₦airaland Forum

By Liz Goodwin
, By Liz Goodwin liz Goodwin – 2 hrs 4 mins ago

It's hard to feel bad for someone whose doomsday predictions caused so much anxiety, but 89-year-old Harold Camping's recent admission that he's "flabbergasted" the world didn't end last weekend sounds somewhat pitiful.

"It has been a really tough weekend," Camping said Sunday, after emerging from his Alameda, California home for the first time to talk to a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle. "I'm looking for answers ,  But now I have nothing else to say," he said, adding that he would make a full statement today.

Camping's PR aide, Tom Evans, told the L.A. Times that the group is "disappointed" that 200 million true believers weren't lifted up to heaven on Saturday while everyone else suffered and eventually died as a series of earthquakes and famine destroyed the Earth. "You can imagine we're pretty disappointed, but the word of God is still true," Evans said. "We obviously went too far, and that's something we need to learn from." The group posted 2,000 billboards around the country warning of the rapture, while Camping--an uncertified fundamentalist minister--spread the word on his radio show.

Camping's Family Radio, which airs on 66 U.S. stations, has apparently rebranded itself quickly. Business Insider notes that the station's website has scrubbed all mentions of the Judgment Day. The site previously featured a countdown clock to the May 21 rapture on its homepage.


But the false prediction might not be so easily effaced from the lives of Camping's followers. The L.A. Times writes that Keith Bauer, a 38-year-old tractor trailer driver, took a road trip with his family to see the Grand Canyon before the world ended.

"With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, the rapture would have been a relief," the paper writes.

But Bauer is not angry at Camping for his false prediction. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see the country," he told the paper. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

Robert Fitzpatrick, who spent $140,000 of his life savings to advertise the rapture in New York, said he was dumbfounded when life went on as usual Saturday.

"I do not understand why , ," he told Reuters while awaiting the event in Times Square. "I do not understand why nothing has happened."

An NPR reporter talked to two Camping followers on Sunday. "One man, his voice quavering, said he was still holding out hope that they were one day off. Another believer asserted that their prayers worked: God delayed judgment so that more people could be saved, but the end is 'imminent,'" she reported.

Evans, Camping's PR aide, told NPR he hopes Family Radio will reimburse followers who spent their savings in anticipation of the rapture, but that he can't guarantee it.

Protesters gathered outside Camping's radio headquarters to mock the false prophecy over the weekend. Some of them set aloft a toy cow with balloons to lampoon the idea that a select elite would ascend to heaven. Meanwhile, other religious groups tried to recruit disappointed Camping followers.

Here's a video of Camping refusing to comment on his failed prophesy:

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYftvfyc9Gs[/flash]



http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110523/ts_yblog_thelookout/doomsday-prophet-followers-flabbergasted-world-didnt-end

The Island Power Project is to generate 10MW and is located on Marina, opposite the General Hospital.

In 2009, the Lagos State Government (LASG) entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Island Power Limited (a part of Negris Group) to build, own and operate a 10MW plant to provide 24hr uninterrupted power supply to the General Hospital (Lagos Island); High Court (Catholic Mission Street); High Court Annex (TBS); Magistrates Court (Igbosere Street); Island Maternity Hospital (Lagos Island); State House (Marina) and the provision of street lights within 20 Streets within Lagos Island, an 18km dedicated underground distribution network; all being powered using Gas engines. The plant will comprise of 4 units of 1.5MW MWM gas engines and 2 units of 2MW MWM diesel engines.

The Island Power Project will increase the frequency of power supply to these facilities from 35% to 100%. A major advantage to the residents of these areas is the reduction in crime when commuting along the powered streets, as a result of functional streetlights. The project would help reduce environmental pollution as the plant runs on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). This would lead to the eradication of 30 diesel and petrol generators of various sizes thus ensuring cleaner air and reduction in noise pollution. This project will also significantly improve the delivery of essential social services to the citizens of Lagos state.

The project is currently the fastest ever executed IPP in Nigeria, with Project Conception to Commissioning taking only 18 months.

http://www.lagospowerprojects.gov.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52:island-power-project&catid=34:projects

The project is to be commissioned on  Wednesday 25th May 2011.

Politica Today is on now on Channels TV.

It is on on Sundays between 8 and 9 p.m. On Sundays.

I would go for Politics Today on Channels TV. The analysis and personalities are very good. I don't think any of those AIT presenters can be copmpared with Deji Badmus, the presenter of Politics Today. Channels also had their issues with the Yar Adua government which led to them being shut down over the issue of the then president's health if my memory serves me right.

Bedore, during and after the elections most of the major actors featured on their programme.

.

.

[quote author=ekt_bear link=topic=367311.msg8351379#msg8351379 date=1305800506]^-- Is it necessary to have a dedicated BRT lane, though? You figure that since it is a toll road, traffic will move fairly rapidly.

Is this typical of toll roads?[/quote]There are routes where the dedicated bus lanes are physically demarcated such as this one on the Lagos Marina.

Sorry, the pictures are not very clear. The best I could get at the time.

Lagos debt profile hits N124bn

Article | May 20, 2011 - 4:41am | By Godwin Akanfe
The Lagos State government is owing about N124bn in domestic and multilateral debt as of April 30 this year. This is according to information from the state’s finance ministry.

Finance commisioner, Rotimi Oyekan, said this in a speech he gave during the annual ministerial press briefing held in commemoration of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration.

The breakdown of the debt profile showed that the state government has a multilateral debt loan of N62,426,899,007.40 (calculated using an exchange rate of N156.50) and domestic loans of N61,761,172,731.97.

Though, several stakeholders had expressed apprehension over the growing debt profile of the state, Mr. Oyekan promptly allayed the fears of running deficit budget because less than 30 percent of the state’s total revenue is used to service its debt. “It is not a crime to operate deficit budgeting. It is a reflection of present needs,” he said.

The Multilateral loans, which are debts owed by developing countries to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, amounted to about $500m. However, the commissioner said “the loans are structured as long-term loans with a moratorium and at significantly lower rates than commercial loans.”

According to him, $200m was obtained for the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, which was set up to upgrade slums in Lagos state. He described the loan as “the largest World Bank direct funding for a sub-national government to date was obtained to increase sustainable access to basic urban services through investments in critical infrastructure.”

Mr. Oyekan disclosed also that another $100m loan was secured from the French Development Agency for the expansion of Ikorodu road into six-lanes including BRT route, which Governor Fashola promised during his re-election campaign.

The third multilateral loan is obtained for Development Policy Operation (DPO) whereby the World Bank, for three consecutive years, will support the financing of the state’s budget. However, this, notably, is a detour from the state government’s mantra of borrowing to finance public infrastructural projects.

According to Mr. Oyekan, the DPO is obtained “to support the state’s budget directly rather than specific projects.”

“This is another indication of the level of confidence reposed in the State Government by the Multilateral Agency. It is worthy to note that the State has successfully secured the Federal Government’s guarantee and also obtained the approval of the National Assembly during the Public Hearing sessions of 6thDecember, 2010 and 2nd February, 2011 to incur external loans for its Developmental Policy Operations,” Mr. Oyekan said.

He promptly added that the loans will help bridge “huge infrastructural deficit which would require an estimated sum of $50 billion to address in the next few decades.”


http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/lagos-debt-profile-hits-n124bn

johnie:
“Today, all the refineries are producing diesel as we are only importing a little."

Can anyone confirm this for us?

Jimmy Boy:
No mention of the root cause, no mention of the strategy. There are many agents in supply chain who are not under the direct control of DPR/NNPC, no mention of how to deal with them.

Are you sure of that?

Guys, this is an old story.

Can we give it a rest?

Give us the IMF job, Europe shrieks

Posted by: CNN Anchor, Richard Quest

The Europeans are in a tricky position. They desperately want to keep the top job at the IMF, but they can’t be seen to be nakedly saying “it’s ours by right.”

So leaders from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to finance ministers from Austria, Sweden and Denmark, (in fact just about anyone from Europe who has opened their mouth on the subject), are turning linguistic cartwheels to promote a European solution.


These are the arguments:

The standard formula runs something like this:

1. Of course, the best person should get the job.

2. Europe has the best person … give us the job.

There is a variation introduced by Angela Merkel of Germany which goes this way:

1. Of course over the mid term the job should be open to everyone BUT

2. At the moment, with Europe in such a mess it should go to a European. Give us the job.

The newest argument to be invented is that it should be Europe’s because … wait for it….

1. European Union countries collectively are the biggest shareholders of the fund

2. We pay the most. Give us the job.

The Europeans are desperate not to give up this role – and frankly for its own political reasons, nor is the United States. Because under the existing arrangements if Europe loses the IMF the U.S. might lose their automatic right to the World Bank presidency.

The quickest way to make sure there is no change in the status quo is for Europe speedily to agree a consensus candidate. Get them out into the open before the other countries even have time to hold a meeting. This is one reason why the name of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (pictured above)  is being promoted so heavily. The hope is by getting her name out into the open, they can get American agreement before other voting blocks even realize what’s happened. Get the Americans on board and it’s a done deal.

If the candidate is Christine Lagarde then the contest is probably just about over. She was an intern to a top U.S. congressman. She is a former chairman of the law firm Baker & McKenzie. And she has been minister for trade and industry and is now finance minister of France. Christine Lagarde has the experience, diplomacy, stature and reputation that would make her just about unbeatable.

Provided of course … the Europeans get moving ,  fast.


http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/19/give-us-the-imf-job-europe-shrieks/?hpt=C2

johnie:
The commissioner, however, commended the council chairmen, supervisors and other key players in the local government administration for brilliant performance. He said: “It is only a cynic that will fail to applaud the concerted efforts of the state and local governments for the bold steps taken so far which were aimed at bringing the promised dividends of democracy to the citizenry.”

What dividends of democracy?

Why won't the commissioner praise them to the high heavens when they were “tactically put in place" by you know who and for "you know what?"

[quote][/quote]

Monarch, commissioner differ on LG chiefs’ performance

FEMI OYEWESO 20/05/2011 04:07:00
The Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Rotimi Agunloye, and the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, yesterday expressed different views on the performance of the chairmen of local government and the local council development areas (LCDAS) in the state.

While Oba Akiolu, in the full glare of the people, rated the local government chairmen and the LCDAs bosses below zero, describing them as pack of failures, Agunsoye poured encomium on the 57 council chiefs. They spoke at the ongoing press briefing to commemorate the fourth year administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola. Oba Akiolu lamented that the chairmen have, with impunity, been squandering council allocations without corresponding achievements. The monarch, therefore, said he would personally monitor all allocations to councils in his area. He urged his traditional ruler colleagues to do same, adding that the “packs of failures were tactically put in place to wreck the state”.

Oba Akiolu [b]described the council chairmen, who were present at the press briefing, as destroyers rather than developers they were meant to be. “Some of you have performed poorly. We want to know what comes to you and what you do with what you get, ” he said. Earlier, Agunsoye described his four year in the ministry as herculean, recalling, especially the controversies that trailed the creation of the 37 LCDAs. The commissioner, however, commended the council chairmen, supervisors and other key players in the local government administration for brilliant performance. He said: “It is only a cynic that will fail to applaud the concerted efforts of the state and local governments for the bold steps taken so far which were aimed at bringing the promised dividends of democracy to the citizenry.”


http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12453.html

^^^

Are you refering to the new US foreign policy announced by Obama yesterday?

EFCC may probe Ikuforiji over alleged N7bn fraud

OLUFEMI ADEOSUN 20/05/2011 04:04:00

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may soon probe the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji, for an alleged misappropriation of N7 billion, it was learnt.

The decision to probe Ikoforiji is sequel to a petition written by a civil rights group, Kick against Corruption, alleging that the speaker mismanaged N7 billion running cost in 12 months. In the petition signed by one Mr. Olawale Williams, the group alleged that the lawmaker diverted the money and laundered it abroad through an automobile firm, Brown Motors, allegedly owned by him.

Giving the breakdown of the alleged fraud, the group said: “The initial monthly running cost of the House in 1999 was put at N20 million and later jerked up to N40 million before the end of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s administration. “The incumbent governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, increased the money to N60 million. The cost has, however, been arbitrarily moved up to N500 million monthly in 2010 by the Ikuforiji-led House of Assembly.

“This, he ensured, was passed into law and made a first line charge so that the amount can be deducted directly from the state revenue account without any recourse to the executive and has been collecting this huge sum without any corresponding impact on the lives of members or their duties.” When contacted to find out what step the commission would do about the petition, the EFCC spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said that every petition is treated on merit and that such would apply in this case. He said: “Every petition we receive is treated on its merit and if we have the one you refer to, it will be so treated.”

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12452.html

Lawmakers seek N30m severance package each

FEMI IGE, GEORGE OJI AND TOLA AKINMUTIMI 20/05/2011 03:47:00

In spite of public outcry against bogus salaries of lawmakers, the National Assembly is again set to pay each lawmaker about N30 million as severance package. Members of the National Assembly recently pushed for the payment of 300 per cent gratuities over a four-year period as against the one year officially contained in the rules of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

With this proposal being spearheaded by lawmakers, members could earn between N20m and N30m based on 300 per cent of four years of their annual earnings. The pay packet of their aides were also increased last year to enhance their own severance package apart from that of the lawmakers. National Mirror gathered from an impeccable source close to the office of the Senate President that “the highest earning aide at the national assembly is on grade level 16. Given the new proposal, such aide may get about N10m for a job he took up while on a leave of absence.” According to our source,” more disturbing is the issue of returning legislators who will collect severance package as many times as they return. “The senate president who is returning for the fourth time will collect now and collect again in 2015,” National Mirror learnt.

According to volume 11 of the Reviewed Remuneration Package for the legislature at the federal, state and local government levels which became operational in 2007, the annual basic salary for the Senate President is N2,484,242.50 while the Deputy Senate President is expected to earn a basic yearly salary of N2,309,166.75 The Speaker, House of Representatives, is on an annual basic salary of N2,477,110 while the Deputy Speaker is statutorily placed on N2,026,400. An elected senator, according to the reviewed document, is placed on N2,026,400, the same level with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives while a member of the House is placed on yearly basic salary of N1,985,212.50. Before the 2007 review, the Senate President was on annual basic salary of N993,697.00 compared to N923,666.70 of the Deputy Senate President and the N990,844.00 of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

A Senator and the Deputy Speaker were also placed on a salary scale of N810,560 while an elected member of the House was on N794,085.00 per annum. The provision as contained in the reviewed document is however silent on whether they are entitled to 300 per cent of one year or of four years as presently being canvassed by federal legislators. If the 300 per cent of one year stays, it is expected that the Senate President would be entitled to about N7,452,726 at the end of his/her tenure as severance package while the Speaker will earn about N7,431, 330 compared to the Deputy Senate President’s package of N6,927,500.

The Deputy Speaker and each Senator will take N6,079,200 as severance allowance. A member of the House of Representatives will take home about N5,955,637. The last time the Commission reviewed the remuneration package for political, public and judicial office holders in Nigeria was in 2007 when it set the severance package for lawmakers at 300 per cent of their basic salary.

In the review of that year, the Commission jacked up the basic salary of the senators from N993, 697 to N2, 484,242.50 while that of members of the House of Representatives went up from N794,084 to N1,985,212.50. So, as far as official records are concerned, the severance package of a senator is 300 per cent of his basic salary. [b]However, there are good reasons to believe that what the federal legislator will go home with at the end of every four years as his severance gratuity is far beyond what is contained in the official record.

Indeed, this is one issue staff of the National Assembly both at the wages and salaries section as well as the National Assembly Service Commission dread to talk about. Understandably too, the senators themselves shy away from this as well. When contacted, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Communication, Senator Ayogu Eze, was almost evasive as any other staff of the National Assembly spoken to on this matter. According to him, “there is nothing to hide about this; the records are there at the RMAFC for anybody to see.

Everything you need to know about what every lawmaker, indeed every public office holder earns in Nigeria is there. The Commission as you know is the body that is statutorily responsible for determining the remuneration packages of all public office holders in this country. I am sure they will not hesitate to oblige you that information if you ask them”. Indeed, all efforts to ascertain the actual amount the senator will get at the end of their tenure of four years as severance package hit the walls. “I doubt how far you can go in this matter. What you are asking for I must tell you is a top secret only known to the senators themselves and I wonder which senator will be willing to reveal that information to you,” a top staff of the National Assembly said.[/b]

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12448.html

playmode:
the former Ambassador is a torn in the flesh of the USA and this is very true.Yes Walter's comments can be sometimes provocative but this is an American man who feel a connection to ordinary Nigerians.The man criticized several Nigerian Government because he wanted Nigeria to be a better place for Nigerians.The reason he was recalled was because the US Government did not like the way he was vocal about the situation in Nigeria.

Campbell is a good man and a man who cares about Nigeria and Nigerians ,his former employers on the other hand do not care about Nigeria.


This is politics at play,please do some research into the intelligence community and you will be shocked what you find.Everything happening in the middle east today was planned and orchestrated by the CIA and the isreali mossad.It is the beginning of the NWO (new World Order).Read revelations in the bible and you will see where they said all the nation will come together as one under one leader who will turn out to be the Anti Christ.

Playmode,

Are you talking about Walter Carrington or John Campbell?

Are you suggesting that Obama could be the anti-christ?

If only most of us could get as much information about a subject as we can before we comment. Some comment after reading just the title of a thread or news report (some of which are very wild).

-------------------------------------

Cement price may drop as NNPC increases diesel supply to producers

  UDEME AKPAN 20/05/2011 03:24:00

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has boosted the supply of diesel to support commercial production and distribution of cement in the country. The effort is directed at achieving the price reduction target handed down to cement manufacturers by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who made this known yesterday at an interactive session with journalists in Lagos said the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries are presently processing commercial quantity of diesel. Cement producers had blamed increased production and transportation cost on the high price of cement which had reached N2,500 per 50 kilogramme bag, up from N1,600 a year ago, citing rising diesel price which had climbed from N120 per litre to N175 per litre. Alison-Madueke, who confirmed the availability of commercial stocks in the country, said: “Today, all the refineries are producing diesel as we are only importing a little.

We have a 22-day storage capacity, which is good.” She, however, said the inability of the government to control the entire process was a major constraint. According to her, “The problem is the retail end of it. We need to be able to control it. What we can control is the bulk outputs as we give it out at N40 per a litre for kerosene, but they are selling at more than N100 per litre.

AGO is fully deregulated. You have the right to make profit but you do not need to profiteer”. The minister, however, said that necessary directive had been issued to the NNPC and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to sanitise the situation as soon as possible. [b]She noted that though the country operates a free market economy, the Federal Government could not watch and fold its arms while innocent Nigerians go through hardship in accessing the vital cooking fuel due to the profiteering activities of some “middlemen”.

Allison-Madueke pointed out that: “Checks at the NNPC and its subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), indicate that we have enough in terms of product sufficiency. Our investigation shows that kerosene has however, become scarce and selling at high price due to distribution problems caused by middlemen who have made it their vocation to profiteer from the product.” As a way out, the minister charged the managements of the NNPC and the DPR to bring to an end the ugly situation within the next few days.

Under the arrangement, the NNPC through its subsidiary PPMC will ensure that products are loaded out from the three refineries and the coastal jetties to all the nooks and crannies of the country while DPR has the mandate to activate compliance measures and all necessary control strategies to squelch the incidents of arbitrary pricing and sharp practices. Already, the NNPC has swung into action by increasing the volume of kerosene allocation from 10 million litres to record 12 million litres per day to guarantee that the country has enough kerosene. The 12 million is in excess of the estimated national consumption level of about 10 million litres per day.[/b]

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12444.html

The conclusion of that piece is this:


The immediate concern is that Northern violence against the ruling party and its perceived Christian supporters will result in an anti-Muslim backlash in the states that supported Jonathan. The longer term concern is the alienation of the North from the Federal Republic, a process already underway.

We are yet to see that backlash and I don't see it happening at all.

The "worst" that has happened, in the short term, is that people are calling for the scrapping of the NYSC.

On his long term concern of the alienation of the North from Nigeria, this is consistent with his earlier prediction of Nigeria's disintegration which his subsequent comments only seek to further. So, no surprise!

Cement price may drop as NNPC increases diesel supply to producers

UDEME AKPAN 20/05/2011 03:24:00

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has boosted the supply of diesel to support commercial production and distribution of cement in the country. The effort is directed at achieving the price reduction target handed down to cement manufacturers by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who made this known yesterday at an interactive session with journalists in Lagos said the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries are presently processing commercial quantity of diesel. Cement producers had blamed increased production and transportation cost on the high price of cement which had reached N2,500 per 50 kilogramme bag, up from N1,600 a year ago, citing rising diesel price which had climbed from N120 per litre to N175 per litre. Alison-Madueke, who confirmed the availability of commercial stocks in the country, said: “Today, all the refineries are producing diesel as we are only importing a little.

We have a 22-day storage capacity, which is good.” She, however, said the inability of the government to control the entire process was a major constraint. According to her, “The problem is the retail end of it. We need to be able to control it. What we can control is the bulk outputs as we give it out at N40 per a litre for kerosene, but they are selling at more than N100 per litre.

AGO is fully deregulated. You have the right to make profit but you do not need to profiteer”. The minister, however, said that necessary directive had been issued to the NNPC and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to sanitise the situation as soon as possible. [b]She noted that though the country operates a free market economy, the Federal Government could not watch and fold its arms while innocent Nigerians go through hardship in accessing the vital cooking fuel due to the profiteering activities of some “middlemen”.

Allison-Madueke pointed out that: “Checks at the NNPC and its subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), indicate that we have enough in terms of product sufficiency. Our investigation shows that kerosene has however, become scarce and selling at high price due to distribution problems caused by middlemen who have made it their vocation to profiteer from the product.” As a way out, the minister charged the managements of the NNPC and the DPR to bring to an end the ugly situation within the next few days.

Under the arrangement, the NNPC through its subsidiary PPMC will ensure that products are loaded out from the three refineries and the coastal jetties to all the nooks and crannies of the country while DPR has the mandate to activate compliance measures and all necessary control strategies to squelch the incidents of arbitrary pricing and sharp practices. Already, the NNPC has swung into action by increasing the volume of kerosene allocation from 10 million litres to record 12 million litres per day to guarantee that the country has enough kerosene. The 12 million is in excess of the estimated national consumption level of about 10 million litres per day.[/b]

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12444.html

Reps inject N200bn into 2011 budget

Olusegun Aganga • Jonathan withholds assent, House in rowdy session

A curious inclusion of N200bn into this year’s appropriation of N4.972trn as part of the House of Representatives budget sent to the president for assent yesterday led to a rowdy session by members. The House commenced the day’s proceeding with an executive session which lasted for about two hours over the alleged illegal inflation of the budget.

A reliable source told the National Mirror that the figure was discovered by the Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga, and that the matter was brought to the knowledge of the members by Hon. Dino Melaye. The president, it was also learnt quietly returned the budget to the National Assembly for the figure to be expunged and the budget was treated at the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole’s house. It was also learnt that Hon. Melaye confronted the Speaker over the matter at the executive session and questioned why the house, budget would be deliberated upon at the Speaker’s house instead of the chambers of the lower house, but the Speaker offered no explanation.

The Speaker was also said to have been confronted with the reported sale of NITEL building in Lagos and his part in the purchase of the building. This was in addition to the outstanding salary of the recently recalled eleven members, 40 percent of which he promised to pay on Wednesday but was not paid and the April salary of all members. The budget figure was a source of heated argument as the Speaker and other principal officers could offer no explanation while the Clerk of the House claimed ignorance of the illegal figure. The issues resulted in a shouting match as members were torn apart.

They were still visibly angry when the chambers were opened for plenary as very many of them gathered in groups discussing and refusing to have their seats. The Speaker on his part made spirited effort to calm nerves by urging them to take their seat but was for a long time ignored. The N4.226 trillion budget sent to the National Assembly by the Federal Government in December last year was passed three months later after it was inflated to the tune of N4.972 trillion by the lawmakers. An amended version of the budget is expected to be ready by today, according to Aganga.

“The executive and the National Assembly have been engaging on the budget in the last two weeks trying to come out with a budget that is workable and that both are happy with,”Aganga said on Wednesday after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja. “We are getting to the stage of finalising it now. If things move as we expect by Friday it should be ready”, Aganga added.

At plenary, four bills were read for a third time while the bill for a law to amend some sections of the asset management corporation of Nigeria was read for the second time before the house dissolved into the committee of the whole to consider the report on the Petroleum Industry Bill. The consideration which began on a stormy note when Hon. Ita Enang said the report of the committee which worked on it had structural defects divided members as many who are opposed to the passage held on to the defects that were pointed out.

However, when the consideration commenced the bill was examined clause by clause and clauses 1 to 8 were approved. When the law makers got to clause 5 which deals with transparency and good governance, Melaye said he would call for the cancellation of the sale of NITEL building in the spirit of the clause when the house moved back to plenary. Deputy Speaker Usman Nafada said that would have to come by way of a motion. He did not move the motion and further consideration of the remaining 340 clauses will continue next week.

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12449.html

Okay, let's leave the strawmen.

Please itemise for us what Campbell is saying exactly and then let's take it from there.

johnie:
The minister however stated that the future of Nigeria does not rely on what Campbell and others say, but on the hands of Nigerians who are determined to see to the success of their country.

The minister is spot on.

You may laugh at him all you want.

The truth is the truth.

Jonathan Returns Budget over Inflated Figures
By Onwuka Nzeshi

20 May 2011


A whopping N200 billion was smuggled into this year’s budget before it was transmitted to President Goodluck Jonathan for his assent, a bewildered member of the House of Representatives told THISDAY Thursday.

The development, which came as a surprise to members of the House of Representatives, has also forced the President to withhold his assent to the Bill.

He has, therefore, returned it to the National Assembly, saying the N200 billion items were illegally inserted into the document.

Piqued by the news of the smuggled item, lawmakers, who were in the gallery sought explanation from the leadership.

This made the House leaders to okay an Executive Session to provide explanations to the lawmakers. The closed door session lasted for more than two hours.

The bewildered lawmakers described the development as a potential source of scandal.

THISDAY learnt that several lawmakers who were at the meeting sought to know from the principal officers what really happened to the budget after it was passed in the House but no one could provide a satisfactory answer.

A source at the meeting disclosed that the said N200billion was inserted into the budget after the House and the Senate had harmonised their separate versions of the Bill.

“What we discovered was that the Budget has been tampered with illegally. The President, we hear has returned the Bill but the leadership has not made it public. We hear that some secret meetings are taking place in the residence of the Speaker, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, to resolve the problem,” the source said.

Jonathan had last December presented a budget proposal of N4.226 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly based on a benchmark of $65 per barrel, an expected crude oil production of 2.3 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N150 to a dollar.

But in passing the Appropriation Bill, the lawmakers raised the figure by N745 billion from N4.226 trillion to N4.971 trillion. The benchmark was increased from $65 to $75.

Prior to the present development, the federal government had said May 3 that it had agreed with the National Assembly to amend budget with a view to making it implementable, assuring that with the level of discussions with the legislature, the budget would soon be assented to by Jonathan.

Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Bright Okogu, who disclosed this at the launch of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook in Lagos, had said the budget was being restructured by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the bid by the House to resume consideration of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) also ran into some hitches with some of the lawmakers questioning the inability of the joint committee working on it to meet the laid down rules and standard procedures for the consideration of the report in the House.

The controversy started when Honourable Ita Enang, (PDP Akwa Ibom) raised a point of order on the standard of the report the Joint Committee on the PIB presented to the House.

Enang argued that the report did not meet the acceptable standard for it to be considered by the House.

The report, Enang said, should be returned to the committee for it to be put in the right order before it could be considered by the committee of whole.

Enang’s point of order raised temper among members who said what they expected was not another controversy but a resumption of the consideration of the report.

Chairman of the Joint Committee, Hon Igochukwu Aguma, said if the report was submitted in the format proposed by Enang, it will be three times the size of the current document. He urged Enang not to draw the House back on the issues since he (Enang) had enough before now to make such corrections.

“We have been on this matter for four years so there is not going back. I am afraid if those campaigning against this Bill have not infiltrated this Assembly”, Aguma said.

But as if the attack on the Bill was not enough, the Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon. Abdul Ningi, warned that the House should not allow emotion to override its judgement, adding that since a previous Bill was suspended for not meeting acceptable standards, the PIB which he said was incomprehensive should also be stepped down until it met the standards. I

n spite of this, the consideration of the Bill resumed after the controversies subsided.



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-returns-budget-over-inflated-figures/91702/

Maku:FG Not Fazed by John Campbell’s Tantrums
By Imam Imam

20 May 2011

The Federal Government is cautious in responding to doomsday remarks about the future of Nigeria by former US diplomat John Campbell because it still values the long-standing relationship between it and the United States government, Minister of Information and Communication, Labaran Maku, has said.

Speaking, when he paid a courtesy visit to THISDAY corporate headquarters in Apapa Thursday, Maku said it was unfortunate that even after serving as US ambassador to Nigeria, Campbell has instead chosen to irritate Nigerians with his warped views about issues affecting the country.

He said in all his submissions, Campbell has shown a shallow understanding of the religious and political configuration of the country, adding that the historical similarities in the evolution of both Nigeria and the United States require closer cooperation between the two countries for the progress of humanity.

"Both countries came into existence as a result of the activities of Western colonialists who were on expedition to new territories. In its formative years, the US had problem of North-south dichotomy with the country's civil war just like Nigeria. Our presidential system of government is modeled after that of the US Most importantly; the US has many citizens whose parents are descendants of African migrants, one of who is today the President of the country, so we share a lot in common.

"The average Nigerian is sure and confident of himself, and as some will say, arrogant, just like the average American. The US, along with other countries, have partnered with us during our dark period to arrive at where we are today. It is however amazing that Ambassador Campbell has now become an endemic pessimist who sees nothing good about the future unity of Nigeria.

"I expected that as a former ambassador, he would have taken his time to fully go round the country and understand its history and peculiarities," Maku added.

The minister however stated that the future of Nigeria does not rely on what Campbell and others say, but on the hands of Nigerians who are determined to see to the success of their country.

While commending the management of THISDAY for raising the bar in the journalism profession in the country, Maku said the newspaper has taken a leading role in managing and promoting the image of Nigeria at home and abroad.

He urged the newspaper to sustain the tempo and report the challenges facing the country in a manner that will help the government find solutions to the myriad of problems facing the country.

On preparations for the May 29 hand over date, Maku said despite the riots that trailed the last presidential election, which led to the death of many Nigerians, the hand over date calls for celebration of the country's democracy.

He said the government will use the opportunity to appraise the successes recorded in the last 12 years and lay a solid step for the success of the incoming administration.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/maku-fg-not-fazed-by-john-campbell-s-tantrums/91698/

S’West PDP Leaders Beg Obasanjo Not to Retire
20 May 2011


By Imam Imam in Lagos and Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the South-west have appealed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to retire from active politics, warning that the party would be doomed in the zone without his “fatherly guidance”.

Various party leaders who spoke to THISDAY Thursday said the last few weeks have been the most difficult for the PDP in the South-west as the party is now effectively on the fringes.

A party elder from Lagos State who attended the meeting said Obasanjo was reminded that he was the zone’s most important link to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and if he departs from the scene now, the party should be considered as dead.

The PDP suffered tremendous losses in the South-west in the last two years from onslaught launched by the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

From having control of five states in 2003, it lost all the states after last month's elections. It had earlier lost Ekiti, Ondo and Osun following tribunal verdicts.

In the National Assembly election held on April 9, PDP won only five seats out of the 71 available in the South-west, while of the 18 Senate seats, the party won only one.

This figure contrasts sharply with that of 2007 when PDP won 47 House of Representatives seats and 15 in the Senate.

Meanwhile, elder statesman and former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Rafiu Jafojo, and Princess Gloria Adebajo-Frazier, Thursday said they were not aware of the reported plans by Obasanjo to retire from active politics after the election of a Deputy National Chairman which is zoned to the South-west.

But THISDAY stands by its story, following further confirmations from high-ranking members of the party.

One of them, a former governorship candidate, said he was surprised the story was just getting to the media as the former president had told him several times that the 2011 general election would be his last as an active politician.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Jafojo said even though he met Obasanjo along with other Lagos PDP stalwarts in Abeokuta last weekend, the issue of his retirement from politics was not discussed.

He urged journalists to cross-check their facts and avoid being used by mischief makers to cause disaffection among senior citizens of the society.

Meanwhile, the ripples caused by the zoning of key political offices by the expanded national caucus of the PDP remain unabated as the party has threatened to wield the big stick against members of the House of Representatives who are threatening to jettison the approved zoning formula.

This is coming on the heels of the South-east’s meeting to review the crisis and adopt a position. But it has said whatever happens, “we remain loyal party members”.

THISDAY was reliably informed that the Acting National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Harilu Mohammed Bello, held a closed door meeting with the leadership of the House of Representatives moments after they amended the voting system in the House to secret ballot.

The National Caucus and NWC of the party had agreed to the following zoning formula: Senate President (North-central); Speaker (South-west); Deputy Senate President (South-east); Deputy Speaker (North-east); National Chairman (North-east); Secretary to the Government of the Federation (South-east); Senate Leader (South-west); House Leader (South-south); Senate Chief Whip (North-west); and House Chief Whip (South-east).

According to a source at the meeting, Bello said that as far as the party is concerned, it has no special or anointed candidate for any of the key offices at the National Assembly, explaining that its position and interest is to ensure that the party directives are adhered to.

“We, as a party, have taken a position based on a wide consultation and it is for PDP as a party to enforce that position. There is no special interest, but the efficacy of party supremacy,” he reportedly said.

It was gathered that Bello was forced to hold the meeting when it became glaring that the members of the House of Represen-tatives were not responding positively to the entreaties made by Vice-President Namadi Sambo to them in a meeting organised by the outgoing Deputy Speaker Bayero Nafada.

At the meeting, Bello was quoted as threatening that the party would not watch and see its decision rubbished and warned that any member that goes contrary to the position of the party on zoning would be sanctioned, no matter their status in the House.

THISDAY gathered that Bello told the House leadership to revert to the old voting pattern of electronic voting and voice affirmation.

According to the source, “it was because of this that the duo of the Chairman, House Committee on House Rules and Business, Hon. Ita Enang sponsored a bill to revert to the old House rules”.

The Southeast caucus of the PDP yesterday in Abuja said that the zone was yet to take a position on the zoning of the office of the SGF and the Office of the Deputy Senate President to it.

Addressing newsmen, the South-east Zonal Secretary, Mr. Vincent Okpaleke and the Zonal Financial Secretary, Tony Caesar Okeke, said that the zone would soon meet to take a position.

Okpaleke, however said “we are part of PDP, whatever the national leadership of our party agrees we believe will be in the interest of our people. We are going to be loyal and abide by that”.

According to him, “the meeting will be attended by PDP Governors, members of the National Assembly and other important stakeholders from the zone. Any decision taken at this meeting would be binding on the zone”.

He hinted that the zone may be asking for “grade A” ministerial positions such as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Minister of Works and Environment.

“The zone has never been treated well. You see, that is why we want to take the whole issue holistically, it is not just about speakership or party chairmanship that rightly belong to the zone or the issue of SGF or deputy speakership.

“The entire southeast will be meeting very soon and they will come up with a position that will ultimately address these issues. You can be assured that our position will not be myopic and will address these issues in such a way that it will not affect the unity of the nation,” he said.

The Zonal secretary announced that there would be a retreat to be jointly organised by the party and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the newly elected lawmakers.



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/s-west-pdp-leaders-beg-obasanjo-not-to-retire/91701/

US Protests Campbell’s Visa Denial
By Tokunbo Adedoja

20 May 2011

United States has protested the denial of visa to Mr. John Campbell, its former envoy to Nigeria, by the Nigerian embassy in Washing-ton DC.

Meanwhile, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, will be visiting Nigeria next week during which he would meet with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The visit by the UN scribe to Nigeria is coming weeks after the nation successfully conducted its general elections and about a year after a scheduled visit was cancelled.

A statement issued by his office in New York said during the visit, the UN scribe would also meet with the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Campbell, a Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, who served as US ambassador to Nigeria between 2004 and 2007, had on May 5, 2011 requested for visa to attend a meeting of the Governing Council of the American University of Nigeria, owned by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as a member of the council.

Media reports later quoted a foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr. Damian Agwu, that Campbell's application for visa had been denied because he did not meet requirements for visa to Nigeria.

Thurday, a source at the US State Department told THISDAY that since the issue was reported by the media, there had been official communication between the Nigerian Embassy on one hand, and the State Department and the US embassy in Nigeria, on the issue.

The source said the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, William Fitzgerald, had protested the refusal of Nigeria to approve Campbell's visa application, while the US embassy in Abuja had also made similar complaint.

"We are in touch with the Nigerian embassy on the issue and Mr. Fritzgerald, has specifically made our opinion known. Our mission in Abuja is also following it up. We are particularly concerned because he is our former envoy to Nigeria", the source said.

The State Department source said the Nigerian embassy had also explained the circumstances surrounding the denial of the visa, but would not reveal the details to THISDAY.

A source who works at the visa section of the Nigerian Embassy however told THISDAY that Campbell was denied visa because he did not meet stipulated requirements, and had been asked to come and retrieve his passport.

"Like every other country, we have a procedure for visa application which includes the stipulated processing period. His application did not meet that laid down procedure, which include submitting application seven working days before the planned trip to Nigeria," the source said.

The source further explained that Campbell applied for Visa on May 5, 2011,as a member of the Governing Council of the American University of Nigeria, to attend the meeting of institution's council slated for May 11, 2011.

The source said campbell - who had been branded "a propeht of doom", because of what is considered as his negative remarks about Nigeria's political situation, and specifically because of his book titled, " Nigeria:

Dancing on the brink", which created a scenario of disintegration as a possible fallout of the recently held general elections - was asked to provide proof of his membership of the governing board of the institution to complete the application.

THISDAY was told that by the time the embassy received the proof, it was a day to the scheduled meeting in Nigeria and had become clear that he would not be able to make the meeting.

"In our view, it would be impossible for him to be at the meeting. So in line we our standard procedure, we requested that he should appear at the embassy to give additional reason why he wanted to go to Nigeria since he would not be able to attend the meeting on which basis he had applied for visa.

"Up till now he has failed to appear and that has made it impossible for us to give approval to his application".

The embassy source, who said he guessed Campbell wanted to be treated differently, added that all countries have visa application procedure they follow, and that Nigerian Senators, judges and top government officials usually appear before US embassy to complete their visa processing.

It was also gathered that the Nigerian mission while responding to US' complaint, made its position known about what it called inciting remarks and publications by the former US envoy which, it said are capable of causing political crisis in the country.

When THISDAY called Campbell yesterday to get his reaction, he said he had not been officially informed of the status of his visa. He told THISDAY that his application for visa was submitted to the Nigerian Embassy by the office of American University of Nigeria in Washington.

Campbell said when the institution called the embassy yesterday morning, it could not confirm the status of his visa.

When asked whether he thinks this had to do with his various remarks and publications on Nigeria, he said he would wait until he had been formally informed.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/us-protests-campbell-s-visa-denial/91709/

Oil Subsidy in the US

cap28:
It is possible that Strauss-Kahn eliminated himself and saved Washington the trouble. However, as a well-travelled person who has often stayed in New York hotels and in hotels in cities around the world, I have never experienced a maid entering unannounced into my room, much less when I was in the shower.

In the spun story, Strauss-Kahn is portrayed as so deprived of sex that he attempted to violation a hotel maid. Anyone who ever served on the staff of a powerful public figure knows that this is unlikely. On a senator’s staff on which I served, there were two aides whose job was to make certain that no woman, with the exception of his wife, was ever alone with the senator. This was done to protect the senator both from female power groupies, who lust after celebrities and powerful men, and from women sent by a rival on missions to compromise an opponent. A powerful man such as Strauss-Kahn would not have been starved for women, and as a multi-millionaire he could certainly afford to make his own discreet arrangements.

My sentiments exactly!

cap28:
On May 16, the day following Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, the US Supreme Court threw its weight behind the Amerikan police state by destroying the remains of the Fourth Amendment with an 8-1 ruling that, the U.S. Constitution notwithstanding, Amerika’s police do not need warrants to invade homes and search persons.


This ruling is more evidence that every American is regarded as a potential enemy of the state, not only by Airport Security but also by the high muckety-mucks in Washington. The conservatives’ “war on crime” has created a police state, and conservatives, who originally stood for limited government and civil liberty, are euphoric over the expanded and unaccountable powers that a conservative Supreme Court has handed to the police.

On the same day the federal government reached the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, which forced the Treasury to “borrow” money from federal employee pensions in order to
continue funding Amerika’s illegal wars and crimes against humanity. The breached debt ceiling serves as an appropriate marker for a country that has squandered its constitutional heritage and has arrived at moral as well as fiscal bankruptcy.

Interesting.

Bawss1:
Does this means the BRT buses are going to be exempt from paying the tolls on the Lekki expressway?

No. I think what Mariory means is that while the buses pay the toll, you the passenger are exempt.

Mariory, I hope I got that right?

Mariory:
Maybe the thinking is that providing BRT buses for the route will reduce vehicular traffic in general. You wouldn't have to pay to go through the toll gates on a BRT bus.

A lot of the buses would be required to achieve that goal. When there are enough buses, motorists would be encouraged to leave their cars at home or parked at/near the terminals knowing that they would not have to queue for ages waiting for the buses.

With enough buses and motorists leaving their cars, there would be less traffic congestion, less travel time, more jobs created for the drivers, conductors, checkers, ticket sellers, etc.

There aren't enough buses on the Mainland/Lagos Island end right now leading to long queues. A bus assembly plant should also be in the works.

Ultimately though, a better mass transit arranngement like the rail would be needed though I don't see that happening on the Lekki Axis in next few decades with the concessioning of the road.

Good start though.

Pic: Long Queue at Marina a litte after the morning peak hours (this was actually taken at 8 am). At peak hours there aren;t enough buses so you have long winding queues