₦airaland Forum

The chairman of Northern Governors Forum, Governor Mua'zu Babangida Aliyu, is canvassing that if fuel subsidy is restored after negotiations with labour, states should henceforth pay according to consumption levels.


This means Lagos, which consumes an estimated 60 per cent of petrol in Nigeria, would pay most of the N1.3 trillion subsidy, even though its share from deregulation savings is estimated at a mere N10 billion.


Aliyu, who was part of the negotiating team yesterday, was said to have argued that Northern governors were not in favour of the old subsidy payment regime which was usually deducted from the federation account before allocations were shared.

According to sources at the meeting, Aliyu said there were not many cars in Northern Nigeria and it would not be equitable for all the states to contribute to the subsidy fund equally when consumption is mainly in the South.

Aliyu's argument may re-ignite the debate about fiscal federalism, as Lagos State has also been canvassing that the Value-added Tax (VAT), most of which is generated by consumption in Lagos, should not be shared among all the states of the federation.

dmainboss:
[size=18pt]I thought they said this guy is weak? hmmmmm. I warned them about Ijaw men. Never say an Ijaw man is weak just because he is calm. You will be making the mistake of your life. I am watching but I know GEJ has the last punch in this battle and it could be a deadly one. You all might not only loose subsidy. You might loose the whole oil revenue completely and you might have to build your new countries from the scratch. I pray it doesnt happen though because it will be a long drawn war but i have this feeling we might be heading to that door[/size]

Leave them, blind man know 'im way o. In the end we'll know if GEJ was really weak or dull or his distractors were simply foolish and shallow minded to have hastily written him off.
I think this guy has the aces and has outsmarted them all. a dey lafooo (in swahili).

Nigerians are really fools. So, on what ground are they going to impeach mr. president?
Has he breach the constitution of Nigeria? It's only in Nigeria that someone is punished for doing his job properly.
No wonder the country's been in steady decline.  
Get real guys these are empty threats, anyway, the end seem to be drawing near for Nigeria as we know it.

daphil:
Does anybody noticed from op's post above, the different between the camerounian security personnels and ours. They are more thorough and strict in intelligent gathering. I believe it will be easier for them over there to root them out.

Please, give me a break, police all over Africa are thesame: very corrupt.
You'll be surprise that they were until now not aware that boko has a base in Cameroon.

Bliss4Lyfe:
Gbam a mass protest on corruption would unite us all o.

Are you kidding, who'll lead it?

Here we go again fighting against ourselves and making sure that our future remain bleak.
Subsidy removal will actually benefit those fighting against it, alas, this Nigeria, give them a few naira and they are willing to forfeit their future.

knowledge4:
Cogent, you are very right.
Most of them complaining on the net will never get on the streets to protest.
This is the reason why the government keeps enslaving them and riding on their backs all the time.
What happened in Egypt,libya,Tunisia, cannot happen here because Nigerians are too cowardly to stand up to fight for their rights!

How about Ghana, what happened there? They've also deregulated petrol price and I understand that p/l of petrol there is much higher than in naija, but Ghanaians have not promised to turn their country into a battle ground. BTW Nigerians are not cowards rather they are aware of the immediate pain this is causing them, but also know it's the right thing to do if we want our country to grow and become competitive. We should rather go out enmass to protest against corruption, insecurity, lack of infrastructure and injustice, these should be our biggest concern.

Happy New Year.
Long live Nigeria.

Folks, welcome to the real world, deregulation has come to stay.
Some immediate gains of fuel subsidy removal:
1. Less traffic in our roads and streets.
2. Less polution, therefore, increase in air quality.
3. Carpooling.

Buhari is a sour loser and is blowing hot air. I bet if there is a rerun of the presidencial election today GEJ will beat Buhari with an even wider margin.
GEJ is running a government of intellectuals as opposed to the military dictatorship that many of you on NL are used to and clamouring for.
I believe Nigeria will over come her problems and become an economic success story, but that will not happen under men like Buhari.

The idiot is definitely surfering from dementia. Anyway I don't expect much from him, afterall northern muslims see boko violence as serving their political interest.

thehomer:
Hmm. Our God has gone to sleep again. What was he doing when his followers were being killed right outside his place of worship?

I wonder. Another nobrainer I suppose.

Auwa, with all due respect, the silence on boko haram in the north is deafening. When anyone from the north does speak they end up blaming the government. I know that majority of muslims are peace loving, but if you don't start tackling this boko issue it may end up consuming the whole north.

ndahbros1:
@sweet9ja:
I won't s join issue with you because, you obviously don't understand what debating is about.



Y don't u just admit dat u don't hv anytin to say? As an apologist of GEJ, u shd hv gone beyond puerile and weak arguments to advance ONE SOLID point to sway us into agreein dat GEJ is tryin. If u are bereft of ideas, shut up n stop displayin your ill-grasp of inappropriate sophism for everyone to see. Don't try to fool people wit vague, ambiguous statements witout any substantiation. U see people debate beautifully on TV and u tink its easy.
No let me read any silly post from u again if u hv not filled your upstairs wit some ideas and sound arguments.

I said it before, I don't want to joing easy with an agbero like you, so, that's it. You lack any atom of civilized manner, so, I won't waste my time with you.

swiftycool:
This must be the dumbest thing I've heard all day, u R pretty sure a blockhead who has no real honest positive plan, has a vision for Nigeria? He never performed as governor, hasn't performed yet as a president should, makes silly moves concerning the economy, increases govt. Spending and wastes yet tells us to sacrifice, keeps promising jobs 4 the youth who instead keep losing their daily bread cos of his dumb policies. And will gladly allow the economy of the nation be controlled by one Aboki monopolistic entrprenure to the detriment of other growing SMEs! Nonsense

Please tell me something GOOD this guy has achieved to impact your life or Shut d 4uk uP!
U sufferheads deserves the type of leaders u get! Hissssss

I won't s join issue with you because, you obviously don't understand what debating is about.

ndahbros1:
Excerpt from Sweet9ja:
GEJ is like a sea captain given the unenviable job of setting afloat a ship that ran aground, all those onboard must help him to succeed in his task.
I'm pretty sure that this man has a vision for Nigeria and that he will succeed.



While u r entitled to your own optimistic forecast, has it ever occurred to u dat all successive govts in Nigeria since 1979 have all said d same tin "dis country has been aground for a long while-give us time to try n set tins"? If for 30+ yrs now we ar still sayin Nig has been in a rut n each successive leader needs all d time in d world to study it before he can begin d task of governance proper, when will we hv serious leadership?
If a man does not hv a clue as to wat d country needs, why run for elections? It becomes more painful wen u hv been VP and acting President, and sunstantive President b4 dis tenure. Wat more those he need?y does he not audit nnpc instead of dis fuel subsidy?y did he not prosecute d past MD despite d damnin reports against him? Abeg, shun talk if u no know wetin to talk.
Once again,my personal opinion is dat GEJ rates poorly accordint to my scale.go hug transformer!

Like you rightfully said, I'm indeed entitled to be optimistic, but I don't see anything better in your argument. You sound bitter because the govt has decided to do away with the petro subsidy. Well, deregulation is oncourse, there is no going back. For all I know this govt will surely deliver and if you don't like it, go jump from 3rd mainland bridge.

COMPAQ:
We think too short term in this country, rather than LONG term!! Look at the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15984493

Somewhere in there, it says that with solar and wind power becoming ever cheaper, it could be at par with fossil fuel power between 2020 and 2030. What happens then? Oil prices fall and Nigeria's revenue crashes and then govt cannot even afford to subsidise if it wanted to.

We had better develop a more robust economy before then!! Removal of many subsidies, including petrol, will help us to get there. Though reduced government wastages, corruption, incompetence etc will also help, but we must attack our developmental issues from all fronts. The extra GDP that telecoms provides Nigeria post deregulation is like 50times what pre-deregulation provided us, likewise jobs. Power and petroleum can have the same effect also.

It is the price we unfortunately have to pay for decades of mismanagement. if our railways had been privatised since the early 80's, many of the live's lost to tanker accidents on our raods may not have happened, not to talk of damage to our roads and a more efficient goods haulage system, which would have made for cheaper products and a more efficient economy.

The medicine is bitter, but we always take it to get better don't we??

abeg tell them.

I support the removal of subsidy on petrol. Africa and especially Nigeria, remain backward today due to the fact that we refuse to try new ideas.
How can we ever develop if we keep doing things the old way? Why must we borrow from from foreign govts and financial institutions when we can as well generate thesame fund locally and avoid the passing debts to future generations?
I do sincerely hope that after successfully abolishing subsidy on petrol, the govt will overhaul the tax system in Nigeria ie overhaul income tax (too many people are evading tax in Nigeria) and introduce some form of road or vehicle tax.
Govt should commit itself to building world class health centres in all six geopolitical zones, upgrade our educational institutions and as matter of urgency subsidize healthcare and education for the very poor in the society.

@Beaf, I'm with you.

Demdem:
The retardeen can't give what he does not have. He failed miserably has governor of bayelsa, why do u all think he will succeed as president? Na winch?to those who see this as insults, kiss my a.s.s

What do you, Demdem, have to give and what have you given? Where and how did GEJ failed as a governor?
GEJ is like a sea captain given the unenviable job of setting afloat a ship that ran aground, all those onboard must help him to succeed in his task.
I'm pretty sure that this man has a vision for Nigeria and that he will succeed.

Nigerian need to send a strong message to SA that we'll defend and protect our sovereignity by any means.
They've gone too far and there many ways of retaliating other than their crude methods.

South African Airways Crew Arrested For Drug Smuggling - Twice In One Month
« on: February 17, 2009, 05:27 AM »
Entire South African Airways crew arrested for drug smuggling - TWICE in one month
By Sam Greenhill
Last updated at 1:59 AM on 17th February 2009
Comments (0) Add to My Stories

The entire crew of a South African Airways flight has been arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling - for the second time in a month.
Fifteen members of the flight crew, including the pilot, were detained yesterday at Heathrow airport after customs officers found five kilos of cocaine in a bag.
They were being held by officers after the class A drug, with an estimated street value of £250,000, was discovered as the crew tried to clear customs following a 12-hour flight from Johannesburg.
South African Airways has stepped up security on its flights to stop smugglers

Bob Gaiger, spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs, said the drugs were found after the crew members were selected for a check as they entered the UK yesterday.
He said: 'Crew members are subject to the same customs checks as any other person when entering the UK. Those arrested are now being held in custody and will be interviewed by HMRC investigation officers.'
It is less than a month since the entire crew of another South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to Heathrow was arrested.
On January 21, ten women and five men from a Johannesburg-to-London flight were arrested after £310,000-worth of cannabis and cocaine were seized. They were bailed to return to Heathrow Police Station on March 23.
Last night Mr Gaiger said: 'It is quite amazing that it appears to have happened again. It is still very early days in our investigation.
'I expect that the crew will be questioned further tonight and tomorrow before we will know how things will develop.
'HMRC together with the UK Border Agency plays a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade.'
A spokesman for South African Airways said that an investigation had been launched last night following the arrests.
He said: 'I can confirm that the crew of the 234 Johannesburg-to-London flight that arrived yesterday morning have been detained.
'This comes following the discovery of illegal drugs in a bag, that I believe to be hand luggage that wasn't claimed.
'We are co-operating fully with the authorities and an investigation has been launched at our headquarters in Johannesburg.'
The spokesman in the UK said security measures were tightened following the embarrassment of the previous arrests.
'After last time we tightened security measures,' he said.
'We installed more security systems air-side and started using sniffer dogs.'



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1147076/Entire-South-African-Airways-crew-arrested-drug-smuggling--TWICE-month.html

mohid:
Everyone knows that recent growth indicators show that in the next 25 years Nigeria is going to be the next best thing after the BRICS nations, however there has to be a complete paradigm shift for all of that to become a reality. We need to check corruption and not just govt corruption, graft at all levels of our national live.
It involves a lot of things from our attitude to work to our moral values as individuals and our family expectations, we all think we are saints cos we are not around the seat of power, wait till you get into office and Uncles and 3rd cousins you didn’t know existed suddenly make you their bread winner. It’s a silly Nigerian thing and something we have got to check. Its like our families expect us to get into power and loot public funds, and just in case u think you are our 'Moral Ayatollah' ask urself if u have ever gotten to work late and written an earlier time or called in sick cos u wanted to just rest at home or go somewhere else, if u have, then am afraid chances are u are another Lucky Igbinedion or Emmanuel Uduaghan in the making. Our system makes it a lot easier to be an Igbinedion than a Fashola, why I honestly wouldn't know , i guess it’s like Clinton said we don’t need strong men we need strong institutions (whatever that means i thought men make up these institutions)

Thanks, very well said. In order to read Nigeria of corruption, we must start with ourselves, for it not enough to criticize others while we're part of the problem.

When I read that those goons at NAS rejected the proposed removal of subsidy on petrol without even bothering to debate the isue, I said if I was in the shoes of mr. President, I'd introduce it by executive fiat or even go further by declaring a state of economic emergency. I'm really glad that GEJ seem to be thinking thesame.
Folks, I've always maintained that the subsidy on petrol has long outlived it's usefulness. Those who are against deregulation are either ignorant or just selfish 'cos the truth is that the benefit will outweigh the initial pain that it may cause.
Those calling for revolution must remenber that; revolution is like entering a dark tunnel, you don't know what awaits you at the other end.

snakova:
Maybe you dont understand the way these wolves think. All they would do is channel the extra revenue into some monkey project (money stealing venture) to explain where the money went but it would just be like Abacha's millions claimed to have been recovered by the Obasanjo government. Imagine our president encouraging us to start eating cassava for bread. what is he eating in his own home? Wicked people

Maybe I don't understand their way of thinking, but what have we done to stop them from stealing our money with impunity?
The NLC or Nigeria Communist League is bussy playing politics with our future when they should be agitating for a body that will oversee the disbursing of the money acruing from the proposed deregulation. Don't forget it very easy to track the movement of money, especially in todays digital world.

AjanleKoko:
Which infrastructure dey for Ghana?
I was still in Ghana a few days ago.

I don't know where you were in Ghana, but I know they're bussy upgrading or building new infrastructures in that country.

The truth of the matter is that Nigerians to an extent benefit from some sort of petrol subsidy.
However, much the money expanded on the execise goes straight to the pocket of a faceless cartel.
I for one think that in that short term, deregulation will bring some pain to the very poor, but in the medium and long term,
the benefit will far outweigh, if not wipeout the initial pain.
Just take Ghana for instance, a country far smaller in all measures when than Nigeria, successfully removed fuel subsidy almost ten years ago.
Ghana now channel the money saved from the subsidy into building infrastructures.

PointB:
Retardeen MumuNmadu Buhari should go and rest. Nigerians have rejected him 3 times already!

Remember the saying "third time lucky"? Buhari is thinking "forth time lucky". lol.
Maybe he dey think say by 2015 we go don forget our children we dem slaughter and den all of us go line up like goats dey vote for am,[/i]mwew.[i] If Buhari is true man of honour he should have announced his retirement from politics by now, this man has no remorse.

KnowAll:
Don't be too sure of yourself, according to stats there are over 1 million hausa/fulani in the Sudan, although some of these guys have been there from time memorial they are referred to as west/ africans instead of Sudanese, I bet a northern candidate would claim all one million as northern Nigerians and that would tilt the balance in favour of a core Northern Candidate in an election. It is a slippery slope we should avoid. We have not even taken the Hausa/Fulani in Niger, Chad and Cameroon into account.

That is, if they're still having Nigerian passports.

larryshow4:
@sweet9ja, Do you think our great NIGERIA would channel the funds of subsidy remover into infrastructure development? LOL I just can't stop laughing

Well, if corruption is the issue then let fight it; from students cheating at school to lecturers asking for money and sex in exchange for good grades, to the policemen extorting money from road users and from fake men of God reaping off gullible Nigerians to our thieving elites.
The least we can do is to give deregulation a try and if they live up to their corrupt reputation, then we go to the trenches.
We are at a crossroad, it either we move forward or remain a backward, corrupt and divided country, the choices are very clear.

A revolution, in Nigeria? I don't think those clamouring for it have any idea what they talking about.

Try it here and some mad men will take over power and send us back to the very bottom of all development indexes.

As for the subsidy removal, Nigerians should learn from Ghana. Former President John Kufuor government removed fuel subsidy amid heavy protest from the opposition and the general populace. However, candidate Atta Mills promised to reinstate it if ellect president. Well, President Atta Mills has since chosen to forget that election pledge. Meanwhile, Ghana has since channeled much needed fund acruing from the removal of subsidy into infrastructural development.
Folks let's tread carefully about this issue or we'll end up being the losers ones again.

kunlekunle:
im very disappointed in this guy, he should have fled and make the place ungovernable

Just like your boko haram friends are doing in naija, abi?

Ikwikwikwi:
@ Demdem, it is not alright to address the nations President the way you are going about it. I am sure you respect your father, and your elders, so for what ever reason, it is wrong to call the President of Nigeria the way you are doing. You are not better than him. Please be guided.

Thank you very much, it's about time someone put him in his place.

ezeagu:
And the ministers who regularly fly British airways Business class, along with their children? You think they're going to use Arik air-molue, or wait at Nairobi for an hour?

There's so much at stake here, it will be foolhardy and unpatriotic for any minister of the FGN to patronise BA while this dispute is on-going.