₦airaland Forum

Uruguay's President Jose Mujica says he has been offered $1m (£630,000) for his vintage Volkswagen Beetle.

Mr Mujica, once dubbed "the poorest president in the world" because of his modest lifestyle, said the offer had come from an Arab sheikh.

He told the weekly Busqueda magazine that if he did accept the offer, the money would be used to help the poor.
President Mujica - popularly known as Pepe - lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.

In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was $1,800, the value of his blue 1987 Beetle.

Busqueda reported that the offer for the car was made at an international summit earlier this year in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
"They made me an offer," Mr Mujica, 79, told the magazine.

"I was a bit surprised, and at first I really didn't pay too much attention to it. But later, another offer came in, and I began to take it a little more seriously."
The president said he had "no commitment to cars" and would happily auction it.

He joked that he had not sold it so far because he needed it for his dog Manuela, famous for only having three legs.

Mr Mujica said that if he got $1m for the car, he would donate it to a programme he supports that provides housing for the homeless.

President Mujica is barred by the constitution from running for a second consecutive term and a presidential election held last month is to go to a second round.

A recent survey gave Mr Mujica an approval rating of nearly 60%.

Trailblazer1:
I really don't expect Osibanjo to toll this path of accusation. He will only end up attracting resentment like the others.
Leave Jonathan alone and tell us what you have to offer besides your over hyped integrity.

Sell us your product and forget about competitors.

pacifique:
Too early to start criticism, observe a little more, Prof.

The Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of politicising the fight against the Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

Osinbajo argued that the present administration had failed to
“sincerely identify” the menace posed by the insurgent group.
The law professor also blamed the failure of the security forces to contain the excesses of Boko Haram in the ongoing war against terrorism on corruption.

Osinbajo stated this during a Twitter chat tagged #AskProfOsinbajo on Monday.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said, “The current administration
has politicised Boko Haram. The corruption around defence funds has created a situation where soldiers are not well equipped and motivated.

“General Mohammadu Buhari wiped off Maitatsine, another Islamic insurgency during his administration, by sincerely identifying the problem as a challenge to the authority of the state to maintain law and order.

“The administration took command and funded the military transparently and that is what we need to do now to end this insurgency.”

The former Lagos State justice commissioner said one of the fundamental problems bedeviling the nation today was the failure of the Jonathan-led Federal Government to tackle corruption head-on.

According to the presidential running mate of Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), it is saddening that under Jonathan’s government, there is “no consequence for corruption.”

He added, “One of the fundamental problems is that there is no consequence for corruption. I think that what everyone will agree to about a Buhari government is that it will not tolerate corruption.”

teemanbastos:
[size=16pt]who knws maybe d sacked are APC faithfuls or Those nt loyal to Jona?? Well wen d dtails are fully awt.. I'l comment[/size]

Christian clerics under the aegis of the Pastors Council of Northern Nigeria on Thursday in Kaduna applauded the choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as running mate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Majour-General. Muhammadu Buhari.


Osibanjo, a former Attorney-General of Lagos under former Governor Bola Tinubu, according to the clerics said possesses all leadership qualities and therefore, his choice, was a welcome one.


The Men of God, however, warned against any manipulation of Nigerians by politicians, using religion or ethnicity, saying that campaigns must be issue-based.


Convener of the Council, Pastor Bulus Yahaya in a statement issued on Thursday, noted that Osinbajo’s choice heralds hope for a new Nigeria in view of his experience in public and private sectors and also being a pastor of Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG).


Yahaya cautioned Nigerians to insist that the best leadership emerged out of 2015 general elections and never allow any form of manipulation by politicians.


On the need to achieve successful 2015 general elections, Yahaya urged Nigerians to shun any form of manipulations; just as he asked the political class to run an issue-based campaign devoid of sentiments.

comos:
I travel alot also and I can tell you that it is only in North east and some part of north west that are really against GEJ. in Lagos u can not get a real clear-cut. The election will be highly competitive but I foresee Jonathan winning.

martincbarton:
dredging completed last year and the GM talked about it yesterday. hmmm.

chrisbaba1:
[size=16pt]iGBO KE, Iro o. i dont care about Tinubu, i care for real change, APC has to use every legal strategy in the book to win. Osibanwo is a yoruba, so who appeals to the igbos or Southerners? Remember the distrust by igbos of a hausa and yoruba leader, we have to represent their interests to gather their votes, yorubas are less sentimental about the tribe of the leaders, as long as he is a performer, the south on the other hand has been sidelined for long they dont trust yoruba and hausa, we could have allowed amaechi. This decision by APC leadership is very very faulty as far as im concerned.[/size]

The Senate yesterday rejected a bill seeking to amend the Niger Delta Development Commission Act Cap 86 laws of Nigeria in order to recognise and include Anambra as an oil-producing state.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Andy Uba, who led the debate on the proposal anchored his decision on the declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan, that Anambra had joined the league of oil-producing states in the country when he visited the state this year.

He argued that with Jonathan’s pronouncement, Anambra had since “joined the oil bearing states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Edo, Abia and Ondo states, as home to the nation’s oil installations and a rich wet land.”
Andy said:

“These communities account for 93 per cent of the country’s export earnings and provide the economic lifeline that sustains the Nigerian state and as a result of which this amendment is being sought for Anambra to be part and parcel of the NDDC.”

He pointed out that the integration of Anambra as part of the NDDC states was necessary to avoid the violent conflicts that accompanied all oil exploration activities which include environmental degradation.

The legislator further noted that the objective of the bill was also to ensure the socio-economic development of the host communities where oil installations are located and the general development of the state.

Senators who made contributions to the bill noted that a mere pronouncement from Jonathan, which was not based on any empirical fact, was not enough to make Anambra an oil-producing state. Senator Attai Ali said he was against the bill because the issue of delineation between Kogi, Anambra and Enugu states which shared common boundaries with the oil installation was still ongoing.

Also Senator Ayogu Eze expressed opposition to the bill, explaining that Jonathan had admitted that he made the pronouncement ascribed to him by Uba in a haste. According to him, Jonathan’s statement degenerated into crisis between the states that shared common boundaries, where the facility was located which forced him to set up a committee led by Vice- President Namadi Sambo to resolve the problem.

Senate President David Mark supported the views of his colleagues and noted that since the issue was not only technical, but also controversial, it was better to suspend further action on the bill, pending the report of the presidential committee.

The senators voted in support of the motion to suspend further action on the bill pending the outcome of the presidential committee on the issue, thereby compelling the sponsor to withdraw the bill.

FrancisDiote:
Lets see how they get votes from south east and south south knowing too well that votes from the North and west will be shared btw the two parties

chrisbaba1:
[size=16pt]I am an APC supporter and a Yoruba, but if this is true, APC will lose severely again, We need a politician, someone who has a followership base already.... with this i think buhari is cursed to always make bad choices.

Buhari, you just buried your presidential aspirations again, congrats. i will throw my vote away by voting Okotie or whoever. [/size]

Mogidi:
How is "GEJ and his cabal are trying to christianise Nigeria" ?
You quoted Okupe out of contest, what's wrong if he says “People do not understand the burden this president is bearing. He’s like Jesus Christ. He’s bearing the burden of everybody.”

Does the buck not stop with GEJ? Who do people blame if there's no running water in their state or good transportation or power shortages etc.
When do you see Nigerians blaming their state governors or local govt councils for their ills? You should be ashamed of yourself.

The Trade Union Congress, TUC, has said it will demand wage increase for workers in the New Year following the devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

The National President of the Congress, Bobboi Kaigama, disclosed this at the end of the Congress’ National Executive Council Meeting in the early hours of Sunday in Lagos.

Mr. Kaigama said the wage hike had become necessary because the current devaluation had started impacting negatively on Nigerian workers.

He added that “the issue of wage is a dynamic thing. In stabilised economies, wages are directly proportional to the inflation trend of that country.

“So, it is expected that following the devaluation of the naira and its resultant rise in inflation, salaries of workers should automatically be increased too.

“But in this country, even after devaluation of the currency, there will not be any increase in workers’ salary and that is bad.

“The moment devaluation is put in place the prices of goods and services surge, there should be a proportional increase in the workers’ pay.”

He, therefore, said “if the issue on devaluation persist, the Congress will have no option but to enter the New Year with a demand for increase in workers’ pay.’’

The TUC boss added that the fall in crude oil price in the international market should be translated into a fall in the price of refined products in the country.
Mr. Kaigama explained that the price of petrol should be brought down to N50 per litre.

“If government says that the price of crude oil has fallen in the global market, it means that the price of products will also fall in the country.

“If truly we are working with the dynamics of market principles, we expect that the price of products should drop.
“We want N50 per litre for oil,’’ he said.

The union leader said that the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill on the floor of the National Assembly would push unions and Nigerians to the wall for a corresponding action.

(NAN)

SeverusSnape:
Nigeria always blaming another for their woes.

The face-off between Nigeria and the United States over the commitment and sincerity of the US military in assisting Nigeria to fight the Boko Haram insurgency worsened within the week.
This followed an allegation by a top Nigerian intelligence source that US trainers incited Nigerian soldiers to mutiny.

The source toldSUNDAY PUNCHthat recent mutiny by Nigerian soldiers was as a result of the ‘negative teachings’ by US trainers, adding that it was a major reason the Federal Government stopped the US from training Nigerian soldiers on counter-terrorism.
But the US in its reaction, through the Press Attache of the US Embassy in Abuja, Sean J. McIntosh, described the allegations as baseless.

She said, “The allegations are baseless. The third phase of training did not occur because the Nigerian Army failed to provide the necessary equipment for the training.”
The US, as well as the UK, France and China, had offered help in human and technical capacities to deal with the wider problem of terrorism in North-eastern Nigeria.

But the relationship between the two countries worsened when the US refused to sell military hardware, especiallycobrahelicopters, to Nigeria to prosecute the campaign against Boko Haram.
The security source, who pleaded anonymity, said the security chiefs and the Federal Government doubted the genuineness of the motive of the US security experts in the country.

The source added that despite the presence of the US experts, there was no noticeable impact on the task of recovering the abducted girls of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.
He added that the US forces had not given the expected intelligence that could have been utilised by the nation’s security forces against Boko Haram.
“Our investigations show that some of the soldiers that were involved in mutiny received training in the US. These trainings often highlight negative things about the Federal Government.

“Another thing Nigerians should note is that since the Americans came here purportedly to help get the Chibok girls, they have not done anything. What have they done with all their technology and might? Is it not suspicious?”
When asked if the US would be asked to withdraw its intelligence staff from Nigeria, the source said, “They are a super power. It might not be easy to tell them to leave.”

But the US embassy spokesman said his country had not received any directive or request from Nigeria to withdraw its intelligence personnel who were brought into the country to assist with the rescue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls

He said, “The US continues to support Nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of those kidnapped and to advise the Nigerian government on its response. Staffing of the US government interdisciplinary team in Nigerian remains steady since the initial surge following the kidnapping.”

A former United States ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has raised the alarm that current situations in Nigeria, especially falling oil prices, are making it difficult for the country to avoid disintegration.

He stated that apart from the Boko Haram insurgency plaguing the country, the falling oil prices posed a new challenge to the Federal Government.

Campbell also noted that any attempt by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to pursue policies of austerity could lead to a protest similar to that of the oil subsidy removal in 2012.

The Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies writing on the Council on Foreign Relations website said, “National elections are scheduled for February 14, 2015. Elections are the occasion and the venue for competition, often violent, among Nigeria’s fractured political elite. In the past, abundant oil money provided a means to resolve numerous conflicts, to literally ‘grease the skids.’ Now, there is less money available.

“Nigeria has benefited from an oil boom since the end of military rule in 1999. Prices rose from $10 per barrel that year to $140 per barrel in 2008. As late as June 2014, they remained above $100. However, since June, oil prices have fallen by more than 30 per cent. It is unlikely that they have reached bottom.”

According to him, the FG may be reluctant to approach international financial institutions for assistance because of the likely requirements those institutions will impose on it.

“The confluence of declining oil prices and government revenue, a failing effort against Boko Haram, and contentious national elections in two months is making it harder for Nigeria to pull back from the brink,” he said.

The former US ambassador to Nigeria stated further that a major cut in oil production by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia could cause oil prices to recover to the $100 per barrel level.

Campbell also noted that Nigeria’ dependency on oil was “now stirring serious concern throughout the country’s political class.”
“Among other things, a whole array of government expenditures associated with petroleum play a major role in sustaining the cooperating and competing patronage networks that run Nigeria.
Absent this political lubricant, the country’s already unstable political situation promises to get worse just two months ahead of national elections,” he said.