₦airaland Forum

Beaf:
The occupy group is unusual, in that unlike other protest coordinators organisers, their campaign is based on deadly lies. From GEJ having flown to SA with two jets with his entourage, to the SURE buses being bought by Yar Adua etc. All sorts of smear tales haver hit the headlines from the occupy people, giving the lie to their claim that the protests are spontanous; everything points to dark forces, swarming the streets and manipulating the weak with filthy lucre.

your stand on fuel subsidy beaf

please is this news true?


http://pointblanknews.com/new/exclusive/3430-okonjo-iweala-buys-n1-2-billion-abuja-mansion.html




As Nigerians groan over fuel subsidy removal, one of the proponents and architect of the controversial policy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has just purchased a massive home in Maitama, Abuja for a whooping N1.2 Billion, pointblanknews.com investigation has revealed.

The Finance minister allegedly paid for the property located at No 3 Nwaora close, off Gana Street, Abuja in November 2011, according to a source at the Property Management office.

Okonjo-Iweala through a United States based company owned by her brother Chi-Chi Okonjo-GeorgeTown Consultancy, allegedly pocketed about $2 Billion in commission in the last debt buy back deal under the President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

On that Nwaora close, off Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja, are five massive properties with price tag between N1.25 Billion and N1.4 Billion.

The Coordinating minister’s mansion, is a 7 bedrooms duplex with boys quarters and a swimming pool, a massive Masters Bedroom with an adjacent bedroom dubbed “ Madam’s Bedroom. The mansion, which is still unfurnished, could wear a tag of over N2 billion after furnishing. It has a red clay roof.

The property is complete with top shelf marble imported from Italy, gold trimmings and chandeliers in the living rooms, bedrooms and a very expansive kitchen.

Sources told pointblanknews.com that the property was built by a popular Abuja estate mogul, and owner of EFAB Properties Limited, Fabian Nwaora.
A source at the EFAB Properties who referred Dr. Iweala as “Madam”, told Pointblanknews.com that the mansion was the first to be purchased among several others in the estate.

“Madam paid for the property long before others were even completed and so that one is out of the market. We only have the ones on No.1, No. 2, No. 4 available.”

That deal led to her sack by the Obasanjo’s administration, when he discovered that Okonjo-Iweala made tons of cash from the deal at the expense of Nigeria. She was removed from the economic team, and redeployed to the Foreign Affairs ministry.

Pointblanknews.com sources hinted that Okonjo-Iweala forced her brother’s firm, down the throats of the Finance Ministry, and even the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under Mallam Naisr El-Rufai when she was minister under Obasanjo.

Aside from Chi-Chi Okonjo who gets multi-million dollar contracts in Nigeria without due process, through his sister, Ngozi, another very close friend of the finance minister who gets patronage is Bimbo Ogunseitan.

In 2004, She sent a letter dated March 18, 2004, HMF/FMF/003, addressed to Mallam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai, OFR, Minister of the Federal capital Territory, saying:
“I am in receipt of your letter dated 15th March 2004 requesting an approval for a RUNNING OPEARTIONAL REVIEW ROR) on the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory’s Operations.

In your letter you stated that a consultant would be hired to review the internal organization processes of the FCT and the day to day finances of the FCT.

2. Please accept this letter as an approval for the Running Operational Review on the request indicated above.

3. Do accept the assurances of my continued highest regard.

Yours Sincerely, (Signed) Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance.”
Pointblanknews.com learnt that the minister As Minister of Finance under the government of Olusegun Obasanjo, Okonjo-Iweala, steered public contracts to her brother worth up to $50 million, with the help of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai, yet another WikiLeaks US cable issued in 2006 says.

The contracts were said to have been awarded to the man, identified only as “JonJon,” for consulting work for the ministry.

nigerians are no more blind and ignorant, our eyes are open and we are going to change the black world


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3KYJm-U7hU&feature=related

which price??

was  this   news  true??i  want to  know   if   reno omokri  is  a  racist








Nigeria is a single unified entity and we have co-existed as such for years. Thus, every true Nigerian is supposed to invest his resources in maintaining and protecting this Unity. The 21st century has brought about so much positive developments and amongst which is the Social Networks. These Social Networks mainly the Facebook,The Twitter,Yahoo and so many others have proven to be great toolswhich were instrumental to the great Arab Spring that has swept through the Middle East and some parts of Africa, and the Current Occupy movement sweeping across the United states and some parts of Europe. The majority of the  youth in the world use these social sites and Nigeria is no exception. This global phenomenon orchestrated the appointment of the SSA on new Media by  President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the person of Mr. Reno Omokri who also purportedly handle's the President's Facebook page. He is supposed to be a representative of  the President with the responsibility to sensitize the youths on the activities of the government on these social networks.

       However, we as Nigerians are very prone to stereotyping something which the SSA to the President on new media has shown he is not immune to. On the 20th of October 2011 Mr. Reno Omokri  tweeted this to two of his followers» "IF THEY NEED EMERGENCY ACTION THEN LET THEM PRODUCE WEALTH. THE NORTH PARTICULARLY THE CORE NORTH ARE PARASITES"" «A statement as such is reckless and tantamount to creating  further tensions and animosity amongst the Nigerian people. Nigeria is at a very critical stage where regional tensions are rife.

We need to all put our hands on deck to see that Nigeria continues to survive as a unified State. However when an appointed aide to the President makes such a statement, then we clearly have a very long way to go and some won't be shocked to hear he speaks the mind and posturing of his boss.

After people on twitter saw this statement, they called on Mr. Omokri to publicly apologize to Nigerians. The tweet was subsequently deleted  afterwhich he vehemently denied ever making it. He claims his twitter account/handle was hacked. Its strange why anyone will hack Mr Reno's account to tweet that particular tweet, it laughable and consistent with the denials Nigerians have come to get used to from public officers. There have been believable insinuations that Mr. Reno Omokri intentionally set up fake twitter accounts where he attacks, abuses and casts aspersions on any one who dares to state the true position of things whenever he as a voice of the regime comes up with fictitious successes of the government. Mr. Reno Omokri probably thought he was tweeting with one of his fake accounts when he sent this particular tweet. He promised to investigate the issue but his tales about his

account being hacked is puerile, shameful and cowardly. However, before he concludes his investigation we demand Mr Reno make a formal public apology because for all intent and purposes his name is what we saw on that tweet and until proven otherwise, he is the one we will hold responsible for that reckless statement!

Honourable men defend their honour when they stand by their word and apologise when they are wrong.

 

Daibah Garba,can be reached on 08066725478.

at least something good from nigeria


He is a policeman, but Prince Alaba Otude is a different breed of ‘men in black.’ He spends his salary on training and equipping children of his colleagues who died in service. STEPHEN GBADAMOSI writes on his efforts and the challenges.



HE is a prince of Ogbere Kingdom in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, but he finds himself in one of the most vilified professions in this part of the world: Police.

Alaba Adeyinka Otude remains undaunted in his chosen career but the despicable way some relations of policemen, particularly families of those who died in service, live, became a source of worry to him. According to this policeman, a sergeant with MOPOL 4, Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo State, he made a tour of some police barracks and discovered that there were children of deceased policemen roaming the streets. He took the challenge from there and strove for years to establish a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that would take it upon itself to address the problem faced by these children.

The first intervention would be to give them training in vocational areas so that they would not continuously be at the mercy of any person or organisation. Otude sensed the urgency in the task he had taken upon himself. Thus, he had to begin the assistance even before he formally registered the Okanlawon Otude Foundation, using savings from his salary to fund the training and equipping of the first batch of beneficiaries of his scheme.

Otude did not possess knowledge of this trade. He had to contact experts and secure their services to be able to train the children. He, therefore, went into partnership with a training and consultancy firm headed by one Alhaji Remi Owolabi and after a few months, the beneficiaries had qualified.

Of the beneficiaries, the fate of two brothers, Buliaminu and Idowu, of the same father, appears more pathetic. Their father, Olawoyin, was said to be attached to the Ibara Police Station, Abeokuta, Ogun State before he died in active service. Since then, the boys, who only had the opportunity to get secondary school education, have been roaming the streets.

But through the help of Sergeant Otude, they received training in cell phone repairing and troubleshooting and were each equipped with a laptop computer and other equipment needed for the trade.

Among the trainees was also Clement Abba whose father was a policeman with MOPOL 4, Eleyele Ibadan before he died in service. He got the same training as the Olawoyins and got a laptop and GSM phone troubleshooting equipment.

The beneficiaries spoke with Sunday Tribune on their experience. Thirty-year-old Buliaminu, who trained as a carpenter, said by virtue of his training, he had now become independent of people.

“After our father died, I lived at the mercy of others. But now, after I have been trained in carpentry, I can fend for myself. Once I have job invitation, it is certain that I will make money. I really thank Sergeant Otude for the change he has made in our lives,” he said.

Similarly, Buliaminu’s brother, Idowu, was full of praise for Otude. He said though he still had his mother and elder siblings around, it was difficult living before Otude came into their lives.

“I was trained in GSM phone repairing. I never knew I could be this lucky. After the training, when it was certified that we understood the job, the organiser of the assistance also purchased laptop computers, troubleshooting devices and other equipment for us so that we can start business immediately. I can tell you that the training is very useful. Sometimes, I make up to N1, 500 in a day. And with this, I can feed myself,” he noted.

There is also Ademola Agbesina, a 26-year-old youth who said he used to survive on his father before he got the cell phone repair training.

“I was trained on GSM phone repair. I can fix any problem a cell phone has, be it hardware or software problem. I used to survive on my father. But now, I can fend for myself. All I can say is that I thank Oga Otude,” he said.

Another of the beneficiaries, Clement Aba, has left Ibadan for Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to ply his trade. But his mother, Agnes, told Sunday Tribune that courtesy of the training and empowerment her son received from Otude, he is now doing very well in Abuja.

“I speak with him every day, even more than once a day. He is doing well. At least, he is self employed and earns a living. It is better than before when they used to roam about the barracks doing nothing.

“You know, the idle hand is the devil’s workshop. I thank God that somebody can come to help him like this. Even if he still goes to school, the knowledge that he already has will not depart from him. Clement is doing well with the training he had,” she noted.

The man who handled the GSM engineering training aspect of the package, Alhaji Owolabi, noted that though he could not say exactly how much it cost Otude to train and equip each of the beneficiaries, he was sure he must have spent a lot of money.

“It is only the man who spent the money that can say exactly what he has spent. But I can tell you that we train each candidate here for N25, 000. All those you see in our office now are well trained. They can solve any problem associated with GSM. It is the same training that we gave those that the policeman sponsored. He also financed the tools that they would need for the job. How he sourced for the funds he used, I wouldn’t know, but he surely needs help if he is going to continue this kind of thing,” he said.

Today, after many months of struggling, Sergeant Otude has registered his NGO, Okanlawon Otude Foundation with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), but it appears he is still far from getting to the desired destination. This is because he intends to enlarge the scope of his operation. His belief is that even the microscopic Ibadan area he is beginning with has not been effectively covered. Yet, he intends to extend the hand of assistance to children of deceased policemen in other states of the federation. And there are many police barracks in Ibadan that have not been touched and the barracks that had been touched could not be covered exhaustively as a result of limited resources.

Even with this problem, Prince Otude said the inspiration he had that propelled him into this work had children of deceased soldiers roaming Army barracks among the target beneficiaries. He admitted that it was lack of required resources that confined him to starting from his immediate constituency, the police barracks.

Certainly, Otude will need the assistance of philanthropists to finance his tall dream of providing succor to children of deceased men in police and Army barracks across the country.

FG uncovers destabilisation plot •Groups target opposition senators, Reps •To play up lawmakers’ anger over 50% cut in allowance






The Federal Government was said to have uncovered a plot by some opposition figures to engineer destabilisation of government aimed at embarassing

the administration. This is said to be an offshoot of the campaign against fuel subsidy removal.



Sources close to the administration said at the weekend that some elements opposed to President Goodluck Jonathan were out to embarrass the government by engineering a number of plots, especially using opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly.

One of the sources said those behind the plot were playing on the financial predicament of most new members of the National Assembly who are said to be currently broke as a result of the 50 per cent cut in their allowances and running costs.

It was learnt that the forces behind the plot have brainwashed some lawmakers to believe that President Jonathan and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala were deliberately starving the National Assembly of funds.

A source, however, painted the travails of the lawmakers thus: “The problem with the current Assembly is that many lawmakers came with the impression that we were collecting jumbo pay.

“As they were coming, they were granted loans ranging from N130 million for members of the House of Representatives and N170 million for Senators.

“They had hoped to offset the loans through the jumbo pay and they had bought houses of between N200 and N300 million.

“Now that the money is not there, they have been complaining. Some of them said they were left with about N100,000 after the banks had deducted charges from their quarterly running costs.”

Sources also said as a result of the financial predicament, some lawmakers have become vulnerable to being manipulated by external forces.

A source said some of the opposition lawmakers had, in trying to test waters recently, coloured the outcome of a closed-session in the Senate by secretly telling journalists that the lawmakers planned a vote of no confidence on President Jonathan, whereas such votes only have meaning in parliamentary system of government.

It was further gathered that some lawmakers believed that the president could be moved to the point of begging the National Assembly, if it joins in fanning embers of war over the fuel subsidy palaver.

It was gathered that the target of the opposition is to drag the president to the point where he would be forced to make concessions that would clearly deviate from his economic agenda to the lawmakers, so as to derail his programmes.

Another fertile source said what the opposition members in the National Assembly are also capitalising on is the fact that the reduction in allowances is said to be hampering committee work.

“Right now, committees which used to get about N6 million per quarter for operations now get N2 million, a development the lawmakers say is affecting oversight functions,” the source said.

Some of the opposition leaders were said to have told their lawmakers that they had to fight the government before they get crippled.

Sources in the National Assembly, however, confirmed that the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives were not leaving anything to chance and that the leaders actually worked on all lawmakers ahead of the December 13 presentation of the 2012 budget by Jonathan.

“Some forces had planned negative reception for the president in order to embarrass him, but the leadership got wind of it and worked day and night to get a good reception for the president,” a source said at the weekend.

It was also gathered that the Presidency has been informed of the financial predicament of the National Assembly with a source saying that “running the legislature is expensive, but it is either we have a National Assembly or we don’t, because there are no two ways to the huge running costs.”

A source also revealed that those behind the plot were doing so for political gains.

“At least, detailed reports have pinpointed a political figure who is said to have influence on some lawmakers as the architect of the planned destabilisation,” a source stated, adding that the political figure was moving to capitalise on the “fuel subsidy war” so that he can build on that to launch his 2015 presidential bid.

Our sister publication had, in September, reported an impeachment plot against the president by opposition political actors with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alerting the nation to a three-prong approach by the opposition to destabilise the Jonathan Presidency.

According to the PDP Publicity Secretary, Professor Rufai Alikali, “the methods include a concerted campaign to discredit the judiciary, flying dangerous kites like impeachment of the president, and a so-called mass action to tarnish the image of the Federal Government, if these options fail.”

Three months after the report, findings showed that the plot had entered implementation phase with sponsors reportedly banking on the increasing criticisms of the government over its economic restructuring policies and programmes for the success of their venture.

Further investigations revealed that the sponsors are flipping through government agencies and ministries in search of misconducts, a factor said to be responsible for the series of high flying probes of government ministries and agencies in recent times.

The two chambers of the National Assembly are currently probing more than 15 programmes and projects of government with the expected reports serving as arsenals for the impeachment process even as chairmen of such panels are in the least not aware of what deadly use their reports might soon be applied for.

Such ongoing probes include the management of the fuel subsidy, the implementation of the privatisation exercise, management of the downstream and upstream sectors of the oil industry, award of security cameras contracts, award of the single window contract for import and export clearance, an investigation into the failure of the oil corporation to remit over N500 billion into the federation account, alleged over-lifting of crude oil by the oil corporation, among others.

Investigations revealed that the move against the president is to be preceded by some developments, namely; intense negative reports in print and online media, establishment of more antagonistic online news media, widening of anti-government campaigns by civil society groups, stirring of citizens’ anger against the government, encouragement of citizen activism in social media and spreading of an image of a weak president, among others.

Meanwhile, an Arewa chieftain, who is a very close ally of President Jonathan, Dr. Samaila Saidu Sambawa, has predicted that any impeachment bid against the president will fail as “this Presidency is God-ordained and God-directed.

“It is a huge joke that cannot fly. Whatever situation we may find ourselves, impeachment is not and cannot be an option. President Jonathan is an honest and credible leader who is passionate about transforming this nation to higher height. We all need to be patient and tolerant,” he said.

Sambawa, who was internal affairs minister during the Obasanjo Presidency, recalled that similar moves against Obasanjo failed as “most Nigerians considered impeachment a destabilising factor in our peculiar situation


http://tribune.com.ng/sun/front-page-articles/5849-fg-uncovers-destabilisation-plot-groups-target-opposition-senators-reps-to-play-up-lawmakers-anger-over-50-cut-in-allowance

Pat Utomi, professor of political economy and founding director of the Lagos Business School, speaks with Dike Onwuamaeze, principal staff writer, on the contentious issue of the removal of fuel subsidy. Excerpts:



Newswatch: What is your opinion on the debate raging in the country on whether to remove or retain fuel subsidy?

Utomi: Well, the problem with this discussion is that it is very easy to miss the critical issues and reduce it to a simple argument of who wants or does not want the subsidy removed. But it is not as simple as that. First of all, when you are discussing subsidy, what you are essentially discussing is fiscal transfers. The big argument of those against what is called subsidy is that you take from the common pool and you give it to a small group of people who, therefore, develop a consumption pattern that is not appropriate because they do not pay the appropriate price for it while the rest of the society suffers from being denied the greater good that could have come from the use of the revenue. That is the classic argument. I would have been making this argument 10-15 years ago. But one of the things education and observation does for you is that you grow out of narrow stylistic orthodoxy in discussion of issues. So, the orthodoxy of efficiency of allocation of resources which is lost in the provision of subsidy becomes a banner that covers all kinds of inappropriate behaviour that is taking place. What is the real situation with the financing of petroleum products in Nigeria? First and foremost, there is no statistics. What is claimed to be imported into the country on which basis “subsidies” are paid is twice the quantity Nigeria is consuming. If we can claim to be spending X as subsidy, it is still an assumption. Now, about 50 percent of that sum is not on something Nigerians are consuming. So, the reality is that the N1.3 trillion they are talking about is not a true reflection of what Nigerians are consuming. That is one statement. The second statement is that, and that is the biggest learning for me from experience, is that every government makes the same promise to spend the subsidy on building of roads and providing essential services to the citizens, yet the FRSC rated Nigerian roads as the second worst in the world. If you look at the all Millennium Development Goals, Nigeria is worse today in reality than before. The question to ask should be: “what did the last removal do for railways, roads? The point I’m making is that we have come to the point where you can say that it is not sensible to allow government that do not know how to use public resources to take more of it away from the citizens. I would rather agree that the Nigerian individual spends his money the way he or she likes rather than the government of Nigeria waste it for him.



Newswatch: Some Nigerians still claim that there is no fuel subsidy.

Utomi: People who said that there is no subsidy, essentially, argue that if we had an efficient system and can refine petrol locally, the actual cost of what we are selling petrol cannot be called a subsidy. But the logic of the government is that we do not have the refined product locally and we are importing it and paying international price to get it. But these are not even my argument. My argument is that the process involves taking money from citizens and putting it in the pocket of the government that has used money not particularly wisely. In fact, the way the Nigerian government has used money has impoverished the Nigerian people rather than making their quality of life better. Years ago, I’ve begun to be gradually won over by the position taken by two remarkable economists who were consultants to the IMF. They argued that there are countries in the world, and Nigeria being the best or worst examples, where the governments are so incapable of advancing the good of the people that it is not in the best interest of the people for the rent from that mineral wealth to be given to the governments. They proposed that it should be shared to the citizens of that country. Some national government like Norway have actually done that. The state of Alaska in the United States of America, at a particular month in the year, write out cheques to Alaskans and give them their repay funds from oil rents. Alberta in Canada does the same thing.



Newswatch: How appropriate is the quest to remove the subsidy when local refineries are not functioning optimally?

Utomi: Why do we have to go back to be talking of these refineries every year. I’ve come to the conclusion that the trouble with Nigeria is that we have lost the sense of shame. We do not feel ashamed any more. If we do, I think that we should be embarrassed that in the arena of public discussion, we are still talking about our refineries not working optimally. That shows that something is fundamentally wrong. And for me as a citizen, that is not the way to go.



Newswatch: Where will the subsidy be invested if it is eventually removed?

Utomi: I’m not in government to be in a position to do this. But I still stand on the comment I gave when the last removal was done. Let us build standard railways from Lagos to Calabar and within our cities and create lasting infrastructures that can ensure that people are more efficiently moved around. Look at the history of contract administration in Nigeria. How do you think that the use of that “N1.3 trillion” will be? It cannot be different from the way it was yesterday. The previous removal of fuel subsidy did not provide roads that are motorable.



Newswatch: The government has given 18 licences to private firms to build refineries, yet none has commenced building a refinery. Why is it so?

Utomi: Because they are intelligent people. And if you are an intelligent person, you won’t do something as stupid as building refineries while others who are going to be importing it are getting sweet deals to go with. You will never be able to survive. Machiavelli said 500 years ago, that nothing is more difficult to bring around than a new order of things because those who profit from the old order will do every thing to prevent the new order from coming about. And that is why we are running around in circles. There is a class that profits from the misery of the Nigerian people and they do not want to give up.



Newswatch: You are used to remarking that Nigeria is on the high way to Somalia. Some people also perceive Nigeria as a country on the brink. So, as a political economist, what do you foresee as the socio- economic implications of the removal of fuel subsidy?

Utomi: We are not heading to Somalia any more. We’ve arrived Somalia. What do you think Jos is? What do you think Bauchi and Borno are? They are Somalia already. Thank God that people can go back a few years and see my warning in the things that are happening. The average Nigerian now seems disconnected from the Nigerian state. He doesn’t feel that he is worth much. If his life means nothing, the life of others mean nothing to him also. So, we are all in the danger. The problem is not that Nigeria would not want to pay for what they are consuming, it is just that Nigerians do not trust their government that the money will be used in the interest of the Nigerian people. And if the government is wise, it would have taken proven steps to cut the wastages that are going on in order to regain public confidence. More importantly, the government needs to do a number of things quickly enough to provide jobs and raise the income of Nigerians to enable them to pay the new price that will come because there is the need to compare how much a Nigerian pays to buy petrol relative to his income and how much a Ghanaian pays to buy petrol relative to his income and then we can justify our positions.







when are we going to learnnigerians

says govt has been borrowing to run its affairs

By Daniel Idonor

ABUJA -President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians that he will not be party to inflicting pains on Nigerians but warned that the country cannot continue to borrow to fund its economy.

He gave the assurance at the 2011 Christmas Carol Service held at the banquet hall of the presidential villa last night.

He said the whole world was experiencing economic challenges and Nigeria was not exception but it will fizzle out soon.

“I will plead with religious leaders, both Christians and Muslims, to join government and see how we will improve the economy of this nation.

“We are witnessing a nation, at least those who are my age, 50 years and above, as the years are going the challenges are becoming more. Most societies are becoming more enlightened. The demand for power has increased, the demand for water, the demand for everything. Probably at Independence,  how many cars did we have in this country? Even after the civil war, how many vehicles did we have? How many roads? How many streets had light?

“I remember the day I was chatting with a group of elders and they said after the war, there was light everywhere, they travelled out and so on. I came to live in Port Harcourt in 1955 , even then, it was only Port Harcourt that had light, even the big cities, Bonny… But now, government must make sure even the smallest village and settlements have light. Without light you cannot preserve farm produce, so now the demand for everything has expanded over the period, there are more challenges.

And we believe with the present, for the past several years, government has been borrowing money to run its affairs and the amount we borrow continues to increase. Who are we borrowing this money for ? Who will come and upset the debts? I normally asked. And of course the professionals in the oil industry are making predictions that the oil reserve that we have, that in 35 to 40 years  will dry up.

“By God’s grace we will discover more oil reserves, but based on what we have now and assuming we are unable to discover more, in 35 to 40 years, it will dry up. I pray not to live up to that time anyway, but some of the people here will witness that situation.


Special rendition by former Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda during a Xmas carol service.Photo Credit: NAN

“So even now that we have oil,  we are borrowing and we are not expanding the economy, in the next 35 to 40 years, assuming we don’t discover more oil reserves, what will happen to our children and grandchildren? Do we begin to plan a country where  our children and grandchildren will become slaves? Even now Nigerians are running out of this country. There was a time we were talking about check-out but now that slogan has died down.

“It will come to that point government must look for ways to expand the economy, we must look for other ways of earning money, we must go back to farming. And not just subsistence farming that we know but really taking farming as a business. We must create wealth through farming, we must industralise, we must begin to produce things in this country and we need resources to do that.

“And especially with the number of people graduating from the universities every year, how do we create jobs for them? And I believe we cannot continue with the number of people graduating from the universities every year. How do we create jobs for them? And I believe we cannot continue to borrow. In fact, last year, our capital budget was N1.146 trillion and we borrowed the whole capital budget and even a little more.

“This year with the present budget we are paying back the part of the money we borrowed but what is in the budget is only N560 billion, just about half of the money we borrowed, who will pay the balance and when with interest? There is no way we can continue to run the economy this way. We find it difficult to do things that appear not to be popular and I know that one of the things that worry us is the fear of the unknown. If there is subsidy, what will life be? Yes we know there will be a little pain because we know ourselves, Nigerians sometimes exploit opportunities.

Ordinarily the pains would have been minimal in the sense that as we are talking now diesel is deregulated since Obasanjo time and nobody is going to touch diesel and most of the vehicles we use in carrying load use diesel. Ordinarily transport cost for any vehicle that use diesel is not supposed to change but Nigerians being what they are at the beginning will try to be funny and we must encourage the use of gas and all that and use of vehicles that have fuel efficiency. Most countries even the bulbs they use now are the ones that consume very little power.

“Nigerians must adjust and I believe that apart from the fact that some people will want to exploit us at the beginning, just like when GSM just came in, when MTN started, they were even hoarding the SIMcards. To buy a SIM card at a time you had to do funny things to buy them because people were desperate but now the companies give you SIM card with credit on it just to hook up to their line. I tell Nigerians that we are very hopeful and so nobody should fear.

“There is no government, maybe in very few cases in history, well it  is also recorded somewhere in the Bible where somebody wanted to take over from the father and promised to flog the people more but ofcourse we also know what happened, the whole empire scattered. There is nobody who will want to deliberately inflict suffering on his people. Goodluck Jonathan can never be one.

“I know the pains Nigerians are passing through, yes I am here in the state house and being fed by government but that does not keep me so far from the people, there is no day that I don’t interact with Nigerians, both low and high, and I appreciate the pains of the people.

“We are facing challenges but we must take certain decisions to reposition our economy so that things will ease out. If we don’t have the courage to do so then we will continue to be dying in pains until God knows when. So my belief is that at a particular time, people must be courageous to take the rightful decisions”.

“We may experience some minor pains for some months but people will want to exploit, ordinarily if people don’t want to exploit us, it is supposed not to be so when you look at the chart, even if you remove subsidy on fuel on the world average, the price of fuel in Nigeria still be among the last 30 percent, the charts are there because most countries add a lot of tax on fuel but we are not adding any tax”.

NOTE======


please  tellme  if   mr. president  GEJ  is  normal?WHY  ONLY  FUEL  SUBSIDY??THE  ONLY  THING  THAT  NIGERIANS  BENEFIT  FROM  AS  A  COUNTRY.

WHY
WHO  IS  MISLEADING  HIM

obowunmi:
Get rid of Goodluck like they did Ghaddafi.

he  was  elected  by  the  people  ghadddafi was a  dictator  im not  in  support  of  subsidy  removal

Pastor Tunde Bakare has described a former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) as the most honest Nigerian he has ever known.

Bakare, who spoke at the inauguration of the Congress for Progressive Change Renewal Committee in Abuja on Tuesday, said having served with prominent Nigerians as a lawyer and a young pastor, he had not seen any Nigerian who could match Buhari in integrity.

He said Nigerians would one day regret not electing Buhari as their president.

He said, “I came into politics because he (Buhari) invited me; no other Nigerian could have done that. I believe in his integrity and his love for Nigeria.

“As a lawyer, I served under the tutelage of the late Chief Rotimi Williams and late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

“As a young pastor, I worked with Pastor W.F Kumuyi and E.O. Adeboye.”

He said while the members of the party especially, and Nigerians, generally awaited the decision of the Supreme Court on the appeal filed by the party against the declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the April presidential election, Nigerians must know that there was a court higher than that of the apex court.

Bakare said, “There is a higher court above the Supreme Court. Darkness has no power to overpower light. Weeping and tears cannot go for long; they have expiry dates.”

Buhari, who also spoke on the occasion, said it was unfortunate that political parties had remained a platform for selling or trading public office nomination tickets.

Political parties, he said, should be the fulcrum for which effective public service could be provided for the people.

He said the task ahead the CPC was enormous, one of which he said was to show good example on service delivery in offices where members of the party were holding political offices.

He said, “As one who has always advocated good governance in Nigeria, I believe that it is important for us, as a political party that seeks to manage the affairs of Nigeria on behalf of its people, to show the people that we will conduct our affairs truly in the way things should be done and according to the dictates of the law.”





http://www.punchng.com/index.php/news/item/7701-no-honest-nigerian-like-buhari-–-bakare

my  brothers,  is  this  true??or  another  political gimmick  from  our  nigerian politicians






Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Tuesday said despite being a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria, the late President Umar Yar’Adua contributed financially to his governorship campaign.

Oshiomhole also claimed Yar’Adua supported him financially during his battle to reclaim his mandate from Oserheimen Osunbor, who was declared the winner of the 2007 Edo State governorship election.


The governor made the submissions at the public presentation of a book Politics, Power and Death written by a former spokesman for the late President, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi.

Describing Yar’Adua as one of the nation’s finest leaders, he regretted that his ill-health and eventual death denied the nation of his services.

He said, “I believe Yar’Adua was one of the few statesmen that have had the opportunity to preside over Nigeria. You can be President and not be a statesman.

“I say this because often time, when people benefit from a process, they celebrate the process regardless of the impurities everybody else can see and all those who have reservations are dismissed as miscreants, people who are grumbling because they lack access and so on.

“To my recollection Yar’Adua is the only President who passed through a process and had the guts to face the Nigerian people and say  ‘this process that produced me could have been a lot better.”

Oshiomhole recalled that Yar’Adua told him that he and average Nigerians were aware that he (Oshiomhole) won the election.

He said, “Yar’Adua knew I was not in the PDP. He called me and said ‘Adams, your own candidature for governorship is not a party matter, I recognised that under the law there is no such thing as independent candidate if not even, if you contest election in Katsina, you have enough followers there. So I am going to give you support’ and he gave me generous financial support for my campaign.

“If you don’t like this disclosure, you can withdraw his membership of the PDP if he himself had not already withdrawn it.

“And when I lost, he encouraged me to fight on. He again gave me support to contribute to my legal case in court. Now I see that by those qualities that he was looking at people not for their party affiliation but for who they are and he was ready to quietly offer his support.

“When the godfathers moved to blocked me from going to the Villa after I had defeated them in the election, the late Yar’Adua invited me and said ‘don’t worry about the godfather,’ he doesn’t know who you are. He cannot determine your access to me, you are a governor of a state. Every governor regardless of his political party, shares with me the burden, the challenge and the privilege of keeping Nigeria going. And so you will always have access to me’.”

Adeniyi said he had no regrets working for Yar’Adua whom he described as a good man despite his health challenges.

He recalled that the only reason why governors opposed the move by former Ebonyi State Governor Sam Egwu from becoming the PDP chairman was because of his closeness to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The author said the late president himself recognised the fact that Egwu was the best man for the job at that time and that informed his appointment as a minister.

He said he left the Presidential Villa at the lowest moment of his life when many things he did not say were attributed to him.

Egwu, who was the Minister of Education during the Yar’Adua administration, said some members of the Federal Executive Council played the roles they played during the problems created by Yar’Adua’s protracted illness and absence because they were consistently misled by those closed to the late President.

“Those close to him kept telling us he would resume tomorrow and so we were left at their mercy,” he added.

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Yayale, also said some members of the cabal in the villa were also bent at eliminating him during the trying period but he managed to survive by the mercy of God.

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi observed that Nigerians disposition to the ill-health of the late president was as a result of the mismanagement of information of his health status.



http://www.punchng.com/index.php/news/item/7683-yar’adua-sponsored-my-campaign-legal-battle-–-oshiomhole

why do we nigerians feel we can change the system with out a political party??we have no choice than to choose one political party that we can trust and the same time look for sponsors.we have to fight back corruption with ideas

MRbrownJAY:
@poster
if you have an accident that requires heavy surgery and you are taken to a US hospital; if they realize you have NO insurance, you'd probably be treated the same way.

why majority of Nigerians like to copy the bad side of the oyibos,so if it´s been practice in America and is something bad,do we have to do thesame in Nigeria?GOD HELP US

the idea is a patriotic one, but Mr.president should make sure that nafdac help us with quality control to improve the standard of made in Nigeria products

poster you are right


but you know our problem? how will bell the cat

beaf die heart supporter of the president come and defend your oga on this one



not seen beaf

36 govs endorsed fuel subsidy removal -Lamido reveals

| Print | E-mail

Written by Hassan Ibrahim and Adamu Amadu Thursday, 01 December 2011
Share


ALL the 36 state governors of the federation are fully in support of the proposed removal of subsidy from petroleum products by the Federal Government, Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has revealed.

Alhaji Lamido made the disclosure while speaking at the closing ceremony of a workshop organised for business editors and finance correspondents by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), held at the Staff Development Institution in Dutse.

He pointed out that the billions of naira being expended as fuel subsidy was unjustifiable and an avenue for the bourgeoisie to milk the nation and rob it of social and economic development.

According to him, the three tiers of government were being forced to cough up a huge amount of money as subsidy on a monthly basis.

“Leaders should be courageous to come up with decisions that would free Nigerians from difficulties. Today, in this country, only those who are courageous say the truth in the debate on deregulation and this is why I commend the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,” he said.

The governor, who frowned on the position of the labour unions on the policy, stated that workers’ agitation for the implementation of the N18, 000 minimum wage could only be met when deductions from the Federation Accounts towards subsidy were made.

“They say governors are thieves. I can’t imagine a governor stealing N50 billion, when compared with what the bourgeoisie, who have formed a cartel of the so-called oil importers who rake in N1.3trillion of Nigerians’ money to their pockets. What value are these people adding to the country?” he queried.

He charged those commenting on the policy to look beyond political and selfish interests and engage in a holistic rational approach on the proposed policy.

On the insecurity and socio-economic crisis rocking the nation, Lamido blamed them on lack of justice and accountability in the utilisation of public resources.

“We keep on vilifying each other by making references to other countries and economies. But for us to forge ahead, we must trust in one another and the leadership. Where there is no trust, no country can prosper, survive or be secure,” Governor Lamido said.

He charged the NDIC to work assiduously to inspire the confidence of Nigerians in the financial institution for the country to have a virile economy.



Meanwhile, the spiritual father and chairman of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide (Ayo ni o), The Most Reverend Samuel Abidoye, on Wednesday, warned President Goodluck Jona-than to desist from its plan to remove petroleum subsidy.

The spiritual leader, who gave the warning while speaking with newsmen at the international headquarters of the church in Kaduna, argued that removal of the subsidy would worsen condition of every Nigerian.

“It will be inhuman on the part of the Jonathan-led administration to withdraw fuel subsidy when the successive governments in the country had failed to maintain the existing refineries or build new ones.

“The removal of fuel subsidy will worsen the plight of the already suffering Nigerian masses and could send the country down the precipice of further violence,” he said.

The cleric, however, advised the Federal Government to work towards revamping the nation’s four comatose refineries and building new ones before taking step on the removal of oil subsidy.

“The overwhelming public outcry against the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government has exploded the myth and claims that deregulation would be to the advantage of the ordinary Nigerians. Already, fuel has become scarce and queues have surfaced in petrol stations across the country, in anticipation of the price increase,” he said.

On the recent demise of the late Biafran warlord, Chief Chukwuemeka Odu-megwu Ojukwu, the spiritual father said Nigeria had lost one of its illustrious sons at a time when his counsel was needed most.

The cleric prayed that God would grant the entire Ojukwu family the fortitude to bear the loss.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/32137-36-govs-endorsed-fuel-subsidy-removal-lamido-reveals



mr president please don.t make the poor people in nigeria who voted you in to office to generate hatred on you,but if you think you are deity like majority or our politicians you can continue.
we have more pressing problems that need urgent attencion right now and to generate money in nigeria is not only the removal of fuel subsidy please mister president don´t put shame on us. we soo much trust in you.

fm7070:
@poster,
for you to succeed real good agricultural or poultry business, you need to be involved, else, you will have yourself to blame.

please can you help me with more inside of your idea thanks

businessC:
I have a comprehensive guide I used when starting same business on my own. contact me I could help 08068989509 or 08120184434

i will call you tomorrow thank and GOD BLES

please  i will  like  to  start  a  poultry  farm in lagos  and   i want  to  know if  n2.500.000m  can  start,im looking forward to have  a  business  partner  with  experiences
all  information  will  be  appreciated thanks.

I  WILL  WANT  SOMEBODY  WITH  EXPERIENCE   THAT  CAN  WORK  WITH ME  TO  OPEN  A  POULTRY  FARM 

TO  START  WITH  AT  LIST  5000  TO  10000 BIRDS  MY  EMAIL.  ifebosco001   AT   YAHOO . COM

obowunmi:
Ife, did you know him @ Lag, tell us a different side.

NO, BUT  I  LIKE  WHEN  SOMEBODY  IS  TRYING  TO  CHANGE  THE  WAY  THINKS  ARE  DONE  PRESENLY  IN  NIGERIA
SHOULD  WE  JUDGE   FROM  THE  DARK  DAYS  OF  OUR  HISTORY?WE  ALL  KNOW  WHAT  HAPPEN  TO  HIM  THEN.IM  NOT  TRYING  TO  SUPPORT HIM STUPIDLY.THIS  MAN  RISK  HIS  LIVE  FOR  THIS  COUNTRY , SOMETHING  VERY  FEW  OF  US  CAN DO  INCLUIDING  ME,WHY  CAN  WE  GIVE  HIM  THE  CREDIT  AND  JUDGE  HIM  FROM  THE  NEWS  HE  GIVES  US  NOT  FROM  THE  DARK  DAYS  OF  OUR  HISTORY.

Bawss1:
Even though for some reason SR is loved by many here on NL I personally take everything I get from them with a grain of salt. The very fact that the publisher is not on ground to verify the reports he publishes allows him to come up with some rather incredible stories.

I agree with their position though that the press is somewhat compromised but they'll get my my full adoration when falsehood is eliminated from their reports.

GBAM THANKS

werepeLeri:
I went to the same school with this guy- if it were a country where laws are upheld, this guy would either have faced the firing squad or sent to jail for his entire lifetime. In 1995, this guy led some students, on the guise of looking for cult members, to prominent members of the society in Lagos, looting, burning and killing. He led the worst students union government in Unilag at that time - I remembered him and his cohorts beating up two so called cult members and leaving them stark nake d in front of the new hall at that time. He reigned with terror and there was no consideration for human rights under him. Today - he champions human rights. Where are the souls of the so called cult members who died under his raid? and the properties set ablaze by him and his cohorts? Where is the justice on what he did then in 1995? Wish he can be called to book and prosecuted rather than him parading himself as a champion of human rights.

the  pull him down syndrome.sorry

Beaf:
What have I done for Nigeria? Lol!
I have done far more than Sahara Reporters will ever be able to and I believe I am blessed with great potential to multiply that several times over. What have you done, bruv? Aside from post shockingly unintelligent crap like the above?

This is a project me and a couple of other guys have been working on: http://www.afrosciencecommunity.com/
I hope to be able to contribute much more in future. Can you and your hot air remotely match what that website offers?

Dunce.

beaf please i will like you to tellme three institute in nigeria that works since gej is president

Relax101:
I said it. Saharareporters are just real eeddiootsss. From their oga to their messenger.
Very Pathetic.

when did exposing criminals in nigeria become pathetic??think before you write, stop the display of your ignorance

the fear of sahara reporters is the beging of wisdom Omoyele Sowore carry go sh

Beaf:
And so ends yet another Sahara Reporters fairytale that was reported as news. Sahara Reporters? Best for lies, best for fake news.

http://saharareporters.com/photo/photonews-jonathans-declaration-when-jonathan-women-met-goodluck-men

www.nairaland.com/attachments/324341_SaharaReportersFakePicture_jpg69a0b6e4ad1c8831fa731bd73bb022d2

beaf  just  respect  your  self.at least  some  people  are  trying to  change  the  way  things  are  being  done  in  our  useless institutions

beaf,  what  have  you  done for  nigeria??  apart  from  supporting gej  even  when  his wrong for  money

i use to have TOO much respect for this woman,but she´s loosing that credit day by day.and i can challange her with out been and economics

that the figures she has is 5times the real price to build our infrastructure .im talking because i work in one of the biggest contruction company in spain and in the world, THE COMPANY HAS more than 100years of history IN CONTRUCTION .if we go to china and import every thing that we use for our infrastructure even ignore our own HOME BASE engineers, then yes the price will be morethan n10.63tr AS SHE SAID.BUT if we use 80% made in nigeria both expatriates, it will cost n2.63tr and create jobs to our citizens.our politicians like foreign thinks to steal more money,thankGOD WE ARE NOT STUPID LIKE BEFORE. MADAM OPEN YOUR EYES AND WELCOME TO NIGERIA

[quote author=Akanbi_edu link=topic=803689.msg9566992#msg9566992 date=1321426684]Thumb up.[/quote]good talk and tanks

el guapo, eres defensor de pueblo?? te quieren joder un poco,mi paisanos son asi aveces mal educados

leave el guapo alone