₦airaland Forum

05 Jan 2012

https://cdn.akamai.thisdaylive.com/0bef99d6-acf5-4e2c-9779-8fa02ba3fcd4/assets/2609F01.Goodluck-Jonathan.jpg?maxwidth=400&maxheight=540
President Goodluck Jonathan

By Ahamefula Ogbu       

‘Pain Killers’

• 1600 mass transit buses
• Salaries to be paid Jan 20
• States to get allocations Jan 15
• Local contractors to be paid
• Rail transportation being revived
• MDAs to fill up vacancies quickly

The Federal Government has asked Nigerians for understanding over the deregulation policy, saying there is no alternative to the removal of fuel subsidy.

It promised to provide sustainable palliatives to cushion the effects of the policy.

Briefing State House correspondents after an emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said the government was not willing to postpone the evil day by indulging in half measures, while the economy collapses on everybody.

Rather, the government appealed to labour and other protesters to withdraw from the streets to prevent avoidable deaths and increasing the suffering of people.

He said: “Previous governments have postponed deregulation. The intended benefits did not come through because for as long as government continues to monopolise the sector, no private sector will come in and invest in it.

“Having taken this plunge, to go back will be to cripple the economy. That is why we are calling on our citizens to bear with us. In no time, the prices will come down unlike in the past where marketers used to hoard fuel because government was subsidising. That would no longer be the case. The customer will be king now, because if they (marketers) don't sell, they won't recover their money.”

He said apart from the N10 billion earlier provided for urban transportation through the Urban Development Bank, the Goodluck Jonathan administration had placed an order for 1,600 mass transit buses that would be arriving “in the next few days” to ensure a sustainable mass transit that would ease the pains of movement.

Apart from that, he said concentrating on revamping rail transportation, which had reached an advanced stage, would give some respite to roads.

When the construction of a modern rail line is completed, he said, the current single gauge would be dedicated to movement of goods.

Jonathan, he said, had directed that all civil servants should be paid their salaries by January 20, while the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting should be brought forward to January 15 so that funds for payment of salaries would be disbursed on time.

To ensure that those in the private sector also feel the ease of their palliatives, Jonathan directed that debts owed local contractors by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are compiled and paid so as to empower them to have funds to attend to their needs.
Apparently responding to the charge that the timing of the subsidy removal was harsh on the people, he said that measures to cushion the effects of deregulation started way back in 2009.

Maku said since several consultations had held between the time the government openly mooted the idea and the time of the submission of 2012 budget which had no provision for subsidy, the populace ought to have known that technically, “subsidy had been removed starting from when the budget was supposed to operate”.

He spoke on the other issues discussed at FEC, including a review of the security situation in the country.

He said all efforts were being made by the government to secure all parts of the country, especially the North-east and North-central where security threats and breaches were commonplace.

Maku dismissed the ultimatum given to Christians and Southerners in the North to leave the region as mere threats “to create panic”.

“The meeting was called by Mr. President to deliberate on very crucial issues of national significance particularly on the continuing battle to restore order in the North-eastern and other parts of the country affected by recent terror attacks as well as on-going deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum industry.

“Mr. President in opening the meeting expressed deep seated sympathy and empathy with the citizens of this country particularly over the measures government has taken in the last couple of days to deregulate the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil industry. Mr. President is deeply touched also by the pains that citizens are going through because of the temporary jump in the prices of petroleum products as well as transportation in most parts of the country.

“Mr. President therefore called this FEC meeting to expedite action on measures to alleviate these pains which citizens are going through. He made it very clear that as the President of Nigeria, his role as president is to ensure that the welfare of Nigerians as well as the growth and development of this country become his major goals and that is exactly what he is pursuing. Mr. President therefore told members of council about measures the administration is already taking particularly to address the issue of mass transit in the country in order to bring down the cost of transport fares and alleviate the discomfort and pains citizens are going through at the moment.

“Mr. President therefore announced to council that already government has placed orders for massive supply of diesel engine mass transit vehicles. Conclusions have been reached with the private sector with key stakeholders in the public transport system including those transport organisations that are run directly by the Nigerian Labour Congress as well as the Trade Union Congress, the Road Transport Workers Union of Nigeria (NARTO) cooperatives and several other transporters in the federation to ensure that in the next couple of weeks, they will be available in this country sufficient numbers of mass transit vehicles which will be supplied  duty free to transporters.

“The intervention in the mass transit system is going to be far more comprehensive and far more sustainable than whatever had been in this country in the past. So Mr. President directed that this programme of massive intervention in mass transit transportation will go on for two years and government is prepared to sustain this tempo to ensure that by the end of February this year, we should have achieved significant stabilisation in the cost of public transportation across the country,” Maku said.

He disclosed that the president further directed that every ministry, department and agency which has outstanding vacancies to be filled should immediately open up such vacancies for filling so that unemployed Nigerians could have a better life.

However, it was decided that primary suppliers of the vehicles would be companies which have production facilities in Nigeria; though where the capacity is not enough, the second option would be to import them.

But the beneficiaries would be those who have infrastructure on ground to run such transport system creditably so that by the end of next month, the volatile transport system would have stabilised for Nigerians to know that the government had a definite direction in attending to their needs, he said.

To add to other measures being put in place, the minister said the president also directed the fast-tracking of the implementation of the subsidy reinvestment programme which he had announced Dr. Christopher Kolade as chairman of the board, pointing out that the interest of Nigerians was at the heart of the matter and called on citizens to “endure short time pain for long time gains”.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-no-alternative-to-fuel-subsidy-removal/106479/

karlmax2:
the roads exit on the internet for you and you likes because u people are always on the internet trolling any reasonable person who has been traveling nigeria by road know what talking about.

anonimi:
Are you talking about Fash'OLE Lagos state government and the computer renderings of

- Lagos Light rail
- Lekki International airport
- Lekki Sea port

barcanista:
The first emboldened is a very irresponsible statement from a sane mind. The Government duty is not just to provide but to see that what is provided is used according to its purpose.

egift:
karlmax2, have you seen Akwa - Onitsha Road? If you use that road, you will drag Jonathan to the Market Square and give him the beating of his life

anonimi:
Just like Fash'OLE's buses right =>



[img]http://onlyinnigeria.files./2012/11/passengersofabrtbuslendingahelpinghandatpalmgroveonikoroduroadinlagos.jpg[/img]

barcanista:
Oby de vex o

quincie:
I personally believe that Gej is a gud guy bt just gullible and surrounded by big belle thiefs who only think of deir big belles, Anyway either gej or buhari, No government can ever be worse more than wat we av seen in Gej Regime....#God bless Nigeria

barcanista:
@Ngwakwe, and your point is?

barcanista:
You are a very ignorant man, not even your exposure to foreign countries could influence your shallow thought process. Nigerians DID not elect any commissioner to run this country. The President takes a decision and gave loads of Promises with NO ONE being fulfilled almost 3 years after and you come here talking gibberish.
You further exposed your ignorance by saying Kano State don't have pipe-borne water. You are just a pitiable doofoo

quincie:
I personally believe that Gej is a gud guy bt just gullible and surrounded by big belle thiefs who only think of deir big belles, Anyway either gej or buhari, No government can ever be worse more than wat we av seen in Gej Regime....#God bless Nigeria

egift:
karlmax2, have you seen Akwa - Onitsha Road? If you use that road, you will drag Jonathan to the Market Square and give him the beating of his life

Ngwakwe:
What stupid question is this?


You wrote nonsense which I intent to turn to intellectual discourse.

Provide all supporting facts and briefings when next you try to murder Nigerian Education systems.

With what GEJ received, he has scored more than expected.

joseph1832:
[s]My brother, there's no need to resort to insults. Like your rightly said: We the people of Nigeria did not elect any local government chairman or commissioner or governor to preside over the affairs of Nigeria. We elected GEJ, not Fashola or Oshiomhole!. The last time I checked they aren't the C in C of the armed forces.[/s]

Sibabasibaba1:
joseph1832

Dude kindly stick to the topic, questions were asked and those questions need answers to placate the Nigerian masses.

Buhari is not the president of Nigeria, all what Jonathan and his aides said is written above in black and white. How many of his promises has he kept?. Even with the #BringBackOurGrils saga, the army openly said they know where the girls are, since all this time why haven't they attempt a rescue operation(covert or overt) instead they went to sign this yeye cease fire agreement with them.

We shouldn't shy away from the truth. GEJ has a lot to answer for.
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Why didn't you tell the Buhari campaigners above me to stick to the topic? You are trying to play politics with fuel subsidy forgetting that the subsidy issue was backed by all state governors including the progretheives governors. Have you forgotten so soon that Oshiomhole, Fashola and Amaechi said many times during the subsidy saga that subsidies were unsustainable? Do you remember Oshiomhole speaking in that town hall meeting organised by Nduka Obiagbena of This Day? Have you forgotten that state Commissioners for Finance still meet and call for the total removal of subsidies? Don't you know that the state governments also get their shares in the money saved from the difference between N65 and N97 which was the money saved from the increase in fuel price? You forgot that these promises were based on the earlier N120 which would have been the pump price of fuel had the subsidy been totally removed. By the time you take time to find out what your local government chairman and state governor are doing with your money you will realise that you are ignoring the elephant in your room.

Let me ask you one question, why has no one asked why Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Kano State governments cannot provide ORDINARY potable water for their statEs despite the huge allocations they are receiving? Why must over 60 per cent of people living in the MEGA CITY of Lagos be using well water? Do you remember that there was cholera outbreak in Lagos some time this year? Do mega cities have cholera issues? How many local government areas in your state have dilapidated libraries let alone functional ones. You guys come here to lambast the FG when those closer to you can't even do the basic things. Where I live, council trims the grasses on the main roads and fumigate the streets every now and then. Just last week someone came to my house, saying that the state government sent him to exchange my old electric bulbs with energy-saving bulbs. There is a library by my house owned by the council and I go there to borrow books for my daughter. People, especially old men and women, go there for lessons on how to manage arthritis, diabetes and asthma as well as how to avoid or detect stroke. I am registered with an ambulance and should there be any emergency, the council ambulance will come immediately.

If you cannot demand good governance from your state and local governments, demanding it from FG smacks of hypocrisy. I am for criticism of the government. But it has to be across the board. No government in Nigeria does one-twentieth of what it is suppose to do. Yet, you guys hypocritically come here daily to criticize FG as if there is this government that has turned its state to Eldorado. We still see decrepit schools in Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Rivers State. The number of Alimajiris in Kano is still 'balooning'. Potable water is a luxury in these states. Corruption is still the same at all levels. All these hypocritical criticisms do you no favors, hence people have now developed propaganda fatigue.

I accept that the FG has not met expectations. But I insist that governments at all levels and across parties have not met expectations. As such, criticizing the FG and pretending that state governors from a certain party are performing, to my mind, is the hallmark of hypocrisy.

barcanista:
Rubbish

Ngwakwe:
The above promises where made on N76 subsidy windfall and not the negotiated N22

One thing about socialists, they are general insatiable and blind to their faults and that of their masters

Sibabasibaba1:
Another thread to promote a criminal with neither vision nor ideas. Since he was kicked out on 27 August 1985 by his fellow felon he has done no other job apart from his PTF misadventure, a job meant to rehablitate him.

Even an older Obasanjo has been gainfully occupied in different local and international initiatives. But this coupist known as Buhari thinks the only way to survive is to be in government.What is plan for Nigeria? Nothing! Just the abstract 'I will fight corruption'. With Tinubu, Fayemi, Sylva?

What did Buhari even achieve as a Head of State? What was that exceptional thing that he achieved that will make us return him, a criminal by Nigerian laws? Did he turn Nigeria into heaven? Did he eradicate corruption? He was a product of corruption himself. Yes, coup plotting is a crime. It is corruption.

Nothing bad in criticising the government. But promoting a criminal who set Nigeria back 50 years is the highest form of corruption.

barcanista:
You have finally gone insane Sir.

My condolence to whoever calls you his/her loved one

karlmax2:
yes i have can you swear with your life that the road has not improved or is work not ongoing ? Ive been asking you and your fellows,what has your governors done with the money they collect from sure-p up till now is just blabbing and more lies to coat your other lies.well u lot can keep deceiving yourselve online while people who can see the difference between the fg now and the fg's. Of the past .no blackmail or lies can stop him come 2015 because his work would speak for him .i would advise. You amd tour people to polish your voters card and get ready for election.

Ngwakwe:
Thanks for the complement.

You were excepted to refute my rebuttal and not going personal

I can see the effect of Lai Mohammedism on your threads. He will start quoting you

Truth missed with Error = Terror

I pity gullible Nigerians

Ngwakwe:
What stupid question is this?


You wrote nonsense which I intent turning to intellectual discourse.

Provide all supporting facts and briefings when next you try to murder Nigerian Education systems.

With what GEJ received, he has scored more than expected.

quincie:
I personally believe that Gej is a gud guy bt just gullible and surrounded by big belle thiefs who only think of deir big belles, Anyway either gej or buhari, No government can ever be worse more than wat we av seen in Gej Regime....#God bless Nigeria

Caseless:
that will be cataclysmic and politically shattering.

egift:
The work done already is being executed by the Anambra State it is not Jonathan.

karlmax2:
the roads exit on the internet for you and you likes because u people are always on the internet trolling any reasonable person who has been traveling nigeria by road know what talking about.