₦airaland Forum

talktimi: Its quite surprising when so called political "progressives" don't know or conveniently forget that government is a continuum. Very shameful indeed but when it comes to Lagos & Fashola, they remind everyone who cares to listen that Fashola is implementing and completing the laudable policies & projects started by Tinubu. In their mind, government is only a continuum when it concerns them, all other people are fools. Shame on them.

they know ,they are H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E-S

i trust the executive they wont sign it into law when the time comes.and to think we have the so called APC members who always pride themselves as progressive non of them opposed the bill.tomorrow they would do a fashola and claim they didnt support it,like the national good government tour

wesley80: Compensation for those with genuine cases? Humour me. Fashola is on a steady and destructive course of trampling on defenseless and vulnerable citizens with the full might of the state under pretentious and frivolous laws. Same people that sold those lands are thesame people now directing those bulldozers with the active connivance of the stooge in Alausa. It took at least a decade for that community to develop and in all that time the govt looked the other way only to roll out bulldozers when there's nothing left to sell!
Yet the smooth talking elitist hypocrite continues to get the applause of two horned demons in human form while deliberately carving out policies that only serve to gratify the elite and fuelling the inequity that has made Lagos a classic case of unforgiveable skewed development. The fool only has to look up North to see where he's headed. The growing discontent he's fueling won't be stomached for long, the millions of families he's turning to desperate "Enemies of State" with nothing else to lose will let off steam someday when they get tired of being homeless in the midst of such brazen state-sponsored opulence.
Fashola should go sandfill more of the Ocean for his favored elite and leave the poor struggling to eke out a living to live in peace, these are same people on whose backs the State's economy is being built upon, Lagos is what it is today not because of the less than 1% elite but because of the 90something% poor yet they are treated as lepers mostly because they aren't indigenous. There's a storm gathering and "if the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth". Enough said.

well said! were waiting to send them a message come 2015 with the only power we poor lagosians have our vote. This time our vote would count we would make citizen arrest of anybody who try to sell his vote for 200 naira and any inec official that try to sell unused ballot would meet stiff oposition this time at the poll cos that's how AC-N rigged election in the 2011 elections

His contesting we want to see nigeria disintegrate.

otokx: Some of those pictures are from the Lagos airport, why the deceit? God is watching. The Benin railway line is kinda careless talk, buy would over look that. Uniport is still in darkness - 15 days.

which lagos airport oga get ur facts right that's benin airport just say ur suprised cause ur one of those who see no Good in GEJ. If u come see the new lagos airport nko wetin u go come call am?

we known they are not,they're just a bunch of criminals parading themselves as progressives.

jmaine: Funny how you all shamelessly flood this thread embarrassing yourselves with self indicting articles exposing your fraud . . . .

Proof to us that the fabled "40 Laptops Squad" are not indeed wiser and better than you . . .

he and his hypocrites have been trying hard to justify the lies that their master and liar mohammed has been selling to ignorant nigerians that gej is a failure.

jmaine: This is just a sad attempt. . . .

Lemme give you another chance to try cos you squarely disappointed in your subtle attempt to peddle deception . .

a moderator that is biased

.


• Govt implements Oronsaye panel’s report

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is to monitor the implementation of constituency projects always requested by members of the National Assembly and included in the Federal Government spending plan.

The sum of N100 billion has been set aside for constituency projects in the 2013 budget.

Also, to cut down on the cost of governance, the Federal Government will this year start the implementation of Stephen Oronsaye’s panel recommendations of the reduction in cost of governance in the country.

Disclosing this to journalists Thursday in Abuja on the recently signed N4.987 trillion 2013 budget, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the aim was to track the amount involved and ensure that it was actually spent on the projects submitted so as to account for the funds.

Hitherto, members of the National Assembly were allowed to superintend the use of the funds and project implementation.

Already, she revealed that the President has appointed his Minister of Special Duties to undertake this task in addition to his regular schedule.

She also said that the 2013 budget makes provision for an aggregate expenditure of N4.987 trillion, representing a modest increase of 6.2 per cent over the N4.697 trillion appropriated for 2012. This is made up of N387.97 billion for Statutory Transfers; N591.76 billion for Debt Service; N2.38 trillion for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure, of which N1.717 trillion is the provision for personnel cost while overhead cost is projected at N208.9; and a total of N1.62 trillion has been provisioned for Capital Expenditure.

In addition, N273.5 billion has been provisioned for the Subsidy Reinvestment (SURE-P) programme.

Government, according to the minister, remains focused on critical economic and social sectors. Some of these sectors are largely driven by private sector activities, while others require a great deal of public sector support.

She listed some of the key allocations as follows: Critical Infrastructure (including Power, Works, Transport, Aviation, Gas pipelines, and Federal Capital Territory) – N497 billion; Human Capital Development (i.e. Education and Health) – N705 billion; and Agriculture/Water Resources – N175 billion. Over N950 billion which was also allocated for national security purposes, comprised: N320 billion for the Police, N364 billion for the Armed Forces, N115 billion for the Office of the NSA, and N154 billion for the Ministry of the Interior.

On the key priorities of the 2013 budget, the minister said: “First, the cost of governance is coming down! Government has sustained its policy of re-balancing its expenditure in favour of capital investment over the medium term. I am therefore pleased to announce that the share of recurrent spending in total expenditure has reduced from 74.4 per cent in 2011 to 67.5 per cent in 2013. Similarly, capital spending as a share of total expenditure has increased from 25.6 per cent in 2011 to 32.5 per cent in 2013.

“Second, on debt management, we remain committed to … maturing debt obligations, and have also set aside N25 billion in a sinking fund to be used for retirement of maturing debt obligations in the future. Government has further reduced yearly domestic borrowing to finance the budget deficit from N852 billion in 2011, to N744 in 2012, and now to N577 billion in 2013!

“We are also making concerted efforts to defray the debts of our foreign missions. In this context, we have made a provision of N13 billion in the 2013 budget to help clear accumulated debts as at the cut-off date of June 2012. Government has also established a committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which will work out a system to better manage the assets of our foreign missions.

“Third, let me turn to infrastructure investments. We recognise that Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit remains one of the binding constraints to growth in the economy. Therefore, our strategy is to prioritise infrastructure investments in the budget, and also to leverage additional external financing for infrastructure investments in the country.

“We plan to augment our domestic resources with a proposed $1 billion EuroBond as well as a Nigeria Diaspora Bond which will harness savings from Nigerians abroad. These additional financial resources will be invested in various infrastructure projects such as building the country’s gas to power infrastructure. We plan to use PPPs aggressively.

“We successfully resolved these changes in the past two weeks, and Mr. President will send a proposal to the National Assembly for amendment of the 2013 Budget. Let me also add here that Mr. President has assigned the Minister of Special Duties to assist in overseeing the implementation of the N100 billion constituency projects across the country.

“For example, Budget 2013 has some important infrastructure projects in the transportation sector, such as the second Niger Bridge.”


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115537:president-to-monitor-constituency-projects&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

there u have it. shame to all those retards that keep calling gej clueless,because as the day goes bye gej proves them wrong

By HENRY UMORU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

ABUJA- AFTER three days of intense debates and contributions on the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, northern Senators were Thursday caged by their Southern colleagues and the bill unanimously scaled the second reading.

The resolution by the Senators to pass the bill was contrary to fears from some quarters especially with the initial stiff opposition from the lawmakers from the North that it will not see the light of the day.

The passage also came barely twenty four hours after the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, PDP, Akwa Ibom North/East called on President Goodluck Jonathan to revoke and re-allocate oil blocs where he raised alarm that the Northerners control 83 percent of oil blocs in the country, leaving a negligible 27 percent for the South where the oil comes from.

Notable names like Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero; late President Umaru Yar’adua; former vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma; Sanusi Lamido; Rilwanu Lukman, among others as the owners of oil blocs in Nigeria.

The bill which passed through second reading at the upper legislative chamber, had all together 81 out of the 109 senators that spoke on it for the three days, was however referred to the Committees on Petroleum( Upstream and Downstream), Gas and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters with a period of six weeks to organise public hearings and report back to the entire house.

The Committee on Petroleum(Upstream) has Senator Emmanuel Paulker, PDP, Bayelsa Central as Chairman; Committee on Petroleum(Downstream) has Senator Magnus Abe, PDP, Rivers South/East as Chairman; Gas Committee has Senator Nkechi Justina Nwaogu, PDP, Abia Central as Chairman, while the Chairman, Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters is Senator Umaru Dahiru, PDP, Sokoto South.

Speaking after discussions on the Bill by the Senators, Senate President David Mark who presided at the Plenary said that the PIB belongs to all Nigerians and not a part of the country Senate President, just as he said that the Bill was not the North versus the south, adding that what was good for the North was equally good for the South.

More details soon


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/oil-blocs-revelation-northern-senators-caged-as-pib-sails-through/

i knoW if this Was about fashole sWitching on street light or amosun commissioning over head bridge the thread Would have gone viral by noW.cos this is bad neWs to some folks

Obiora4life: lol, where? Post your source because that's incorrect information.

am also keen to see the source

lacasa: Rather u should see through ur foolish GEJ


Some years back, GEJ said,. "they are in my government, judiciary,legislature and security!!" but now, "i will not declare amnesty to GHOSTs!!"

:So​, all those under security custody are ghosts?

Why is GEJ eating his own vomit?

if gej is foolish then What Would u call your bedsheet tying sultan that proposed amnesty for terrorists? he most be an idiotic simpleton

if gej is foolish then What Would u call your bedsheet tying sultan that proposed amnesty for terrorists? he most be an idiotic simpleton

well done to gej and his team though more needs to be done nigeria is moving foward

A FLURRY of opposition on Wednesday greeted the Sultan of Sokoto’s amnesty demand for members of the violent Islamist sect, Boko Haram, with the major ethnic associations outside of the North condemning the demand.

Both the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere; and youth wing of Ndigbo kicked against the Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar’s call which they described as unfortunate and outrageous.

A former President-General of the main Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, said it was premature at this stage to be talking about granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect.

Ikedife told one of our correspondents on the telephone that inasmuch as there was an urgent need to stop the senseless killings by the Boko Haram sect, it was more important first to identify the sect’s leaders and their backers and dialogue with them to know what they really wanted.

“There is a need to stop the senseless killings. But what type of amnesty are you talking about? They have not been seen and there is the need to understand what their grievances are, then they can say grant them amnesty or not,” he said.

Also, the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties faulted the demand. The two bodies said there was the need for Boko Haram members to first unveil themselves and cease fire before the issue of amnesty could be suggested.

But a former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Abubakar Tsav, said he was in support of the Sultan’s demand.

The Sultan, who is the spiritual head of Muslims in the country, had on Tuesday asked for “total amnesty” for members of the sect which had killed over 1,500 persons since they embarked on campaign of violence against the Federal Government and its agencies.

He had argued that a presidential amnesty to even one member of the sect could make others to lay down their arms for peace to reign in the nation and blamed the security challenges confronting the country on injustice “meted out to the people.”

Abubakar spoke at the meeting of the Central Council of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam in Kaduna.

But the octogenarian leader of the Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, on Wednesday described the Sultan’s call for amnesty for Boko Haram as “outrageous and highly unfortunate.”

Fasoranti, who spoke to one of our correspondents in Akure, Ondo State, said, “The Sultan’s call for Amnesty for Boko Haram is outrageous and highly unfortunate. It is an express approval of the caliphate for the mass killings, devastation and destructive activities of the dreaded sect over the years.

“I cannot imagine why a highly placed person in the calibre of Sultan be seeking amnesty for a sect whose activities had rendered many homeless and left thousands of children as orphans.

“The sultan’s call is obviously an indication that the caliphate is encouraging and condoning bloody violence. It is unheard of that the Sultan, who should speak up and denounce the evil sect, wanted them treated with kid gloves.

“Our position in Afenifere is that the Boko Haram members are evil. They should be identified and severely dealt with according to the laws of the land.”

The Igbo youths who spoke through the National Organising Secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo Youths, Mr. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said they were very sure that the Federal Government would not give attention to the Sultan’s demand.

Isiguzor, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Enugu, said, “Having held our meeting, our view is that the Federal Government should first of all fight and conquer terrorism before anyone begins to talk about amnesty.

“Well, we are very optimistic that the Federal Government would not give room to such talks. Moreover, granting them amnesty would expose President Jonathan as being soft to the security challenges facing Nigeria.”

A statement issued on Wednesday night by the General Secretary of CAN, Dr. Musa Asake, wondered what the Sultan meant by injustice in relation to the activities of the Boko Haram sect “when members of the group are a bunch of fundamentalists who have killed, maimed, deformed Christians and made orphans and widows of otherwise peaceful and lovely families.”

He said, “We believe that for the talk about amnesty to hold water, the Islamist militant group must first of all renounce their extreme ideology and embrace the ceasefire plan. What President Goodluck Jonathan should do is to first of all give the sect members an ultimatum within which they should organise a ceasefire, failing which the sect members should be confronted vigorously, in line with what was done to the Niger Delta militants who refused the amnesty offered by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Otherwise, how can government grant amnesty to faceless people?

“We wonder the kind of amnesty contemplated by the Sultan. This is why we are puzzled. We therefore say categorically that we reject any offer of amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect. We ask government to do same. One group of people cannot continue to pay the price for one Nigeria. We must sit together as brothers and discuss issues.”

The CNPP argued that it was necessary for members of Boko Haram to unmask themselves before they could get presidential amnesty.

Rivers State Chairman of the CNPP, Dr. Manaidi Dagogo-Jack, who spoke with The PUNCH in a telephone interview on Tuesday, described the call for amnesty to Boko Haram members as an error from the Sultan of Sokoto.

Dagogo-Jack explained that it would be difficult for President Jonathan to grant amnesty to faceless people, insisting that members of the sect must be identified before they could get any reprieve.

He stated that it was wrong for anybody to compare the Niger Delta agitation to the activities of members of the Islamic sect whose abhorrence for western education had been a reason for violence in the North.

Dagogo-Jack said, “This (call for amnesty for Boko Haram) is an error from the Sultan. The President would be setting a very bad precedent if he accepts to grant a faceless Boko Haram amnesty. Nigerians should be able to know members of the sect. We should be able to know the faces behind those masks.

“We respect the Sultan’s opinion, but the government should ask him to identify who they (Boko Haram members) are first before talking about amnesty.”

But Tsav said, “I am in support of the Sultan’s appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to grant general amnesty to members of the Boko Haram. I want to stress that the proposed visit of Mr. President to Borno and Yobe states without the grant of general and unconditional amnesty will have no impact or significance whatsoever.

“Already the 12 courageous and patriotic All Progressives Congress governors have stolen the show, by not only risking their personal safety, but by also donating N200m to the state government. I commend them for this. Jonathan can only beat this by granting general and unconditional amnesty to the sect members just as the late President Umaru Yar’Adua did to the Niger Delta militants.

“Anything short of general amnesty will mean nothing but a visit to mock the traumatised government and people of the two states. Those who are not in support of amnesty may be benefiting from the situation.”


http://www.punchng.com/news/afenifere-others-oppose-amnesty-for-boko-haram/

[quote author=Wise_old_man]Sorry to rain on your parade my dear, but all those dudes u mentioned: Asari, Briggs, et al...are all part of the people with the stolen oil wealth, so they will pay little attention to you...(I guess you haven't head of Moni-polo oil coy)...

My dear don't be tribalistic or allow yourself to be fooled...

Buhari is the only person amongst d lot that can tame these monsters...

Fyi: I'm a southerner[/quote]and to think that this your hero buhari was part and parcel of one of the government that made this injustice possible.
he was in abachas cabinet when "OML 110 with high yield OBE oil fields was given Cavendish Petroleum owned by
Alhaji Mai Daribe, the Borno Patriarch in 1996 by Sanni Abacha. OBE oil field has
estimated over 500 million barrels of oil. In layman’s language and using average
benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel, translates to $50 billion dollars worth of oil
reserve. When you remove the taxes, royalties and sundry duties worth about 60%
of the reserve payable over time you get about $20billion dollars worth of oil in the
hands of a family."

he was also part and parcel of the government that gave out

"OPL 246 was awarded to SAPETRO, a company owned by General Theophilus
Danjuma, by Sanni Abacha in 1998. Akpo condensate exports about 300,000
barrels of crude daily."

was he buhari not part and parcel of the abacha junter that gave out

"OML 215 is operated by Nor East Petroleum Limited owned by Alhaji Saleh
Mohammed Gambo.

OML 108 is operated by Express Petroleum Company Limited is owned by Alhaji
Aminu Dantata"

the same government that he buhari saved in gave out

"OML II3 allocated to Yinka Folawiyo Pet Ltd is owned by Alhaji W.I. folawiyo
ASUOKPU/UMUTU marginal oil fields is operated by Seplat Petroleum. Seplat is
owned by Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, cousin to the Central Bank Governor Lamido
Sanusi. This oil field has the capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil daily. This translates
to $30million dollars daily at average benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel.
Deducting all sundry taxes, royalties etc , this field can yield $12billion dollars daily
for the owners."


buhari was part and parcel of the junta government that also gave out

"OPL 245 was awarded to Malabu Oil& Gas Company by Sanni Abacha. Dan Etete,
Abacha’s oil minister owns Malabu Oil. In 2000, Vice President Atiku Abubakar
convinced Obasanjo to revoke OPL 245 given to Malabu Oil. Etete had earlier
rejected Atiku’s demand for substantial stakes in the high yield OPL 245 and it
attracted the venom of Ota Majesty who revoked the licence. However, in 2006,
Obasanjo had mercy on Dan Etete and gave him back his oil block worth over $20
billion dollars."

this is just a few not the mention the once he gave out when he was president.this explains where he gets money to run for election every election season. the so called goodwill from those that he and abacha gave our commonwealth to. and the same buhari came out in public to tell us how abacha never stole.if he is a saint why did he keep his mouth shut when ibb threaten to expose him. and please if ur a southerner is either ur an apc apologist or ur not a southner buhari has been part and parcel of this injustics.

The process of sharing Nigeria’s oil block national cake is as fraudulent now as
when Ibrahim Babangida started the process of discretionary allocation of oil blocks
to indigenous firms. Discretionary allocation of oil blocks entails that a president
can reward a mistress who performs wonderfully with an oil block with capacity for
cumulative yield of over $20 billion dollars without recourse to any process outside
of manhood attachments. Babangida, Abacha, Abdulsalami and Obasanjo awarded
discretionary oil blocks to friends, associates, family members, party chieftains,
security chiefs and all categories of bootlickers, spokespersons and cult members
without any laid down procedures.

The recipients of such oil blocks will get funds from ever willing offshore financiers
and partners to graciously settle the benefactors, the awarders, facilitators and the
Commander-in-Chief through fronts. These settlements mostly paid into foreign
accounts runs into hundreds of millions of dollars according to the potential yield of
the block. Sometimes, the awarder (sharer of national cake and direct
intermediaries) demand additional stakes in the bidding company. The awarder
sends fronts as part of the directorship and management of the bidding firms without
leaving a link to them. That is how the oil block national cake is distributed to a few
Nigerians.

Signature bonuses which are paid when an investor successfully bids, wins and
signs agreement with the petroleum ministry, running into tens of millions and
sometimes hundreds of millions of naira ,is often waived off. There is actually no
waiver; rather a diversion of what would have been paid to government t coffers is
paid into private purse as appreciation gifts. That is why those in the Petroleum
Ministry dread retirement as though it signifies going to hell fire. No matter how little
your influence, something substantial must enter your hands especially in hard
currency. The nation loses billions of dollars in diverted revenue whenever any round
of auction occurs.

OML 110 with high yield OBE oil fields was given Cavendish Petroleum owned by
Alhaji Mai Daribe, the Borno Patriarch in 1996 by Sanni Abacha. OBE oil field has
estimated over 500 million barrels of oil. In layman’s language and using average
benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel, translates to $50 billion dollars worth of oil
reserve. When you remove the taxes, royalties and sundry duties worth about 60%
of the reserve payable over time you get about $20billion dollars worth of oil in the
hands of a family.

OPL 246 was awarded to SAPETRO, a company owned by General Theophilus
Danjuma, by Sanni Abacha in 1998. Akpo condensate exports about 300,000
barrels of crude daily.

OML 112 and OML 117 were awarded to AMNI International Petroleum Development
Company owned by Colonel Sanni Bello in 1999. Sanni Bello is an inlaw to
Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Head of State of Nigeria.
OML 115, OLDWOK Field and EBOK field was awarded to Alhaji Mohammed Indimi
from Niger State. Indimi is an inlaw to former Military President Ibrahim Babangida.

OML 215 is operated by Nor East Petroleum Limited owned by Alhaji Saleh
Mohammed Gambo.

OML 108 is operated by Express Petroleum Company Limited is owned by Alhaji
Aminu Dantata.

OML II3 allocated to Yinka Folawiyo Pet Ltd is owned by Alhaji W.I. folawiyo
ASUOKPU/UMUTU marginal oil fields is operated by Seplat Petroleum. Seplat is
owned by Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, cousin to the Central Bank Governor Lamido
Sanusi. This oil field has the capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil daily. This translates
to $30million dollars daily at average benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel.
Deducting all sundry taxes, royalties etc , this field can yield $12billion dollars daily
for the owners.

Intel owned by Atiku, Yarádua and Ado Bayero has substantial stakes in Nigeria’s
oil exploration industry both in Nigeria and Principe and Sao Tome.
AMNI owns two oil blocks OML 112 and OML 117 which it runs Afren plc and Vitol
has substantial stakes in oil blocks. Afren plc is operating EBOK oil fields in OML
67. Vitol lifts 300,000 barrels of Nigerian oil daily. Rilwanu Lukman, former OPEC
Chairman has stakes in all these named three companies.

OPL 245 was awarded to Malabu Oil& Gas Company by Sanni Abacha. Dan Etete,
Abacha’s oil minister owns Malabu Oil. In 2000, Vice President Atiku Abubakar
convinced Obasanjo to revoke OPL 245 given to Malabu Oil. Etete had earlier
rejected Atiku’s demand for substantial stakes in the high yield OPL 245 and it
attracted the venom of Ota Majesty who revoked the licence. However, in 2006,
Obasanjo had mercy on Dan Etete and gave him back his oil block worth over $20
billion dollars.

OPL 289 and OPL 233 was awarded during Obasanjo era to Peter Odili fronts,
Cleanwater Consortium, consisting of Clenwater Refinery and RivGas Petroleum and
Gas Company. Odili’s brother in law, Okey Ezenwa manages the consortium as
Vice Chairman.

OPL 286 is managed by Focus Energy in partnership with BG Group, a British oil
concern. Andy Uba has stakes in Focus Energy and his modus operandi is such
that you can never see his name in any listings yet he controls OPL and OML
through proxies.

OPL 291 was awarded to Starcrest Energy Nigeria Limited, owned by Emeka Offor
by Obasanjo . Immediately after the award, Starcrest sold the oil block to Addax
Petroleum Development Company Limited (ADDAX) Addax paid Sir Emeka Offor a
farming fee of $35million dollars and still paid the signature bonus to the
government. Emeka Offor still retains stake in ADDAX operations in Nigeria.
Mike Adenuga’s Conoil is the oldest indigenous oil exploration industry in Nigeria.
Conoil has six oil blocks and exports above 200,000 barrels of crude daily.

The oil block national cake sharing fiesta could take twists according to the mood
of the Commander-in –Chief at the particular time. In 2006, Obasanjo revoked OPL
246 which Abacha gave to Danjuma because he refused to support the tenure
elongation bid of the Ota Majesty. In 2000, Obasanjo had earlier revoked OPL 241
given to Dan Etete under the advice Atiku. However, when the Obasanjo-Atiku
faceoff started, the Ota Majesty made a u-turn and handed back the oil block to
Etete.

During the time of Late President Yarádua , a panel headed by Olusegun
Ogunjana was set up to investigate the level of transparency in the award of oil
blocks. The panel recommended that 25 oil blocks awarded by the Obasanjo be
revoked because the manner they were obtained failed to meet the best practices in
the industry. Sadiq Mahmood, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum
endorsed the report to then president with all its recommendations. As a result of
the report Yarádua revoked eleven oil blocks.

In April 2011 Mike Adenuga attempted to buy Shell’s OML 30 for $1.2 billion dollars.
The Minister for Petroleum and Nigeria’s most powerful woman refused the sale of
the OML30 to Adenuga citing national interest. This block was later sold to Heritage
Oil for $800 million dollars eleven months later.

This oil block business is so lucrative that Danjuma’s Sapetro divested of its
investment in Akpo condensate for $1billion dollars. This business is second to
none in Nigeria. That is why any attempt to investigate the activities in this sector
will always be futile. The money is so much that they give bribes in millions of
dollars. A birthday gift or child naming gift from an oil block owner to a government
official could be as paltry as $2million dollars, and if the official’s father died, the
condolence gift could reach mere $3 million dollars. When they want to bribe
legislators, it is in millions of dollars and any ongoing investigation ends within
weeks. They are so confident that with excess money they can buy up Nigeria and
they are succeeding.

In the name of competitive bidding, which Obasanjo introduced in 2005, Officials
bring companies overnight and through processes best described as secretive and
voodooist they award blocks to party faithful, fronts and phoney companies. They
collect gratifications running into hundreds of millions of dollars which is paid into
offshore account and the nation loses billions of dollars of revenue to private pockets.
During the third term agenda, Obasanjo was deceived that the allocation of oil block
to party faithfuls is to fund the third term agenda. With the failure of the third term,
the beneficiaries went home with their fortunes and thanked God or Allah for
buttering their bread. Senator Andy Uba co ordinate the award of the last rounds of
oil block by Obasanjo in 2005 and 2007. The then minister of petroleum, Edwin
Daukoru was a mere errand boy who took instructions from the presidential aide.The religious leaders should tell these oil block beneficiaries, awarders, fronts,
brokers and all involved in short changing the Nigerian people to find means or
returning all these back to the Nigerian people, through massive development
projects. They should curtail their constant visits to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem
for prayers and attend to the poverty they spread in the land. They should build
affordable secondary schools, universities, specialist hospitals, roads, silos, etc for
the Nigerian people. They should fund talent development programmes and sponsor
activities capable of alleviating poverty. The voice of impoverished Nigerians is crying
daily and if care is not taken the God who delivered Nigeria from Abacha dark days
will visit them with calamities untold.

With the rot in this oil block awarding system and other loot all over the Nigerian
nation, something worse than revolution may happen.

http://africanexaminer.com/oilwells0427

WARRI- THE Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Abubakar III, came under fire, Thursday, from two of his colleague- royal fathers in Niger-Delta over his call on President Goodluck Jonathan, Tuesday, to grant “total amnesty” to members of the Islamist group, Boko Haram, for peace to reign in the country.

Former national president of the Traditional Rulers for Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, HR M, Charles Ayemi-Botu, Pere of Siembiri kingdom in Delta State and HRM, King Dodo II, Pere of Bilabiri Mien kingdom, Bayelsa state , said they were shocked by the reasoning of the Sultan.

They said the Federal Government should declare a full-scale war on Boko Haram rather than granting amnesty to mysterious persons.

HRM Ayemi-Botu said, “For me, I condemn the call by the Sultan, we have come to know Boko Haram as a faceless group with link to Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups that abhor Western education. Their agitation has no moral basis and should not be compared to the Niger-Delta struggle, in which the youths took up arms for equity in the distribution of wealth from oil, explored in their domain.”

“The focused struggle by the youths of N-Delta affected oil production and government, having noted the point of their agitation, opted to grant them amnesty. The reason was very succinct but that of Boko Haram is vague and they are faceless.

“Let me ask the Sultan, who has he identified as members and sponsors of Boko Haram that he wants Federal Government to grant amnesty to. If government concedes to such bogus request, will he be able to name those that will be granted amnesty,” he asked.

His words, “Or is amnesty to be granted to masquerades and Islamic fundamentalists from Mali, Algeria and Al-Qaida, who is the government going to dialogue with. What concrete efforts have the Sultan and other leaders of the north made to stem the violence by Boko Haram before calling for amnesty for the terrorists, who abhor Western education, but speak and send emails in English language.”

He asserted, “I read about four days ago that the leader of Boko Haram, Abu Shekarau said it is fight to finish. So from whose authority or where did Sultan become the mouthpiece of a faceless group. Boko Haram wants to Islamize Nigeria and abolish western education.”

“So it is premature to call for any well-meaning Nigerian to call for amnesty for the group. On the contrary, Nigeria should declare a war Boko Haram, as France did to Malian insurgents. The Federal Government should address its own problem before sending troops to Mali.”

King Dodo II in an interview said, “It is so disheartening that the Sultan and the Islamic leadership of Islamic affairs do not know what to do with the scourge of Boko Haram. However, I want to say that the Nigerian nation must know that Boko Haram is a terrorist group and should be regarded so.”

“This is because there is nothing they are fighting for, the Sultan and his people should be happy for a united Nigeria. How can a person of the statue of the Sultan openly say things or suggest things to the President that will jeopardize the Nigerian nation to tear it apart.

“Everyone knows about the cause of agitation of the youths of the Niger Delta, it was a sincere agitation and the Niger Delta youths never in a time invaded churches or mosques in the region, we should call a spade a spade,” he asserted.

His words, “Thanks to the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, for its timely opposition to the statement made by my colleague, but I still strong believe that, that callous statement can never be made by the Sultan. “

“But if he has done that, I strongly oppose his proposal to Mr. President. Mr. President should stand on his feet as president of this country to use his godly mind as ever before. The north should know that we are no fools or afraid of any one as citizens and owners of this country of ours.

“Do they take us for a fool? I am the highest oil producer in this country with nothing to show for it, the north is has 80 per cent of oil blocks in this country and we, the owners, have zero block. Do they think we do not know? Gone .are those days, they should be cautioned. . I advise the north to give President Jonathan the needed peace for him to actualise the dreams of Nigerians.

“Boko Haram should sheath their sword for the sake of one Nigeria. They should also know that the president has fathers too from where he comes from and I am one of the fathers. We as royal fathers should be cautious of our utterances. I have spoken,” he said.




http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/amnesty-for-boko-haram-n-delta-royal-fathers-blast-sultan/

farem: The Serving politician is of PDP origin as always! You have facts to disprove it?

Tophisticated weaponshe Nigerian Army have found different sophisticated weapons in the home of Honourable Hussein Dei Dei, a CPC Lawmaker from Kaduna state and Grassroots Organizer of the Proposed Merged Party, the All progressive Congress (APC).

http://www.codewit.com/nigeria-news/6058-nigeria-weapons-bomb-making-devices-found-in-cpc-legislators-home

Ibn sultan: pdp is bokoharam azazi.......bokoharam in my govrmnt......bokoharam fghtin fr justice tukur.......ndume pdp ...pDp an umbrella fr breeding corrupt n cluelesss leaders ...

shut up aboki Hussain Dei Dei is a CPC/APC party member and his their grass root mobilizer is is one of those responsible for the killing of youth coppers and people in kaduna when his oga lost the 2011 presidential election.we knw that boko haram is the creation of ANPP when buhari was their leader we knw that the ndume u mention is not even 6 months old in PDP before he was arrested.

stine b: I strongly disagree. With you.Why didn't Buhari fix Nigerias problem when he was Millitary Head of state? Buhari has nothing to offer us except revenge and witchhaunting.He and his generation can never rule katsina state anymore,talkless of Nigeria. Aboki

it is because of this same buhari and his co coupist ibb and abacha that 80% of our common wealth is in the hands of the north.is it not a state that his party is in power that could not provide common water for a state run school. He should. Use the state as a model of how he is going to tranform nigeria.buhari should start by telling the CPC governor to cut down on his own aides and give him his idea on how to turn that state around we all knw how poorly governed the only state that his party governing. And we also know how many aides the said governor has

Well said sanusi tell the beer palour rumour peddlers.

Omololu Ogunmade  and Ejiofor Alike

Tempers flared on the floor of the Senate Tuesday when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was re-presented at the chamber after several weeks of being kept at bay, with some Northern senators vehemently rejecting three sections of the bill, while others opposed its passage.

The ruckus in the Senate coincided with the force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on exports of its Bonny Light crude oil grade, following its decision to shut down its Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) in Bayelsa State at the weekend.

The contentious sections in the PIB dwelt on the remittance of 10 per cent of net profits of oil companies to host communities, establishment of the petroleum technical bureau in the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, as well as the perceived excess powers of the minister.

The Northern senators said with the existing 13 per cent derivation fund accruable to oil producing states, making a further provision for oil producing communities was misplaced.

They further criticised the proposal for the establishment of the technical bureau, also known as Frontiers' Agency, in the minister's office, adding that the bill gives excess powers to the minister.

The bureau, according to Section 9 of the bill, is saddled with the responsibility of undertaking exploration for oil across the country.
The contention is that the bureau should exist as an independent body and not as a unit in the minister's office.

While opening a debate at the second reading of the bill, Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, said if passed into law, the bill would “fundamentally alter the legal, fiscal and proprietary dynamics and regime of our oil sector.”

He also said the bill would harmonise and consolidate no fewer than 16 other diverse and disparate laws by which the petroleum sector is currently regulated.
He further described the PIB as one of the most important bills to be considered in the chamber.

Ndoma-Egba listed the objectives of the bill to include enhancing exploration and production of petroleum resources, increasing domestic gas supply for power industry, creating a competitive business environment, establishing a flexible, stable and fiscal framework that is competitively attractive and creating a two-tier royalty and tax regime that captures the upside of crude oil and gas prices.

He added that the bill would create a commercially viable national oil company through the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); create efficient regulatory institutions; engender transparency and accountability through the Companies and Allied Matters Act; and promote Nigerian content through indigenous participation in the oil sector, among others.
He observed that whereas the previous bill considered by the sixth National Assembly contained a provision for the funding of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), it is missing in the new bill.


Tension, however, rose when Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) along with Senators Abdukadir Jajere (Yobe South) and Ali Ndume (Borno South) opposed the 10 per cent provision in the bill for the Host Community Development Fund.

Lawan, a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), said the oil producing states do not deserve additional funds, having received N11 trillion from derivation and other funds since 1999.

He alleged that the different oil producing state governments, which have been getting the 13 per cent derivation, have nothing to show for it and that it would be unacceptable to put another burden on the people for their sake.

To buttress his allegation of mismanagement of funds by oil producing states, Lawan said in the last 13 years, they had secured N7.3 trillion in derivation funds; N2.7 trillion as appropriation for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for over 10 years; N50 billion for the Ministry of Niger Delta between 2007 and 2012; N250 billion for the Amnesty Programme from 2009 till date; and N72 billion from the Special Presidential Initiative Fund.

Lawan argued that people from the oil producing communities had been denied benefits from all the funds by their leaders. 
“The Host Community Development Fund has no place; we have to go back to the constitution and rework the 13 per cent derivation. Injustice to some is injustice to all.

“We are tired of seeing money go to private hands. The oil belongs to all Nigerians but you give concessions to the people whose areas produce the oil, but not this host community fund. This is a wake-up call to develop other alternative sources of revenue.

“I will support any legislation that will make life better for Nigerians, but l will support this bill with massive reservations. It is so bad that we don't know how much oil Nigeria sells, how many accounts the NNPC has, and there is a general lack of transparency in the oil and gas sector.

“I take exception to the bill where the Public Procurement Act appears in four sections where it ought not to appear. Section 9 of the bill does not address the concerns of many Nigerians and makes a national exploration agency just a department, which in other way does not make it effective,” Lawan said.


On the technical bureau, he explained that it should be an independent organisation and should not be mixed with the abolishment of the PEF.  While Lawan was speaking, Senators James Manager (Delta South) and Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa West) respectively raised points of order to object to Lawan's references to reports in some national dailies, saying the action violated Senate rules.

But Senate President David Mark, who presided over the sitting, ruled both senators out of order, in a bid to douse tension, stating that Lawan's reference to newspaper reports did not contravene Senates rule.

In his submission, Ndume kicked against the host community fund, adding that the provision be introduced as host community equity partnership, which he said would give host communities the opportunity to benefit from oil production.

He said: “The bill has a lot of inconsistencies. NNPC is supposed to be split into three, but adequate funding is not being made available for the three companies. The National Frontier Agency is supposed to stand alone.”

Also, Jajere kicked against the host community development fund and argued that the PIB would give the Minister of Petroleum Resources excess power, noting that if the bill is passed in its current form, the minister would be too powerful and uncontrollable.

On the other hand, Isa Galaudu (Kebbi North) and Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East) opposed the bill, saying it should not be passed at all.

But trying to make a case for the bill, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta North) said if the PIB had some imperfections, “it is our duty to correct these when the bill goes for public hearing,” adding that the input of stakeholders are taken to guide the National Assembly to arrive at a conclusion.

In his own contribution, Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central) called for caution, saying: “It seems we are all concerned only with the derivation fund, but we have forgotten that the industry is bedevilled by total lack of transparency, then there is the need for us to review the bill.

"We have spent 14 years trying to put together a petroleum law; we need to address the fundamental issues. I therefore want to call for caution; we need to focus on the major issues and not the host community fund as we seem to be driving at here now.”

Meanwhile, barely 24 hours after Shell threatened to shut down its operations in the Niger Delta due to the rising incidence of crude oil theft, the company said it had declared force majeure on exports of its Bonny Light crude oil grade.


Shell spokesman, Mr. Precious Okolobo, said in a statement yesterday that the declaration of the force majeure followed the shutdown of the Nembe pipeline in Bayelsa State, after a leak was discovered.

Okolobo did not disclose the volume of crude oil affected but a source close to the company said production of 60,000 barrels per day might have been deferred.
Okolobo said the company was mobilising a team to repair the line after investigation, adding that the line would reopen for operations at a later date.

There has been a recent upsurge in crude theft on the NCTL, resulting in frequent production shutdowns and massive oil spills blighting the environment.
The pipeline was shut down for one month in December 2011, following a spill caused by two failed bunkering connections.

However, oil thieves used the one-month pipeline depressurisation as a window to vandalise the trunkline.
The same pipeline was also shut down in May last year because of incessant crude theft.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/row-in-senate-as-northern-lawmakers-oppose-pib/141367/

miiraaj: As mumu-ish as you are, you can't ask what has Jonathan done wrong for everybody to declare war on him. Smh!

dofo can u tell us what he has done that our past leaders have not done before?I no say u be aboki or on of the hypocrites running around fooling themselves on nairaland. We know u guys refuse to call yourselves nigerians cos jonathan is the president which was confirmed by one of ur nama brained brothers.

Even the same party that he emerged from PDP has declared war on him

APC declare war on jonathan!boko haram declare war on jonathan!!! House of rep declare war on jonathan!!!! Only this same jonathan!!!! He most be doing something right for all this group to declare war on him.cos since he became president different political losers and the so called owners of nigeria has been declaring war on him!.mr president may GOD protect you to keep up the good work of trying to transform the mess the same people declaring war on you caused our great nation since the 80's.

Maxymilliano: The problem with the current democratic dispensation in Nigeria is not the different parties on display but the personalities behind the party.

That's why I hardly take some folks serious on this forum, who are hell bent on painting PDP as demonic but don't bother to take a check on the parties where their sympathy lies.

I was very much aware of when this crisis was brewing, was expecting the governor to step in and attend to series of grouse against his approach to running the affairs of the State and stem the looming crisis but seem it was not to be.

The State Attorney-General (son of the late Hubert Ogunde) had to submit his resignation letter when he couldn't cope with the over bearing attitude of the governor, the issue was seen as an embarrassment and currently being redressed.

Amosun is a good administrator, no doubt, but there's need for him to review some of his stands against other institution of governments, his alpha and omega posture to governance is not healthy for Democracy...

very very balanced analyses +10000000 likes

slimghost: Why are you replying those foo.ls? bloody hypocrites they are! CPC/APC government in Nassarawa should be held responsible, but the fucktards are here shouting PDP and GEJ.

I have left them to wallow in they ignorance and hypocracy

TUMIC: Some of you in this forum reason from your anus.
Must people die first before the government do their civil duty, or responsibility?
And the useless VC is even thanking the equally senseless GEJ for doing his normal duty to the students of this great Federal Republic.
Why should lives be lost first before they respond

if the CPC/APC govenment in that state had done his job the student won't be out protesting for a basic thing as water.don't forget that the aticule said though the school was a STATE owned school not a federal university.even as students die the CPC governor still didn't provide water until the FG did is that not a shame on. The part of the so called progressive.