₦airaland Forum

ololufemi:
Dude, they were not on the parade ground marching neither was it a ceremonial procession such as independence or armed forces rememberance day. If you feel aggravated, please go to Bonnt camp stand under the bridge and start taking pictures of the cantonment since it was built with tax payers money. I can assure you that you will frog jump from there to Costain and back irrespective of whose son you are (please note that we also pay taxes).

I have always said it that discipline needs to be installed in the fabric of our youth. Facebook, Twitter e.t.c have driven them to a high level of disregard. Our amiable General needs to restructure the NYSC programme into the Isreali system where compulsory military service is required to get any government position (appointed or elected). No special system for children of the wealthy.

I plead with you, do not take pictures of military men without their permission especially those with orderlies.

Make I invite you come officers mess come relax.

^^^^


Typical.

Not surprisingly, you have not addressed any of the key issues. The best you can do is issue threats of what will happen to me if I take pictures of military establishments. Empty.

You talk up a hypocritical storm about 'discipline' but the truth is you have no knowledge of it. You can't give what you don't have. I am sure the two soldiers who arranged the abduction of mikel obi's father for ransom a few years ago were 'disciplined' men. I am sure the senior naval officers (Rear Admirals, no less) who aided the theft of an entire shipload of petroleum products (11,000 tonnes!!) a few years ago were 'disciplined' men. These and other examples of 'disciplined' behaviour by you and your fellow travelers are legion.

You have the nerve to sermonize about 'discipline' when NA troops mutinied against a senior commander in the middle of on-going hostilities in the North East? Discipline? You don't know the meaning of the word.

One last thing: your comments about 'whose son I am' and 'special systems for children of the wealthy' reveal your deep rooted issues. Sort them out fast. I have no idea the son of whom you are or how wealthy you or your family are - and I do not care. It adds nothing to the discussion.

Focus on the key issues. Once they have been fixed then we can have the drink you offered.

ololufemi:
Dude, you cannot be taking pictures of individuals in their house or car/vehicle without their permission. It is called trespassing. We take a lot of things things for granted in Nigeria. People who upload pictures of others without their permission trespass and are liable to be sued.

Had it been you attended a military school, or were a military cadet, you will appreciate my comments. I am not talking about NYSC but proper military drills and training.

Do you know that military men mete out the gravest punishment to their children and wards when they misbehave. I remember one guy we wear one grey camouflage on top him karl kani jeans and timberland boots go Kobe barracks for Abuja. As de guy bounce enter, na so them accost am, tell am make him ride invisible stationary bike and frog jump before removing his shirt (he was accused of impersonation).

Conduct yourself when around military officers and they will respect you. They usually have a distaste for indiscipline.

^^^^
Now you've really got me going...

Go through some of the other posts on this thread. Slowly. The point was made very clearly that the offending picture (if indeed this whole story is true and not a fabrication) was taken in a public place and not on private property. Where is the trespassing here? Are there laws in Nigeria's statute books that forbid taking pictures in a public place? Are there laws that expressly forbid photographing military personnel on duty in the city centre? Answer that.

In your own words, 'people who upload pictures of others without their permission trespass and are liable to be be sued'. Did those soldiers explore that legally acceptable option? Brutalizing Nigerian citizens (and confiscating their cameras) represents 'taking legal action' in your book, right?

Spare me the irrelevant tales about your training drills or how military people brutalize their children and wards. I am not interested. Neither am I interested in your infantile gloating about how you and your cohorts stripped a Nigerian citizen (whose taxes by the way, buy your weapons, uniforms and boots) of his clothing on some dubious grounds of 'impersonation'. I am simply not interested. These stories say a lot about you and what you and your ilk stand for: The warped sense of entitlement. The idea that a military uniform is a licence to impunity. The complete lack of respect for civilian institutions - institutions from which the military actually derive legitimacy. I could go and on.

You have one job and one job only: to defend this country from internal and external threats. Nigerians want to know if you have delivered on this assignment in the North East over the last half decade.

ololufemi:
Why will you take pictures of soldiers openly during a pensive mood as this election period. We hate our pictures being taken openly during such assignments especially. Such pictures have been photoshopped, altered and have been deceptively used for ulterior motives. This has gotten a lot of soldiers stern warnings.

Nigerians especially the youths should have decorum in dealing with the military. The fact that you are in a democracy does not mean you can go about display your ignorance.

He should thank them for not arresting him and handing him over to the military police. He would have spent the weekend in the guard room.

Be peaceful and adhere to decorum especially in your conduct openly.

May Nigerians come out great and victorious .

^^^^
Abysmally poor response. Not good enough at all.

There are several choice words for you but for now they will remain unspoken until you prove you are indeed whom you claim to be.

The fellow beaten up by the soldiers (if this story is true) could have been killed. People's health problems are not written on their foreheads - people have been known to die from a single punch to the head or a kick to the stomach. And if that were the case here - over what? A lousy camera phone snapshot?

So many posters on here are applauding the brutality of these soldiers - not for the first time and certainly not the last. But what goes round comes round - some of these same posters will have their stories to tell soon - possibly of fatalities arising from completely unnecessary army brutality. When that time comes they will rue the words they have spoken here today.

Nigerians have to choose whether they wish to live like animals or civilized beings. That is a choice only they can make. No one else can make that choice on their behalf.

modath:
You are wrong, it was a pre planned covert recording and the perpetrators achieved their aim but unfortunately it will all be for nothing.

^^^^
What do you mean by 'a pre planned covert recording'?!!

There was a television crew and camera in full view as he made the statements. You can clearly see the NTA mic in front. What is covert about that?

Interesting thread.


Time and time again, the OP has been asked to provide evidence that mr agbaje played 'tribal politics', 'blew it', 'mishandled the crisis' etc. and each time the OP has failed to deliver.


The OP made some unusual claims and assertions on this thread. I expected the thread to degenerate into a fiery ethnic shitstorm but I was more than surprised to see how those random assertions and claims were calmly picked apart and torn to pieces by some posters on here. No fuss. Just facts. Those posters should keep it up (you know yourselves) and keep it civil.

Ichiato:
Is conviction was indeed set aside. That just goes to show that either his first conviction was politically motivated or the reversal of that conviction was politically motivated. Either way the whole saga reeks of bad politics the lagos polity cannot afford to condone, coupled with the clearly rigged primaries which unsurprisingly brought his candidate(JK) as the winner of the primaries.

^^^^
In the eyes of the law then, the man's record is unblemished. It may not be pleasing to the ears of his opponents but it is the truth.

ultimatum:
I strongly disagree with this writer's perspective. The truth is that, the proof of Governors Fashola and Bola Tinubu's tenures in government are pointers that the sky is the limit for Lagosians and Lagos State.

Despite Lagos' lack of proper natural resources like petroleum and a reasonably limited federal allocation from the PDP controlled federal administration, Lagos has still risen above all odds to establish herself as the hub of commercial enterprise. Even regarded by many global magazines as the fastest growing economy in the world

When Lagos’s visionary governor Babatunda Fashola took power in 2010, he enforced local tax collection–an unusual idea in Africa. That has brought Lagos billions, giving it both autonomy from the country’s corrupt government in Abuja, the capital, and new projects, like a planned rapid-transit network, a $50 billion infrastructure program that includes West Africa’s first suspension bridge, and two forthcoming power plants that will finally ease the electricity shortage and even light Lagos’s streets at night.

And who do you think was vital in implementing such commercial innovations? That's a rhetoric because the answer is beyond glaring.

On the 11th of April. I implore my fellow Lagosians to come out, with our heads held high like true Patriots and vote in Akinwunmi Ambode for continuity in our beloved Lagos State.

EKO O NI BAJE.

^^^^
The idea behind increasing the tax base is nothing new. Its the way the system works elsewhere. The problem is that the LASG runs its tax collection drive like a protection racket organized by local small town mafiosi.

I know of some small business men who were unfairly taxed by the LASG. Their attempts to get a fair hearing failed. I had a similar experience in a personal matter involving two LASG agencies. My attempts to get a fair hearing also failed and LASG civil servants arrogantly told me they were the judge, jury and executioner in the case. I escalated the matter officially to higher officials and the same thing happened: petition denied a fair hearing.

Can all these people complaining about official high handedness be wrong?

Ichiato:
Only stupi.d people see a reasonable post and term it stup.id. The fact the bode george is just a party chieftain and BHT is an APC national leader is inconsequential. They are both a force to reckon with in lagos politics. The only difference of course is that one is a convict while the other is the leader of a revolutionary party.

^^^

I am no fan of the PDP or Mr. Bode George but I remember reading somewhere that a court had set aside Mr. George's conviction. If that is indeed true, then his imprisonment was unlawful. So what is the truth? Was his conviction set aside or not?

jayfolarin:
In other words, you are an hater. With all due respect, if you are going to want to sell your preffered candidate, sell his credentials and not your unwarranted hate for another man's success. Tinubu is a political force and your envy/hate can't affect that, trust me.

My advice to you...; Tinubu started from somewhere. Rather than hate on his political influence which continues to grow, you can start making something of yourself.

Ambode's experience in governance which has been more than instrumental in developing the lagos we all love today overshadows whatever tinubu line pdpians might want to feed me! It's ambode for me.
Voting JK is just plain stu.pid if you ask me. Experience over sweetmouths anyday. If you are an entrepreneur, you ll understand.

^^^^
These emotional reactions do not address the key issues.

The OP has made some salient points. Address them rather than give homilies about 'making something of yourself'.

Aolly:
That is ur headache,nonsence nd ingredient.

^^^
Counter his points - some of them at least.

I don't know the OP and I'm definitely not holding brief for him but he has made a few points that are true. Counter them with facts or hold your peace.

SirShymexx:
This isn't about being partisan or non-partisan. I believe he explained the reason for his choice in the article - folks just decided to sensationalise the crude threats he made.

He's the custodian of the land and he's still on the throne of his ancestors, and future generations. So, he wants the best for Lagos. Based on all the massive projects going on in Lagos at the moment, I believe they have all agreed that continuity and aligning with a favourable center would be the best option for the state to get things done (he said that explicitly in the article). However, it seems Igbos are hell-bent on derailing that cause of action, hence the threat.

If I were Igbo - based on this threat, especially when the two candidates are both Yorubas - I'd take time out to think deeply. Imagine what will happen when there's a strong Igbo candidate? You don't want to imagine that, do you? These Yoruba folks aren't smiling right now, and it seems you have pushed them to the wall. Act right!

^^^^



In one breath you claim Alhaji Akiolu's remarks were crude threats sensationalized by the press and the public. In another breath you claim he wants the best for Lagos (whatever that means) and all voters should fall in line or else... . What exactly is your point?

There is a gaping contradiction in your post and it needs to be set right. Nigerians (no matter their ethnicity) have the right as free citizens of this Republic to vote for whoever they wish. Those rights are non-negotiable, no matter what anyone thinks. Nigerian voters have the right to choose their leaders without fear of intimidation or coercion by any authority. Why is this matter even up for debate?

As I stated earlier, it is in the interest of the Oba of Lagos to issue a statement to address this matter immediately. Silence is not an option.

Kinfunfun22:
The Igbo's are a buncha thoughtless and senseless pack. Trying to talk sense into them will make no sense as this has always yielded no effort in the past. Coercion and violence is the language that activates their senses and the Obas message is appropriate, necessary and timely.

^^^^
You say the Igbos are thoughtless and senseless. You are entitled to your opinion - after all some Igbos on here liberally pour insults on others too. Ditto Hausa, Yoruba, Annang, Efik, Berom, Angas, Nupe, Fulani, Ijaw etc. I could go on and on.

But you cannot abridge their rights (or the rights of any other Nigerian citizen) to freely elect the candidate of their choice. You do not have the right, authority or power to do so. You simply don't. And if you don't, the Oba of Lagos doesn't either.

Let's be absolutely clear on this.

MayorofLagos:
What instruments of justice do you have to prevent, if you act proactively, or to prosecute, if you are reactive, a positiin of electoral coercion?

You will say the constitution.

Your rhetoric above gives you away as someone obsessed in theoretical principles. You are twisting words and professing ideas which have no mundane records to their credit.

President Jonathan, the prime steward of the Constitution you clutch to your chest dispatched two Federal Ministers and a Army General to go and coerce and twist arms and deliver his wish in Ekiti.

How has your impotent Constitutuon protected the citizens of Ekiti against the flagrant violation of their rights by their own President?

This is reality.....dont brush Ekitigate aside and dont brush Ozu river aside, each has relevance under your chosen subject. You might not like to hear the truth but your theory does not hold water against these realities.

What will happen to Oba of Lagos if he coerces your Ezes to vote his candidate? Nothing!!

What will happen to your Ezes if they defy him.....blockade!

Swallow that!

^^^^

I noticed your presence on several threads where ethnic baiting and fierce tribalism is the norm. But you (and others who specialize in that sort of thing) usually crumble when you have to deal with logic and clarity of thought. This thread proves that beyond any doubt.

You have described the constitution as impotent because Jonathan allegedly interfered with the electoral process in Ekiti. By your logic, once a law has been broken, that is proof of its uselessness and it should be discarded, right? Does that make sense to you?

Because you (humans) are unable to enforce the law (set out in an inanimate document), the law is at fault and it should be done away with? Are you aware that this is a recipe for anarchy?

Stick to the issues. You know what they are.

Justfollowit:
Unfortunately God has given power to the Oba therefore he can wield however he wants

^^^^
There is no such thing. Nigeria isn't (officially at least) a feudal entity deriving legitimacy from some dubious concept of divine rights.

It is in the interest of the Oba of Lagos that this matter is cleared up immediately - a confirmation, denial, clarification or retraction is necessary. Silence is not an option.

The previous Emir of Gwandu (rtd. Major Mustapha Jokolo) had a habit of making incendiary statements against the FG while he was on the throne. What eventually happened? He was deposed and exiled. The propriety of the treatment meted out to Jokolo is a debate for another day - the point I am making is that traditional rulers in Nigeria are not omnipotent. If they were, the British wouldn't have been able to overrun large swathes of what is now known as Nigeria to plant the British flag.

MayorofLagos:
I love it when people who never had problem understanding me suddenly loose comprehension skills, and then confess it!

Let me hit home.....Ekitigate, was Fayose the wish of Ekiti people or was he forced on them?

It will soon be a year since that incidence. The constitutiin has not touched it and heaven has not fallen in protest of the inaction.

So clarify yourself on the power of Nigerian Constitution and its potency impotency.

Nothing happens after the fact on the issued threat commanding you to vote the candidate endorsed by the throne. Nothing!!

^^^^


My comprehension skills are very much intact sir.

Go through my posts again. I have been as clear and direct as possible. For the very last time: Neither you nor your monarch (if indeed he made those comments) can coerce free citizens of this Republic to vote for your preferred candidate. You don't have the right, authority or power to do so. For you to come on here to brazenly justify this attempted sacrilege it means you are not worthy or ready to live in a free and democratic society despite your pretense to the contrary.

On second thoughts - don't bother going through my posts again. You are very much aware of the key issue here since I made my position very clear from the onset. Your decision to go off on a tangent about Ozu River, Ekitigate, etc. was a weak, poorly disguised attempt at diversion. I am not taking the bait.

You will be held accountable on this thread - any misleading information or assertion from you will be swiftly challenged. You can take that to the bank.

Are your courses IRCA certified?

Is your organisation an IRCA approved training organisation (ATO)?

MayorofLagos:
How many times has this constitution stepped up to your rescue when your life is on the line?

The twenty Ibo bodies recovered from Ozu river in your homeland, has the constitution delivered justice to them yet?

If your own land does not respect your life and drown your youths without any constitutional intervention....then what is your life worth to a Yoruba who decides to waste you for tresspasing in his domain?

^^^^
I don't know what you mean by your first sentence. I referenced the constitution because it is the rule book by which this Republic (imperfect as it is) has decided to run its affairs. If my life is on the line (as you put it) and it is eventually taken unlawfully by another, the constitution stands in the gap and prosecutes whoever is responsible. That's the way it works. The Constitution isn't perfect but without it, we would be far, far worse off.

You don't know my homeland, sir. I wonder how you came to the assumption that Ozu River (wherever that is) is anywhere near my homeland. But that isn't even the issue. If the Constitution has not delivered justice to the people you mentioned as having been dumped in the river - then the fault is with the human operators of the Constitution and not the Constitution itself. I hope that is clear.

More to the point - I am yet to see the relevance of your comments above to my comments about the rights of Nigerians to freely vote for whoever they wish. Those rights cannot be abridged by you or any monarch. That is the crux of the matter.

MayorofLagos:
Oba Akiolu does not need to say it......its the popular and mainstream feeling in Lagos.

If Ibo misstep in this election, their future in Lagos will regress, simple!

^^^^


No sir. Neither you nor Oba Akiolu has the right to coerce any Nigerian, (no matter his ethnicity or station in life) into voting for a particular candidate. The document called the Nigerian Constitution (among other documents) makes this very clear. You may choose to gently persuade or coax but you cannot threaten anyone - and even then, such attempts at persuasion exclude traditional rulers who should not be seen to be partisan.

We should not even be having this conversation - that we are having this discussion in the first place is clear evidence of our social and political underdevelopment. It is shameful and I cannot find the words to describe it.

Interesting thread.

While we wait for a confirmation, denial or retraction from Alhaji Akiolu, some of us are showing their true colours here. Very disturbing that some posters here who voted freely (in last week's election) can so brazenly support these incendiary statements allegedly made by Oba Akiolu. We have a very long way to go.

Ilekeh:
Logical answer.

^^^
There is no logic there. Absolutely none.

Alcatraz001:
We are watching the ibos and all there shenanigans...............m.We told you not to take our gentility for weakness but you refused,hope you are ready for whaats coming?

I hope you have imported area boys from nnewi to help you fight the Agberos? Lagos belongs to Yorubas and it is not a No man's Land as you are fond of saying. Let's see how it goes though....

^^^^
Yet more nonsense.

People will vote for whomever they wish. You have neither the right nor the power to abridge the democratic voting rights of your fellow citizens. These rights are guaranteed by the Republic in that text called the constitution. You should read it.

abduljabbar4:
These Yorubas have goooooood leaders.
How can somebody leave his land to come and select your leader for you?
Big Ups to the Oba.
Lagos has been lead by an opposition party for too long. Now there is a golden opportunity and some people from another land are trying to stop it? That's not fair. I just hope they won't report him to ICC

^^^^
Nonsense.

The hypocrisy of so many of those who profess to be democrats is becoming clear now. You couldn't even wait for a confirmation or denial before voicing your approval of the words attributed to Alhaji Akiolu.

We shall see.

Inkman:
not mincing words atall
the oba bares it all
raw and stark
bottom line is
he spoke the truth

^^^
Nonsense.

As Jonathan limps into the sunset of lameduckhood, he will rue the poor decisions and missed opportunities that led to his fall.

So much promised, so little actually delivered. What exactly are the legacies of this administration? What exactly?

What a waste.


The incoming Buhari administration has its work cut out for it. It had better deliver or else...

InvertedHammer:
/
The leadership style of Jonathan over the years showed that he doesn't really go out and out of his way

to fight for things; consider Jonathan's action during the struggle for Acting President and substantive President during Yar'Adua's saga; review

Jonathan's reaction to the Boko Haram's abduction of about 300 little girls; reflect on how Jonathan has handled the series of bomb explosions at

Abuja and elsewhere in the country; none of these issues received the urgency, barking and biting reactions they deserved; Jonathan may just

raise eyebrows and sink back into normalcy again; you may think he's planning something; but it NEVER materialized, at least to the best of our

observation! He just stayed there and allowed events to play themselves out! Its an INTERESTING leadership style that lack a DELIBERATELY

DESIGN EFFORT or strategy to accomplish something with determination and purposefulness! It is either that nothing is really important to him or

its a serious mole or mutation in his DNA! ... JUI
\

^^^^
Well stated. Too many posters here are chasing shadows and majoring on the minor. Your post and a few others here are dealing with the real issues behind Jonathan's fall.

lastpage:
The location of the battery of that your VolvoS60 is a nightmare! I hate Volvo!


Back to Goat things:
There was this incident somewhere in the "East" when those Fulani used to graze their cattle on people's farm and cause complete crop destruction.
So, Villagers acme up with a plan to dig big trenches on their farm and when the Cattle came calling, they fell into the trnch and could not get out.... neither could Musa-the-Cattle rearer carry it out.

When he finally gave up and left, villagers descended on the Cattle and yo know what happened..... They took their own "pound of flesh" !

It kept repeating itself on till one day when the fulani decided that if they must loose the Cattle, they wont allow Villagers to eat it.
So, anytime such happens, they pour a very strong dose of POISON on such cattle and left it to die.

Brothers, come and see how a whole village almost got wiped out when they descended on the poisoned cattle and ate-away with the usual reckless abandon.

Our able "cattle-rearer" from Daura, our one and only #SaiBaaba, knowing the problem first-hand, should please speed-up measures to enact laws which prevent the cattles from damaging people's crops.....so as to prevent further clashes between farmers and Fulani cattle rearers.
Particularly, the practice of -graze-roaming cattles should be discouraged, we are no longer on the 16th century and grazing land is not that available like before.
Properly managed grazing range can be set-up in exclusive areas for them, if the practice is difficult to stop......and properly enforced.

Lastpage!

BTW: Vote APC/Omo Baaba (Ambode) for Governor, Lagos State cannot afford another 4yrs of being an opposition state.... we need #SaiBaaba to build and complete that 4th Mainland bridge. We also need assistance on the Mono Rail!

^^^^
I am a volvo fan by association only. Driven a few but never actually owned one...

Cattle ranching by pastoralists in Nigeria has to enter the 21st century. With deforestation and other forms of pressure on land resources, the tension between farmers and nomadic pastoralists is not going to go away soon. You are right - there simply isn't enough land for both. The sooner Fulani herdsmen are made to understand this, the better for all.

On the guber elections on Saturday...I will definitely be voting against Ambode/APC. The APC in Lagos has not been open or transparent in the running of its affairs and that is not going to change anytime soon. Mr Ambode represents the continuation of the current order - a government that does not respect the people enough to accede to requests for free access to information. No way i will vote for such.

Collynzo9:
I thought having a senate President from your place automatically solves all your problems. Why are they so hungry that they are stealing dead goats for food?

^^^^

I wonder if the locals would have been so quick to make off with the livestock if it were Fulani cattle herders - the notoriously violent ones to be specific. They often travel with firearms (illegally acquired) and they are definitely not a soft target.

For those in the insurance industry - is there any kind of insurance cover for merchandise in transit on Nigerian roads, and what are the subscription rates? Do these traders take out such policies?

Indeed.

People pretend that they cannot see the contradiction in the APC in Lagos state. This is a party that does not support legislation pushed by its own party members at the federal level. The Lagos and Oyo state governments headed by Messrs Fashola, Ajimobi etc. have all stoutly resisted passing the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) in their states, despite the fact that Mrs. Abike Dabiri (the then ACN legislator representing Ikorodu constituency) pushed for that bill to be signed at the federal level.

The public has the sovereign right to know how government is being administered. The public has a sacred right: the right to know. It is the height of deceit and subterfuge for the likes of Mr Fashola and the LASG to resist legitimate calls for open scrutiny of the affairs of the LASG and then demand openness at the federal level. Unfortunately, Mr Ambode represents the continuation of this deadly politics of opacity and non-discosure.

Lagos state voters and tax payers deserve to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the Sunborn yacht affair. Lagos state voters and taxpayers deserve to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on how the Lagos State Lands Bureau has conducted its affairs over the past one and a half decades (or more). These are just a few of the many issues on which full investigations should have been made, if not for the corruption that has hobbled and hollowed out the PDP-led federal government and its law enforcement agencies.

Nigerians should open their eyes, wide. It makes no sense to do away with Dr. Jonathan (and his party) at the federal level and then turn around to vote in similar characters at the state level.

Nigerians - your fate is in your hands. LASG - pass FOI legislation now!

ellechrystal:
Yes he is d one, those leaders u see only their heads r the ones planned to b removed by 2015, it's a conspiracy, so I wasn't surprised when d US, UK, n other countries were again Goodluck.
He didn't accept their evil rules in Nigeria, One of which is d gay trash. N many more.
The world is deeper than we think.

^^^^
While indeed 'the world is deeper than we think' and things are not always what they seem, perhaps Jonathan's fall was more a result of his own poor decisions than any conspiracy by hidden powers. Ponder on that. If indeed some powerful, unseen forces wanted him out, he certainly made it very easy for them to succeed.

Interesting.

This is the same ICAN that kept mute throughout the period when the FRCN and the former CBN governor were at loggerheads over issues central to the accounting and auditing profession in Nigeria. ICAN had absolutely nothing to say then.

But it has now reinvented itself as a platform for partisan politics.

We are taking notes.

Is there a reason you are not listed on the PMI website as an REP?