₦airaland Forum

texazzpete:
Anyone who believes the line that Nigerian Engineers designed and built the second satellite will believe anything
Space Payload is extremely expensive, too expensive to burn on an 'experiment'.

More likely, Nigerian scientists were on the project team.

ifyalways:
Then they've got their hands full.
How do they curb and contain child trafficking and slavery cos I know most of the kids hawking cooked akpu and okpa at Eke onuwa were bought off from their parents at Ohaji/Egbema et all,are they ready to fight the madams and ogas?
What abt the poor family who somehow manage to hold themselves together cos the kids hawk/sell in a stal/push wheel barrow?
What happens to Parents/guardians who default?

Abuja, If my memory is in order used to have a similar law,dunno what came of it 6 months down the line 

President Goodluck Jonathan has named two governors in his National Economic Management Team as the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was sworn in before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting Wednesday.
Jonathan, who named the 24-strong team to be inaugurated Thursday, is the chairman while Vice-President Namadi Sambo is the vice-chairman. Okonjo-Iweala is the co-ordinator.

Honorary Adviser on Agriculture and Governor of Adamawa State, Rear Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), and Honorary Adviser on Finance and Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, were also named members as state chief executives joined the team for the first time in what the president said was to help coordinate policy at federal and state levels.
Members include: Ministers of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudden Usman; Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga; Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji; Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke; Agriculture, Dr. Adesina Akinwunmi; Works, Chief Mike Onolememen; Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i; and Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.

Also in the team are Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Lawal Ngama; Minister of State for Health Mohammed Ali Pate; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; Chief Economic Adviser, Prof. Nwanze Okidegbe; Special Adviser on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Prof. Sylvester Monye; and the Directors-General of Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu; Debt Management Office, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo; Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr. Emeka Eze; Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ms Bola Onagoruwa; and Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Ahmed Mansur.
Others are Honorary Adviser on Economy and President, Nigerian Economic Society, Dr. K. S. Adeyemi; and Chairman of IBTC Stanbic Bank, Mr. Atedo Peterside.

Speaking after Okonjo-Iweala took oath of office, Jonathan thanked her for accepting to serve, especially for not insisting on collecting dollar-denominated salary, adding that other African heads of state were wondering how she agreed to return.
He said: "Let me thank you for accepting to come and serve because considering the position you were holding at the foremost World Bank, it is difficult for you to come back to serve as minister in a country. And I am saying this with all pride because when your name was made known by the media, anywhere I went, heads of state and government were wondering why you would even agree to come back.

“They were appreciative of me especially the African presidents that I did well to pull you back home to help to solve African problems because they know your worth at the World Bank.
"Let me also thank the World Bank particularly Robert Zoelick (its president) for allowing you to come, for cooperating with us and promising to support us.
"People wonder why we want her back. We want her back not just to manage the ministry of finance but we are opportuned to have her as somebody who is quite vast in economic issues.”

Jonathan said Okonjo-Iweala was coming back to a familiar territory, having established the economic team as her brainchild during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime before it taken over by late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
"This time around, we are expanding the economic team because we believe the country is one. Yes, the states have their own economies but if there is no proper coordination in the management of the economy, between the Federal Government and the states, we cannot go anywhere as a nation. And that is why in the economic team this time around there will be some governors as members but Ngozi is brought in to coordinate all economic activities of the Federal Government and of course by extension help the states.

"Let me formally announce to Nigerians that she has accepted to serve just like any other minister and indeed others who came from the Diaspora have not asked us for dollar salary. They are going to receive salaries and allowances like others in the cabinet. They are coming to serve the country and are not coming for personal aggrandizement,” he said.
Jonathan pledged to give the ministers a free hand, and to underscore the importance of the economy, each ministry will after the Sallah celebration take turns to brief the cabinet on where the ministry is and where it is heading to.
He also used the opportunity to congratulate Nigerians for the successful launch of two satellites, NigeriaSat 2 and NigeriaSat-X, built by Nigerian space engineers, which he described as a new chapter in his transformation agenda.

Jonathan said a team of Nigerian engineers and scientists built NigeriaSat-X and that NigeriaSat-2 was a collaboration with a U.K. company.

Authorities say one of the uses of the new satellites could be to monitor disaster-prone areas in a country that suffers from droughts and floods.

Another significant component of the power reform programme is about to berth following the approval of a pioneer board for the much-awaited Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NEBT) Plc.
The NEBT, also known as the bulk trader, was created by the National Electricity Sector Reforms Act of 2005 to fight the single biggest risk in the growth of the power sector – recouping of investment by distribution companies.


The companies buy power from independent power generating companies but are unable to collect enough revenue from consumers to pay for what they bought because of regulated pricing.
Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, announced Tuesday that President Goodluck Jonathan had appointed the board.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is chairman of the board while, Mr. Rumundaka Wonodi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).


The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), which hitherto managed the process, owes huge debts from previous power purchase agreements (PPAs) it signed with independent producers such as Agip (N60 billion), Shell and Ibom Power.
Nnaji said that NEBT would honour current PPAs signed by PHCN and take over the negotiation and signing of future power purchase contracts for distribution companies but it would not assume PHCN’s previous contract liabilities.


This is possible, he said, because the bulk trader is backed by a government guarantee which enables it to promptly settle the obligations of any distribution company that defaults in payments for power purchased from independent producers.
However, Nnaji said NEBT would not become a government monopoly.
“Distribution companies are free to sign direct PPAs with independent generation companies. NBET shall exist only as long as it takes the distribution companies to become creditworthy and be able to directly negotiate their own power purchase agreements,” he said.


Other board members are Mr. Saka Isau (vice-chairman), the Minister of Power, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and CEO of Abuja Distribution Company, who will represent the 11 distribution companies’ CEOs.
Also approved as members of the board are Hon. Mohammed Umara Kumalia, Haruna Sambo and Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN).
Wonodi led the Regulatory and Transactions Monitoring team at the Presidential Task Force on Power which was charged with driving and monitoring the reform of the power sector.


Before returning to the power sector in Nigeria, he was Director, Wholesale Power Origination with North America’s largest wholesale power supplier, Constellation Energy Group, based in Maryland, USA.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Benin, Nigeria, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Finance and Strategy, from Yale University.

dayokanu:
Explain in clear terms how Aregbesola has been fluffing

Amosun being a cultist? How is that any of our business? Its common knowledge that most American Presidents were Freemasons

http://mastermason.com/wilmettepark/pres.html

ndu_chucks:
If Ojukwu means so much to you people, why can't you raise the funds from personal contributions to help Ikemba? If a fund raising campaign was undertaken by these thieving governors, they would have raised more than enough money to fund Ikemba's medical expenses. I'm sure loud mouths like you are yet to contribute one kobo towards Ikemba's expenses - this is how you show your love ko?

Your thieving governors continue to rob you blind while you are here blabbing away. I bet no one will audit the accounts setup for Ikemba's expenses - for people like you, no audit is necessary, its all for beloved Ojukwu. olodo, ode iddo.

The Bayelsa State House of Assembly on Tuesday condemned the attitude of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, giving the company 21 days to pay alleged N4bn tax it owed the state government.

The aggrieved house also alleged that the company had failed to conduct its business in accordance with the relevant law especially in the way it handled the construction of its Central Processing Facilities, manifolds and wells under the Gbarain Ubie Gas project in Gbarain Kingdom.

According to the lawmakers, SPDC did not obtain an approval before embarking on the project and the company had failed to pay N4bn tax it owed the state government as development levies for the gas project.

The House in a motion sponsored by its member from Yenagoa Constituency III, Mr. Gentle Emelah, called for the prosecution of the Managing Director of SPDC and its other principal officers for refusing to comply with the law governing industrial practice.

While citing the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act, Emelah said the construction of CPF manifolds and wells required a developer within the meaning of the Act to apply to the appropriate regional planning department in the state for development permit.

“The SPDC has not obtained any approval or development permit as required for the construction of CPF, manifolds and well locations. The SPDC is under a binding obligation to pay all levies, rates and taxes arising from its operations in the state,” he said.

But he said despite the law, “SPDC has with impunity failed and refused to apply for and obtain development permit approval for the construction of CPF, manifold and well under the location of Gbarain-Ubie Gas Project.”

The Action Congress of Nigeria has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to jettison his proposed constitutional amendment aimed at scrapping the existing States/Local Government Joint Accounts.

The party argued in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that scrapping the accounts and allocating the LGs’ share of the Federation Account directly to them would amount to making the councils federating units.

It warned that allowing the councils to wear the toga of federating units could stifle development and deal a further blow to the nation’s wobbling federalism.

The ACN said the argument that deductions from the council funds by the states had led to a lack of development at the grass roots did not warrant an amendment to the constitution that would fundamentally alter the nation’s federalism in the negative sense.

The answer for the lack of development at the grass roots, according to the ACN, is not to allocate funds directly to the LGs but to publish, as it is being done already, whatever is allocated to them.

It added that relevant government agencies should also be made to be on the alert in order to monitor the disbursement of funds from the States/LG.

The party said allocating money directly to council chairmen would not translate into more development, as they (chairmen) would be subjected to pressure from local or grass roots leaders, who don’t have such access to state governors.

Commenting further on the amendment being proposed by the President, the ACN said under the 1999 constitution, the federal and state governments were the federating units, while LGs were mere administrative units of the states.
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ndu_chucks:
I'm convinced that you have a major problem with reading comprehension in addition to being afflicted with other cognitive ailments. The issue is that your governors are breaking the law by allocating state funds for medical expenses of a person, though loved by the Igbos, but is not a government official.  Open a new thread to discuss polio or any other issue you wish. No amount of distraction tactics of yours will change the facts as I have  stated them. Ojukwu himself will strongly disagree with stealing from the public, on his behalf.

From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado-Ekiti

AFTER a series of meeting with some federal ministries and agencies in Abuja, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has said he will continue his push for the completion of federal projects in the state.


The governor also said the construction of an airport in the state was not the priority of his administration for now, but the recovery of N2 billion state allocations trapped in the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and the construction of the 348 kilometres federal roads in the state.

Fayemi announced some structural changes in the state educational sector, which he said would restore the lost glory of Ekiti schools from the secondary to the university levels.

At a press conference on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti, Fayemi, who just returned from a working visit to Abuja, said his priority now is ensuring the immediate take-off of the contentious federal university in the state, assuring that all the impediments to its start of academic activities would be resolved with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The governor said his administration would ensure that all the federal projects in the state are completed and jobs earmarked for Ekiti indigenes in line with the Federal Character policy were occupied by them.

Fayemi said this was the crux of his discussions with the 14 heads of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) during his visit to Abuja.

According to him, "the construction of airport is not the priority of Ekiti for now but that does not mean we are not going to have one in the state in no distant time."

The governor said he met with the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen and that he had given the assurance that the 348-kilometre roads in Ekiti would be rehabilitated soon, adding that the money expended by the state government for the dualisation of Ado-Ifaki roads would be refunded.

Revealing that the state government plans to erect toll-gates on the federal roads to collect tolls from the heavy duty truck to rehabilitate the roads, Fayemi said Onolememen advised that the programme be deferred for Federal Government to study the modality the project would take.

Fayemi hinted that he had presented an investment plan on cash crops such as cocoa, cassava, rice and oil plantation, where the state has comparative advantages to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, for large-scale agricultural farming in Ekiti.