₦airaland Forum

By SaharaReporters, New York
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his retinue today showed up at Aso Rock chapel to “worship” with President Goodluck Jonathan. The gathering of the two corrupt rulers was further proof that their evil conspiracy to destroy Nigeria is on full speed ahead. President Obasanjo and a few of his former aides had in recent times engaged in a seeming public war with members of President Jonathan’s inner circle.
But today’s joint worship of Mammon by the two vicious enemies of the Nigerian people has exposed the fact that their public quarrel is a hoax calculated to deceive Nigerians while their joint exploitation of Nigeria continues without let or hindrance.

The oil industry faces a difficult 2013 as shale oil in the United States takes an increasing share of the north American market.
Togo-based Ecobank, according to the Financial Times, said Nigerian crude oil exports to the US could fall by over a quarter this year, from 800,000bpd in 2012 to as low as 580,000bpd in the year.
Already, in January, there were signs of stress. Crude oil shipments from Nigeria have, Ecobank says, declined from75 cargoes in January to a scheduled 59 in March, and there is an unsold overhang of 21 out of 65 February cargoes. This is an unusual situation given that the cargoes contain Nigeria’s premium grades of sweet and light crude, which are usually very much in demand.
As Rolake Akinkugbe, the Head of Energy Rsearch at Ecobank, explained to beyondbrics, refiners in Asia are increasingly capable of handling larger volumes of sour crude oil grades, while European refiners are facing pressures on their margins and seeking lower-priced inputs. Neither are looking as favourably upon Nigerian oil grades, which are priced at a substantial premium to the sour grades from the Middle East.
“Nigeria and other oil producers in west Africa had a window of opportunity during the Libya crisis when their [Libya’s] supply was taken off the market”, she said. “There was a great switch to African crude grades, which partly accounts for their pricing premium at the moment.”
Libyan oil is now coming back online, but the major problem for Nigerian crude is the soaring volumes of shaleoil being produced in the US. The US is still Nigeria’s biggest oil export destination, but the relationship can no longer be taken for granted.
“A decade ago” says Akinkugbe, “the industry thought thatby 2015 around 25 per cent of America’s oil would come from west Africa, but now there’s a dramatic change in that picture. African governments need to look for alternatives destinations.”
In recent years, she says, producers in west Africa and the Gulf of Guinea have exported around 2mbpd of oil to north America, but this has fallen to around 1mbpd, with the slump in Nigerian exports to the US being particularly severe due to the steeper price of its crude. Having accounted for 12 per cent of US crude imports in 2011, Nigeria’s share fell to 6 per cent in 2012.
Nigerian oil exports to the US, Ecobank says, have already slumped to 700,000bpd from the 2012 average of 800,000bpd, and that could fall as far as 580,000bpd in 2013 as US domestic oil producers add an expected 800,000bpd of new capacity.
As if the stiff new competition from Texas and North Dakota were not enough, Nigeria’s oil industry also has sizeable domestic problems too. Theft and pipeline vandalism cost it $7 billion in 2012, according to the International Energy Agency, and uncertainty surrounding the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is causing nervous oil companies to hold back investment.
Oil and gas make up 94 per cent of Nigerian exports, and so even a small slackening of demand for its hydrocarbons spells big trouble. No wonder senior figures in the Nigerian government seem to have been talking so much about economic diversification recently.

Tragedy struck in Ogbeawo Quarters, Asaba, Delta State when a mother of a 26-year-old graduate of philosophy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), who was reportedly proposed to by a Europe-based “grave digger” slumped and died a few hours later in the hospital over her daughter’s refusal to marry him.
The lady’s photographs were sent to the “lover boy” who hails from Igbanke in Edo State for approval as his wife and upon his endorsement, he sent his photograph to the lady and phone numbers for her confirmation.
LEADERSHIP SUNDAY learnt that the ‘lover boy’, a graduate of chemical engineering from the University of Benin (UNIBEN) sought to be a grave digger abroad after his efforts to get a better job failed and had also sought help for a wife in Asaba through his relation who works in one of the state owned ministries.
It was gathered that when his photograph was sent to the lady, she cherished it and kept it in her handbag wherever she went, and showed it to her friends, who did not hide their admiration ofthe overseas-based ‘lover’.
The duo allegedly talked on phone frequently and also planned their wedding, which their communities eagerly waited to witness.
The date for the traditional marriage was slated for last month as her parents insisted the wedding must hold in Benin City, the Edo State thereafter.
Her parents’ residence at Ogbeawo, was decorated. Last Thursday, family members including friends were assembled while an Asaba-based comedian “Frank De Don” was on hand to add colour to the show and after the bride price paid, both families engaged the floor for a dance.
As guests were wining and dancing, the unexpected happened when the bride and the groom to take their turn to dance: they were both nowhere to be found.

Adufaye: I rada mari a lez,so weneva she wanna cheat,it wil b dsame sèx....preferable dan cheatin wit a man

1) And it came to pass after these things, on the first day of the first month of the twelfth year after the second millennium, that king Jona son of Bele announced to the people saying; there is no money left in the royal treasury, and the future of the kingdom is in great danger.
2) Therefore, a measure of oil shall no longer sell for three scores of silver and seven, but shall now be seven scores of silver and one. But the people grumbled aloud, and said unto another, what shall it profit our king to gain all these oil money and lose his throne?
3) For it is appointed unto him to reign but once, and after this prison, for many are the atrocities which he has committed.
4) So they said unto the king, eat thou thy food in peace in the palace, and surround thou thyself with thine women, only touch not our oil price and do thy people no harm.
5) But the king would not listen, and said unto himself, I know my people, they shall only grumble for a while and soon they shall forget.
6) But the people would not forget, for the burden was too much for them to bear, and they said; now unto him that is able to increase the price of oil exceeding abundantly above all that his people can bear or think, according to the greed which worketh in him;
7) Unto him be curses in the streets by the masses throughout all ages, protests without end.
So they took to the streets and gave the land no peace, and there was no going out or coming in throughout the kingdom for two weeks, and the king feared greatly and said to himself, surely these people shall overturn me if I answer them not.
9) So he called the head of the labourers unto the palace, and gave him bags of gold, that he mayest turn off the wrath of the people against the king.
10) So the king assembled the people and said unto them; a measure of oil shall no longer be seven scores of silver and one, but shall now be four scores of silver, one dozen and five, to this your leaders have agreed. Praise me now therefore for I am a benevolent king.
11) And after all these, the Loudspeaker of the House of People said, let us inquire into the king’s claim that there be no money in the royal treasury. So they appointed Farcrook, son of Lawal.
12) And said unto him, gather ye now all the oil sellers, that we may know who stole from the kingdom. This did him with diligence, and came back with his report saying…
13) Thieves abound in the land, and so have the oil sellers stole from the people, and gave them not oil, this they did with the help of Aliyaro the king’s mistress; and the amount he mentioned was unheard of in the land.
14) When the people heard this, they were dismayed, and sorrow gripped their hearts.
15) But the oil sellers went in unto the king in his chamber, and said; rememberest thou O king that what we stole did we make available to thy campaign, and by thus did we make you king.
16) If thou deliver us unto the people that they may punish us, we will hold not our tongue to tell the people that thou art one of us.
17) And they said unto him, how else shall we destroy the message if not to destroy the messenger? Let us therefore implicate Farcrook the son of Lawal in this matter.
18) So they sent a certain rich man from the West by the name Otedollar, and he took Farcrook into his house and gave him somemoney, that he may alter the report which he had set before the people.
19) And it was that Otedollar went before an assembly of the people and said unto them, trust ye this man who said we stole from the treasury? Surely he is one of us, for he came unto me in the middle of the night, and he left with his pockets full of money.
20) And the people where amazed, and their hearts bled, for Farcrook was a man in whom they had put their trust.
21) So Farcrook arose, and said; Otedollar is my briber, I did not request. He maketh me to sit down in his Maitama house; he leadeth me beside the chilled champagne.
22) He exploited my greed; he leadeth me in the path of marked dollars for subsidy’s sake.
23) Yea, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of EFCC, I will fear no arrest: for bribes are with me; my loots and my kickbacks they comfort me.
24) Thou preparest the dollars before me, in the presence of the SSS: thou anointest my mouth with wine; my pocket runneth over.
25) Surely the shame and reproach shall follow me all the days of my life, but I will dwell in the house of PDP forever and ever.
26) And the people wept, but there was no one to console them.

, Joseph Yobo said that they would fear no foe on Sunday.
“We respect the Ivorian team because they have got big names in their squad. But this is football where big names have no impact on football

By Tony Ubani
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has hit out at the love lost relationship between his team and Nigerians yesterday describing it as “shameful and a pity”.
The coach was asked if he feels under-appreciated by the fact that his countrymen do not have confidence in his team.
He paused, looked up to the ceiling and said; “it’s a shameful thing if my nation do not have confidence in their team. I think it’sa pity. I have confidence in this team and we are ready for Sunday”, he said
There have been a cocktail of opinions regarding the Super Eagles outing in the Nations Cup here in South Africa with many terming the Nigerian team’s performance as average.
Speaking also yesterday in a World Press Conference in Rustenberg, the venue of the quarter-final match that has been termed Super Sunday, Super Eagles skipper, Joseph Yobo said that they would fear no foe on Sunday.
“We respect the Ivorian team because they have got big names in their squad. But this is football where big names have no impact on football. Our team are young and have got determination to excel. We are focused on moving ahead and I believe in this team”, he said.

ROSSIKE: What did Obama do before he was elected? What succeeses did he record? He didn't even govern any state. Yet he's president. Politics doesn't really work according to the criteria you've set, whereby 'intellectuals' are elected etc. Politics is a rough and tumble game, largely unsuited to intellectuals, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. Else Gore Vidal would be US president not Obama.

Blame Jonathan For Nigeria's Woes - Obasanjo...Says Achebe Is Living In The Past Over Comments On Civil War Former President Olusegun
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again launched another attack on President Goodluck Jonathan whom he said should be blamed for the current difficulties Nigerians are facing especially the problem of insecurity. The latest attack on Jonathan is coming on the heels of a similar one about two weeks ago during an interview on CNN.
In an another interview Obasanjo granted an international magazine, New African , published in its February edition, the former Nigerian leader accused Jonathan of mismanaging the security issues engulfing the country. He goes on to claim that Jonathan is solely responsible for the deteriorating situation causeby the insurgent Boko Haram.
“If the president is the chief security officer of the country and there is a security problem, where do you go for the solution? And if that solution is not coming from the chief security officer, who has everybody and can mobalise everybody, inside and outside to get a solution, the he has the responsibility to solve the problem. And nobody else should be blamed but him”, Obasanjo had declared without mincing words.
The former Head of State also challenged claims made by Nigerian literary giant, Chinua Achebe, regarding the country’s civil war in the 1960s. Obasanjo rebuffed claims that successive Nigerian administrations have marganalised the Igbo ethnic groupwithin the country.
“Maybe he is making those remarks because he is not living in Nigeria. If he were living in Nigeria, when I was the president of this country an Igbo lady was my minister of finance, and Igbo man was the governor of the Central Bank. An Igbo man was one of the military service chiefs. The permanent representative to theUN was also an Igbo person. What more do you want? For someone to say the civil was has not ended, 40 years after its conclusion, that person is living in the past”, Obasanjo countered.

tomakint: Trust me I am not a fan of any PARTY, but how about ACN, CPC and ANPP perhaps if they successfully merge will Nigeria still not be a fail state? Quit all this PDP is this and that, Nigeria needs total overhauling of her 'System of Government'. PDP, ACN, CPC and ANPP are the same thing in as much as they are all being peopled by the same corrupt-minded politicians! My Point

Nigeria spent more than a hundred million naira transporting, feeding and maintaining an extraordinary large contingent of officials and political hangers-on, who travelled with President Goodluck Jonathan to the just-concluded African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, PREMIUM TIMES has learned. Officials, who made the trip, from the presidency to ministries and agencies, averaged 200, making the Nigerian delegation the largest at the conference, top officials, who were also part of the trip, said. They pleaded anonymity for fear of being punished by the administration. That implies the government spent between N93.1 million and N165.8 million to cover their transportation, accommodation and the notorious duty tour allowance, DTA, codenamed estacode in government circles, our estimate shows. “The Nigerian delegation was the largest country delegation and some of us felt really concerned,” he said. “A lot of people who have no reason being there went with us. They were on a jamboree on taxpayers’ expense.” Such outsized teams, a regular feature of Nigerian government travels, critics say, suggest that despite criticisms, Nigerian authorities are nowhere willing to scale down on wasteful spending. The AU meeting, which held between January 21 and 28, discussed mainly the conflict in Mali, where a French-led military campaign is rooting out Islamist rebels from Mali’s north, and the tension between Sudan and South Sudan. Top level negotiations at the highest level of governments saw Nigeria pledging $5 million for the operations and undertaking the refurbishment and reconstruction of a number of military clinics in Mali to the tune of US$ 5.5 million, according to presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati. Even with such weighty matters discussed, diplomats say Nigeria didn’t need the kind of unwieldy team it took to the summit. On the presidential delegation were “sundry domestic servants and cronies of the First Lady such as Bola Shagaya,” our sources, revealed. Ms. Shagaya is an Ilorin-based socialite, and a trusted associate of the first lady well-known for being in the company of past first ladies in Nigeria. She is often on the entourage of first ladies for domestic and international events. Each of the delegates lodged at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, the first African hotel to join the prestigious Luxury collection. The hotel’s second cheapest room, the executive room, goes for N52, 662 a night while the cheapest, the club room, goes for N43, 230. It was not clear which option the Nigerian delegates chose, or whether they maintained separate rooms apiece. If that happened, for say, the second cheapest room, the arrangement would cost a party of 200 N10.5 million a night and at least N42.1 million would have been spent for a minimum of four days. Although the event commenced January 21, Mr. Jonathan arrived in Addis Ababa on January 26. The president had earlier attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, cutting short his trip and returning to Abuja for “pressing state functions” on January 24, Mr. Abati said in a post on his Twitter handle. It is also not clear how many in the delegation were part of the advance party who traveled ahead of the president to Addis Ababa. But the advance party clearly incurred additional costs for the nation. Mr. Abati could not be reached for comments. Calls to his telephones were unanswered Wednesday and Thursday. The longest the delegation could have stayed in Addis Ababa for the event is nine days. The president retuned to Abuja on Tuesday, January 29. For transportation, each of the delegates would have paid N174.7 thousand for an Ethiopian Airline return economy ticket to Addis Ababa. For 200, that amounts to N34.9 million. In addition, delegates also receive estacode, a longstanding controversial allowance meant for government functionaries on official trips, but often abused by government functionaries. As of November 2008, Duty Tour Allowance stood at N35,000 daily for ministers, secretary to the government of the federation and head of service, N20,000 for  permanent secretaries, N16,000 for public servants on grade levels 15-17 and N12,000 for those between grade levels 7 and 14. Those below level 6 and below received N5000 daily. With DTA at a conservative average of N20, 000, at least N4 million could have been paid to delegation members daily. By our conservative estimate, for four days average, the total cost of the trip, including estimated expenses, would be N93.1 million and N165.8 million for nine days. Nigerian officials have a history of abusing the payment of the DTA. In 2009, the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Joseph Golwa, faced allegations for such abuse prompting calls for investigation. Mr. Golwa paid out about N1million as duty tour allowance to 15 senior staff of the organization who, in May 2009, attended his daughter’s wedding in Jos, the Plateau State capital. The allowances were paid even when the apparently private event was held on a Saturday.

It was also learnt that when the white man who misplaced the money returned to the canteen Mama Ngozi told him that she did not see the stipulated sum.

A mild drama ensued Wednesday in Karu, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) when a food seller in the Karu Motor Park, known as Mama Ngozi, was alleged to have found the sum of N4million misplaced by a white man who came to eatin her makeshift canteen.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the woman took the money to the Karu Police station which was just a stone throw to the motor park andhanded the money to the officers on duty for safe keeping, in theevent that the white man who misplaced the money came back for it.
It was learnt that after she had taken the money to the police station, the officers on duty allegedly took the money and sternlywarned her to deny ever seeing such money or bringing it to the police station.
According to the sources, as soon as the woman returned from the police station, neighbours and other people who did businessaround the park thronged her canteen and started berating her for returning the money to the police when she could have helped herself with such huge sum.
LEADERSHIP further learnt that when the husband of the woman heard about the incident he also berated her for returning the money to the police. Meanwhile the officers in Karu were said to have invited the food seller and her husband and warned them about the danger theywould face if they revealed that the money was brought to the station.
According to the sources, throughout that Wednesday, people kept thronging Mama Ngozi’s canteen from all corners of Karu tofind out why she took such an amount to the police. It was also learnt that when the white man who misplaced the money returned to the canteen Mama Ngozi told him that she did not see the stipulated sum. When LEADERSHIP visited Karu Park, yesterday morning, most ofthe people doing business around the park who spoke with this reporter, confirmed the story and was still expressing disappointment that Mama Ngozi returned the money to the police.
According to them, the woman was in need of money and so, was not justified to have returned money “placed on her laps by God”, they averred.
When LEADERSHIP reporter accosted Mama Ngozi, she expressed shock at the story and wondered that it had already gone to town. She denied ever coming across such an amount inher shop and also denied taking the money to the police. She however confirmed that people kept thronging her canteen throughout Wednesday, to find out how she found such a huge sum and returned it to the police

It is reported that during the Cross Over service in Canaanland, Ota, Ogun state, worshipers of the church were said to have made donations of over 700 exotic cars to the church. Those who felt they should sow a seed in the life of the prophet came to the cross over service with different donations, a high number of exotic brand new cars and SUVs flooded Canaanland and its environs.
The people who donated them dropped the keys and documents of the cars during offering.it is also reported that The church auctioned the cars for very cheap prizes to its members. Some say that some cars were sold for as less as N300k. Could this be true Anyone to confirm this??

Adura_ngba: One thing is certain for sure, this pint size mallam should forget any political ambition for now, he has shot himself on his foot.