₦airaland Forum

‎SOME stakeholders and economic experts in Borno on Wednesday expressed mixed feelings over the 2017 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Some said they were confident about the president’s political will, while others predicted a robust economic outlook in 2017, with drastic economic reforms imminent.

Abdullahi Gana, a civil servant, said the 2016 budget had not yielded much positive results.

“What particular project has been carried out with the 2016 budgetary figures. The citizens haven’t felt the benefits of this year’s budgetary dispensations and are very hungry.

“They cannot find the time to listen or read about 2017 figures when that of 2016 hasn’t helped their lives.

“The government must find a way to circulate money in the economy so that it gets to the impoverished and hungry citizens,” Mr. Gana said.

“President Buhari said the 2017 budget would contain proposals and packages that would lead Nigeria out of the present economic recession.

“We are glad that most of the government policies are targeted at reducing unemployment and poverty, and wealth creation.


“The social intervention programme of N500 billion in the 2017 budget would go a long way to cushion the hardship of Nigerians,” he said.

Bulama Baba, another civil servant, said the effort of the government to diversify the economy was very commendable.

“By declaring that the economy must be diversified, the president has said it all; that is his economic policy and the direction of his government.

“It is left for those in the business environment to change the way business is done, to turn around agriculture, mining, local production of the basic needs of the Nigerian people.

“Come to think of it, after all what is budgeting and how does it affect the welfare of the people.

“Budgets are just guidelines in spending if you have and want to spend or proposals.

“In 2016, the government made a projection (budget) on income and expenditure based on a certain amount of crude sales.

“Unfortunately, that is not realisable because of obvious reasons, fall in crude price which accounts for 80 per cent of government revenue.

“That has already created a gap and it means readjustment to give more attention to priority areas.”

Muhammad Ciroma said if all proposals that the president presented in the assembly would be executed with integrity, Nigeria would have no cause to be broke.

“It is no doubt that the PMB government has made significant gains in terms of governance and transparency in the oil sector.

“The government must therefore monitor effectiveness of operations at the refineries and show a readiness to tackle difficult issues, especially the Niger Delta militants.”

Muhammad Askira, a lecturer at Ramat Polytechnic, said: “By what ensued in the 2016 budget, it has brought out the fact that budgets were never holistically prepared in this country for anything at all.

“It was cut and paste actually, nobody cares so long as money will be made available to be shared, with no accounting procedures followed and budget monitoring nonexistent.

“Supposing there was no change in government from PDP to APC, you and I would never have known the inadequacies in running the government of Nigeria or any government before, for that matter.

“It was just a bandwagon; people were carried along to ‘eat’ what was offered them and no questions asked.
“The onus (is) on this administration to put things rightly in place and do things the right way is enough exercise to last it through its first four years,” Mr. Askira said.

However, Friday Nwadinobi, a resident of Gwange quarters, said polarisation of the country along so many fault lines was affecting governance.

“The loyalty any leader gets from the civil servants or subordinates depends on ethno religious beliefs or alignment.

“Saboteurs are everywhere. And for a government that has clearly declared war on corruption, when even the head of an arm of government is under trial, leaves so much to be desired.

“Criticising the government that is bringing change may not be the solution.

“The presidency must come out and educate Nigerians the more on what it is doing, because they are doing so much to get us out of the problems we are in; but only those who have ears to listen or eyes to see can assimilate that.

“When economists are criticising the economic team because they feel they know it all and should have been part of it, then you know that something is wrong with us.

“Is the implementation of the TSA not a great departure from previous economic policies ? Is that not enough to praise the political will and decision of the government ?

“For the government to survive to this point, with all the problems it inherited like Niger Delta crises, corruption, insecurity, poor infrastructure and many others, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari deserves commendation,” Mr. Nwadinobi said.

[NAN]‎

‎THE Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has called for the immediate arrest of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal.

Fayose made the call in addition to that of the Senate for the immediate sack of the SGF after he was indicted by the Senate for benefiting from inflated and phantom contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative for the North East, PINE.

The governor, in a statement circulated by his media aide, Lere Olayinka, asked;“When will armed men of the DSS invade Babachir Lawal’s residence in the night?”

He urged Nigerians not allow this fraud to be swept under the carpet.

As at March 2016 that the contract was awarded to Global Vision Ltd, Babachir Lawal was still the director of the company. He only resigned in September 2016.

Buhari’s SGF, Babachir Lawal is still the signatory to the account of Global Vision Ltd.



Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Babachir Lawal, has reacted to the demand for his resignation by the Senate.‎




Global Vision Ltd., owned by Buhari’s SGF, Babachir Lawal got over N200 million contract to clear GRASS in Yobe State IDP camp was indicted by the Senate.

Global Vision Ltd. was incorporated in 1990 to carry out ICT services; but it got contract to clear grass in 2016.‎

sarrki:
Bro he is my mentor

I want to live a life of sincerity

He's a good man

He's honest

I love him

I swear I do in my heart

Ever since he became the president at point of entry

We are regarded more than before

God bless Muhammadu Buhari

God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria

sarrki:
God bless you my mentor

THE 2017-2019 Medium Term Framework Expenditure earlier forwarded to National Assembly for consider‎ation, has been amended by President Muhammadu Buhari.

This is even as the  Federal Government has decided to spend N564 billion of recovered loots on the 2017 Budget.
‎
In the review copy, the exchange rate has been jerked up from N290 to N305 as official rate‎.
‎
The budget proposal that would be presented by President Buhari on Wednesday is now N7.3 trillion.
‎
The proposed budget represents an increase of ‎about 19.95 per cent over the 2016 Appropriation of N6.07 trillion.
‎
The benchmark for crude oil still stands as $42.5 per barrel and the daily production level still stands at 2.2 million barrels per day.
‎
In the MTEF proposal, the total amount of recovered loots was put at N564 billion.
‎
The breakdown of the looted funds showed that N97.6 billion ($320 million) was recovered from Switzerland, N261 billion was domestic recoveries, assets and fines and other Federal Government recoveries was N205 billion.

Responding to a question on looted funds, the Minister of Budget and National Planing, Udoma Udo Udoma, ‎explained the physical monies recovered have been factored into the 2017 budget.
‎
Udoma said: “The physical money that we actual received have been factored into 2017 budget.”
‎
The MTEF submitted earlier to National Assembly did not indicate recovery from Switzerland and domestics recoveries.‎

OIL prices shot up over four per cent to their highest level since 2015 early on Monday after OPEC and other producers over the weekend in Vienna reached first output cut deal since 2001.

They jointly reduced output in order to rein in oversupply and prop up the market.

Brent sweet crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, soared to 57.89 dollars per barrel in overnight trading between Sunday and Monday, its highest level since July 2015.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also hit a July 2015 high of 54.51 dollars a barrel.

With the deal finally signed after a year,the market’s focus will now switch to compliance with the agreement.

ANZ bank said that Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil company, had informed customers that their allocations would be reduced in January 2017, in line with the recent OPEC production cut agreement.”

OPEC has said it will slash output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting around 486,000 bpd in a bid to end overproduction .

Oversupply has dogged markets for over two years and pushed the economies of many oil exporting countries into crisis.

On Saturday, producers from outside the 13- country OPEC group agreed to reduce output by 558,000 bpd, short of the initial target of 600,000 bpd .

[Reuters/NAN]

THE Deputy Superintendent of Police serving with Mobile Police Unit 48, Alkali Mohammed, was on Saturday beheaded by yet-to-be-apprehended armed men during the State and National Assemblies rerun in Rivers State.

Mohammed was beheaded alongside with this orderly by armed men who ambushed his team.

While three members of the team were rescued, five others are still missing

These were revealed by the General Officer Commanding of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Kasimu Abdulkarim, in a statement.



Abdulkarim, who was advancing reasons for the deployment of soldiers for the election, said those accusing the military of partisanship were only doing so because they were prevented from carrying out more of their nefarious acts.

Abdulkarim said the soldiers deployed for the election performed their duties according to their rules of engagement.

He said in the statement that despite the presence of security operatives, the hoodlums still attempted disrupting the election, adding that the beheading of Mohammed and his orderly was the height of it.

He said in the statement,“Several shooting were recorded in some communities such as Bodo, the home town of the Secretary to the State Government, B-dere and Mogho in Gokhana LGA, including snatching of ballot boxes. The most brutal incidence occurred at Ujju Community near Omoku in Onelga where police patrol team was ambushed. In the ambush, 10 policemen scampered into the bush.



“The Mobile Police organized a rescue mission. Regrettably, the team discovered that DSP Alkali Mohammed of Mobile Police Unit 48 was beheaded along with his orderly. The patrol vehicle was taken away with weapons, three policemen escaped while five were missing in action. This is the same area where soldiers of 34 Brigade were ambushed on 20 November 2016 where a soldier was killed. Also on 21 November 2016, four personnel of NSCDC were killed and their weapons carted away.

“These attacks are reasonable evidence of violations of breach of law and order which portray the area as a flash point. Despite these barbarism, soldiers acted with civility and professionally guaranteeing peaceful election.

sarrki:
Congrats to the winners

Those like Hungerbad, NgeneUkwu, ( Sarrki don take style escape) etc who said I will be banned for posting results from Social Times and also said early lead means failure where are you guys nah? Hungerbad keeps coming and going without a word each time I mention him

sarrki:
I still have hope he will perform

2019 I judge him same way I judge Gej after his tenure

sarrki:


Am a patriot

I will support any performing politician

sarrki:
Thanks bro

‎These boys are so stupid for not knowing what they are fighting for.

They say "Western Education is a siN" yet they are using products of Western Education‎.

They are so stupid to the extend that they don't know what they are fighting for!

How can you use youtube, vehicles, motorcycles, arms, explosive devices all from western education to propagate ‎your message and still claim what you are using to fight is a sin?

Is that not one of them operating a laptop?‎

Buhari clear up the mess you started! "war against Boko Haram is War against the North‎” he reportedly said and I want to ask is he now fighting the North?
‎

HungerBAD:
How?

OP you know false information on Nairaland carries 3 week's ban right?

THE Peoples Democratic Party has taken the lead in the rerun of the State and National Assemblies in Rivers State.

The race is largely between the PDP and the All Progressives Congress.

However, as at press time, PDP has won all the results announced officially by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The PDP was declared the winner of the House of Representatives seat for Ogu/Bolo Federal Constituency in the wee hours of Sunday.

Its candidate, Togo Tamuno, was declared the winner by the INEC Returning Officer, Sunday Ikechukwu, at 2:25am.

Tamuno scored 11,668 votes to defeat the candidate of the APC, Maureen Tamuno, who polled 5,995 votes.

The results announced so far:

Okrika LGA
APC: 212
PDP: 457

Ogun-Bolo LGA
APC: 1,844
PDP: 4,578

Port Harcourt LGA
APC: 9,618
PDP: 28,305.

"Governor Udom would have been no more but for one of his aides who immediately pushed him out of the building.
Unfortunately, the aide was killed by the fast descending roof after he pushed the governor who fell outside."

Udom make sure his family does not lack what to eat!

AT least 50 people died or were seriously injured Saturday when a Church building collapsed in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, several witnesses say.



The police has yet to give a figure hours after the incident occurred. A spokesperson told reporters who called in repeatedly that rescue efforts were ongoing and she could not be certain of the number of casualties.

“The injured are still being taken to the hospital and some people who may appear dead may actually have just lost consciousness,” police spokesperson for Akwa Ibom, Cordelia Nwanwe said.

“So we have to wait for confirmation of status of all victims from the medical personnel before we can give any figure.”

But witnesses said they counted more than 50 people removed from under the rubble of the building and taken away in ambulances. They said many of those removed were clearly lifeless.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted rescuers as saying that over 60 victims had been removed from the debris.

The Reigners Bible Church, located along Uyo Village Road, was filled to capacity as its pastor was being consecrated as a Bishop, when the tragedy occurred.

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, who was the special guest of honour at the event, escaped unhurt.

Witnesses say the governor was seated in the front row, while the building, which had been under construction, collapsed from the middle.

Otobong Asukwo, a worshipper in the church, said that he had stepped out to urinate shortly before the building collapsed.

“The collapse happened from the middle of the Church roof. I noticed that the support for the pillars in the middle were removed, perhaps to allow for more space for people to sit,” he said.

“The governor and his people were inside the church. But they escaped because they were sitting in the front and the roof collapsed in the middle on top of many people.

“I saw one of the aides of the governor badly injured and was rushed to the Hospital. The governor however, appear unhurt.”

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the building’s iron rafters caved in 30 minutes after the governor arrived.

It quoted a witness, Uduak Effiong, as saying that a female victim’s bowel was ripped open by the impact.

Effiong, a communication arts student in the University of Uyo, said she lost three friends in the incident.

Joseph James, who also witnessed the building collapse, told NAN that the Founder of the church, Mr. Weeks, was also unhurt.

Voting took place inside the compound of the All Progressives Congress’ candidate for Rivers South East senatorial district, Magnus Abe, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.
Mr. Abe’s house is located at Bera, Gokana Local Government Area, LGA.
The materials used for the voting exercise held in his compound are believed to be those meant for his unit 10, Ward 16, Bera, Gokana LGA.
It appeared voters cooperated with the politician as they thronged the compound to vote.
As the voting progressed, there were scores of security operatives, including soldiers and police officers in the compound.
People whose identify could not be verified were in charge of the exercise, while those who were confirmed to be INEC staff just hung around the compound holding trivial discussions with aides of Mr. Abe.
Among them, there was a corps member and two others who wore INEC vests.
As the voting went on underway inside Mr. Abe’s compound, heavily armed men led two buses and a pick-up truck to the compound.


The vehicles were loaded with already used voting materials including ballot boxes. INEC personnel were also there.
The materials were reportedly hijacked with guns.
“I told them I go bring them (the materials), dem say I no fit, now we done carry them come,” a fiercely looking young man was heard boasting, apparently taking pleasure in leading the action of hijacking voting materials.

Lalasticlala

SOME political party supporters in Ahoada-West council area on Saturday protested against alleged bias by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the legislative rerun elections in Rivers.








The supporters claimed that the election materials sent to polling units were fake and would not be allowed to be used for the exercise.


A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent reports that the party faithful chanted slogans such as “ we no gree’’, no result sheet, no election’’, “our votes must count.’’


The supporters said they had lost confidence on INEC’s ability to conduct a free, fair and credible election in the area.


The protest caused many voters to leave the polling units for fear of molestation.


NAN further reports that some voters, however, stood several metres away from the voting centres, awaiting any commencement of voting.


Meanwhile, INEC Deputy Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Nick Dazang, denied the allegations, saying INEC could not have deployed fake election materials for any election.


“How can INEC deploy fake election materials of which we are the custodian of our materials?” he asked.


He told NAN in a telephone interview that “what happened in Ahoada-West is that some result sheets were snatched and from available report, the result sheets have been replaced.


“INEC cannot deploy fake result sheets. It is like saying Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is producing fake currency. Is this possible?”


[NAN]

THE Naira on Friday remained stable at the parallel market, exchanging at N485 to a dollar.








The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N602 and N515, respectively.


At the interbank market, the Naira also remained stable at N305.50 to a dollar.


Trading at the Bureau De Change (BDC) window saw the Naira sold at N399 to a dollar, CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N606 and N515, respectively.


Traders at the market said that the scarcity of dollar persisted, leading to slow activities.


[NAN]

Your domain name is what direct users to your websites. Hence, it is important for companies to take necessary precautions to protect your domain name so that it will not be hijacked or redirected to another website. If this is not noticed early enough, it causes significant damage to your cash flow and traffic. I share five tips on how to protect your business’s domain name.

Lock the transfer of your domain name



You should inform your domain name registrar to lock it in order to prevent it from being transferred, deleted or edited without your permission. This will ensure that the domain name is safe and secured.

Observe expiration dates

Set up a way you will be alerted when the expiration of your domain name is near or close. This will ensure that no one seizes your domain name when it expires especially if it is a domain name that attracts a lot of traffic. You can renew the domain name for more than a year instead of yearly.



Buy similar domain names

Serious organisations are aware of hackers and internet thieves who are always on the prowl searching for vulnerable sites. If you don’t want to fall into their hands you should buy all the names that can possibly be used to clone your website. For example, your domain name is johndoe.com; you can also buy johndoe.ng, and johndoe.com.ng etc.

Use a trustworthy registrar

There are many domain names registrar selling these domain names online. It is better to use reputable, and trustworthy registrar that are stable and doesn’t go offline at the flip of your fingers. A reputable one is GoDaddy, In Nigeria, If you can’t host your blog because of difficulties in bank transactions, DomainKing is another reliable tested and trusted hosting provider you can rely on, Their customer care respond to queries almost immediately when contacted 24/7..

Permanent email

When you specify your contact email address, don’t use one from a free service that might expire especially if you don’t use it regularly. If this happens someone else may take over the email and use it to impersonate you when interacting with your domain name registrar. So, always use the email that is related to your website.

Lalasticlala

Corrinthians:
This as well.