₦airaland Forum

lagos lagos   thats all we hear, meanwhile that city is thriving on the blood of hustling igbo men and this cow is here telling me about tolerance and accomodation,  , see people wey dey accomodate others dey sleep under bridge dey come here dey yarn okpata,
I have asked many times on this forum 1.APART FROM LAGOS, WHICH YORUBA CITY COMPARES WITH CITIES IN THE SS/SE 2.MINUS LAGOS,BETWEEN EAST AND WEST WHICH REGION LOOKS LIKE IT FELT THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF THE CIVIL WAR , you dey here dey preach tolerance.
You lot have been toddled all your lives from the days of the british and awo,yet nothing to show for it but a former FCT that is what it is today because of the rest of the country,

Eko Ile:
Sea or no sea, British or no British, it makes no difference because it has nothing to do with peoples way of life and culture, we only thank God for giving us a good, tolerant culture and way of life which is what you people are enjoying. With the sea And everything, it's still possible to make our land hostile and inhospitable for you and your people, but we are not, your tribe is not even a factor in our land, this is who we are regardless and unlike you ungrateful leeches and anti social behavior.

There is a reason why God gave us this wonderful gift because you people are too evil, you are too petty, you are incompetent and won't make good use of it, you won't even share it with anybody and your hatred and animosity against the same people that gave you so much and allow you to do so much is a sad reflection of the depth your terrible behavior.

Trust me, God made the right decision. You people are too evil to be given any advantage, you kidnapp and slaughter your own people for chump change for crying out loud.

Yoruba people are obvious the least of your worrie.

, tolerant culture and way of life, , are you serious? step aside, bloody vulcanizer

Eko Ile:
When you go to bed tonight, get on your knees and thank the Yoruba people for showing you and your people mercy by giving you the safety and comfort you lack in your villages and also for allowing you to survive, make a living and able to take care of the rest of your villages. Also pray to God to give your dumb and incompetent isi ewu and pamy leaders needed brains and competency to provide for you and your people and stop letting you people leech on other nigerians like perpetual refugee.

Please pray to that.

no wahala but also remember to thank the Good lord( for that beautiful sea behind you) and the british for bringing the rest of the country to your backyard, but hopefully it ll all end soon infact its ending already,
you can see that you have everybody to thank except yourselves, what comfort and security are you talkin aboutwhen people feed you you have no choice but to be nice to and at peace with them, plain and simple!

Eko Ile:
More like the same ibo people are the refugees looking for better life and safety the Yoruba people allow to sit and make a living to feed themselves and heir families back in their villages.

If not for our hospitality and safe environment, many of them go don starve to death, get kidnapped or slaughtered. ibo men and  women are not safe in iboland, they can not even get a better life until they venture into Yorubaland.

The joke is on you dumb a,.s.s.s.s

, my man every night before you go to bed,go on your knees and thank the devil for giving this country one clueless govt after the other that keep perpetuating the several injustices in this country.be grateful to him, COS if things were right,GOD in heaven knows that vulcanizing and taxi driving will not save you lot,

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=782861.msg9353249#msg9353249 date=1318794584]Why are they feeding yorubas when their folks back in the east are hungry ? What are they doing in lagos ?[/quote]dude please dont make me laugh, just go and thankgod for little mercies, , folks in the east are hungry!what a joke!

Eko Ile:
Who really gives a fcukkk about you? This is why people can't stand you, you people are so annoying.

idiot, yet for that your lagos na igbos go carry spoon pack food give una and una go shamelessly open mouth to recieve, riff raff!!

for the chicks, eva is the new queen of rap i swear, even blaise wey i feel say go hol her own fall hand, 9ja never tire for sashathat chick bores the hell outta me,

That is the question

greateros:
Biafra is the only pillar holding “contract Nigeria” to its foundation; the single hand carrying Nigeria. Did I hear your opinion differ? It’s all clear-even as every second ticks by. Biafra remains the biggest nightmare which torments the beds of every heart and hand which holds Nigerians together in modern slavery. Biafra is the Karma of evil doers in Nigeria, the repercussions of years of selfishness which breeds wickedness and callousness. Ask yourselves: “who dreads Biafra the most, who really feels more vulnerable at the sound of this great name?" Only in answering that shall you truthfully come to terms with the depths of your wickedness and the superficiality of this country called Nigeria; perhaps you could save what you have left of yourselves. Without Ndigbo, Nigeria would quickly decay like a corpse refrigerated for centuries. If your opinion, however, differs from this truth, and you believe that Nigeria will suddenly wake up from its dead bed once Biafra comes, then speak to your peoples; gather your leaders and speak with one voice, saying: “Nigeria will get well when the Igbos leave”. Let your convictions be heard just as mine is-all over the world. It doesn’t matter how many accusations have been labeled against Ndigbo, Ojukwu, or/and Biafra, it holds no sand if every accusing finger in Nigeria continually points towards South-East; Biafra remains both the dread of Nigerian leaders, and the hope of Nigerians. Biafra is the freedom that will break the Nigeria bondage and set Nigerians free. Ndigbo are now home to the many names anyone would conceive of calling us, these make us stronger. Igbos love money, Ok; Ndigbo claim to be the wisest, hmmm; Igbos are wicked, I see; their land is landlocked, really? They want Biafra yet they have nothing apart from trade, tell me something; everyone knows that Igbos do not go to school, I’m listening; Igbos cannot unite, really? In a fruitless attempt to shut out the blaring truth, every hand rises to answer the Igbo question; yet the obvious most important but unanswered question after all these still remains: why do Nigerians then dread the Biafran state? Why has the federal government of Nigeria done everything to oppose this, including killing innocent people and setting the guilty ones free? And why do people from a particular location cry out in protest when Biafra is mentioned, as if their mother is about to be taken away from them? Patriotism is ruled out. The obvious answer to this is simple: Biafra carries Nigeria, Ndigbo are the only single pillar keeping Nigeria in its place.

Continue from the link below:
http://nigeriamasterweb.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/13/nigeria-who-dreads-biafra-the-most-search-yourselves

@bolded is part that stares them in the face and they dont want to face it, , well you wont blame them, If you had a lion caged in your house will you sleep with two eyes closed?

this na the mode nine wey rugged man chop liver say im wan decimate, i dey laugh! , rugged just pales,

Ibime:
In order of dopeness:


(1.) Modenine
(2.) Sauce Kid
(3.) MI
(4.) Naeto C
(5.) XO da Senavoe (didn't understand what he was mumbling)
(6.) Ice Prince

my friend no vex me o!! caman move MI to number 2,

, jet wahala, whos the fool here?

Anyday una mention rugged man for where mode or MI dey, me and una go get serious problem o, the jus no smell their league,

smooth criminals

i swear , the boys impress me die, MI killed it, followed by mode nizzy, Eva killed it for the chicks, sasha did'nt cut it at all, all in all,Naija don dey talk and the rest of the world don dey listen,

ojubi:
Now mr AMECHI, we the residents of portharcourt dont need yo ligth cos we all ve generators, we dont need water cos we all have bore holes, we dont  need your frivolous free health care cos we have pharmacies acrose the streets. Please stop all this media propaganda tha u and gov AKPABIO are doing and give us ROADS in porthacourt. It is a shame that u cant drive any were in phc. City and u are on the news on daily basis doing self praise singing. ODILI was like u, see were he ended today. He cant find his voice. SHAME on u, SHAME on your bad ROADS.

maybe when you learn to spell, he'll construct roads, 

[quote author=Ricky_Ross link=topic=782258.msg9346811#msg9346811 date=1318706611]Lets be honest for once, this news is good and Amaechi is working for this state. Can you in any way compare Amechi to that greedy bastard called Odili? I live in Port Harcourt and can confirm that this governor is miles above any other Nigerian governor in the areas of education and medicare. Amaechi has build world class schools and hospitals all over this state, it started from the most interior villages to the main cities. The primary and secondary schools this man has built in this state is far much better and more advanced than some of the trash we call universities here in Nigeria. All these primary/secondary schools are fully air conditioned and fully equipped with standard lab, basketball courts, computer per student infact the building alone is class.

As for medicare there is free medicare for pregnant women and children under 6 years old and the elderly above 60 years. This has been existing in Rivers State for years. As for the quality of the hospitals here i will say its good. I am yet to see a governor that has done better than Amaechi in medical delivery

I agree many roads in PHC are bad but all these roads are under construction and the contractors were mandated to STOP work since they claim the previous jobs they did didn't last because they were mandated to work during rainy season. Only RCC is currently working (Eliozu Road) and their job quality is very good.

I am in Nigeria since December I have been able to spend at least 8 days in 10 different states of Nigeria if I should rate the governors Amaechi tops everyone in Education and medical delivery, and Enugu/Akwaibom is tops in road construction[/quote]Classic post, absolutely beautiful, let me reinforce, No governor , and i mean no governor comes close to akwa ibom's in road construction, Julius berger wan finish the place with roads

Why am i not surprised?i ve said it many times before that that city is traumatising, its f* ked a great deal of its residents up.lagos residents are like junkies, they cant live without the drug even though the ish is messin em up real good,

^^you dey argue with goat, wetin you expect

the subsidy should remain for now, government has many other leaks it should plug ASAP, not subsidy removal.This man GEJ is so clueless,its mind boggling.Your refineries are not working yet you want to remove subsidy.these our leaders are in a world of their own i swear,

Eko Ile:
Contributing meaningfully to the thread would have sufficed instead of displaying your usual ghayyish look at me attention seeking routine and trollish characteristics,

get fasholas d****k outta your mouth then you might be able to have a proper discussion, ant!

^^^^when dem call you rabid attack dog now, you go begin vex, , f***khead!

^^^^^ , so i take it you bought your wife a plate of kenke before she agreed to marry you and have your kids, do you think before you typeseriously no fall our hand here o!!!

i would expect that from his ads alone,dude should be making close to 250grand/day,

true blood 4

^The roads are in the pipeline,

Please someone should explain to me why in the hell odili aint on that list?

darkhand:
How do we get the governor to provide more info? Seems he favors mafia style of silence.

dont they all my brother, its sad!

ROTIMI AMAECHI’S ISSUES
Posted by andybriggsreport ⋅ September 8, 2011 ⋅ Leave a Comment
Filed Under  chamberlain peterside, chibuike rotimi amaechi, rivers connect, skye bank

Q&A WITH CHAMBERLAIN PETERSIDE,
RIVERS STATE COMMISSIONER FOR FINANCE

Excerpts:
ABR: Tell me about your work at Merril Lynch.
PETERSIDE: My work at Merril was as a financial advisor and certified financial manager. I worked in the Global Private Clients Group in New York City. Merrill as you know is the pre-eminent investment bank and asset manager. Its private clients group was made up of key associates and staff, building relationships and attracting institutional and private assets, helping clients design investment portfolio. That’s where I spent time and got a good grounding in the financial industry before I set up my own shop New Era Capital Corporation in 2003.
ABR: Why did you come to work with Gov. Amaechi ?
PETERSIDE: I came on his invitation. Prior to now, he inaugurated an economic advisory council in 2007 and I became a member of that council from inception and I was quite active. We had truly debated a lot of key policy issues which have helped shape his vision. Though I was based abroad, I regularly made effort to attend our plenary sessions, once a month and some of the other extra-ordinary meetings. I also was very active on some of the task force and committees that drafted key and pivotal documents. My role in both the advisory council and credit rating program was a precursor to his nominating me as the finance commissioner. He said, ‘you come to the table and bring your ideas and let’s discuss it’.
ABR: Why does Gov. Amaechi need N250 billion ?
PETERSIDE: The governor does not need N250 billion. It is the system that demands of us that we should plan our finances differently. In my life as a financial manager, I understand pretty well the need for long term financial planning, treasury management. We have identified that long term projects, key infrastructural investments need long term money as opposed to short term financing that you can get from a bank or as opposed to relying exclusively on your federal allocation which doesn’t actually depend on any one factor. That is not the way to run a successful government. So, his excellency with all good intentions that he has to build up on the infrastructure investment and keep the momentum going, thought it fit to begin to look a little long term and see how we can attract long term money to fund capital projects for the long haul. Apart from building a precedence of long term financial planning, going to the bond market helps you to entrench some level of transparency. Before you get the money, you have to prepare the prospectus, you have to file it with the SEC and the regulatory agencies, to potential investors, you must keep track, you must document and report on the progress of the project. You must indicate which projects you are looking to fund with this bond. You must develop a good functional debt management desk whereby all government debts and liabilities are well managed in real terms. You must have a strengthened and modern financial public accounting system. In so doing, you are able to build institutions; you are able to build a solid financial policy framework.
ABR: At the end of the day, they put you in debt.
PETERSIDE: Debt per se is not a bad thing. The averseness to debt is not something we should live with everyday of our lives. In fact, you can’t fund development on the long run as a country or government without some level of debt. The kind of debt you carry is what matters and what you use the debt to do is also what matters.
ABR: How do you pay back the debt ? Is it not still based on what you refer to as the short term funding which Rivers State gets from the federal allocation ?
PETERSIDE: A hundred billion naira bond at 12% would amount to a monthly debt service of N1.9 billion a month for five years. So you are not in debt as if you can’t climb out of the hole. In fact you have eased your life because N1.9 billion we can easily afford. We earn about N4 billion-N5 billion from IGR, N15 billion-N18 billion from the federal allocation; if you add these it gives N19 billion-N23 billion monthly. Andy, realistically, it will take us ten months to earn N250 billion or eight months to earn N100 billion. But if you go to the market, you have that money in your hands and you can use it to pay contractors, finance long term projects and repay with debt servicing of N1.9 billion a month.
ABR: So we have another scenario where another administration is going to be burdened with paying off the debt?
PETERSIDE: We have a scenario as follows; if we go to the market and raise N100 billion for five years, by the end of this administration, we would have paid off 80% of that. And with 20% of that left, we have a choice of making a balloon payment of that money. It is allowed in the bond agreement.
ABR: So, what about N250 billion ?
PETERSIDE: Two-fifty, Andy is our proposed bond program. What a bond program means, Andy, is that you file a shelf registration, you prepare a bond package and you submit to SEC that you are willing and looking to raising N250 billion. Now are you going to raise the N250 billion in one year or in one quarter? Not at all. But it is a program that’s there. If you want to go to the market subsequently, you do. If you don’t want to, you don’t. Fashola’s government has a shelf program of N275 billion. It has gone to the market twice, for N50 billion and N75 billion. It has not gone back again. If it wants it will go. Over that period, Andy, Lagos State has built up its IGR to a good level, whereby it might not need to go to the market and besides, what helps you build your IGR, Andy ? It is the infrastructure and the business that you use your bond money to finance.
ABR: Can you specifically itemize the projects that will be financed by this money ? You should have a comprehensive list of priorities before taking a loan.
PETERSIDE: Andy, top of our projects to finance are the Greater Port Harcourt City program, the M10 Highway and the Ring Road.
ABR: The Chinese walked away from the ring road project.
PETERSIDE: They didn’t walk away from the deal. The arrangement with the partner was such that the partner had his own political problems… And of course you have the new UST. It is top on the radar. We believe that if we are able to build a new campus, it would be a brain thrust for science and technology and for academia.
ABR: It won’t make any money. Instead it would guzzle up more.
PETERSIDE: It would guzzle money at the first instance while you are building. When you finish building, under PPP model, university campuses, hostels and other ancillary facilities can be money spinners. Ultimately, you are investing, not wasting funds. You are investing to grow the economy. Science and technology is an investment that will pay dividends in the long run.
ABR: Early this year, the governor borrowed N30 billion from Zenith Bank. Rivers State gets more money from the federation account than probably any other state. The governor has even admitted that his administration has received more than a trillion naira from the federation account. Last month, the administration got N45 billion. According to the governor, the state gets N4-5 billion monthly from IGR. He also claims that he has been saving NI billion every month from the allocation. Most states do not have this kind of money and they manage to live within their means. Why not Rivers?
PETERSIDE: Rivers State is a metropolitan state…a growth driver, potentially, in this country. Rivers State is the second largest economy in this country. Probably has the single most important industrial city in W. Africa, Bonny LNG plant is the single largest and most expensive industrial entity in Africa. We are not talking about some banana state here. You could come and say, why not live within your means? Why not just do it like somebody else out there? Fine. But you could also say we travel around the world, we see things happening, all the infrastructure, how societies transformed in the last twenty years, Shanghai, Dubai, why not here? What is it that we do not have that we can acquire to make us the Dubai of Sub-Saharan Africa? Why sit back and watch Lagos blaze the trail of advancement into the next decade and say we’ll just be satisfied? His excellency has asked himself these questions and did not feel he should sit back and just enjoy his tenure and not get these things done. Besides, Andy, let’s take specific data; in terms of life expectancy, maternal mortality, unemployment, in terms of the critical indices, we are way behind compared with even some African countries. Now why would we sit back and expect that the pace we are going will lead us to the Promised Land… No well meaning leader should sit back and let that happen. That is why he (Amaechi) decided to make a conscious effort to go on a progressive trajectory and that demands money, planning… six states of this country have already gone to the bond market.
ABR: People distrust the state government, the same way that state governors distrust the federal government.
PETERSIDE: Just to take a step back before I answer that. The state got its first loan facility from Zenith bank at the end of last year. I have papers in front of me here to confirm that we took N30 billion, we are repaying N2.6 billion every month. We have N26 billion and more already paid up. We are going to liquidate that debt by end of September or early October. If you look at the debt service of N2.6 billion, that’s nearly 8% of the total debt. People take loans for three, four years and pay pea-nuts. We pay down heavily. Second facility we’ve taken is N20 billion in June and N20 billion in July. We are also paying down heavily. We’ve paid N2 billion in the last two months. At that pace, at the average of 8-10 months we should have paid down these debts. Recently, there was news making the rounds that we are going back to GTB for N100 billion. It is not N100 billion. The facility is for N40 billion for 8% three year tenure.
ABR: What is the sum effect of all these borrowing? Are you getting more money for work or are you being weighed down by these debt burdens?
PETERSIDE: When I took office, over several months ago, given the large volume of projects we had and given the issues we had from 2007-2009, when even at the federal level, the excess crude account was depleted, our monthly allocation declined drastically. Rivers State lost significant amount of its oil wells to Akwa Ibom State. We have won that lawsuit. We have also an issue with Bayelsa. Some months earlier in this year, we were getting N9 billion. It was that bad. Bear in mind that our monthly wage bill is N5.5 billion and our overhead is N1.5 billion. So we were somewhere around N7 billion monthly just to keep government running…you are left with N2 billion. You can hardly pay for Azikiwe Road…or Ikwerre Road or any of the fly-overs or even rural roads or power. Those are heavy investments we made. That put a bit of pressure. Hence the need to tap bank loans and bridge those gaps. As we speak now, Andy, we are back to square one, not in a negative term but back to where we usually are in terms of robust sound financial footing. Our FAAC is coming up well, our IGR is growing and we have paid down a lot of the capital projects you see around. From here on, we should be looking at a very positive growth trend. As soon as issues have to do with money, there is always a tendency for distrust especially if you can not demonstrate to the public – with the kind of institutions and policies you have in place – that you can manage money well. That is a key thing that worries his excellency.
ABR: Can you show documented evidence that Rivers State has been saving N1 billion every month ? The governor has been saying so for over 3 years so we should have at least N36 billion in the kitty.
PETERSIDE: If I can lay my hands on a report from IBTC Assets Managers who are managing the fund.
ABR: We would like to see it to publish it for Rivers people.
PETERSIDE: The total funds that have accumulated in that account is N27 billion.
ABR: He told us middle of last year N28 billion.
PETERSIDE: It would not be the middle of last year…towards the end of last year.
ABR: So several months later ?
PETERSIDE: Several months later, Andy, I have to tell you that there was a period where the contributions were suspended because of emergent financial needs we had in the state. We had to decide whether we are going to pay the pensioners, over N600 million every month because of backlog of pensions or contribute N1 billion in reserve. (Shows paper) This is a presentation by IBTC Assets Managers. Current value of fund…
ABR: We need a copy to publish.
PETERSIDE: You can’t publish. This is a presentation made to me as finance commissioner. We should be able to provide access to this information when our financial portal begins to operate.
ABR: After I have asked you, if people can’t see it, it is going to look dodgy.
PETERSIDE: I’ll make you a commitment to the people of the state that in a couple of months, we are going to have an e-portal, a web site that will have up to date information on our finances.
ABR: Let’s move on. Government does not want to show us.
PETERSIDE: No, it is not that Government does not want to show it.
ABR: What did the administration hope to achieve by bringing the globally known credit rating agency Standard and Poors to Rivers State ? P.R ?
PETERSIDE: Whether it is P.R or not Andy, it is not for me to judge. The state has an ongoing relationship with two international credit-rating agencies, Standard and Poors and Fitch. Since 2008, every year, right about summer August-October, the agencies come into the state for an annual review. We gather all our financial team from the Finance ministry, budget and planning and Inland Revenue service. We sit down on a one day intensive review session where we open our books, all the facts and they take a look. It happened to have fallen in August 15th or thereabout, around the time they had downgraded the U.S.
ABR: So the purpose is to assure our creditors?
PETERSIDE: The purpose is to assure the general public and the people of the state. First and foremost, that we are financially sound-
ABR: How do you assure a poor people that you are financially sound ?
PETERSIDE: You can see it in the projects we are building. You can accuse anybody of anything but it is not possible to accuse anybody in this government or the governor himself of taking any penny from the coffers.
ABR: If the governor ever agrees to give me an interview, if I have anything to say about that, I’ll say it to him.
ABR: How much did Rivers State get in the sale of Pabod Breweries to SAB Miller ?
PETERSIDE: Andy, I wish I had those numbers. That happened before I came on board. That transaction was a landmark, one of the few turn-around in this country, carried out by the state government.
ABR: That is why we want to know how much Rivers got. We know what SAB Miller got.
PETERSIDE: Does it not matter to you that at least the place is functional, producing, employing people and paying taxes ?
ABR: It has not had any impact on the job market, really.
PETERSIDE: One tree can not make a forest. SAB Miller is a multi-national, the second largest brewer in the world.
ABR: That’s why we have our eye on the money.
PETERSIDE: It was lying fallow for twenty five years. Give some credit, my friend.
ABR: Without a doubt. But we feel it was a serious oversight that the Rivers public has been kept in the dark regarding the financial details.
PETERSIDE: You may be right. It was a private transaction. There might have been more disclosures but again that’s left to the officers who anchored.
ABR: The Pabod PRO refused to say.
PETERSIDE: He would not even know.
ABR: He categorically said, I can’t tell you.
PETERSIDE: If he gives you that information they will fire him.
ABR: According to the governor and the statistics we have, Skye Bank has failed every month for the past near three years to pay the N8 billion which it guaranteed to take over the collection of all IGR in Rivers. We commend the governor for putting this on record at so many fora.
PETERSIDE: IGR was N5.7 billion last month.
ABR: What bothers many people however is that the governor who signed the MOA on behalf of Rivers State has not insisted that Skye Bank should respect the terms of the MOA and pay the state about a N100 billion which is what it is with-holding from the state by reneging on their bond. Why have both the governor and Skye Bank abandoned the rule of law as stipulated in the MOA ? Why do the MOA if one won’t be bound by it ?
PETERSIDE: Andy, you have some point in that question. It is a very valid question. Those are the discussions we had with the credit rating agencies in 2009. They were very enthused to know that there was a deal that would actually guarantee a certain amount of inflow in IGR. That is the question they have continued to ask. Where is the money that was supposed to flow in?
ABR: When you say ‘guarantee’, it means you can take it to the bank.
PETERSIDE: Again it’s the verb-age that matters. I don’t know whether they guaranteed.
ABR: Guaranteed Monthly Target.
PETERSIDE: That happened before my coming to office. It is not my call as to who guaranteed what, who should answer for what, who should be taken to court. That agreement would expire by the end of the year.
ABR: It would probably be renewed.
PETERSIDE: Andy, don’t jump the gun. We have to sit down and negotiate. Remember that government is not static. It is not like a marriage where you agree till death makes you part. Just to give some insight, the N8 billion target was reduced on mutual agreement to N6 billion.
ABR: What of money owed the state, the shortfall ?
PETERSIDE: Again you leave it to the partners concerned. Whether it is the A.G’s office, the governor, Skye Bank… I can not actually discuss that because it is not under my watch. I wish I could go back and carry a hammer and push and ask anybody where is my backlog of money but I can’t even do that.
ABR: All the PPPs embarked on by the administration have been largely unsuccessful. Most are no longer PPPs including Monorail, KBW Specialist Hospital and Airport Hotel. Silver-bird Galleria is only a shadow of what it was meant to be, Skye taxis have disappeared from the roads and the Skye buses are now an eyesore. All these did not happen under your watch but what new hopes do you bring?
PETERSIDE: It’s been quite a learning curve in a lot of governments. For a concept that we know is proven in the advanced world…we haven’t really hit the right tone in how we structure the deal and conduct due diligence.
ABR: Most of the PPPs took off lawless, long before the House passed the enabling law.
PETERSIDE: It is a learning curve. Every government has tenure. If it takes six months or a year to draft the PPP law, it does not mean you should not be working.
ABR: I don’t think fraud is involved but PPPs are as unsuccessful in this state as the BPE.
PETERSIDE: Well, you might say that.
ABR: People have no confidence in PPP in this state. Is the government going ahead ?
PETERSIDE: Andy, PPP is a viable option. If you need to…
ABR: All things being equal ?
PETERSIDE: Yes, all things being equal. It’s been successful in the U.S and several European countries. The point where we are, that people take those concepts, jump the gun and say, we can help you and unless you conduct proper due diligence you just might not be sure of their capability and the outcome will surprise you.
ABR: Yes. At crunch time they say they do not have the money.
PETERSIDE: Yes. If your partner fails, it is not an indictment of you. You just run ahead… If you wait, you might not move. If you move, you might be seen to have made the wrong decision. It is a balancing act. ROTIMI AMAECHI’S ISSUES: THE CONCLUSION: Chamberlain Peterside, Rivers State commissioner for Finance was right about one thing; it may not be an act of recklessness to borrow to fund ambitious development. Unfortunately, the projects he listed as those to be funded by the bond market loan of a hundred billion are among those regarded by many as probably the white elephant projects of the Amaechi administration, including; Greater Port Harcourt City and the PH Ring Road. There are also other projects for which many people think the state should not go into debt such as the proposed M10 (copying British motorway terminology) and Amaechi’s new university which he insists on naming as the new UST. Two years ago when the governor of Rivers State assembled stake holders to be bamboozled at power point at what was said to be the presentation of the masterplan of Greater Port Harcourt City, it was discernible from the nebulous blue prints that the masterplan was not yet ready. At that gathering Amaechi declared that he would set aside a hundred billion yearly to build Greater Port Harcourt. It was assumed that he had the money. Was he thinking of the bond market then ? Two things happened at Greater Port Harcourt to cause people to suspect that the presentation of the masterplan could have been a ruse. A year later, a team was carrying out soil survey at a site for some bulk infrastructure and those breaking ground for the sport city had run into some pipe lines and had to relocate somewhat. Would there have been a need for another soil survey or the possibility of being blind-sided by oil pipe lines if the men at work were in possession of the masterplan ? As for the ring road, perhaps the commissioner was unaware that the governor had announced to a meeting of stake-holders last year that the ring road project was dead. Before that the Chinese who were considering investing on the project had backed off when the state government could not deliver an aerial survey of acceptable standard. It was really noteworthy to have Commissioner Peterside listing these wonky projects as the priorities for which Governor Amaechi was borrowing N100 billion. Secondly, it was noted from the debt profile presented by the commissioner that the state debt profile was rather unsettling. The next administration will certainly inherit a debt burden. It is the size of the debt that is left to be settled. It is also now authoritative that Gov. Amaechi has not been saving a billion a month. He got the Rivers House of Assembly to make that law which made it mandatory for the governor to put aside a billion from the state revenue into a reserve fund every month and then he broke the law. At a point, he decided to suspend the deduction even as he continued telling that he was saving a billion every month in his state. He even made those claims in his campaign against the federal government’s sovereign wealth fund. The secrecy behind the sale of Pabod brewery was also highlighted by the commissioner’s lack of information on the deal. Obviously it was not in his hand-over notes. Other issues of concern included the lack of transparency over the RVSG-Skye Bank IGR which the commissioner confessed as being above his station and the failing of all PPPs entered into by the administration. These issues need to be addressed directly by Gov. Rotimi Amaechi. Andy Briggs Report upholds the right of fair hearing.

http://andybriggsreport./2011/09/08/rotimi-amaechi%E2%80%99s-issues/


Even though i think andy briggs is the "michael moore" of portharcourt city,  ,he still raises some valid points and questions that many indigenes and non-indigenes have been asking, for instance How much did the RSG get from the sale of pabodwhy has the PPP model in this state turned out to be a colossal failure?   
Is the IGR of this state grossly under declared

The floor is open, no insults please,

KnowAll:
The staff and d company would probably have to live through d " blackout" in PHC for d moment b4 things improve hopefully, and a big "hopefully it is. Nothing works in PH, even d state of d roads in d city are all shiiiit, if comments made on this forum are anything to go by . What that Governor has is a well oiled propagandist dishing out shiiiit as fast as it comes out of d Governor's Nyansh.

o please, give them 6 months and they ll know what they ve been missing, breathing fresher air,less stress et al, their life expectancy go suddenly rise from 45years(lagos) to >70yrs,
this is just the beginning.dont know why it wasnt done earlier, shell and co should follow suit.
i had mentioned this in some other thread that this country is gradually decentralising, Its happening even faster than i thought.



The ibaka deep sea port will be the NAIL that finally seals the coffin,

eliogbolo,rumuokoro, dem jus bring light this morning since 2 weeks, ,

Desola:
Have you sent the telegram to Chukwudi to start packing his belongings from Alaba yet?

, after you chop our food finish,you go still open that your hole insult us, riff raff!

Rivers’ll take delivery of new trains soon – Commissioner

The Rivers State government has said that brand new trains will be arriving in the country soon from Switzerland. The trains are for the state’s mass transit project.

Transport Commissioner, Mr. George Tolofari, who made this known, said more rail tracks and other equipment for the state’s multi-billion naira monorail project have arrived Port Harcourt, the state capital. “The trains, which are being built in Switzerland will arrive in Nigeria soon!, he said. The commissioner, who was speaking at Onne Port, while inspecting the equipment, accordingly appealed to those who are skeptical about the mass transit project, to be patient with government.

He said as soon as the facilities were cleared by the customs, they will be transferred to the built warehouse located in Trans-Amadi, the industrial hub of the state in Port Harcourt. Tolofari said part of the delay in the early completion of the monorail project was the heavy rains in the state. The project, which has so far gulped N11bn, according to the commissioner, is to be powered by independent power supply. He claimed that the epileptic power supply from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) will not affect the project, adding that those who feel that the monorail will result in the demolition of their houses have no cause to worry.

“Government has done a survey of the routes and discovered that only few houses will be affected”, the transport commissioner said, pointing out that adequate compensation will be paid for such houses. Governor Chibuike Amaechi, has already given those affected seven days notice to vacate the marked houses before the bulldozers start to roll in to reduce them to rubbles.

The houses are at Azikiwe Road, Port Harcourt. Before now, there have been fears of massive demolition as a result of the monorail project. The fears according to Tolofari, were unfounded. He said the first phase of the project will be completed before December next year. “The arrival of these equipment is evidence that the monorail is not an abandoned project as being touted by some uninformed people”, the commissioner said.


http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/21005.html