₦airaland Forum

Actually, PDP have 49 plus 8 APC senators making 57 senators. APC has just 49 senators. With planned appointment of Kwankwaso as minster, APC will be reduced further to 48. It would be interesting to see how the struggle plays out. From simple analysis, any change would be driven and delivered by PDP. Noone is ready to accept Tinubu's dollar as Baba is out to disgrace any such senator.

Saraki on the other hand is waiting to 'deal' with ministers to be submitted by Buhari. The game of THRONE in Nigeria politics is getting interesting while the masses are waiting for the promised or would it be right to call it elusive change?

By Henry Umoru

STRONG indications emerged yesterday that senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were plotting to take over the position of the Senate President in the event that embattled Senator Bukola Saraki is forced to vacate the seat.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that, as part of the moves to carry out their plans, PDP senators were holding meetings with some All Progressives Congress, APC, senators sympathetic to Saraki.

The Senate President is facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, following a 13-count charge brought against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, bordering on false declaration of assets in 2003.

The APC, which initially had 60 senators, now has 59, following the death of Senator Ahmed Zannah. PDP has 49 senators. To elect a Senate President, a simple majority is required – whereas to impeach same, a two third majority vote is required.

The Senate resumes on Tuesday.

With 108 senators, a simple majority vote of 55 will decide who would become the new Senate President.

The calculation is that if APC uses the CCT or other means to remove Saraki, the PDP would reach out to the Senate President’s core supporters in APC who sense that they, too, like Saraki, may become endangered. They will then try to get the number to make the balance and go ahead with either Senator David Mark or the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as the replacement.

One of the PDP senators told Sunday Vanguard , yesterday, that the APC should count itself lucky that PDP did not field one of its own for the position on June 9, 2015, when the Senate was inaugurated, adding, “We are already strategising ahead in case Senate President Bukola Saraki is removed, we are going to support a pro-Saraki Senator for the seat and with that PDP will be in charge of the Senate.”

At inauguration, the 33 senators-elect committed to Senator Ahmed Lawan, the party’s official candidate, were still waiting to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre, ICC, about two kilometres away from the National Assembly, when inauguration commenced.

Having formed the quorum, Saraki was elected President of the 8th Senate with votes by 57 of 108 senators, while 51 senators, including Lawan, were absent. Saraki was the only nominee for the position. Ekweremadu of the PDP, interestingly, emerged Deputy Senate President, defeat­ ing Senator Ali Ndume of the APC with 54 votes against Ndume’s 20 votes. Both Saraki and Ekweremadu were immediately sworn-in by the Clerk of the Senate, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa.

The APC leadership has consistently expressed its displeasure at the emergence of Saraki.

Senator Peter Nwaboshi, PDP, Delta North, yesterday vowed that the his party would produce the next Senate President if Senator Bukola Saraki was removed – while at the same time expressing optimism for Saraki’s continued tenure as Senate President.

Although he insisted that “there is no such plan to remove Senate President Saraki, but I bet you that if there is anything of such, the PDP will produce the next Senate President; we will get it”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/pdp-senators-plot-takeover-of-senate-presidents-seat/

Sorry ooo Bro. However, truthfully, there are hardly any faithful ones now in our society. Even villagers are not better off. Of course you can forgive her but it is looking like you have a mindset that the one you have found out about is the worst. Obviously, may not be. I suggest you forgive her especially as I am also sure you are not 'totally' faithful yourself.

Warn her and give her a second chance. Relationships like this are nurtured and can grow to be beautiful you know especially since she knows she owes you this. However, for her to be scolded, let her parent also know.

This APC failure is beyond pardon. If Boko Haram can be parading NE and Abuja metropolis with sophisticated weapons, and you are charging a retired Colonel and immediate past Chief Security Adviser of possession of firearm within 24 hours of his termination from office. I reserve my comments in order not to be abusive.

Segadem:
op,your maths sucks!

Truth hurts sometimes, I understand, but it it is still the TRUTH

DaBullIT:
If GEJ didn't condone massive corruption it could have been possible

At this point as long as we still import and pay subsidy, the maths does not add up

Price of refining crude has not changed and the companies delivering petroleum products back to Nigeria won't reduce their prices

And there's still subsidy to pay

Price of crude represents 80% of cost - Tam David West

If above is right, then obviously there is need to adjust the pump price after all subsidy was meant to cover the cost of crude and not associated costs. In any case, with the crude cost down, the associated cost would also reduce relatively, since most of the associated costs are based on the crude cost.

chukwudi44:
Fuel price has even gone below $40 a barrel now

Thank you sir, I just confirmed it is now about $38 per barrel. The more reason Buhari has to do the needful

On January 18, 2015 the GEJ government reduced pump price of PMS from N97 to N87 per litre on account of falling oil prices in the international market. This was after the government was accused repeatedly by the then opposition (APC) of insensitive to the plight of Nigerians with the falling oil prices. At that that time Oil prices hovered between $55 - $60 per barrel. Now prices have plummeted to all time low of $43.66 per barrel, the obvious thing for the same APC that accused PDP of insensitive to the plight of the masses, ought to do is to live above board by following suit the same policy of adjusting prices downwards.

Simply put, if at the average price of crude of $58, the GEJ government reduced pump price to N87, then the APC government should reduce pump price to N66 per litre since crude prices have come down to $43.66. This is just simple proportion or extrapolation.

Please, all change advocates/chanters should prevail on Mr. President and Vice including the National Economic Council (NEC) to do the needful. Just like GEJ humbly reduced pump price from N97 to N87 per litre, let all Nigerians join this call on the FG of Mohammadu Buhari to reduce pump price to N66 per litre in line with the falling oil prices.

Desric:
According to Amaechi, Wike's skills and talents are highly needed in Nollywood rather than in Rivers State Govt house. He is a good "acting" Governor.

All the sites of those pictures remains the same till date after huge sums of money has been paid to his political dubious contractors otherwise let him make public the amount of money that has been paid for those projects lets compare with the amount of work done.

200Million times, there s no perimeter whatsoever to compare Wike to Amaechi because they are not just in the same class. Rotimi Amaechi is and will continue to be Kilometers away from Wike in all aspects of Governance and Leadership.

If some say you are stupi.d NL will censor it, why did you present yourself for ridiculing now if you are not a fool?

harbdulrasaq88:
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has listed 3 projects executed during the Goodluck Jonathan administration that President Muhammadu Buhari is allegedly trying to take credit for.


The Projects include;

1 Equipping of the country’s military for the fights against insurgency
2 The turn around of the nation’s oil refineries
3 Polio-free certification of Nigeria

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, urged President Buhari to 'stop dancing around the achievements of the previous administration' and start working.

http://www.metronaija.com/2015/08/pdp-lists-jonathans-projects-buhari-is.html

Thid is great, at least Lai Muhammed will now delete them from his 100 days lied.

80 days of masturbation and chasing shadowy corruption. Now this blatant lie. What else do we need to prove that this is a BIG SCAM and "One Chance" government..

You see why real men should get married? That your girlfriend may actually be a prostitute.

Was this man a minister? He did absolutely nothing in his home town if he was. Failed public office holders not even a cybercafe to remind people he was technology minister. Mtcheeew

Which part of the world are you guys? I have been in North America for sometime now and I am enjoying Pando with Egusi, Eba, Ndomie, Moi Moi, etc courtesy African Shops. If you need kpomo, you get. Even Alomo for those who drink alcohol it is available. things have changed.

Buzzj17:
You can read page 39-44 of today's ( August 13th) vanguard newspaper for Amaechi's reply to these allegations.

Allegations of corruption are not answered on the pages of news papers. Hour should go and face EFCC.

Ambode, please contact me to perform a VFM audit for you. Not this rhetoric of a response. This is a clear fraud. Mud or no mud, someone is lieing

Saw this on another thread, been rolling on the floor.
Could not help but to share

j1mmy:
yes with plenty camera present.

Fayose is a thug and has no business being a governor...only in Nigeria

[size=18pt]Reverse "Wailer" mirrored "reliaW"[/size]

Hmmmm! Nigeria ....

Where are or should I ask, who are these people?

Fellow NLers please, it is now 16 months, that is 478 days since were told Chibok girls were abducted.
Everyone seems to have forgotten.
My questions to the gladiators are:

Where is Oby Ezekwesili What of the daily rally in Abuja
Where is Hadiza Bala Are you able to sleep with this situation on hand
These two were the chief campaigners of the BBOGs

Buhari: Where the girls?
Lai Mohammed: Why are you silent on the Chibok girls?
Where are the parents of the Chibok girls

El-rufai: Why are we silent on this matter?

The world is watching and still asking: Bring back our girls.
[size=14pt]... Did we succeed in SCAMMING the whole World
Buhari needs to add this to the list of his probe, please!!![/size]

Like someone said, Amaechi deserves the office of "THIEF OF STAFF" to Buhari

Some states' annual budget is not more than this. Waiting for Buhari and his EFCC to act. Nobody is above the law. We must all join hand to stamp out corruption in any shades or guise no matter whose ox is gored.

[size=18pt]A real moral burden on PMB[/size]

see the full news self:

PDP In Rivers State Accuses Rotimi Amaechi Of Massive Fraud And Theft
This amount is separate from the N21 billion which the PDP claims Amaechi transferred from the Power Assets proceeds account of Access bank to the accounts of three private companies with a 25 Trans-Amadi Road, Port Harcourt address. Those companies are Advante Consulting and Management Company, Result Imports Experts Company, and Capital Ltd
A press statement signed by Jerry Needam, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Rivers State Chairman, Brother Felix Obuah, has urged President Buhari and the EFCC to investigate Rotimi Amaechi.

A High Court ruled that the local elections held at the end of Rotimi Amaechi's tenure as governor were invalid The Eagle Online The Rivers State chapter of the PDP wants Mr. Amaechi who is the former State Governor, to stop hiding and publically face the immense corruption allegations against him.
The statement says that "the degree and number of fraudulent acts initiated and committed by the former Governor are shocking and no longer be glossed over."
On CNN's Amanpour Live Report it was reported that Amaechi has been stacking money in different foreign accounts. According to the statement, Amanpour’s show said "the sum of over 757 million U.S. dollars was stacked by Amaechi in a foreign U.S. Bancorp/Minnesota account."

The Integrity Group, a non-governmental organization, has sent a petition to Buhari as well as the Economic Financial Crimes Commission chairman to investigate Amaechi for the over N70 billion stolen from the Rivers State government.
This amount is separate from the N21 billion which the PDP claims Amaechi transferred from the Power Assets proceeds account of Access bank to the accounts of three private companies with a 25 Trans-Amadi Road, Port Harcourt address. Those companies are Advante Consulting and Management Company, Result Imports Experts Company, and Capital Ltd.
The PDP in Rivers State claim that there are many more instances of fraud and theft perpetrated by the former Governor, which is why they are asking President Buhari to probe Rotimi Amaechi’s past.
SaharaReporters has contacted representatives of the former Governor but they have not returned information about our inquiries

http://saharareporters.com/2015/08/06/pdp-rivers-state-accuses-rotimi-amaechi-massive-fraud-and-theft

[size=14pt]A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Lanre Ogunlefe, says the non-payment of civil servants’ salaries in Osun State has degenerated to the extent that he even witnessed the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly sweeping the floor of the Assembly by himself because workers refused to come to work.[/size]

Ogunlefe said this during a telephone interview with Channels Television on a programme titled Sunrise Daily while reacting to the petition written by Justice Folahanmi Oloyede against Governor Rauf Aregbesola which was dismissed by the Osun legislature.

Oloyede, who is one of the only 12 judges in the entire state, had come under fire by the state government and the All Progressives Congress for writing a petition against the governor and had been accused of playing partisan politics.

However, Ogunlefe, who is Oloyede’s lawyer, said the allegation of financial recklessness against Aregbesola were obvious and accused the lawmakers of doing a shoddy job.

He said, “The House of Assembly consists of APC and PDP members. Only APC members constituted the ad hoc committee which investigated the matter. And in a House that has both the APC and the PDP, you would expect that some PDP members would be part of the committee.

“They did not even want to grant us a hearing. They said the governor had responded and I said can we have a copy of the response but they refused give it to us.

“They said we should provide evidence. The evidence is there. Projects are abandoned. Hospitals are closed. A very young boy of about seven was brought to the hospital and his arm was about to be amputated because he could not get anti-tetanus injection.

“And when we got to the House, the Majority Leader was sweeping the floor of the House and trying to make the House conducive for the meeting. There were no workers there and I said how can a Majority Leader be sweeping the floor? Then a policeman said, ‘You know that workers are on strike.’”

The senior advocate said it was unfortunate that nearly all the states in the country could not pay salaries including oil-rich states such as Bayelsa and Delta.

He said governors would curb their excesses only when the immunity clause is removed from the constitution.

In his response, the Chief Whip of the House, Mr. Oladoyin Bamisayemi, said the judge had no business writing the petition. He said he and other lawmakers in the Assembly had not been paid in eight months as well.

He added that some of the lawmakers had to even rely on their wives for financial support.

Bamisayemi, who was also a member of the seven-man committee that investigated the allegations levelled against Aregbesola, said, “Most of the governors cannot pay salaries I agree. But why are their own judges over there not raising dust? It is unfortunate. We feel the pains of the workers; however, it is not peculiar to Osun alone.

“Our Assembly was inaugurated on July 2 and we have not been paid a penny. We have not even been able to pay for training for the new members. It will interest you to know that we are being owed seven months’ salaries of the previous Assembly. I am a second term lawmaker and I am owed seven months of the last dispensation.

“The lawmakers that have left will have to come back to collect their money. So, we also have problems. We all try to eke out a living here and there, relying on our wives.”
http://www.punchng.com/politics/unpaid-salaries-osun-lawmakers-now-sweep-chambers/

MORE FROM ABC NEWS
Don't Even Think About Haggling When Buying

A move by China's government to devalue its currency set off a sharp sell-off in global financial markets Tuesday as investors worried about the health of the world's second-largest economy.

China's government said the move to weaken the yuan was a result of reforms intended to make its exchange rate more market-oriented. However, most investors interpreted the action as an attempt by authorities to stimulate a slowing economy. A cheaper yuan will benefit China's exports by making them less expensive overseas.

The move triggered a wave of selling. Oil, copper and other commodity prices fell as traders anticipated weaker demand from China. That led to big drops energy and materials stocks. Companies that derive a large part of their sales from China, like Apple and Yum Brands, also fell sharply.

"China is the second-largest economy in the world, and they are certainly going through a stage right now where growth is not as robust as it has been," said Michael Scanlon, a managing director at John Hancock Asset Management. "China is one of the biggest risks to the equity market as a whole."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 20.11 points, or 1 percent, to 2,084.07. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 212.33 points, or 1.2 percent, to 17,402.84. The Nasdaq composite index fell 65.01 points, or 1.3 percent, to 5,036.79

The Chinese government allowed the yuan to fall 1.9 percent, the biggest one-day drop in a decade. In recent months, the yuan has strengthened along with the U.S. dollar, hurting Chinese exporters. China's exports fell by an unexpectedly large 8.3 percent in July. The yuan was valued at 6.32 per dollar on Tuesday, compared with 6.21 per dollar a day earlier.

Yum Brands, the owner of the KFC and Taco Bell chains, was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. The fast-food company gets more than half of its sales from China. The company said last month that it was expecting a strong second-half of the year in China. Yum fell $4.28, or 4.9 percent, to $83.54.

Apple, another company that makes a lot of money in China, dropped $6.23, or 5.2 percent, to $113.49 and Wynn Resorts, which generates more than half of its revenue from the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, slipped $2.39, or 4.3 percent, to $54.36.

The price of oil had another big drop, closing at its lowest level in six years. Oil prices also fell after OPEC said its production increased to a 3-year high, adding further evidence of a global supply glut. U.S. crude fell $1.88 to settle at $43.08 a barrel in New York, its lowest close since March of 2009. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.23 to close at $49.18 in London.

The losses for stocks on Tuesday wiped out a large part of the gains from a day earlier, when the market logged its largest advance in three months as the price of oil logged a big gain and some corporate deal news boosted investor sentiment.

Investors shouldn't be too worried by the big moves in market prices, said David Kelly, chief Global Strategist at JPMorgan Funds, because the moves were likely being exacerbated by low trading activity during the summer months.

"It's another sign of softness in the global economy and that's what is hurting the market today," Kelly said. "But I wouldn't make too much of the violent reaction because it's a rather thin market to say the least."

Google was one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 on Tuesday.

The tech giant gained after it announced a new structure for the company that included separating its lucrative internet business from some of its more speculative research projects. Investors welcomed the increase in transparency that will give them a better idea of how the technology giant spends its cash. Google's stock gained $27.16, or 4.1 percent, to $690.30.

Bond prices rose sharply as investors snapped up safer assets. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves in the opposite direction to its price, fell to 2.14 percent from 2.23 percent on Monday.

The dollar rose to 125.18 yen from 124.82 yen Monday. The euro rose to $1.1047 from $1.1021.

European markets were mostly lower. France's CAC-40 fell 1.9 percent, and Germany's DAX lost 2.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 1.1 percent.

Gold climbed $3.60 to $1,107.70 an ounce and silver was little changed at $15.28 an ounce. Copper dropped 6.9 cents to $2.33 per pound.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-stocks-oil-prices-sink-china-currency-move-33010907

Aslawish:
One governor to watch by spending billion on pot holes.

.

Human rights activist, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, has submitted a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, detailing allegations of financial recklessness and corruption against Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.

Odumakin, who is an indigene of Osun State, submitted the petition on behalf of a group, Osun Stakeholders, on Monday.

In the petition titled, “Petition against Governor Rauf Aregbesola for financial recklessness, corruption, money laundering and fraudulent application of Osun State’s resources,” Odumakin alleged that Aregbesola has sunk the state into abject poverty.

While calling for a forensic audit of the Osun State government accounts, the group noted that the petition was part of the resolution reached at its stakeholders’ summit on Osun State held on July 23, 2015.


He said, “In addition, the state is littered with abandoned projects even though loans were secured by this administration to execute them. Today, our dear state has become the embodiment of lack, poverty, purposelessness, wickedness and insensitivity of political leaders of the highest order in the country.”

According to the petition, Osun has become the poorest state in Nigeria. It stated that families could no longer survive and the people of the state now look up to the EFCC to ensure that the state’s funds were recovered.

It said Osun State had become an object of scorn and a symbol of poverty in the nation because of Aregbesola’s recklessness.

However, the Director of Research, Strategy and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, described the allegations as baseless and laughable.

He said the state government owed only N87bn, adding that the government could account for every penny spent.

He said, “The entire debt of the state government currently stands at N87bn. We took over government in November 2010 and between November and December, we got N5.6bn. In 2011, we got N59.2bn. In 2012, we got N75.6bn. In 2013, we got N104.2bn. In 2014, we got N49bn and so far this year, we got N24bn.

“All these monies were received as federal allocation, from budget augmentation, from the Excess Crude Account and other sources of income. Within these periods, we spent about N196bn on salaries, pensions and other expenditure. So, how have we mismanaged the state?”

Oyatomi said anyone that was accusing the state government must be ready to provide evidence.

He said those who were sponsored to write the petition would be defeated just as they were “defeated at the governorship poll on August 9 and at the tribunal and the Appeal Court.”
http://www.punchng.com/politics/odumakin-drags-aregbesola-to-efcc-over-alleged-corruption/

atbu1983:
@Validated,
the first thing i did when i saw your post was to go and check your history in nairaland and your profile. I discovered that you were a strong supporter of Jonathan in the election. Also from your past post you are actually from dellta.

I agree with you in most of your view. even though i support Niger Delta movement.

I am a petroleum engineer, Nigeria has already produced close to 50% of the recoverable oil reserve in Niger Delta. And also many countries are discovery oil. and apart from that the world is getting alot of alternative to oil. What that means is that the future with oil is not so bright for us.

In the future without oil, it will be the turn of the North to support and feed us as we are doing today. because we dont have farmland in niger delta that much because of oil spillage. But can we guarantee that the North wont ask for succession when the oil finish? That is my greatest concern and why i support Niger delta movement.

My point on restructuring comes in handy? The world manufacturing industries are moving to China and India. Why is it so? They have the manpower. They have Intellectual Capital - PEOPLE!!! With our population we can do a lot. Organisations are beginning to value Intellectual Capital as they do other Assets. Unfortunately our Universities are still teaching people how to get white collar jobs. Let me ask you this question. What does Facebook.com sell? What is Google product? What does Twitter sell? Nothing other than that they latched in on opportunities-ideas that the world needs today. My point is this, when the oil dries up, people will find out other opportunities as the brain is a gold-mine of IDEAS. The availability of oil has made people to think that they cannot do anything else other than oil-bunkery or wait for FG to share money.

I was watching a documentary recently of how Israel bought most of West Bank that the Palestinians are now fighting for. Most of those land were barren and the "Arab land-owners" took them for barren land, before Israel turned them to arable land. You do not have to underestimate what people can do. Just let oil dry up, you will know that human are greatest creatures of God.

First of all, I want to state that I am an Iboman from Delta State. My community shares boundary with Edo State and I have lived in Nigeria for most part of my life. I have lived with the Hausas (served in the Core North), have lived with the Edos (schooled, lived in Benin and other Edo Towns both North and South), and have lived with the Yorubas. I have lived, worked and traveled across the South Eastern Nigeria (Onitsha - Awka - Nnewi - Ekulobia - Enugu- Owerri - through Port Harcourt). My work took me to places like Oturkpo, Makurdi through to Wukari in NE. I have also lived in Lagos for over 10 years. So, as far as Nigeria is concerned, only places Sokoto in NW and and Calabar in SS may be strange to me. I have also lived in abroad. In fact, I had Asians, Europeans, African-Caribbean, etc as neighbours and friends. Why go through all of these? Well, I want to dispel the idea that this is another impostor "none Igbo trying to write about Igbo.

Now to the point of why I think that the Ibos/Igbos (whichever suits you) are better off in Nigeria than a disintegrated Nigeria or Biafra.
Caveat: I may not have exhausted all the issues here but at least some of these are germane and I have offered my opinion on them.
Crucify me if you chose to, but when you do lay your head on your pillow tonight, rummage over these again.

i. Northern hegemony and perceived marginalization:
True as this may seem, I do not quite agree that the we are right to continue to reflect on the civil war events and the fact that Biafra was not achieved, thereby concluding that Nigeria cannot work or we do not belong here. In many developed countries of the world, there have always been issues of domination and marginalization. However, disintegration have never solved the problems, because after you disintegrate, you would be faced with a much bigger problem of integration. The perceived Northern domination in Nigeria can never continue forever. Politically, they could for some time, but we should rather strive for economic dominance. In fact, in many nations, the man with economic power is the true leader, not political power. If we sincerely desired political relevance, since 1970, immediately after the civil war we would have pursued our political growth as much as we pursued our economic growth. If we did that, by now we should have produced the president. Rather than cry over Biafra, we should work to build Nigeria and demand what is due to us. If we have the economic power, soon, we would be influencing the political power. Take a look at South Africa, who do you think truly rule South Africa? ANC? No, the whites do! In Johannesburg, for exmple, the gate keepers are all blacks, yet they are in government.

ii. The Buhari/Jonathan factor and 2015 Elections:
Many of us who supported Jonathan may feel that the the S/West and North joined forces to "rob" us political of power. Well, I want to tell us the bitter truth. Yes! North and South West alliance was to the detriment of the SE/SS in 2015 elections. However, if PDP and Jonathan performed excellently well, this would not have happened. Jonathan did his best and I praise him for his effort, but an average performance is not what the world seek today. Nigeria is one of the most complex countries in the world. As such, a Nigerian leader must be a no-nonsense person. A person who can look at his benefactor in the face and rebuke him/her. Jonathan did not fit into that. Like many have said, it is still too early to judge Buhari. However, if he is still wobbling and fumbling as he is doing now and not able to fight corruption to a stand-still (not minding political association), then he would have failed also. So if by then Nigerians still shout "Sai Baba", we can begin to be worried.

iii. Economic facts:
Ibos are the biggest traders and businessmen in Nigeria today. A business needs population to thrive. By the United nations Population growth analysis, by 2050 (that is 34 years from now), Nigeria will be the 3rd most populous nation in the world. In fact from 1950 when Nigeria was ranked 13th to 2015, Nigeria has displaced 6 nations to rank 7th. This is in spite of high infant and maternal mortality rate.
The UNDP/WPP project that by 2050, Nigeria would have overtaken Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil and USA to rank 3rd, after China and India.
See pages 29 -30 http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/Key_Findings_WPP_2015.pdf. Now you can understand why some big corporations are already strategically positioning themselves to take advantage of this huge untapped market. How does this affect the Ibos? With Biafra, we would have lost this huge market. By the way, our economy is one of the less regulated in the world. So, you have people make super-profits and pay little to no taxes. We produce and sell whatever we want to, but go out. For you to open a barbing or hair dressing saloon or even restaurant, you must have be qualified, registered with authorities and you are subjected to regular inspections. Now if you circumvent the laws as we do here, you are likely to be jailed. Once jailed, your record has "finished" you economically. So, when you hear people say Nigeria is the best country to live do not doubt them.

iv. Nigeria Restructuring:
Today, the cry in the South is that Nigeria should be restructured. Truly, the cry is higher now under Buhari especially because of the defeat of Jonathan and perceived dumping of the Confab report. I am an advocate of a restructured Nigeria. It may seem impossible but I am optimistic that it would happen soon. If not under Buhari, but some days in not-too-distant future, this will be implemented. Much as the North may choose to pretend that the Confab report is rubbish, majority of Nigerians know that this document holds the key to unlocking the great potentials that Nigeria has. With a restructured Nigeria, this nation will be able to tap into the resources that are within our very reach for which oil has beclouded our visions. So, my brethren from across the Niger should rather speak with one voice on restructuring of the nation rather than call for Biafra. Then again, if the centre is made weak as is being suggested, that means each region would fend for themselves. How would the SE survive? Have we thought of that? Because, a restructured Nigeria would give us the opportunity to role-play Biafra. A mock of a sort. Are we going to be looking up to the oil producing communities for money to pay salaries like Okorocha is doing now

v. Oil and Resource Control:
Well, this is by far one of the most over-flogged issue in Nigeria. True that the oil wealth is being shared to some none productive states and the obvious cry would be let us have our oil and gas. I listened to Ben Bruce on his "Hope For Nigeria" story and how he challenged all of us Nigerians, young and old to wake up. He even "drove in" his electric powered car to drive home the fact that oil is fast losing its value. The oil industry is fast losing its relevance in the world. In the past we relied on Coal, where is Coal today? If cars are being powered by Solar energy and batteries, who says that they can increase capacity on other sources of energy? Today, due to environmental degradation, the world is already looking at reducing usage of fossil fuel. What happens to a nation with just oil as her only resource then? So, a hurried Biafra State in the hope of having the oil revenue exclusively to "us" may turn out to be a bad dream or nightmare. Sorry for my choice of words.

vi. Religion-Politics:
I am scared to go into this this because many will call me names. However, just to say that in as much as we fear that the Muslim faith has an agenda to Islamize Nigeria, we Christians should also trust our Bible. Our God called us to go out and win souls unto the Kingdom and that the weapons of our warfare are not canal. So, if the Muslims have such agenda, we have a bigger one which is to preach the Gospel, win back all lost souls and God willing we live in peace. Then again, the issue of Boko Haram comes to the fore. Well, we all know that anything that has a beginning must have an end. I am sure that very soon, this will become a thing of the past so that we can all live together in peace. Again do you know that in some countries with 95% Christians are also bedeviled with "Mafia organizations and gangsterism?' Have you not heard of Italian Mafia or the Mexican Drug rings? Are those not Christians? Truth is that every religion has its own black sheep so you and I have a big job or winning back these souls for Christ. We have to pray for them to repent. Dumb you may say, but it is a time tested dumbness that has worked.

vii. Sincerity and Trust:
We Igbos do not trust ourselves. Much as the Hausa-Fulani may disagree, they would still find time to sit together under whatever guise and produce an arrow-head that the rest of Nigeria will somehow relate with. The same with the Yorubas. They can orchestrate whatever drama, but at the end, they have a leader, accepted or not. Today, when Tinubu or Obj speaks they queue behind him. In the North, when Buhari speaks, the North follow. Who do we have from the East? As the saying goes " ... a rolling stone gathers no moss". So, even in a Biafra republic, the Arochukwu man and the Anambra man would still fight to finish because we do not trust our neighbour. Asaba and/or Kwale man will cry of marginlisation, then I begin to wonder what the Etche, Urhobo, Ijaws and Ibibio would do, that is if they are part of Biafra? it will be a big crisis that why that will be on, the other Nigerians will 'come to help' their brothers and sisters as Russia is helping Cremia and Eastern and southern Ukraine now.

viii. National capacity:
Those advocating for a separate state or Biafra have not fully grasp the capacity constraint in building a new republic. In the first instance, there would be very high economic losses occasioned by displacements and restarting. Take for example a big business like Diamond Bank which by all intent and purpose is seen as an Eastern-Nigerian Bank. How would such an entity survive with closure and refocusing of her business? A severed Nigerian state would be hostile to such a business which may lead to closure. If you replicate this scenario across all businesses owned by Igbos and operating in Nigeria outside of the SE region, you will realize that the attendant losses that would follow such a decision be so colossal that recovery in two decades would be impossible. How about Igbos who own houses in major Nigerian cities? For example, in Abuja, most of the new developments and hotels are owned by Igbos. I guess you may argue, that it is the same like having property or businesses in say Ghana or Benin republic, but hell NO! We are talking of having a property or business in a hostile neighbouring country. It is quite different, no matter what a UN resolution says, UN will not come down to Ifako-Ijaiye for example to mediate. So, in effect most of what the Igbos have acquired in other parts of Nigeria would be practically lost or best case sold for peanuts.

ix. Cultural Integration:
Cultural integration within Nigeria may not have been fully achieved, but we are already getting there. In a new republic, integration is always a big issue. A case in mind is South Sudan. When the struggle for independence was on little did the people envisage the crisis that would follow. After achieving independence came the issue of nation building. As reported "ten thousand people have been killed and more than 1.6 million have been internally displaced since civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013. Ignited by a political struggle between President Salva Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar, the conflict escalated into ethnic violence". Can a new Biafra afford that? Guess you would think that all Igbos are the same "ethnic group", think again. It is when you get there you will realise that there are several dialectical differences, cultural difference and by extension marginalization stories and requests to be with "kiths and kins" in Nigeria. These shades of "ethnic" differences would naturally stall growth and developments.

x. Infrastructure Decay & Corruption:
Infrastructure-wise, the SE need urgent attention. Good the new governors are coming up, I think that this should be the focus of the Biafra agitators. Aside Governor Chime and what Obaino are doing now in the East, all other governors were busy "doing nothing". I think that these agitators should rather spend their energy in fighting the governors and SE legislators to push for redevelopment of the SE. It is clear that post -70 war SE has not done so much for themselves and FG never made concerted effort to support SE. These agitators should chnnel their agitation to the governors from the SE to show leadership. We all talk of Akpabio's exploit in Akwa-Ibam, Fashola in Lagos and others. What has Okorocha done since coming to office? How about Dr. Orji, Obi and Elechi, etc? What were the impacts of these governors in developing their states? Why have we not questioned them? We are quick to join others to attack Aregbesola (not condoling indolence and rascality though), how about Okorocha who is owing 13 months salaries? We should be agitating for federal institutions that will enable SE grow capacity. We should be talking to FG to rebuild SE following from Civil war destruction. Yes, this is fairer and have basis. If NE can be awarded $2.1M for Boko Haram that was self-inflicted, SE should be looking for help in controlling ravaging erosion.
They are now talking of new refineries, what are we doing to ensure at least one is sited in the East? I am aware of a company that wanted to build a factory in the SE but the prohibitive charges they got from the host government scared them off. How many export-free zones do we have in SE Who cares? Nobody, yet we are crying for Biafra.

I think we need to look inwards for solution to our problems rather than outside.

Dear NL, as the President work on his cabinet said to be announced sometimes next month, I thought it would be interesting to get opinion on what to expect from the President. All of us Nigerians want a better nation where we can be proud of. Who makes it happen may be immaterial as long as we can someday raise our heads and be proud as Nigerians.

In as much as we cannot chose the cabinet for Mr. President, we may have reservations about some individuals who are today jostling for political appointment, especially as cabinet ministers. May be from your state, LGA or someone you have associated with in the past, who you think obviously would be a "taint" on Buhari's cabinet.

So, I am asking without sentiments and tribal prejudices, who do you think should not make president Buhari's cabinet? Possibly state your reason in one sentence. Of course, I have my reservations for a few individuals but I will be neutral.

According to Management Scientists, there are two dominant style of leadership, namely TRANSACTIONAL LEADERS and TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS:

Transactional leadership is a style of leadership based on the setting of clear objectives for followers and with ‘punishment or reward’ to promote or encourage compliance. In order words, zero-tolerance for deviation.

Key attributes:
- Rewards followers for bringing him accused "deviators"
- Coercion followers to follow rules
- Punishment for deviation from the rules
- Horse-whip leadership
Examples: Charles de Gaulle, Mao Tse-tung (Chairman Mao)

Transformational leaders uses the strength of vision, personality and ability of the leader is to motivate, energise and inspire followers to attain challenging goals. Motivation gained by self-fulfillment by followers, also by respect and admiration for the leader.

Key attributes:
- Charisma, influencing change rather than coercing
- Motivate toward self-fulfillment of followers
- Energize and inspire through shared vision
- Lead from the front and not coersion
Examples: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandhi

My question is what type of leader is Muhammadu Buhari?
What leadership style do you think is appropriate for Nigeria?

Please, be civil and respect others while you make your point. Remember, "BIG BROTHER" may be watching. LOL!

Adamu Oshomole, how far?

NIGERIA’S economy, which is going through a turbulent period from reduction in oil income, is set to further unravel. Why? The European Union has just suspended some agricultural food exports from Nigeria. The food items banned from Europe till June 2016 are beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish and meat, peanut chips and palm oil. This is a setback for a nation that desperately needs to expand its export basket to boost domestic agricultural activities and create jobs.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, the rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg of dichlorvos pesticide, when the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg/kg. The embargo is a reflection of our inability to adhere to global standards, and this has come to haunt us at the international level again. Overturning the ban requires a firm approach to enforcing standards at all times.

But the ban is not a bolt from the blue. For some time, the EU has been warning Nigeria that the items constitute danger to human health because they “contain a high level of unauthorised pesticide.” The pesticide is applied when the products are being prepared for export. The EU said it had issued 50 notifications to Nigerian beans exporters since January 2013. It is baffling that the Nigerian authorities didn’t take any significant steps to reverse the situation. Likewise, the United Kingdom also issued 13 border rejection alerts to Nigerian beans exporters between January and June 2015. Our lax system will continue to hamper the economy from appropriating the benefits derivable from a revived export programme.

It confounds many that this problem has been with us for some time and nothing strategic has been done to deal with the situation. In 2013 for instance, 24 commodities of Nigerian origin exported to the UK were rejected, while the figure climbed to 42 food products in 2014. Some of the items were said to have been contaminated by aflatoxins, making them unfit for consumption.

The excuse by Paul Orhii, the Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control that exporters caused the problem by not complying with regulatory requirements for semi-processed and processed commodities is untenable. NAFDAC has not conducted its regulatory oversight properly and needs to put stringent measures in place to monitor our products and guarantee them as safe for export before the next EU review in 2016. The Ministry of Agriculture did not pay sufficient attention to the problem either.

The ban on Nigerian foods provokes some questions. First, how do we preserve the foods that we eat locally? Second, how safe are the foods we import into the country? With our predilection for manipulating the system, Nigerian consumers might be susceptible to poisonous food imported from overseas. Take for example, the imported semi-processed poultry products and meat: several studies conducted by researchers and public agencies in markets in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are revealing. A study by Okiomah Abu, a nutritional enzymologist, says “poultry products imported into the country contain toxic and heavy metals that can worsen the occurrence of food-borne diseases” because of the combination of feeds the animals eat. Ayoola Oduntan, the President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, said, “It has been discovered that smuggled poultry products contain (a) high level of bacteria. Also, toxic chemicals and solvents are used in preserving them so that their owners can get them into the country to be sold at prices cheaper than we (PAN members) are selling.”

We should be wary. In March 2014, Akinwunmi Adesina, the then Minister of Agriculture, had to personally order the destruction of a large consignment of contaminated imported frozen fish stored in a warehouse operated by Indians in Lagos. In a 2015 report, the World Health Organisation said, “Food contaminants, such as harmful parasites, bacteria, viruses, prions, chemical or radioactive substances, cause more than 200 diseases – ranging from infectious diseases to cancers.” The global health body added that unsafe food is linked to the death of about 2 million people annually.

However, a report in this newspaper said the Nigerian Customs Service had recently started enforcing the ban on imported poultry products, which are massively smuggled into the country. But government at the three tiers should also make policies to boost poultry and fish farming in the country to meet local demand and for export.

As a way forward, we could follow the standard practice in other climes like India, the UK, China and the United States, which operate effective food safety and regulatory agencies that monitor products stringently. US authorities are still battling China, South Korea, Mexico and South Africa to review a ban placed on American poultry and egg imports over the avian flu scare that broke out in December 2014. Last month, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ordered Nestlé, the Swiss multinational, to withdraw its instant noodles from the market over safety concerns.

The Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the newly inaugurated National Food Safety Management Committee should see the EU ban as a wake-up call to sanitise food imported into Nigeria, and those being consumed at home.

The EU action suggests that our unfavourable balance of trade position with our international partners will worsen as we cannot export more agricultural goods. The first quarter figures (2015) released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that crude oil and gas accounted for 89.2 per cent of our total export of N3.23 trillion with other exports constituting only 10.8 per cent. The nation imported goods and services worth N1.64 trillion within the same period. We should reverse this dependency on imports and harness our natural resources to become self-reliant in food production.

http://www.punchng.com/editorials/eu-ban-on-nigerian-food-exports/

[size=14pt]With all these, what was the gains of our G7 meeting? America cannot sell arms to us, EU ban our exports. I Think Buhari needs to face the emerging markets - BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). These Western Powers DO NOT SEE ANYTHING GOOD IN AFRICA!!! All they want is to give us gay rights.[/size]