₦airaland Forum

GEJ was already winning the war, don't know why he was pressured into submission. Anyways, let's hope the committee to be set up unravels the mystery. Shekau must come out and talk or no amnesty

My position. The NPF IS OUR WAHALA ANY DAY ANYTIME

I watched daily sunrise on Channels TV today and must confess the woman responded to all the questions in a manner that an ordinary Nigerian will begin have a different perception about security. Her argument was that security requires a collective effort. Both the govt, security agencies, traditional rulers, associations, and individuals have roles to play. She only admonished Nigerians to be "CONSCIOUS" of their environment and report suspicious movement and activities around them to security agents. She charged us not to relax that they are handling it but to sustain vigilance. I recall her saying they are open to workable suggestions.
My position is that we truly have roles to play if we must win. These guys live with us, they attack us and kill us. We know them. We must do something. It's hightime we rose up against them. I just don't know why youths in that region haven't risen up against them. It's annoying. Wasting lives of innocent Nigerians is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Noted

No body will consider him. He should start packing, before he comes up with 5000 naira note again. Make him go wait for traditional title.

I must say that granting BH amnesty will be the most foolish decision ever. If govt does that, then it should be ready to grant OPC and MASSOB too, becos they too will start theirs. This isn't what Nigerians want.

This is exactly my fear. More trouble

http://www.ngex.com/news/public/article.php?ArticleID=780
I had to return to this article, published at the height of his inimical operations at the BPE, and later as the FCT Minister. I recall how the writer argued that the period that Elrufai chaired the BPE saw Nigeria moving retrogressively. Corrupt practices were at their peak. Today, NITEL can never wake up again, cos of him. And so many others

God bless GEJ

The identity of the lawyer isn't necessary. The letter indicated that he wrote on behalf of his clients. He was only doing his job.
The so call APC didn't take out time to do their homework. They were busy making noise on the media, sharing appointment when they've not even won council election.
Let them keep digging and not look for a new acronym. Ye ye people.
They got small info from Facebook and they are busy praising themselves.

Their roof is on fireeeeee! Oh oh!
Now they are scared. One thing is sure, drones dont discriminate between emir, sultan or politicians. Supporting them makes you one of them and invariable a target for drone attack.
Amend your ways before its too late.

Source Pls. Just discovered that this platform is beginning to be contaminated with false reports. Not too good for us sir.

Now Nigerians will know why GEJ has refused to sign the budget. Wonder why people could be so heartless.
6th

Hmmmmmmm! This isn't funny. I have checked the young man's page and saw same. I feel Oga Dele has messed up? He should've known better. These are avoidable issues that could dent ones image. Let him bury his pride and admit it. Case close. First to yearn

Now that the bad boy has attacked them, the centre stage is declared open.

EFX001: @ OP! IN YOUR DELUSION, YOU SEEM TO THINK THE CNN (THE WORLDS NEWS LEADER) IS INTERESTED IN MAKING NIGERIA LOOK BAD. LETS BE FRANK NIGERIA IS A SHIT HOLE. I HAVE HAD LIGHT FOR 2 HOURS IN 2 DAYS AND I LIVE IN ABUJA. THE ROADS ARE BAD AND THE LEADERS USE PRIVATE JETS, THE HOSPITALS ARE BAD AND THE LEADERS TRAVEL ABROAD FOR THEIR HEALTH CARE, THE TREASURY IS LOOTED AND SETTLED OUT OF COURT. NO LEADERSHIP, NO JUSTICE, NO GOOD SCHOOLS, NO GOOD ROADS, NO WATER, NO ELECTRICITY, NO GOOD HOSPITALS, HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAEC RESULTS? THOSE ARE THE GRADES OF YOUR FUTURE LEADERS ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE RUN? WE DEPEND ON ENGLAND AND SOUTH AFRICA TO BRING OUR LOOTING LEADERS TO JUSTICE (IBORI AND MEND LEADERS)LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD, THE COUNTRY IS A SHIT HOLE, AND OUR LEADERS ARE GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER! AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS POKE A FINGER ARE CNN AND AMANPOUR (YOU GUYS ARE DAFT!) LIKE SHE CARES ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY, PFFF!

This one thinks through his nyash. Is western hypocrisy alien to you? Is America propaganda a new topic to you? Are you aware that the street interview was initiated after the US witnessed power failure during the prestigious Super Bowl? That because Nigerian ridiculed them, they are finding a away of getting back, or better still divert attention?
Go have a life. Secondly, you claim you live in Abuja and roads are bad? No be Nassarawa you dey? Wake up and stop deceiving people. Is it a news that power has improved?

plainmirror: its obvious dat Ʊ a®ε an alien 2 naija cos τђё issue of electricity inconsistency in τђё country is @ its lowest ebb.100% support for Amanpour for her transparent & logic journalism.come oo poster e βε lyk Jonathan na ur kinsman

If u understood the topic, this ur purposeless comment would have been avoided. Power has improved. Aman pour and co are propagandists

While many are in a hurry to condemn, praise or exercise indifference on the blasphemous Elrufaic retweet, only few have taken time to dissect and understand the matter and the implication it bodes on the dynamism of our dear nation. For the purpose of clarity, I shall briefly look at the etymology of Blasphemy, and see if Elrufai's retweet qualifies to be so addressed.
Blasphemy, derived from the Latin "Blasphemia", is generally defined as the exhibition of irreverent behaviour or language towards God, religion or anything held sacred. It is a sensitive issue for many, especially those who have an unshakeable faith in their beliefs, religious leaders, holy book, places of worship and rituals.
Although some state laws are silence on the punishments to be awarded to those who blaspheme, some prescribe stiffer penalties. In Pakistan, for example, several sections of its Criminal Code comprise its blasphemy laws. Blasphemy merits the death penalty under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code: use of derogatory remarks etc, in respect of the holy prophet : whoever By words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any implication, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the holy ProphetMohammad (Peace be upon Him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine". God forbid that Elrufai should be killed.
But his action is blasphemous. My wife said one of the commandments of God says, thou shall not use the name of the lord thy God in vain( my wife is a Christian and I'm a Muslim). For a national figure like Elrufai not to know the implication of his action means he has been overrated all this while. Why crack a joke with the name of God? Why identify a Holy Being with infamity? No Nigerian is ignorant of our religious differences, and the ongoing bombings in the north, slaughtering of people, burning down of churches all in the name of jihad, or Islamization of Nigeria. We also have witnessed how Elrufai both in print and electronic media has challenged Govt in defense of Boko Haram all in th name of extrajudicial actions like demolition of houses use as bomb factory and killing of some sect members.
While some are driven to believe that Elrufai may be furthering jihadists Agenda, or working assiduously yet in a discreet manner, to position Islam for a take over, I shall exercise restraint for now.
Let us recall how Nigeria has suffered loses in the name of blasphemy. Sometimes ago, a cartoon published in far away Oyibo land generated riot all over nigeria. Again, a world beauty pageant that was supposed to be hosted in Nigeria was moved to London becos a journalist in appreciating their beauty made a recommendation. In Kano, a tailor who does not have a firm grasp of Hausa language wanted to mention dress, but erroneously said the prophet came to the market, leading to a terrible riot that consumed many.All these riots at different times claimed hundreds of lives, houses, other properties, not forgetting the number of churches that were burnt.
Elrufai was advised against his wish to apologise. In tendering an apology, he turned around to insult many. The next day, he published a piece titled "In Defense of Elrufai" where he was absolved of any blame. Haba!
I just Read CAN's articulated response to Elrufai. Mine is, like CAN pointed out, Muslim should learn from this. If it were to be my brothers, Nigeria for don scatter. Lives and properties for don loss.
For Elrufai and his friends that are supporting evil, Nigerians are watching. Rubbishing what people revere means you can do more against them if given the opportunity. Im not surprised that Dino has supported him, and Pastor Bakare has maintained silence. These are men who have sold their conscience desperately in search of political power. They've forgotten that it is God that gives power. Religion defines a man, especially when he recognizes how finite he is. Abusing people's religion is condemnable. Perhaps he has forgotten that these same people he is not respecting today, will determine his political future tommorow. Let's learn to respect everybody, their religion, and philosophy.

The National Assembly has failed the nation

JANUARY 31, 2013 BY PUNCH EDITORIAL BOARD 18 COMMENTS

National Assembly building, Abuja
| credits: File copy
ON December 19, 2012, the National Assembly passed the 2013 budget, upping it by N63 billion from N4.924 trillion to N4.987 trillion. But the budget has not been signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan, more than a month after its passage, for reasons that have now become obvious – the National Assembly, as usual, has needlessly increased its expenditure. A media report attributed to a presidential aide in Davos, Switzerland, where the President had gone for the World Economic Forum, revealed that the legislators allegedly enhanced their overhead cost by N93 billion, subsumed in a dubious constituency projects sub-head.

Over the years, the parliament has acquired notoriety for such predilection, thereby triggering avoidable stand-off between the Legislature and the Executive. The country cannot continue to tread this crooked path. All things considered, the action is tantamount to selfishness and abuse of legislative powers. The report stated, “The National Assembly is asking for extra N93 billion as overhead expenses, which they have hidden under constituency projects. This is despite the fact that they had earlier budgeted N100 billion for constituency projects.”

Regardless of the spurious claim to its legality, we do know for certain that the constituency project idea in Nigeria is steeped in obscene corruption. Since 1999, our scandal plagued legislature has held every President hostage over budget implementation, especially the constituency projects component. The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency, as gritty as it was, almost crashed for failing to do the lawmakers’ bidding in this regard. The lower legislative chambers had raked up 36 “impeachable offences” against him in response to his resistance to the lawmakers’ greed. The late Umaru Yar’Adua suffered a similar threat.

Constituency projects’ idea is one of the evils weakening the country’s federal structure. How can the Federal Government in Abuja be involved in digging water boreholes, installing electric poles, repairing roads in rural communities or building town halls across the country? These are contracts that do not go through public tender and technical designs, in line with due process requirements, before being awarded. The N100 billion involved is absolutely not a two-penny.

Contract awards determined by rule of the thumb and subversion of best practices, ultimately, add to the existing stock of abandoned projects scattered nation-wide, requiring over N7 trillion to complete. Instead of stirring up controversy every year with constituency projects, the lawmakers’ interests would be best served by making the 774 local government areas work through legislative activism or engineering. The so-called constituency projects fall within the competence of efficient and effective councils.

This is not the only area where the national parliament has consistently failed the nation. Since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democracy, it has been unable to truly exercise its function of maintaining checks and balances in government, especially in curbing corruption. Its story, rather, has been a harvest of criminal corruption scandals – the bribe-for-budget scam, alleged scummy pension fund deals, etc.  Nowhere is the fact that our lawmakers are corrupt and ineffective more evident than in the $620,000 fuel subsidy scandal, a.k.a. Faroukgate, and the ongoing Herman Hembe trial. In spite of the breadth of evidence against Lawan Farouk, he still sits pretty in the “hallowed” chamber. This is deplorable. If nothing is done, our legislature may soon be turned into a gallery of rogues.

The National Assembly has a long and sordid history of corruption and waste. Without putting its oversight powers into an effective use for the common good, the National Assembly has watched conspiratorially as the country’s oil wealth is being despoiled by a rapacious cabal; it neither knows how much is made from oil nor ensures that what is made is transparently accounted for by managers of the economy. No wonder, Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate, described the legislative arm of government as “hydro-pus”, his coinage from “hydra” and “octopus.”

The only thing our “gobbling” lawmakers do well is fattening their paycheques by awarding themselves outrageous allowances.  Nigerian parliamentarians are reputed to be the highest paid in the world, earning more than even their British and American counterparts, for doing too little. Eminent lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, alleged three years ago that the Senate President’s office collected a mouth-watering sum of N88 million per month. A senator, according to Sagay, took home about N45 million, while his counterpart in the House of Representatives earned N28 million per quarter.

Even this amount is hardly considered enough by the lawmakers. This insatiability pushed the House, under Dimeji Bankole as Speaker, to borrow about N40 billion from banks in order to pay the members more, far above recommended perks by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. It is a shame, a big one for that matter, that our legislators collect hefty allowances, live in luxury without qualms in a country where the minimum wage is N18, 000 per month and basic infrastructure and service delivery are alien to governance.

It is a travesty that the National Assembly has not thought it fit to review the archaic laws that allow corrupt officials to escape justice with a slap on the wrist. The Nigerian Railways Amendment Bill, Petroleum Industry Bill and others that will make a difference in the economy have not been passed into law. Though it has oversight powers, the country’s refineries are comatose, just as the air space has metamorphosed into a “Bermuda Triangle” as planes are plucked from the sky due to the cutting of corners in the aviation sector; our road networks have become death traps, while electricity has become a rarity. Therefore, the National Assembly has failed Nigerians; and nothing provides eloquent testament to this than the infrastructural ruins that blotch our national landscape.

But we see no evidence that the Senate President, David Mark, and the House Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, are ready to use their leadership positions to reverse the ugly trend. Like the stunning failures of its predecessors, the Seventh National Assembly has little to be proud of. Though it is said that every legislative session ends with notable achievements and glaring disappointments, Nigeria’s parliament always ends in shame. This legislative session will also be remembered more for its failures.

Nigerians must be ready to end this aberration. We need a complete systemic transformation of the legislative arm of government. As the arm of government that defines democracy, the people themselves should ensure that the legislature is made effective and responsive.  It is time the leadership of the Senate and its counterpart in the House were told that the country would no longer continue to bear the raft of waste that emoluments of the 109 senators and 360 lawmakers in the lower chamber symbolise. It is this kind of self-indulgence that has inspired calls from some quarters for the country to adopt a part-time unicameral legislature.

Since corruption is Nigeria’s greatest and most enduring challenge, our parliament must be truly seen to be a hallowed chamber, peopled by men and women of integrity. This is a sure way to win the battle against the raging sleaze.

http://www.punchng.com/editorial/the-national-assembly-has-failed-the-nation/

This is a well constructed response to a fool that has refused to grow. His posture on Chrristianity is what will consume him. He has obviously lost out

Nothing good can come out of these people

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has warned that any police officers found culpable in the attack on the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad office would be fired.
The IG said “heads will roll” in the SARS should any officer be indicted in the on-going investigations into the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of two policemen and the escape of unknown number of crime suspects.

About 40 gunmen, suspected to be terrorists, attacked the SARS office in Abuja on November 26 and released a number of detainees from the detention facility.

Abubakar had set up a high-power panel headed by an Assistant Inspector-General of Police to investigate the incident which embarrassed the police authorities and led to speculation that the attack could not have taken place without an insider’s collaboration.

The IG told journalists in Abuja during his visit to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, that once investigations into the incident were concluded, the next line of action would be determined.
He said, “We are not resting on the issue of the attack on SARS Headquarters. We are still investigating and once we conclude, we will take the necessary actions but l can tell you, heads will roll in SARS.”

On his visit to the FCT command, Abubakar said he wanted to personally assess the preparedness of the command to ensure safety of life and property in the territory.
He assured the police personnel in the command of the Federal Government’s commitment to permanently address problems associated with police pension.
Abubakar said the welfare of the police would be regularly reviewed to enable them to focus on the duties of securing the society.

The IG  warned that the police authorities would punish errant officers and men who fail in their duties of protecting life and property.

IG urged officers, especially the Divisional Police Officers  to be open and courteous in dealing with the public, insisting that police stations should be open to all and sundry.
He said, “Police station is a public place, you must allow people to see you, you must be able to see people, you are there to help the public and you cannot do so if you are difficult to access.

“I appeal to all of us to try and imbibe this change that we are all talking about in this country, this change must take place in the police force.’’
Abubakar also stressed the need for synergy among the security agencies in the country, noting that the collaboration would help in dealing with emerging societal challenges.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada,  said the Federal Government would be willing to hold talks with the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in the quest to find lasting solution to insecurity in the country.
Obada said negotiation with the sect had not taken place because the leaders of the group responsible for the incidents of bombing in the country were not known.

Obada spoke when the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Chris Cooter, and the Defence Attache to Nigeria, Col. J G Savard, paid a courtesy call on her office in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Minister also said it was the desire of the Federal Government to ensure that the violence in the northern part of the country was brought under control and eradicated completely.

She said President Goodluck Jonathan and indeed the Federal Government would opt to negotiate with the members of the sect whenever the need came up.
She added that the country would be grateful for whatever assistance the Canadian government could render in the fight against terrorism and insecurity in the country.
She said, “We shall be very happy if you can assist in the area of training our troops, and also some other forms of assistance that you could give which I would talk to you about. We are hoping that all these things would become a thing of the past.

“Much as we desire to bring this under control, to eradicate it, we also believe that if these people are known, there is nothing stopping us from dialoguing with them.
“But for now, we don’t know them. But I can assure you that the President and the government are not averse to bringing peace to the country and if the need arises, we shall engage them in dialogue; we are not closing that option of dialogue.”

The Canadian High Commissioner said his country recognised the importance of Africa and the strategic role being played by the country in the sub region especially in Mali where efforts were on to reclaim territories captured by militant groups.
He stated that the establishment of bi-national commission between Canada and Nigeria had resulted in increased cooperation between both countries in security, politics and economic issues.


http://www.punchng.com/news/heads-will-roll-over-sars-office-attack-ig/

Although we still have cases of minor bombingss and gun battles, the war aginst terrorism appears to be yielding fruits. The sects has been forced to come out and beg for dialogue. Major commanders are being killed, and foot soldiers killed and some arrested. I think like this man suggest, this War is a collective issue, and requires d efforts of all of us. Peace must return

False report. No bomb explosion was recorded. Abuja is calm.

False report. No. Bomb explosioo was recorded. Abuja is calm.

ABUJA — The Federal Government, yesterday, said that there was no alternative to the deregulation of the economy if Nigeria must achieve the Vision 20:2020 goal.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on Fuel Subsidy Claims has said that N232 billion has been confirmed as the amount of fraudulent subsidy claims by oil marketers.

Speaking at the 18th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Vice-President Namadi Sambo said the Federal Government believed in deregulation and expected that it was the way the economy should go.
He said economic realities showed that anything besides deregulation was a bad economic policy and when the time comes, Nigerians would realise that there was no alternative to developing the economy than to deregulate.

In an address delivered on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan at the on-going Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Sambo said: “The theme of the summit, “Deregulation, Cost of Governance and Nigeria’s Economic Prospects” captures the essence of our Transformation Agenda. The goal is to unlock those critical sectors of the economy that will accelerate job and wealth creation in our country. In addition, the theme captures our commitment to good governance and efforts to fully realise our huge economic potentials.

Reforming various sectors

“The task of nation building is a shared responsibility, requiring both the leadership and the governed to demonstrate integrity and accountability in the conduct and management of national affairs.  This is the guiding principle behind the determination of the administration to hold people accountable and ensure that business activities in both the public and private sectors are carried out responsibly in compliance with global best practices.

“To accomplish this objective, we started reforming various sectors of the economy, notably, oil and gas, agriculture, solid minerals, works, housing, and power immediately after coming into office. We are also placing emphasis on transparency and accountability in the oil and gas industry.

“The newly introduced process for the payment of subsidy on importation of refined petroleum products by marketers as well as the empowerment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to prosecute those that undermine the system, no matter how highly placed, clearly underline our determination.”

Task Force ascertains N232bn fraudulent subsidy claims

Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister for Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, speaking at the summit, disclosed that the Aig-Imoukhuede-led Presidential Task Force on verification of fuel subsidy claims had submitted its final report, with N232 billion ascertained as fraudulent subsidy claims by independent oil marketers.

She said: “The Presidential Task Force that verified over N1 trillion of subsidy claims, with very detailed work, off course there was the work done by the National Assembly but we went into it in details in order to determine which transaction has not been fraudulent.

“To do this, we needed forensic examiners, and  we took between 15 and 20 of them from PriceWaterHouse and Central Bank of Nigeria, and they have been working for more  than four months now. They did detailed, painstaking,  transaction-by-transaction verification of independent marketers claim of over N1 trillion.

“Last week, the work was submitted to Mr. President and of the amount verified, they have determined that N232 billion finally, you know they first came out initially with N370 billion, but now it has come down to N232 billion as claims that were substantiated to be fraudulent.

50 marketers involved

“Fifty marketers were involved, some of them have transactions that are clean but some are not clean. The report has been submitted. This has taken so much work, this has slowed down the pace at which we make payments. But it has also enabled us to put in place a series of steps. We have fired auditors who were not doing their jobs and we are putting in new ones with very strong letters of reference.

“We are taking care to make sure that before we pay, we check again and again to make sure the payments we are making for 2012 are not subjected to the problem of that of 2011. Yes, it has slowed down the pace of payment but it is because we are responding to what Nigerians want, though marketers who are not doing the right transactions are crying about it but we would not yield, government will not yield until we make sure we are doing the right thing.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/no-alternative-to-deregulation-fg/

Director-General, State Security Service, Mr. Ekpenyong Ita, has said terrorists crave media attention in order to intimidate and instil fear into people.

Declaring open a  workshop for media professionals at the Institute for Security Studies,Bwari, Abuja on Monday, Ita explained that the objective of terrorist groups was to maximise publicity for their attacks in order to have a larger than life reputation.

He said, “Publicity is the oxygen craved by terrorists. When they carry out attacks, they want as much publicity as possible and when the media sensationalise such an attack, the terror groups have achieved their objectives of getting wide media publicity which is aimed at intimidating and installing fear into people.”

He therefore urged journalists to avoid sensationalism as they provide information to the public.

The DG, who said many terrorist groups pursue the interests of their sponsors, noted that nobody knows the interests being pursued by Boko Haram members “as they do not represent Muslims.”

According to him, terrorists often get more attention from the media than security agencies that strive to protect the nation from the evil machinations of such violent groups as Boko Haram.

He added, “Acts of terrorism are over-covered by the media while the activities of security agencies were under-covered. Terrorists strive to project the interests of  those they are acting for but we don’t know the interest Boko Haram  members are  fighting because they don’t represent Muslims.”

The Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority,  Alhaji Musa Maiyaki, on the occasion called for a cordial relationship between the media and security agencies.


http://www.punchng.com/news/why-terrorists-love-publicity-sss/

The Federal Government has given Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and RCC Nigeria Limited, two contractors currently handling the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, two months to complete the work.

Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolemenem, stated this on Monday, and announced that reconstruction work would commence thereafter.

He also said after reconstruction, toll gate would be reintroduced on the road but was silent on who would manage it and the cost of the project.

The minister spoke during a press conference at the Shagamu Interchange end of the road where one of our correspondents observed a Julius Berger team working simultaneously at three different points.

The minister said, “The recovery and rehabilitation work will last for eight weeks and between now and then, all the processes leading to the award of the reconstruction contract in line with the Public Procurement Act would have been completed. We expect that as soon as the rehabilitation work is completed, the reconstruction work will commence.”
This is coming exactly two weeks after the Federal Government had terminated a concession contract it granted Bi-Courtney Highways Services Limited to reconstruct and manage the road for alleged incompetence.

Onolemenem said on Monday that the termination of the contract was at no cost to the Federal Government directly.

He said, “The Federal Government initiated and terminated the concession contract based on what is contained in the agreement. The government did what it did to save lives on this road.”
The minister said the contractors had been directed to expedite work on the projects to substantially improve the condition of the road in the next two weeks ahead of the Christmas and end of year, due to the expected high volume of traffic.

The minister was, however, evasive in giving the cost of the rehabilitation project.
He said, “As for the cost, what we are using is the 2010 rate to do the emergency work on this road. But after the completion of this project, we will be finalising the design and other forms of work to be done on it.”
One of our correspondents, who drove from Lagos to Shagamu Interchange between 10am and 12 noon on Monday, found Julius Berger working at three different points.


http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/lagos-ibadan-expressway-fg-gives-contractors-two-months-ultimatum/

Nigeria still safe — Jonathan

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has insisted that Nigeria remains safe in spite of bombings, and urged Nigerians not to entertain any fear in their daily activities even as the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar 111 called on Nigerians to come together in the fight against terrorism and other violent crimes in the country.

There have been an upsurge in the activities of the Islamic sect, with the latest attacks in strategic places like the Military Church in Jaji and the SARS Headquarters in Abuja which had raised doubts in some quarters on the capability of the present administration to tackle insecurity.

But President Jonathan, in a statement issued yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, stressed that it was in the character of insurgency worldwide to audaciously attack institutions that will promote maximum fears in the heart of the citizenry.

The President, who recalled when the IRA bombed the hotel in which the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and core members of her Cabinet were holding a meeting, said it was not surprising that such strategic places were attacked in Nigeria.

Said he: “It is not surprising therefore that as a consequence of the recent activities of the insurgents; some dailies reported that “nowhere is safe in Nigeria.” In truth and in reality this statement is not correct. “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, wishes to assure Nigerians that in spite of this situation, the country is still largely safe and secure.

“President Jonathan wishes to state categorically of his unwavering commitment and determination to fight insecurity wherever they are found in Nigeria,” Okupe noted.

He assured that the Jonathan-administration was prepared to further enhance and ensure the security of lives and property of all Nigerians, irrespective of their locations within the country.

FG boosts Intelligence gathering

As for intelligence gathering, Okupe explained that Government has acquired and deployed highly sophisticated security equipment and members of the security agencies have received and continue to receive adequate training such that intelligence gathering capacity have witnessed a monumental increase in capacity to gather information.

According to Okupe, this has been responsible for the reduction in over 70 per cent of the activities of the Boko Haram and other sinister plans before they oc

cur but said unfortunately, these are not made known to members of the public.

Rather than entertaining fears, Okupe stressed that in times like this, Nigerians should endeavour to exhibit the fire of patriotism, and advised the nation to rally round the government in its efforts to root out the criminal elements within the society.

He said: “We should not allow fear and despair to overcome us, rather we should draw strength from our well-known spirit of nationalism and forebearance to support the government and the security agencies in their effort to curb the menace.”

He also urged the media to join hands and key in into the transformation agenda and ensure that sensational reports that could tarnish Nigeria’s image and bring the country into disrepute and create anxiety and panic are avoided as much as possible.

He said: “This government is committed to moving the country forward.

“The reform in the power and agricultural sectors and current infrastructural rehabilitation and development are taking shape.

“These will encourage the growth of local enterprise and increase in foreign direct investment in an unprecedented manner which will in turn provide more jobs, create wealth amongst the citizenry and reduce tendencies towards crimina-lity and other social malaise in our Nation.

“The President wishes to assure Nigerians that government will not rest  but will continue to work.”

tirelessly with all the security agencies in the country to bring to a complete end as soon as possible, cases of insecurity.”

10 people slaughtered in Borno

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/70-of-sects-bomb-threats-aborted-jonathan/

Sanusi, economist of political turbulence — Reps

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives, yesterday, hit back at Sanusi, describing him as an economist of political turbulence over his call for a 50 per cent cut in the nation’s civil service.
Reacting to the issues raised by the CBN boss at a press briefing, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Victor Ogene described Sanusi as “an economist with a bias for creating political turbulence,” who had also not succeeded in pushing through, any of his controversial policies.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was also not spared over her ministry’s inability to cash-back the balance of N300 billion of the capital allocation in the 2012 budget to government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) one month after promising to do so.
He said he did not know Sanusi to be a political economist, adding that “the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) had succinctly replied the CBN Governor over the controversial comments”.
He explained that “it was ironical for him to make such recommendations when there have been astronomical increase in the workforce of the CBN since he assumed office. For me, I will say physician heal thyself,” the lawmaker noted.

He stressed that “checks had revealed that before Sanusi was appointed CBN Governor, its workforce was 5,022 but had risen to 6,015 since he assumed office”, adding that there have been reported cases of acrimony in the bank due to unfair promotion of personnel during his tenure.

He argued that the CBN had an annual expenditure profile of about N300 billion and that Sanusi had never deemed it fit to subject such to public scrutiny as a mark of accountability.

“What solution has he proffered as an economist? How can he recommend a 50 per cent reduction in the civil service when we are talking of rising unemployment and high level of insecurity? As an economist, I think he should proffer something that would grow the economy instead,” the lawmaker added.

While expressing optimism that the 2013 budget would be passed before the House proceeds on Christmas recess, Ogene disclosed that it was, however, still worried over the releases of capital funds to the MDAs.

He said the practice of “anticipatory releases” was not acceptable to the House, as much can still be done before the year ends if the fourth quarter releases were cash-backed early enough.

Facts available were that only about 75 per cent of N1.3 trillion Capital component of the 2012 Appropriation had been accessed by MDAs, just with a month to the end of the year”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/we-wont-sack-civil-servants-says-fg/

PointB: If National Unity remains sacrosanct as you put it, then every request for autonomy loose federation etc will also be crushed by the NASS as they also threaten national unity. We simply should cut our nose to spite our faces.

Granting the federating units power to generate revenue and make some laws as captured in the concurrent and residual list doesn't amount to independence. When states begin to go beyound their bound to canvass for what is inimical to our corporate existence, their excesses must be checked.