₦airaland Forum

The National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that companies which won bids for state-owned power generation assets put up for sale or concession would still undergo a “fit and proper” scrutiny.

NERC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sam Amadi, said the commission is looking into the memorandum submitted by the companies to determine whether the local firms and their foreign partners possess the technical and financial capacity to manage the assets.


The commission’s head also disclosed that they are conducting checks on the individuals involved in the transaction to find out if they are “fit and proper” to run the unbundled companies on behalf of Nigerians.


Amadi added that the report would be sent back to the president before the curtain is drawn on the exercise.

“We want to make sure that we have only competent companies to run the companies. It is not only submitting the MOU on the technical agreements that matter; but we must ensure that the foreign companies used to win the bids have stakes in the day-to-day running of the companies.

“They must have the financial capacity and must show commitment they will not dump their Nigerian partners and send us back to the previous situation of irregular power supply,” he said.

He also noted that the issue of power and the privatization exercise have security implications. "We must ensure that we do the right thing  so that Nigerians won't come back to blame us or embark on strike, violence or vandalisation  if the winners are not properly screened to find out their financial, human and technical capability to manage the assets”.

Apart from the NERC, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) is also conducting checks on the successful companies with regard to their debt profile.

Chairman of the Technical Committee of the NCP, Mr. Atedo Peterside, had echoed a similar sentiment during the opening of the financial bids submitted by investors which had shown interest in acquiring the power assets in Abuja last week. He cautioned the jubilant representatives of the successful companies to be mindful of the fact that their emergence as preferred bidders was still subject to the approval of NCP and that they could still be denied the opportunity of taking over the companies if they failed to pay their fees or if they were found wanting in documentation during post-bid assessment.

He added that the winners should not deem themselves "preferred bidders" yet until confirmation by the NCP and their ability to make a letter of credit or bank guarantee for 15 per cent of the bid amount.

"They will be given 15 business days after the NCP approval to comply and be designated preferred bidder," he explained.

During the financial bid opening, Transcorp, alongside its partners, offered $300 million to emerge the preferred bidder for the 360 megawatts (mw) Ughelli power plant in Delta State.

Transcorp beat two other bidders, including Feniks Electricity and Amperion Power Distribution Limited, which offered bid prices of $54 million and $252 million respectively. Both Transcorp and Amperion's bid prices were, however, said to be above the reserve price, which enabled Amperion to emerge the reserve bidder for the Ughelli plant. The Amperion Group is jointly owned by Israeli-based BSG Resource Limited, State Grid Corporation of China and their local partner, Forte Oil.

However, Amperion's $128.52 million as the sole bidder for the 414mw Geregu power plant fell below the reserve price of $132 million to acquire a 51 per-cent stake and was offered the chance to match the reserve price to win the power plant.

Also, CMEC/Eurafric Energy, comprising a Chinese firm and Eurafric, a Nigerian oil and gas firm owned by Tony Onoh, offered $201 million to secure the 120mw Sapele power station, thus defeating its contender JBN-Nestoil (Julius Berger Nigeria Plc-Nestoil), which offered only $80 million initially.

JBN-Nestoil, however, was allowed to revise its bid price to $106.5 million, a figure declared by the NCP to have exceeded the reserve price. By revising its price upwards, JBN-Nestoil automatically emerged the reserve bidder for the Sapele plant.

Meanwhile, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, which has ties to Bello, Akhigbe, Ogbeha and Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua, Chairman of Bullet Construction Company and patron of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN), who is the vice chairman of the consortium, was also the sole bidder for the Kainji-Jebba hydro electricity plants, as Mainstream offered $50,760,665.18 as fixed annual fees for the facility.

Also, for the 600mw Shiroro power facility, North-South Power Limited offered to manage the firm under a concession for a fixed annual fee of $23,602,484.47 including a commencement fee of $111,654,534.30.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/power-plants-winners-of-bid-still-under-scrutiny/126997/

Forecasts $31bn FDI for Africa in 2012


James Emejo 

The World Bank said Thursday that it expected about $31 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to Africa this year,  adding that there had been strong investor-interest in the  continent.
The bank, also predicted that Nigeria, which is currently the largest regional oil producer, could keep supplying at the 2011 levels for another 41 years, saying that Angola, the second largest producer in the region, had about 21 years remaining at current production levels before its known reserves would be  depleted.

The multilateral institution also predicted a 4.8 per cent growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa in 2012, but cautioned countries to be frugal in spending their resources.
The bank, which had forecast a 4.9 per cent growth rate in 2011, said the region remained on track despite setbacks in the global economy.

According to the World Bank’s new Africa’s Pulse, a bi- annual analysis of the issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects, released yesterday, growth in sub-Saharan Africa, apart from South Africa, was forecast to rise to six per cent.
The report noted that African exports had rebounded in the first quarter of 2012, at an annualised pace of 32 per cent, up from 11 per cent 2011.

It, however, noted that African countries were not immune to the recent cases of market volatility occasioned by crisis from the Euro area as well as growth slowdown that is occurring particularly in China, which had remained an important market for Africa’s mineral exporters.

World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Mukhtar Diop, said: "A third of African countries will grow at or above six  per cent with some of the fastest growing ones buoyed by new mineral exports such as iron ore in Sierra Leone, uranium and oil in Niger, and by factors such as the return to peace in Cote d’Ivoire, as well as strong growth in countries such as Ethiopia."

The report, further noted that poverty rates in the continent had  declined  faster than one percentage point a year and for the first time, between 2005 and 2008, the absolute number of people living on $1.25 a day fell while Child mortality had also declined.
It further cautioned that recent spikes in food and grain prices  had become worrisome given that Africa’s Sahel region was already suffering from higher food prices, high rates of malnutrition and recurring crisis and insecurity.

It stated further that unprecedented hot and dry summer in the United States, Russia and Eastern Europe had led to reduced yields on both maize and wheat production worldwide.
The report added  that new discoveries of oil, gas, and other minerals in the continent would generate a wave of significant mineral wealth in the region.

World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa, and lead author of Africa’s Pulse, Shantayanan Devarajan, said: “Resource-rich African countries have to make the conscious choice to invest in better health, education, and jobs, and less poverty for their people because it will not happen automatically when countries strike it rich.”

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/wbank-nigerias-oil-resources-may-last-41-years/126921/

Nigeria 10-Year Bonds Gain as Trading Starts on JPMorgan Indexes

first trading day after their inclusion in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s global emerging market benchmark indexes, pushing yields lower.
Yields on the 16.39 percent bonds maturing January 2022 dropped 16 basis points, or 0.16 percentage points, to 12.66 percent, according to today’s prices published on the Financial Markets Dealers Association website.
The most-traded bonds maturing in March 2014, October 2019 and January 2022 will join JPMorgan’s GBI-EM indexes between Oct. 1 and Dec. 3, Giulia Pellegrini, the bank’s London-based sub-Saharan Africa economist, wrote in a note to clients Sept. 25. JPMorgan first disclosed the plans in August after central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi’s decision last year to attract more funds by removing restrictions on foreign investors holding debt of Africa’s biggest oil producer.
Yields “will probably drift lower in coming weeks on the back of the foreign demand and as local institutional investors and banks seek to increase their duration exposure,” Samir Gadio, an emerging markets strategist at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in London, said in an e-mailed reply to questions today.
The naira, which has been devalued twice by the central bank since 2008 because of falling oil prices and import demand, has strengthened 3.1 percent this year, the best performer in Africa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While inflation in Nigeria slowed to 11.7 percent in August from a high this year of 12.9 percent in April, it is still above the central bank’s 10 percent target.


http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-02/nigeria-10-year-bonds-gain-as-trading-starts-on-jpmorgan-indexes.html

U would never see the hater comment on this kind of thread. The retardeens like DEMDEM and his family of fools

The Kaduna State chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Barr Mohammed Musa Soba, has claimed that his party sold its Presidential Candidate in 2011, Mal. NuhuRibadu, to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for One hundred million dollars (N16 Billion).

The ACN chairman, in a statement, said he told his party leadership to stop being hypocritical and rather address the crisis within the party.  

He demanded for an explanation from the national leadership on why the Party sold out its presidential election to the PDP in the South-West in 2011.

He said, “A rogue leadership is one that collected one hundred million dollars (N16 Billion) from the PDP, delivered the south-west to the PDP in the 2011 presidential election and shamelessly turn round to accuse the PDP of corruption and stealing of public funds.”

According to him, ACN is a mere political party without Board of Trustees and visionary leaders and has always abused its own constitution and shamelessly label others as clueless and dictatorial.

Reacting to the recent media comments by the party’s national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on the Kaduna State ACN leadership crisis, the statement said the Kaduna State ACN under Barrister Soba would never succumb to the abuse of party constitution and reckless statements credited to Lai Mohammed who, of recent, has become a nuisance and an errand boy for political and emotional blackmail.

“We challenge Lai Mohammed and the national secretary of the party, Senator LawalShuaibu, to tell the whole world why state chapters like Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Cross Rivers, Bayelsa, AkwaIbom, Nassarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba and Kaduna states are all facing national leadership induced crises,” the statement said.

On the threats by some national officers of the ACN to drag the Kaduna State government and the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECOM) to court to stop the forthcoming local government election over the later’s recognition of Barr. Mohammed Musa Soba as the duly elected chairman of the party in the state, the statement said it was an empty threat and emotional blackmail by Lai Mohammed.


http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/36571/2012/10/05/acn_leaders_sold_out_ribadus_presidential_ambition_n16bn_acn_chieftain.html

Demdem: fools also live in denial. its a generational trait.

thats why your generation are all retards, if u can't post a denial from TI about what thisday bussiness published.if u quote me again without the refutal from TI about thisday report.it wound confirm what I already knw .that ur a retardeen and a fool.

Demdem: Morron, are u blind also to see that ur questions have been well answered. U are dumb oooo

what question did u answer retard.maybe the stuff ur smoking is affecting u so badly monkey .don't blame u when ur entire generations starting from ur ancestors a dumb and foolish

jmaine: Meself go join reconfigure ya name to Dem-Retardeen

don't mind the compound fool I posed a question to him and his fellow. Fools and none of them has been able to attempt an answer the guy is a real definition of daftness.the press release they hinged this fake news on, has no where it said the president goofed!

Demdem: My friend shut up. U are not making sense.

https://www.nairaland.com/1064129/presidency-probes-alleged-lie-jonathan

hey fool here is the press release issued by the FG I hope a retard like u can comprehend!

Mr. President’s statement was based on notorious facts
: October 2nd, 2012 : featured, Features, Press Releases

Our attention has been drawn to reports from some opposition leaning media houses alleging that Mr. President made some false claims about Nigeria’s standing in this year’s Transparency International anti corruption rating.

As is the practice worldwide, we accept the premise that whatever is published in the media and goes unchallenged is the truth. On this issue, the media published their synopsis of the most recent Transparency International report and BusinessDay, a well respected newspaper with a bias for business reporting in a headline on the 12th of September 2012 with the titled ‘FG’s anti-corruption initiative impacts Nigeria’s global perception’ said “The survey on global corruption perceptions for 2011 versus 2001 showed that the third best improvement in the world was in Nigeria, with its score improving by 1.5 points”.

The above quoted comments were relied upon in coming to the conclusion that Mr. President honestly came to in good faith. To this day, Transparency International has not disputed the findings of BusinessDay.

For a section of the opposition to now cast aspersions on the integrity of the President when he relied on notorious facts (anything published in the press and which remains unchallenged is a notorious fact) is proof positive of the now obvious fact that they  lack ideas on how to move Nigeria forward and would rather snipe at efforts of the President to move the nation forward for which any patriot would do.

In conclusion the President acted in good faith and his statement was based on notorious facts and are evidenced by recent breakthroughs in fighting corruption in the oil industry where subsidy fraud suspects are already facing trial as well as in the Agricultural Sector where decades old corrupt practices in the fertilizer distribution network have been eradicated via the voucher system which cuts off the middle man.

Regards,

Reno


Here is question for u and other fools on this forum

Where in the release did GEJ said he goofed?

Has TI come out the refute what bussiness day published like it refuted the lie u earlier posted which a sound mind jmaine posted?

If u can't point out where on the press release by FG stating the headline u used then ur a compound fool and I don't think u deserve any more reply from mua cos I don't argue with a low brain Reetard.

In an attempt to salvage President Goodluck Jonathan’s integrity after a PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed that the president lied on a claim he made in his independence anniversary broadcast to the nation, the Federal Government on Tuesday said the president‘s claim was based on “notorious facts” provided in a newspaper article.

In his Independence Day speech, Mr. Jonathan scored his administration high on many fronts, despite the widely held believe among Nigerians that its performance had been abysmal.

In an apparent attempt to gain international goodwill, he further asserted that the global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, had endorsed his administration’s war against corruption.
“In its latest report, Transparency International noted that Nigeria is the second most improved country in the effort to curb corruption,” Mr. Jonathan had said in the broadcast.

However, in an email to PREMIUM TIMES, Transparency International said the president’s claim is untrue.
“Transparency International does not have a recent rating or report that places Nigeria as the second most improved country in the fight against corruption,” the Berlin-based organisation told this newspaper.

The presidency, in a statement released this morning, said the president‘s claim was based on “notorious facts” published by Nigeria’s BusinessDay newspaper.

Presidency sources say the president’s gaffe has caused panic among his speech writers and media aides regarding who should take responsibility for the misinformation.

The panic is also reflected in the official response, posted on the official website of the Federal Ministry of Information, and signed by a person who identified himself as Reno and did not indicate any official designation.

The Reno, who signed the statement, is believed to be Reno Omokri, Mr. Jonathan’s Special Assistant on New Media.

“As is the practise worldwide, we accept the premise that whatever is published in the media and goes unchallenged is the truth,” the statement said. ”On this issue, the media published their synopsis of the most recent Transparency International report and BusinessDay, a well respected newspaper with bias for business reporting in a headline on the 12th of September 2012 with the titled (sic) “FG’s anti-corruption initiative impacts Nigeria’s global perception.”

The statement indicated that Mr. Jonathan’s advisers merely lifted an article from a newspaper without checking its accuracy and then gave it to the president to read to over 150 million Nigerians as independence anniversary day speech, televised on national television and possibly streamed on the Internet.

Reno added that since the BusinessDay report was not challenged by TI, it should be taken as a “notorious fact”.

“The President acted in good faith and his statement was based on notorious facts”.

The president’s aide then chided what he described as some “opposition leaning media houses” for casting “aspersions on the integrity of the President.”

“They lack ideas on how to move Nigeria forward and would rather snipe at the effort of the President to move the nation forward for which any patriot would do,” he said



HOw CAN THE PRESIDENCY RELEASE A PRESS STATEMENT AND NO NIGERIAN PRESS OR ELECTRONIC MEDIA CARRIED THE NEwS?.IS IT THAT SOME NAIRALANDERS ARE SO GULLIBLE OR IS IT JUST HATE? UNA GO SOON KILL UNA SELF FOR GEJ MATTER.

ANOTHER SAHARA REPORT FALLACY AND LIARS. THE FOOLS THAT ARE INSULTING THE PRESIDENT SHOULD PRODUCE A SINGLE NIGERIAN MEDIA HOUSE THAT PUBLISHED THIS FAKE NEWS?. SAHARA AND PREMIUM TIME TIMES ARE CHEAP LYING ONLINE MEDIA THAT ARE WELL KNOWN FOR PEDDLING LIES.
THEY SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON THEIR MONUMENTAL LIES ABOUT THE FIRST LADYS ILLNESS.FOOLISH PEOPLE. IS ONLY THE BITTER AND POLITICALLY FRUSTRATED FOOLS WOULD BELIEVE THIS POO.

The purported leader of Boko Haram, the Islamist sect in Nigeria, has denied government statements that the group is involved in peace talks and has said its spokesman Abu Qaqa has been captured by security forces.



Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has said the authorities were in dialogue with Boko Haram via back channels and that this was helping neutralise the threat the sect posed.




But Abubakar Shekau, the group's leader, said in a video posted on YouTube on Sunday that no such talks were going on.




"Let it be clear that we never sought dialogue or to sit down with government agents or representatives ... they (Nigerian leaders) will never know peace while they attack our members."




The sect is widely considered to be the biggest security threat in Africa's biggest oil exporter. It has been blamed for more than 1,000 deaths since its insurgency - which is aimed at carving out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria - intensified in 2010.




Shekau also said the sect's spokesman was being detained by the security forces.




"Our spokesman, Abu Qaqa is alive but with the security agents, but I believe strongly that after this message from me they may decide to kill him this night," Shekau said.




It was the first public statement on the matter by the militants since a raid, which it says led to Qaqa's arrest but not his death.




Senior security sources said on Sept. 16 that troops had killed a man identified as "Anwal Kontagora, alias 'Abu Qaqa'", whose pen name is often used to claim responsibility for the sect's pronouncements from its base in the northeast of the country.




Shekau said security forces had also begun to arrest militants' wives. The release of sect members held by the security forces has been one of Boko Haram's main demands.




There were two bomb blasts on Monday in Maiduguri, the home town of Boko Haram in the remote northeast. One witness said seven soldiers had been killed in one blast but the military said only two of its officers had been wounded.




The military has often been accused of playing down the casualties Boko Haram inflicts, while exaggerating the number of sect members it kills and captures.




A recent military crackdown appears to have weakened the sect and there has not been a repeat of large-scale coordinated attacks seen earlier this year.





http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/36269/2012/10/02/boko_haram_says_no_peace_talks_confirms_spokesmans_arrest.html

kunlekunle: whats the big deal,
they lost almost 3.4billion dollars 3 mths back.

watch GEJs last months in govt.

IT MAY NOT BE A BIG DEAL FOR A PESSIMIST LIKE YOU,BUT IS SURELY A BIG DEAL FOR A LOT OF US wHO TRUELY BELIEVE IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THIS COUNTRY.

HATERS CAN HATE BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE NIGERIA IS MOVING FORwARD.

Nigeria Monday joined the JP Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) with the listing of FGN’s bond, becoming the second African country after South Africa to be included in the widely followed index.

The JP Morgan GBI-EM indices are comprehensive emerging market debt benchmarks that track local currency bonds issued by governments of emerging market.

The index was launched in June 2005 and is the first comprehensive global local emerging markets index.
Reuters quoted JP Morgan as saying that the inclusion of FGN Bonds could translate into at least $1.5 billion of inflow to Nigeria’s bond market.

It will also raise the profile of Nigeria’s debt market, which is expected to lead to greater foreign participation, given that Nigerian yields offer a significant premium to established sovereign lenders.

On the inclusion of FGN bonds on the index, Emerging Markets Strategist, Standard Bank, Samir Gadio said: “Nigeria is now seen as a market that can’t be ignored internationally and one of the frontier markets where you need to have a position.”

The inclusion of Nigeria in the GBI-EM comes as South Africa joins Citigroup’s World Government Bond Index, although funds tracking the latter are estimated at $2 trillion compared with $180 billion for the JP Morgan index.

At some $25 billion, Nigeria’s sovereign debt market is still dwarfed by South Africa’s $100 billion market. Secondary market turnover is also around a fifth of its more developed peer south of the Sahara.

But analysts hopeful that the GBI-EM inclusion would help bolster the case for market reforms such as the introduction of securities lending and a deeper repo market.
Treasurer at Citibank Nigeria, Akin Dawodu said: “We think this will help focus minds and get that moving faster so that the legacy can be a deeper, more diverse market.”
Market analysts further added that Nigeria’s addition to the GBI-EM marks it out as one of the more accessible markets on the continent for foreign investors.

“Nigeria has done a lot of work in recent years in developing its bond market to improve liquidity,” said sub-Saharan Africa strategist at Citi, Leon Myburgh.

Myburgh added: “In most African markets, foreign participation is largely limited to the treasury bill market, but Nigeria has been able to cross the threshold and seen foreign investors enter its bond market as well.”

On this, JP Morgan Strategist for Sub-Saharan Africa, Giulia Pellegrini said: “Now I think we’ll see the people that are less familiar with this market coming through - the benchmark investors, the big real money accounts that may have taken some time to internalise this decision to include Nigeria in the index.”




http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-joins-jp-morgan-government-bond-index/126594/

jmaine: When i called them dumbos, they felt i was insulting them . . .They are simply living up to their tag . . . .

Rocks are difficult to assimilate & tutor

MY BROTHER NA HATE DEY WORRY THEM.THEY DONT BELIEVE THAT THE MAN THEY HATE SO MUCH IS ACTUALLY TURNING THINGS AROUND.VERY SOON DEM GO GET HEART ATTACK FOR GEJ MATTER THEM AND SAHARA LAIRS

earthgreeners: http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/44406-fgs-anti-corruption-initiative-impacts-nigerias-global-perception

READ AND COMPREHEND OR GIVE IT TO A MORE EDUCATED PERSON CLOSE TO U TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU.

jmaine: The below is a proof of what the President was referring to . . . .



fgs-anti-corruption-initiative-impacts-nigerias-global-perception



You are indeed very silly . . .The slow justice system doesn't equate to cases not been pursued or corruption not been fought . . .Are you this dumb . . .As we speak there are high profile corruption cases in court . . .




The Aig Imohkhuede thorough probe report was concluded and the EFCC is currently prosecuting the first batch of the 20 culprits, with kids of notable PDP wigs arrainged . . . . .



Fixed



Another lame line . . ..

DONT MIND THEM.MANY PEOPLE ON NAIRALAND HAVE COMPREHENSION ISSUES, THEY NEED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL

ijigbamigb: Guy please can I find a link to verify this. The last time I checked we are on the 143rd position in the world after dropping 10 places. 134th in 2010.
The most corrupt nation in the world is Somalia on 183rd. This is on the CPI-2011 on the transparency international web. Please help me with any link to verify this claim. Abeg.

judging by the way nigerians and nairaland scream corrution and how people like u scream that nigeria is the most corrupt nation on earth i as expecting us to be on 183 and not somalia. AS LONG AS THIS REPORT IS FROM SAHARA REPORTERS THE BEARERS OF ALL MANNER OF FAKE AND BEER PALOUR RUMOURS.I DONT BELEIVE THEM. NA LIE

The legal framework for the new national carrier being planned by the federal government in order to address the crisis in the aviation sector is ready.


Mr. Joe Obi, the Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Aviation confirmed this to THISDAY yesterday, adding that the Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah was waiting for final approval from the Presidency on the issue before commencing the implementation.


Obi said both the domestic and international airlines and other airlines that meet the set out criteria would be considered for the new national carrier status.


It was gathered yesterday that some Nigerian airlines, including those operating and those presently grounded, are lobbying government to be designated as the national carrier.


Although lobbying started some months back, it was intensified when it became obvious that government was determined to establish a national carrier for the country, which has the fastest growing air transport market in Africa.


Many industry observers and other Nigerians are urging government to establish entirely new airline, but sources say the federal government has made up its mind to build the new airline in partnership with either a domestic or an international carrier.


Industry expert and CEO of BeluJane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, told THISDAY that there is a lot to be gained in being designated a national carrier.


Aligbe said that the airline would be perceived differently and be treated differently because "it will now be seen as an airline that represents a country."


"Being designated national carrier, carries a lot of weight. You are designated in most of the Bilateral Air Service Agreements and your views are seriously taken into consideration. You can also negotiate commercial agreements with international airlines," Aligbe said.
He also said that the laws of a country where the airline operates into would be made beneficial to it and the airline will be recognised in diplomatic circles.


"But it also carries a lot of responsibilities. The airline can be called upon any time by government to meet national emergencies and carry out other responsibilities as directed by government.


"But like other airlines, it must follow the given procedure to become a member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and also pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)."




http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/legal-framework-for-new-national-carrier-ready/126342/

snc a most.

Funding modalities being worked out • Conference an imperative, says Methodist Prelate

By Yemi Akinsuyi in Abuja



The National Assembly may be launching an extensive engagement with Nigerians at the grassroots as a way of fostering understanding on key national issues before the end of the year, it has emerged.


It was learnt also that the project’s other aim is to douse the unrelenting clamour for a sovereign national conference. However, National Assembly sources reveal that funding for the programme “is still a bit of a constraint”.


This revelation comes as the Prelate of the Methodist Church in Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde, maintained that attempts to skirt the call for the convocation of a sovereign national conference are akin to “postponing the evil day”, adding that it’s an option that can help guarantee peaceful co-existence for Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups.


“Sovereign National Conference is an imperative and postponing it is like postponing the evil day. We must be able to talk and agree how we could live together in harmony. There is no tribe that is greater than any other tribe in Nigeria and I’m happy that someone from a minority group in the country emerged as the President of the nation.


“I am a disciple of SNC; we cannot make progress with regard to poverty eradication in the country, resource control and others without a national conference.”


The call for a sovereign national conference has long been a divisive issue among Nigerians with the National Assembly all but foreclosing its possibility with its insistence that being the people’s representatives, members were already speaking on behalf of their various constituents’ and addressing their fears. But the legislators are hopeful this new move which has been conceived to run simultaneously with the constitution review exercise being undertaken by the legislators would help strike some compromise.


Although, deputy president of The Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, did not actually confirm the new plan by the National Assembly he told THISDAY concerning the public hearing:


“Very soon; that should be around second week of October. In fact, all things being equal, the national public hearing will hold on 11th, 12th, and 13th of October, while the zonal hearing comes up on 25th, 26th, and 27th. In any case, we should be rolling out the full information from the last week of September. It will be advertised to avail Nigerians the full information and opportunity to make inputs.


“In fact, we are taking the issue of participation very seriously. Our lawmakers will go to their constituencies to mobilise and educate their people. We will hold phone-in radio programmes in most and possibly all the states where members will sit in the studio to engage the public in our indigenous languages.”


THISDAY gathered that conscious that the programme may be hampered by insufficient funds, the legislators might be approaching some donor agencies.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/snc-n-assembly-plans-dialogue-to-douse-agitation/126344/

this is a good oppotunity for the middlebelt region to cut off their link with this elements,that are already beating the drums of war over this bill

it wont be only oil companies but some element of the northern part of the country. its certain that they would also oppose it.

By Yemi Adebowale

Oil companies' objections to the proposed overhaul of the petroleum sector through the Petroleum Industry Bill are expected, but the reforms are necessary.


President Goodluck Jonathan stated this on Thursday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in New York, United States.


The government is proposing sweeping changes to the country's energy industry through the PIB, including a boost in the state's share of oil sales.


But Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp., two of the biggest producers in Nigeria, have spoken out against the bill, saying it would make further investment in the sector uneconomical.


"The laws were enacted in the 1950s. It's now 2012," President Jonathan said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.


"The bill, which was introduced in parliament in July, would lead to a halt in new investments if passed in its current form because of onerous fiscal terms," Mark Ward, the head of Exxon's Nigeria operations said Thursday in Lagos, according to Agence France-Presse.


Ward, who also leads a grouping of major oil companies operating in Africa's top producer, said industry players shared the view that the current bill jeopardizes Nigeria's bid to boost new investment and output.


"If the bill passes without significant changes, "the government's aspirations to grow the business and the industry will not be met. Quite frankly, the extremely large investments that are needed are seriously at risk under the proposed PIB terms," he told a forum on the bill in Abuja.


Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, with output of more than 2 million barrels a day of mostly high-quality oil. However, the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is widely seen as corrupt and inefficient.


Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said the reforms, which will also split the NNPC into several new companies and take steps to fight endemic corruption, are long overdue.


"The Nigerian government's portion of oil revenue is one of the lowest in the world and cannot be increased substantially under existing contracts with international oil companies.


"Nigeria has the lowest government take, which we felt was extremely punitive," Alison-Madueke said.




http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-opposition-to-pib-expected-but-reforms-must-go-on/126341/

Islamist militants in Somalia say they have withdrawn from their southern stronghold of Kismayo, following an African Union (AU) military attack.
Kenyan and Somali forces launched a beach assault on al-Shabab's last major bastion on Friday but encountered fierce resistance.
A Somali commander told the BBC that AU forces were not yet in the city.
Kenyan troops are part of a force trying to wrest control of the country for the new UN-backed president.
'Broader tactics'
Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told AFP news agency: "The military command of Shabab mujahideen ordered a tactical retreat at midnight."
Speaking to Reuters, the same spokesman confirmed the withdrawal, but added: "The enemies have not yet entered the town. Let them enter Kismayo, which will soon turn into a battlefield."
Al-Shabab commander Sheikh Mohamed Abu-Fatma confirmed the withdrawal orders to AFP: "We got orders from our superiors to withdraw from the city... this is part of broader military tactics we have set for the enemy."

Kenyan military spokesman Col Cyrus Oguna said the AU forces were in control of the northern parts of the city and were preparing to move to southern districts.
Kenya's Defence Minister Yusuf Haji told the BBC that al-Shabab had not yet vacated the area and it would "not be difficult for people who know the area well to sneak out without being detected".
But he said the people of Kismayo were "very happy and were welcoming Kenyan and Somali troops with both arms".
Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi said the Islamist withdrawal would "cut the lifeline of al-Shabab".
He said: "This is very important because Kismayo has been the port that al-Shabab have been using to get in the ammunition. It has been the port that has been the centre of the piracy menace that we have been experiencing along that coastline for quite some time."
On its Twitter account, the Islamists said their five-year administration in Kismayo had now shut its doors.
The al-Shabab-controlled radio station, Radio Andalus, is reported to be off air.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19769058

[quote author=Garri_Activist]karl max lwkmd... Naija boys no dey carry last for anything mehn... Talk about it... Good or bad, we all in. Sports, drugs, or entertainments....

Ghanians are too dumb and too shallow to see that naija is by far better...[/quote]no mind those people wey dey dance like cripple(AZONTO DANCE)i no blame them na MIKE ADENUGA wey give dem cheap internet i blame(globacom their national carrier)and our boys wey open their eyes for their country ,dem for no dey here dey open their banku mouth dey talk to nigerians for naira land .we don see how dem dey utililise the money wey dey dash them on unproductive simpletons running around nairaland abusing the hand that feeds them.abeg make i tell my ghana cook to prepare break fast for me.

our amala is 100% better than malawi.why would i leave the comfort of my amala ati egufe to bad for malawi kojoo ejoo ebamibu pomo marun ati shaki merin sinu take away pack let me send to our malawian mistress ruling them(joyce banda).and for those ghana local government area of LAGOS citizen running around on this thread hope you"ve getting ur monthly allocations,and ur still benefitting from the nigeria oil subsidy policy.

The positive runs by the security agencies on Boko Haram group and other terrorist groups seem to be yielding more fruits as more gains culminating in the arrest of plants of the groups in some paramilitary agencies have been arrested by the Joint Task force.


Among those arrested yesterday was an immigration officer, Ahmed Grema Mohammed whose confessions led to the arrest of others who have been carrying attacks on government officials across some States of the north.


According to the Spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Colonel Sagir Musa, those already apprehended are some security personnel who have been carrying out attacks in Borno and Yobe which he said was a major breakthrough in their efforts at flushing out insiders in the security forces collaborating with the deadly groups.


A Statement by Musa said that those arrested have confessed to being active members of the Boko Haram sect who joined the sect well before the 2009 crisis and received a lot of training in and outside the country.


He said that Grema also confessed to have been trained alongside 15 other members of the sect on weapon handling, assassinations and special operations in Niger Republic. Musa said Grema who was arrested over a month ago at a checkpoint on his way to Maiduguri while impersonating as a Nigeria Army lieutenant.


He further said during the trip Grema had planned killing a former special adviser to the immediate governor of Borno state. He also disclosed that Grema had equally confessed to the killings of some senior civil servants, security agencies and politicians in Damaturu and Damboa, Borno State who spoke against the activities of the sect including the slain former chairman of Damboa LGA, Alhaji Lawal Kawu.
Grema was also among those that led attacks on Yobe Police Command, Damaturu Prison, some primary schools, among others.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jtf-arrests-immigration-officer-member-of-boko-haram/126331/

The trial of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, for alleged fraud was Monday stalled because the trial judge, Justice Donatus Okorowo, was transferred to the Taraba Division of the Federal High Court.

Bankole was arraigned in June 2011 on a 16-count charge of contract inflation and embezzlement of public funds.
At the last hearing, Justice Okorowo had adjourned the trial until September 24, 25, 26 and 27.

Reacting to the judge’s transfer, the prosecutor, Mr Festus Keyamo, said he was waiting to hear from the chief judge of the court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to know if Justice Okorowo would be coming from Taraba to preside over the trial or if the case would be assigned to another judge.

He said: “Anyhow it goes, this is part of the problem of a corruption trial. It is for this reason that a special court for the trial of corruption cases remains the way out.”

The court had on December 19, 2011, dismissed two applications filed by Bankole to stop his trial.

Justice Okorowo said that there was sufficient evidence placed before the court linking him to the alleged crime.
Bankole had challenged his trial on the grounds that the proof of evidence did not disclose any shred of criminality against him and also that Keyamo should be disqualified from prosecuting the case as he had through his antecedents, shown that he was biased.

But in his ruling, the judge cited Section 4 of the constitution which states that the legislative powers of the House of Representatives should be vested in the National Assembly.

He further said that under the Public Procurement Act (PPA), the National Assembly was in contempt of the Act which made it culpable.

On the question of who should be charged under the Act, the judge pointed out that the PPA had shown in the extended scope of the Act that the National Assembly could be charged and it was on record that there was a body of principal officers responsible for awarding contracts.

On whether a prima-facie case has been established, Justice Okorowo said there was enough evidence tendered by the prosecution linking the accused to the offences charged against him.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/judge-s-transfer-stalls-bankole-s-trial/125951/