₦airaland Forum

[quote author=Omo_Tier1]UK downgraded from AAA to AA WITH STABLE OUTLOOK and fitch warns it would downgrade it to NEGATIVE OUTLOOK if the budget does not address the deficit as expected. Lagos State revised 'AA' with POSITIVE OUTLOOK. So do you know understand which is 'RATED' higher [/quote]Continue with this play of words. Lagos ranking was in the context of Nigeria. No agency will ever compare a state to country.

[quote author=Omo_Tier1]Lagos State Gets ‘AA (nga)’ Ratings from Fitch

Fitch Ratings, renowned global rating agency, has revised the Outlook on Lagos states’ ‘National Long-term rating’ to Positive from Stable, and subsequently affirmed it at 'AA(nga)'.

The agency has simultaneously affirmed the Long-term foreign and local currency ratings at 'BB-' with Stable Outlooks, Short-term foreign currency rating at 'B' and the Long-term ratings of the N50billion and N57.5billion bonds, maturing in 2014 and 2017 at 'BB-' and 'AA(nga)'.

The agency issued a statement yesterday with several key indicators affirming the robust Lagos state management – (full text of statement).

Key Rating Drivers
The Outlook revision reflects the state's increasing sophistication in management reflected by improving transparency and debt management amid moves towards a balanced budget by 2015 from a peak deficit of 25% of revenues in 2012 according to preliminary figures, and a stable debt cover ratio by the current balance around three years.

A growing proportion of bond issues, with fixed repayment schedules, longer maturities and monthly provisions intothe debt reserves fund, are replacing the traditional concentration of short-term bank loans. Fitch views this as a sign of the state's improving debt management.

Together with budgets and quarterly performance reports, Fitch notes continual improvements in transparency and governance.

Fuelled by public and private investments, as well as an estimated population of about 20 million according to state officials, Lagos's diverse economy is the leading contributor to Nigerian GDP. Fitch expects the 10% growth in the local economy and the state's plans to widen the tax base and improve collection methods to boost local tax

receipts towardsN330billion by 2015, up from N200billion in 2012, edging towards 80% of annual revenues from 70% of income in the late 2000s.

Maintenance costs for infrastructure built and provision of social services such as health and education could add pressure to Lagos's budget.

However, Fitch expects the state's commitment to streamlining costs coupled with the maintenance of a steady employee headcount to contain their growth to about 10% per annum over 2013-2015. Rising energy prices meant costs grew by about 25% in 2012, and Fitch expects Lagos's operating expenses to rise to about N230bn by 2015 from N185billion in 2012.

Fitch expects capital spending to remain high at about N250 illion per year over the medium term, as the state continues to invest in transport, water, health, education and social protection.

Despite interest expenses rising towards NGN40bn by 2015, the state's self-financing ratio of investments will remain strong with the current balance funding about 75% of capital expenditure from an average 65% in 2010/12.

The state's debt will likely stabilise around NGN350bn by 2015, net of repayment provisions, with bonds representing about 50% of total debt from about 30% in 2009.

As Lagos stands out for its low dependence on federal allocation and high tax generation, the state was allowed to incur debt accounting for about 100% of revenues rather than the 50% limit stated by Nigerian borrowing guidelines for subnationals.

The debt service coverage ratio could likely remain at around 2.5x the operating balance offering additional comfort of debt service sustainability.
[size=18pt]Enjoy[/size][/quote]Think man. Does this tell you Lagos is rated above the U.K.?

U.K. was downgraded from top notch AAA to AA,

mikeansy: So you guys are talking about Credit rating then? which affects Lagos State's ability to borrow money from Internation agencies!

That surely is different from Fashola's claim that the economy of Lagos is rated above UK and Ghana.

In fact at the heat of the debate about America's debt ceiling the failure of Republicans and Democrats to reach a deal. America's credit rating was revised and Germany had better outlook than US. Is that enough to make the claim that Germany's economy is rated above the US?

I can understand the quest to try to understand what Fashola is trying to say or should have said. But the fact is that the Governor mispoke!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is exactly what we mean. He didn't understand the statement he made. Sadly, there aren't critical minded journalist present to seek further clarification. So this bogus statement will be accepted as fact by people and young 'uns

successcertain: You have just settled the whole case and no need to comment further, i applaud you for been sensitive and intelligent enough to reason deeply on what fashola is trying to make Nigerian understand ''if you wanna achieve achieve big and dont settle for less'' Nigeria are known to settle for less that is why they recieved little or nothing from the past elected leaders all because they are not encourage by the people to want to do something meaningful which further give corruption a upper hand in the society.

obviously it seem some people are imune to changes while some love to bring jealousy and tribal hatred over everything without thinking twice to consider if the argument and ranting is really worth it . But at the end of the day ''win or lose ''Is the answer.

Fashola argued that the yardstick for measuring good governance could only be done by those who know, adding that the economy of Lagos is now rated ahead of Ghana and the United Kingdom.

Nothing is settled. I believe Fashola is doing a great job but when he made this statement it left me scratching my head

How can he compare Lagos state to 2 countries (U.K. & Ghana)? Apples to apples is you compare Nigeria vs. UK. or Ghana

Which rating agency put out this number? Is this short or long term rating? Lagos (Nigeria) grew faster than the U.K in last 3 yrs. We know that! What Fashola said is disingenuous and confusing. Was this deliberately put out there or he simply did not understand the statement he made?

No need for hyperbolas just stick to the facts; verifiable facts. That's all.

All credit agencies rate the U.K. way above Nigeria (and Lagos too) That's a fact you can verify Unless otherweise, Fashola just put out a bulshyte stats to look good

Afam4eva: [b]Apart from Andre Iguodala who doesn't [/b]even identify as a Nigerian, others are not really prominent. I followed Emeka Okafors career from his days at Charlotte bobcats but his team never made it to the playoffs(i hope that's what it's called). Even now that he's in New orleans, i've not really seen his team.

What about Kelenna Azubuike? is he still there?

You even have to go back to "The Dream" and after that no Nigerian players has been relevant. Olowakande was picked #1 in 1998 draft yet he was a flop. Guess basketball is not a Naija thing

demmie1: I wonder how you guys misinterpret quotes. he did not say Lagos state economy is bigger, he said positive that means lagos state is expected to perform better than the mentioned countries. where UK is expected to grow at 5% Lagos is expected to grow at 7%. that's what positive outlook on economy means.

You're wrong. Financial ratings are not based on economic growth only but other factors

You don't want to appear like you making up stuff. Saying Lagos is rated above U.K looks like he's picking up stats from the air

Eko Ile: You are free to come up with all the analysis in the world to begrudge what he said which you have every right to do, the fact remains that the governor stated facts, facts that you can not dispute.

U.K. was just recently downgraded from Triple A just like S & P downgraded the U.S. Nevertheless, they are still attracting trillions of dollars investment yearly.

Fashola is sometimes prone to rhetorical flourishes and creates issues out of nothing. Key message: Lagos is building for the future and good for business. Period. Comparing risk ratings of U.K. and Lagos state is just crap.

Eko Ile: You are free to like or dislike his statement which is OK with me, but he stated facts, facts that you can not dispute.

Which agency rating is he talking about? Fitch, S & P rating are based on risk probability. What is the risk that an entity/govt will default on loan obligations. Tell me how Britain is more riskier to invest in than Lagos state

Eko Ile: He was talking about ratings which is a fact that you can not dispute.

Fashola is doing a superb job and no need make a dumb statement like this. So Lagos is rated above the City of London? Context matters when we say stuff.

Royal Roy: .
Its possible the car might be one of those with automatic locks....locks up once u slam the door & the poor kids didn't even know where to open the door not to talk of unlock it.

And the kids did not cry out? Surely, the kids will cry hoping somebody will hear them. And this SUV was parked on the street? Story doesn't piece together

Global Chairman, KPMG International, Mr. Michael Andrew, who was on his first visit to the country last week, told reporters in Lagos that Nigeria and the other countries among the MINTs have attracted increasing investment offers and enquiries through the services of KPMG, amongst others investment and financial advisories, with the view of taking advantage of the high rates of return on investment.

So this is what people are excited about? A bland statement designed to make his Naija hosts feel good.

No numbers or stats to prove anything; just speculation. What is the trend? Which sectors are they making offers or enquirers about? Nigeria has always been and will continue to be a potential market to invest, nobody doubts this. The only question is when will this POTENTIAL translate into real and sustainable investment?

Confidence in the Nigerian equity market is still very low due to transparency issues. So who are the investors waiting on the sidelines to pile on cash into the market?

Will an investment manager with over $500 billion in his portfolio be prepared to put just 5% in the Nigerian market?

Geez! It must be a slow news day if this is today’s top news

Yes, it's the stretch run with 6 weeks for the playoffs to start

The Lakers are slowly catching the Rockets for a playoff spot. IF they clinch 8th spot, meet the Spurs and IF Tony Parker remains injured they may just reach the 2nd round. And who knows somehow get to the West finals. And IF they win the West we may see a Heat vs. Lakers final. Yes, I know I'm getting ahead of myself and many IFs have to fall in to place for Lakers to even sniff the 2nd round

Meanwhile, the Heat have a stranglehold on the East and yesterday showed the world that nobody can touch them. BTW, where are the Celtics these days?

PointB: Besides, is there no Environmental Protection/Sanitation Agency in the state (Lagos)? What exactly is their job description?

Wouldn't they have been well served doing their own bit to keep the market and other environment clean. Why do Nigerians panders to tribalism in very basic things? Most of the clowns posting here are busy shouting 'Igbo!, Igbo!!' when common sense suggests that sanitation agency failed woefully to do their job. And what is being exposed here is the failure of Fashola Government to do it's duty. A government that pockets tax and shirks on it responsibility, is as bad could be. Why take out your failure on the citizen? Government have an ingenious way of blaming their failures on the citizen. Fashola's is one example of this type of government.

In closing Ladipo Market, the government has admitted that the agencies responsible for sanitation is lacking in ideas, and or tools to do what is necessary to do their jobs. Close one thousand markets if you like, without putting the necessary tools in place, the dirt will return as soon as the markets are open. Take a look at Oshodi and see what has become of the place. There is something fundamentally wrong in the way LASG government go about closing markets and demolishing buildings. Paucity of ideas is a common denominator in these plethora of Fashola's misadventure, he is losing it by the day!

That place looks like hell hole and must remain shut for the foreseeable future.

Yes, Fashola must investigate what went wrong with his environmental agency. We all know Nigerian govt agencies - Customs, Education, Health etc are a cesspit of corruption that never get shyte done. It's not unique to Lagos; we see this with all states and federal agencies.

That said, inaction by citizens is not an option. These traders should have ensured the place remained clean regardless of ineptitude of the Sanitation agency. Levy members, and let commissioner or governor know what they are doing to keep their environment clean. They didn't do that. In typical Nigerian fashion they conduct business their everyday and can’t be bothered to keep it clean and safe

Now they are paying the price and they must. This has nothing to do with tribalism

inufele2: If need be let the market be shut down permanently, especially if the site was not designated as a market in Lagos master plan. Relocation to another site where they can be monitored and where proper facilities is available is the best option.

It's the only way forward bro. And I hope this is Fashola's plan: Shut down the market permanently and relocate them. Then build office blocks or ultra modern markets to trade in non hazardous goods

EMMAUGOH: what have you ever done in your life to upgrade Lagos...u just keep talking and the real Man Keep Packing the Money and building and expanding your own state and you say Let them go back,ask your papa,he will never say such because he knows if it happen hunger will kill him and his children.Better shut up than talking what you dont know.small boy

So far your brothers have lost N300 billion, if you believe their lie. What do I care?

Instead of spewing rubbish here, better go and beg Fashola to have mercy on you. You miserable pricks

asha 80: you must be an elitist lol.there should be no more tokunbo spare parts in lagos indeed as if all cars in lagos are now mint.you must be living in a bubble if you think those spare dealers would be in lagos if there was no market for it in lagos and sw as a whole.go tell your numerous yellow taxes and buses that their parts can only be gotten from coscharis and co make i see how dem go survive lol

I say move them out of core Lagos Mainland to a bigger place. A spare parts market on such a scale should be out of town. Do you here anyone complain of Majidun?

aryzgreat: my broda, yaribas are known cowards and are using every opportunity that comes dia way to vent their anger on igbos whom they envy a lot. Have been laughing my head off going tru their rants and lamentations, to an average Yoruba, anything possible to chase igbo out of lagos is a fair game but not to worry my ppl aint going no where cos u ppl fought for 1 nigeria. We are here to stay, my advice to any igbo trader is to always think home, if u make ur money in lagos, invest well in the east. Let them keep lammenting. Ndi ara!

What is LASTMA doing with the sanitation levy they collect from ladipo? u employ very lousy ppl who are only interested in collecting levy without doing their job, the same thing they did in our estate, they are meant to be coming every saturdays to cart away our waste but they hardly come, if they do come may be once in a month they come during week days when nobody is at home,, we held meeting and decided not to pay, they took us to court, we won. That made them to wake up to their responsibilities.

I only blame ladipo traders for not shouting on top of their voices when LASTMA ppl didnt do their work. Closing the market not affect the traders alone, all the banks inside that market are affected too, all the iya basira mama put are affected, if u think u are happy that igbos are affectd, better look at the bigger picture, yoruba mechanics that come there for spare parts are also affected.

They should reach a concensus on how to ensure cleanliness going foward.

Keep ranting your tribal garbage. The vision for Lagos is to keep it clean, orderly to attract quality investors. Lagos is a modern city with lofty ambitions to compete with the world's best. We don't need the money from you wreckers yard business.

If you're in Lagos to just make money and shyte on the land, our message is simple: Get the fv%ck otta here and crawl back to your jungle

Have a fv%cking miserable day

[quote author=9ja_I_hail]My brother when you talk about defecating anyhow,any place Yoruba's know no boundary, in fact hardly you see a Yoruba person built a house and remember to attach toilet to it, because they believe open places is enough for offemmanu defecating.[/quote]You can blow all your tribal bigotry all day long, that market will be closed for the foreseeable future. And when it opens no more spare parts must sold there. Lagos doesn't need that kind of business. Lagos govt should clean up the place and convert it to modern office blocks or ultra modern market. But not a wreckers yard/tokunbo parts market.

Compensate these traders and move them out of the Lagos metropolis. The best and only sensible option

unbe-fucking-believable! This guys are racking in so much cash and can't take care of their environment?

Lagos state govt must be resolute and not give in. Close the market for as long as possible. Our enviroment is most important thing and must not be held hostage by 1,500. They can go do business anywhere else. It's not by force to sell parts at Ladipo

Ladipp market is prime location and can be used for other types of business. Selling parts.close to residential areas is not wise anyway. Relocate them to out of town site. Period.

JeSoul: I on the other hand feel no empathy whatsoever.

How can anyone in their right mind trade for the loose canon I-play-only-when-I-feel-like and make stupid on & off the court decisions that hurt my team? Especially trading to make him your franchise player around which you'll build your team? ridiculous. The sixers took a chance (one chance I personally wouldn't) and at least they can cut their losses and move on after the season. Let me see the next sucker that'll roll the dice on Bynum and sign him to anything more than a 10-day contract.

I know 'big men' are in high demand around the leauge but gambling on these kinds of players is like throwing money down the toilet.

Does this look like a reliable person? lol

https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50a513736bb3f7d710000014-620-465/andrew-bynum-hair-sixers.jpg
[img]http://siextramustard.files./2013/02/andrew-bynum-600.jpg?w=600&h=435[/img]

Geez. No he doesn't. I thought the Lakers made a mistake off loading this guy; not anymore. Though I say judge not a book by it's cover. He may come back strong next year cos I believe if he puts his mind to it he can be a great player

elampiro: She made her money from the western world and she is over $35m, mostly from her TV reality show and modelling (she has appeared several times in all the top magazines).

Do you think it's only Kim that is the lady celeb with a sx tape out there? All the big female celebs are guilty, most are even worse. By displaying and concentrating on their indency, you are indirectly helping the sites with the right to market their 'products'.

No doubt Kim loves scandals, thrives on it and uses it to self promote her name. That's her calling card and that's how she makes her money. Fine. In fact, this visit to Nigeria created some ripples in the U.S. gossip press and sites (check mediatakeout). Does she care about the controversy? Absolutely Not. It feeds the narrative that the Kadarshian family is a train wreck and their reality show attracts more audience.

It's the knuckle head Dare that paid so much that caused so much uproar. Why do black people make stupid decisions when oyibo is involved? Why do people like Dare portray Africans as people that were raised from the corn field? Anyone in the entertainment biz knows that associating with the Kadarshians is a brand killer.

Chicolee: @Kim Kardashian Haters
Quick questions:
1, Na your money Darey carry give Kim Kardashian?
2, Person force you make you go watch Kim when she come Naija?

If your answer to the above questions is NO then getcha nose outta Darey/Kim's business.

For those that said she is a LovePeddler, if you like sing anthem with am, at the end of the day, Kim will be Kim, rich and famous and doing what she loves while you'll remain an unknown entity on the internet hating on people. Stop hating, stop judging, or continue, itz your choice. I'm outta here.

Nothing to hate, just pointing out that this Dare guy thinks with his d.yke not his head. What's the value of using Kim to promote your music? Even Kanye her boyfriend, his slowly distancing himself from the Kadarshian clan. His brand has been hurt cos of his association with Kim.

Oprah would have come in for free and promoted Dare's music. Oprah is a world renowned "black woman" not some white trash.

The Irony? nobody is talking about Dare's music but the stupid Kadarshian visit.

fittty: Imagine she has never heard any of Dare's song and she got paid half a million dollars to co-host! And she had to youtube Dare to see what his music is about after the invite.... Now let me hear any one here say nigerian artists are known internationally... Nigeria music has a long way to go. Like I always say. Whether psquare sings with akon or rick ross, or dbanj gets signed to good music, the fact remains that our music can't fit into the international scene. Let's stop hyping our artist for what's not.. They are ALL locals!

In between why wasnt she asked what D'banj role in good music is?

Most revealing statement. searched on youtube to listen to his music. she doesn't know shyte about him or his music, yet he pays lots of cash money to bring her here. This is Kim kadarshian not a top singer.

Inferiority complex and love of oyibo is holding our people back

HNosegbe: A typical "establishment" candidate who was "selected" in order not to rock the boat, while untold acts corruption were perpetrated under his watch.

You're a good man, sir, but you won't be remembered as a great leader. The Second Republic needed a leader who would take the bull by the horns, take a tough stance against corruption and impunity, and clean up the system. Unfortunately you failed to make this happen.

The profligacy and mindless waste/stealing of public funds perpetrated by officials in your administration, coupled with NPN's blatant rigging of the 1983 elections, gave the military a perfect pretext to stage yet another coup which set us back by another couple of decades.

One can only hope that leaders of the present age have learnt from your mistakes.

Happy birthday sir.

This is a precise description of GEJ. So in other words Jonathan is Shagari 2.0

How did we get saddled with this kind of leaders?

envy not let me see road. haba, one small girl over all the actors and actresses in Naija. Anyway, big congrats to Rachel Mwanza. all the best

nobody from Nollywood? Genevive? Omotola? what happened to you guys?

[quote author=A-40]Whoa am I the only one that saw Harden give OKC the business??
Maybe if he played this well in the Finals the Thunder would have traded Ibaka instead of him. Still think it was a good move on both sides you have to wonder if Dwight is eyeing this Rockets team

The Lakers also crushed the Celts between

[b]Trade Deadline day! No major moves [/b]yet[/quote]"Yawn" It's past 3pm ET and nothing. Zilch! I say one of the worst trade deadline.

Jsmoove still with the Hawks.

stillwater: Here we go again with the bastardization of the word hypocrite.

Hehehe, I really would hate to have friends like some of you that shy away from the truth all in the bid not to sound 'hypocritical' or 'judgmental'. Good hustling on Kim's part and strategic PR stunts, but it is totally insane morally to invite someone like Kim to Nigeria for the progression of a concert. It only tells me where the current mentality of the Nigerian populace lie. Kim in Nigeria translates to who Nigerians especially the women worship and idolize! That is the truth! You call Nigeria, and all you here from ladies mouth is Kim, Kim, Kim. I applaud Dare's PR, and Kim's hustling! These people would feed you with what the populace wants!!!

The only hypocrisy here is a Nigerian girl cannot do half of what Kim has done and receive this much celebrity accolade. Why haven't we rolled out red carpets for Cossy Orjiakor? Is it because her 'status' has not reached or broken barriers in the international scene, or preferably she's not oyibo?

This is the truth. And because Cossy get krokro for yansh but Kim's yansh is white, clean, soft & fresh. Oyinbo worshiping is the fastest growing phenomenon in Naija. Kim carry LV bag, Naija woman, especially the Lekki crowd must carry their own too.

why are folks even analyzing this useless number? Once in a while this incompetent govt and their goons throw out numbers just for the heck of it. And to

Fact is the price of petrol, diesel, garri, rice, okada fare, bread (cassava & wheat), ponmo, dried fish, tomato etc is still rising. So what are we talking about here?

GEJ is just polluting this country with toxic fumes.

So Kim K visited Naija and your whole "cleb" people went gaga. Pan-oyinbo go kill Naija people.

The same Kim k that that has been shagged by all NBA & NFL players and then tossed over to Kanye. And there's even inquiry on this her pregnancy. No be Kanye get the belle oh. Kanye is gay and only shags her through the anus, so how did he give her belle. Humps should demand for a DNA test when she gives birth.

babaskool: you are not getting the point are you there a lot of rich nigerians who live in places like lekki and hence live in mansions built in these areas someone bought his land only for half a million pounds your telling him he shud have bought a house in lekki u dey craze no offence are u comparing lekki to peckham....don't....i've lived in hackney east london for about 5 years i just laugh at these richard branson alan sugar guys that think they have money ........maybe they shud vist dangote website for which kind of truck driver job he has for them lolllllll

oh you were deported when your "aduro" expired. No wonder you sound so bitter. And I bet you hardly strayed outside your Hackney basement apartment throughout your unfortunate stay. Hemel Hempstead? Edgware? sound familiar? I didn't think so

This article is about Nigerians who studied in the U.K, not an "aduro" like you. Anyway have fun in your Lekki mansion.

babaskool: DEAR FRIEND are u high or sumthing , a plot of land in lekki costs an average of 200 million naira dats half a million pounds which house or amenties in peckham was is worth a million pounds not to talk of some people house in lekki

Anyone paying that is brain dead. With that money (800,000 pounds) you can buy 2 houses in the U.K and lease it for monthly income (2,000 pounds each house, every month)