₦airaland Forum

The Nigerian stock exchange is open for the 'big' men to buy more shares. All international flights in and out Nigeria are operating so that the 'big' men can fly in and out. Meanwhile, even if their domestic business suffers any loss, they would claim from their insurers. Yet the 'poor' man is happy that he has helped NLC(who by the way would still collect their salary by month end) to 'shut' down Nigeria. And you wonder why the rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer in Nigeria.

The Nigerian stock exchange is open for the 'big' men to buy more shares. All international flights in and out Nigeria are operating so that the 'big' men can fly in and out.  Meanwhile, even if their domestic business suffers any loss, they would claim from their insurers. Yet the 'poor' man is happy that he has helped NLC(who by the way would still collect their salary by month end)  to 'shut' down Nigeria. And you wonder why the rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer in Nigeria.

alj harem:
PHC, Garrison Junction has been occupied by protester

And cars ( includiing commercial vehicles) are shown in the picture driving smoothly through Garrison

jason123:
You are in UK, yet you know all this?

You are in Lagos, yet you know all that is happening in PH-city?

Just wonderful!

1. I spent the first 30 years of my life in Port Harcourt and
2. A video was posted by the 'Occupiers' and regardless of geographical location, you can access the video, watch it and 'know' what is inside

Adanora:
No better person dey d protest, dey just passd my office, dey re nt even up to 40 pple. Shame on nigerian, dey re bin used

I agree with you. Just a few union officials trying to justify the union dues they collect while every one else is going about their normal business. The video actually showed them helping to clear the road for buses and taxis carrying the serious people( who obviously are in the majority) to pass.

I trust my PH people. Everybody going about their normal business while some union officials(whose placards and banners are more than their number) are entertaining them with music and handing them flyers.

jmaine:
Bros mi, you just hibernate like that, wetin dey pa for ya side   . . .

I dey my bros. Just took a break.
Meanwhile, I just heard that crude oil export would not be affected by the strike. so whats the point of suffering the poor masses while the FG makes more money?

jmaine:
Fine, i don't subscribe to the current NLC industrial strike[b] ritual [/b]. .  that would even heap more pain on the masses . . . and i don't see it getting sustained as people ignore them . .but i failed to see how the subsidy protest is a tribal one . . cos even the inaction of the non protesting zones can also be read along tribal lines . . .

Look at the politics here . .The Niger delta and the South East gave GEJ near 100% . . .and protesting would just energize the flames of region perceived as being hostile to GEJ just to oust him from power  . . .They are feeling the bite but they are just being tacitly calm to maintain their strong support for someone they plunged their whole faith into . .

If you call it a tribal protest . .then those not protesting are equally tribalistic in their silence . .

I did rather classify the protest as being myopic and misplaced . ,  . we have a whole lot of issues to protest, so why protest only subsidy removal . . The current subsidy removal only protest signifies that if eventually the subsidy is replaced . .everyone goes home feeling happy and fulfilled as if all problems are solved

I personally don't give a shyte about the NLC proposed strike . .

One of the most objective view I have seen so far on NL.

[This may help]

"You should check with your airline ahead of any travel to or from Nigeria, and are urged to make contingency plans in the case of disrupted travel. You are advised to check your insurance policy to determine cover in the case of a strike. We understand that Arik Air, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic KLM, Lufthansa and Ethiopian Airline plan to operate a normal international service on Monday, however, you should still check with your airline before departure. We assess that there is a higher chance of disruption on domestic routes. Reportedly the airport in Abuja will open and operate as normal on Monday, but it remains possible that there may be disruption to ground services at the airports, or on main roads between airports and cities, which in turn may cause airlines to cancel flights. All airlines have confirmed that if there are disruptions to flights, they will inform passengers about cancellations and rescheduled flights."

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/sub-saharan-africa/nigeria

Gbawe:
My brother do not believe anything the Nigerian Government says. They are liars !!! A friend of mine had to return home with his daughter , from a UK airport, yesterday. His daughter , aged 14, was sent to school in Nigeria when she became a 'handful' in the UK. She comes here to the UK on holiday (Christmas, Easter et al) and goes back to Nigeria to attend School. Yesterday the staff at the school , a private school for that matter, contacted him directly on the way to the airport to tell him to keep his daughter away as they will be affected by the strike "indefinitely". His daughter is now in the UK with him till 'further notice' . Pay attention to propaganda at your own risk. How many times has GEJ dismissively waved aside Boko Haram to tell the world Nigeria is "safe" and "open for business"?

Err on the side of safety, as my friend did with his daughter, and avoid flying to Nigeria for now.

Your advice and the story about your friend may be valid on its own but in relation to the poster's query, they are completely OP! What is the connection between schools not opening and planes not flying? In case you don't know, whenever there may be breakdown of law and order, govt advice schools not to open and even close down universities. That does not mean planes would not fly. Do you think to shut down a nation's airspace is a child's play?

mikeansy:
why not appeal the Judgement of the court?

That is typical Nigerian behaviour for you. Always expecting the govt to do the right thing while we do the worng thing. Anyway, the important thing is that the strike is now illegal and any civil servant who partakes in it would only have himvelf to blame!

Credit rating agency Standard and Poors has revised Nigeria's economic outlook from stable to positive.

In a statement, the rating agency says the Nigerian government, under President Goodluck Jonathan, has undertaken several important reform initiatives and is tightening its fiscal and monetary stance.

It says authorities have restructured and strengthened the banking sector, adding that it expects economic growth to remain strong.

While in office, Mr. Jonathan has introduced several measures to improve transparency and improve efficiency. He has also backed plans to develop Nigeria’s gas reserves and improve the national electricity grid.

Standard and Poors cautions that ratings for Nigeria are constrained by the country's internal political tensions, weak political institutions and low level of development.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Credit-Rating-Agency-Upgrades-Nigerias-Outlook-136382208.html#.TwcDkxO4CRw.facebook

gidiMonsta:
At a time when we owe so much, our economic rating by Standard's and Poors just dropped, our reserves are at an all time low and the cost of everything has gone up by almost 90%, this useless IMF goons are commending the buffoon. Who should be the best judge of our economy, the people living in it or people that can't even stand our airports? Useless people, they are only happy when u owe them money.

Is there another standard and poor in your village?

The same people that compared GEJ  to Western leaders and expect him to govern ( and build infrastructure) like them are the ones now insulting/condemning them simply because they voiced their support for GEJ. No wonder Nigeria is so backward.

don33310:
Yesterday it was Benin,Edo state and today Effurun & Warri in Delta state. President Badluck Jonadunce information officer in nairaland (BEAF)to us that south south that have the oil are not protesting may be those state are from the north or west part of the country.

din'nt you see the names of the the organizations taking part in the protests?

torkaka:
a simple typing error but i guess your arrogance wouldn't let you see that,like some one said earlier if you have proof of our consumption going above 35million liters spit it out if not shut it. you seem to know more than govt itself that has not even followed your line of thought,you are here talking average! so if 200million liter is impoted in a momth how do you gauge when there is shortage and then know the exact number to bring again? gibleo back and read about budgets mumu

What exactly have you been trying to say sef? I need to bring my son to teach you basic punctuations and their uses. Your use(or lack of use) of it makes your comments incoherent and incomprehensible.

torkaka:
@muami

men you amaze me! what do you think a budget is? so if you want to buy a cow and in ten days prior to your buying it its price jumps between 10 and 20 naira what price would you budget? well a good economics would place the price at 30naira. thats why contract figures have what you call contingencies. your post has exposed more of the dumbness in you

Thank you Mr 'good economics'.

torkaka:
@muami

what backward planet did you jump from? at the time nigeria's 2011 budget was passed a barrel of crude was 117 usd while we benchmarked 65 usd in the event of price fluctuations. meaning we were making more than we were budgeting for! now in reverse, at 117 usd our benchmark for buying the refined product which has to be budgeted for would be way higher in case of fluctuations. unfortunately because of the can of worms involved no one wants to give us this figure.

Theses are basics man,don't go about writing gibberish

The benchmark for crude oil has nothing to do with the amount paid for fuel subsidy. The benchmark is a projection used by govt to estimate its revenue while the amount paid on sudsidy reflects the actual cost of the product. In other words, yes we made more than what we budgeted for but the bulk of the excess is then used to reduce the price of fuel for Nigerians in the form of subsidy. That is the basic/elementary argument for the removal of fuel subsidy whch everyone knows and understands except you!

[quote author=alj_harem link=topic=839102.msg9901495#msg9901495 date=1325778254]Take the sugar away and the ants would disappear but the honey has been used to replace the sugar while you could have saved the honey to drink tea. You have lost both the sugar and honey.

I have you had a good think about it ?

1. NNPC still buying from this people

2. Prices are deregulated thus they can tell NNPC 500 Naira per liter and NNPC would have no choice but to buy

3. Since the deregulation of diesel has the sector improved ?

4. During the removal of subsidy in agriculture, did the FG not build a chemical plant in port harcourt. Why cannot the FG build a refinary in Nigeria before the removal.

SMDH

5. Why is the FG telling us 1.3 trilion when it is actually 900 billion according to there words but the actual price during yaradua is 400 billion

do you care to explain that ?

SMH[/quote]1 and 2. Under deregulation, even you can apply for a licence to import fuel from anywhere in the world and sell directly in Nigeria.
3. Diesel is not a sector, it is a product. subsidy was removed for diesel and there has DEFINITELY been an improvement in the availability abd pricing of diesel.
4. Where is the fertilizer company now? I would tell you. It DIED, LIQUIDATED and sold to PRIVATE investors. I'm sure you are not suggesting that we should continue to make the same mistake.
5. Whether 400, 900 or 1 trillion, money is being wasted. In any event, the fact that in Yaradua'v regime, it was 400, does not mean that it cannot increase or decrease. The amount varies according to the price of oil in the international market. Last year was exceptionally bad because of the high price caused by the Arab spring.

[quote author=Omo_Tier1 link=topic=839102.msg9900894#msg9900894 date=1325773466]Every FG agency that 'monitor' and report back what the MOMs and IPMs expend on importation of PMS are agency under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, but the final payment is done via accounts held by NNPC because NNPC is authorized in law to do oil business on behalf of the Nigerian nation. So the fuel subsidy is actually deducted at source from the sales of crude oil, hence the reason they have been able to expend over N1tn unbudgeted funds on subsidy scam!

The CBN only gets the paper work from NNPC, then authorize the payments to these "oil" importers,  the CBN does not know how NNPC has arrived at the sums, as really that is barely the job of the CBN,  but of course,  you know how Nigeria works,  those guys in NNPC would make provision for the guys in CBN so that when discripancies are spotted, blind eyes are paid to it and the 'business as usual' thingy carrys on!

The truth is: If the FG know those who have fleeced the state and refuse to bring them to justice, then the FG is telling us that we do not have a government that can protect and defend our laws! This I call modern day madness in governance![/quote]Thanks for clarifying your point. However, it goes further to support the argument I am making that the NLC ( and indeed TUC) are a major part of the problem. The staff of CBN, NNPC, DPR etc you have mentioned are all part of the labour unions and as you rightly noted the collect their share and turn a blind eye. Now they want Nigerians to join them to protest to maintain this fraud?

The other key question you ( and indeed many Nigerians) have asked is why the govt has not brought these people to book.
There is merit in this question. However, I am sure you have seen cases where doctors advice patients to amputate their arms/legs rather than continuing treatment. Why? because at at times it is better to remove the root/structural cause of a disease than continue to treat it. That is the way fuel subsidy is( if we want to ignore the economic/sustainability case for it). In other words, take the sugar away and the ants would disappear.

Do you know what happen if the govt decides to take the second option? i would tell you. From the huge profits the culprits have made, they would bribe the investigators, compromise the investigations, bribe the lawyers for the govt. bribe the judge to at least delay the trial as many EFCC case have, bribe people to stage protests for them during the trial, bribe some journalists to make propaganda on their behalf etc, at the end of the day, govt ( the new govt, that is) would be forced into a political solution,the whole matter be swept under the carpet and it would be business as usual until Nigeria collapses.

belabela:
@ Muami,

I am quite surprised to see that you are trying to twist official figures into average. The way you argue even if the truth is presented to you you will always stick to the lie you already created. Even Ngozi Iweala admitted that some of the money paid for subsidy went into corruption. She admitted that some people inflate subsidy money.

Two former petroleum ministers have admitted that there is no subsidy in the first place and now evidences abound. I am ashamed that a grown up would argue like you

Thanks and regards

DRANOEL:
you must be the biggest fool i have come across in a while!
you displayed your stack ignorance by saying 35million consumption is average. i replied you asking for your source and this is what you spew? empty head go and copy and paste some where else!

Thanks and regards.

DRANOEL:
kindly explain how we jumped from 17million consumption in 2010 to 35million in 2011

Just the way, the price of fuel has jumped from N65 to N140 per litre!
On a more serious note, I thought you wanted anwers but it appears you just wanted to argue. In that case, I advice that you make better use of your time by joining the protesters on the street.

[quote author=Omo_Tier1 link=topic=839102.msg9900292#msg9900292 date=1325767178]Near truth but not fully it!, NLC is not NUPENG, but they are affiliates of NLC. NLC at the top have been asking the DPR for their pricing template and not until late last year, DPR refused to release their template. When they eventually did, that was when the whole lid blew on the massive fraud on subsidy and fuel importation in the country!

FYI, [b]Fuel subsidy is managed by NNPC and they pay directly at source [/b]contrary to what we Nigerians are made to believe - Senate committee findings![/quote]Can you clarify/expantiate on the bolded?
On the issue of membership of NLC, nobody iv a direct member of NLC, every NLC member is first a member of an affiliate. so whats your point?

DRANOEL:
how does govt even ascertain what quantity of pms marketers bring into the country and at what point is subsidy paid? during delivery at the ports,marketers farm or delivery at filling stations? what are the checks and balances put in place?

The link to the article I mentioned:
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fuel-subsidy-and-fake-subsidy-/101109/#.TwQIibE1TQp.facebook

DRANOEL:
how does govt even ascertain what quantity of pms marketers bring into the country and at what point is subsidy paid? during delivery at the ports,marketers farm or delivery at filling stations? what are the checks and balances put in place?

This question is a very pertinent question and when you get the answer to the questions, you were understand how the subsidy fraud works. If you really need answers, look for an article by simon kolawole in Thisday sometime ago where he analysed these issues. Just to add that all the regulatory bodies saddled with the responsibility of ascertaining the quantity of oil and determining entitlement to subsidy payment are manned by the same NLC members that are calling for strike/protests. In other words, the same NLC members would help marketers to inflate the figures they are entitled in exchange for filthy lucre are the same people protesting against the removal of subsidy

DRANOEL:
according to the prime minister(okonjo iweala) we consume 35million liters of fuel daily(though pppra says 32m a day). using madams figures (35m daily) we consume 12,775,000,000 billion liters in 365 days(yearly). multiply that with the subsidy price of 75naira (according to pppra,landing cost 131naira,distributors margin 9.34 naira) you get 958,125,000,000billion naira! so where is this 1.4trillion naira subsidy amount coming from? to think there is also they2.7m liters daily unsubsidized locally refined pms!

When they say Nigeria consumes 35 million litres of fuel daily. They expect you to use your common/ and mathematical sense (since you know maths) to understand that that is an average figure. It can go up or can come down . Last year, it went up due to increase in consumption and increase in crude oil at the international level. As a result, 1.4trillion was spent.

kingoflag:
No, you did not answer because you are deceitful. Running around NL spamming everywhere calling this an "ACN Protest" and you expect to be taken seriously!!!

You may not like the post but it is the FACT! Contradict it if it is false. No protest in south south: FACT! No protest in south east: FACT! No protest in North (except for a small incident in Kano involving less than 20 persons and lasting for lesv than an hour) : FACT!

kingoflag:
True!

But then, I scrolled through you posting history and I couldn't help but agree with them. You really need to f*uxck off and go die somewhere and sell your bullshi^yt to other gullibles that'll fall for it hook line and sinker.

You still haven't answered: DO ETHIOPIAN SENATORS EARN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AS SALARIES EVERY YEAR?!

No wonder you have such Ethiopians as friends. Birds of the same feather. When you have nothiing objective or factual to say, you resort to insults.

kingoflag:
Simple question, he dodged it. DOES ETHIOPIA PAY HER SENATORS $2MILLION A YEAR?!

I deliberately did'nt answer that question. If you know the basics about philosophy and logic, check for the fallacy called 'ignoratio elenchi' (irrelevant conclusion, missing the point – an argument that may in itself be valid, but does not address the issue in question). I don't waste my time responding to arguments which come within that fallacy.
Ok. Let me make it clearer for you. The issue here is whether 'Fuel subsidy removal is a bad thing'. If you are concerned about the allowances  earned by senators, ou can start another thread or lead a protest against the senators and who knows, I may join you on that. But for now, lets keep the argument logical!

kingoflag:
LMAO. Dude, I have 2 people of  Ethiopian descent next to me right now (So it doesn't seem like I'm stretching the truth refer to my posts from the past) and their unanimous conclusion is that you have no idea what what you're talking about.

(Actually, honestly, what one of them said was "This Co*ck S**ka is Fu**ing *St**pid---- but I couldn't bring myself to repeat such words to my fellow African brother)

I quoted from an internationally recognized report. You don't need to be educated to know that I would trust that report more than the personal (and wholly sentimental and unsubstantiated) views of two faceless 'Ethiopians' sitting next to you somewhere in planet earth.

Akiika:
What happened to the money that should have been used to fix these things "the answer" is the same thing that will happen to the saved subsidy fund.
Furniture allowance, feeding allowance, sitting allowance, foreign trip allowance e.t.c will all start increasing. GEJ will then think of buying another presidential jet. Patience jonathan will take over another Govt. agency building to form a second NGO. e.t.c

Of course, no doubt, the govt needs to cut the cost of governance. However, that is another issue for which Nigerians can now insist they do.That said, if you look at last year's budget figures, you would realise that even if govt cut all non essential expenses, the savings would still be a child's play compared to the amount spend on fuel subsidy. so, any suggestion that govt cuts expenses but still leave fuel subsidy is merely scratching the surface(howbeit huge)