₦airaland Forum

Truly astonishing talent.. Saw his work smwhere recently... Chap is doing well for himself, and is wishd the best....

Guk: I tire for GEJ o!!! When will this bros ever learn? He talks about fairness and his Fed Xter Comm does not reflect the 6 geo political zones. Someone pls help ds man

IGNORANT noisemaker...the FCC is made up of 37 membas from each state of d Federatn, plus Abuja; these 7 are just joining them. There are already 6 membas from d SW in d commission... LEARN

miccheck57: Mtchew... I thought lagos to abuja is now 5k...

Thief...shee na you buy plane for dem

Just read tru d report again, and tell me if even a complete FOOOL wud bliv dis... The 'committee' was set up since saturday, right? To do what exactly?? And then they sat and passd d 'Report' of d committee within hrs to d Min of Info,then to d Twitter guy and finali to Okupe.. and all these coming from an 'impeccable' anonymous source.... Hehehe..very good stori telling

Capnd143: Just when i thought some nigerian do think!!!

The only way to permanently solve insecurity issues in nigeria is the

* "AGHAN-STYLE" which demands taking the war to their doorsteps; the same Modus operandi employed by the united states to tackle the 'aghan-taliban' menance and not the

*"GANGNAM-STLYE" which entails fighting the war at home alone; the same modus operandi previous employed by the south koreans during the "kangnam" korean secession insurrection.

7BN NAIRA IS NOT MUCH AS COMPARED TO WHAT WE WILL SPEND IF Nigeria turns into a state of anarchy like mali! Believe me some bigots will always critisize the FG on issues like this, but b4 each decision is taken by the FG there is complete analysis of a possible multiplier or ripple effect!

"Ceteris paribus, ell es't vètø vecièr deuf fallacio la un argumentum adhomenum le internationel"

and come oh, y is it dat NTA IS NOT GIVING US LIFE COVERAGE OF OUR MALIAN BASED Troops? Abi no network? Or the they fear death? The western media only covers french troops

The Only guy with a Brain here. The REAL COST of not doing anything..... You hv d time to explain, I commend you for dat. I hv decided myself to stop wasting my time explaining certain things to peeps who hv electd demselves to be IGNORANT ...

One of d few times when I will almost completely agree with Okupe (apart from d subtle insults). Nice response from d Govt; there shld be no furda response until Ezekwesili clarifies her figures and what exactly her accusatns are. If she merely needs to know hw d Account was managd, she knows where to go to get d info starting with dat CBN document, Period...

alj harem: one day there would be revolution in this country.

I so much dislike GEJ now Imagine the inflation rate in Nigeria currently because of the fuel subsidy issue claiming he is saving it for Nigeria. 7 billion out of that is been spent on Mali of which itt would not profit us anything.

Just see d level of IGNORANCE, Lawd!! .... Meaningless Rantings everywhere..

sultaan: As arrogant and overbearing as OBJ is, he did a very good job considering where the nation was.

He acted like a president should taking the heat for failure, something the current administration shy from.

They now sound like Abacha blaming NADECO for everything, this time it Boko Haram.

OBJ had the best fiscal policy GEJ will just have to take responsibility for everything like putting the country back into debt ill oil price is still high. What will happen if price gets to $65?

How ignorant can one be?? What are yr parameters for Fiscal Responsibility in any economy?

.

Hehehe....bunch of jobless nitwits

EYEAMA easily; then Mikel and Moses...

adidison: the way the commentator's talking bout Nigeria ... is just sad, shame .... are this players not professionals, very slooooooooooooooooooooow game ... as a neutral, i'd pray the Ethiopians score 1st to increase the pace ... n believe me they will score ... but the sad thing is Nigeria will still not have that sense of urgency ... Nigeria past glory ... this new players have seriously tarnished the image of the 94 players ... who will ever believe Nigeria was 5th in the world ... shame ... true reflection of the country ... SAD! .... DA FUQ! that Ethiopian girl is ... WOW!

street disciple: Keshi is not a good coach abeg, d game lack tactics .... he is a very slow Coach! very slow! i think he thinks he bought a ticket to watch the match ...

Come you dey CRAZE . U wan come let d heart attack come quick; merely saying dis don even increase my heart rate. Choi!!! See as my heart dey beat... Be kareful o Mr Neutral

adidison: the way the commentator's talking bout Nigeria ... is just sad, shame .... are this players not professionals, very slooooooooooooooooooooow game ... as a neutral, i'd pray the Ethiopians score 1st to increase the pace ... n believe me they will score ... but the sad thing is Nigeria will still not have that sense of urgency ... Nigeria past glory ... this new players have seriously tarnished the image of the 94 players ... who will ever believe Nigeria was 5th in the world ... shame ... true reflection of the country ... SAD! .... DA FUQ! that Ethiopian girl is ... WOW!

street disciple: Keshi is not a good coach abeg, d game lack tactics .... he is a very slow Coach! very slow! i think he thinks he bought a ticket to watch the match ...

Come you dey CRAZE . U wan come let d heart attack come quick; merely saying dis don even increase my heart rate.... Be kareful o Mr Neutral

[quote author=garri (x8)]In a bid to score cheap political points, the PDP further exposes itself as an intellectually handicapped party, that goes about shamelessly publicising its ignorance and unintelligence...[/quote]See HYPOCRITE talking... This 'allegation' and d one dat Ezekwisili was said to hv made - Yar'adua and GEJ squandered $67billion- which one mks more sense; when as at July 2007 d Reserves and Excess fund were $43.6billion and $8.8billion respectively WHILE as of today both are almost $46billion and $10billion (plus, $1billion in SWF), yet u were mastur.bating and thoroughly enjoying yrself on those threads. Ezekwesili has now clarified that she wants only wants Accountability, I agree wit her on d need for dat; same way PDP in Oyo is asking for Accounting and demanding for d domesticatn of d FOI bill, dis must also be a good tin. Since u ijiots on both sides want to play politics and leave Real issues unattented, no body shld chicken out at d middle of d Play.... Oyo Govt shld respond in DETAILS to these allegatns, SHIKENA.

Sincere 9gerian: The facts speak for itself and the truth can never be far from those who seek the truth. Out of several reports that showed the level of our foreign reserve and excess crude account as it 2007, I reproduced some below.

This first report was on August 2007:

"Interestingly recently at his screening for ministerial appointment on the floor of the National Assembly, the new Minister of Finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman who was then a nominee and deputy Governor of the Central Bank was alleged by a section of the media to have disclosed that only $8.8 billion (N1.1 trillion) of the reported $43.6 billion foreign exchange reserve is available to the three tiers of government.

In his comment, which was misconstrued, Dr. Usman actually said on the foreign reserve: “There is so much confusion about this. People say we have $43 billion in cash and people think that the same amount of$43.6 billion should be spent. If you break down this $43 billion, about $31 billion or 71 per cent ofthis amount belongs to the CBN…So; all the three tiers of government have shared this $31 billion and spent the money. The $31 billion of this money is not available for spending. $2.3 billion of that also belongs to the Federal Government. The only amount available in the Federation Account for distribution, which is so-called excess crude, as at this time (July 2007), is about $9.9 billion? And there are some transactions that are in the pipeline, of about a $1 billion…So net; you are talking of about $8.8 billion. That is the amount to be distributed. If you translate that amount into Naira, that is just about N1.1 trillion.

.....Assembly, the CBN later clarified the position stating that the external reserve as at LAST MONTH (June 2007) stood at $43.6bn and not the $8.8bn reported by some sectionsof the media. The Head, CorporateAffairs, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr.Festus Odoko, said the fact that the new Minister for Finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, said that only $8.8bn remained for sharing did not mean that the country’s external reserves were only $8.8bn. According to him, the $8.8bn referred to the excess crude oil account that was available for sharing.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/yushau-shuaib/riddles-over-foreign-reserve-and-excess-crude-account.html

How then did Ezekwesili arrive at $67billion as the total reserve left by OBJ?

So the External Reserves and the Excess Crude Fund as at July 2007 when OBJ just left was $43.6billion and $8.8billion respectively WHILST TODAY dat same Reserve is almost $46billion and Excess Fund almost $10billion (plus, $1billion already in d SWF making a total of almost $11billion). Yet smone comes and REPORTS that smone else said the Reserves ('$67billion') has bn 'squandered' and the emptied. The 1st questn that a normal rational human being should ask is :Which of the two periods' Reserves are higher? Which one wud logically be said to hv bn 'squandered or emptied' from looking at d two figures from d two periods?? But then again this is today's Nigeria with a lot of people suffering from a Severe shain of d newly discovered ALUU disease. A country where any 'foool' can mk even d sillliest accusatns against a rival in a position of Authority (whether in govt, private offices etc ) regardless of hw irrational it is and easily get people to line up behind d him/her as long as he mentions d Buzz word CORRUPTION even once. It is d same country where a Young Chap who hv bn wooing a Fine Gurl in his neighbourhood for months, and when it seems tins are beginning to shape up, suddenly anoda Fine Boy comes to the scene and d fine gurl starts falling for him; Mr Young Chap then plots, brings dis new Fine Boy to the centre of d street, picks a fight and while they are at it suddenly turns around and shouts: THIEF, THIEF, THIEF. Immediately, d entire streets empties as men, women, even children and passers-by brings anything they can lay dier hands on, including petrol and a tire of course; beats Fine Boy up (now, d 'THIEF') and burns him there at d middle of d street, no questn askd..... Oh! the Myth dat Nigerians are Intelligent, Proud and hv a mind of their own. Already, 2 persons on dis thread hv already vowd to vote for the bold lady who was said to hv made dis allegatn and DRAMATICALLY askd for a Debate!!! Go figure...

LAWD HAVE MERCY!!!

ayox2003: You have said it all. 15-19% is still manageable, although its quite high.

Those who took a loan from banks to execute government contracts are also affected because governments payments take quite a long time and these banks don't care. Yet these contractor create jobs. So don't blame contractors when they charge government N40bn for a project of N26bn because they know what interest would be paid on it. Sanusi is just... I don't even know what to say. Lol.



Frawzey

Agreed

Delafruita: last time i checked president jonathan had scrapped the excess crude account and replaced it with the sovereign wealth fund.if you wanna check for facts,check the right places

Hey Mr Fact-Checker. GEJ actuali wantd to transfer d funds from d Excess Account to d more reliable SWF, but d governors said no and took him to court cos of Fiscal Federalism concerns. GEJ was only able to force an agreement with dem on d establishment of d SWF with a seed money of $1billion from d Excess Crude Account, which still holds almost $10billion today..

horlatunde: Maku in one of his response said d initial amount left was $43.13billion and it money rose to $60billion a year after under yar'Adua and in 2011 under GEJ the Money fell to $30billion due to the Economic crisis witness by d World........
Now my Question is how did d money fell so Badly abt 50% under GEJ administration in 2011 and av nt risen up again since den... If yaradua Cud achieve Over 35% increament in a Year, what is GEJ doing.... Dis Ppple are confirm Mad men and selfish pple.

Plz learn hw to undastad a piece b4 commenting in public. Maku said that d Account increasd initiali when Yar'adua took ova cos oil prices were high, and during d World economic crisis 2008-2009 still during Yar'adua d account significant decreasd cos of many reasons tied to d crisis. This decrease continud for d 1st yr of GEJ, b4 starting to increase again. It increasd from about $33billion at d start of 2012 to about $44billion at d end of d yr, just as d Excess crude fund also increasd from about $4.5billion to $9.6billion within d same period, whilst $1billion was set aside in d SWF- both of them are still increasing as d reserves is almost $46billion.... There just too many IGNORANT peeps trying to mk dier points in public these days *smh*

ayox2003: @Tusky and Koruji,

I don't trust them both - Sanusi and Soludo.

Soludo allowed people like Akingbola to enrich themselves from bad loans and paddy-paddy connection.

Sanusi still keeps interest rates at 12%. Retail/commercial banks lend from the CBN at 12% and lend to SMEs at 26%. Yet, Sanusi keeps saying government should reduce unemployment, while he's making it difficult for young entrepreneurs to be self-employed. He talks a lot.


Frawzey

This worries me too. Even if you (the CBN) say u hv to keep d MPR at 12% cos of Inflation concern etc, while dont you force the commercial banks not to go beyond a +4 or 5 percentage point as Effective interest rate to ordinary businesses? The interest rates bn operatd currently by banks in Nigeria are very hostile to businesses..

You ppl shld go and rest on dis issue. Ezekwesili in a statement she just releasd clarifies that what she is interestd in is for the Govt to provide details (which she calld d 'Mathematics') of how d Foreign Reserves and Excess Crude Fund hv bn managd post-2007, not that $67billion was 'squandered' (read, stolen) within d period- this wud hv bn completely wrong since both accounts are about $46 and $10billion respectively as at TODAY, and are increasing. She is demanding Accountability (and a debate) from d managers of d fund, and is in d right there...... Meanwhile, while d General explanations of Maku on d account here mks sense and are helpful (though more details might be needed by sm people), his below-the-belt jibe at Ezekwesili on hw she managd funds as Education Min is outstandingly silly and childish; dat part almost marrd what wud hv bn a very helpful statement...

Orikinla: Nigeria: N10.6 Trillion Controversy - Ezekwesili Challenges Maku to Public Debate

Former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili has challenged officials of the Federal Government to a public debate following the government's rebuttal to her comments alleging that the governments of Presidents Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, squandered $67 billion (about N10.6trn) in foreign reserves.

Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku who addressed a press conference in Abuja on Sunday described Ezekwesili's allegation as "outlandish and clearly fictitious."

Maku also said the damning verdict passed on the education sector by Mrs Ezekwesili was a self-indictment, as she presided over the sector for 10 months without making any positive impact on it.

Countering Maku, the former minister, Mrs Ezekwesili said, "I Challenge them to a public debate of facts regarding 2007 Excess Crude Account (ECA) and foreign reserve and last five and half years oil revenue".

Also writing on twitter on Sunday in messages prefaced with the declaration, "Nothing but Accountability", Ezekwesili said: "In 2007, the incoming Administration was handed $45Billion in Foreign Reserve plus $22Billion. Nothing but accountability: Let Mr. Maku go further. As a citizen all I want to know is the Mathematics of the ECA and the Foreign Reserve. Nothing but accountability: I demanded accountability and that's all a citizen asks of government. I will not stop asking for accountability."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201301281038.html

Okay, Ezekwesili is just interestd in knowing the 'mathematics' of how d Foreign Reserves and d Excess Crude Fund hv both bn managd since 2007. I thought as much that she was probably misquotd Or taking out of context by our increasingly hopeless Press who reportd that she said '$67billion was squandered' (read, stolen) by Yar'adua and GEJ's Govts- that wud hv bn very INCORRECT cos both d Foreign Reserves and Excess Fund are about $46billion and $10billion CURRENTLY respectively and are both increasing... Ezekwesili has d right to what to know how d Reserves hv bn managd, and perhaps hw sm of d funds that hv bn shard by d FG, States and LGAs hv bn utilizd. She or any person can write to d Govt tru d custodian of d fund (the CBN) for such details; if not satisfied d FOI bill that GEJ himself signd shld be invokd, Period

[quote author=Omo_Tier1]I hope you know that this woman has been in the thick of the Nigeria economy as a member of the strong economic team during Obasanjo's second term and she is very much sure of what she is saying. Also, even though I most do not like foreigners telling our own story better, the British PM corroborated Mrs Ezekwesili's claims during His speech in DAVOS last week and as Well as several financial analyst.

I think it ifurther weakens GEJ's government in international circle by using crude tools to attack Mrs Ezekwesili in person, rather, let His government use the right avenue to explain tovNigerians the true amount she met in the coffers and how that money has been spent or what it was spent on![/quote]Just SHUT up my frnd. That's how you ppl start silly rumour. The British PM was even commending the FG, not condemning her and collaborating what Ezekwesili said. Go to that thread now and tell me how he did what u are saying now...

ballabriggs: $30 billion reserves for a nation like Nigeria is less than 6 months worth of import. Not enough to assure investors on macro economic stability if they are to base their decisions on reserves.

It is increasing for one reason now and that is the CBN raising interest rates given the budget of consumption run by the government. You can see the CBN battling everyday with the interest rates to maintain price stability. The focus is on the reserves and it has the down side of crowding-out real sector borrowing. Listen to Lamido Sanusi's interview on Bloomberg and hear him talk of these things.

As early as 2011 the IMF had urged Nigeria to raise interest rates and devalue the naira as reserves were rapidly going down. Jona was the President at the time and so I don't know what Maku's defence is all about. He clearly does not have an understanding of what he has spewed there.

Oh! Lawd. What did u just say now? What do you tink we are debating? I mean what is d correlatn. Jeez.... By d way, d Reserves is currently about $46billion, and is increasing..

take dat: Because Oby was part of the government that bequeathed the controversial monies to the Yaradua/GEJ government. Maku on the other hand is unreliable and knows nothing on the working of government finances. NOI would have been in a better position to disprove Oby's claim!

Maku is d SPOKESPERSON of d Govt; he is d ONLY official REP of d Govt in d strictest sense of dat word, and since it is a written press release, he must hv had access to every resource of Govt including d Min of Finance, CBN etc (at least dat is d assumptn).... BUT dat is not even rili important. My questn to you was why you wud bliv any person, moreso when they are 'reportd' to hv said so, that '$67billion was squandered by d 2 Govts' without even d slightest explanatn as to how dat is even possible when d lowest value of d reserve was never below $30billion and is even now increasing. I cant just undastad dat, and need to plz explain it to me...

ballabriggs: Maku is a daft man that just talks anyhow. If he does not understand the link between reserves, fiscal policy and monetary policy the best he could have done is to keep quiet and not spew what he knows not about. The government does not have to "dip its hands into reserves" before the reserves go down.

As government spending increases on consumption, the real exchange rate moves to a less competitive position and you either support the Naira with the reserves, raise interest rates or devalue the Naira.

What the CBN did at the time was to support the Naira for long with the reserves as government budget deficit grew. Again at that time there was a bail out of banks and raising interest rates was not an option. Devaluation was not also an option as it would have led to rising prices and further pressure on the reserves.

It is a technical issue and one will expect Maku to get a proper education or better still stick to drinking his 'fura de nunu' and not open his mouth on what he has no knowledge of how it works.

Read d full piece again and you wud realise that you and Maku were saying essentiali same thing. You were largely right here- which is very surprising ; D

take dat: I am not taking sides with either of Oby or Maku, just wanted to point out the error in the figures you gave with that of Maku. Since we both do not have factual figures except that of Oby's and government goons(who can cook up figures to justify government's profligacy), I feel like tilting towards Oby because even if her claims were not factual*, we never felt the impact of the spent monies!


And she has now challenged the FG to a public debate.

LOL, you are looking at my figures. Am was never sure of the PRECISION of some of those figures dat's why i usuali will use 'about' to prefix such them; look at d entire explanatn of dat comment though and you wud know why saying anybody 'squandered $67billion of Foreign Reserves' is just sillly.... By d way just bn curious, why wud you bn 'closer' to what Ezekwesili was 'reportd' to hv said than what Maku explaind??

[quote author=Omo_Tier1]I know of a fact that the excess crude account was $22bn as at the time Obasanjo left office and external reserves was $43bn or there about with the projection that year end, Nigeria's external reserves will reach the $50bn milestone.

On Education, I can recall during Obasanjo's second tenure, several universities saw a facelift in their infrastructure and the 'red bricks' university were beginning to attract attention overseas. All that appears to have melted like the snow. As for Universal Basic Education, we know that that fund was the conduit for theft by most governors, for example, it is on record tht states like Edo, Delta, took billions of Federal government counterpart funding, never made a single contribution as required by the UBE ACT and at the same time, there was no evidence whatsoever of what the governors used the money for. Again, Muku's rejoinder is one joke too many. UBE funds are for states and the FG cannot dip her hands into that fund.

I think it is obvious to any sane Nigerian that the rejoinder by MAKU further cements the truth exposed by the ex-minister.[/quote]You obviously dont know what you are saying; and it shows cos just like everyone else who believe that 'Yar'adua and GEJ squandered $67billion' (whatever that means), you didnt say anything concerning that claim ie attempting to explain that that is even possible. Any sane Nigerian would know whose account is closest to the truth.

@emboldened, I can ASSERT that the ETF fund (now TETFund- ie only meant for tetiary instittions now) is far more effective for tertiary education than when OBJ was there. Stop spewing nonsense in public plz.

The nly point I disagree with Maku on for now, is the below-the-belt jibe at Ezekwesili on allege corruption as Education minister. That was frivolous and childish in my view; but on the Foreign Account itself, Maku makes far more sense

take dat: In your attempt to side with Maku and Omokri,you have contradicted some of the figures he gave in his rejoinder. Maku claimed that OBJ made $5.5billion commitments for power project and here you gave the figure as $10billion.

The battle is already lost from government's side, so don't dissipate more energy trying to stray intelligent folks!

Am actuali astonished that you believe the THRASH that was said to have come out of Ezekwesili (I say 'sai to have come out of' cos am not sure she was even quoted right Or the context in which she made those comments was understood by our increasingly hopeless Press) that '$67billion was squandered by Yar'adua and GEJ's Govts'. For God's sake, was there any time the reserves went below $30 billion?

You see why I hate and will foreva fight against EVERY kind of PROPAGANDA!!

Where did Cameron lamblast GEJ for $100billion Or even said the money was 'missing'?? As a mata of fact, it is sort of a 'commendation' cos he said following a discovery of 'a hole' few years ago, the Govt was changing the law to make things more transparent, an pledged that the UK will help further the move for more transparency.

Some People are just SHAMELESS; and some low-mins would actuali believe this an quote it someday..... *smh*

NO light in Asaba yet o..since that Friday night...

dapotemi: It is nt too long,it is nt too late!She has finally succumb to d fact dat dis GEJ adm is irredeemable!She only took her time to study wat d govt had done,wat they r doin nd where GEJ is leadin nig,its quite obvious more dan eva b4 dat wit GEJ,there is no hope.
Instead of callin her names,GEJ's bulldog like Reno,Okupe,Abati and some NL shud challenge her theoretically wit facts nd figures.That is wat intellectuals do,not name-callin or mudslidding

MUMU-ish (now am name-calling you) ...respond to this if you have sufficient brain power to so so that is:

Yes OBJ left more than $60billion in our Foreign Reserves b4 he left (though he had negotiatd d removal of $10billion for the NIPP projects just b4 leaving). A huge chunck of d money (more than $20billions was removd during d 3 yrs of Yar'adua who didnt do much during his time as I hv always said here); to be fair to Yar'adua, it was during his time dat d 2008-2009 World economic crisis happend such that parts of d fund was usd to augment d Money shard by d Federation and also to defend d Naira by Sanusi's CBN, although he also allowd State Governors to pressurise him to 'share' out sm of d moneys for their own 'urgent state projects'. This trend continued unfortunately briefly unda GEJ until middle of 2011 when d decline in d Reserve's value was reversd and it began to increase again. The Reserves and the Excess Crude fund for instance both increasd from about $32billion and $4.5billion at d beginning of 2012 to about $44.6billion and $9.6billion respectively within dat one yr period and is still increasing ($1billion was also set aside for d critical SWF fund within d same period). Questns needs to be askd about what ALL d monies drawn from d Account during d 3 yrs of Yar'adua and the 1st yr of GEJ were usd for both in d Federal but also in d State and LGA levels, still this is d FULLER stori

Bunch of NOISEMAKERS...