, she should be held accountable but governors should not expect her to give accounts to them. All this nonsense is simply a way to distract people from their glaring failures as governors.

Governors, are absolute failures in administration and accountability. But, as opposed to you, it's NOI's latest stunts at activism that I see as an effort at deflecting a probe on her failures and improbity. When she released her ECA disbursement records and told us that Sure-P, Subsidy payments as well as equity out-flows were drawn by the 3 tiers of govt on same account, I know many were fooled and sufficiently deceived into demanding accounts from their governors. From Oshiomhole's article, it's clear madam is very far from making full disclosures: accruals are not accounted for; some withdrawals amount to duplication e.g subsidy and sure-p payments; balance is far from accurate; crude oil theft is official! It is my hope that one day, soon enough, these administrators would be brought back to render proper account so we can get restitution for the damage their plunder has caused our country.

On it should be inscribed: Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan (PhD), Accidental President of Nigeria, 2010- May 29 2015; The man who doesn't know; has no clue and doesn't give a damn!

This guy is in the class of Ogbeni Gbaruff AareEgbeRascal.

MrMcJay:
One of the marks of a man is taking responsibility for his actions. If GEJ isn't man enough and responsible enough to defend his actions, he shouldn't have aspired to any leadership position.

That being said, If Buhari wants to probe Jonathan, a thousand dumb thugs can't stop him. The same group gave TY Danjuma a 7-day ultimatum that expired ages ago, he didn't mind them and they scurried off with their tails in between their legs.

God bless you bro! Those fools threatened violence should Jonathan lose; they bought endorsements, wanted to manipulate the system, spent heavily but lost yet the sky is still blue! It has to be told that Jonathan does not command any followership and thus should be adequately dealt with. Any opposition to the course of justice for Jonathan and his gang should crushed with brute force.

Naijiant:
And if he is just disenchanted, he couldn't just chill out in Daura.

It would help you a lot if you could come to terms with the fact that you're not Buhari's chaperon and has no say on how he plans his movement. Like I always insist, should he have a need to see a doctor when he falls sick or suspects ill-health, he is at liberty to consult the best doctors he can afford, wherever they may be. And whether he stays healthy for a part or the whole of his tenure shouldn't give you fits. He contested and won; God takes care of life and we pray He keeps him, not all this bad rumours you delight in spreading like the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Naijiant:
And you know the info is false b/c there is a good reason for the president-elect to be holed up in the UK 2 days b/4 his inauguration! It is a lot easier for you to abuse than to think. Why else is he in the UK? Think about it.

My bro, while it is distasteful to make such speculation, I want to assure you that you would hear it first from Fayose if it were true. As for the reason the guy's holed up in the UK than 2 days to his swearing-in? Baba, presumably, is very disenchanted with the lack of cooperation with his transition committee and doesnt want to be part of the 'glamorous' line-up of events arranged by an unfriendly and suspect predecessor. He makes no pretenses about it and that's why I like baba's style.

barcanista:
I have nothing against GMB. In cases like this there is always conflict of interest most times. Looking at Keyamo, he is yet to secure any major conviction since working for EFCC. What does that tell you?

U may have to tell some other folk about having nothing against GMB, as no veneer has been effective enough in concealing your meat against him. Talking about conflict of interest, I could recall my exasperation at hearing that Keyamo was lead prosecuting counsel in EFCC's case against Sylva during his re-arraignment and a number of forumites also attest to your opposition to such brief. So, what then is dishonorable in withdrawing from the case? On Keyamo's inability to secure a high-profile conviction, I honestly donno! Maybe, it's due to lapses in our justice system or interference from the boss to whom 'stealing is not corruption' or incompetence on his part.

barcanista:
He is not seen as an APC member, he's actually an APC member. Because we queried GEJ use of Keyamo doesn not justify the conflict of interest by Buhari. We aren't dumb to know that Buhari did what he did so as to get Sylva off the hook and not for justice sake(assuming the report is true)

*Note the words in bracket*

Can you honestly tell me that a card-carrying PDP member cannot secure a conviction in this case should he be sufficiently debriefed? For me, it would have been more suspect if Keyamo continued with this trial, as an APC chieftain, and eventually loses compared with disqualifying himself from further prosecuting the case for undisclosed reasons. Being in opposition is respectable, but please apply a decent measure of objectivity.

God just would be God! He promoted this man beyond his competences just to punish us. But, in all of these we still thank Him that we're close to end of this traumatic nightmare!

flint59:
I thank Ifeanyi Uba for shaming the wicked team Oil Marketers and saving Nigerians the agony they have been going through these few weeks. May God bless him and continue to prosper him. A number of questions have been popping up in my mind since then:
i. The govt in the past six years or so had always owed and paid these Marketers. Why did they decide to close down their facilities at the wee hours of this administration just because of a single debt.
ii. Why are the Marketers reluctant to engage in proper verification as has always been the case before their claims are paid?
iii. Why did they say the banks had closed their lines of credit when infact the banks confirmed that the facilities are still open?
iv. Why did they claim they had no products when in actual fact they have stock that will last for some reasonable time and save us this agony?
v. Who are the leaders of this body and where are they from?
vi. Why has the ever vociferous APC kept mute all this while?
vii. Why has the President-elect said nothing about this issue that has negatively affected all Nigerians as he has always done in other issues?
Thank God May 29 is close by and I hope and pray that the APC miracles will start manifesting pronto. But all I know that what goes round comes round

Do learn to apportion blames appropriately, sensibly and responsibly. If this groundswell of discontent with the state of things ultimately leads to massive civil unrest, coupled with the debilitating strikes which are ongoing (and others whose notice have been served), there may not be a President-Elect to 'blame'. Is there no president currently?

Subsidy and SURE-P payments also made from the Excess Crude Account? Is Subsidy not captured in the budgets of the respective periods? Was input into the SURE-P Account not supposed to come from the product price hike of 2012? What does this woman take us for?

Sacluxpaint:
Removal of the subsidy is a good motive, but the 1st attempt was ill-timed and despite that Nigeria was debt FREE, even when we were buying at N65, now tell me what happened after 5 yrs, $60bn debt?

I honestly don't know what you mean sir.

philips70:
He is even lying. He based his judgement on the earlier still pictures released. The motion pictures that later surfaced said something entirely different and that the president-elect was well received and matters of mutual benefit were discussed. Even if what he said was true, is that the current problem Nigerians are facing? In my opinion Buhari should boycott everything and appear in Eagle square on the 29th and snatch whatever baton from the slowpoke and escort him out of Abuja. These guys don't appreciate the big mess they have landed Nigerians at all. If they do they wont be coming with this useless release at this time Nigerians are suffering the worst suffer of their lifetime.

Most unfortunate what these fellas prioritize. Dunces that refused technical cooperation to his transition committee want him to be part of their jamboree abi? Na crase dey worry dem!

shaqhead:
Chill Mr, Yes "Subsidy" will go but not in that GEJ inhuman way...when d books are opened u wl see dt ds whole "subsidy" is all a myth.

U jst cnt wake up n knock off "subsidy" which in my opinion is a conduit to steal our common patrimony without puttin palliative measures and that is after decieving us that it wl b removed in April of that year.

There were buses commisioned aftr negotiations to end d protest, did/do u see them in ur part of town?

What happend to d subsidy scammers?

Having regard to the fact that the whole bulk of our consumption is imported, it may be inaccurate to submit that Subsidy is a myth, especially if you compare the economics of importing products with local refining. Guess the PPPRA has the template. The incoming administration may be making a grave mistake if it allows Nigerians get cosy again, in the form of looking for quick-fixes or commissioning a inquiry to verify its existence, before embarking on persuasion on why subsidy should go. Subsidy has to go as early as 30th May 2015 due to its unsustainability while reforms are pursued in the justice system to ensure effective prosecution of the parties indicted.

Contrived or not, the APC should be grateful to God that Jonathan, by his failings, is offering them a chance to deregulate the downstream sector of the oil industry without much opposition like he faced. In a few days, they shall be in charge and that is why I expect them to silently offer thanksgiving prayers that they have been offered an ample chance to administer the first bitter pill on Nigerians: removal of fuel subsidy!

babasanti:
When I read danjumas comment, I felt insulted . Why is asari and other militants delaying. They should blow up all danjumas oil well. Ungraateful cow

And u imagine Danjuma's oil well is in Taraba? They should blow it while their communities suffer the environmental consequences. When the Ogoni's destroyed their ecosystem, in their infantile activism, and thought they were hurting SHELL, am I the one waiting for Christ's second coming to have the UNEP report implemented? By the way, does Asari have two horns? Why wait for Asari's gang if the fellow is a man like you?

mployer:
But now you all will be happy to see GMB remove subsidy.

Sadly, we are faced with a grave reality that promptly calls for the discontinuation of the subsidy regime, if it really does exist. Personally, I felt pained by the actions of the sensational activists that organized the 'OCCUPY LAGOS' protests because it only served to postpone the evil day because only alternative to Downstream Deregulation is the path of self-destruction we are in currently. But when I consider how the SURE-P was managed and the fact that a conviction is yet to be secured against any of the Subsidy crooks, I feel the protesters are justified. Fortunately, no provision is made for subsidy in the Buhari era of the 2015 budget and Nigerians are already feeling the pangs of a paralyzing fuel scarcity and may gladly accept a deregulation that can usher in competitive pricing of products as well as give investors the confidence to start building private refineries.

Won ti mu dogonyaro! Obviously, some folks life ain't worth more than 1k. See u on the lord's day! His was a demonstration of one of a Thousand Ways to Die!!

It's Buhari's prerogative who he chooses to appoint, however, he should be well aware that he would be entirely responsible for the failings/failure of his appointees. Having done our modest to hand him the employment he hustled for over 12yrs, it's time to join the opposition in critiquing his actions and policies while praying that he doesn't end up drawing salaries with no productivity. But this America though. . . .

Beautifully written! Just so unfortunate that the PDP didn't factor that Nigerians would win the war after the many hard-fought battles they put up to undermine the delivery of a credible ballot in spite of their glaring misrule and obvious failures. As humans, we shall allow them brood over their loss but would advise them to be responsible enough to apportion blames appropriately. Nonetheless, I enjoin them to catalyse their metamorphosis to our biggest opposition in the interest of Nigeria, whose 16 years of nationhood they have wasted. Hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder we shall walk with them to ensure that APC does not turn into a PDP that has changed names.

danot1030:
With all the effort by FGN under jonathan to deny and bury the idea that there is a missing $20billion, it seems Jonathan and his followers are the only one buying the idea as more groups in the country keep demanding explanation, to think that Akpabio and other PDP governors could team up with the APC governors of this money further vindicate Sanusi Lamido that you can sack a man but you can't sack the truth.

Unfortunately, this is a fresh demand very different from Sanusi's claim. Here, the governors are demanding account of all monies 'escrowed' from the difference between benchmark price set for crude oil in the requested period and the actual price for which it sold in the corresponding periods. The last time I checked, there was an interesting update at the Supreme Court.

coputa:
The positiom in question is a sensitive one,the north should not hijack it.North is north,the 3 geo political zones,not withstanding.APC is a pro northern party,Tinubu,Amaechi and the other traitors will regret their action soon.

Guess it's folks like you that would forever celebrate mediocrity provided you or your family benefits. That said, you must understand that Nigeria conveniently has been broken down to 6 geo-political zones with 3 to the north's credit. The major threat this configuration poses for the south is that those guys can be united when they need to show you that they are the boss, which they have done countless times. To be fair to the APC, we have seen how difficult it has been for them to allocate principal positions in the legislature to geo-political zones, with a likely consequence that the party was to be defied by the lawmakers while the roguish PDP was angling to profit from the stalemate. While it subjugates the independence of the legislature for the party to allocate/zone its offices, it bodes better for the party to allow members-elect their free will if everything else fails after all instead of full cow to run loss, e better to cut the tail take. Need I remind you that it is near impossible for a southerner to win a legislative contest against a northerner, except a lot of horse-trading and concession happens! Then again, nobody told the SS and SE to box themselves into a corner by the choices they made during the concluded elections. So let's learn to run with the lessons of 2015 and wish we still can get a fair treatment in some other ways.

Kennywills7:
Well, if u notice i avoided talking about dat project, so am not necessarily talking about dat, am actually talking about d general struggle of d Niger Delta

Oh well! We could find some point of convergence then. For me, it's only some legislation that could engender some measure of fairness but then we are at the mercy of the north and has always been united in short-changing us, since they are a majority in the NASS. U saw how they effectively shot down the proposal to increase derivation at the Confab and how, last week, the HoR made the whole country 'Host Community'. Nonetheless, it would be wrong not to demand accountability from our elected officials as well as agencies set up for the development of our region because mismanagement by these players would never justify our agitation for a better deal. As for employment, the owners and managers are at liberty to set the requirements, even if it doesn't favour us because it is their business!

Kennywills7:
Am not an ijaw however wot is happening now is affecting everyone one in d niger delta not just d Ijaws, if we do not stand for wot is right then we are putting our generations yet unborn in problem. Our lands are bn destroy as a result of d oil exploration, we should b able to enjoy d benefits of d oil through jobs creation and other means, some of d things we are suppose to benefit from are not even located in d niger delta so it makes it difficult to benefit from them, yes our leaders are not performing but we shouldn't use dat as a weapon of ignorance by relegating ourselves behind every region in nigeria, Believe it or not our resources is d only thing keeping this country together. Am a deltan Urhobo/Isoko

U are my brother, however I have some reasons to differ with you. Firstly, every business considers a number of factors before siting as well relocating, if that has to happen unfortunately. I have a bit of difficulty understanding what is right about Jonathan belatedly ordering the relocation of a private investment or those scallywags, that stumbled into civilization post-1980's, issuing threats. If we feel entitled, then a justifiable battle would be to resist the reference to the whole country as 'host community' by the HoR in its amendment to the PIB draft. Except we secede, we must learn to negotiate 'rights' from the owners of Nigeria (North), in its present configuration.

vik2or:
I apologise. He's actually a frnd.

It's okay! I think I can relate with your grief having witnessed the withdrawal of a junior tribesman in UNIPORT, a bright 300L Chemical Engrg student, who got attacked from his roots. Pray you find him out so he can be promptly rehabilitated.