₦airaland Forum

President's office, State House, The Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Council Chambers, State House, The Aso Rock Villa.

State House Marina should be open to the public. I took some pics of State House Dodan Barracks, but deleted them. Will try to take more.

Below: President Olusegun Obasanjo and US first lady Laura Bush @ State House, The Aso Rock Villa.

jovi: the problem is not just watching the video..its also what do we do with it? i have gotten people to pray about it,and for the persons involved because they both need healing. and also some people were not aware that boys can be abused, and now they know better. Good will ALWAYS triumph over evil.

The person that started the petition above is trying to track the person that posted the video. If we can get that person, then maybe we can trace the kids in the video.

You can also start a petition using the format of the petition above. Like you said, many people are not aware that boys can be sexually abused. Getting to the kids in the video is one thing, but we also need to create awareness to ensure that other kids are not abused in the same way. I wish I could post the link to the article, you'd be shocked to action if you see the pics. However, I was banned the last time I posted the link.

Latest pictures of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge (pictures taken yesterday). You can see more pictures on this thread https://www.nairaland.com/829205/fashola-inspects-ikoyi-bridge-now/6

At the moment there are lights at the top and halfway up the tower. At night you can clearly see the tower from Lekki-Epe Expressway.

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[quote author=PROUD-IGBO]And another thing: i hope they place good halogen lighting at strategic points, so the bridge looks good at night when viewed from afar......kinda like the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This could then be used for postcard pics to showcase Lagos.[/quote]BRF said he wants the bridge to be a tourist attraction. His comments+the bright lights currently on the tower make me believe that they plan to adorn the bridge with halogen lights.

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jason123: That can always be removed by the next administration, can't it?

Certainly. I'm not even against tolling, but I believe the stakeholders (residents, etc) should be informed on time and they should be given a platform to voice their concerns, so that the government can address those concerns.

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These pictures show the Alexander end of the bridge. That stretch of bridge hadn't been done when I last took pictures. Although the government hasn't announced any date, but I don't think it'll be long before the governor commissions the bridge.

Sorry about the poor quality of some of the pictures.

Unfortunately, this picture isn't so good. It's supposed to show that they are putting in the guard rail.

Still more.

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Toll plaza?

naptu2: The key question is; WILL THIS BRIDGE BE TOLLED?

So it appears that the bridge will be tolled

Below is a picture of Chief Abiola casting his vote on June 12, 1993. Does anybody remember the controversy about Chief Abiola's agbada?






My two favourite moments from NTA's coverage of the elections in June 1993.

1) During the debate, Chief Tom Ikimi raised the ITT corruption allegation and claimed that, in a newspaper interview, Chief Abiola admitted that he was involved in it. Chief Abiola responded, "you are ignorant, so let me educate you..." I can't remember the rest.

2) On the election day, the spokespersons of the NRC and the SDP were on a live discussion programme. The NRC spokesman claimed that Chief Abiola broke the law that states that there should be no campaigning or display of party symbols on election day and at the election venues. He claimed that there was a white horse (the symbol of SDP) on Chief Abiola's agbada. Jonathan Zwingina, the spokesman of the SDP, replied that he didn't know what the NRC spokesman was complaining about, because if you look closely, you'll observe that that is a unicorn, not a horse.

People often get confused by the voting system. In 1991 we used the open ballot system (I.e. No ballot papers, you queue behind a picture of your candidate), while in 1993 we used the modified open ballot system (I.e. You thumb-printed the ballot paper in secret, joined the queue and dropped the paper in a transparent ballot box).

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Lagos Reabsorbs 34 Sacked Doctors

By Damilola Oyedele, Paul Obi

Lagos State Government has reabsorbed 34 medical doctors out of the 788 sacked recently by the state government, THISDAY can report.

It was gathered that the 34 doctors had re-applied to the state Ministry of Health, following which Governor Babatunde Fashola, approved their being reabsorbed into the state ministry.
The state government, it was gathered, also added that by the move, it was not foreclosing further reabsorbing of other doctors, who also have applied to be reabsorbed.

Meanwhile, a new twist emerged Monday as the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) issued the Federal Government a two-week ultimatum within which it should prevail on the state government to recall the 788 medical doctors or face an indefinite strike.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said Fashola had accepted its offer to intervene in talks between the state government and the medical doctors.

The NARD, in a communiqué jointly signed by its President, Dr. Chiedozie Achonwa and Acting Secretary General, Dr. Usman Galadima, after its ordinary general meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, and read to journalists in Abuja, said it had already directed its members nationwide to proceed on a three-day warning strike scheduled for May 31 to  June 2,

Achonwa said: “NARD therefore resolved to perfect its mandate by giving the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum commencing from May 28 (yesterday) to prevail on the Lagos State government to recall the Doctors and implement earlier agreements or face an indefinite nationwide strike in solidarity with our colleagues.”

On its part, NLC’s Head of Information/Publicity, Chris Uyot, said in a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday that contact had already been established between the NLC President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar and the state Governor.

He stated that the governor had assured the union of his willingness to accept the intervention.
NLC said the crisis could still be solved if all parties in the dispute were willing to embrace dialogue and consider the interests of the people in Lagos State as well as respect relevant national labour laws and conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

It added that the strike continued to hold dire consequences for the majority of patients who have been denied access to medical services.

In another development, the NLC has joined the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to kick against the proposed increase in electricity tariff slated for this week, saying such increase should only be contemplated when there is an improvement in electricity supply.

Omar, who disclosed this in a statement, said the move was insensitive to the plight of Nigerian workers and the masses.

According to him, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which ruled a year ago that meter maintenance fee was illegal has not taken steps to ensure that consumers receive a refund of the monies that were paid as maintenance fee, and has not lived up to its promise to provide pre-paid meters to all Nigerians.

“The position of NERC that the sector requires substantial increase in tariff for investment to be possible is not tenable; so is the assurance that the working poor and rural poor would not be adversely affected by the increase. Experience has shown that deregulation has never benefited the Nigerian poor. Rather, the corporate class rips off the people,” Omar said in the statement.
The NLC chief also disagreed with claims by NERC that it has done a thorough job to sensitize Nigerians about the new tariffs, noting that many still remain confused about the tariff regime and its impact on their lives.

Not even workers and their unions in the PHCN have been consulted, Omar added.

“We reiterate our view that given the sleaze in the sector a few years ago, and the poor services underscored by epileptic power supply as well as capacity deficit of regulators, the rational step should be to improve power supply and distribution capacity before a contemplated tariff review,” he said.

Meanwhile, ASUU’s National President, Ukachukwu Awuzie, at a press conference in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, frowned on the state government’s decision to sack the doctors, who were exercising their fundamental human right as enabled by both the constitution of the land as well as labour law.

According to him, the sack of the doctors was irrational and urged Fashola to come down from the high horse and face the reality by announcing to Lagosians and all Nigerians the commitment of government to implementing CONMESS as earlier agreed with the NMA.

“We do not see the rationality in sacking 788 doctors in any society, especially in Nigeria and Lagos State in particular which has less than 10 per cent of the doctors that it needs. The flexing of power is irrational and in this case also detrimental to the well-being of the people, government is elected to serve.

“For the sake of God and humanity, the government of Lagos State should come down from its high horse and face the reality that it’s so called ad hoc recruitment of doctors would not solve the problem nor will the government be able to replace these doctors with foreign ones as they cannot pay them,” Awuzie said.
The ASUU chief who noted that the present stance of the Lagos State government "falls short of premium concern for life”, vowed, “this shall be reversed. It does not portray the government as concerned with the health and well-being of an average Lagosian.”

Describing the press briefing as the first step in the mediation of the union in the lingering crisis, the ASUU boss explained that it would watch the government for sometime before it takes further action which he said would be based on deliberation by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union at its pre-delegate conference meeting holding in Abuja this weekend.

The ASUU president charged Lagos State government to recall all doctors sacked for participating in the current strike and undertake to refrain from victimizing any doctor for participating in the on-going strike.

He insisted that Nigerian doctors are patriots and should not be treated like villains, saying: “The government should recall the doctors while discussion on any grey area could be handled thereafter. This is the only wise and reasonable thing to do now, we must put aside our ego and do that which is for the greater good of our people and Lagosians in particular.”

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-reabsorbs-34-sacked-doctors/116834/

While writing my article on Alhassan Dantata, I used Chief MKO Abiola as an example. Alhassan advised his descendants never to get involved in partisan politics.

Chief Abiola would have been honoured by the government even if he had not contested the June 12 elections. There are many chapters in the man's life, but unfortunately, all his contributions have been forgotten because he got involved in partisan politics. Today, he is primarily known for the June 12 elections, the ITT allegations (most of the people who tell the tale can't tell you what he stole or how he stole it) and the allegations regarding Babangida's coup. His contributions to education, sports (national stadium abuja, abiola babes, use of his aircraft, he was even robbed in Zaire), pan-africanism, the economy (Berec, Concord, Abiola Farms, RCN, etc), philanthropy, religious tolerance, the accounting profession, music (Decca, his band, Sir Shina Peters, etc) and many more have been forgotten.


I'm busy at the moment, but hopefully, when I'm done, I'll be back to write on the chapters in this man's life.

(By the way, I believe the National Stadium Abuja should be named after him, since it was his idea. I'm against naming Unilag after him).


The logic behind Alhassan's advice? Partisan politicians often have opponents that are prepared to do anything to soil their name, knock them out of power, etc. Aliko Dangote is widely acclaimed, but he would quickly lose support, power, good name, money and gain enemies if were to get involved in partisan politics.

According to senator David Dafinone, the governors of the 17 southern states define resource control as, 1“the practice of true federalism and natural law in which the federating units express their rights to primarily control the natural resources within their borders and make agreed contribution towards maintenance of common services at the center”. However senator Dafinone contends that, “this dogma is not true in its entirety as the individual and not the state is the final repository of this General Will”. Victor B.E Abia defines resource control as, “2the right of a community of people to a measure of control of its natural endowments”. Explaining further he says, “Thus, it is not intended for the control of oil resource to the exclusion of tin, groundnuts, kaolin, iron ore, coal, gold, clay, bitumen, etc. It is the right of every group or state to have a measure of control of whatever resource is its natural endowments”. Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State put it succinctly. According to him, 3“resource control means that if I as a Bini man go to Kebbi State and find gold, the resource should belong to me and not the state or federal government. All I owe the federal government is to pay taxes and royalties. The same principle should apply if a Kano man comes to Edo, Delta, or Bayelsa and strikes oil. He only pays royalties and taxes to the state or the federal government”.


The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines derive as, 4“to get or obtain something from something”. It further defines derivation as, “the development or origin”. Derivation percentage is therefore the percentage of revenue, accruing from a particular resource that is remitted to the state where that resource originates.
Revenue allocation on the other hand is defined by Victor B.E. Abia as, 5“a scientific and systematic determination of fiscal arrangement within a given political system”.


6 The history of revenue allocation in Nigeria dates back to October 10, 1957 when the fiscal commission was set up on the recommendation of the London constitutional conference to specifically examine revenue allocation and the problem of taxation in Nigeria. The commission in its report recommended that, “Mining and mineral royalties and rents should be shared between the regions of their origin, the Federal government and all the regions together, the least by way of a distributable pool. The proportions in which these royalties and rents should be divided are respectively 50%, 20% and 30% and the considerations of these proportions subject to fiscal review”. This is reflected in The Constitution Of The Federation Of Nigeria 1960, section 134, which states as follows: -


7 “134. (1) There shall be paid by the Federation to each Region a sum equal to fifty percent of-


(a) The proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of any minerals extracted in that Region; and


(b) Any mining rents derived by the Federation during that year from within that Region.


(2) The Federation shall credit to the Distributable Pool Account a sum equal to thirty per cent.

A) The proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of minerals extracted in any Region; and
B) Any mining rents derived by the Federation from within any Region”.
Section 134 (6) states further: -

“(6) For the purposes of this section the continental shelf of a Region shall be deemed to be part of that Region”.


According to professor Itse Sagay, 8“Under the 1960 and 1963 constitutions, a true federal system of strong States or Regions and Central or Federal ‘state’ with limited powers, was instituted. Both the 1960 (Independence) constitution and the 1963 (Republican) constitution were the same. The only differences were the provisions for ceremonial President (1963) in place of the Queen of England (1960) and the judicial appeals system, which terminated with the Supreme Court (1963) rather than the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council (1960)”


However section 162 (2) of The Constitution Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria, 1999 states as follows: -



9 “162 (2) The president, upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles especially those of population, equality of states, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density:
Provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than thirteen per cent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural resources”.












The data provided in the table below shows graphically the change in the derivation percentage: -
10Table 1: Federal - State percentage share in petroleum proceeds
Years
Producing State (%)
Federal Government (%)
Distributable Pool (%)

1960-67
50
20
30

1967-69
50
50
-

1969-71
45
55
-

1971-75
45 minus off-shore proceeds
55 plus off-shore proceeds
-

1975-79
20 minus off-shore proceeds
80 plus off-shore proceeds
-

1979-81
-
100
-

1982-92
1 and half
98 and half
-

1992-99
3
97
-

1999-
13
87
-

Source: Sagay, 2001

The decrease in the derivation percentage from fifty percent in the 1960 constitution to “at least thirteen percent” in the 1999 constitution and the omission of the phrase, “continental shelf of a state” has caused both the derivation percentage crisis and the “on-shore, off-shore dichotomy” crisis respectively.

Some people advocate that the Federal Government should control the resources and get the larger share of the revenue accruing from the resources for the following reasons: -
1)The redistributive role of the Federal Government: - According to Victor Abia, 11“A common characteristic of the allocation of fiscal powers in nearly all federations is that the majority of revenue sources have been assigned to the Federal Government”. He states two factors responsible for this trend and according to him, “One is the concentration of resources in the Federal Government, considered necessary if it is to perform the redistributive role expected of it”. Natural resources are not equally distributed across the country. While some states and communities are seen as being richly endowed with natural resources, others lack such resources. It is feared by some that, should the resources be controlled by the states and communities from which they are derived and these states and communities are allowed to retain the larger share of the revenue from such resources, then the states which lack such resources would be left in abject poverty. Therefore, they believe that the government needs to use the money gotten from natural resources to ensure that all parts of the country are equally developed. This is viewed in similar terms with the government’s redistributive role among citizens. The government collects taxes from the rich and employed and uses the money to implement policies such as the poverty alleviation program for the poor. Therefore, the government uses the money gotten from the natural resources to build and equip schools, hospitals, police stations etc. in poor areas.


2)The huge responsibilities of the federal government: - The Federal Government has huge responsibilities to undertake and these require funds. These funds are gotten from the large share of the revenue from natural resources that the Federal Government gets. For example, the Federal Government is the only organ authorized to carry out police services, provide electricity, defend the nation-state and manage the air and seaports. In order to effectively carry out these responsibilities, the armed forces must be equipped with expensive, sophisticated and modern tanks, warships and planes; the police force must have adequate transport, modern communication equipment and superior fire power and there must be functioning transformers and power lines with which electricity is provided. All these cost money, which is sourced from the revenue derived from natural resources.


However, these arguments are countered by people who state that the Federal Government should not control
the natural resources and retain a large share of the revenue derived for the following reasons: -


1) Hinders competition and encourages a mono-product economy: - Even though the Federal Government has a
redistributive role, according to Professor Ben E. Aigbokhan, this can be achieved by allowing the states to retain the larger share of the revenue, 12“but utilize special grants or equalization grant systems to reduce any fiscal imbalance”. Furthermore, there is nowhere in the world where all states are equal. States are not equally endowed. Those that are more endowed will necessarily be more developed (e.g. California in the U.S which has the 6th largest economy in the world). However, when the 1960 constitution was in operation, the Regions retained 50% of the revenue from resources and competed with each other for the tag of the most developed region. During this period the Western Region was able to establish the first television station in Africa with the revenue it derived from cocoa, the Eastern Region was able to develop itself with the revenue it derived from palm-oil and coal and the Northern Region was able to develop itself with the revenue it derived from groundnuts and kola nuts. All these sources of revenue have declined in recent years because the state governments know that no matter the amount of effort they put into developing these resources, all they would get is a paltry thirteen percent of the revenue derived. The state governors have therefore become lazy, preferring to sit and wait for allocations from the federation account, which requires little or no effort, than to develop the resources in their areas. In this way, allocating the larger share of the revenue to the Federal Government hinders competition.


Allocating the larger share of revenue to the Federal Government also encourages a mono-product economy. Nigeria depends on crude oil for about ninety-five percent of her revenue. This is dangerous for her economic security. As I have said earlier, where the states retain the larger share of the revenue from resources, they would be eager to develop these resources thereby deepening the revenue base and pushing up GNP. For example, uranium has been discovered in the north of the country, but it is not being developed. Niger republic, which borders northern Nigeria, has made a lot of money from uranium, which is used for making nuclear bombs and generating nuclear power. They were even suspected to have sold some uranium to Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. There was also a report in the business day newspaper last week that the price of cocoa produced in Nigeria has fallen below the price of cocoa produced in Ghana, because the cocoa produced in Nigeria is believed to be inferior. This is because scientific methods have not been employed to improve Nigerian cocoa, because the state governments are sitting back waiting for oil money to come from the Federal Government. What happens when the oil dries up? Besides, where there is competition, the states do not need natural resources to develop themselves. They can follow the example of the island of Singapore, which has no natural resources, but is a developed country. This it achieved by developing its ultimate resource, the human resource, to produce computer chips. Today it is the largest chipmaker in the world.


2)The Federal Government shoulders too many responsibilities: - According to Honourable Anselm Eyo, 13“There should be a strong fiscal policy. The Exclusive Legislative list should be reduced. Residual issues should be left with the state”. I see no reason why the Federal Government should saddle itself with issues such as; electricity generation, police services and fire fighting services. These are better handled by the states and the private sector. In the United States of America for example, the local government provides fire and police services. This is because they are closer to the people and more responsive to the people’s needs. According to Professor Ben E. Aigbokhan, 14“The decentralization theorem suggests that local provision of service allows greater responsiveness to the preferences and needs of the local people. Business activities such as provision of telecommunication and electricity are more efficiently and better handled by the private sector.


3 Fiscal Federalism: - I would say that federalism is a system of government in which there are different tiers of government, each with its own jurisdiction and powers enshrined in the constitution, which enjoy a level of autonomy as no tier is seen as superior to the other. In order for the states to enjoy a level of autonomy, they would need to have financial autonomy. This is not possible in a situation where the Federal Government is the agency that distributes revenue and where the Federal Government takes the larger share of the revenue.


My suggestions


Senator David Dafinone poses these interesting questions, 15“Who owns the land? In many of the oil communities in the Niger-Delta, the activities of exploration and exploitation have killed fishes and destroyed the ecosystem. Who bears the pain of exploitation? Is it only the Federal, the State government, the multinationals, or the communities that are directly affected?”
I suggest that the resource should be controlled by the individual on whose land it is found. The government should only collect taxes from him/her. The revenue from that tax should be shared in accordance with the 1960 constitution; with the state getting 50%, the Federal Government getting 20% and 30% going into a distributable pool account to be shared by all the states. The revenue derived from export tax should be shared between the Federal Government and the states from which the goods originated in a ratio of 50:50%.
The state governments should not control the resources and neither should the community, because they would just replicate the mistakes of the Federal Government, by allowing the oil companies to pollute the land, just for the sake of the revenue they would derive.

To those who argue that the indigenes are illiterate, drunk and naïve people, who can be easily tricked and who won’t know what to do with the money, I say educate the people, provide a good system in which ownership of land is recorded and verified and regulate the relationship between the oil companies and the land owners. . The role of the government should be to regulate environmental practices and not to act as an oil company.

Ha!


I remember that she used to bring us weird and whacky stories from Port-Harcourt in the eighties. I used to compare her to Frank Olize. Her eventual combination with Oga Frank was just wonderful.

May her soul rest in peace

Note that in the 1960 constitution, the continental shelf of a region is deemed as part of the region. That phrase was deleted in the 1999 constitution. This is the cause of the onshore-offshore problem.

In 2004/2005 I wrote a paper on derivation, resource control, etc. I planned to adapt it and post it here, but it's taking too much time. I will cannibalise it and post excerpts here.

I also plan to post comparisons between the Constitution of The Federation of Nigeria (I.e 1960) and The Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. That will also take time, but I'll post a significant difference right now.

Read both excerpts and note the difference in the revenue sharing formula.

Constitution of The Federation of Nigeria

Mining royalties and rents
 
134. (1) There shall be paid by the Federation to each Region
 
a sum equal to fifty per cent. of-
 
(a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in
 
respect of any minerals extracted in that Region; and
 
(b) any mining rents derived by the Federation during that year
 
from within that Region.
 
(2) The Federation shall credit to the Distributable Pool Account
 
a sum equal to thirty per cent.
 
(a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in
 
respect of minerals extracted in any Region; and
 
(b) any mining rents derived by the Federation from within any
 
Region.
 
(3) For the purposes of this section the proceeds of a royalty
 
shall be the amount remaining from the receipts of that royalty after
 
any refunds or other repayments relating to those receipts have been
 
deducted therefrom or allowed for.
 
(4) Parliament may prescribe the periods in relation to which the
 
proceeds of any royalty or mining rents shall be calculated for
 
purposes of this section.
 
(5) In this section "minerals" includes mineral oil.
 
(6) For the purposes of this section the continental shelf of a
 
Region shall be deemed to be part of that Region.
 
Distribution of funds in Distributable Pool Account
 
135. There shall be paid by the Federation to the Regions at the.
 

Page 82

end of each quarter sums equal to the following fractions of the
 
amount standing to the credit of the Distributable Pool Account at
 
that date, that is to say--
 
(a) to Northern Nigeria, forty ninety-fifths;
 
(b) to Western Nigeria, twenty-four ninety-fifths;
 
(c) to Eastern Nigeria, thirty-one ninety-fifths.

Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999


(2) The President, upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take
into account, the allocation principles especially those of population,
equality of States, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as
well as population density;
Provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in
any approved formula as being not less than thirteen per cent of the
revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural
resources.
(3) Any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be
distributed among the Federal and State Governments and the local
government councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may
be prescribed by the National Assembly.
(4) Any amount standing to the credit of the States in the Federation
Account shall be distributed among the States on such terms and in such
manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.
(5) The amount standing to the credit of local government councils in the
Federation Account shall also be allocated to the State for the benefit of
their local government councils on such terms and in such manner as may be
prescribed by the National Assembly.
(6) Each State shall maintain a special account to be called "State Joint
Local Government Account" into which shall be paid all allocations to the
local government councils of the State from the Federation Account and
from the Government of the State.
(7) Each State shall pay to local government councils in its area of
jurisdiction such proportion of its total revenue on such terms and in
such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.
( The amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a
State shall be distributed among the local government councils of that
State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House
of Assembly of the State.
(9) Any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Federation
Account shall be paid directly to the National Judicial Councils for
disbursement to the heads of courts established for the Federation and the
States under section 6 of this Constitution.
(10) For the purpose of subsection (1) of this section, "revenue" means
any income or return accruing to or derived by the Government of the
Federation from any source and includes -
(a) any receipt, however described, arising from the operation of any
law;
(b) any return, however described, arising from or in respect of any
property held by the Government of the Federation;
(c) any return by way of interest on loans and dividends in respect of
shares or interest held by the Government of the Federation in any
company or statutory body.

Decree 4, Muhammadu Buhari, Tunde Idiagbon, Tunde Thompson, Nduka Irabor, etc http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/carticles/confessions_of_a_prosecutor.htm

I've always been an advocate of true federalism. Every part of this country has enough natural resources to be successful and of course, they can invest in their human resource.

All problems are local and therefore, it's better if solutions originate from the locality, rather than waiting for some mandarin in Lagos or Abuja.

Because of this forced unitary system, our blessings have become curses. Cattle rearing, which should have been a great source of income for the north (if governments of the region had put in place grazing areas, ranches, agricultural extension and research systems, etc) has become a curse. Oil is another blessing that has become a curse.

You'll be shocked when I post excerpts from the 1960 and '63 constitutions.

Below is the point at which state governors stoppped being members of the SMC (the July 29th 1975 coup against Gowon)

The three officers who jointly announced the identities and jobs of the proposed triumvirate in the coffee room at Dodan Barracks were Colonel JN Garba (the main spokesperson), Colonel Abdullahi Mohammed, and Lt. Col. SM Yar’Adua.  These officers explained that although Brigadier Murtala Mohammed (from Kano in the core north) was militarily junior to Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo (from Abeokuta in the southwest), “real politik” made it necessary to offer the position of Head of State to Mohammed.  Obasanjo quickly accepted to serve under his junior, Murtala Mohammed, as long as his new job – as Chief of Staff, SHQ - carried real power and responsibilities.  Danjuma was offered the position of Chief of Staff (Army), which he later clarified was now to be called Chief of Army Staff – an important distinction. 

 

The putschists nominated Air Force Colonel John Yisa Doko of the Military Airlift Command as the new Air Chief and Navy Commodore Michael Ayinde Adelanwa of the Western Naval Command as the new Chief of Naval Staff.  Both men were civil war front-line combat veterans.  They nominated MD Yusuf, (Gowon’s Chief Security Officer) as the new Inspector General of Police.  This nomination met with resistance from Brigadier Mohammed but he eventually agreed to it in deference to the weight of opinion in the room.  As far as most were concerned, MD Yusuf had “handled himself well” during the preceding 48 hours. 

 

The putschists then demanded that Military Governors no longer be members of the Supreme Military Council.   In response, Obasanjo suggested the creation of a new body to be known as the “National Council of States” to which the Governors should belong.  Lastly, the putschists made it clear that what they wanted was power sharing, not one-man rule.    They proposed that two-thirds majority of the SMC could overrule the Head of State.   According to Garba and Obasanjo, Mohammed’s opposition to this demand was fiery. 

 

Garba wrote:

 

‘When I finished my talk, Murtala burst out, “To hell with all of you!  I have said I don’t want to be anybody’s Head of State. But if you’re inviting me to be one, I’m not going to allow you to tie my hands behind my back. I must have executive authority and run the country as I see best.”  I tried to reason with him, but twenty minutes later he was still arguing.’

 

With other senior officers – including Yar’Adua’s Boss, Brigadier Godwin Ally of the Lagos Garrison Organization - getting uncomfortable about the delay and wondering what was going on behind the closed doors, Garba asked Murtala Mohammed to step out of the coffee room.  The leadership position was then offered, first to Obasanjo, and then to Danjuma but both declined, pleading with the younger officers to keep up the persuasion pressure on Mohammed.   Garba invited Mohammed back into the room and asked him if he had reconsidered, to which Mohammed again said no. He wanted absolute power. 

 

At this point Garba explains that he was very tired and getting angry.  He had been awake for two straight days and nights under “inconsiderable pressure.”  It is very plausible that he suffered many anxieties, misleading Gowon with a straight face, handling the airport departure of the General with external calm but internal eruption, and co-opting fellow Guards Brigade officers – who were sworn to defend the General - into the plot, for example. He also helped deal with emergencies such as when arrangements had to be made – through Taiwo and Ochefu - to recruit an Army accomplice in Kano to address the Hassan Katsina problem, and secure Danjuma’s cooperation – through Taiwo - rather than risk arresting or shooting him.   But by far his greatest scare was the rumored return of General Gowon on July 28.  When the executive jet was approaching the airport in Lagos it was not immediately apparent that Lt. Col. Walbe was the only passenger.  Air Force officers alerted Garba that the plane was inbound.  Alarmed, he desperately sought Yar’Adua to update him on the development and come up with a plan of action.  Yar’Adua was playing a game of billiards (and chain smoking) when Garba charged into the mess, wired up.  When Muktar Mohammed detained the aircraft it became apparent that Walbe was alone, considerably reducing tension.  But then Garba later had to confront Walbe – an officer and former classmate at the NMS – who had been sent to assist him to put down a coup, which he was actually in the process of organizing.  That done he had to be on the lookout for any last minute reactions from the Guards Brigade.  Any one of the soldiers who was upset enough could have walked up to him and shot him.  With all of this at the back of his mind, tearing at the foundations of his sense of integrity, he was in no mood for Mohammed’s theatrics. 

 

At this point, Colonel Abdullahi Mohammed, Director of Military Intelligence, took over.  Based on Garba’s recollection he made the following appeal to Mohammed:

 

“Brigadier Muhammed, when we were planning this coup, we assessed all the senior officers in the Army, and we decided that you were the best man to lead the country. We also agreed on some fundamental changes in how our new government should work.  Garba has explained this to you. If you do not accept it, we cannot force you.  But we happen to know that you have a large following in the Army and in the country at large. If we appoint someone else as Head of State instead of you, there are those who will wonder why, and they may create problems for us.  We can appoint another man if we have to, but to pre-empt these your admirers, before doing so, we will first tell the whole nation about this meeting, and pour conditions and the fact that you refused them. Once more, I am going to explain to you what it is we are asking of you.“

 

Following Abdullahi Mohammed’s repeated explanation, Garba explains that Murtala Mohammed 

 

“…..exploded, shouting, ‘This is blackmail!  I am not going to have you blackmailing me…’”

 

But Garba astutely observed that,

 

“We could see behind this somewhat theatrical outburst that he would give in, but not gracefully. Then, he said, but protesting all the while, that all this should have been explained to him before. He then accepted our terms. Thus we had a new Head of State.”

http://www.dawodu.com/omoigui46.htm

At the Silverbird Man of The Year awards a few weeks ago, General Gowon stated that he went to Aburi with the intention of giving Ojukwu whatever he wanted, so long as it would bring peace (I wish I had a tape of that awards ceremony).

I copied this from a file on my computer. I'm still looking for the online link. I'll post it as soon as I find it.