₦airaland Forum

2019: US Senators Move to Ensure Free Elections in Nigeria

By

 Abubakar Abubakar

 -

December 23, 2018

0

Jeff Flake, Cory Booker, Johnny Isakso

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Four United States senators; Jeff Flake, Cory Booker, Johnny Isakson and Christopher Coons came out strongly in the week and insisted that Nigeria must build off on the peaceful transfer of power she pulled off in 2015 as she gears up for the 2019 elections.
The senators, who showed their concern about some of the events culminating in next year’s general election in a letter to Tibor Nagy, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, however, said the United States government was determined to help the country consolidate her democratic gains, noting that the 2019 elections must meet expectations and international standards.

The Senators’ joint letter of concern about Nigeria’s 2019 election came to fore about the same time another US congressman, Christopher Smith took a swipe at President Muhamamdu Buhari’s government especially over alleged crack down on the opposition, saying as Africa’s largest democracy and economy, his concerns were understandable.
Yet, in the same breath, a former presidential spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe has declared that Nigeria was in a perilous time and that only God and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could save the nation from total collapse.

In their letter dated December 19 and obtained exclusively by THISDAY, the US senators said to Nagy, “As you know, Nigeria’s next presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on February 16, 2019.

“As the largest democracy and economy in Africa, Nigeria’s ability to hold peaceful and fair elections is of paramount importance to maintaining democratic legitimacy and stability in the region. Nigeria completed a peaceful transfer of power in 2015 and it is important that the country build off this progress and momentum in the upcoming election.

“With the election approaching, the United States must reaffirm its support for democracy in Nigeria by calling on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment or intimidation of political opponents, and from impeding the electoral process in any way.
“We urge you to speak out against any efforts to interfere in the electoral process in a timely manner to reinforce the US government’s support for elections that are credible, transparent and peaceful,” they stated.

The lawmakers however stated with emphasis that, “What happens in Nigeria will set example for other African nations to follow and it is critical for the United States to focus on helping that country consolidate its democratic gains. We encourage you to take all actions you deem to be appropriate to ensure that Nigerian elections meet the expectations of its people, as well as international standards.”

On his part, Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, who issued a statement with regards to presidential and National Assembly elections in the country particularly, with respect to cases of violence that is largely attributable to Fulani extremists, said there might be a serious crackdown on the opposition.

“I am very concerned by the current trajectory in Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy and economy, and President Muhamadu Buhari’s apparent crackdown on non-violent protests and harassment of opposition leaders, such as freezing the assets of opposition vice presidential candidate, Peter Obi and the raiding of the home of two sons of opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar.

“I call upon the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that elections will be free and fair, and for the Commission to remain impartial. I further call upon President Buhari to use his authority to end the violence perpetrated by Fulani extremists, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and question why he has failed to do so.

“I also urge the Trump Administration to monitor the evolving situation closely, and not to hesitate to use its sanctioning authority to hold accountable any officials, who subvert the electoral process or foment violence against citizens,” he said.
Smith, who chaired a hearing on Nigeria on December 13, 2018, titled: “Nigeria at a Crossroads: The Upcoming Election,” had repeatedly called attention to extremist violence and appealed to President Buhari to use his authority to put a stop to it.

As if cashing in on the mood of the concerned US lawmakers, Okupe, who spoke on Friday while speaking on Arise Television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY newspaper, said the economic situation in the country has become terribly bad due to the fact that President Buhari was not in charge of governance of the country and therefore advised Nigerians not to vote for a president, who they are not sure of being in charge of the economy and affairs of the nation.
Okupe, a former governorship aspirant of the PDP in Ogun State, said the president’s wife, Aisha Buhari had made it clear to Nigerians that her husband, Muhammadu Buhari was not in charge of the nation’s affairs.

“His wife came out on television and said the president is not in charge. Mrs. Buhari said two men are the people that are running the country”.
Contending that it would be unwise for Nigerians to still vote the same president whose wife openly told the whole nation that just two men had hijacked his government, Okupe said, “Mrs. Buhari came to the Nigerian public and said you guys have to fight for yourselves because right now, my husband has lost the grip on this administration, and some two people, who we do not know, are the ones running the economy”.

The PDP stalwart also lamented the untold suffering being experienced by Nigerians due to poor economic policies of the president, and expressed shock that the presidency seemed completely unaware of the grinding poverty foisted on the citizens by APC government
“The presidency is totally unaffected; they are unconcerned and totally disconnected from the suffering of the masses. The president does not know about many things going on.”
He advised Nigerians, particularly the unemployed youths to salvage the nation’s situation by voting for a president that would be in charge and be fully aware of happenings around him.

“Is that what we want to vote for – the same government that you don’t know who will run the administration – a country of 200 million people with so many youths? We are in dangerous and perilous times, and only God and PDP will save this country in 2019”.

The medical doctor turned politician said the APC government has brought indecency into Nigeria, and has continuously peddled lies, adding that the Buhari administration has not created 12 million jobs as claimed, but contended that Akinwumi Adesina, the erstwhile Minister of Agriculture during Jonathan’s government evidently had over 10 million farmers on his mobile wallet data base.
According to him, although the Buhari government might have added two million farmers to what Adesina had verifiably done, it was however saddening that the government could come out to openly celebrate 12 million jobs that they never created.




http://www.observerstimes.com/featured/2019-us-senators-move-to-ensure-free-elections-in-nigeria/

jpphilips:
The usual gibberish from unlettered m0r0ns, speak economics or shut the fvck up!!

There is no use growing older when you are not getting wiser. The OP copied a contributor that broke down the hopeless budget into a simpler version for easy assimilation for a layman and not the usual economic terms and jargons they use to deceive your likes. Shat I just broke down here for your likes is a simpler version of how jpphillips can understand simple economic terms for nation's growth

No thinking about it this analysis captured the truth of the matter about this budget of hopelessness, however, I quite disagree with the writer where he said Buhari is trying his best, no way he ain't trying shiiit, he saw the handwriting on the wall when he was elected and common sense should have prevailed that he needs to surround himself with the best brains especially in his "Economic Team" this is where he got it all wrong by starting with a biting fiscal policies that scared international investors away and encourages low patronage of Nigerian vast market from local and indigenous investors. Our economy is a consuming economy (it is in actual fact a predominantly consuming one) and I don't see any sign of hope in sight should Buhari continue beyond 2019 because Nigeria may witness a total economic meltdown especially when one factors in the dwindling international oil price and owing to the fact that our over reliance on oil is still at 95% to fund the budget. It is a grim situation now that should call for sober reflection except a system is put in place that can kickstart a revolution in our Agricultural sector, Service sector and Manufacturing sector within the next one year this I believe can turn around the situation a bit and make the economy a partially producing one far from the consuming path we are currently threading. Yes, Atiku may not be a perfect and worthy man to mount the stage now and be the helmsman, however, his economic blueprint is a future catalyst that can take us closer to the economic revolutions i cited above in the 3 aforementioned sectors. The truth is, your analysis just exposed the rudderless and helplessness of this useless government of no vision which I believe it will be pure madness should we allow Buhari to continue beyond 2019. Peace.

docadams:
OP, Good you are not the author of what you posted. Nevertheless, kudos to you for not disappointing in your role as the purveyor of tribalistic sermons. One issue did stand out, though:
NOTE : Corruption in Nigeria is the Over Centralized Unitary Nigerian State
I agree with the author on this but I am surprised he didn't mentioned the leader who led Nigeria to the path of Unitary Nigerian State.

For the mere fact that you are still lurking in one dark corner waiting for the author to mention the particular leader that led Nigeria to the path of Unitary System is a testament to your chronic attitude of getting at even with the tribe of that particular leader you are waiting for the author to point at........now you can see your tribalistic tendencies taking a better part of you while erroneously accusing me the OP.

CORRUPTION IS NOT NIGERIA'S PROBLEM

"In 1976, Niger state split from Sokoto;

In 1991, Kebbi state split from Sokoto;

In 1996, Zamfara state was split from Sokoto.

Niger State consists of twenty-five (25) Local Government Areas; Kebbi State consists of twenty-one (21) Local Government Areas; Zamfara State consists of fourteen (14) Local Government Areas; and Sokoto State consists of twenty-three (23) Local Government Areas.

Sokoto, a single state prior to 1976, was divided three times between 1976 and 1996 into four (4) states. These four (4), states have between them 83 Local Governments.

Do note that Lagos state and Sokoto state were the same in 1976 in terms of number of local governments. However, while the Lagos state remains just a state with its original 20 local governments, Sokoto state had been split three times into four (4) states with 83 local governments from its original 20 local governments.

It will interest nobody if Sokoto State is divided into 100 states tomorrow and funded by the income generated from the area only. We are, nevertheless, concerned that, it is the revenues generated from the Yoruba South-West Region that is funding economic growth and development in states like Sokoto and all other Northern states.

The same thing highlighted as above in sokoto happened with kano and jigawa states.
.
Kano had the same 20 LGAs as Lagos until 1991 when IBB created jigawa state and today there are 44 LGAs in kano and 27 in Jigawa. Lagos remains 20. Former kano state: 71.

They also claim kano has a population larger then Lagos state even though million are in Jigawa.

They've created all these LGAs to chop federal allocation money: the basis for revenue sharing is number of LGAs & POPULATION. The 1953 census by the British was skewed in favour of the North.

The 1963 census was so violently disputed that it was discarded and restarted all over again. SL Akintola helped the NPC to cover up the nonsensical figure that was finally adopted in exchange for PM.
Nigeria has never had a proper census figure. No need to mention IBB's census: final figures were farcical. GEJ was about to solve the census problem but his appointee as chair of population commission, Festus Odimegwu was hounded out by the governor of Kano and other interest groups.

Let's not even get started on how Ilorin and Kaaba both Yoruba speaking areas till tomorrow were forced into becoming emirates when there used to be an Oba.

Buhari says looters of national resources are to be arraigned shortly. Mr Buhari is just fooling the gullible Yoruba Youths. The looted resources belong to the Yoruba's and the Niger Delta's people and not the whole of Nigeria. He recognizes the fundamental cause of corruption in Nigeria is the unitary constitution of the country. He knows that Hausa/Fulani have looted the resources of the Yoruba's and Niger Delta's people since the suspension of regional government in 1966. But he is running about with lies and propaganda, grandstanding about curbing corruption in Nigeria.

Before Mr Buhari's second coming, we have had Babangida (8yrs); Shonekan (3mth), Abacha (5yrs); Abdulsalam (1yr); Obasanjo (8yrs); Yar'Adua (3yrs); and Jonathan (5yrs), yet corruption hasn't been abated. Why? The section below, which is a portion of the constitution of Nigeria, encourages corruption. Buhari knows this, but he is unwilling to change it because it favours the North:

C - Public Revenue

"162. (1) The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called "the Federation Account" into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation, except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry or department of government charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

(2) The President, upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles, especially those of population, equality of States, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density;"

The past leaders of Nigeria, including Mr Buhari, who were from the North and who divided Sokoto state, a single state prior to 1976, into four (4) states by 1991 and with 83 local governments from merely 20 local governments in 1976, are the looters of Yoruba's and Niger Delta's resources and they are the people who must be prosecuted.

Everyone seems to have forgotten that Buhari, who represented the Northern's interests was against Obasanjo's National ID Card scheme in 2003. The card could have curbed corruption and fake population census figures. Today, he is grandstanding about curbing corruption by arresting individuals, without addressing the fundamental causes of corruption. Anyone who believes corrupt Buhari will curb corruption must be crazy. Nigeria's problem isn't corruption. But the unitary system in a multi-ethnic society.

As horrible as Tinubu has become, he will protect and safeguard the interests and welfare of the Yoruba people as Yoruba Regional Premier than 100 Buharis.

God is not crazy. He couldn't have possibly allowed Babangida; Shonekan; Abacha; Abdulsalam; Obasanjo; Yar'Adua; and Jonathan, with none of them able to curb corruption, if indeed our problem is corruption. Nigeria is not just sustainable under a unitary system.

The most corrupt country on earth is the United States. The country still works because it has a sustainable political system. There is nothing like the feeding bottle monthly allocation we have in Nigeria in the United States. The Americans don't have a centralized Police System or Armed Forces. Each state in the United States is in charge of its police, armed forces and other functions.

The United Kingdom is more corrupt than Nigeria, yet the country works. It works because of its enduring political system. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, together called themselves the United Kingdom, yet, they go by different football teams, different police systems, different education policies, different currency designs, different healthcare systems, even with different regimental armed forces.

The demographics of the US Population is often along racial grouping. That of the United Kingdom is based on ethnicity. But in Nigeria, the people are so fake they don't want to openly associate anything with their ethnicity. They named their administrative divisions ridiculous names including South-West, South-South, South-East, North-Central, North-East and North-West geopolitical zones. They are so scared of their own identities, including Yoruba, Ibo, Ijaw, Hausa/Fulani and Kanuri.

Ghana administrative divisions are given such names as Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.

In South Africa, the administrative divisions are named after the ethnic groups within the country such as the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape.

Nigeria's problem is not corruption. The current unitary system is the cause of our problem. Nigeria must be restructured along regional autonomy or be divided along its natural boundaries.

Mr. Buhari must stop insulting our collective intelligence with his stale chrous of corruption, corruption and corruption."

NOTE : Corruption in Nigeria is the Over Centralized Unitary Nigerian State

Forwarded as received.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157272263117841&id=595332840

Maxymilliano:
One of greatest lies ever told ...

I tell you Max damn too pathetic for my liking. Lies too much

To even think that this lying President promised to deliver 10,000 mw by December 2018 in the year 2016 on March 21st and I ask now what are we generating now.

Buhari promises 10,000 megawatts of electricity

March 21, 2016

Festus Owete



President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said his administration has set a target of delivering 10,000 megawatts of electricity generation in the next three years.

The president, who stated this while addressing the National Economic Council retreat held at the State House, Abuja, said this year alone the administration would add 2000 megawatts to the national grid.

Mr. Buhari assumed office on May 29 last year.

He said, “Nigerians’ favourite talking point and butt of jokes is the power situation in our country. But, ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer a laughing matter. We must and by the grace of God we will put things right.

“In the three years left for this administration we have given ourselves the target of ten thousand megawatts distributable power. In 2016 alone, we intend to add two thousand megawatts to the national grid.”

Mr. Buhari said the power sector had been privatised but admitted that that it had yet to show any improvement in the quality of service.

According to him, the common public complaints are constant power cuts destroying economic activity and affecting quality of life; high electricity bills despite power cuts; low supply of gas to power plants due to vandalization by terrorists; and obsolete power distribution equipment such as transformers.

Other complaints, he stated, are power fluctuations, which damage manufacturing equipment and household appliances; and low voltage which cannot run industrial machinery.

The federal government had two weeks ago apologised to Nigerians for the hardship and inconveniences power outage had caused them.

A statement by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said efforts were being made to rectify the situation and ensure a gradual improvement in the power situation.



“There will be a decent improvement in the power situation from this weekend, thanks to ongoing remedial efforts that will double the current power supply to 4,000WM,” he said.

“Getting back to the 5,074MW all-time high that was reached earlier will take a few more weeks.”

The government’s apology came three weeks after power supply dropped to a meagre 2,800 megawatts, the lowest in nearly a year.

A few days later, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, announced that it had reached a new peak of 4,387 MW.

It said the recovery followed the successful repair work on the damaged gas supply facility discovered earlier in the week.

In September last year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the federal government planned to distribute 6,000 megawatts of electricity in the country by the first quarter of 2016.

He stated this at Kaleta in the Republic of Guinea, at the inauguration of a 240 MW hydro-power plant.

While campaigning for the presidential election last year, the All Progressives Congress, on which ticket Mr, Buhari contested, promised to expand electricity generation and distribution to 40,000 MW between four and eight years.

According to the party’s manifesto, “The APC Government shall vigorously pursue the expansion of electricity generation and distribution of up to 40,000 megawatts in four to eight years.

“The party will also work assiduously at making power available from renewable energy sources such as coal, solar, hydro, wind and biomass for domestic and industrial use, wherever these prove viable.”



The APC said power remained at the centre-point of development process, adding that all other indices of development anchor on it.

“The failure to make power supply efficient has impacted negatively on the economy. It has made the cost of production and business high and has invariably raised the cost of agricultural produce and other finished goods and services thereby thwarting the growth of our economy,” it said.

“The crisis in the power sector is one of the major causes of the present collapse of the industrial sector and the inability of small scale industries to thrive. To kick-start industrial growth in the country, stable and affordable power supply is an absolute necessity.”


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/200546-buhari-promises-10000-megawatts-electricity.html

Perfect description from a brilliant lady about whom Buhari the irritant is.

RT: Reno Omokri
@renoomokri

1- @MBuhari said “Through hard work, and by the special grace of God, we have weathered these storms”. What storm did you weather when under you, 20.93 million people became unemployed and your country became the world headquarters for extreme poverty? #Buhari2019BudgetLies

2-Buhari said “The economy has recovered from recession and we have had six quarters of growth since then.” That is technically not true. Our population continues to grow almost 3 times faster than economic growth. Poverty is inevitable under such conditions #Buhari2019BudgetLies

3-“We have done more work with less resources in agriculture”. Not true. More work than whom? According to the @USDA , Nigeria now imports more food than under @GEJonathan . We are billed two be the 2nd largest rice importer in the world next year.
@Google it #Buhari2019BudgetLies

4- @MBuhari said “We have made strenuous and successful efforts to overcome the insurgency in NE”. A blatant lie. Nigeria fell in the Global Terrorism Index from #4 under GEJ to #3 this year. More soldiers died this year than at any other time eg, Metele #Buhari2019BudgetLies

5- @MBuhari said “The FG has been working in a unified and patriotic manner to tackle tension between herdsmen and farmers”. Blatant lie. 2018 has been the worst year of herdsmen killing in Nigeria’s history with over 3,000 killed and not one killer convicted #Buhari2019BudgetLies

6- @MBuhari said “The FG has also sustained its efforts to fight grand corruption”. Another BIG lie. According to Transparency International, Nigeria is now more corrupt than at any time in its history and fell 12 places from 136 to 148 in the latest CPI
#Buhari2019BudgetLies

7- @MBuhari said “We recorded successes in economic management.” How can this be when in 2018 we simultaneously became world headquarters for extreme poverty, out of school kids & infant mortality? @BillGates called Nigeria one of the worst places to be born #Buhari2019BudgetLies

8- @MBuhari said “We have increased foreign exchange reserves from a low of $28.57 B in May 2015 to $42.92 B”. Another lie. Buhari failed to tell you our debt doubled from ₦11 trillion under GEJ to ₦24 billion today. You can’t increase reserve with debt #Buhari2019BudgetLies

9- @MBuhari said “, Nigeria was spending $5 million dollars a day on rice importation. Today rice imports have virtually stopped” This is the biggest lie of all. Only a man without shame can lie like this.

10- @MBuhari said “In the railway sector, we completed and commissioned the Abuja-Kaduna Rail”. This is an unnecessary lie. @Google it. That project was completed by the GEJ Government. What was outstanding in 2015 was importation of the trains from China #Buhari2019BudgetLies

11- @MBuhari claimed the “construction of the Oju/Loko-Oweto bridge over River Benue” as his achievement. Fellow Nigerians, here is a picture of that bridge being constructed in 2013. My question to Buhari is this-are you a time traveller sir?
#Buhari2019BudgetLies pic.twitter.com/OrmhNSEBt0

12- @MBuhari said “In power, we are working on over 90 transmission projects across the country.” Notice he did not say Generation. He said ‘transmission’ (apologies to IGP Idris), because Buhari HAS NOT built even ONE power station. The last was built by GEJ #Buhari2019BudgetLies

13- @MBuhari said “we are also looking at rolling out similar off grid solutions to Universities“. What an amazing lie. Never in the history of Nigeria has education been underfunded as today under Buhari. As you read this, both ASUU and ASUP are on strike
#Buhari2019BudgetLies

14- @MBuhari said “297,973 households in 26 states across the country are benefitting from the Conditional Cash Transfer program.” I don’t need to debunk this lie. If you know that President Buhari lied on this claim, simply retweet this and comment after
#Buhari2019BudgetLies

15- @MBuhari said “We are most encouraged by the improved performance of the economy”. This shows Buhari is divorced from reality. In 2018, the World Economic Forum @wef officially makes Nigeria the world headquarters of extreme poverty and he says this? #Buhari2019BudgetLies

16- @MBuhari said “we have returned to the path of growth”. You yourself know that nothing is growing. 5 days ago, Buhari himself held a close door meeting with the 36 Governors and told them “things will get worse”. This is a deliberate lie to cover failure
#Buhari2019BudgetLies

17- @MBuhari said “we have since the 2016 Budget created a revenue line in the budget for stolen and recovered funds.” Another LIE. In July 2018 this govt claimed to share $330 million Abacha loot to the poor only to borrow $328 million from China in August #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Reno Omokri
@renoomokri
23m
18- @MBuhari boasted of a “67 percent budget performance”. Why do his handlers keep doing this to him? Please do yourself a favour and read the truth here vanguardngr.com/2018/11/forget…
#Buhari2019BudgetLies

Reno Omokri
@renoomokri
18m
19- @MBuhari said he targets “Real GDP growth of 3.01%”. What is on ground to justify this expectation? We did not even get 1.5% growth this year and the President told Governors “things will get worse”, so even he knows he is lying
#Buhari2019BudgetLies vanguardngr.com/2018/12/buhari…

20-Finally, @MBuhari should note that when he lies so blatantly to the Nigerian public, he can deceive some of the people some of the time but he can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Everything I have exposed can be verified via a @Google search
#Buhari2019BudgetLies

roland2rule:
Messiah Messi

Trust me that guy is an enigma he is simply a pure class and wonder to behold on the pitch. The Balon d'Or was indeed a diservice to this great genius when compared to C. Ronaldo

This is massive!

Buhari is a bastard from the pit of hell and deserves to perish. This is gruesome.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's firepower

Messi and Cristiano.

Enrique BernaolaAdapted by Panos Kostopoulos18/12/2018 19:29

As another calendar year comes to an end, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are, once again, neck and neck in the scoring charts.

The on-field rivalry between the two superstars dates back to 2009, when the Portuguese arrived at Real Madrid and, as it stands, continues until today, despite his departure to Juventus.



Messi is currently LaLiga Santander's top scorer with 14 goals, while the former Real Madrid forward follows him closely with 11 goals in his first Serie A season.

Adding up his games with the Blaugrana and the Argentinian national team, Messi has reached the 50-goal mark for the eighth time in his career, while Ronaldo has scored 46 in 2018.

In the last decade, the Juventus star has managed to hit the back of the net 542 times, while Messi has scored 567 times.

This year, only Lewandowski and Salah come close to the aforementioned duo - with 45 and 41 respectively - followed by Harry Kane with 38 and Luis Suarez with 37.


https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/amp.marca.com/en/football/international-football/2018/12/18/5c192929268e3efc748b4791.html

Useless and demonic, poverty spreading party.

Qatar Airways: We were never interested in Nigeria Air



December 17

17:002018

by Oluseyi Awojulugbe 0 Comments

Advertisement

Akbar Al Baker, the chief executive officer of Qatar Airways, says his company was not looking to be a core investor in the national carrier project, Nigeria Air.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing 18th Doha Forum in Doha, Qatar, Al Baker said the Nigerian government only approached them for help on how to go about floating a national carrier.

While refuting rumours that the national carrier project was suspended for lack of investors, Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation had listed Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airways as some of the potential investors of the national carrier.

“We never applied to serve as core investor in the proposed Nigerian national carrier. The government of Nigeria only approached us on how to go about setting up the carrier. And we advised that Nigeria needs massive investments to float a national carrier,” Vanguard quoted Al Baker to have said on Sunday.

“Nigeria, being the largest country in Africa, cannot afford not to have a national carrier that competes, first in Africa, and then the global stage. Again, Nigeria must also have the airport that can accommodate modern aircraft that can drive competition.”

He said his company also advised Nigeria on the type of aircraft to acquire for profitability and that Qatar Airways would rather encourage the Nigerian government to designate some airlines to Doha rather than pay royalties; pending the floating of the new national carrier.

Al Baker also said Qatar Airways will not fly into Abuja or other routes in Nigeria so as not to kill the domestic airlines in the country.


https://www.thecable.ng/qatar-airways-we-were-never-interested-in-nigeria-air

Osinbajo on my mind!

The Situation With Nigeria Now Under Buhari.....Even Unborn Babies Are PROTESTING Right From The Womb! Even dogs are not left out!

Obi is a god over Osinbajo no doubt. A Sound Banker and Economist who knew his onions while Osinbajo is just a pretending and rabble rousing talkative so incoherent and full of hot and bloody, bold-faced lies.

ikorodureporta:

Now this is so funny.... Nairaland you no go kill pesin....

OHCOMEON:
I think this report is incomplete without the mention of Kebbi State as a major producer of rice in Nigeria.

You are right comrade it must have been a typo error because even me was surprised too however if you look at the States mentioned, you will notice that Kaduna appeared twice which I want to believe Kebbi must have been intended in one of the missing space.

docadams:
Nonsense and ingredent. Such a waste effort for an article without a source except that one George Ibenegbu, likely an IPOB terrorist like the OP authored it.
@OP, you are not smart at all. Statistics on rice production in Nigerian are never uniform amongst those who chose to research and write on it. However, you hardly can find such low and ridiculous output figures you are propagating in articles by reliable sources
Why even bother replying you? You hateful lot never believed Nigeria was capable of producing a grain of rice in the first instance
Below are statistics from some reliable source

Rice production in Nigeria increases to 5.8m tonnes in 2017 –RIFAN

https://punchng.com/rice-production-in-nigeria-increases-to-5-8m-tonnes-in-2017-rifan/

Investors to stake fresh N250bn in Nigeria rice production

https://www.google.com/amp/s/guardian.ng/business-services/investors-to-stake-fresh-n250bn-in-nigeria-rice-production/amp

States Producing 5.7 Million Metric Tonnes of Rice – DFID

https://www.google.com/amp/s/investorsking.com/amp/states-producing-5-7-million-metric-tonnes-rice-dfid/

You have no reasonable level of shame at all because if you do you would gave seen the source, the empirical analyses and the real names of stakeholders captured in the thread itself. May God deliver you soon.

Nigeria Rice Production Statistics!
 a year ago  21534 views by  George Ibenegbu

Nigeria is one of the biggest rice producers in Africa. Despite this fact, it`s also the largest rice importers in Africa. It`s an essential cash crop for small-scale producers! What can we notice in the Nigeria Rice production statistics? Continue reading to find out!


Rice production Statistics in Nigeria


Over the past decade, the rice consumption rates have risen rapidly. According to Stanley Nkwazema from This Day Live, only in the last decade, the consumption rate has risen to 7 million Metric Tons. Still, only 2.7 million metric tons are produced by Nigerian farmers.

According to the Index Mundi, this number has risen to 2.772 million metric tons. This means that even the increase in rice production in Nigeria still leaves a significant gap of 4.2-4.3 million metric tons. Therefore, Nigeria is only able to supply 49% of the domestic demand. Per capita consumption rate of rice is about 27 kilograms, according to Stanley Nkwazema.

The statistic of rice production in Nigeria clearly shows a 5% increase every year. For the first half of this year, it has already risen by 2.67%, according to the Index Mundi. The Industry Reports also shows the fluctuation of the local commodity production to be between 2,400 to 3,600 in the past five years. The import rates have also increased to 5,850 from 4,800 during the same period of time.

Rice Production Statistics in the States

Only eight states out of 36 can be considered heavy producers of rice. These states include:

- Anambra;

- Nassarawa;

- Ebonyi;

- Kaduna;

- Niger;

- Kano;

- Kaduna;

- Benue.

According to the Nigeria rice production statistics, the imports have started to make up 50% of the local consumption rates. Currently, Nasarawa State is the leader when it comes to rice production in Nigeria. It has over 10,000 fully irrigated rice hectares, according to Stanley Nkwazema.

Anambra State is a clear miracle of rice production in Nigeria. The industrial rice farms have already pushed the rice production of the State from 90,000 metric tons to 210,00 metric tons. Stanley Nkwazema informs that with this capacity, production will soon reach 320,000 metric tons. Therefore, it will reach and then surpass the rates of consumption of rice in Anambra State. When this number is reached, it will show a clear victory over consumption rates.

Who are the importers of Nigeria?

The Global rice production statistics show that the top five importers of Nigeria are the USA, Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Brazil. These countries help Nigeria to overcome the shortfall of over 4.3 million metric tons. This shortfall is valued over N365 billion. This great sum of money is needed to meet Nigerian demand of over 7 million metric tons.

Why Nigeria can`t meet its own demand?

According to the Chairman of the Export Group of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (NACCIMA), Ade Adefeko, the rice producers in Nigeria have to overcome great challenges to meet the market demands.

One of these challenges is the inadequate irrigation techniques. The low levels of technologies can`t result in a high yield! Therefore, the rice farmers are not able to fight against the impact of birds, insects, and weeds.

There are also other drawbacks which keeps Nigeria from being able to supply its own demand for rice. According to Ade Adefeko, these drawbacks include:

- Poor quality control practices;

- Poor drying techniques;

- Poor sorting drying techniques;

- Power failures in some regions of the country;

Ade Adefeko also disclosed that the problems of rice production are horrible for the end users. Due to the chaotic chain of suppliers, the end-user has to get the end product through a number of the middle-men. Therefore, the price of the end-product is pretty high.

Ade Adefeko, in his interview on This Day Live also pointed out that Nigeria keeps is working towards getting out from the rice import dependency, but the progress is too slow. The government of Nigeria may try to change the situation with agricultural loans or rice production loans.

Conclusion

The Statistics of rice production in Nigeria clearly shows that the country needs 7 million metric tons of its demand. For today, Nigeria is only capable to supply only 49% of domestic demand. The rice production in Nigeria keeps growing, but it will not be enough to supply the domestic demand of the whole country in the next several years.


https://www.legit.ng/1114914-nigeria-rice-production-statistics.html


Note: Rice Production Rates In Nigeria (2017) - 2.7 Million Metric Tons
            Rice Production Rates In Nigeria (2018 under review) - Unverified!

            Rice Consumption Rates In Nigeria (2017) - 7 Million Metric Tons
            Rice Consumption Rates In Nigeria (2018 under review) - ?

            Percentage of Rice Production In Nigeria (2017) - 49%
            Percentage of Rice Production In Nigeria (2018 under review) - 51% (if 5% yearly additional production is factored in)

Nigeria is still the biggest importer of rice in Africa till date!

Osinbajo openly lied that Local Rice Production In Nigeria amounts to 90%! Please, Remember Osinbajo In Your Prayers Friends!

CilicMarin:
Yesterday Was China, Today Is Tanzania...

PDP minions are really jobless..

don't worry my brother, at the right time you will be alright.

Well captured, Nigerians are wiser likewise are the gods. Lalasticlala take this to the Promised Land.

Respect to team Atiku I must confess. CilicMarin my guy come and see something

8 Reasons Why Tanzania’s John Magufuli Is Africa’s Most Beloved President!


What would Magufuli do?



And his countrymen will definitely say that he’s doing exactly that, plus more.



John Magufuli, the current president of Tanzania is completely restructuring his home country and we’re loving it! In a continent where politicians say the opposite of what they mean to do, Magufuli is an outlier!

Here are the eight reasons why we admire this man.

1. He came from humble beginnings.



Magufuli is a former school teacher, industrial chemist and ex-minister of works. He is the son of a peasant farmer.

2. He’s shown integrity.



As the Minister of Works, he was reputed to be a no-nonsense, results-driven politician. It was while in office that he got nicknamed “The Bulldozer” for steering the program to build good roads in Tanzania. He had opportunities to make riches while he held this position, but chose not to.

3. He campaigned for the presidency on a platform of hard work.



Hard work from his previous position as a Minister. He also did pushups to show that he was fit and ready for office.

4. He’s been keeping his promises.



Since being sworn in as Tanzania’s president on November 5, John Magufuli has been cracking down on corruption and wasteful spending. This has led to him losing a lot of friends. But he doesn’t let that stop him from doing the good work.

5. He’s been leading by example.



Rather than doing the disappearing act, or practicing “do as I say not as I do”, he’s been acting out what he preaches. Let’s give you some examples: For Tanzania’s Independence Day in 2015, rather than spend money on celebrations that would promptly have been forgotten the next day, he ordered a clean-up exercise. And he didn’t just order it, he joined in. This caused thousands of Tanzanians to come out and join as well, because if their president could do it, who are they not to?



When going to officially open parliament Magufuli didn’t go by plane, he drove all the way. He has reduced the size of the presidential convoy, as well as the size of presidential delegation that travels with him. What a guy!!!

6. He’s been channeling Tanzania’s monetary sources to more important ventures.



Not long after assuming office, he took drastic measures to boost government coffers, which includes:  

A. He put a stop to the public procurement of goods and services at inflated costs.

He declared that anyone found procuring public goods or services on inflated prices will face the music.

B. Immediate ban on foreign travels by public servants. He did this ON HIS THIRD DAY IN OFFICE!

He stated that all tasks that necessitated government officials to travel abroad will now be done by the country’s high commissioners and ambassadors abroad.

C. He called on all public institutions to cut expenditure on refreshments during meetings.

Magufuli decried “unnecessary heavy refreshments” being offered at meetings and directed that lunch be served “in very rare and exceptional circumstances”, where a meeting that starts in the morning is expected to continue into the evening.

D. He issued a directive for unnecessary physical meetings to be stopped and for public servants to conduct conference calls instead.

This is to cut unnecessary costs that the government incurred from meetings and conferences held at various venues.

7. He made education free for children whose parents couldn’t afford it. A promise he made during his election campaign.



He also directed relevant authorities to sort and resolve the problems stopping the release of education loans.

8. He keeps federal workers on their toes, so they don’t mess up.



He went to the federal hospital unannounced and made sure to visit all the wards, including those kept from high profile visitors like himself. After discovering the sorry state, he fired the director, the hospital board and ordered that the equipment that weren’t working to be repaired within two weeks,  otherwise he would fire even the newly appointed director. The repair happened in three days!

https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.zikoko.com/list/8-reasons-tanzanias-john-magufuli-africas-beloved-president/amp/

MufasaRebirth:
So you mean to tell me Ojukaye is more powerful than Ameachi

You better avoid that guy like a plague before he infects you with his irritating and baseless analyses

ZombieTAMER:
Messi is one dimensional


Cover his left leg and he is finished...
If Ighalo was a striker... We could have knocked out Argentina in the group stage..


This is not the mark of the greatest player in history

Remind me what foot he used in scoring against Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup again.

She is the one standing behind the woman in the middle

Saraki is truly the James Bond 007 of Nigerian Politics!