₦airaland Forum

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Friday assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari’s political appointments will balance out very soon.

Adesina spoke while featuring on a radio programme, Political Platform, on RayPower 100.5FM, monitored by our correspondent.

He was reacting to criticisms that have trailed the President’s appointments, which are believed to favour the Northern part of the country.

Adesina said the President was aware of federal character and expressed the believe that there would be balance by the time he made more appointments in September.

While saying appointments were Buhari’s prerogative, the presidential spokesman also said nobody can fault the fact that those named so far ‎were appointed on merits.

He also said it would not be fair for the President to be blamed for positions that were filled as a result of elections, like those of the National Assembly and appointments made as a result of next in command, like those of the acting Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission and that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

He assured all stakeholders that the President would keep to his promise of appointing the remaining aides and ministers ‎in September.

Adesina said, “Nobody can fault the fact that the persons appointed were appointed on merits.

“In terms of the spread, the President has prerogative to appoint and he knows there is federal character. I am sure that there will be balance in the future. These are still early days. At the end of the day, we will have a balance.

“By the time more appointments are made, it will balance out. The President is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key positions and no key positions should not be the issue.

“He gave a deadline of September for the appointment of ministers ‎and he will keep to it.”

source: http://www.punchng.com/news/buhari-will-still-balance-his-appointments-adesina/

Lalasticlala

bushdoc9919:
1.PMB is not my idol.I am a Nigerian. My allegiance is to my country and its peoples....not to any politician, or party.

2.If any Nigerian leader cannot see the need to diversify now;...he is blind and he must be removed

3.Your idol GEJ did not do his job well..ie his job of diversifying the economy.....which is partly why we are here.

4.Whatever the cost...we must be prepared to switch from a resource dependent economy to an industrial economy. This might mean austerity....but it would get us to the point of prosperity.

ok

bushdoc9919:
Oil dependent economies are unstable economies.

Nigeria must get off oil

tell that to your idol

while the masai warrior in aso rock keeps hiring his tribes men.

more to come

The only people who will be uncomfortable with Buhari's appointments are southern career political mafians, whose hopes he dashes daily by sticking to governance more than piliticking.

We love you Sir.
Sai Baba!
Sai Buhari!

The police is our friend.
So we just lost a friend.
And we say ....... RIP

Hand of Jacob, voice of Esau.

Tinubu, go tell that to Creche class babies

Bresil

Freemanan:
Pictures or....

Thomas, oya look yonder

Rochas and the wind of Change!

The natives of the Nekede in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State have been cut off from the state capital by gully erosion despite persistent calls by the people on this development.

The community which is close to the state capital now has its people who are coming to Owerri town spending a minimum of 1hour as against the 20 minutes they spent in the past.

Because of the parlous state of the road, which now poses serious danger to motorists, those coming into Owerri from the Nekede axis would have to go through Ihiagwa to the Owerri-Port Harcourt road, a distance of over 30 kilometres before getting to Owerri.

The situation is further compounded as the Nekede Polytechnic Road from the Owerri/Aba axis has also collapsed in less than two years after its rehabilitation by the Governor Rochas Okorocha administration.

When Oriental News visited the area, it was discovered that gully erosion has eaten up the road which used to be a major link between Nekede and the Owerri and other parts of the state.

Even motorists and commercial tricycle operators ( Keke) who still take the risk of plying the road had to drop their passengers at a safe distance, and they would then walk across to the other side of the road for fear of the narrow passage created by youths of the community collapsing due to extra weight of vehicles and passengers on it.

Oriental News investigations revealed that the erosion was as a result of the activities of sand miners in the area, who the state government has allowed to continue to excavate sand at the detriment of the environment and people of the area.

Some of the natives of the community, who spoke to Oriental News, said that they now live in constant fear due to the devastating and deplorable nature of the only link road to Owerri municipal, lamenting that several complaints and pleas to the state government to urgently intervene have not yielded any fruit.

Mr Barnabas Ogoma, a native of Nekede, pointed out that it was risky for any motorist to ply the road, especially at night as they could end up into the deep gully.

He accused the state government of not being alive to its responsibilities as all their pleadings to the government to do something to arrest the expanding gully erosion fell on deaf ears.

His words: “As you can see for yourself this road is now nothing but a disaster and all our efforts to get the state government to tackle the problem was not successful. It is a big risk for anybody to drive on this road, especially at night because they could end up in the deep gully which is more than 20 metres.

“We are now living in fear because the houses located along this road may collapse as a result of the speed with which the erosion is eating up the land, that people are still managing to pass through this road is as a result of the youths of the community who have created that narrow passage as most people find it time-consuming to go through Ihiagwa or through Poly roads which are also in terrible states before getting to Owerri municipal which is just about 10 or 15 minutes from here.”

Similarly, Mrs Cordelia Opara called on the state government to declare an emergency on the road before it claims the lives of natives of the community.

She further stated that transport fares have been increased by transporters because of the bad state of the road, pointing out that it is the responsibility of the state government to put the road in other, urging the state governor to fulfill his promise of fixing the road.

“Getting to Owerri municipal from old Nekede is now a big problem because the road has been cut into two by erosion and the last time that Governor Okorocha visited the place before the elections he has promised to complete every road project in Nekede but as you can see our major link road to the capital is very bad, and because of that people now pay more to get to Owerri. So, we are appealing to the state governor to fulfill his promise by ensuring that the road is urgently repaired,” he said.

Also, speaking in the same vein, Mr Magnus Njoku, said that the current state of the road has significantly increased the economic hardship of the people and residents of the community as the prices of goods have gone up owing to the increase in transport fares.

“We appeal to the state government to create an alternative route for the people while he finds solution to the erosion menace on that road,” he said.

Also the monarch of the community, Eze Stephen Agumanu, disclosed that he and members of his cabinet have been holding meetings on how to tackle the erosion menace that is now threatening the economic well-being of his people.

“Our major problem now is how to tackle this menace because the major road that links the community to the state capital is being severed by erosion and so we are appealing to the federal and state governments to come to our rescue and to ensure that our road network is back in good condition,” the monarch appealed.

Meanwhile, the state government in a spirited effort to ensure that the community is not entirely cut off from the rest of the state has commenced the opening of a diversion that will enable commuters and natives access Owerri municipal.

However, until the alternative diversion is completed the people of Nekede may still have to put up with the current situation.

Source: http://sunnewsonline.com/new/gully-erosion-cuts-off-nekede-community-from-owerri/

By Olawale Olaleye
Following the nomination of Mr. Babatunde Fowler by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the stage has been set for a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to contend with the leadership of the Senate with whom he has been at loggerheads since its emergence last June.

As required by law, Fowler would have to be confirmed by the Senate before he can head the FIRS. Should his nomination be rejected by the Senate, Buhari would either have to submit another name to replace him or allow the current acting chairman Samuel Olugbesan to continue in the acting capacity.

But with the nomination of Fowler, a well known associate and protégé of Tinubu who served for nine years as the Chairman of the Lagos Board of Inland Revenue (LBIR), the former Lagos State governor would have to come face-to-face with Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu.

There has been no love lost between the Senate President and Tinubu since the former defied the dictates of the ruling party by contesting and clinching the Senate Presidency.

Tinubu had backed Senator Ahmed Lawan for the post but lost out when a meeting was set up at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, between several APC senators and Buhari, to coincide with the inauguration of the Eighth Senate.

Their absence from the Senate chamber on the day of the inauguration paved the way for Saraki and Ekweremadu to win the election unchallenged.

Ever since, the Senate has been polarised between Saraki’s loyalists under the auspices of Senators of Like Minds and Ahmed’s supporters known as the Unity Forum.

Ahead of the submission of Fowler’s name for Senate screening, THISDAY learnt that Tinubu has started reaching out to senators, particularly those in the Senators of Like Minds group loyal to Saraki and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Until Fowler’s nomination, the position was vacant because the last nominee whose name was sent to the Senate by former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mrs. Mfon Akpan from Akwa Ibom State following a recruitment exercise, was rejected by the lawmakers.

Concerns that Fowler may suffer the same fate as Akpan has galvanised Tinubu and compelled him to reach out to key senators who are close to Saraki with a view to both resolving the crisis in the Senate in which he is believed to be the sponsor of the Lawan group, and to ensure that the long-drawn out feud in the Senate does not affect other close associates who may be sent to the upper chamber for confirmation for top executive positions.

A source said depending on how Tinubu plays his cards, his overture to the senators could either help to resolve the contending issues between the two groups or deepen the division in the Senate.
But many pro-Saraki senators, particularly the 81 who signed the vote of confidence on the Senate President on July 28 are already spoiling for a fight.

“This is payback time for Asiwaju for all his machinations against the Senate since he could not get his candidate to become Senate President. This is an opportunity to force Tinubu to the table and mend bridges or break them further,” said a senator close to Saraki.

The pro-Saraki senators are also angling to move against Fowler because they believe Tinubu is scheming to take control of the country’s finances under the Buhari administration without the president realising the game plan.

According to a senator from Bauchi State, the plot by the former governor of Lagos State is to get Fowler into FIRS and also make another of his protégés, Mr. Olawale Edun, who served as his Commissioner for Economic Development, to become the Minister of Finance, thereby seizing control of the economic machinery of the government.

Edun, according to the senator who preferred not to be named, will be presented as the ministerial nominee from Ogun State, a development which has pitted Tinubu against Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Amosun is said to have insisted that Edun has never associated with Ogun State and could not be expected to take the biggest federal appointment due to the state.

Many of the senators close to Saraki are said to be getting ready to ensure they use the rejection of Fowler’s nomination as a clear signal that the crisis in the Senate has not been due to the protection of any party supremacy but the political interest of Tinubu.
Sources also disclosed that one other reason that compelled the former Lagos governor to reach out to Saraki’s loyalists is the Babatunde Fashola issue.

While Tinubu does not want his successor to be nominated as minister, Buhari’s body language indicates that he is still not convinced by the ongoing campaign to denigrate Fashola and project him as one who is not good enough for the administration.

Tinubu’s plan, alleged a source, is to stop Fashola during the Senate confirmation hearing in the event Buhari nominates the immediate past governor of Lagos by getting the three senators from the state – Oluremi Tinubu, Gbenga Ashafa and Olamilekan Adeola – to oppose his candidacy.

“He is however afraid that that plan will only work if the Senate President buys into the plan, as Saraki can overrule the objection of the three senators and get majority of the senators to clear Fashola like they did a few months ago for Musiliu Obanikoro when Senator David Mark was Senate President.

“Tinubu particularly believes that Saraki has a soft spot for Fashola and that the two men are associates. The fact that though the Senate President is abroad, he sent his deputy chief of staff, Gbenga Makanjuola, to attend last week’s book launch in honour of Fashola also lends credence to the fear that no plan to stop Fashola will succeed in the Senate except Saraki and his loyalists buy into it,” a senator from Zamfara said.

“There must be a trade-off as we get to the period of ministerial nominations and confirmation hearings. What we do not like is this idea of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

“Those who need us for their own interests, different from the interest of President Buhari are now making it look like we need them. They have continued to create enmity between the Senate and the presidency. Now, they are playing a different game,” a senator from Delta State said.

source: http://desertherald.com/fowlers-confirmation-may-bring-tinubu-face-to-face-with-senate-leadership/

Zakkyoz:
Address the issue. why name calling. Do you know that Okorocha is one of the south eastern leaders that has political foresight? Igbo presidency could be achieved if you support him but many of you call him names.

ok sir

By Wale Fatade

Nigerians got a kick in the mouth on Sunday, August 15 with a story published by The Nation on Sunday. Titled Naira rain as senators collect N23.4m each, it affirmed what some Nigerians have always suspected: our National Assembly is a sybaritic enclosure where members might not be able to contribute meaningfully to the task of developing Nigeria. My mind was made up on this week’s topic last Wednesday when the Senate decided to go on another vacation, the third since inauguration, till September 29, having rejected a pay-cut and setting up a 13-member ad hoc committee to probe the power sector under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

Too often we focus on the executive without beaming our searchlight on the legislators who, if things continue the way they are, are nothing but parasites on the country’s increasingly scarce financial resources. The Nation revealed that nearly N13 billion may have been spent on maintaining our senators and representatives just for two months even when our senators have sat for a mere 11 days since their inauguration on June 9. The exact amount spent on maintaining 109 senators and 360 representatives was N12.967 billion with each senator collecting N36.4 million and each representative pocketing N25 million, I’m not sure even drug traffickers make as much as our federal legislators have earned in just two months.

Last Wednesday, the Senate rejected a suggestion by its Finance committee to cut senators’ salaries and allowances. Their argument was that other beneficiaries of the N120 billion National Assembly budget must accept a cut too in their salaries. Of course, this was at an executive session, a euphemism in the Nigerian context whenever they want to talk about money due to them. A newspaper reported that the senators rejected the recommendations because they were not practicable. Excuse me, what is not practicable in cutting down emoluments in a country where millions are wallowing in acute poverty? What is so difficult in following the example of the president and vice president who slashed their take-home by 50%? Some of us criticized President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo of tokenism by slashing their salaries, but why can’t our legislators follow suit with such tokenism?

It is the height of insincerity and clownishness by suggesting that civil servants working at the National Assembly must be consulted before cutting the budget. Pray, has any Nigerian complained about the salaries of civil servants? Are they the ones sucking Nigerians like leeches without a corresponding productivity? By the way, the last two months of both chambers did not witness any innovative lawmaking or groundbreaking bills that will advance Nigeria except the usual resolutions and probe panels. A smarter senate would have taken into cognizance a similar probe organised by the House of Representatives some years back on the power sector and actually asked for that report before settling for another probe which report most likely might not see the light of the day. Further, if our legislators are not fighting each other over who will lead them with some forging the rules used in such elections, another leader will hire a helicopter with millions of naira to go and open a sanctuary. These and other sundry duties like accompanying someone accused of fraud to the EFCC are also what occupy their time in the past eight weeks, yet they pocketed millions of naira for doing practically nothing. It is now clear that possibly the gentleman paid for the helicopter from his pocket having collected N25 million for eight weeks worth of work, if we can call it that.

Have you also noticed that they are united in swindling Nigerians? Party affiliations are jettisoned whenever our commonwealth is involved with no discernible difference between the political parties. Lest I forget, where is our dear Senator Ben Murray-Bruce who promised us a copy of his pay slip? Will his constituents, the people of Bayelsa East, remind him of his promise? So why keeping such luxury at a period oil price is dropping regularly and how long are we going to support such inanity? A group of Nigerians some weeks back started a campaign asking for greater openness of the National Assembly demanding that the opacity, which is the main feature of the way and manner 469 people conduct their affairs be removed. It will be to our advantage joining this crusade as too often we have been taken for a ride. We are tired of the well-worn excuse that we stigmatize legislators forgetting the rot of the executives, as all eyes are on the legislators presently.

It was the Senegalese who felt they don’t need two chambers and thereby scrapped their senate in September 2012, it is high time we followed suit. Or we ask our legislators to work part time only and pay them accordingly, we can’t continue with this fraud.

Source: http://desertherald.com/lets-scrap-the-national-assembly-wale-fatade/

Rochas OkoroAWUSA

Owerri, the Imo State capital was shut down yesterday by hundreds of protesting workers of ministries and parastatals over the non-payment of their salaries for several months by the state government.
The aggrieved workers, who wore black attires with placards bearing such inscriptions as “stop this greed and pay us our salaries,” “stop this impunity, pay local government medical and health workers,” “Owelle, pay retired primary school teachers their outstanding gratuities from 1998 to date.” “Our children are dying of hunger,” “we say no to Imo State House of Assembly passing a bill on privatizing state parastatals” etc, barricaded all major roads within the city which resulted in heavy traffic jam forcing commuters to trek to their destinations.
The aggrieved workers, later preceded to the state House of Assembly where they protested the passage of the obnoxious bill legalising and privatising all parastatals in the state, which they claimed was secretly passed into law by the state House of Assembly. The protesters took over the state Assembly Complex, blocking the entrance.
Speaker Acho Ihim, who managed to address the workers under heavy protection of Armed Police Mobile Force, however, dismissed the allegation as baseless.
However, the protesting workers, who were chanting solidarity songs with invectives on the government for alleged insensitivity to their predicament, later converged on the Freedom Square adjacent to the popular Orlu Road/Warehouse Junction where the chairman of NLC, Austine Chilakpu and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Paul Akalazu jointly addressed them.
The labour leaders wondered how the workers in the state could survive amidst the nation’s economic down turn without salaries, lamenting that the economy of the state had been grounded as a result of non payment of their salaries.
“How can we survive without salary and if they slash your salary, do not accept it,” they counseled.
The trade unionists, who gave a break down of the unpaid salary arrears owed workers advised them to remain calm and not to be intimidated by the antics of the state Head of Service (HOS), Mr. Calistus Ekenze who, according to them had compiled list of workers absent from their duty posts for necessary action.
But reacting to the protest, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo admonished the leaders of organised labour in the state to be patriotic and not lend themselves as tools to destabilise the state.
“One had expected the leaders of the organized labour in the state to appreciate the concerted effort the state government has been making to totally deal with the issues of salary and pensions. The labour leaders are also expected to show understanding knowing full well what the general situation is at the moment across the nation.
The fact remains that the state government has been able, even without the much expected bailout fund, paid the civil servants, teachers and local government workers up to June salaries. The government had also repeatedly made its position known on some of the parastatals, while steps are also being taken to handle issues of salaries in the parastatals once the panels reviewing their cases finish their jobs..
Adding,It is also on record that the one week strike the labour leaders had made workers to embark on, also took the same pattern. And this is the area the government is much worried.
The government’s worry is also heightened when it is found out that even states with high salary arrears, the workers there have not been called out for strike or protest. But only Imo with the lowest salary issue, and the government is working assiduously to deal with the issue once and for all.
As a government, we only want to repeat our appeal to the leaders of the organized labour in the state, to be patriotic and show understanding if their intention is to make the government pay salaries and pensions. And they are also expected to follow developments across the nation in their actions”. He stated.

Source: http://sunnewsonline.com/new/unpaid-salaries-labour-shuts-down-imo/

Lalasticlala over to you!

The jobless street urchins waiting for Buhari's monthly N5,000 will soon be here to tag Ozehkome a Wailing Wailer. I weep for those dullardds slaves. Their brains has been freezed by the dullardds scam.

mianyaegbu:
Amechi is a disaster, its just like inviting Hitler to speak on peace conference.

He ensured they earned nothing for a whole year and now wants to come and tell them what exactly?
i dont blame him, i am more shocked at former comrade Adams Oshiomole who feigned not to understand the treatment amaechi got from the union members. How money and power absolutely corrupt former sound minds.

What happened to the ADAMs of the NLC days

Money really is the root of all evil

You shut down court. Lawyers money don loss. You still dey come wan form boss. Oga titus, your wahala don surplus.
........emesia ibido koba tory oooooo!

Why wont he accept. A time wasting, red carpet loving dullardic never do well of a press-dent.
Mumu elderly punkish illerate with housefly PROBOSCIS.
Very soon he will tell us he is probing aisha's hairy worn out snail.

i had the experience last August 2015, 2nd precisely. I wore gloves and and had to partially participate. The doctor wasnt around that night, so we were left with the nurses and my baby girl was comming through with the leg. It wasnt looking nice, so i had to be on the phone same time with my Doctor younger sis, Doctor in law and the doctor director. It was some harrowing experience. At some point my baby got stuck, as only one leg was out and we were out of ideas and i had to go outside to pray amid tears and threats to God should anything happen to my baby. We pushed the baby back and with the guidance on the phone it finally was through. And was i the happiest Dad then? It was awesome when i heard her cry. The whole hospital was aware of the birth and all the nursing mothers and their relations made a lot of jest of me the following morning but who cares. My wife and baby were both safe, thats all that mattered that night.

The President with PROBOSCIS probing organ. Housefly mentality. Oga declare your ASSETs and stop behaving like an Idiot

Useless meeting

Hahahahaha

more pls!

APC NL resident propagandists wont like this.
They'd be like "WAILING FALANA"

Make this Buhari sniffing PROBOSCIS no land am for gbege o!