₦airaland Forum

After lying low for a few weeks after huge accusations were made against him by a colleague (accusations he never refuted adequately), the famous Azu is back and is being rehabilitated at THISDAY.
Nigerian journalists are no better than the police force or customs officers.
They are hired noise makers.


Two African Queens, Similar Fates
Thursday with Azu, Email & Tel: azubuikeishiekwe@thisdayonline.com, 07062319465 (SMS Only

This woman is an attention LovePeddler.
Unfortunately, not all of us can be fooled all the time.

Nicolas Anelka said he was left "doubled up with laughter" by an 18-match ban handed down to him yesterday, saying he has moved on from France's World Cup fiasco and branding those who run French football "clowns".

In his first public comments on the ban, which in effect brought to an end an international career that earned the 31-year-old 69 caps for les Bleus, the Chelsea player said he had already made up his mind never to play for France again after he was sent home from South Africa in June.

"Who told them that I wanted to play in blue again?" Anelka asked. "I should not even have been mentioned by this kind of commission. For me, ever since the South Africa World Cup, the French team is part of the past."

The striker, whose reported abuse of the former coach Raymond Domenech during France's match against Mexico led to his expulsion from the tournament and a subsequent players' revolt on his behalf, did not show up to a hearing of the French Football Federation (FFF)'s disciplinary council yesterday, during which his and four other players' punishments were discussed.

In an interview with the newspaper France Soir, he refused to accord the FFF's investigation into the events surrounding the mutiny any significance. "For me, this whole thing with the commission is an aberration, a masquerade to make sure they don't lose face," he said. "They have punished a void, as Nicolas Anelka never existed in this pitiful and colourful affair. I repeat: the page with les Bleus was turned on 19 June when I was evicted from Knysna."

Referring to the French football authorities, he added: "They are real clowns, these people , I am doubled up with laughter." The FFF also punished Patrice Evra, Franck Ribéry and Jérémy Toulalan with bans of between one and five matches for their roles in the boycott. Eric Abidal escaped without a ban.

Anelka, who became prominent at international level as a teenager with both goals in a 2-0 win over England at Wembley in 1999, spoke optimistically about his future at the club he joined in January 2008. "With Chelsea , I play in blue every weekend and that's more than enough for me," he said.

His agent, Doug Pingisi, was equally keen to play down the FFF's ban, albeit in less flippant tones. "With Nico, we had a very clear career plan," he said. "The idea was that he would take his leave internationally after the World Cup, whatever its result, which ended up being the one that everyone knows."

^^^^
Maybe i did.
Cheers,

.

August 16,2010

Address to Members of the Capital market Committee at a hearing on the Recent Developments at the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday 11th August 2010 at the National Assembly, Abuja.

1. Preamble
I thank the honourable members of the Capital Market Committee for the invitation to this hearing, as it affords me an opportunity to tell my story to Nigerians in the wake of unprecedented malicious disinformation about my person and The Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Unfortunately, on the basis of the co-ordinated and sustained disinformation, I have been made to suffer incalculable personal loss and The Stock Exchange has been brought to disrepute. Mass media editorials and all manner of opinions have been expressed without commentators knowing the kernel of the issues at stake.

Not even the House Committee is exempt in this regard, given that I have been invited in my personal capacity as “ex- Director General” of The Nigerian Stock Exchange to explain an issue that should ordinarily be addressed by the Council (Board) of The Exchange. Also, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has been invited to this hearing in his personal capacity when in fact he should be leading the Council of The Exchange to this hearing.

I have been addressed as former Director General when there has not been any examination of the process deployed by the authorities in managing the situation that is the subject of this proceeding.Attending this hearing is Mr. Emmanuel Ikhazobor who is described as the “Interim Administrator” of The Stock Exchange. It was reported in the media that I have been relieved of my position as Director General of The Exchange when the letter The Exchange received from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a directive to the Council of The Exchange to effect my removal.

As at today, the Council of The Exchange is yet to meet to decide on the SEC directive. Yet, the same SEC that issued this directive has deployed the worst kind of abuse of state power in a democracy to abduct the Secretary to the Council of The Exchange and invaded the premises of The Exchange in Lagos with heavily armed state security personnel to effect my purported removal from office.

The issue of due process is especially important in the context of democratic ideals and the sacred duty of the legislature to protect and advance civil liberty.
We must not gloss over the issue of due process because what happened last week at The Nigerian Stock Exchange is a precedent that put every Nigerian at risk. As the saying goes, ask not for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for every one of us.

2. The Issues
The developments alluded to by the Committee as the basis for this proceeding, I presume, are the allegations of financial mismanagement made against the Management of The Nigerian Stock Exchange by, ironically, Alhaji Aliko Dangote who until recently was the President and Chairman of Council of The Exchange, having served in the Council as First Vice-President. Also, I presume that this hearing was called in the wake of the purported changes in the leadership of The Exchange as announced by SEC.

I appreciate the gravity of these developments, which raise fundamental questions about acceptable behaviour and adherence to the Rule of Law, and the incidence of these on the operations of the capital market, which thrives within a framework of rules and regulation. It is not for nothing that stock market operators are called City Gentlemen. And in the context of the recent developments in the capital market, operators and regulators of the market must not be allowed to go away with the belief that acceptable behaviour and adherence to rules and regulation apply only to other people and are only a crutch to be leaned upon when it is convenient.

2.1 On the alleged Financial Mismanagement at The Exchange
It must be placed on record that the genesis of current disquiet in the capital market is in the public petition by Alhaji Aliko Dangote alleging financial impropriety against the Management of The Nigerian Stock Exchange. It was a public petition because the petition was simultaneously released to SEC and the media, with follow-up press statements by the petitioner.

In the context of acceptable behaviour, I invite honourable members of the Capital Market Committee to note that the Council of The Exchange is not aware of the allegations made by Alhaji Dangote, in which case his recourse to SEC and the media may be considered hasty, premature and irresponsible, considering his high office and assuming there is substance to his claims.

I wish to stress that as a member of the Council of The Nigerian Stock Exchange at the time all the accounts in question were considered and approved, Alhaji Dangote never brought any of the allegations to the attention of the Council for discussion or investigation. This is especially pertinent as his membership of the Council covered the period during which he alleged there was financial imprudence that, according to him, “has brought The Exchange to the verge of financial bankruptcy”.

Even though the Management of The Exchange has responded to SEC’s questions on Alhaji Dangote’s allegation, I believe that it would be appropriate for Alhaji Dangote to answer to questions on the accounts of The Exchange in his capacity as former President and Chairman of Council and First Vice-President. This is particularly so in the context of the role of the Board of Directors (Council) in the administration of a company and the role of the Chairman of the Board. It is the height of irony that the Chairman of Council, whose chief responsibility was to see to the efficient and effective management of the institution, has turned around to allege financial impropriety under his watch.

Also, honourable members of the Capital Market Committee are invited to note that the accounts in question were prepared by Council (of which the petitioner was a member) in accordance with the responsibilities of the Council under the Companies and Allied Matters Act; the accounts passed through audit without any qualification; the accounts have been presented to the members of The Exchange who passed it without any reservations; and the accounts have been filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission as required under the statute.

Furthermore, these same accounts have been subjected to a special audit by a team of SEC inspectors and external consultants without any indicting outcome. It is curious that SEC would rely on the unsubstantiated allegations of one man for its disruptive intervention in the management of The Nigerian Stock Exchange when its previous exhaustive investigation of the same subject-matter came up with nothing indicting on the Management of the Exchange.

Meanwhile, I wish to leave honourable members of the Committee with this insight into the expenditure profile of The Exchange in the 4-year period (from 2006 to end of 2009) during which The Nigerian Stock Exchange was alleged “to have grossed a total income of N42.2 billion with a surplus of only N5.6 billion, representing 13% growth over the 4-year period”.

In the prevailing culture of disinformation and selective perception, the public have not been told that over the same 4-year period the Nigerian Stock Exchange carried out major infrastructure upgrades and investments such as:

1. Buy-out of 60% interest of Daily Times Plc in Naira Properties Ltd (owners of the Stock Exchange Building);
2. Installation of two 1,500-KVA Generators for the Stock Exchange Building;
3. Redesign and upgrade of the World-Class Head Office Trading Floor commissioned by President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, GCFR in October 2007;
4. Design and construction of a Data Centre and Power Bank to guaranty regular and uninterrupted trading;
5. Resumption of the development of 14-storey commercial office building in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State; the construction work has reached the 8th floor as of today;
6. Commencement of phased refurbishment work at the Stock Exchange House, which since 1983 when it was commissioned, had not been refurbished:
a. Installation of new lifts at the 23-storey Stock Exchange House in Lagos
b. Refurbishment of the Central Air Conditioning System for the 23-storey Stock Exchange House in Lagos
7. Investment road-shows that enhanced the profile of Nigeria in the international investment community; and
8. Opening of new branch offices in Benin, Ilorin, Uyo, Onitsha, Abeokuta, Owerri and Bauchi, among others. See Appendix D for complete project details.(NB: Not available to us for publication)

It is misleading to ignore these major achievements in profiling the major cost pattern of The Exchange as “salaries, pension, travel and marketing”.

Salaries and associated pension costs increased significantly over the period because the pension scheme was back-dated by 20 years as approved by the Council of The Exchange to accommodate the retired Director-General and Deputy Director-General and other retired staff who had contributed to the building of The Exchange to the enviable height it currently occupies in the economy.

Finally, on the allegation of financial impropriety, I wish to emphasise that the Management of The Exchange never exceeded budgetary approval by Council and if there is need for any explanation on the published accounts of an organisation, the Board, led by the Chairman, has the primary duty of offering insight, working with the Chief Financial Officer of the organisation. In this instance, I was neither the Chairman of the Council nor the Chief Financial Officer of the organisation. The Committee may therefore consider inviting the entire Council of The Exchange and the Chief Financial Officer for further insight into the finances of the organisation.

2.2 On the SEC intervention in the Management of The Stock Exchange
Late in the afternoon of 28th July 2010, The Exchange received a letter from SEC requesting our response to allegations of financial mismanagement by Alhaji Dangote against the Management of The Exchange. In the same letter, the Commission demanded our response to the matter of contempt proceedings against Alhaji Dangote, the Secretary to Council, and myself, in addition to inviting me to a meeting at the Commission’s Lagos office at 9am on the next day (29th July 2010).

Not minding the short time within which The Exchange was expected to respond to the Commission’s query, Management, not having anything to hide, was able to prepare a comprehensive response to all the issues raised in the SEC’s query and the petition by Alhaji Dangote that was forwarded to The Exchange. Copies of our response are available for honourable members of the Committee (http://www.proshareng.com/articles/2119).

Our response (including supporting documents) was delivered to the Commission as required in the morning of 29th July 2010. However, I was unable to go for the meeting at 9am, as I had a prior invitation from the Presidency for a meeting in Abuja. It suffices to state that in our letter forwarding the response to SEC, this information was brought to their attention and we also requested for a rescheduling of the meeting to another time or/and date.

To show commitment, soon after my meeting at the Presidency, I made repeated attempts to speak with the Director General of SEC, Ms. Arunma Otteh to further explain my inability to attend the meeting with the Commission scheduled for the morning of that day and to request for a new date and time. When I could not reach her, I spoke with the Executive Commissioner, Operations of SEC, Ms. Daisy Ekine, who confirmed receipt of our response and said she was on her way back to Abuja from Lagos. She promised to convey my explanation and request to Ms. Otteh, adding that they would be getting back to me subsequently.

I have known Ms. Otteh and Ms. Ekine for a very long time and it is regrettable that without any kind of courtesy the next thing from the Commission was the abduction of the Secretary to the Council of The Exchange, Mrs. Josephine Igbinosun, on Wednesday, 4th August 2010 by unknown persons for the sole purpose of delivering letters from SEC to her.

Note that she was forcefully taken out of the premises of The Exchange to a location in Ikoyi for this purpose. And all she came back with were photocopies of a letter by SEC purporting to direct the Council of The Exchange to effect my removal from office and another letter, which was addressed to Alhaji Dangote directing him to obey court orders on the issue of chairmanship of the Council of The Exchange. Even though Mrs. Igbinosun initially refused to accept photocopies of official letters, she was compelled by her abductors to receive same. This was around 8.30pm on August 4th, 2010.

When the letters were brought to my attention and while I contemplated the import of the content, the Commission had through its Media Officer, Mr. Lanre Oloyi, issued a Press Statement around 10.56pm to the effect that I had been removed from office.

Please note that the Council of The Exchange had no chance to meet on the directive when this action was taken.Also, on Thursday, 5th August 2010 as I prepared to go to work at The Exchange, I was informed that our premises in Lagos had been flooded by heavily armed anti-riot policemen and men of other security agencies. This was later confirmed by television and other media reports. I have stayed away from office only for reasons of security concerns, as against the legitimacy of the actions of SEC.

Honourable members of this Committee should note that in subsequent Press Briefing by the Director General of SEC on 5th August 2010, she said the Commission would now commence investigation into the allegations of financial mismanagement against the Management of The Exchange to confirm their veracity. Given the actions of SEC so far, the only possible outcome of the said investigation would be to work towards their answer to the question – that is, a justification of their unconscionable action.

Honourable members of this Committee should especially note that before the recent actions of SEC, the operations of The Exchange had not been constrained in any way.The Primary and Secondary Markets aspects of the business of The Exchange functioned as normal, without oversight problems as alleged by SEC.

Committees of the Council have been meeting and discharging their various functions and in the process ensuring the smooth running of The Exchange and its market.In particular, the Disciplinary Committee of Council has met and took disciplinary actions against Dealing Member firms, which were communicated to the Commission, through our letter dated April 30, 2010.

The Quotations Committee and the Rules Committee of Council were extremely active during this period and so indeed all was well with The Exchange and the market, as confirmed by sustained gains by performance indicators of the market since the beginning of the year. If the Finance and General Purpose Committee of the Council did not meet to consider the accounts of The Exchange for the first and second quarters of the year, it was because of the Court judgement involving Alhaji Dangote as a Member of the Committee.

As an individual and officer of The Exchange, I did not suffer any legal overhang. On the matter of contempt proceedings, we had on 27th July 2010 written to the Commission on this matter and later on the same day, our Secretary to Council, Mrs. Josephine Igbinosun, and I were discharged and acquitted on the charges of contempt of court, as we ought not to have been charged in the first instance, having committed no offence and were not mentioned in the substantive suit.

However, the contempt charge and Bench Warrant against Alhaji Dangote are still pending at the same court. Should I now suffer for one man’s intransigency in the face of the law?

3. Conclusion
I wish to conclude that I have worked for the past 36 years without being accused of financial impropriety and it should therefore be inconceivable that I would be involved in fraud with only weeks to my retirement and at nearly 60 years of age.

Also, it should be noted that there was no uncertainty as to date of my disengagement from The Exchange. As recent as Saturday, 31st July 2010, the Punch Newspaper (http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201007315593020) had published a news report based on an interview with the Head of Corporate Affairs of The Exchange, confirming that I would be going on terminal leave from September (next month). In fact, I was scheduled to submit my notice of disengagement at the meeting of Council scheduled for Friday, 6th August 2010.

So, it is inconceivable, and far from true that I had refused to retire from The Exchange and thereby was undermining the management succession programme of the organisation.

Finally, I invite this Committee to note that the attacks against my person and office by SEC were based on unsubstantiated allegations, while appealing that you consider seriously the breach of due process in the current crisis in the capital market and issue the necessary directives, as those who administer the law must be seen to act within the law at all times.

Thank you.

Professor Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, OON
Director-General/CEO

Until i stopped reading Nigerian columnists, it was Ijeoma.
One of the reasons why i stopped reading her (before i stopped reading all Nigerian columnists in general) was her refusal to apologise after goofing during the SLS storm.
She made a comment that was untrue, i wrote a comment severally as a concerned reader asking for an apology for all those who she deceived by her name dropping,but i guess she is too arrogant to stoop so low.
Irrespective of the fact that i no longer read her, i admire her intelligence and penetrative analysis.

Beaf, it seems you have resumed sipping that Bayelsa water?
The only vision Jonathan has is a vision of how to perpetuate himself in power, so his wife can continue murdering the English language.
I am cynic and pessimist and do not need anyone to tell me, however, even in my most optimistic moments, i cannot see anything different from the past.
Jonathan is like his predecessors.No difference whatsoever.
The change that Nigeria needs can NEVER be attained peacefully.

^^^^^^^^^
i am too lazy at present to search.
any link to the gay thread in question?
I am curious.thank you.

crap cooked up story.
try something else next time.

Jarus,
Thanks for your response.
I hope the efforts in addressing this madness will yield results soon.
cheers.

Jarus,
I still await your response to the comments i made in an earlier page of this thread concerning the bastardization of this section of the forum by ethnic jingoists.
What is the way forward and how do you intend sanitising the forum in that regard?

Cheers,

the title should have read "Jonathan seeks N’assembly’s Nod For $4.4bn election fund. "
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Is this the messiah, or are we to wait for another?

same rhetorics all the time.
These people can't even try a new line.
$4.4 billion??

President Goodluck Jona-than is seeking the approval of the National Assembly to take $4.427 billion external loan to finance “critical infrastructure” in the country.
And in a renewed effort to address the epileptic power supply in the country, President Jonathan has approved the construction of a new national supergrid to complement the aging 330/132kv transmission infrastructure in the country.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan will on August 26, 2010 present a new roadmap for the reformation of the country’s power sector to the private sector.
In a letter to Senate President David Mark and read on the floor of the Senate, President Jonathan sought for $4.4 billion external loan, explaining that the National Assembly had earlier given its nod for the Federal Government to obtain an initial sum of $1,854.71 million from International Development Association (IDA), being component of the negotiated projects.

The borrowing plan, he said, was “segmented for purposes of comprehension into three broad categories namely: projects that had been negotiated and those that were being appraised as well as the pipeline projects/programmes”.
Jonathan said: “The sum total for the negotiated projects stood at $1,854.71 billion and that of the appraised projects was $1.073.2 million while $2,415 billion represented the sum of the pipeline projects. The three categories of projects come to a total of $5.242 billion.

“In consideration of the 2010 budget in conjunction with the aforementioned borrowing plan, the National Assembly graciously appro-ved only the International Development Association component of the negotiated projects in the sum of $915 million out of $1,854.71, leaving a balance of $939.71 for negotiated projects, $1,073.2 million for appraised projects and $2,415 billion for pipeline projects. The entire balance now remaining for National Assembly’s approval is $4,427.91.”

The President noted that the approval of the outstanding 2010 external borrowing plan would enable the administration to fast track “the provision of critical infrastructure, which the country is in dire need of to jump-start the engine of economic growth and improve the living standards of the citizens”.
He said further: “It is pertinent to add that the proposed loans are highly concessionary credit facilities, which the country needs to access in order to develop our infrastructure and create employment opportunities.

“I have directed the honourable minister of finance to effectively monitor the various projects to ensure that the funds are judiciously utilized and that there is value for money.
“In furtherance of my directive, the ministry held a country portfolio review with the participation of all donor agencies, the 36 states and FCT in Abuja from 8th – 9th July 2010 and has also begun the implementation of the borrowing guidelines as agreed with the National Assembly.

“Considering the huge infrastructure deficit currently being experienced in the country and the enormous financial resources required to fill the gap coupled with the budgetary provisions without resources to external borrowings, I implore the Senate to reconsider the 2010 Borrowing plan with a view to approving the entire package to enable us engage in the negotiations and completion of the requirements for accessing the funds.”

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Ima Niboro said the new 700 KV supergrid, which will be completed in four years at a projected cost of $3.5 billion, will transmit power across vast distances that are beyond the capacity of the existing 330/132KV grid.
According to Niboro in a statement last night, the President, who granted the approval at the weekly meeting of the Presidential Action Committee (PAC) on Power which he chairs, also directed that the project be funded as a federal asset with additional financing from private investors and international finance and development agencies.

“The supergrid, which will run along the same route as the existing 330/132KV grid will also address Nigeria ’s future energy challenges including transition to more sustainable energy sources, reduction of power loss per transmitted megawatt and improving power voltage profiles across the country,” he said.
As the country grapples with inadequate power supply, experts said with the existing generation and Federal Government’s projections, there is bound to be supply shortfall, which will persist if modern transmission infrastructure that is commensurate with the projected growth is not put in place.

According to these experts, despite the increasing demand for electricity, the country has continued to rely on the 330/132kv introduced in the early 1960’s, leading to decreasing transmission capacity and power loss.
Niboro said the main advantage of the 700 KV supergrid over the existing 330/132 KV grid was that it would significantly reduce the huge amount of power currently lost in transmission.

“Without the supergrid, the quantum of power lost in transmission will continue to increase as more power progressively becomes available for evacuation from new and rehabilitated generating stations. Periodic systemic failures will also become more frequent,” he said.
The Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP) had projected that Nigeria’s available generation capacity would rise to 6,939 megawatts by April next year and 14,019megawatts by December 2013.

cock and bull story.
after running away for moths, this is all this man can cook up
this is ineptitude of the highest order.
Saraki own Rand Merchant Bank?
Come on, son!! try harder.
This Erastus man should grow some balls.
Sanusi might hate him, Sanusi might have a vendetta but truth is he played in to his hands by mismanaging the bank he was CEO.
Until he refutes that weighty allegation, he remain in deep s h i t.

Jarus, kindly address the issues raised in my post in the previous page.

Cheers,

Jimoh Ibrahim??
Only those who never heard about the Bayelsa MILAD who had a terminal illness years back will believe the hype around Jimoh.
There are so many holes in his success stories that should alarm any discerning individual.
But this is naija, it does not matter.
Yet, he should not insult our senses with his c r a p comments

Jarus,
congratulations on this appointment.
You have taken a poisoned chalice but i believe in your ability.
This section of the forum has been messed up extensively.
While i often wonder why people complain about bans when they can always re-register with a new username almost instantaneously, i think those with the ability to ban need to go a step further and ban specific IP addresses (especially when they are static not dynamic addresses) for the atrocities of the ethnic and tribalistic jingoists.
While i do not come here as often as i did in the past, it is hugely irritating to open a thread and come back to see a topic taken off tangent and desecrated with ethnic jargons that are neither educative nor edifying.
Mods, Super Mods and the Admin need to put heads together and come up with a way of addressing this crap.
It is not funny and it is killing the spirit of the Politics section.
All the best and see you later (on a thread of common interest)

dude took out a page of Guardian newspaper advert to publish this c r a p.
He needs his head checked.
I know that family has an attention seeking disorder but this tops it all.
He and his aunty should go in peace and give us a break.
Enough of the attention whoring.

Sariba:
Thank you for your comments.

@ mbuela: Where did you get these information from?
I'm still trying to get in touch with the right ppl from Zara (not quite easy)

@zebra 543: I love Mango a lot, but since theres already one I gotta go for something else.
You probably right with the hype thing but you know, if I open a shop, I really wanna love it!!! You know?!
Should be something ppl love - not only bcz its a hype!

So, any other suggestions for labels or styles?

I have distant links with the firm working with them in one of the two countries they are planning to enter in the next 24 months.

This woman is an attention LovePeddler.
Why is she bothering us with a family feud?
I said it in the past and i repeat, she is a noise maker.
I am yet to understand what the hype around her is all about.

this aloy guy/gal sure does smoke some strong stuff.
just raising senseless dust.

i tried following the argument until i saw the 'best teaching hospital in africa' stuff in two repeated posts.
i just gave up.

http://www.pah.org.za/
http://www.capegateway.gov.za/gsh
http://www.mediclinic.co.za/hospitals/pages/about.aspx?h=53

By Ayodele Aminu, 07.27.2010

Governors from the 36 states of the federation are mounting pressure on the Federal Government to share another $3 billion be shared from the savings in Excess Crude Account (ECA).

The governors, THISDAY can reveal, made the demand at the recent National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
Already, the governors, according to sources, are currently mounting pressure that an emergency Federation Account Allocation Comm-ittee (FAAC) be convened to create an avenue to deliberate on how the $3 billion should be shared.

The ECA, which was created by the government of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 when Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the Finance Minister, is where the difference between budget benchmark price for oil and the actual market price is saved.
The ECA, which is currently believed to hold up to $4 billion, is meant to mitigate the effect of boom-bust cycle of crude oil revenue.
Crude oil sales account for over 80 per cent of budgetary revenues in Nigeria and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.

But Nigeria has been lucky since the beginning of this year with average crude oil price hovering between $74 and $77  and currently selling for $78.55 per barrel as at the yesterday as against the budget benchmark of $67, meaning that there has been some accrual to the ECA. Experts have suggested that crude oil price is likely to remain steady at $79 per barrel for the rest of this year.

When late President Umaru Yar’Adua was sworn in on May 29th, 2007, the ECA held $20billion, out of which $5 billion had been pledged by the three tiers of government to the National Independent Power Project (NIPP), which jointly own the account.
In 2008, the ECA  dropped to $15 billion.  By end of 2009 it had dropped to $.6.5billion and currently holds about $4billion. President  Jonathan Goodluck had last January acceded to the governors' that $2billion be shared, after which they supported the bid to make him Acting President in the prolonged absence of  Yar’Adua.

He also approved the deduction of N339.627 billion from the account to augment arrears due to the three tiers (Federal, State and Local Governments) last May.   
Some analysts are of the opinion that the latest demand by the governors may be met for political reasons, especially ahead of the 2011 elections.

Nothing will come out of this story.
Most journalists are in this mafia.
That is why they have senseless seminars around the place and silly awards all over the place.
After all the noise about Azu of Punch, what has happened.
When some of us express our pessimism, we are called cynical.

Sariba:
Hi every1

I am moving from Switzerland to Lagos in around a years time together with my nigerian boyfriend.
Therefore I am looking around for a business opportunity. What I was thinking is buying a franchise from a fahsion company (both for men and/or women).
Last time I came to Lagos I saw that Mango has opened its first store, which shop, style etc. would you guys most love to see in Lagos?

I really hope for some feedback and thank you in advance!!!!

xo

you want to buy a Zara franchise?
I don't think Zara sell individual franchise.they move into a particular region and partner with a big retailer to open a couple of stores.
Most times they go it alone.
At present they are only expanding into South Africa and Australia for next two financial years (2010 - 2012).

guy, we are not interested in this dry gist.
i suspect you are the same person who posted the initial story here and on face book.
Try and get a life.
2.3 million Naira indeed!!

Please don't keep us posted with your cooked up story about an unknown girl.

•‘How N5,000 recharge cards saved us •‘We thought we were going to die’
By Our Correspondents, 07.19.2010

Kidnap Saga

Following the ongoing crackdown on those behind kidnappings in Abia, particularly the recent kidnap of four journalists in the area, the state government has come down hard on traditional rulers alleged to be involved in abductions and other criminal activities.


Yesterday, the government arrested the traditional ruler of Amauba-Ime Oboro Autonomous Community in Ikwuano Local Government Area of the state, Eze Vincent Okezie Uche, who is said to have already been charged to court “for sponsoring kidnapping and armed robbery.”
A special announcement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Theodore Orji, Mr. Kingsley Emereuwa, said the royal father was also dethroned.


The government also suspended three traditional rulers namely Eze Okechukwu Atulobi of Osusu Abala Autonomous Community, Eze Nwabiaraije Eneogwe of Abayi Autonomous Community and Eze S. Onwukwe of Abala Ibeme Autonomous Comm-unity, all in Obingwa Local government of the state.
The four journalists and their driver kidnapped by gunmen in the state regained their freedom early yesterday after one week in captivity.


The journalists, abducted on their way from the National Executive Council (INEC) meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at Obi Ngwa in Abia State, are Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Wahab Oba, Secretary of Zone G Adolphus Okoronkwo, Acting Secretary of Lagos NUJ Sylva Okereke, Lagos-based journalist Sola Oyeyipo and their driver Azeez Abdulrauf.


Oba relived their experience in the hand of the abductors, saying they saw death coming.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has commended the police on the release of the journalists but called for the arrest of all the kidnappers “by all means possible.”


The Abia State government said the decision to suspend the three royal fathers followed security reports of their involvement in sponsoring kidnapping and armed robbery in the state, for which they are currently under investigation.
The government assured the entire citizenry that it “will not stop at anything to eradicate the shameful menace of kidnapping and armed robbery in the state as any person/s suspected to be behind this ugly vocation, no matter how highly placed will be summarily dealt with.”


Reliving their experience after they regained freedom, Oba said it was worse than being in hell. Speaking with newsmen shortly after they arrived Government House, Umuahia, in company with armed mobile policemen and officers from Interpol, Oba noted that the period of their captivity exposed them to the other side of life.


He said before releasing them, their captors had threatened to unleash mayhem in the entire five South-eastern states, especially Abia, in the next one month if urgent steps were not taken by the government to pacify them.
Oba also disclosed that the kidnappers threatened to make the entire zone ungovernable, while vowing to scuttle the 2011 general elections in the state.


“They made it clear that they were not going to allow any election to be conducted in the state because the government had failed woefully to make appreciable impact in the living condition of the people.
“They also told us that the Abia State government had collected a whooping sum of money meant to be disbursed to the youths in the spirit of the amnesty programme of the Federal Government but that nothing was given to them.


“The experience we had in that jungle is better imagined. These boys were wielding all manner of sophisticated arms and ammunition which I don’t think our police force really possesses. We saw our death steering us in our face but God really saved us from their hands.


“At a point, I even had to write my will albeit verbally because we thought we were not going to see the light of the day. I can’t wish even my worst enemy to pass through such a horrendous experience,” Oba said.
The full story of how the journalists were released has, however, emerged.


“Inspector-General of Police Sir, this is breaking news for you. I have with me the four kidnapped journalists and their driver who were handed over to us this morning.”With these words the Abia State Commissioner of Police Jonathan Johnson officially announced the release of the four journalists and their driver


The kidnapped men breathed their air of freedom at about 1.30 am when their abductors released them at a market place at Ukpakiri in Obingwa Local Government the same area where they were taken hostage on Sunday July 11, 2010.
By 8.45am when the released journalists were brought to the state command headquarters in Umuahia by a team of policemen, they looked unkempt and were barefooted, a sign of the ordeal they had passed through in the last seven days.


But they were full of joy and happiness for coming out of the bush alive.Oba said they were dropped at a bush in the area (Ukpakiri) but they waited till daybreak before they crawled out around 6.00am and a community leader took them to the police.


He said that all through the period they waited for daybreak, they laid still before they attracted some people around the area.Though the Lagos NUJ chairman said that they were not maltreated by their abductors, they were completely blindfolded and kept under trees and left at the mercy of the elements, with their abductors who were also drenched by rain or scorched by sun, as the case may be.


He said the kidnappers never allowed them stay at a particular place for long as they kept moving them every two hours due to the pressure from police.


The kidnappers had robbed them of their possessions and shared the booty among themselves
“They (kidnappers) collected everything we had, both wrist watches, money and shared everything. I saw my shoes; I saw my laptop computer being shared. Somebody even put on my wrist watch there in the bush,” Oba said.


The kidnappers had initially demanded N250 million ransom but Oba said the kidnappers later claimed they were not really interested in the ransom money because they were driven into criminality to protest government neglect.
Oba insisted that no ransom was paid to the hoodlums, adding that their only financial reward was N3 million they collected from them


The journalists therefore called on the federal government to adequately equip the police, to make them ready to face such people considering the kind of sophisticated weapons the hoodlums carried.
In his remarks the Abia State chairman of NUJ, Hyacinth Okoli, commended the police and the state government for their effort in ensuring the release of the journalists.


But he disagreed that the kidnappers were in the crime because they were angry with the government, saying that the kidnappers were evil in nature and had refused to key into the amnesty programme announced by government.
According to a statement by Presidential Spokesman Ima Niboro, President Jonathan said the release had brought to a close a sordid criminal incident, which he insisted must be completely stamped out of the polity.
Jonathan specifically praised the police and Nigerians for turning “sufficient heat” on the kidnappers, which made them to abandon their victims.


He directed the Inspector-General of Police Ogbonna Onovo to ensure the arrest by all means possible of the kidnappers.
The President felicitated with the four journalists, their families and NUJ.
According to him, “Even as we celebrate freedom today, let us insist that this spate of criminality must stop. In every way possible, we must say no to these vices and assist the authorities to expose perpetrators and bring an end to these vices as quickly as possible."


Onovo has also declared war on kidnappers in the South-east, vowing to make the zone difficult for any manner of criminality.
Speaking shortly after receiving the rescued journalists from the Abia State Police Command, Onovo said the police would engage the men of the underworld in a serious battle with the aim of riding the zone of kidnappers and armed banditry.
“The operation has just started with the rescue of these innocent journalists. We can no longer tolerate this in the South-east. Indeed the people are going to be denied their comfort in the process of embarking on this operation. But I want to plead with them to bear with us,” he stated.


The journalists left for Lagos yesterday through Port Harcourt Airport in Omagwa few hours after they were freed.
They left on a chartered flight marked ZS-SME from Top Brass Aviation provided by the Rivers State government, which said it was their own contribution to making the journalists return to their families safely.
Speaking on behalf of the governor, the Acting Chief Press Secretary Blessing Wikina said the kidnap was a cowardly act, which should not deter the journalists from their work.


He further asked security agencies to try and debrief those who have been kidnapped and freed so that a psychological profile of the kidnappers could be ascertained.


Oba who spoke on behalf of the journalists expressed gratitude to President Jonathan, the police, Abia State government, journalists and all the people that made it possible for them to regain their freedom and assured them that they would continue to ensure that they serve the people well.


Some Abia State officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that no ransom was paid aside from some "small, small money they extorted from people promising to release them".
A source said N5,000 recharge cards, which the kidnappers sought for and got also helped to facilitate their release.
At the airport were police top shots including Onovo and Abia State governor who left on an Arik flight to Abuja.

By Ezra Ijioma
Sunday, 18 Jul 2010


As the uncertainty over the whereabouts of the abducted journalists continue to linger, the Chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Staff Association of Nigeria, Department of Petroleum Resources chapter, Mr. Issa Ibrahim, has also been kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State.


Ibrahim‘s abductors who are now demanding N10m, had earlier requested N200m for his release.


Ibrahim, who flew into Owerri from Lagos, was allegedly kidnapped alongside his wife on Friday.


His wife was said to have picked him from the airport and was driving into the city when unknown men accosted the couple and took them away. His wife was, however, later released.


When contacted, the President of PENGASSAN, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, confirmed the abduction and appealed to the Federal Government to facilitate the release of Ibrahim.


The South-East has been besieged by kidnappers who last Sunday kidnapped four journalists including the Lagos State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Wahab Oba; the state Assistant Secretary, Mr. Sylva Okereke, the Zonal Secretary, Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo; Mr. Sola Oyeyibo and their driver, Mr. Azeez Abdulrouf - at Umuafor Ukwu in Obingwa, Abia State while returning from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State after a three-day National Executive Committee meeting of the NUJ.

thanks for the research and taking the pains to post this.
No matter how much i know about fragrances, i have learnt something from this thread.

Beaf:
The above could not be farther from the crux of the matter. Neither is the political leadership to blame.
You've got it upside down and are begging the topic; if the problem is the system, how can you blame the political leadership? The "leaders" operate within a flawed architecture.

Let us all make it a point to emphasise true federalism as the only workable architecture for Nigeria (or we separate). With true federalism, we will have accountability. With the present system, your state gov is accountable to Abuja, not to you; so he doesn't care what you say or think. The policeman on the street is accountable to the IG, so he doesn't give a toss about your thoughts on "roger". We run an upside down system that was deliberately designed for corruption; lets blame our fake "federalism" or we'll end wasting energy screaming into the wind.

What every consensious and thinking Nigerian must do, is keep hammering credible elections as our only way forward. We should be ready to burn, protest and make sure it is delivered. Credible elections are our only hope of changing Nigerias architecture bloodlessly.

Either i don't get your point or you are missing mine.
the political leadership is the major problem.
if we have a leadership that matches action with words, knows no sacred cows and strengthens institutions to be effective, most of this problems will fall in place.the matter is that it pays the political leadership to maintain the status quo.And Jonathan is no different.
if we had effective leadership at the top,we will not even be discussing onovo matter, as the inept tool would have long thrown in the towel.
Beaf, there will be blood.
There is no easy way out.
We have gone too far.
either the blood will be shed over credible elections (my worry is that the definition of a credible election is a highly politicized one) or afterwards.

By Collins Edomaruse, 07.18.2010
Former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar is to take another shot at the office of president in next year’s election, his Media Consultant, Mallam Garuba Shehu, has confirmed.
"It is true that he has been working on the project. He has been visiting all parts of the country to secure the support of Nigerians for his aspiration. His emphasis has been on developing a policy document on how to address the challenges facing Nigeria. He believes the 2011 election should be dominated by issues of utmost concern to the well being of Nigerians."
THISDAY gathered at the weekend that the politician has dispersed his to the six geo-political zones to test-run his policy framework among Nigerians. The team would be in the field for two weeks.


The policy framework include security, job creation, power and infrastructure and the Niger Delta, as priorities, is to be presented to "review groups" across the country to in-put the views of Nigerians for the final policy document.
Besides, the former Vice President has assembled a team of young professionals to manage his campaign for the 2011 election.
The team, THISDAY further gathered, has been working below the radar in the last few weeks and would soon be unveiled when it moves into a new campaign office said to be located in the central part of Abuja.


Atiku, who contested the 2007 presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress, returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) earlier this year. He left the PDP in 2006 when he, alongside many of his associates, was denied registration in the party at the height of his conflict with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
It was also gathered that the former vice-president has been silently crisis-crossing the country holding consultations with politicians and critical elements in the states.
He was in the South East at the weekend in continuation of his consultations across the country.


The consultations, THISDAY also learnt, were designed to achieve two results. "The first was to enlist the support of many of the politicians and key stakeholders to support his presidential ambition. It is also designed to exchange ideas with the key stakeholders on his policy ideas for addressing major challenges, which he hopes to confront if elected president next year."
In 2006, Atiku had assembled about 120 professionals cutting across professional groups in a retreat in Abuja to review his policy initiatives. The outcome of the review was his policy document which was entitled, "From Reform to Prosperity".
Among the notable initiatives in the document was the creation of Ministry of Niger Delta, which Atiku said, wilould address the challenges in the Niger Delta just as the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory confronted the challenge of the rapid development of Abuja as the new federal capital.