LRNZH:
After all this long write up, I hate to simply tell you to go and learn about commodity prices and how they affect dependent economies.

Ngozi did not diversify the economy under GEJ when the oil price was above $100/barrel for over 4 years, it is at $30/barrel that Buhari will go to beg her to perform magic.

Abeg receive sense.

Don't mind these IPOD wailers and frustrated individuals. Everything revolves around ethnicity for them. If this is not so then why would any sane Nigerian advocate for the return of one of the principal characters who got us in the mess we are in today? As you correctly stated, NOI did not lead an attempt to diversify the Nigerian economy while we were much richers and selling oil at over $100.00 per barrel. It is now that oil is $27.00 per barrel we should recall this women who abets corruption and its practitioners when, as the "genius" many proclaim her to be, she knows fully well that grand-scale corruption will cripple even the most well-endowed Nations. OP is a real joker but the joke is on him because it is now becoming obvious to many Nigerians that some some folks are ready to suggest the most ludicrous things, that defy even basic human logic, in defence of anything/anyone they are affiliated with by ethnicity.

ellapius:
hmmm, problem has no brother . so they ll leavr him to die there.
its funny how tje rich also cry. the fear is no body want to stick his head out fprthe fear of being harassedby buhari's vipers (EFCC) habaaaa. there is God oo

Precisely. This is how it must be in any sane nation. There must be the fear of repercussion for wrongdoing otherwise a nation will become the lawless jungle Nigeria became under the PDP. Buhari is the right President for this difficult period we are facing as a nation. We do not need a rocket scientist. We simply need someone who, by any means necessary, will ensure impunity is checked seriously from now on. The main problem of Nigeria is lawlessness at every frigging level. That is why Metuh can be slapping teachers and imprisoning them in the boot of his car while Dasuki, after sending many soldiers and Nigerians to their death, demand that the lawyers he is paying from our money set him free immediately as if he is above the law.

@OP.

Well-said. A timely piece. It is time for all of us who mean well for Nigeria to put the past and our differences behind us to fully support the efforts of the present government to prosecute the thieves who have ruined Nigerian and left us in a very poor condition to survive what, as you stated, is probably the most economically difficult period in our history. Oil , the main export of our mono economy, is virtually worthless. We have no 'rainy day' savings either , with which to weather the storm, courtesy of the corruption and looting oga "don't give a damn" (GEJ) supervised. Our economy, thanks to the PDP that led for 16 years, is not diversified and totally dependent on oil sales. The SME sector is moribund. Critical infrastructure is completely pathetic. Manufacturing nko? Totally kaput !!!!

The government of the day cannot be perfect and I think the noise of selective prosecution will never go away because of the nature of Nigerians and the prejudice they innately harbour for their own religious and ethnic affiliates. "Metuh was handcuffed while Dasuki was not" and other blah, blah, blah. Yet we must all agree that prosecution of corruption, especially with looted funds recovered, is better than no prosecution at all as was the case under GEJ. What most must remember when they mention Fashola, Amaechi, Tinubu et al is that Buhari is not hounding PDP State leaders, i.e governors, either. As head of the federal government, and correctly, Buhari is going after those who stole from the tier of government he is head of i.e the federal government. State government are entirely free to prosecute any former governor.

It is time Nigerians stop charging Buhari to prosecute everyone. That is a silly and entirely senseless way to view things. Nigerians must accept that Buhari's first and most direct responsibility is to bring looters of federal wealth to book. If every Nigerian is free to mention their choice looter Buhari should prosecute then I might as well mention Chief Kamoru who is head of my local government or call our busy President to come and arrest the LASTMA thieves at the corner of my road!!!! Fact is that every leader must prosecute according to their jurisdiction and direct area of responsibility. Buhari will face federal thieves and Nigerians should charge governors to face State and local government thieves. As simple as that and it is time for all patriotic Nigerians who mean well for Nigeria to get behind Buhari and stop the distracting noise.

Choi !!! Metuh don suffer. The PDP has now denied him mercilessly in his time of need. Nobody wants to piss off PMB. At this rate Metuh will go from jail to his sentence of several years.

http://saharareporters.com/2016/01/23/we-won%E2%80%99t-provide-sureties-metuh-%E2%80%93jalo

We Won’t Provide Sureties For Metuh –Jalo


The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has said that it will not provide sureties for its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.


The party said since Metuh was being prosecuted for offences that have nothing to do with it, its embattled spokesperson should look for those who would stand as sureties for him.

Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Abdullahi Jalo, told our correspondent in an interview on Friday in Abuja that it would be wrong for anyone to be expecting the party to provide sureties for Metuh when the party did not benefit from the money he allegedly collected from the former National Security Adviser, Lt Col. Sabo Dasuki (retd.).

Metuh is facing charges for allegedly collecting N400m from Dasuki, an offence the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission described as money laundering.

Though Metuh said he actually collected the money, he said it was for a job he did for former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Metuh has, however, remained silent on the type of job he allegedly did for the former President.

He is also being prosecuted by the EFCC for allegedly tearing the statement he made to the commission while under interrogation.

The PDP spokesperson has denied both offences, and he is currently being remanded in Kuje Prisons, Abuja, by two different courts pending the time he would meet the bail conditions.

There were anxieties on how he would meet the conditions in order to ease his release from the prisons.

Jalo, however, said the party would not be involved in the search for the sureties.

He said, “Metuh didn’t represent the party in the alleged crimes he’s being prosecuted. The party didn’t benefit from the alleged crime.

“So, he is going to look for sureties himself. We won’t be involved. He would carry his own cross alone, without the party being involved.”

However, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Mr. Victor Kwon, said friends and associates Metuh were “doing everything possible to get the sureties” as demanded by the courts.

Reference:


And why is it that no government including this one has been able to 'DIVERSIFY'. Paying only lip service because they know the truth. True Federalism. Something no one north of the Niger wants to hear. To the victor belongs the civil war spoils. Who wants to work anymore. That is the PRIMARY reason Jonathan had to go. The water to turn garri to eba was about to boil. This country cannot succeed and cannot develop because it is held together by a grand lie. We all know this but pretend we can skirt it. We CANNOT diversify the economy. The powers that be. The owners of Nigeria are not interested.

My man, how is this criticism fair or even reasonable? How can you expect the APC government to diversify the Nigerian economy adequately in the 8 months Buhari has been president and with the severe challenge of how our main export, i.e oil, has become virtually worthless? If we even settle on commercially mining our bitumen deposit today , as one example, how long do you think it will take before Nigeria is actually ganing economic benefits (eg income, job creation et al) from this commitment that the populace can feel? 2 days? 6 months? 12 months ? 24 months ? I think some basic investigation will show you that Buhari needs considerably more than 8 months to 'diversify' the Nigerian economy.

If we then agree on this point, I would like to know why you can readliy indict all Nigerian governments as culpable when, realistically, it only the PDP that has led for 16 years that has had more than enough time to diversify our economy while enjoy dream income, i.e oil selling at over £100.00 per barrel, that Buhari can only dream of. We all need to be pragmatic and realistic with our criticism.

arresa:



Many of these posters are posting based not only from ignorance but also tribalism, bigotry, hatred and bitterness...

Precisely. Ultimately, Nigerians are a people who like to appear more erudite than others. From page one it is different suggestions by numerous Nigerian George Soros and Warren Buffets that completely misses the central and pertinent issues. The bottom line is that we screwed ourselves royally because we left ourselves economically vulnerable to the vagaries of oil price. Being a mono economy with oil as our major export, accounting for 80% of the income of Nigeria, means there is no quick or easy way out as long as oil price remain low.

The 'solutions for our economic woes are virtually all long term 'fixes' eg diversifying our economy, growing the SME sector aggressively, developing critical infrastructure et al. I think the APC should embark on proper and formal 'education' exercise to sensitize Nigerians about what we are facing. That might spare us some of the ignorant argument we are seeing on this thread with uninformed mischief-makers using terms they do not even understand.

MrSegunAdewole:
[s][/s]
Rubbish

IPOD loser. Have you issued any empty threats or impotent ultimatum today? Silly creature of hate.

wirinet:


You people always find a way to blame other tribes but quick to make excuses for your own for errors done by all. T[b]he financial sector was in the hands of your tribesmen/women during the last government and they messed up big time, you are now attempting to shift blames on a yoruba woman that had hardly been finance minister for 2 months.[/b] So according to your wrapped blame searching logic, Kemi Adeosun is to be blamed for Nigeria's fiscal and monetary policies, and she is also in charge of Nigerian security exchange. Emefiele and onyema now report to the finance minister according to some ethnic bigots? To them an Igbos public office can never do wrong while public officers from other tribes can never do right.

Thank you !!! They are very wicked and unrelentingly spiteful elements. There was an appreciable period when oil sold for over $100.00 per barrel constantly under NOI with Nigeria having nothing economically worthwhile to show for such yet they are happy to heap the blame on Adeosun who has been in office for around three months and in a period oil is now selling for $27.00 per barrel. Any reasonable person will accept that there are no short term fixes because (1) part of the problem, i.e global conditions, is beyond the control of Nigeria/Adeosun and (2) the Party that had been in charge of Nigeria for 16 years since 1999 left us, in many ways, totally unprepared to face this very difficult period.

Also, a reasonably intelligent and objective will accept that talks of "fiscal and monetary policies" are just worthless semantics being bandied around by mischief-makers and ignoramuses. To put it lightly, we are f**ked and recovery will be slow and painful because of our extreme vulnerabilities, limitations and challenges that "fiscal and monetary polices" cannot cure overnight and certainly not in the three months Adesoun has been finance Minister.

To make matters worse these irredeemable 'bad belle' folks have the nerve to ask for the return of NOI who was only able to supervise the looting of our commonwealth and lie deceptively to Nigerians over years yet they will not even give Adesoun a fair crack of the whip. These guys are the very definition of wickedness.

NavierStokes:


My brother, i have been very vocal about these "venezuela styled" policies on here, i have seen first hand its effect on her people.
It baffles me how someone can see a failed policy and still go ahead to implememt same expecting a different result.

In all the party has been clueless on the economy as stated by their chairman, where he says they will convey a meeting of policy makers and stakeholders so as to be able to have a clear direction on the way forward, which in other words means they are yet to have a clue on the way forward these past months.

I must ask, what the eff are you talking about? You are the one who is clueless about the economy. There is not much Buhari and the APC can do, in the short term, that will give the miracle results only ignorant and mainly prejudiced folks clamour for because of our peculiar economic vulnerability and challenges, worsened by the GEJ I am sure you supported, you guys are simply failing to acknowledge. Britain for example is still recovering from the 'credit crunch' of many years ago and I watched a few days ago as the UK CBN governor explained that interest rate will stay at the record low 0.5% it had been running at for 7 years !!!!! The opinion is that the British economy is still not 'robust' enough to continue recovering if interest rate rose.

If a country with Britain's economic options and flexibility is still carefully managing its economy many, many years after the credit crunch then what manner of miracles are you unreasonable folks expecting from Buhari and the APC in months given our challenges and unique situation which makes Nigeria one of the most, if not the most economically disadvantaged nation in the world currently? What abracadabra do you want to see for our mono economy with oil selling for $27.00 per barrel while our SME sector is moribund and our infrastructural stock is near worthless?

As one example, if electricity supply was not improved appreciably when GEJ sold oil at $110.00 per barrel is it sensible to be screaming at Buhari and the APC about lack of electricity when oil is selling at $27.00 per barrel and we our struggling to pay salary and fund our recurrent expenses? What is wrong with you guys? Constructive criticism is good but there is non of that in your talk and that of others like you. Instead I only note ignorant, petty, illogical and completely banal talk motivated by a very obvious agenda you and others will never admit to yet such is crystal clear and putridly offensive.

OfoIgbo:


You sound daft.

Kemi Adeosun the clueless, is in charge of Nigeria's fiscal policy. The failure of Kemi in strengthening the fiscals of Nigeria has limited the bullish scope our financial directors can operate under.

Another case in point is the preparation of the budget which she has bungled, stolen, replaced. She is a stark illiterate

You guys are simply shameless !!! Awful and highly prejudiced human beings the lot of you !!! Hate for others, 24/7, guide how you think and talk and this is why you can never see or appreciate the obvious. Look at how you ungraciously insult a lady who deserves respect, by dint of her hard work and achievements in life, when it is you who is actually a "stark illiterate" talking ignorantly and using terms, eg "fiscal policy" , you and your fellow co-travellers in hate do not understand. no one, and I repeat no one, can perform miracles for the actual situation Nigeria is in. An intelligent and objective person will even admit it will get worse before it gets better because:

(1) Nigeria is a mono economy with her main export being oil which is responsible for 80% of Nigeria's income and a big portion of the foreign exchange we receive. Because of an indolent and singular focus on oil income by the PDP, the Party that has led us for 16 years since 1999, the Nigerian economy is not diversified at all and, of all major oil exporters worldwide, the most vulnerable to the drastic fall in oil price.

(2) The SME sector, the lifeblood of the biggest economies in the world, is moribund in Nigeria and unable to provide any sort of appreciable stimulus to help us in a very difficult period caused by a 75% drop in the worth of our main export.

(3) Recovery will be much more painful and slower because we failed totally to plan for this stage. The previous government, despite selling oil at record price of $110.00 per barrel for an appreciable period, failed to save completely.

(4) critical infrastructure, eg transport and power, cannot provide short term stimulus as tools of diversifying the economy because they are simply inadequate courtesy of the PDP that has had really poor impact on improving the infrastructures that aids the growth of the SME sector, movement of goods and services and general socio-economic growth.


There are more consideration but they would be too complex for you "stark illiterates" who ignore real global challenges other economies are exposed to and struggling with to be blaming one woman merely because she is finance Minister and Yoruba. There is not much Adeosun can do because , primarily, Nigeria is a mono economy that lived by oil and must 'die' by oil for now and till we steady the ship painfully and slowly. Forget all the big words you guys are using with the hope such will impress or confuse anyone. This economic downturn started under GEJ. The article below is from 2014 when oil sold for $68.00 per barrel.

The experts, i.e global economist, stated that we should forget any hope of a quick recovery under those conditions so what do you empty barrels and ethnocentric charlatan expect Adeosun to do in 2016 when oil is $27.00 per barrel and we are all facing the revelation that Ali Baba (GEJ) and his forty thieves (Dasuki, Metuh, Anenih, Allison-Madueke et al) have stolen Nigeria blind especially the desperate looting of 2015 in the attempt to steal the elections? Do you not see below when a knowledgeable analyst, commenting in 2014 when oil was $68.00 per barrel, admits that "the governments options are limited" and that “We’re a substantial way from the economy even starting to think about being able to recover,”. Do you and your fellow charlatans know better than the analyst who made those informed comments?

furthermore, you shameless and wicked guys really have mouth to talk considering the callous and worthless GEJ you blindly gave 100% electoral and vocal backing to, along with his appointees like NOI and Allison-Madueke et al, is, to a large extent, responsible for the mess we are in today. You are all really shameless and it is obvious you do not mean well for Nigeria and are only interested in settling ethnic scores and vendetta over GEJ's election loss and this is why you cannot give Buhari and his appointees your support when they have the worst set of economic condition any Country in the world currently can be saddled with. You are all truly unrelentingly wicked enemies of Nigeria's progress.


http://www.wsj.com/articles/nigerias-tumbling-currency-a-victim-of-falling-oil-prices-1417535209

Nigeria’s Tumbling Currency a Victim of Falling Oil Prices
Highly Oil Dependent Economy Feeling the Pinch
Nigeria’s currency has fallen to record lows as the country is hit by its dependency on oil, the price of which has tumbled 40% since June.
REUTERS
By PATRICK MCGROARTY, DREW HINSHAW and JOSIE COX
Updated Dec. 2, 2014 2:20 p.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
Nigeria’s currency tumbled to a record low on Tuesday, hammered by falling oil prices that have weighed on Africa’s top economy as it heads toward an election.

Nigeria overestimated oil prices this year by a wide margin—and is now suffering. Economists fear weak oil prices may prevent Africa’s most populous nation from hitting the 7% growth the International Monetary Fund has forecast for this year.

“We’re a substantial way from the economy even starting to think about being able to recover,” said Nitesh Shah, an analyst at ETF Securities in London. “The government’s options are limited.”

Oil and natural gas make up almost all of Nigeria’s exports and 80% of government revenue, according to the IMF.

As Brent crude prices have slipped 40% since June, to $68 a barrel, the wheels have begun to come off Nigeria’s economy.

Nigeria, whose economy surpassed South Africa in April as the continent’s largest, has striven to generate revenue beyond oil. Recent years saw promising growth in booming telecommunications, banks, hotels and other service businesses.

But to sustain that growth, businesses say they need bigger ports, more highways and fewer blackouts that crimp factory production and curb tax revenue. A weaker naira will make it more expensive to build that infrastructure.

The naira slumped to 186.9 to the U.S. dollar, traders said, extending a slide that has shaved more than 10% off its value this year.

Many African countries are paying the price for counting on one commodity to drive their economies. Growth has stalled in oil-rich Angola. Falling copper prices have dented growth in Zambia. Lower iron-ore prices were hurting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone even before the Ebola epidemic made things far worse.

ENLARGE
President Goodluck Jonathan, standing for re-election, has come under pressure to avoid unpopular spending cuts. As a result, the current budget of nearly $30 billion is hardly $1 billion leaner than last year’s, but the decline in oil prices has choked revenue.

In October, Nigeria—which spends a fifth of its budget on its military—borrowed an additional $1 billion to buy helicopters, fighter jets and other equipment to combat Islamist militants. On Tuesday, the insurgency Boko Haram bombed a market in one city and raided police barracks in another.

In November, the government submitted a revised budget that proposes spending cuts based on a new average oil price of $73 a barrel. But even that price could be “overly optimistic,” warned the central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele.
‘We get used to high oil prices and assume it’s going to be there forever.’
—Ken Iwelumo, former investment banker
Nigeria isn’t the only big oil producer with a wilting currency. Russia’s ruble has shed nearly half of its value against the dollar since May. Norway’s krone has dropped 17% since then, and the Canadian dollar is down 5%.

[size=14pt]But Nigeria is particularly vulnerable. Unlike its peers, it didn’t save while oil prices were high. A public fund that contained $20 billion in oil proceeds when crude prices first surged past $100 a barrel in 2008 had shrunk to $4 billion as of November.

“We get used to high oil prices and assume it’s going to be there forever,” said Ken Iwelumo, a former investment banker who now farms catfish in Nigeria.
[/size]
Economists say oil prices could stay low for months. The 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, who collectively pump more than a third of the world’s oil, agreed last week to maintain a target of producing 30 million barrels a day.

Meanwhile, the country’s power-privatization program has hit snags. Investors say they can’t improve supply until the government invests $1.5 billion a year to replace a rusted-out grid of power lines.

Nigeria’s All-Shares Index fell 1.8% on Tuesday, extending a drop of almost 18% this year.

In November, Nigeria’s central bank tried to support the naira by limiting sales of the U.S. dollar. When the naira continued to drop, the central bank bought the Nigerian currency to pump up demand, traders say. The bank’s foreign-exchange reserves shrank by $2 billion and the selloff continued.

Last week, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by one percentage point to a record 13%. It also lowered the naira’s target trading band to around 168 against the dollar from 155 previously.

The naira is still trading outside that target. Fresh dollar sales by the central bank did little to stop its slide, traders say.

“Things are happening too quickly, too suddenly, too sharply for the average Nigerian or even analysts to process,” said Bizmark Rewane, managing director of Lagos-based Financial Derivatives Co. “We do not know what will happen.”

andresia:



Is the "attention seeker" on point or not?

Seriously, you guys make me puke with your morally deficient mind-set.

Is the Niger Delta better off now than what it was before GEJ became president? Dont you all think that the Niger Delta should have been his top priority when GEJ assumed office, being a son of the soil and the hue and cry of Niger Delta marginalization?

Its sooo sad that a silly and worthless child (GEJ) is the Niger Deltan fate jeeringly deemed fit to make the president of Nigeria.

Cry Niger Delta!

Indeed. Nigeria will never be the same again because GEJ, a very divisive President who robbed the poor and gave to the rich, has brought out irresponsibly clannish behaviour in some ethnic groups. Man is only distinct from animals because he is supposed to be evolved and able to tell wrong from right . It is nauseating to see that rather than make issues about what is best for Nigeria some folks are only interested in a perpetual defence, right or wrong, of everything/everyone connected to their ethnic group. Tragic.Those who mean well for Nigeria, wherever they are from, will prevail ultimately.

kayfra:


Nobody can reverse the trend of our exchange rate. You are not going to automatically swing the pendulum and give Nigeria non-oil exports overnight. Learn to live with it and reduce your appetite for foreign made finished goods if you want to stem the tide.

Enough with the useless expectations.

Thank you very much. I wonder why some cannot deploy simple logic to see what is obvious before they bore us with the redundant dollar to naira rate argument they think indicts Buhari of poor performance. While at it, these folks should tell us what has happened to oil price in the past 1 year and the specific economic problem a mono economy like Nigeria, reliant on oil as it main earner and source of foreign currency, will face when its main export is becoming more worthless by the day. Honestly the naira to dollar argument is so incredibly stupid, given the issues Nigeria is facing, I personally feel anyone who cites it is a child not worth taking seriously. Is it Buhari's fault Nigeria is a mono economy, with a moribund SME sector, extremely vulnerable to drastically falling price of crude? The article below is from 2014 when oil was selling for $68.00 per barrel. What miracle will an adult of sound mind then expect today that oil price is around $27.00 per barrel?


http://www.wsj.com/articles/nigerias-tumbling-currency-a-victim-of-falling-oil-prices-1417535209

Nigeria’s Tumbling Currency a Victim of Falling Oil Prices
Highly Oil Dependent Economy Feeling the Pinch
Nigeria’s currency has fallen to record lows as the country is hit by its dependency on oil, the price of which has tumbled 40% since June.
REUTERS
By PATRICK MCGROARTY, DREW HINSHAW and JOSIE COX
Updated Dec. 2, 2014 2:20 p.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
Nigeria’s currency tumbled to a record low on Tuesday, hammered by falling oil prices that have weighed on Africa’s top economy as it heads toward an election.

Nigeria overestimated oil prices this year by a wide margin—and is now suffering. Economists fear weak oil prices may prevent Africa’s most populous nation from hitting the 7% growth the International Monetary Fund has forecast for this year.

“We’re a substantial way from the economy even starting to think about being able to recover,” said Nitesh Shah, an analyst at ETF Securities in London. “The government’s options are limited.”

Oil and natural gas make up almost all of Nigeria’s exports and 80% of government revenue, according to the IMF.

As Brent crude prices have slipped 40% since June, to $68 a barrel, the wheels have begun to come off Nigeria’s economy.

Nigeria, whose economy surpassed South Africa in April as the continent’s largest, has striven to generate revenue beyond oil. Recent years saw promising growth in booming telecommunications, banks, hotels and other service businesses.

But to sustain that growth, businesses say they need bigger ports, more highways and fewer blackouts that crimp factory production and curb tax revenue. A weaker naira will make it more expensive to build that infrastructure.

The naira slumped to 186.9 to the U.S. dollar, traders said, extending a slide that has shaved more than 10% off its value this year.

Many African countries are paying the price for counting on one commodity to drive their economies. Growth has stalled in oil-rich Angola. Falling copper prices have dented growth in Zambia. Lower iron-ore prices were hurting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone even before the Ebola epidemic made things far worse.

ENLARGE
President Goodluck Jonathan, standing for re-election, has come under pressure to avoid unpopular spending cuts. As a result, the current budget of nearly $30 billion is hardly $1 billion leaner than last year’s, but the decline in oil prices has choked revenue.

In October, Nigeria—which spends a fifth of its budget on its military—borrowed an additional $1 billion to buy helicopters, fighter jets and other equipment to combat Islamist militants. On Tuesday, the insurgency Boko Haram bombed a market in one city and raided police barracks in another.

In November, the government submitted a revised budget that proposes spending cuts based on a new average oil price of $73 a barrel. But even that price could be “overly optimistic,” warned the central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele.
‘We get used to high oil prices and assume it’s going to be there forever.’
—Ken Iwelumo, former investment banker
Nigeria isn’t the only big oil producer with a wilting currency. Russia’s ruble has shed nearly half of its value against the dollar since May. Norway’s krone has dropped 17% since then, and the Canadian dollar is down 5%.

[size=14pt]But Nigeria is particularly vulnerable. Unlike its peers, it didn’t save while oil prices were high. A public fund that contained $20 billion in oil proceeds when crude prices first surged past $100 a barrel in 2008 had shrunk to $4 billion as of November.

“We get used to high oil prices and assume it’s going to be there forever,” said Ken Iwelumo, a former investment banker who now farms catfish in Nigeria.
[/size]
Economists say oil prices could stay low for months. The 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, who collectively pump more than a third of the world’s oil, agreed last week to maintain a target of producing 30 million barrels a day.

Meanwhile, the country’s power-privatization program has hit snags. Investors say they can’t improve supply until the government invests $1.5 billion a year to replace a rusted-out grid of power lines.

Nigeria’s All-Shares Index fell 1.8% on Tuesday, extending a drop of almost 18% this year.

In November, Nigeria’s central bank tried to support the naira by limiting sales of the U.S. dollar. When the naira continued to drop, the central bank bought the Nigerian currency to pump up demand, traders say. The bank’s foreign-exchange reserves shrank by $2 billion and the selloff continued.

Last week, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by one percentage point to a record 13%. It also lowered the naira’s target trading band to around 168 against the dollar from 155 previously.

The naira is still trading outside that target. Fresh dollar sales by the central bank did little to stop its slide, traders say.

“Things are happening too quickly, too suddenly, too sharply for the average Nigerian or even analysts to process,” said Bizmark Rewane, managing director of Lagos-based Financial Derivatives Co. “We do not know what will happen.”

It could not happen to a more deserving chap. Metuh don suffer.

@OP.

Very pertinent topic. This is why I really wonder about the mentality, as you put it, of "those whose culture it is to defend stealing". They are busy fretting about bail for Dasuki, so our former NSA can bolt abroad to spend his billions, yet many valiant soldiers are dead, disabled or permanently maimed because of the unconscionable and inhumanly wicked looting of Dasuki et al. All decent Nigerians are solidly behind PMB. Dasuki and others will not only regurgitate our money but they will get the long prison sentences they deserve for their dastardly deeds. They should thank whatever god they worship that Nigeria is not China where a death sentence would automatically await them upon conviction for these wicked acts of corruption.

Welldone Mr.Shittu. This is serious and disgusting abuse of office. Not surprised at this revelation at all because GEJ and PEJ are very crude individuals who encouraged all around them to partake in a free-for-all that enriched a few massively to the detriment of Nigeria. No wonder PEJ was worried her husband would land in jail if Buhari took over. She knows how horribly they looted and abused Nigeria.

According to petition filed by a renowned Abuja Based Human Rights Activist, Constitutional lawyer and anti corruption crusader, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, exclusives obtained by NewsPunch.org, the current Director General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack, used his position to manipulate and fraudulently award 20 projects known as Community Access Centers valued at N15m each to companies known to belong to the former first lady, Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the petition; “…20 other projects designated as Knowledge Access Venues which contracts sums were at N24m each were similarly awarded to the former First Lady’s companies.”

“The total of these illegally awarded projects came to N780m. Even more galling is the fact that 40 out of 60 projects planned for nation-wide deployment, the afore-mentioned projects were all sited in Rivers state, which not coincidentally is the home state of the former First Lady and her protégé, Mr. Peter Jack, the Director General of NITDA.”

yaki84:






was tompolo, boyloaf working directly under the govt?
did they hold any positions in govt?
hw did they loot when they r not govrs, chairmens or commissioners?
tinubu has loads of looted funds, go n demobilise him first, branch otta farm n also do same then comeback n we will help u.
person dey steal wetin him get?

I don't get you guys and your readiness to make excuses for crooks. Nigerian Presidents always steal and loot mainly through cronies who are not "working directly under the govt". Their simplistic thinking is that their loot will be safe because they stolen it by proxy through those who can argue they have nothing to do with the government exactly as you and others are doing here. This is a shameful argument buddy because, as one example, you do not expect GEJ to buy choice government land for a knock-down price in his own name while President same as it is only a fool who will think Jonathan will awards billions in contracts directly to himself. You guys need to stop this pathetic defence of crude looters. Let them face justice. Nigeria is broke and needs the loot they stole.

scachy:


Why Tompolo n other militant leaders ?

Did Tompolo et al held any political portfolio during GEJ administration?

How did Tompolo got access to the money d Feds accused him of embezzling?

My brother, stop this revisionism. We all lived through the last few years to know your excuse of Tompolo not holding a government position is rubbish. Presidents do not steal directly. They do it through cronies . GEJ stole through the militant boys and they were happy to assist him for a handsome share of the booty. You and every honest Nigerian know this is true. It is time for them to face justice.

OrlandoOwoh:
So because of the fear oil instalations being bombed militants should be allowed to live above the law. OP, the era of militants masturbäting with crime ended with Jonathan in May last year.

Indeed. Some people do not understand that Nigeria will win and survive in the end as is always the case. Good luck to those backing Tompolo et al against a federal government now headed by a man who knows what it takes to lead for the majority rather than allow himself to be cowered by a few self-serving crooks.

OFFICIAL336:

U see ur hypocrisy! All the crooks are from the ND?

you guys and your persecution complex. We are talking about the ND in relation to people of the region i.e Tompolo and other militants. Who do you then want me to mention? Bode George? OP said Buhari wants to fight the ND and I am pointing out that it is looters from the ND Buhari is fighting. Same as if someone states Buhari wants to fight the SW and I list a name of SW political leaders, suspected of corrupt enrichment, to show that Buhari is fighting crooks from the region and not declaring a war on the SW. Your siege mentality na wa sha.

cktheluckyman:


So when Tompolo waged war againat Nigeria in the past was he living in mansions? Nigeria is already losing $2.4 million since last Friday and Buhari is trying to prosecute Tompolo for $17m!! Is that not pennywise pound foolish!!

You guys don't get it do you? Buhari, as a military general, is a dedicated student of the laws of power and he knows there is no way to exert authority better than to show the world that he is completely in charge and that no individual is above the law under his government. I wish Tompolo goodluck in his "war" against Buhari.

Let us see who comes out on top. It is obvious you guys have become used to a diet of impunity that makes you fail to accept we now have a formidable and deserving President in place who understands that it is about doing what is best for Nigeria and not about giving 'big men' the privilege of p1ss1ng on Nigerians and getting away with it as obtained under the PDP and GEJ.

scachy:


Alright, let Buhari apply force on Niger Delta militants let's see where it ll land us economically.
After all, OBJ made use of force.

You keep talking as if the Niger Delta is automatically the same as Tompolo et al. Buhari is not applying any force on the Niger Delta but he has vowed to crush the lawlessness any criminal may ferment - rightfully so because lawlessness and impunity must stp in Nigeria. Are you not fed up of how lawless Nigeria is? You guys should stop the scaremongering and stop approaching everything with a persecution complex. It is not the Niger Delta Buhari is fighting but men who stole the commonwealth of the people. I would have though most would want looters brought to book or have you benefited from Tompolo and co to be holding brief for them?

They cannot and must not hold Nigeria to ransom. Militants fighting for fair play and justice for the people is very different to asking the people to get behind you when you are fighting to evade prosecution over vast sums of money you looted that they never saw a kobo of. GEJ, Allison-Madueke, Tompolo, Asari Doku-Orobo, Orubebe and many leaders of the NDDC are merely crooks who stole the commonwealth of the people. If the same people want to be fighting for these looters to escape justice for impoverishing them then that is tragic.

@OP.

Good to note you are saying the ND is Tompolo, Asari Doku-Orobo et al.Instead of you, for the good of your region, to firmly and unequivocally insist Tompolo, or any looter of the people's common wealth, should face justice, as Buhari unflinchingly believes should be the case, you are insinuating they should be left in peace to enjoy whatever they looted. Are the North threatening to fight Nigeria over the few crooks being brought to justice or do you think many in the SW will bat an eyelid if Buhari descends on the crooks in the region?

Tompolo and co are not above the law. We cannot make money out of thin air - especially in this very difficult period. The money they looted will be useful to Nigeria and the children of your region will benefit from recovered funds unlike when Tompolo and his fellow militants, under GEJ, fed fat but never gave the people a kobo. Just support what is right for a great Nigeria. As simple as that.

doctokwus:
Thought some were bragging that tompolo has weapons to wage War against nigeria.Why is he in hiding with some reports claiming he has even absconded from nigeria.
Whenever tompolo is caught,he can definitely kiss his freedom goodbye because no court is going to grant him bail and with his charges are piling up,the sentence he wud finally receive wud indeed be long.

Tompolo, Asari Doku-Orobo et al cannot defy Buhari because they are not dealing with GEJ or similar weaklings. I told many, when Buhari was sworn in, that the days of individuals making threats against Nigeria and holding our nation to ransom are over because Buhari understands completely that a government and President needs to be tough and needs to be seen to be tough. It is the way it is worldwide with successful and well-run nations.

When the mightiest authority in the land (the FG) and the most powerful office in Nigeria (the Presidency) allows itself to be cowered by groups and individuals lawlessness everywhere is the outcome as was the case under the PDP. Buhari knows part of ushering in change and a new way of doing things is to restore the authority of the FG, the presidency and our institutions so that Nigeria becomes like sane nations where no individual or group is greater than the Country. We warned them that a new Sheriff is in town but they would not listen. Now the likes of Kanu will learn the hard way.

mysteriousman:
I support the bail conditions

Any sane Nigerian would. If they set bail at a paltry N20 million and Metuh absconds after paying it then the case against him stalls along with any chance of recovering what he is accused of stealing so such can be used on behalf of Nigerians in a very tough economic period. Sometimes it is difficult to understand Nigerians. It is not 10 Naira Metuh is accused of stealing in this very tough time. He is very arrogant, pugnacious and uncooperative as well which will not endear him to any judge. He is a flight risk in my opinion and the tough bail condition is perfectly in order.

mirakz:


My friend, let me clarify you. There are two major things in the OP's point. 1. Stealing of #400m, which he was arrested for and 2. Getting a bail from a judiciary. If you can be unbiased, with the truth you have, you will agree with me that judiciary is an independent house which ought not to have any interference from the executive, knowing that judiciary is the last hope of a common man. This scenario has clearly shown that the judiciary has been compromised not having their will power to pronounce judgement as the law requires.

No one is collecting N400 million Metuh is accused of receiving. That is not what bail is about . The money will be held as a condition of bail to ensure Metuh keeps honouring court appearances. There are other bail conditions as well which invalidates your accusation against the judiciary. Metuh must provide two sureties with Abuja property worth N200 million each. Care to tell us your theory on that?

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/197006-court-grants-pdp-spokesman-metuh-n400-million-bail.html

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh, on the condition that he pays N400 million as bond.
Mr. Metuh is to also submit his international passport, and must provide two sureties with N200 million each. The sureties must have properties in Maitama district of Abuja.

NoreenUG:


lol.
to tell u the truth, the government shouldn't even put more money on ANY kind of minerals anymore, even though I agree with u that buhari represents a special brand of sttupid.

spending the little we have on EXTRACTIVE TRADE (whether it's solid or liquid minerals) IN THIS DAY AND AGE, will do nothing but reinforce the SAME culture of laziness we've been swimming in for over 50 years.

Any progressive country would tell you, that the ONLY type of minerals we should be tapping into right now, are the INTELLECTUAL MINERALS, and this can only be acheived by investing in EDUCATION - Academic, Technical and Artisan.

The 21st century runs on INNOVATION, and the only way we can compete is through EDUCATION.

Minerals didn't build Apple. The brain did.
Minerals didn't build Facebook. The brain did.
Minerals didn't build Hollywood. The creative mind did.
Minerals didn't build Silicon Valley. The brain did.
Minerals didn't build NASA. The brain did.
Hell, minerals didn't even DESIGN or INVENT the oil refinery. THE HUMAN MIND DID.

My brother, the ONLY sustainable natural resource is the HUMAN RESOURCE, and you can only mine it by investing in EDUCATION.

Even as the thread is an interesting one being discussed amiably some of you have to ruin it with your palpable bias against Mr.President which means you throw insults hollowly, ignorantly and needlessly when you actually need to give him credit. If you can conclude that commercial extraction and refining of solid minerals would be very expensive, cash intensive and economically counter-productive, in this 'cash crunch' period, for Nigeria then do you think the very intelligent men and women Buhari has empowered to lead the sector, like Fayemi, have not come to the same conclusion and planned for ways around it?

From day one Fayemi has made it crystal clear that the way forward is partnering with committed and capable investors who can provide the expertise and required capital which will help us develop our mining sector. Instead you must make it seem as if the Buhari government is an economically illiterate and archaically spendthrift one not smart enough to note this simple concept when indeed Fayemi makes it clear he is miles ahead of you in thinking. The reality is that some Nigerians, because of nothing but innate prejudice, will find it difficult to give credit to the current government whatever it does. Here you talk as if investment in education and human capacity development comes as the opportunity cost of an outdated mode of solid mineral sector development where government tries to finance expensive activities itself to the detriment of Nigeria.

The opposite is true and you are either being deliberately deceptive or just ignorant of the plans of Fayemi for the solid mineral sector he has reiterated many times. The mining sector will be developed with a modern model of financing and engagement running like PPP schemes, i.e public-private sector partnership, that will not tie up government cash/time which would then impede the development of other sectors. The main consideration is to enshrine more transparency, probity and clarity, plus improve relevant extant laws/legislation, that will minimise grey areas and bottlenecks keeping potential investors away from our solid minerals sector. Let us try and discuss honestly and truthfully in the search for solutions and not in ways that display our unobjective bias against others. below is an article where Fayemi articulates his plans for the mining sector. For the sake of brevity I have quoted some section which shows the relevant consideration i.e the thinking of the government in relation to the funding and running of the solid minerals sector. It may sit well with you to think so but the Government of Buhari is not full of 'slowpoke's who cannot see what 'brainy' you can observe. The Government of Buhari is actually led by many intelligent and visionary mind, who will have access to finest specialist advice, and have already moved beyond what you ungraciously think they are incapable of seeing.


http://thenationonlineng.net/our-plan-to-increase-minings-n400b-revenue-by-fayemi/

Our plan to increase mining’s N400b revenue, by Fayemi

He pledged to sanitise the solid minerals sector.

“We will work with stakeholders to review existing licences and bring them up to date where there are issues. Our goal is to get licensees, who are sitting on the fence to have sufficient confidence to start investing real capital.

“I was in Ajaokuta last week and we were so distraught by the time we left, that how could a nation do this to itself? Ajaokuta in itself is a city; it has an airport, seaport and 60 kilometres of internal rail. It has a rail from Ajaokuta almost to Warri and another linking it to Itakpe 60 kilometres. How do you invest this amount of resources and then you walk away from it?

“It is unacceptable to any sane human being and that is why for us, we just have to fix Ajaokuta. Unfortunately, the figures being quoted for fixing it is not a figure that the Nigerian state can come by easily.

“We have to figure out a creative and innovative way of ensuring that we partner with people who can make it happen so that we begin to deliver liquid steel and its products to our country,” he said.

vanbonattel:


Why is Fashola walking free you hypo crete

It might be more productive if you spent your time learning to spell instead of coming here to make noise.

Akaujaa:
Prison rules cannot be altered simply because Metuh is involved. What is good for goose, is also good for the gander. In EFCC custody, you don't move in handcuff but in prison, the reverse is the case. PDP can't rant for all they care. This is just the beginning.

Abi ooooo. PDP sef.

the PDP is turning out to be as shameless an opposition Party as it was a ruling Party. Are they suggesting Metuh be given preferential treatment merely because it is the PDP way? The same treatment that applies to suspects who are poor must also apply to so-called big men like Metuh. The PDP is not even ashamed to show it is shamelessly elitist and entirely unprincipled. They should ask Metuh to remain strong and clear his name, if indeed innocent, instead of distracting us with their nonsense talk.

vanbonattel:


you think your turn will not come?
wait till the dulllarrd is ready for the West

We actually welcome this. What better way for the SW to develop than Buhari using federal might to round up and jail the crooks that have impoverished the people? I personally can't wait for the "turn" of the West as you crudely put it because not many in the SW glorify and blindly defend thieves and looters. We prefer them in jail

BiafranPrince:


He will be sued to ICC on 29th, he better start barbing his coconut head, because he will jailed.

Do you guys never tire of empty threats and silly ultimatum you always get discredited over? ICC ko ICAN ni.