₦airaland Forum

Qelvin:
Fvck off biatch, the fact that I date a Yoruba girl doesn't mean anyone should conjure false bullshyt to insult my tribe, respect me and I respect from a safe distance...at least the girl I'm dating is not some sick twisted ethnic bigot like you low-lifers on here.

menabadoo:
another stale line. Product of oluwole can't step up. Zinc oxide poisoning is bad ooo

menabadoo:
another stake line, why commenting to impress? I already know you are a lowlife midget

menabadoo:
stale line, don't be intimidated.

menabadoo:
its a Yoruba word, I schooled in igboland and igbos are the most educated in Nigeria.

menabadoo:
is this what your oluwole school in southwest thought you?

PointB:
True. Different strokes for different folks.

But in the end, protest is still a legitimate tool in democracy. You need to open your skull up and pour that in.

Stolen:
Stop forcing your way into matters that dont concern you. Biafra has nothing to do with those areas. They are the principal reason we want to leave Nigeria.


We dont want their association further and that includes Yorubas from the South west. I hope things are alot clearer for you to understand.


The protest is a Biafra National Affair. The Zoo is falling.

PointB:
Protest is legitimate means and tool to address any concern in a democracy.

If in doubt, ask #SaveNigeriaGroup, and #OccupyNigeria

jmoore:
Nonsense!!

Is it a crime to protest peacefully?

These security men should curb the violent activities of Fulani herdsmen. But they don't care. They are more interested in a non-violent protest. Mumu people!!!

Chigold101:
If Buhari make him go die, if he doesn't address the fundamental problem. More protest will soon hit Nigeria. Abuja will soon experience earth quaking protest.

That Igbo union leader in Jos is speaking only for himself, he can't speak for his sons in this issue of Biafra.

I love being a Biafran

simplycarro:
Rubbish from Opiaoku as usual.
Grow up.

kilode100:
Touch not my Prophet....

NOBLEDANDY:
Just one question....
Is Biafra people countries in diaspora in fight with Nigeria?
Meanwhile those people that made north and other enemies states their resident. The ball is in their court.
I have no advice for them.

I now end this with this note.

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talking

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cone

headed

kid.[/size]

illiad:
Vitriolic tripe.

This is why you're bad at politics and international relations... Disrespecting your teachers will always affect your performance in the course of study.

Learn to learn, or be damned into oblivion

armadeo:
Interesting argument here. Iliad and bonechamberlian. You got served.

Laudate give up. Somethings can never change.

The most interesting and ignorant statement I have read all year is

the u.s.a has no business with IRANIANS but with IRAN, go and study the difference, just as the British has no business with BRIAFRANS BUT WITH BIAFRA


In what universes does this make sense?

ekenedegreat:
You supported the Idiott because you're blind just like him.

size40:
There are several level 16 and 17 civil servants from the East. But nobody can afford to risky his/her 35 years plus and properties for that Animal called Nnandi Kanu. Nnamdi kanu commited a very serious crime by inciting tribes against each other and against the federal govt. Anybody thinking that Nnamdi will be releas now is only dreaming .Besides, he is fighting a lost battle. A matter that has been settled since 1970. Just take a look at those so called IPOB protesters, they are all miscreants ranging from bus conductors to petty criminals like street pick pockets, buglers, weed smokers etc.

ekenedegreat:
I have said it before and I will gladly say it again. You are not up to KANU's poo neither are you better than the IPOBs. Infact, IPOBs can never ever take a demented maggot like you as a member. What do you think you know? You can only form on this site that's all.

IGBOPRINCE:
really. How u mean it s a pseudonym?

illiad:
Look pupil, I don't do home tutorial classes. And neither do I have the pious magnanimity of heart as do your former teacher, who took upon himself the thankless job of teaching slow learners, about differences between aims and targets of sanctions and their variable effects.

Ibebe:
Are you Itsekiris, from Kwara or Kogi?

illiad:
Lol

Funny thing was, you came on like you know a thing or two about international politics and buoyed by by the few oafs that liked your verbose, you thought you had hit a point.

But then, suddenly, a dude with a pedigree in international relations and politics came on board , and seeing how miserably miserably you have misled the oafs behind the likes on your vituperations against innocent and hard working Biafran agitators in diaspora ; and out of the magnanimity of his noble and kind soul, that dude decided to educate you and your fellow blind blind followers for nothing in reward but simple appreciation .

But the ingrate in you would rather engage your teacher in a blind argument, choosing rather to display your ignorance in public glare than be thankful to a generous Samaritan, who has taken up the pastoral task of educating foools on a national scale.

Well, thank your star, the dude has in his pious heart begged me not to collect school fees from you, if not you would have been paying me your first semester fees for IGNORANCE 101

The Devastating Impacts of Economic Sanctions on the People of Iran | By Kourosh Ziabari, Global Research, August 03, 2012
3 August 2012

Ordinary citizens are the silent victims. While the United States and European Union are vehemently competing with each other in the seemingly endless race of imposing sanctions on Iran, the ordinary Iranian citizens are experiencing the most breathtaking, agonizing impacts of the crippling embargoes.

On July 31, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) sent a letter to all members of the U.S. Congress, demanding a concerted action to approve The Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act which imposes a new set of sanctions on Iran’s energy and transportation sector.

On August 1, the media reported that the Congress has ratified the bill and it’s waiting to be signed by the president.

Iran is already under 6 rounds of sanctions endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The sanctions are purportedly aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The UNSC sanctions stipulate a freezing of Iran’s international assets, the closure of branches of Iranian banks in other countries, barring the export of nuclear and military facilities to Iran, a ban on investment in Iran’s oil, gas and Petrochemistry sector, business dealings with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, banking and insurance transactions and traveling restrictions for high-ranking governmental and military officials.

The United States, Israel and EU countries have long accused Iran of trying to build nuclear bombs, a charge which Iran has persistently and categorically denied. Iran says that it needs civilian nuclear power to meet its growing energy needs, especially since Iran is a country mostly reliant on fossil fuels for its energy demands and oil revenues to keep its economy alive. The United States and its allies, in response, have penalized Iran with excruciating economic sanctions to derail the possible chances of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

On January 23, 2012, the European Union foreign ministers agreed upon imposing a multilateral oil embargo against Iran. The oil embargo which bans the European countries from buying crude from Iran went into effect on July 1.

What the Western officials say in public is that the sanctions are aimed at punishing the Iranian government and dissuading it from working toward acquiring nuclear weapons. What takes place in reality, however, is that the “smart” sanctions have directly come down like a ton of bricks on the Iranian people, making their life an arduous odyssey of struggling for survival in an ailing economy.

The sanctions have devastated the daily life of ordinary Iranian people by bringing the price of goods to a skyrocketing height, making the students abroad unable to get financial assistance from their parents in Iran, rendering it impossible for the private companies to do international transactions and making it extremely difficult for Iranians to get visa for traveling to foreign countries. The “smart sanctions” even include a ban on the importing of medicine and foodstuff from the other nations to Iran.

In the previous weeks, I have been arguing with my editors in some of the American political journals to convince them that certain sensitive medicines as well as agricultural goods could not make their way to Iran as a result of sanctions. They wouldn’t accept, telling me that such transactions were smoothly taking place. But now, I think they have credible evidence available, confirming that the hard-hitting sanctions are destroying the daily life of the poor, defenseless Iranians who should pay the price for the West’s and Israel’s animosity with their government.

On May 6, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty quoted Iran’s reformist daily Shargh as writing that the exportation of a great deal of vital medicines to Iran has been banned as a result of the sanctions. These medicines which Iran is not capable of producing include drugs for the treatment of cancer, heart and breathing problems, thalassemia, and multiple sclerosis.

Hamid Reza Emadi, an Iran-based political commentator also confirms that the latest round of sanctions imposed on Iran just a few days ago directly affect the lives of average Iranians who have nothing to do with the country’s nuclear program. “This latest move by the U.S. Congress shows the extent to which Washington has become frustrated and now it is going to step up their pressure on Iranian civilians by preventing the country from importing agricultural products… Iran is a grain importer and the U.S. knows that and by creating obstacles in the way of grain exports to Iran, the U.S. is clearly committing crimes against humanity because it only affects ordinary Iranians who have got nothing to do with the country’s nuclear energy program,” Emadi said in an interview with Press TV.

“Do not forget that it is not just agricultural products; the U.S. is putting maximum pressure on international banks doing business with Iran, therefore Iranian medical companies cannot import some vital medicines,” he added.

The board of directors of the Iranian Hemophilia Society has informed the World Federation of Hemophilia that the lives of tens of thousands of children are being endangered by the lack of proper drugs, a consequence of international economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.

Dr. Ron Paul, a Texas Congressman has called the recent sanctions an “act of war,” saying that the bill had better be named “Obsession with Iran Act 2012.”http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-devastating-impacts-of-economic-sanctions-on-the-people-of-iran/32180

wirinet:
You people sometimes talk like children. Is Russia in a war with America? If war breaks out between the US and Russia, then you will know if and how Russians will reside in America.

During the WW2 when the US was at war with Japan, over 127,000 Japanese resident in the US were kept in concentration camps and were only released after the war. - http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp

What do you think will be the fate of millions of Igbos and their properties all over Nigeria should a war break out over this Biafra issue?

Full details of TSA: Dino Melaye misled Nigerian Senate on N25 billion claim

Contrary to the alarm raised by the Senate over the alleged illegality and exorbitant commission charged for the deployment of Remita, an e-payment software used for the transfer of Federal Government’s funds from financial institutions into a single treasury account (TSA), PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report that the use of the software is not only legal but also represents a drastic cut of the commission previously charged by banks for collection of government revenues.

Also, findings reveal that the commission collected by SystemSpecs, the owners/developers of Remita, is nowhere near the N25billion Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) alleged to have been collected by the firm.

It was Mr. Melaye who originally moved the motion on the Senate floor for the payment to be investigated.

Last Wednesday, following Mr. Melaye’s motion, the senate ordered its committee on finance and public accounts to immediately commence an investigation into the use of Remita (which it erroneously described as an e-collection agent) for remitting government funds into the TSA, and its alleged collection of N25 billion commission being one per cent of the alleged N2.5 trillion it remitted into the TSA.

Mr. Melaye had argued that the use of Remita was a violation of Section 162(1) of the constitution, which stated that “the federation shall maintain a special account to be called the federation account into which all revenues collected by the government of the federation except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the ministry or department of government charged with foreign affairs and the residents of the FCT, Abuja”.

Mr. Melaye further stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria could only appoint a registered bank as an agent for collecting and disbursing the funds.

He said that since Remita was not a bank, its appointment as a collection agent was in violation of the CBN Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2007.

According to him, Remita collected N25 billion “for doing nothing.”

However, documents, including the service agreement between SystemSpecs and CBN, correspondence between the company and the office of the Accountant General/ CBN as well as a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, show that not only was the commission charged backed by law, it is shared by the company, commercial banks and the CBN.

Although the commission is nowhere near the exaggerated N25 billion touted by Mr. Melaye, the one per cent charge also represents a drastic reduction from between the two per cent and 46 per cent commission charged by commercial banks in some instances for collecting government revenues.

In a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the CBN Director for public communications, Ibrahim Muazu, dismissed the amount quoted on the floor of the senate as “completely misleading.”

“That is false. That is false,” he repeated for emphasis.

“It is grossly exaggerated. We are talking of one per cent. What is one per cent of the money? Have we collected up to a trillion? That is a completely misleading information. Even at the beginning of the TSA the estimation of all the movement of federal government funds into the account is N1.2 trillion,” he added.

When asked to tell the total amount moved into the TSA, Mr Muazu said: “I cannot give you the exact amount now but I know it is far, far, far lower than N2.5 trillion.”
The Agreement

According to the service agreement between the parties, signed by Eunice Ikekhuah and Aderemi Atanda of SystemSpecs on December 4, 2013, and H.M Yusuf and R.A Olaniyan of the CBN on December 11, 2013, Systemspecs and the CBN agreed to deploy Remita, a T24 banking application, for executing payment instructions and collection of government revenue.

Apart from the collection of revenue, Remita is also used for payment of salaries, payment of taxes, payment of pension, payroll processing biometric verification, among other uses.

In a letter dated November 6, 2015, to Mr. Buhari, SystemSpecs explained that “all commercial banks and over 400 Micro Finance Banks in Nigeria” are connected to the software. The company also explained that 705 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) are currently using the software as payment and collection platform.

So, contrary to Mr Melaye’s argument in the senate, Remita is indeed a software that facilitates the payment of government revenue from financial institutions to a TSA in the CBN and not a revenue collection agent.

Also, contrary to Mr. Melaye’s submission, the entire one per cent commission does not go to SystemSpecs. The commission is shared by the CBN, commercial banks, and the CBN.

“A tariff of 1% of the funds collected shall be charged for the government revenue collections: i. Platform Owner/SystemSpecs: 50%, ii. Collecting Agents/DMBs (banks): 40%, iii. Introducer? CBN: 10%,” the agreement reads.

SystemSpecs further explained that at a seminar organised by the CBN and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) May27-28, 2013, it actually proposed a commission of 1.5 per cent, It explained that commercial banks actually proposed 5 per cent, while a committee set up by the CBN and the OAGF proposed 2.5 per cent.

It explained that it was the then Accountant-General of the Federation that actually overruled all the suggested commission and reduced it to one per cent.

However, the company said it was surprised to receive a letter from the CBN, signed by Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking and Payments System Department, on October 27, 2015, directing it to refund all charges it collected from MDAs for implementation of the TSA.

“I have been directed to inform you that you should refund all charges (1% cost of collection) made into the MDAs accounts as a result of the implementation of the TSA,” the letter reads.

“The total amount should be credited into the account mentioned below:

“FGN Revenue e-Collection Pool Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria Account Number: 0020054161043

“Since the cost of the collection must have been shared by all the stakeholders, you are hereby required to also provide a schedule of the total amount collected and the portion that was shared to each of the three participants. The schedule should be prepared on month by month basis, from the commencement of the TSA implementation in March 2015, to date. We will recover the share to the CBN and the DMBs,” the letter explains.

SystemSpecs explained that after the kick off of the TSA, following a deadline announced by Mr Buhari, the OAGF invited it for a meeting where it was told that following the enlarged scope of the TSA, the government wanted to review the charges.

“We wrote to the CBN to give a brief on the meeting with OAGF and said inter-alia that, while on our part, SystemSpecs is not averse to a review of the existing transaction fee to a figure that is agreeable to all parties, we would however advise of the need to carry along the DMBs as you will recall that the current fees were agreed with the banks and communicated by CBN via a circular in December 2013,” the firm stated in a letter to the CBN governor.
Reduction of cost

In the same letter to the CBN Governor, SystemSpecs further explained that the one per cent charge actually represents a drastic reduction of the amount the Federal Government had to pay for the collection of its revenue before the implementation of the TSA.

“Your Excellency will recall that one of the primary focus of the TSA project is to retrieve funds from the banks who were indirectly lending the government money back to government at about 15%. Hidden cost to government? Arguably 15%.

“Remita provided a technology to empower government retrieve her funds immediately customers pay at Deposit Money Banks. No overnight stay at any bank. Is 1% to be shared by all parties really too high to pay for such a service?”

For instance, the firm explained, banks charge as high as 46 per cent for National Open University (NOUN) charges, nine per cent for Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) fees, and six per cent on Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) National Drivers’ License charges.

Thus in its letter to the President, SystemSpecs appealed for the return of its fees and those earned by the partner banks seized by the CBN.

Mr. Muazu corroborated SystemSpecs narratives during the telephone chat with PREMIUM TIMES.

“The information you are given is in line with the agreement dating back to 2011. That is a fact. They started it actually when the TSA came up. The one per cent was, yes, agreed at that time. But now with the issue at hand everything needs to be reviewed and agreed.

“But truly the banks, the CBN and themselves are stakeholders. What is it that we are talking about? It is the software or the platform. You can’t do everything free for doing any business. The banks that are doing the e-collection they pursue agencies and other sources of revenue. Not just taking the value. So it is actually an arrangement for the service to be provided. That software that is being used by the platform has to be maintained apart from the initial design,” he said.

He said the CBN asked SystemSpecs to return the commission already collected to enable it renegotiate the terms of the contract.

“Now we are having a new arrangement. It’s not just e-collection. Central bank is now in charge of government revenue. So the old arrangement cannot continue. So when the issue started the central bank gave the order and the money were all paid back to the government.

“Look at it this way, you have a product that you are allowing someone to use, it can’t be free,” he said. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/193213-full-details-of-tsa-dino-melaye-misled-nigerian-senate-on-n25-billion-claim.html

commitcrime:
Who is Idris abubakar?

Must u insult other tribes in a bid to segregate urselves. Remember Buhari fought Biafra then and ojukwu was leading Biafra then. No one alive in the nigerian army had the kind of training our old generals ve. They better stay alive so as not to die for nothing. Fighting a lost cause. Who ll lead Biafra now? The Biafra noisemakers on NL?

jcmaiah:
When it starts, south south no get choice but to join in this war! Ab0kii no sabi the difference between ss and se .

Sweetguy25:
After the first few lines, I just the knew the article would be a joke. And to believe this was written by an Ijaw man? I feel sorry for Ijaw people sometimes.

CuckoldMaster:
Yoruba again.

EasternLion:
For all you Yoruba people making up excuses for this evil, slavery and wickedness, remember the world goes round, one day it might come to you.

For our SS brothers saying we wanna incite you to hate others, "Adieu" and "Rest In Peace".

After all, are you not black men, who are capable of reasoning or asking discerning questions.

What I am saying in essence is, the contracts were signed in 1999, and to last for 25 years, and it is renewable...
2015-1999= 16, so it has more 9 years to go, after which the northern bourgeois will fight tooth and nail to renew the contract.

After all, Emir of Kano is making enough money from the proceeds of the contract, he has share in oil exported and imported through Onne, so why would he wanna lose it??

OreMI22:
These area few of the reasons why nigeria MUST be restructured, so that every group can take charge of their own development / destiny or we MUST leave as Biafra.
No more, no less!

bonechamberlain:
u are running in circles, my educating you stopped at my last reply. u can hold firm to your beliefs, gratias.

illiad:
Wow

And am sure you would claim to have attended lecture on politics even as borrowed course?

Please stop already, you're letting us see through your ignorance and it's rather disgusting

illiad:
It's called free education, all the lectures you been given that fellow.

Should I collect school fees from him/her. Just say yes and watch me make him/her pay

bonechamberlain:
funny u are saying politics 101, for ur information we talking about international politics not Nigeria village and parochial politics. if u did study the difference between Iran and Iranians in international politics u won't reply with this.

for ur information sanctions are not targeted at the people of a country but at the govt, Nigerians engage in terrorism what policy has the u.s made concerning Nigeria. in international politics what matters is the representative of the people, the govt and its policies and not the people.pls would like to stop here.