₦airaland Forum

@ itorete,Aba u made mention of ,is it the only place u know in Abia state?....the problem with abai is that many people,especially traders have ignored Aba ,they are responsible for anything problem Aba may be facing...people in Aba are only after their bizness,they turn every little space to a business spot,dump their refuse every place without even making use of the dung containers provided by the government.....this same Aba people discharge their garbage and dungs into water run way ,this has caused a lot of erosion and damages to drainage systems...so if Aba people will learn to keep their environment clean,they will see the face Aba will wear in the mean time..

I SUPPORT WHAT PATRIKOBI HAVE TO SAY CONCERNING SOME PEOPLE WHO TAKE TURN TO DISCREDIT AND MALIGN THE STATE GOVERNMENT ,THIS SET OF PEOPLE ARE WEB TUG PAID TO PERFORM THOSE DIRTY ACT,.....abia state is better then what they make it,i have seen lots of projects being executed in abia state ...so i think whoever said abia is not coming to good shape is a liar..........

please let me ask a question,what does it profit some people to make Abia look laughable when the governor is busy working,trying to put an edifying and opulent legacy that will stand the test of time? you guys should be careful for all this rubbish am seeing here...i will begin to insult some stupid people who are derive joy is making "jest and mock'' of Abia state..Abia state should be respected,the governor should be respected,and for all these pictures am seeing which are a work of art,photo shop and photo effect,i urge us to put stop to all this because it will not help us...instead lets create means of providing sustainable development on a personal level ,something which our citizen will benefit from....its high time many self-acclaimed activist start going round to see the level of progress the governor has made then with good assessment,we can now capitalize on that to make our argument,i hate the idea of some people who just sit in th
eir house and argue without moving around to see the level of input by the state government....i have seen many things the governor have achieved so far,i will not say he has been backhanded,i will not say he has made less than normal progress ,but all i hear is he has been bamboozling through out his administration,but the honest truth remains that T.A ORJI has done quite outstanding thing that could not be related to any of his ancestral colleagues who left little or no legacy that he should try to outshine,but in all he has carved a niche for himself and i think he is setting record that former governor never made......but am bidding him to engineer a backlog of activities that will set a skyrocketing of beehive of more developmental process that will benefit us the more.......GOD BLESS ABIA STATE ,GOD BLESS T.A ORJI,GOD BLESS THE CITIZENS OF ABIA STATE,GOD BLESS NIGERIA.... thank you

T.A has been outstanding,whether the haters like it or not..he is better than most past governor of abia state.

The problem with Abia people is unsatisfactory syndrome ,which i think many have contacted out of greed,hatred and jealousy...u just can't expect ABIA to get better by a flip of a leaf or by a flash in a pan......there is more to development than over anticipating for a drastic and swift change in just a regime or two;the neighboring states most people make references of ,have in many years input consistency in developing their states which took them over a decade to actualize but ours is different ,we just want the change to come like a flash of lightening.......we all know,like the adage of old that says "Rome was not build in a day"......so lets be cautious with what we say because to actualize a great change ,ABIA state government needs some time to institute that great change we all need......though the governor is working but the problem is that we have been over-expectant and this i think does not encourage growth in any system of government.....i will urge us to be productive in the mind in such a way that will help contribute ideas that will encourage the governor and not institute diversity in the system....more so,i think there are lots more way to analyze the level of development the government have attained...i have taken some time to move around some places in ABIA where i read and heard of projects and on-ongoing projects are being put in place,so i saw things for myself and was able to adjudicate the progress that has been made by the governor,so in that regard i have little or no lash against the governor ,which is to say he should build upon the progress and achievement he has made so far and establish more enviable developmental project that will challenge people's perception....people of ABIA state,let us join hands and lift ABIA state to an enviable height......let us denounce hatred,jealousy,greed,discredit,disgruntlement.....we can do all things ,only if we believe in our dear our own ABIA state and her leaders,governor and his aides.......lets be positive minded ,not being bias,because ABIA is like one house ,so any divided house can not stand...thank you,UMUABIA.

No going back on probe of Orji Kalu – Abia govt

UMUAHIA—ABIA State Government has said there was no going back on plans to probe former governor of the state, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, saying funds were mismanaged by his administration.

Chief Press Secretary to Governor Theodore Orji, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue, who disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday in Umuahia, highlighted the state’s Infrastructure Fund as one the former governor mismanaged.

Emezue, who said the planned probe had been welcomed by Abians, said it would help in ascertaining the level of alleged corruption during the eight years of the former governor.
According to Emezue, allegation by the former governor that Theodore Orji has properties in Abuja and other cities is false.

He challenged the former governor to substantiate the claims by publishing documents relating to such property.

Emezue said rather than explain to Nigerians how he allegedly acquired his multi-billion naira mansions in Potomac which is on sale, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, and the acquisition of Slok airlines, banks and other businesses that are barely paying staff salaries, while in office, Kalu was busy playing to the gallery with his deceitful Igbo Presidency agenda in 2015.source : http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/no-going-back-on-probe-of-orji-kalu-abia-govt/

ABSU Final Year Students to Return to School For 2ND Semester Exams
The Senate of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) on the 17th of October 2012 held a meeting and below is their decision:

The Abia State university authorities has decided to allow final year students of the institution to write their exams.

They Final Year students of the Institution are expected to come back to school starting from next week 22nd October to start preparing for their examination which is expected to begin in the next two weeks.

The ABSU Senates arrived at this decision to ensure that the final year students meet up with their counterparts in other universities across the country especially in posting for NYSC.

However, all the finalist of Abia State University are expected to complete their school fees payment before they will be allowed to sit for their examination.

The Senate of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) on the 17th of October 2012 held a meeting and below is their decision:

The Abia State university authorities has decided to allow final year students of the institution to write their exams.

They Final Year students of the Institution are expected to come back to school starting from next week 22nd October to start preparing for their examination which is expected to begin in the next two weeks.

The ABSU Senates arrived at this decision to ensure that the final year students meet up with their counterparts in other universities across the country especially in posting for NYSC.

However, all the finalist of Abia State University are expected to complete their school fees payment before they will be allowed to sit for their examination.

ABSU Final Year Students to Return to School For 2ND Semester Exams
The Senate of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) on the 17th of October 2012 held a meeting and below is their decision:

The Abia State university authorities has decided to allow final year students of the institution to write their exams.

They Final Year students of the Institution are expected to come back to school starting from next week 22nd October to start preparing for their examination which is expected to begin in the next two weeks.

The ABSU Senates arrived at this decision to ensure that the final year students meet up with their counterparts in other universities across the country especially in posting for NYSC.

However, all the finalist of Abia State University are expected to complete their school fees payment before they will be allowed to sit for their examination.

The Senate of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) on the 17th of October 2012 held a meeting and below is their decision:

The Abia State university authorities has decided to allow final year students of the institution to write their exams.

They Final Year students of the Institution are expected to come back to school starting from next week 22nd October to start preparing for their examination which is expected to begin in the next two weeks.

The ABSU Senates arrived at this decision to ensure that the final year students meet up with their counterparts in other universities across the country especially in posting for NYSC.

However, all the finalist of Abia State University are expected to complete their school fees payment before they will be allowed to sit for their examination.

gov Orji At War With Revenue Collectors

Although Abia State is one of the oil producing states in the country, its share from the monthly federation accounts allocation is relatively low. In a good month, the state receives between N3 billion and N3.5 billion. And after paying a monthly wage bill of N2.2 billion to its workforce, the state is left with about N1.3 billion to provide the proverbial democracy dividends to the people of the state who voted for Governor Theodore Orji during the last gubernatorial election in the state.

When he presented the state’s 2012 proposal of N122.39 billion budget of transformation to the State House of Assembly, governor Orji promised to fast-track the development of all key sectors of the economy. The lawmakers gave the governor a standing ovation, and apparently to demonstrate their commitment to the rapid development of the state’s economy, the House increased the budget size by N7 billion before passing it into law. It was the hope and expectations of the administration that the full implementation of the budget would lead to the rehabilitation and improvement of the failed infrastructural facilities in the state. Indeed, Governor Orji promised the people that the commercial city of Aba would be renamed the ‘Japan of Africa”, a reference to his plans to increase the tempo of trade and commerce as well as revive the ailing industries in the city.

Beyond uplifting the economic status of Aba, the budget provided for the construction of a new government house in Umuahia, the state capital, an international conference centre, a new secretariat for civil servants, court halls, and industrial markets among other facilities. The administration is known to be prosecuting these projects with vigour.

Besides the state’s share of the federation account, the state had hoped to raise enough revenue internally to meet some of its obligations to the people. But governor Orji has discovered to his consternation that much of the internally generated revenue, IGR; end up in the pockets of some top ministry officials as well as some revenue consultants.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the state makes a paltry N300 million from internally generated revenue monthly, that is about N3.6 billion annually. The neighbouring Enugu state, considered to be a civil service state, with less industrial and commercial outfits, makes about N8billion annually from internally generated revenue. Governor Orji thinks the state can make as much as N2 billion monthly barring laxity and fraudulent activities on the part of revenue collectors.

At a meeting with some of his commissioners, permanent secretaries and heads of ministerial departments, a distraught governor Orji accused some civil servants in the state of having investments far above their legitimate incomes. He warned that his administration would no longer tolerate a situation where public officials ‘steal’ government funds.

He specifically ordered all ministries involved in revenue collection to pay such funds into designated government bank accounts rather than pay to the bank accounts of their respective ministries. He chided the commissioners for lack of creativity in revenue generation, saying that they should look for revenues elsewhere instead of concentrating on Ariaria International market.

He observed with dismay that some ministries were still using revenue agents other than revenue consultants approved by the government, and warned that any commissioner or head of a non-ministerial department found to be engaged in such act will be arrested and sacked.

Chief Orji further warned that his government will deal with any person who parades himself as revenue consultant or agents, adding that only revenue consultants approved by the government will be allowed to operate in the state.

The heads of service in the state’s 17 local government councils , the chairman local government service commission, treasurers and town planning officers, have meanwhile been directed by the governor to go and look for revenue, and pay same to government designated bank accounts. He expressed worry that most local government councils pay lip service to internally generated revenue.

The governor is convinced that the government would have enough funds to execute its projects if all the revenues due it are paid to government’s coffers. He recalled that the internally generated revenue in Aba alone, sustained the government of old Imo state led by late Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe.

“The government of Chief Sam Mbakwe depended on the revenue from Aba to sustain the then Imo state in the 80’s, and I do not know why we cannot generate more revenue from the same city that has grown in population since then… Something must be wrong,” the governor lamented.

And to block the leakages, the governor has decided to sack all revenue consultants allegedly defrauding the state; they will be replaced by a central revenue consulting firm. The same arrangement will be extended to the local government council level.

In his 52nd independence day anniversary broadcast, the governor reiterated his resolve to improve the state’s internally generated revenue, and expressed his desire to make the collection of taxes less burdensome. He directed all unauthorized revenue collectors to hand over to the newly accredited government revenue consultant. He said besides ensuring transparency in revenue collection, the new arrangement will herald an end to double taxation and all other unsavory burdens that had weighed down “on our tax-paying citizens that make the tax system unhealthy and unfair”.

“From that period, composite tax demand notices will be issued to all land lords, factory owners and other taxable property holders with clear details of all payable taxes”, he said.

As a departure from the past where tax payers were molested by touts hired by the shylock revenue consultants, the governor said “such taxes will be payable only on a yearly basis, and through the accredited government bank accounts ...This approach is to ensure that our citizens are secured from multiple taxations and other unwholesome practices.

The governor had earlier taken steps to block revenue leakages in the local government councils by introducing the biometric capturing machine to check the activities of ghost workers through which the local government system has been defrauded of millions of naira monthly.

Not a few Abia people say that the level of protests mounted by the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE over the introduction of biometric capturing machine is enough evidence to prove that some top union members had for long, defrauded the government through payment of salaries of non-existent workers. It was gathered that the government recovered N88 million when the biometric capturing machine was used to verify names of pensioners.

And realising the importance of logistics in the effective execution of its duties, the governor recently donated 14 Hilux vehicles to the board to shore up the state’s internally generated revenue.

The Chairman of the State Board of Internal Revenue, Mr. Chidozie Umeh, who received the keys to the vehicles, assured that the board will put them to maximum use.

LEADERSHIP checks in Aba, revealed that over16, 000 registered Keke NAPEP commercial Tri-cycle operators pay N180 from Monday through Friday, and N50 on Saturday, which is about N 500milliom annually. But no one knows how much of this money is paid to government coffers, and how much is going to sundry unions and consultants.

Nevertheless, it is hoped that government’s determination to tackle fraud in the collection of internally generated revenue will resolve this riddle.

Gov Rochas Okorocha was booed today at the Secretariat in Imo State

Hmm. I was minding my business today when an Imolite reached out to me via messenger. Her first line was … “Your Uncle was booed today at the Secretariat“. “Uncle” ofcourse being Governor Rochas Okorocha. LWKMD. You people should free me abeg!
Anyway, so back to the gist. She goes to spill details of the Governor’s ordeal in the hands of unhappy civil servants at the Secretariat today. Not sure how many of you read the last Press Release from the Government House where Gov.Okorocha explained the need to redeploy workers to the rural areas. It was at that meeting that all hell broke loose. The whole place erupted in loud booing. Infact, it was similar to the booing Abia State Governor T.A Orji received in Aba not too long ago.
In her own words :

“The (edited) man said he wants to downsize ministries. That each ministry should have just 100 staff. Government House 100 and very big ministries maybe 200….. so he went there to address them and he was booed close to tears. My husband was there live. He said shame leave Rochas catch am.


She continued….

That news made my day ! Atleast, his mesmerizing jazz don dey wear off. Nne m, I no fit happy. No sympathy for him. They said he couldn’t even address them again because the booing was “one in town“. He left there and went and cancelled all other appointments. Went straight to the airport and off to Abuja.

Then she ends the transmission with….

“Onwebeghi ihe ohuru! Ubua ka wu ututu ya!

umu nne m, but why?
What did nna anyi ukwu do to deserve this sort of embarrassment? Is that how we are going to treat a Governor who for starters, has promised to give our children FREE EDUCATION to University level? Look around you and see how the whole place has changed under his Administration. Is it not convincing enough that he means well?

good one from T.A kudos

@ITbomb,you are a fool,what is wrong in that write up.is like you lack sense of understanding simple grammar....as for the work he commended T.A,he did well,the gov.has been working

..i join you to say he is doing great

APGA CANDIDATE REGAN UFOMBA ON THE RUN
Nemesis seems to be catching up with Regan Ufomba APGA candidate in Abia State in the 2011 governorship polls.

The Jurist law learnt that Ufomba who lost at the last election is on the run as those he borrowed money to prosecute his ambition is now on his neck. Ufomba who abandoned his priesthood at a catholic seminary in the early stages of his life having impregnated the daughter of a well-known socialite in Ngwa, has left his house in Aba to an undisclosed location.

Our sources said that those who gave him the money running into millions did that believing that he will win the election.

Having failed, he assured them that he will get victory in the court, that has failed too as the supreme court recently ruled that he never won the Abia guber polls 2011.

It was learnt that Ufomba who relied on former governor of Abia state Orji Uzor Kalu, is highly disappointed as the former governor who made his paper available for campaigns for him, has shut him out. In fact the last time he went on his knees to beg Kalu to save him, the Igbere born publisher was said to have told his guards to send him away. Kalu, our source hinted said that he can help Regan by giving him space in the sun to attack T. A. Orji.

As it is right now, Ufomba has gone into hiding as he cannot pay the N10 billion he borrowed.

Regan it was gathered is not happy with Kalu whom he worked for as a Special Assistance, as he has threatened to open a can of worms on the former governor soon to pay him back.

The police and SSS it was learnt are trailing Ufomba where security sources said he may have relocated to.

This news site will update you on the Ufomba show of shame.curled from the juristlwas..com

As the strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress( NLC), Trade Union Congress( TUC), and civil society groups to protest the removal of fuel subsidy entered the second day, domestic and foreign airilines have continued to record losses due to the disruption of their operations. No domestic carrier operated flight either into or out of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

The absence of domestic flights into the Lagos airport is due to intensified mobilization by Labour unions in the aviation sector for compliance with the strike.They disrupted the operations of some foreign airlines at the international wing of the Lagos Airport, which only recorded in bound flights, but were not allowed to carry out out bound flights.
Amid tight security around the Airport Road , which resulted in the locking of the entrance into the new and old terminals of the Airport, scores of heavily armed policemen and officers of the Nigeria Army and Nigeria Air Force drove in patrol vehicles around the airport.
Union members of the NLC, TUC, and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ( ATSSSAN) ,National Union of Air Transport Employees( NUATE), and the Ntional Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers( NAAPE), mounted surveillance blocks around major roads leading to the airport to ensure that airline officials do not sneak into the airport to work.

Among the foreign carriers, which operations were distrupted by the action of aviation unions include : Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Kenya Airways, Arik Air, and others, which were ready to operate out bound flights. Some passengers who were contacted by some foreign carriers to turn up at the international wing , however remained stranded at the terminal complex, as they had to wait for hours without any notice on when the out bound flights will be operated.

Apart from the airlines that recorded losses, offices of aviation agencies including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority( NCAA), remained under lock and key, as security personnel mounted surveillance over their buildings.CULLED FROM thejuristlaws..com

Mr Okechukwu Adieze is a Solicitor Advocate of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He is currently a Legal Adviser with the United Kingdom Police Force. In this interview, he bared his mind on the Boko Haram menace that is ravaging Nigeria. He also discussed ways by which Nigeria can come out of the present insecurity situation. Excerpts :

What is your assessment of the security situation in the country?

Terrorism is a complex and protracted phenomenon. The Christmas day bombing puts Boko Haram within the bracket of religiously motivated terrorist groups. However, religion is not a single and simple causal factor in this kind of violence. It is important to understand the typology, goal structures and objectives of the group which will shed light in determining their tactical behaviour, propensity to attack soft targets, disposition to sustain a campaign and to recruit.

The understanding of these considerations would play a major role in determining the lethality of attacks and behaviour of the group. It is common knowledge that terrorists generally consider themselves as idealist; unsurprisingly, it is empirically substantiated that religiously motivated attacks are more prone to be lethal. The stakes are usually high with the potential that future generations may inherit an inordinately expensive conflict if the appropriate conflict resolution management model is not timely and effectively deployed.

If you to proffer solution to the present insecurity issues, what would be your solution?

As already indicated terrorism is a complex and challenging task. An effective counter terrorism strategy requires a significant investment and commitment in all fronts, from short to long term strategies which must be operationally coherent and relevant in the circumstance. An adept analysis and understanding of the threat, resilience, intelligence together with an effective partnership and collaborative working arrangements is necessary.

Counter terrorism measures rely on a number of complimentary partnerships and contemporary initiatives which must embrace, amongst others, the need to promote diversity, religious tolerance, an understanding of radicalisation, etc. Counter terrorism strategy principally includes a war of ideas, to counter continued resonance of religious radicalisation and to break the cycle of terrorist recruitment. The war against terrorism must be tackled simultaneously at both ends of the bridge in a robust manner.

How did some foreign countries that encountered such insecurity issues curtail the menace?

Pakistan is a deeply troubling example of religiously motivated terrorism. Over the past decade, Pakistan suffered from sectarian and religiously-motivated violence, much of it was committed against Shi’a Muslims by Sunni extremists, but also against Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus. Beginning in early 2008, armed extremists, some of whom have ties to Al-Qaeda or to the Afghan Taliban, intensified attacks including bombings.

The militant groups couched their activities in the form of jihad and claimed that violent jihad is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims. As is well known, the term “jihad” evokes different and orthogonal concepts. Pakistan successfully sustained a steady supply of recruits for the militant missions, jihad”

The Pakistani authorities approach was multi pronged which included counter terrorism enforcement, negotiation, new education policy to enhance understanding of inclusivity and diversity, etc. It is of note that the Malakand peace agreement which came out of the negotiation was based on political expediency and appeasement and it attracted a number of international condemnations urging Pakistan to ratchet up its urgency in the fight against terrorism.

In Northern Ireland, Spain and Israel a number of varied options were applied including no negotiations policy, strict counter terrorism enforcement and measured negotiation strategies, etc.

Some Nigerian leaders are already calling government to dialogue with Boko Haram which is behind the insecurity menace in Nigeria. Do you subscribe to this?

Terrorists groups, in particular, those relating to religiously motivated groups have nothing to lose by negotiating. The threat of renewed violence gives them undue power at the negotiating table to insist on total concession to all their demands. CULLED FROM http://thejuristlaws..com/

LAGOS — Amnesty International, yesterday, called on the Nigeria Police Force to stop shooting at protesters after at least three were killed and 25 injured in the past two days.
The organisation urged the authorities to reform police regulations in line with international standards, to prevent additional loss of life and ensure that the police only use firearms, when it is strictly necessary to protect life.
It called on the government to “repeal Police Force Order 237, which provides guidance in use of firearms by the police in Nigeria. It is so broad that it permits police officers to shoot protesters, whether or not they pose a threat to life.”
Amnesty said it was “unacceptable that Force Order 237 instructs police officers in ‘riot’ situations to ‘single out’ and fire at ‘ring-leaders’ in the forefront of the mob. The definition of riot is so vague, that all protesters, however, peaceful, are at risk. The force order also directs officers to fire ‘at the knees of the rioters’ and explicitly prohibits firing in the air. Shooting at people, regardless of where an officer aims, is likely to result in death.
“With more protests announced, President Goodluck Jonathan must demonstrate a commitment to protect the people. The President must repeal Force Order 237 and immediately announce that the use of lethal force is only allowed when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
“The President must also set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate all reports of use of force by the police against protesters. International standards require that any use of force or firearms resulting in death or injury is investigated to ensure that the use of force was not arbitrary or abusive.
“The police must be provided with non lethal equipment to properly manage public order situations, including protests even if they turn violent.” CULLED FROM http://thejuristlaws..com/

FIVE years ago, the CIA predicted that in about 10 years ,Nigeria would cease to be a united country, or that it might simply become a “failed state.” Back then, many of us dismissed the prediction as conjecture, mere Western opinion. We even went as far as calling it a form of prejudice against Nigeria.
In 2010, I wrote an article in which I shared a story about how predictions shape the psyche of people and become self-fulfilling.Let me share one more famous example from Greek mythology. It is the example of self-fulfilling prophecy. Oedipus fulfills the oracle’s prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
This is self-fulfilling because it is Oedipus’ actions that made the prophecy come to pass. In the book Social Theory and Social Structure published in 1949, Robert Merton, a 20th century sociologist,argues that self-fulfilling prophecies are false, but are made possible by a person’s or people’s conscious or unconscious actions.
The actions of Nigerian leaders are quickly unfastening the ties that bind Nigeria to life. Through their actions, they have nurtured a death wish, irrigated it like a garden, and let it grow unhindered. The time for the CIA’s prediction to come true is half over, and it is almost becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Please pardon my pessimism. Anybody who has followed my articles in Vanguard or African Analyst can agree that I am an incurable optimist when it comes to the survival of Nigeria as a nation. But the realities of Nigeria’s future are depressing and grim.

The truth is that Nigeria is on the verge of becoming a failed state. The common characteristics of a failed state include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has lost the ability to protect its citizens. It is also characterised by wide spread corruption and criminality.
In the history of failed states and nations, it is usually the interplay of tumultuous and unfortunate events that come together to spell doom. For instance, it was interplay of tumultuous events that brought the Soviet Union down. First, Gorbachev’s military spending was 35 percent of the Soviet Union’s gross domestic product in a time of economic stagnation. He also introduced the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, hoping that people would accept the new strategy for rebuilding the Soviet economy. Lastly, was the complete failure of communism to deliver the promised “worker’s paradise”; wages were stagnant, cars and personal transportation became a rarity, and Soviet youth became frustrated with the system. The rest, as they say, is history.
While it would be a logical fallacy to make a direct comparison between Nigeria and the Soviet Union, the point remains that dark clouds are threatening Nigeria’s viability as a functioning democratic nation. Nigerian leaders have ignored or stimulated theinterplay of events that threaten to collapse the nation.
Boko Haram, the oil subsidy tumult, Nigerian youth feeling hopeless about their future – when you add these problems to the corruption, even an incurable optimist like myself recognise a recipe for disaster. Visionless leadership has moved the once powerful black nation to the cliff, and perhaps it will only be a few more years before the CIA’s prediction comes true.
But of all the elements coming together to makethe CIA’s prediction a self-fulfilling prophecy, Boko Haram is the most dangerous. If the sole aim of Boko Haram is to make Nigeria ungovernable for Jonathan’s administration, the strategy is bad.

I condemn the killing of innocent Nigerians. But my fear about Boko Haram is that they will soon find out that their strategy of bombing churches and public places in Nigeria will not expose the weakness of Jonathan’s administration to the world. Mainly because the world knows that many other administrations have witnessed similar killings and that Nigerians are used to it. Managing the internal situation is only a matter of propaganda. For instance, the government has assured the world that Nigeria is a safe place to do business.
But what happens if Boko Haram manages to sneak a bomb into an international flight coming or going out of Nigeria? Once again, Nigeria will be classified as a terrorist nation. If one odd fellow, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, can single handedly make the United States classify Nigeria as a terrorist nation, can you imagine the international implications if Boko Haram actually succeeds in bombing Air France, British Airways, KLM, Delta or any other international plane coming out of Nigeria? It will be a game changer. The whole world will focus on how to rid Nigeria of terrorism.
On the home front, the international condemnation of Nigeria as terrorist state would cause a renewed struggle escalating Nigeria’s disintegration. Those of us who are law abiding cannot afford to bear the global stigma of Islamic terrorism.
The struggle for cessation will be more invigorated this time than it was during the civil war, mainly because Nigerians now know that the British experiment called Nigeria has not worked and will never work. I strongly believe that if the government does not handle the menace of Boko Haram swiftly and decisively, then this is possibly the beginning of the CIA’s prediction about Nigeria’s disintegration as a nation. CULLED FROM http://thejuristlaws..com/

After the third day of a nationwide protests, with over a dozen people dead and many more likely to die in the days to come, maybe there is a way to help President Jonathan avoid splashing more blood of innocent Nigerians on his hands. This is more important now that we know that the president is overwhelmed by fights at several fronts, including fighting Boko Haram members that have penetrated the innermost circle of his government.

Based on Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s calculations, there is N1.3 trillion naira in oil subsidy. Ignoring her fuzzy math, she stated that of the amount, N478.49 billion will come to the Federal government. The rest will go to the states and the local government where they will disappear.

As a loyal citizen, I want to help President Jonathan and his advisers to find N479 billion naira so that he will leave the poor people of Nigeria alone for at least a year. Within that year, he should put in place policies that will cushion the impact of the subsidy removal and then gradually take the true subsidy out in a responsible way. That’s after getting the government math right.

So here are the top ten places President Jonathan can get his N479 billion.

1.) Go to the last 36 governors that served with Olusegun Obasanjo. Offer them immunity from prosecution if they all return N10 billion naira each. After all, most of them were facing charges totaling over N100 billion before their files disappeared from the EFCC. That will give President Jonathan N360 billion naira overnight.
2.) Get all former Director-Generals of the NNPC in the last 20 years. Offer them immunity from prosecution if they all return N1billion for every year they were director. Having been part of an agency of the government that does not know how much oil the multinational corporations are sucking up each day and cannot account for the crude oil dedicated for domestic consumption, they should each give the government N1 billion and we let bygone be bygone. This will give Jonathan at least N20 billion.
3.) President Jonathan should cancel all import waivers given to religious leaders in Nigeria for 2012. Nigeria lost billions of naira just on the waivers given to Pastor Adeboye and his likes under the Obasanjo administration - waivers they used to import expensive cars and luxury goods. Who knows what the big Imams get in waivers? Right there, another N10-50 billion will be readily available.
4.) A 50% cut in the salaries and allowances of members of the Nigerian House of Representative. At $1.4 million each for 360 members, Jonathan can easily get $252 million dollars, which is over N40 billion.
5.) In the senate, with 109 senators each making $1.7 million, a 50% cut in their pay package will give President Jonathan over N14.8 billion naira.
6.) President Jonathan should audit the record books of the government with oil importers. A good auditing firm will easily unearth stolen wealth of the nation. Since these so-called cabals are friends of the president, some of them members of his economic team, the president should just ask them to refund N200 billion and we will let bygones be bygone.
7.) The president should, as a matter of urgency, investigate and evaluate all workers associated with the importation of fuel into Nigeria. Those found wanting should be prosecuted and fired. A good investigation of their assets and accounts will recover at least N1billion.
8.) The same thing should be done with staff of the NNPC, both those serving and the retired staff. A good investigation will net over N10 billion.
9.) The security votes of all state governors should be cut by 50%. At an average of N300 million a month, it runs up to N3.6 billion for a year each. For the 36 state governors, that amount is N129.6 billion naira. A 50% cut will give President Jonathan N64.8 billion a year.
10.) The president should close half of Nigerian missions abroad in a major scale back and find other countries to manage Nigeria’s affairs. That will save at least N10 billion.

Putting the savings together, we have N745.6 billion for the President. That is before he touches his food money and his security vote. That is before he touches Olusegun Obasanjo, Abubakar Atiku, Turai Yar’Adua and the heads of all the failed banks.

So next time they tell you that there is no alternative to the immediate removal of the subsidy, tell them it is a lie. There is an alternative to killing unarmed protesters over mere N479 billion naira that Aliko Dangote can close his eyes and donate to his friend, President Jonathan. After all, the Nigerian state has been good to him over the years. CULLED FROM http://thejuristlaws..com/

The leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants has defended recent attacks on Christians, saying they are revenge for killings of Muslims.

In his first video message, posted on YouTube, Abubakar Shekau referred to attacks on Muslims in recent years in several parts of northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram militants attacked several churches on Christmas Day, killing dozens of worshippers.

This has led to some reprisals in the mainly Christian south.

Mosques in two states have been attacked.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 160 million people, is divided between a largely Muslim north and a south where most people are Christians and some animists.

Thousands of people have fled their homes following the recent attacks, leading some people, including Nigeria's president and the leader of the country's main Christian organisation, to make comparisons with the 1967-70 civil war when the south-east tried to secede.

'Religious cleansing'

In the latest attack, four people have been shot dead by attackers on motorbikes while they filled up their car with petrol in the north-eastern Yobe state, the local police chief has told the BBC.

Police chief Lawal Tanko did not release the identities of those killed, or the attackers.

The AFP news agency quotes local residents as saying those killed were southerners. Shootings from motorbikes are a Boko Haram trademark.

Yobe state is one of those areas where President Goodluck Jonathan has recently declared a state of emergency but the police chief said he had not yet received the details.

In the 15-minute video, Mr Shekau, wearing a red and white turban, a bullet-proof vest and sitting in front of two Kalashnikov rifles, said he was responding to recent statements from Nigeria's President Jonathan and the leader of the country's main Christian organisation, the Christian Association of Nigeria.

He warned President Jonathan that Nigeria's security forces would not be able to defeat the group.

Mr Jonathan, a Christian, declared a state of emergency in some northern states last month - but the attacks have continued.

On Tuesday night, gunmen opened fire on a bar in Yobe, killing eight people, including several police officers.

The president recently said that he suspected some officials, politicians and members of the security forces sympathised with Boko Haram.

Defending the latest spate of violence, Mr Shekau referred to the killing of Muslims in places like Jos, Kaduna, Zangon Kataf, Tafawa Balewa in recent years.

Some of these places have seen bitter communal clashes but correspondents say they are often based on long-standing disputes over resources such as land, or are whipped up by politicians, rather than being based on religious differences.

"We are also at war with Christians because the whole world knows what they did to us," Mr Shekau said in the video, speaking in Hausa - the most common language in northern Nigeria.

"They killed our fellows and even ate their flesh in Jos," he said, referring to reports last year of isolated cases of Christian youths burning and eating their rivals in Plateau state, where more than 1,000 people have been killed in a series of clashes over the past two years.

Christian Association of Nigeria head Ayo Oritsejafor said on Saturday that his members would protect themselves against the attacks, which he said suggested "systematic ethnic and religious cleansing".

On Tuesday, he told the BBC World Service there should be dialogue with Muslim leaders to halt the violence.

Mr Shekau said the group could only hold talks with the government in accordance with the teachings of Islam.

He said the group's primary targets remained the security forces, who he said had summarily executed their former leader Mohammed Yusuf after he was arrested in 2009.

"Everyone has seen how we were treated, people have seen what has happened between us and armed security agents and their accomplices who give them information about us," Mr Shekau said.

After a lull, in 2010 the group started to stage drive-by shootings on government targets in its base in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

Last year, it carried out suicide bombings on high-profile targets such as the headquarters of the UN and the police in the capital, Abuja.

The group, known locally as Boko Haram meaning "Western education is forbidden", wants to establish Sharia law in Nigeria. CULLED FROM BBC NEWS

IT was a bold act of solidarity from the House of Representatives with the Nigerian people. Sunday’s historic sitting of the legislative chamber was the first emergency working session of the House on a Sunday, a day of worship for Christians who constitute about half of the population of the country.
The emergency session of the House was called ahead of the commencement of the national strike called by organized labour following the unilateral removal of the controversial subsidy in the price of petrol and the deteriorating security challenges since the elapse of the deadline from the Boko Haram group to Christians to exit the Northern section of the country.
The deterioration in the art of governance and the arising state of insecurity were enough reasons for a response from the legislative branch of government. The sloppy response of the executive arm of government made it even more urgent.
It was against this background that the House leadership at a meeting last Thursday resolved to summon an emergency meeting of the House for Sunday.
When the decision to summon the emergency session was taken there was indeed little controversy on the choice of holding the session on that day.
However, as the decision of the House leadership was announced the following day, Friday it sent shivers down the spine of some officials in the presidency leading to subtle pressures on the House leadership to defer the emergency meeting.
Cross-Section of members of House of the Reps debating removal of fuel subsidy during Special Session in Abuja. CULLED FROM the juristlaws..com

Concern of the presidency.
The concern of the presidency officials were essentially centered on the need not to embarrass the presidency with a resolution that could tie the presidency’s hands on the removal of fuel subsidy.
Much pressure it was learnt was piled on Speaker Aminu Tambuwal through various channels including traditional rulers and top northerners. But Tambuwal it was alleged was unbending. The Speaker especially had reasons not to cave in given his alleged personal disapproval of the way and manner the executive branch snubbed the legislature in the implementation of the policy.
It was as such not surprising that as the pressures mounted on the Speaker failed to yeild result that other incendiary tactics were adopted to pressure the Speaker. One of such was the use of religious sentiments.
It was whispered in some quarters that the move by Speaker Tambuwal to summon a meeting of the House on a Sunday would offend the religious sensibility of Christians. That accusation was, however, easily deflated as it was claimed that a sizeable proportion of those who took the decision for the Sunday session were Christians.
The deputy chairman of the House of Representatives committee on Media, Rep. Victor Ogene in dismissing the religious connotation said Christian members of the House were in full support.
“It doesn’t matter, if the nation is going ablaze, it is a national issue. Don’t forget that Monday is the day earmarked for the strike. We would have held the session a number of days ago but, a number of our members had travelled,” Rep. Ogene, himself a Christian told Vanguard.
“We cannot sit idly while the entire nation grinds to a halt. We are not sitting just for sitting we want to ensure that positive steps are taken,” he added.
Remarkably, the same pressures that were brought on the House were reportedly put on the Senate which it was learnt had also agreed to meet on Sunday with the same agenda.
The Senate, however, reportedly demurred leaving the House to forge ahead. A top associate of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, nevertheless, denied the insinuations.
“I don’t think it is correct. I know that the Senate committee on Labour is supposed to be interfacing with Labour,” the source said on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “But then what is the need of sitting on Sunday whereas the Senate is resuming on Tuesday, what can be achieved without the President reverting to the old price,” the source wondered.
Remarkably, Sunday’s session of the House registered an attendance of 301 members indicative of the high level of interest members had for the issues at hand. As the session opened that afternoon, Speaker Tambuwal soothed the anger of many Nigerian Christians with his words of empathy with the Christian community over the targeted killings in certain sections of the North.
He particularly praised the restraint of the Christian community who he said have by their action have deflated the singular aim of the terrorists to inflame religious war in the country. ‘By this act of restraint the objective of these enemies of Nigeria to falsely give religious coloration to their senseless terrorist escapades has been defeated’.
Insisting on the propriety of the meeting, Tambuwal said: “While posterity may judge us harshly for inappropriate decisions, a much harsher judgment awaits us for failure to decide at all for in the later case, we would be promoting a dangerous drift whose terminus is better imagined”.
As the session got underway, a motion sponsored by Rep. Yusuf Tajudeen and 60 others was received urging the restoration of the fuel subsidy. Moving the motion, Tajudeen affirmed that the removal of the fuel subsidy was ill-timed coming at a time Nigerians were deeply scathed by the recent attacks by the Boko Haram group. The motion was well received by the majority of the House members who denounced the government action in strong words.
Not surprisingly, the removal of fuel subsidy was supported by some members notably, those with strong ties with the administration. One of those was Rep. Henry Dickson, the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the forthcoming Bayelsa gubernatorial election.
At the end of the debate, the House in a majority voice decision adopted a motion calling on the President to suspend the removal of the fuel subsidy in the light of the difficulties Nigerians are presently facing.
Another leg of the resolution was the call on organized labour to suspend the strike to allow for further consultations. Remarkably as the House was meeting, members of the Senate Committee on Labour led by Senator Wilson Ake were waiting in one of the committee rooms for a delegation of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC to dialogue on the proposed strike. The NLC officials shunned Senator Ake and his colleagues!

IT was a bold act of solidarity from the House of Representatives with the Nigerian people. Sunday’s historic sitting of the legislative chamber was the first emergency working session of the House on a Sunday, a day of worship for Christians who constitute about half of the population of the country.
The emergency session of the House was called ahead of the commencement of the national strike called by organized labour following the unilateral removal of the controversial subsidy in the price of petrol and the deteriorating security challenges since the elapse of the deadline from the Boko Haram group to Christians to exit the Northern section of the country.
The deterioration in the art of governance and the arising state of insecurity were enough reasons for a response from the legislative branch of government. The sloppy response of the executive arm of government made it even more urgent.
It was against this background that the House leadership at a meeting last Thursday resolved to summon an emergency meeting of the House for Sunday.
When the decision to summon the emergency session was taken there was indeed little controversy on the choice of holding the session on that day.
However, as the decision of the House leadership was announced the following day, Friday it sent shivers down the spine of some officials in the presidency leading to subtle pressures on the House leadership to defer the emergency meeting.

•Literary giants insist on national conference •Warn against retaliation of Boko Haram attacks

Nigeria’s foremost writers have advised the government to pull the brakes on the subsidy removal that has put the nation on edge.
They also cautioned security agents against turning their guns on protesters, saying their duty is to protect citizens.
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prof. Chinua Achebe and Prof. J.P. Bekederemo-Clark yesterday issued a joint statement on the state of the nation.
They called for the convocation of a national conference to address the national questions. They also cautioned against reprisal attacks over the Boko Haram killings in the North.
The statement is another rare intervention by the eminent writers. They intervened, though unsuccessfully, in 1986, to prevent the execution of Gen. Mamman Vatsa after his conviction for coup plotting. It was during Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s military government.
The statement entitled: “Let not this fire spread: An appeal to the Nigerian national community”, reads:
“The fears we have all secretly nursed are coming to realisation. The nightmare we have hugged to our individual breasts, voicing them only in family privacy, or within trusted caucuses of friends and colleagues - lest they become instances of materialising evil thoughts - has finally burst through into our social, physical environment.  Rumblings and veiled threats have given way to eruption, and the first cracks in the wall of patience and forbearance can no longer be wished away. BOKO HARAM is very likely celebrating its first tactical victory: provoking retaliation in some parts of the nation.
“We insist however that this need not be, and should not be so. And as long as any part, however minuscule, opts for the more difficult path of envisioned forbearance, we are convinced that its responses will find neighbour emulation between homesteads, between towns and villages, between communities on all levels and indeed - states. This hard, demanding, but profoundly moral and heroic option will be recognised and embraced as the only option for the survival, and integrity of the whole. All who claim to be leaders must lead – but in the right direction!
“We urge a proactive resolve in all such claimants to leadership.  It is not sufficient to make pious pronouncements. All who possess any iota of influence or authority, who aspire to moral leadership must act now to douse the first flickers of ‘responses in kind’ even before they are manifested, and become contagious. We urge that, beginning from now, leaders become true leaders in all communities, utilise the platforms of their associations, professions, clubs, places of instruction and places of worship, NGOs and other civic organisations, that they relentlessly spread the manifesto of Community – capital letters! - as an all-embracing human bond, and refuse to be sucked into the cauldron of mutual attrition that is the purpose of the religious warmongers among us.
“What is proposed here is not any doctrine of submission, of ‘turning the other cheek’, or supine supplication to divine intervention etc. etc.  Very much the contrary!  Self-defence is a fundamental human right and responsibility. However, we caution that we must place the total humanity of our nation above the methods and intent of a mindless, though programmed minority that are resolved to set religion against religion, community against community, destroy the internal cohesion of homes, render meaningless the very concept and imperatives of guest, strangers, the extended human family, and the universalist obligations of hosts as practiced under the finest traditions of human encounters. Our duty is to denounce the killers among us, to deny them, right from source, the sump of blood that is their nourishment, the chaos that is their ambition, and the hatred that has poisoned their collective psyche. Our mission is to prove ourselves superior to them in understanding, to leap ahead of their perverse scheming and preserve our own humanity even as they jettison theirs – if ever they even were aware of its existence.
“Calls have been made in the past - sometimes in response to a crisis within the nation, other times as an objective necessity even in the most tranquil of times - for the convening of a National conference to debate just how the nation should proceed in reinforcing civic and political life, and decide, in full freedom, the terms of her integrated existence. The government is urged to stop shying away from this project, pretending that those who happen to have been elected into the nation’s legislatures are best qualified to undertake the exercise, largely through piecemeal tinkering.  This surely begs the question, since the very system and terms under which these – often dubiously – elected, serve, including the intolerable strain these institutions place upon the nation’s resources - are all at issue. That last indeed, the very inordinate exaction of running a presidential system, forms part of the impatience of the public, as new avenues for economic hardship are opened in a people’s struggle for survival, such as the recent crisis of the removal of petroleum subsidy.  We call upon the government to re-think this measure. We warn the Security forces to recall that their primary duty is to protect all citizens, and most especially those in opposition to government policies, in the exercise of their democratic rights. We cannot turn a blind eye to the killing of our fellow citizens even before the earliest manifestation of popular discontent gets under way. The first single Security notch on the gun is always the signal for a countdown towards two, then three, moving to four figure statistics in the struggle for human dignity. Syria is our current cautionary instance. We know how Libya ended.
“The Security arms of government should recognise where their urgent and immediate capabilities and competence are needed, where the greatest threat to nationhood since the Nigerian Civil War has been gloatingly launched, and with a daily toll of casualties of the innocent.  We call upon the Nigerian government to intensify its obligations to protect the citizenry it claims to govern. The basic professional strategy of preventive policing, which appears no longer in fashion, must be re-activated. Security may appear less glamorous than the moral imposition that is articulated in appeals such as this, but it is nonetheless a crucial partner in the very existence of civil existence and the preservation of civic dignity. Necessary measures to curb the activities of a homicidal few, no matter under what name, faceless or disguised, whose minds have been warped beyond recovery, must be taken, and without flinching.  Public evidence of the effectiveness of such measures makes our call for restraint meaningful. It reduces the stress placed daily on a people’s aspirations to a visionary fortitude, and reinforces the resolve for an engagement under forbearance in the ultimate pursuit of social justice as the foundation of peaceful co-existence.”
CULLED FROM thejuristlaws..com

The Coalition of Civil Society, Labour and the Nigerian Bar Association in Kaduna State on Tuesday suspended street protests against the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, asking residents of the state and protesters to remain at home and await further directives from labour.
This is coming on the second day of the nationwide strike and protests ordered by organised labour across the country, just as they accused the government of ordering security agents to shoot protesters.
The coalition said at a news conference at the Labour House, Kaduna that in view of the peculiar security situation in the state and the fact that they don’t want a repeat of what happened in Kano and Lagos to happen in the state, they decided to suspend street protests while asking residents to continue with the strike by remaining in their houses.
Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state said that the coalition will from time to time update the populace on development about the strike, pointing out that labour wants the strike which began peacefully to end peacefully.
He said, “We don’t want a breakdown of law and order in the state and that is why we decided to suspend street protests for now. We have meet at the level of NLC and other civil society groups and the NBA and have agreed to suspend street protests.
“We want to plead with the people that are protesting on the streets to go back to their houses. It is only the people that are saddled with the responsibility of monitoring the strike that are expected in the NLC secretariat daily.
“The NLC, TUC, NBA and civil society groups will be addressing press conferences at every point in time when the need arises. We want to cease this opportunity to plead with our people who are supporting this strike not to take the laws into their hands.” CULLED FROM juristlaws..com

ABIA STATE GOVERNOR ,T.A ORJI HAS ORDERED THE STATE GOVERNMENT WORKERS,CIVIL SERVANTS, TO GET BACK TO THEIR VARIOUS PLACE OF WORK.THIS STATEMENT WAS ISSUED TODAY BY THE GOVERNOR ,AND IT HAS IT THAT ANY CIVIL SERVANT /WORKER WHO FAILED TO RETURN TO HIS OR HER DUTY POST IS ATTRACTING PENALTY LIABLE TO JEOPARDIZE HIS OR HER STATUTORY OF CIVIL SERVICE.IN OTHER WORDS,HE OR SHE WHO FAILED TO RETURN TO THEIR DUTY POST WILL BE SANCTIONED ,OR ATTRACT FORFEIT HIS SALARY, CULLED FROM http://www.abiastate.gov.ng/ or channels tv

abia state government has ordered civil servant /workers to get back to work.the statement issued by the state government has it that the workers /civil servant are ordered to get back to their various place of work.

As more groups express their reaction to the situation in the country, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) today lamented the failure of the government of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan to understand the seriousness of what it is confronted by.
“It has failed to understand that all Governments be they dictatorial or otherwise enjoy power because the people allow it to remain in power,” the NBA said in a statement by its President, Mr. Joseph B. Daudu, noting that no government can outlast the will of the people.
The Muslim Congress (TMC), in a statement signed by Luqman AbdurRaheem, urged President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to listen to the voice of wisdom and rescind the punitive elimination of the subsidy on petroleum products unconditionally in the interest of the populace.
That position of the TMC is shared by the Conference of National Political Parties (CNPP) which also today called on Mr. Jonathan “to muster all sense of humility, listen to voice of reason and honour the demand” of Nigerians and reverse his subsidy removal decision.
The CNPP, rising from an extensive meeting on the State of the Nation on Wednesday night, resolved to support the mass action declared by the Labour Movement in Nigeria following their ultimatum to Mr. Jonathan to reverse the petrol price to N65, on or before 8 January 2012.

The NBA said it supported all the actions contained in the 4 January 2010 communiqué of the Labour Movement, and that all members of the NBA will participate in the nationwide strike commencing on the 9th of January 2012.
In the its strongly-worded statement, the NBA said: “It is clear that Nigerians do not and will not tolerate subsidy removal under the terms and conditions set out or laid down by Government. Any removal of subsidy based on the importation of petroleum products is unacceptable to Nigerians. Government must create the infrastructure for the refining 100% of petroleum products in Nigeria and by Nigerians. It had been done in the past, it was sabotaged, and it can and will be done again.”

TMC, aligning itself with well-meaning Nigerians, advocacy groups, labour unions and civil societies to condemn “the wicked, sudden, deceptive and heartless removal of the fuel subsidy,” described the new policy as a diabolical agenda orchestrated by the ruling elites in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deregulate the downstream oil sector for their self-fish ends.
It pointed out that the fuel subsidy removal conflicts with, and has rubbished the objectives of all the ongoing developmental programmes of the Nigerian government especially the Millennium Development Goal which seeks to reduce the number of people living in poverty by 2015; the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President; the poverty-reduction thrust of Vision 20: 2020 and worsened the Human Development Index In Nigeria.

Umuahia—Abia State government has set up a committee to revive the abandoned Golden Guinea Breweries, Umuahia. Governor Theodore Orji, said government set up the committee following its discovery that the company which was earlier said to have been sold to a private company was not actually sold to anybody.

According to Governor Orji, the new committee is already discussing with the management of the breweries, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problems of the company established by the administration of Dr Michael Okpara as premier of the defunct Eastern Region in 1960.
The breweries was then the toast in the beer industry in the country, offered thousands of employment to the indigenous people of Abia State in particular and Nigerians in general, until it was abandoned by previous governments.
Governor Orji had promised to revive the breweries during his first term in office as one of the avenues to provide jobs to the people, but the promise was not fulfilled because, according to him, government was not told truth about the actual problems of the company.
‘’What happened was that when the company had financial problem, it was bailed out by the people now occupying the place because the management of the brewery was unable to re-repay the loan, warranting the new management to take over the place although they could not move the company forward.
“It has been a problem to us. It is time for me to tell the people the real truth about Golden Guinea Breweries.
’’Golden Guinea has a problem before I came on board, but nobody told me. I was misinformed that the place was bought. I looked for the person who supposedly bought it and encouraged him to revive it.

“He went to Germany and brought investors. But the man was playing some game. However, General Manager explained to me that the man rescued them when they were in financial crisis, but the man now claims to have bought it.
’’That was why the German investors ran away. We want to sort it out, we have put up a committee to look into the problem and advise the government. That is the problem we have there, otherwise we would have gone far in that project,” the governor explained.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has advised the National Assembly to begin impeachment moves against President Goodluck Jonathan, if he fails to return petrol subsidy.
The umbrella body of lawyers also ordered its members to embark on nationwide strike from Monday.
This is in line with the mother of all strikes declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to protest the removal of petrol subsidy by the Federal Government.
In a statement yesterday in Kaduna by its President, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), NBA said the “much-touted palliative” measures reeled out by the government will “destroy what is left of the lives of Nigerians”.
The association regretted that “government took advantage of its people’s distress arising from the Christmas bombings and killings by the Boko Haram terrorists and insensitively caused the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (a creature of statute) to announce the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy”.
“If government should apply half the vigour with which it has pursued the issue of the removal of subsidy to the eradication of corruption in all the arms of government and in society in general, then trillions of naira would be freed up for developmental projects”, it said.
In the statement, entitled “Holding Government Accountable and Responsive to the People”, the NBA said the Justice Belgore Committee raised by government to negotiate with the labour and the civil society organisations is a waste of time “because there is in reality nothing to negotiate”.
“The minimum position is the immediate reversal of this provocative and uncalled for increment of petrol”, it stated.
The association recalled how it cautioned government against the subsidy removal and advised it to adopt a different strategy.
The statement reads: “The impression given by government was that the issue will be debated and the views of Nigerians properly considered. Government led its people to believe that the earliest time any possible action would be taken in the direction of subsidy removal was the April 1, 2012. Instead, government took advantage of its people’s distress arising from the Xmas bombings and killings by the Boko Haram terrorists and insensitively caused the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (a creature of statute) to announce the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy, thereby escalating the price of PMS from the already suffocating N65 to the unbearable range of N141-N250.
“Nigerians have in the past four days reacted angrily to government’s action described above. It is considered not only premature, but wicked and insensitive. Nigerians have now concluded that their leaders are truly detached from the reality of economic hardship endured by Nigerians. This is so because virtually all high government officials and their families feed and live off tax payers’ funds, yet they enjoy outrageous salaries and other emoluments. In some cases the amount budgeted for feeding and catering is as much as N1 billion. Government officials travel limitlessly round the world for the flimsiest of reasons collecting estacodes in billions even where the object of most of these journeys can be achieved by simply browsing the Internet. Consequently Nigerians have reacted spontaneously to this unwise and ill-motivated manoeuvre by demonstrations and other forms of protest nationwide.
“Government clearly does not understand the seriousness of the situation. It has failed to understand that all governments, be they dictatorial or otherwise, enjoy power because the people allow it to remain in power. No government can outlast the will of the people. It is clear that Nigerians do not and will not tolerate subsidy removal under the terms and conditions set out or laid down by government. Any removal of subsidy based on the importation of petroleum products is unacceptable to Nigerians. Government must create the infrastructure for the refining of 100 per cent of petroleum products in Nigeria and by Nigerians. It had been done in the past, it was sabotaged, and it can and will be done again.
“The response of government has been to say that there is no alternative to the removal of subsidy; with all due respect there are many alternatives.
•If government should apply half the vigour with which it has pursued the issue of the removal of subsidy to the eradication of corruption in all the arms of government and in society in general, then trillions of naira would be freed up for developmental projects.
•Government should identify areas of wastage in governance, such as the allocation of largesse and booties in the name of allowances and withdraw same forthwith.
•Government must embark on a re-orientation of its own values and ethics and those of Nigerians.
•Law and order must be enforced in accordance with the Rule of law.
•And many other urgent and indeed numerous measures.
•Where and if government persists on this suicidal course of action, the options open to the people are limited but clear.
They include: “ A call on the National Assembly to officially and formally declare its position on the removal of fuel subsidy.
“If as we believe the National Assembly sides with the people, then it must in the same transaction call on the President to rescind or reverse its actions on subsidy removal.
“ Should their call not be heeded by the President, then National Assembly should seriously consider impeachment proceedings; the President having lost the confidence of Nigerians to continue to rule or lead them.
“If the legislators fail to take the desired actions then Nigerians will commence the constitutional process to recall them.
“The Nigerian Bar Association believes in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Rule of Law. Where its elected officials believe that government and governance have become private property run at the master’s whims and caprices, then the time has come for these officials to be reminded that that the people are in charge.
“It must be mentioned that it appears to be more than a coincidence that government chose to remove subsidy at a time when the nation was reeling and mourning from the activities of anarchists and terrorists. Be it noted that Nigerians will not be cowered either from the activities of terrorists or those of an insensitive government. We shall deal with and resolve these issues with or without Government.“
Daudu said the NBA had since the purported removal of fuel subsidy been in active consultation with the NLC, TUC, NMA and other professional bodies and civil societies.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all members of the NBA shall participate in the nationwide strike commencing on January 9, 2012.
“The strike shall be comprehensive with all lawyers withdrawing their services from courts and elsewhere except as it is necessary to facilitate the continuation of pressure on government to rescind its actions.”

WARRI- AS Hausas move out in droves from Warri, Delta State, following perceived fear of attacks, Chairman of the Hausa community in Warri, Alhaji Isah Alkali, has said that allegations that they were running due to rumour mongers was not true.
He said in a chat with Vanguard in Warri, that the exodus was occasioned by activities of hoodlums in Warri, who occasionally attacked wrist–watch, sugar-cane, yam and onion sellers of Northern origin and cart away their wares, cash and GSM phones.
Alhaji Alkali said they were living in peace with indigenes of the state as nobody had ever threatened them in any way.
He maintained that the rumours of war were all lies intended to cause a breach of the peace, adding that both Christians and Muslims are brothers and worship the same God.
He said that while some were fleeing, others, especially traders with trailer loads of ram, chicken, sugar-cane and herds of cow, were trooping daily into Warri, for their businesses in and around the busy Ugbuwangue community market and the Hausa quarters in the Igbudu community of the oil city.
Confirming the exodus of the Hausa traders and Muslims from Ugbuwangue community, chairman of the Youth Working Committee, Prince Francis Yowunren, urged them to report any rumour of impending attacks to him, and allayed their fears of any attack in Ugbuwangue community.
Yowunren said Delta State was a peaceful place for all Nigerians and advised them to go about their legitimate business as nobody would cause them any harm.
He advised the Boko Haram sect to stop further killings of Southerner and Christians in the North as it was causing suspicions amongst peace loving Nigerians.