₦airaland Forum

Attempts by the goverment in dredging river niger [which passes through 9 countries] from warri to baro in niger state is ofcourse of immense benefit to the nation, such benefit includes river transport, trade benefits, improved interaction btw people and cultures,improved levels of livelihood from  numerous activities, dvpt of inland waterway technology and employment activities.form enviromental perspective, the proposed dredgin will likely present problems than intended,
  In 1953, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, then Nigerian Minister of Transport, visited the United States and observed how the Mississippi River was contributing to its economic development. He became convinced that the Niger and Benue rivers could play a similar role in Nigeria. the Lower Niger has been dredged twice, first in 1958. Due to lack of maintenance, the entire dredged channel has silted up.

The development of the Ajaokuta Steel Mill and the New Federal Capital of Abuja has brought renewed interest in the development of the waterways. Also, the realization of the fact that river transportation is the cheapest, safest and most environmentally friendly mode of transportation has given further boost to the development of river transportation.

There is currently a renewed effort to dredge the River Niger from Baro to Warri and also provide training works along the banks. Also, efforts are on to study the navigability to River Benue and the Cross River throughout the year. In all these cases, new River Port[s] are to be developed.

In June 2001 the Federal Ministry of Environment approved the draft EIA report and issued an environmental certification for the project to proceed. Dredging operations have reportedly commenced in some of the upper reaches under the supervision of NIWA as the lead agency. NIWA’s Managing Director, Engineer Rabiu Diori Abubakar, has emphasized however that it is a misnomer to characterize the proposed project exclusively in terms of “dredging.” Rather it refers to comprehensive development of host riverine communities and to the provision of infrastructure for navigation and shipping, such as channelization and port development (The Guardian 2001: 31).

This “full project” is described but not assessed in the EIA report.In light of these considerations and criticisms, how can the necessity of a full-scale, full-systems EIA be avoided? In the meantime, it seems equally necessary that dredging operations be suspended.

The answer to this question will be determined by the view of the individual. For those who believe that the government should intervene in the everyday running of the economy, it is bad; for those of us who believe that the government should just govern and let the economic resources go to where they are needed most, it is very good.

The economy thrives when there is efficient allocation of scarce resources like money. The unnecessary intervention of the government in such cases is like suspending a waterfall. As they say, water will always find its level and if it is not allowed, with time the dam will burst.

A lot of powerful barons with vested interest in the oil and gas industry are doing everything that can to stop the deregulation. They want the government to continue with its inefficient allocation of resources to the subsidy of petroleum products. It is in the best interest of every Nigerian including generations unborn to welcome deregulation, otherwise we will never understand why prices fall in other places and it does not fall in our markets.

The untold realities are that at current prices petrol may indeed rise to N90 per litre, one wonders what happens when the world economy refuels and the thirst for black gold is back again , I believe we might not yet be fully ready for total deregulation unless the refineries are workin then subsidies would curb inflation,
today petrol is like the life that moves business and people, powers the generators of the small scale workers who make up the productive end of the economy, we are in a catch 22, what say you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VuZnAoZJ_g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VuZnAoZJ_g

@become rich


80% delta, bayelsa,rivers, akwa ibom, other states are fringe players

whats with the slowpoke,

yes c-rivers will do better with or without the oil, but the state is on a huge debt from dukes admin, will surely affect them. Ondo has some marginal oilfieds even in the non ijaw occupying area.
it is true c-rivers is better than villages cant stop laughing , in the east

the annoying stuff was the rhetoric he dished out and how gullible nigerians were in believing him, as i remember"there is nothing on ground" was his favourite line confusing Mr president who is a very easy person to confuse, he might not be guilty but what vexes me is that the cost of those project is now triple the inital cost, talkless of the cost to the economy,its a real shame that at 2009 i receive only 1 hr daily nepa supply. anytime i hear vision **** i switch off my tv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VuZnAoZJ_g

soludo would have gone anyway as his tenure is almost up, the next cbn governor is coming from the north.
Taking a closer look at the crash of the Nigerian stock market since March, 2008, one cannot but notice that the crash started ever before the effects of the global financial crisis were felt in Nigeria. The two major regulators of the Nigerian capital market- Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) abandoned the stock market to systematic and coordinated price manipulations, trading in shares non-functional companies by unsuspecting investors, and price movements not based on any concrete market fundamentals.
Stocks were grossly over-valued, market and listing rules frequently broken especially by the 'favorite companies' of these institutions' leadership. The regulatory institutions that were supposed to be complementary in their oversight functions were openly antagonistic of each other. The result has been the present collapse of the stock market

porka, you understand,

why didnt he bow to the queen of england, he is a muslim at heart, and the conservatives will never forgive him.

I am quite certain that this is not the protocol, and is most unbecoming a President of the United States.


See Miss Manners on the protocol. Americans do not bow to foreign monarchs because that act signified the monarch's power over his subjects.

commonsense tells us that we are probably going to face tougher times these years, people are suffering in these lagos, so i dont support these latest move considering traders and buyers in aswani are trying to make ends meet

Barely one month after the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) announced loss of 800 megawatts due to inadequate gas supply to Egbin and Sapele Power Stations, the country may further be plunged into darkness as the Otorogu Gas Plant has broken down, leading to loss of 230 million standard cubic of gas per day.
As consumers are grappling with the current nationwide load-shedding, the country risks being plunged into total darkness following the breakdown of the gas plant located near Ughelli in Delta State.
THISDAY gathered that the gas plant, which belongs to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), broke down immediately after Christmas due to the loss of all the three generators at the gas facility.
Due to gas supply limitation, PHCN has been losing about 800 megawatts from the national grid as the 1,020 megawatts capacity Sapele Power Station is completely shut down, while the 1,320 megawatts capacity Egbin plant is running at reduced capacity.
Electricity consumers have been apprehensive especially as there is no time frame for the possible restoration of normal gas supply to the plants.
Consequently, PHCN adopted a nationwide 12-hourly zonal power rationing to maintain system stability and ensure even distribution of the limited generation output from the functioning plants.
The Otorogu Gas Plant and Chevron’s Escravos Gas Plant are the main sources of gas supply to the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), which supplies gas to PHCN for the generation of electricity in the various gas-fired power plants across the country.
Confirming the breakdown, Managing Director of NGC, Mr. Voka Mukoro, told THISDAY last night that the breakdown of the gas plant was a serious emergency situation threatening gas supply to both Omotosho and Geregu Power Stations.
Mukoro said: “I was the one that initiated a call to the Managing Director of PHCN last night, telling him that I was going to shut down gas supply to Geregu and Omotosho because of lack of gas supply.
“Due to shortage of gas, we started with Egbin and Sapele and we wanted to extend it to Geregu and Omotosho. NGC does not produce gas; we depend on gas supply from Shell and Chevron. Shell’s plant is at Otorogun and Chevron’s plant is at Escravos. Unfortunately, Shell said that all its three generators at Otorogun failed on December 26, leading to a loss of 230 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
“Once this happens, the pressure on ELP (Escravos Lagos Pipeline) begins to go down and the only option left for us is to reduce the number of power plants receiving gas to avoid total blackout and complete breakdown of the whole system. The situation was very alarming. By yesterday morning, the pressure was still going down. I was talking to Shell; I was talking to the GMD (Group Managing Director of NNPC) and the PHCN Managing Director was also talking to the Minister.”
The NGC boss stated that although Shell had restored one of the three failed generators, NGC was yet to increase the gas flow because the pressure had not recovered.
Mukoro insisted that unless the pressure recovered fully, NGC would stop gas flow to Geregu and Omotosho to save the country from total system failure.
The operation of the 335 megawatts capacity Omotosho Power Plant and the 414 megawatts Geregu plant, both built by the immediate past administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Ogun and Kogi States, respectively, has always been hampered by inadequate gas supply.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited Nigeria, Mr. Waclaw Lukowicz, recently told THISDAY that the Geregu Plant currently produces half of its installed capacity due to inadequate gas supply to the plant.
“We only built the plant; we are not operating it. However, we know the key problem because we are still concerned in warranty issues associated with the plant. The key issue is unavailability of gas supply. We understand that the plant is generating half of its installed capacity,” he had said.
Before the drop in electricity generation, the country’s power output level was being expected to hit 4,000 megawatts by the end of the year, from a generating capacity, which hovers between 3,200 megawatts and 3,400 megawatts.


http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=131901


only if they had finished the NIPP

it will be interesting to see how yaradua will respond, both jang and yaradua are at the extremes, the sultan was in jos a couple of days back and i dare say

i feel like sleeping

gaza 4 life

Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang has dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court for setting up a panel of inquiry to probe the November 28 sectarian riots that engulfed the state over the local government election in Jos North.
Over 300 people were reportedly killed in the riots, while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.
In a suit that seeks to properly define the nation’s federal system, Jang is asking the apex court for clarification on the power of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to institute a probe into the causes of the riots.
President Yar’Adua had last week set up an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to probe the crisis. He appointed Major-General Emmanuel Abisoye (rtd) as chairman of the panel.
Filed on behalf of the state, Jang invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in matters between states and the Federal Government.
He asked the court to stop the President from constituting a panel of inquiry to sit or continue to sit as a body with power to inquire into the civil unrest that occurred in Jos on November 28, 2008.
After filing the suit, the state also wrote a letter to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa.
The letter entitled, “Demand for Respect for Rule of Law,” called on the AGF to advise the President to follow the path of rule of law, which he had made one of his seven-point agenda.
Jang said in the letter: “We have no doubt that upon reading this letter and the processes attached, you would, in your characteristic manner, find it the least service you owe to the rule of law to advise the defendants to tread the path of the rule of law and direct the chairman and members of the administrative panel mentioned above not to sit or function until the Supreme Court will have determined the case.”
Following the originating summons filed by his counsel, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation is also joined in the suit.
In the suit, the governor is specifically asking the apex court to declare that Yar’Adua has no power under the constitution or the Tribunal of Inquiry Act, 1966 (now to be found in Cap T21 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) to constitute a tribunal or appoint any person or group of persons by whatever name called to inquire into the civil unrest that occurred in Jos.
He further asked the court to hold that the power to constitute a tribunal to inquire into the civil unrest, which occurred in Plateau State in November, 2008 is a residual mater in respect of which only the state’s House of Assembly is competent to make law vide Section 4(7) of the 1999 Constitution.
Consequently, he asked the court to grant an injunction restraining the Federal Government from setting up a tribunal to inquire into the Jos crisis.
He also sought an injunction restraining the Federal Government and its agents from directing anyone or a body of persons from sitting or continuing to sit as a tribunal purporting to be acting under the Tribunal of Enquiry Act to inquire into the civil unrest or disturbance that occurred in Jos.
In an affidavit sworn to by the Director of Civil Litigation in the Plateau State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Florence Lotben, and attached to the originating summons, the state said since Yar’Adua was not investigating any Federal Government employee, he had no power to poke his nose into a crisis involving residents of Jos North Local Government Area of the state.
Lotben said: “The right or power to conduct any inquiry into the said Jos crisis of 28th November 2008 belongs exclusively to the Plateau State Government as a residual matter.
“The act of the Federal Government in setting up the said administrative panel of inquiry into the said Jos crisis is calculated to usurp the constitutional power vested in the Plateau State Government for reasons best known to the Federal Government.”
Jang stated that Yar’Adua did not consult him before setting up the administrative panel even though the panel so set up would investigate events that took place within Jang’s domain and jurisdiction.
Pending the time the apex court will hear the originating summons, Fagbemi has filed a motion on notice seeking for an order preserving the res in the case by orders of interlocutory injunction restraining the Federal Government and its agents from further taking any steps capable of giving effect to the announcement by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, that the commission of inquiry into the Jos crisis had been set up.
The lawyer, also in the interim, asked the court to stop the Federal Government from accepting the report of the recommendations of the commission and that if the recommendations had been accepted, to stop the Federal Government from acting on them.
Other members of the panel set up by the President are Mr. Festus Okoye, Ambassador G.B. Preware and Ambassador Fati Sa’ad Abubakar, while Alhaji Musa Shafi’l was appointed as Secretary.
The terms of reference of the panel among others are to look into the cause or causes of the crisis, identify those responsible for the crisis and make recommendations on how to avert future re-occurrence.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=131831


does he have anything to cover?

police patrol might be for the upcoming wedding btw yuguda and yaraduas daughter

blinx4real:
many people are extremely myopic and cannot see beyond their noses, even wth the glaring monumental failures and headbreaking incompetence from these folks.
The basic reason I can see is that most of us nigerian youths have evolved into commentators not participants, talking from afar and not participating in much.
A simple survey will prove my point , how many nairalanders belong to a poltical party/group?

v.funny
]He also advocated that the special assignments should be coordinated by a Board of Trustees under the joint chairmanship of General Yakubu Gowon and President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Saleh, however said that the immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, should be excluded from the arrangement, because: “It is too soon to call him back.”


saleh

Nigerians who are plain tired of the Yar’Adua regime’s claims to living out the rule of law found reason last Thursday to be nauseated. A Federal High Court in Enugu convicted former Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State on a one-count charge of corruption. His punishment? To pay a fine of N3.6 million. That’s not even a slap on the wrist; it’s a pat on the back – or even a lover’s hum in the ear!

Go to any Nigerian prison and you’ll find inmates who have spent several years for picking somebody’s pocket. In Zamfara, a man had his hand amputated for stealing cattle! And yet, Igbinedion, who was charged with stealing billions of naira, doesn’t have to spend a second in jail!
This isn’t rule of law; it’s ruse of law. It broadcasts that there are two Nigerias and two sets of rules, one set for commoners, the other for the lucky few who call themselves “stake holders.”

The whole shocking episode, make no mistake, was orchestrated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The shenanigan began when the anti-corruption substituted its initial 191-count charge of corruption, money laundering and embezzlement against Igbinedion and his colluding companies with a 24-count charge.

As if the bonanza of the shrunken charges wasn’t enough, the EFCC then threw a Christmas party for this lucky Igbinedion. It decided to arraign him on just one count. The lone charge read: “That you, Lucky Igbinedion (former governor of Edo State) on or about January 21, 2008, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, neglected to make a declaration of your interest in the account No. 41240113983110 with GTBank in the declaration of Assets Form of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 27(3) of the EFCC Act, 2004.”

Igbinedion may be a thief, but he’s no fool. He quickly pleaded guilty to the single charge. The presiding judge blew him a kiss from the bench in the form of the N3.6 million fine. The second accused entity, Kiva Corporation, was convicted on two of the 23 charges preferred against it. The judge asked that the company, one of several Igbinedion used to steal public funds, should pay a N500 million fine. It’s also to forfeit its landed properties, including a parcel of land in Asokoro, a district of Abuja, two plots of land in Benin City with a four-bedroom house and two outer houses, and a storey building also in Benin.

Everything considered, Igbinedion’s day in court was so easy it must have seemed to him like one of his stealing days! One newspaper reported that the former governor, who had arrived in court with a few of his aides, “paid the fine within minutes after the verdict and was driven away in a white Peugeot 307 marked Nasarawa AG 16 NSW.” I won’t be surprised if he and his retinue drove straight to the venue of a giddy victory party. A party for the lucky few permitted to steal as much as their twisted minds wish and yet face no serious penalty! Why won’t Igbinedion and his pals celebrate this early Christmas windfall? Who would begrudge them a huge, heady party, champagne and spirits flowing, the music blaring, local and imported women flaunting their lithe torsos and surgically enhanced breasts at lucky men, smiles and laughter and wild dancing all around!

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Why not, indeed? Let’s put things in perspective. The original rap against Igbinedion was that he stole N4.4 billion naira – or more than twenty million dollars – from Edo State. Remark that this figure was, in all likelihood, a small fraction of the funds that went missing during the eight years that Igbinedion ruined Edo State. Executive thieves often have the tools to outwit even the best forensic tools of anti-corruption agents. Yet, in a perplexing plea bargain, Igbinedion was allowed to waltz out of the courtroom after quickly paying a fine of less than thirty-five thousand dollars!

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How much is thirty-five thousand dollars worth to the Igbinedions of Nigeria? It’s less than the allowance they hand to their girlfriends for one shopping junket to London, Paris or New York. It’s less than their bill for a weekend jamboree in one of Dubai’s glitzy hotels.

Where a crime as grave as the betrayal of public trust is committed, a prosecutor who knows what he’s doing usually persuades a judge to hand down a serious sentence. Quite apart from making the offender feel the pinch of his crime, a stiff sentence is also meant to deter others from contemplating a life of crime.

Justice Abdullahi Kafarati’s sentence does not have any deterrent sting whatever. Can anybody think of a single politician in Abuja or any of the thirty-six state capitals who would be chastened by Igbinedion’s “punishment”? Is there a chance that any quick-fingered politician would look at the sentence and learn the lesson that corruption is a risky gamble? I seriously doubt it.

Nigerians were scandalized when former Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun got away with a six-month sentence for stealing N17 billion. Then they were shocked when former Governor D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha got away with another soft jail sentence. Now, with Igbinedion’s feathery sentence, Balogun and Alamieyeseigha must be stewing with envy. Compared to Igbinedion, those two must feel as if they faced a firing squad!

Justice Kafarati’s sentence is the kind of sanction likely to fertilize corruption, not stem it. Here’s what it proposes to the collection of crooks who misrule Nigeria: steal, as much as you want, you’ll live to enjoy the fruits of your treachery! Steal millions of dollars; pay a few thousand in fine – and absolutely no jail time.

What bizarre considerations informed the judge’s decision to hand candies to Igbinedion in the name of sentencing him? Why did the EFCC seem to snooze as Justice Abdullahi Kafarati weighed Igbinedion’s sentence? From newspaper accounts, Igbinedion’s lawyer was the more aggressive, determined in pleading his client’s case and pressing the case for leniency. Why didn’t the agency’s lawyer speak forcefully about the egregious nature of Igbinedion’s crimes, and their grave consequences for his state? Why did the EFCC decide to arraign Lucky on a single, relatively innocuous charge?

After the verdict, the EFCC affected outrage. It threatened to appeal. I am not impressed. The agency’s current chair, Farida Waziri, had earlier said she was opposed to plea bargains with accused officials. How then did the agency find itself in this sordid plea bargain with Igbinedion? Here’s my prediction: the agency will wait a few weeks for the shock of Igbinedion’s feather-brush to wear off. Then it will let sleeping dogs lie – or lying dogs sleep.
love the article, by okey ndibe

latest violence has resulted in more than 300 dead Palestinians and two dead Israelis.
We to have urge the Israelis to avoid civilian casualties but they are working on decreasing the number of Israeli citizens who are vulnerable , so they are going to continue to deal at this time with the Hamas terrorist threat."

Hamas, which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union, canceled its participation in a cease-fire earlier this month, and has been sending a barrage of rockets from Gaza and into Israeli border towns.

In response, Israel launched an air offensive over the weekend and has been shelling suspected terror sites, including security outposts, a house next to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's residence and the Islamic University
In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable cease-fire. That is the objective to which all parties need to be working

noetic:
do u really know what his seven point agenda is all about?
the seven things he listed, have they not being part of budget projections since 1960? So what exactly is this 7 point agenda other than propaganda? He is a power drunk illitrate.
and what difference does it make if the political north stays in power for 8 years or atiku runs?
we need basic infastructure, wealth creation and national convictions biult on the rule of law.
above all we need leadership . . . . .

Mr president wasnt ready 4 the job obj foisted him on us, 'the political north' advices him, lets be a little optimistic , Nigerians are very funny pple

the system is rotten

the constitution amendment is a distraction, i dont support total review except the part that has to deal will electoral process, for now we havent even implemented the one we have, its just a source of another controversy and tax payers money down the soakaway, the current legislatures are a dissapointment

well ,whether we like it or not, the north will have to complete 8 years , its either atiku or someother dark horse to start afresh in 2011 or yaradua complete his 8 yrs term

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched manhunt for the controversial Indian businessmen, the Vaswani brothers over alleged N4 billion fraud.
The multi-billion naira fraud was alleged to have been perpetrated through forged documents on goods imported into the country.

Daily Sun gathered that the anti-graft commission had been on trail of the Vaswani brothers for the past six weeks. “They have remained evasive and continued to dodge all the efforts to get them interrogated.”
As a result of their refusal to honour the commission’s invitation, EFCC operatives sealed up their Lagos office, the Honda place, last week.

Two offices of the notable Indian businessmen in Abuja and Kano may also be sealed up to underscore the commission’s intention to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion, it was further gathered.
Spokesman for the EFCC, Femi Babafemi confirmed that the Lagos office of Vaswani brothers had been shut.

He declined to give further details, saying investigations by the EFCC officials were still going on.
The EFCC under Mallam Nuhu Ribadu had deported the Vaswani brother5s over alleged roles in shady deals through which the Federal Government lost several billions of naira.
Specifically, their activities were alleged to be injurious and inimical to the economic well being of the nation.

They were accused of engaging and perfecting the act of using fraudulent and illegal means to clear thousands of containers through which the government suffered huge revenue losses.
Controversy had always trailed their business dealings in Nigeria, which spanned automobile, consumables and merchandising.

Recently, an auto firm, Globe Motors sought the assistance of the EFCC to recover billions naira from Vaswani brothers over alleged fraudulent deal.
Already, the EFCC has stepped into the matter. However sources close to the commission confided in Daily Sun that Vaswani brothe4rs had been stalling the investigations because of their failure to appear personally for interrogation.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2008/dec/29/newsbreak-29-12-2008-001.htm



if obj cud say that they were sabouteurs, i believe it,

remember 99-2002 was similar to what we are experiencing now in terms of policy thrust. another 4 year term wud ensure that the 7 point agenda of Mr president flourishes

my man of the year is mike andoaka the minister of justice for upholding the rule of law

Thirteen federal ministries did not spend a single kobo from their capital budget allocations this year even though about 75 percent of the funds were released to them, a survey by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement (Due Process) has discovered.

On the other hand, the survey found that four key ministries spent more than was allocated to them as capital vote, while 10 more ministries spent less than 50 percent of the capital budgetary allocations.

The survey also cast aspersion on the ability of the government to implement the seven point agenda and keep faith with the rule of law.

Thirty eight Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were studied and of them, four key government ministries representing 13 percent were found by the survey to have overspent their capital budgetary allocations, while 13 ministries, representing 42 percent of the MDAs did not spend even a kobo from their releases.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200812190471.html


For the poor working masses, as usual, there is nothing to cheer at the proposed 2009 Budget recently presented by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. The woe of poor Nigerians has in fact been compounded by the global economic meltdown which has expectedly taken its toll on the oil revenue which accounts for about 98% of the foreign earnings and over 80% of annual revenue. Sadly, when there was boom which saw the price of crude oil reached the all time high of $147 in July.
Yar’adua said that the 2009 budget provides 91% of the capital votes to five key priority sectors which include critical infrastructure, human capital development, agriculture and water resources, Niger Delta and security.
But there is nothing to celebrate; emphasizing 91% is just playing up figure to deceive. In reality, compared to 2008 budget there is reduction in the allocations to the sectors identified by Yar’adua as critical to his fabled seven-point agenda. For instance, education, health and transport have seen the capital components of their allocation reduced from N47.8bn, N49.37bn and N94.36bn in 2008 budget to N33.6bn, N39.6bn and N35.2bn respectively in 2009 proposed budget. Also, the capital allocation to the Niger Delta has plummeted from N84bn to N77.12bn shared between the new created Niger Delta Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission. Worst still, there is zero allocation to the housing sector!
With the seeming shorthage of cash wud it be possible to pay off the 400 billion debt?