₦airaland Forum

.

OrlandoOwoh:
I know Buhari will succeed.

Sure, he will, the moment he swallows his pride and respects the sensibilities of those who voted him to power.

TrueSenator:
GOD is not a wicked GOD......Instead you got what you asked for

There is a huge difference between God's perfect and permissive will.
God can allow you to have your way when you are so sturbborn about getting what you want...

.

If all hands will be on deck, then we succeeded together, not APC or Buhari!

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Chief Joe Igbokwe has asked Nigerians to stone him if President Muhammadu Buhari fails to deliver his campaign promises to revive the economy, fight corruption and build a new Nigeria.

Igbokwe, a controversial politician who also doubles as the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Lagos State, said for Buhari to succeed, all hands must be on deck to support the President’s efforts. He said Nigerians voted for President Buhari to fight corruption, stop the drift in Nigeria, restore hope and build a new Nigeria. He therefore charged politicians across the divide to roll up their sleeves and join the President in the onerous task of building the country.

“I know that the President is doing his best, and I also know he can do more. President Buhari must not fail. If he fails, Nigeria may not recover again. We must kill corruption or corruption will kill Nigeria.”

“APC leaders must move now to help their President to succeed. This is not the time for blame games, this is not the time to point accusing fingers, this is not the time to look the other way. This is the time for collective responsibility and concrete action.”

“Let us fire on all cylinders now that we have a budget. Let Nigeria become a huge construction site. Let the power sector work. Let petrol flow endlessly for now. Let us secure Nigeria. I know that the change but let it start now to manifest. No further, no excuses again, no blame game. Let the change begin with us now.”

Sirme411:
Kip Wailing

Meaning?.... You don't give a damn....! Oh God, what a country!!!!

Sirme411:
I av nt even trekked frm Felele to iwo Road to look for fuel.... Xo m nt bothered

Oh! Dear, you are that rich.... what about the rest of us?

LFJ:
What is this one saying? Election is a game, you win or you lose.

Yes my dear, it is clear now how some elections are lost to the wrong side. Anyway, let's build the Nigeria of our dreams, APC's leadership apart!

Sirme411:
Wailers everywere

Please don't wail, it is not compulsory, until you treck from Lagos to Abeokuta in search of fuel!

Nigerians will not fail to amaze me. And when something goes awry, we always try not to get identified with it. Let us say that "down fall of a man is not the end of his life".

So many people are laughing at the APC led government of Buhari and so many more are out there praying for its failure.
Well, APC deserves what it is getting.

Too much "I can do better" filled its campaign during the last general election. They thought being in Aso Rock is all about eating bread and butter. Leadership is not a name it and claim it thing - it's never a rocket science!

The youths of Nigeria are numerous. The last administration battled to make a quick fix of youth employment, but the number was just too much. Imagine raising the bar of youth bracket to 50 years!

Jonathan brought in all manner of youth empowerment schemes: SURE-P, YouWiN, name them..., yet a great number was left behind. The youths needed a change fast to get the whole number accommodated despite Jonathan's promises of better days ahead. They were just tired of waiting. APC harped on that and garnered a larged chunk of the aggrieved youth. They never wanted to hear any other thing but change. Even when Baba Buhari's certificate was in question, they told him to present NEPA bill.

Jonathan surrendered, but not without a word for the youth. He said that the Nigerian youth will appreciate him when he is out of Aso Rock Villa.

When the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP lost the presidential election almost one year ago, even the most optimistic observer of the political climate did not give it any chance that it would survive in one piece to pose a serious threat to the All Progressive Congress, APC, which, against all odds swept the polls to set a record as the first opposition party to defeat an incumbent government in Nigeria.

But one year after, there appears to be a resurgence of the PDP in a manner that only reinforces the saying that the only permanent feature in politics is change.

But while the PDP was still contemplating how it would rise from the ashes of defeat that it had been consigned to any level of relevance, the APC under President Muhammadu Buhari provided all the lethal weapons that would avail the PDP an opportunity to nail the party and government in the court of public opinion.

First, after several months of delay in constituting government, when it eventually did, many Nigerians believed that the long delay was not worth the wait because, rightly or wrongly, the names that eventually emerged were mostly recycled politicians some of whom had served in PDP government at one time or the other.

Nigerians again faced with so much trauma as a result of staggering economic policies, fuel scarcity, arrest and detention of political opponents in the name of fighting corruption, non concentration of the president in handling national issues, defection and celebration of politicians to APC, not giving attention to complaints of other Nigerians that are not APC members, as well as absolving every APC member of guilt despite series of allegations against them.

APC wanted a-one party system of government for it to thrive, but someone needs to call them to order when they go wrong. That is what opposition means!

I support constructive criticism, but am not part of those that pray for APC government's failure. No, what is the gain? It is only a mad person that uses his hand to destroy what he builds.

Truth be told, APC has failed Nigerians, whether or not they admit this. Let us as Nigerians, in whatever capacity you are qualified, lend a hand to build this great nation called Nigeria. At the end, the credit goes to all of us, not APC!

Nigeria shall be great again!!!!!

olafum1:

Never mind, it's well!

olorunda68:
Good news to borrowers and all Nigerians

Let's see how it goes.

Freeze001, YouthAdvocate, and Olafum1, it looks like something went wrong in the first post. Sorry about that. I appreciate your comments.
Mods, please help us here. Thanks.

freeze001:
Op! Please proper grammar.... How much 'does', not 'do'.

Oh! Thanks. It's noted.

Fellow Nairalanders, I need your help. How do you remove a write-up that appears twice due to network problem? Please help.

In a recent online publication on how much a Nigerian soldier earns and how much an officer in the Nigerian Police force earns, nost people were alarmed at the huge difference.

The question that arose bothered on why Nigerians condemn the police for some of the things they do. Today, we shall shift our focus to see how much a Nigerian senator earns.

True, there have been much debate over the monthly salary of a Nigeria senator but with our recent findings, we have put that out below for you all to be the judge on what a Nigerian senator salary looks like.
Note that the figure listed here is the true report from the National Institute of Legislative Studies released for public consumption and shows how much a Nigerian law maker earns (the 109 Senators and 360 members of the Nigerian House of Representatives).

A Breakdown of Nigerian Senator Salary Structure:

1. Basic Salary

Nigerian Senator annual basic salary – N2,026,400,00

Nigerian House of Representatives annual basic salary – N1,985,212, 50

2. Allowances
Nigerian Senator – N12, 902, 360.00annually

House of Representatives member – N9,525,985.50 annually.

The allowances are on: Vehicle fueling/maintenance, Constituency, Domestic Staff, Personal Assistant, Entertainment, Recess, Utilities, Newspaper/Periodicals, Houses Maintenance, Wardrobe, Estacode, and Duty Tour with another special amount in every four-year period on Accommodation, vehicle loan, furniture, and severance allowance, which make every Senator to pocket N24,090,000.00 and a House of Representatives member with N23,822,00.00 within the same period.

When you compare this with how much other country’s law makers, you will see the difference.

Philippines annual basic salary – $4, 497,957

United States of America senate – $3,409,422

US House of Representatives – $1,429,909 annually

Kenya – $968,013 annually

Australia – $646,230

United Kingdom – £494,285.43

India – $474,484

Singapore – $253,469,

Tanzania – $230,961.

The Nigerian government has been spending a total of N150 billion per year on the NASS but was forced to reduce it to N120 billion this year following cries that the lawmakers are milking the Federation Account aggressively.

Just wondering why a Nigerian Senator Salary and a Rep’s salary will be more than those of the Military and the police. What a country!

Flexherbal:
After taking that long to appoint this ministers, they can't even serve us well.

Only God will save all His children in Nigeria!

Rising from the bankers committee meeting, the commercial banks have called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hasten the release of the five per cent Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) which it promised would be plagued back to the banks for increased lending to the real sector

The CBN after its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in November 2015 slashed the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) otherwise known as lending rate to 11 per cent from 13 per cent and reduced its CRR from 25 per cent to 20 per cent to increase liquidity in the system.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the 247th meeting of the MPC said the liquidity arising from the reduction of the CRR will only be released to the banks that are willing to channel it to employment generating activities in the economy such as agriculture, infrastructure and solid minerals.

Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity while addressing the reporters after the meeting said: “When the CRR was reduced by 5 per cent, the intention was to release the amount to the banks to enable them avail the real sector borrowers at a single digit.

“We discussed around that and agreed that the Central bank will need to work out modality and hasten action towards releasing this 5 per cent drop in CRR to the bank to lend to the reel sector and we we are looking forward to making that real.”

CRR is a specified minimum fraction of the total deposits of customers, which commercial banks have to hold as reserves either in cash or as deposits with the central bank. CRR is set according to the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This demand is coming on the heels of reduced lending to the reel sector on account of increasing Non Performing Loan (NPL) portfolio of commercial banks which has seen around N500 billion provision on the balance sheet of commercial banks for the year ended 2015

The amount of bad loans in the banking industry rose sharply by 78.8 per cent to N649.63 billion in 2015, indicating severe deterioration in the quality of the loan portfolio of the 22 banks. This was contained in a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Staff report presented to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Staff report presented to the Monetary Policy Committee

there was a general increase in bad loans (non performing loans) among the 22 Deposit Money Banks in the country. This was despite 30 per cent decline in new loans granted by banks in 2015 to N5.78 trillion.

Also speaking at the briefing, CBN Director Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins disclosed the approval of two new super agents that are supposed to distribute banking products at cheaper prices which will hopefully carry banking services to the nook and cranny of this country

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/we-need-more-cash-banks-tell-cbn/141507.html

At last after a very long wait the names of the key figures in Baba Buhari's cabinet was released. Before now, Nigerians were practically begging the present administration to appoint principal officers but the president was calm. APC supporters took to their pens and told Nigerians that the man is being careful to choose the best and incorruptible from the lot.
Nigerians were alarmed when the likes of Adamu Adamu, Amaechi, Buhari, Ngige, Audu Ogbe, Adeosun, etc made the list. People were like, "Where are the saints"?
Time went on for Nigerias to enjoy the new cabinet, but every one of them started to give excuses. The firs we suffered was TSA, followed by long queues in the banks for BVN. The next was SIM card registration and now we have fuel disaster.

In my thinking, I expected the saints that were christened "Square pegs in square holes" to at least restore the confidence the general publics reposed on them to at least do something to deliver their respective ministries.

EFCC, DSS, the Army, Civil Defence, the Judiciary, Custom, the Police, et al, went beserk to make Baba Buhari see them as his partners in progress while trying to destroy his government gradually. They arrested and interrogated so many people, many of them political oponents of this administration. Nigerians cried!

The case against EFCC and their past leader Lamurde is not being mentioned again. Amaechi is now a saint. Ngige usurped the governor's seat in Anambra State but is walking shoulder high today as if nothing happened. Fashola got so many Nigerians blinking their eyes intermitently as if to say, "What a shame!" The minister of petroleum does not know what is happening in the oil industry, only the junior Kachikwu is being touted to explain why.

On that fateful Wednesday when the names of would-be ministers were announced, Nigerians jubilated. But up till now, APC government is still blaming past administration for the same reason Nigerians voted them to power. Are you sure these people know the road at all?

Baba Buhari have virtually toured all the coubtries of the world and yet no solution in sight. All the promises these people are giving him have not been translated to reality and Baba is still travelling. Will America, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, China, Equitorial Guinea, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, UAE, etc govern Nigeria for us? How many of these countries did we vote for as president if not Buhari? Yet the technically selected ministers are there watching like zombie while things spoil.

I remember that the military always go with a blueprint of activities before they plot coup. On ascension of office, you see them dish out a plan of action, name administrators/governors, portfolios for their point men/women. But Baba Buhari as a military man did not learn that from training. And a politician, after campaining to win election, has no blueprint. He named his ministers five to six months after he was sworn in as president. He succeeded in marshalling out a plattoon of rag-tag ministerial army who cannot deliver.

Let's take a look at Baba Buhari's principal ministers:

– Kemi Adeosun (finance) – The 48-year-old was born and raised in London, where she studied economics and public financial management, going on to become a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was a trained accountant, who she was until recently finance commissioner in the southwest Nigerian state of Ogun, where she was to have turned around public finances.

Before that she was managing director at Nigerian investment bank Chapel Hill Denham, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Error: She lacks the high profile of her predecessor, former World Bank executive Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Baba Buhari hired her because she was said to be a reformist and high on integrity.

– Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu (petroleum resources) – Kachikwu, 58, was appointed in August as the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and immediately tasked with overhauling the firm.

The lawyer and former ExxonMobil executive was seen as a shoe-in for the junior oil minister’s post after Buhari announced he would take personal charge of the oil portfolio. He has already ordered a forensic audit of the NNPC accounts and the publication of oil receipts. He has pledged to bring transparency and accountability to the organization.

Error: Kachikwu should have resigned his post as the Group Managing Director of NNPC and be made the substantive Minister of Petroleum. We voted Baba Buhari as the President not as a Minister! Can you see why fuel scarcity will continue wuthout remedy? A novice is at the helm!!!!


– Muhammad Mansur Dan-Ali (defence) –
Retired Brigadier-General Muhammad Mansur Dan-Ali, from Zamfara state in northwest Nigeria, is a career soldier who rose through the ranks to hold several posts, including artillery commander.

The 56-year-old also commanded a Nigerian battalion as part of a UN mission in Sudan as well as being an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Abuja.

Dan-Ali, who retired from military service in 2013, takes over the defence portfolio as troops seek to rout Boko Haram by year end.

Six years of Islamist violence has left at least 17,000 dead in Nigeria’s northeast and made more than 2.5 million people homeless, while under the previous administration military morale was dented.

Error: This man bowed out of service and should be allowed to rest. This is one of the errors of past administrations that left Nigeria where she is today. Let someone in active service take his position!


– Abdulrahman Dambazau (interior) - Retired Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, 61, was chief of army staff under former president Umaru Yar’Adua from 2008 to 2010 and had been tipped for the defence portfolio.

But the US-trained former soldier, who holds degrees in criminal justice, international relations and criminology can bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the role.

He was a part-time criminology lecturer at the law faculty of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna, and has authored several books both on the military and criminal law.

Dambazau was on active service when Buhari was military ruler in the 1980s and headed the security committee of the now-defunct Congress for Progressive Change when Buhari was its presidential candidate in 2011.

He was also head of intelligence and security for the All Progressives Congress (APC), which now governs Nigeria at federal level.

Error: Another retired general whose appointment is for political settlement. Though he was a fine soldier during his time but highly partisan. He cannot deliver any good thing to Nigerians. Let a serving general take the post.


– Geoffrey Onyeama (foreign affairs) –
The 59-year-old graduated in political science from Columbia University in New York in 1977, and also has degrees in law from the London School of Economics and from Cambridge.

Between 1986 and 1996, Onyeama, a qualified barrister in Britain and Nigeria, was an intellectual property specialist who has worked extensively with the United Nations on development in Africa.

Error: This man wasted all his years overseas and does not have knowledge of Nigerian pilitical climate. He cannot deliver. He will rather sell Nigerians abroad very cheap. He is the brain behind Baba Buhari's constant trips abroad. He qualified only in making Buhari a runnaway president of Nigeria.

This is truly my concern for Nigeria at the moment. Add yours...

bloodyBLOGGER:
One of the major problems wrong with Nigerians is that we forget easily. This is the reason why hardened criminals and looters in the past can easily come back and contest for public office to the extent of winning. It is so sad that some people, mostly youths who are the leaders of tomorrow are going about with the slogan "#BringBackOurCorruption". They say they want the last administration presided by Good luck Ebele Jonathan back in power cos they can't stand the current fuel scarcity amidst other challenges that I believe the Nation will breeze through in due time.

This brainwashed blind bats who love to view things ethnically are quick to forget that the fuel scarcity experienced towards the end of the last administration's tenure was really unbearable compared to what we are currently facing now. Then, major sectors were shutting down, from telecommunications to the media, from aviation to banking. Nigerians were literally cut off from the rest of the world during that period. A period in which getting a bus to the bank to withdraw money was difficult cos buses had no fuel. When you manage to get to the bank, you are told you arrived late cos they close early due to shortage of diesel. Was the power sector any different?

Take a look at the pictures of fuel scarcity events that took place in the last administration below and tell me that Nigerians didn't make a good choice in voting them out.

How many days did that last? And mibd you, it was towards the end of the last administration when the principal officers have lost election. Jonathan lamented openly then that all his friends have deserted him, so who is left there to give you that service when all the political jobbers in civil service as as well as opinion leaders were busy dancing to make face for Buhari?
Let Buhari surrender today, and see what will become of him and his supporters. Friend, this is the early part of this administration and whatever step they put up now is what people will use to judge them.

A pastor with the WCCRM, Ugochukwu Ejinkonye, has described the Petroleum Minister (State), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as "A Reluctant Magician!"

He announced to his fans that "Today is Dr. Ibe Kachikwu's miracle day". The Minister promised Nigerians that fuel queues will disappear in Lagos and Abuja today.

The pastor reminded Nigerians that in a short while now, he will leave the office to witness the miracle (or magic) as it evolves...

He said: "As I drove to work this morning, I met only very few cars on the road. I got to the office so quickly, it was difficult to believe. Does the scarcity have its good side too? That is, if you, like me, was "lucky" enough to stumble on a filling station selling fuel at the "normal" price the other day and filled your thank within 45 minutes - before the sellers changed their minds..."

Unlike the pastor, a Nairalander was having a field day using his solar panel to make some cash. One man's meat, is truly another man' s poison.

This Nairalander is praying seriously that Kachikwu's magic does not work. What is your take on this? See picture...

Enjoy this:

salam1:
no need to bribe u people he knows wat vote he will get from u people

Haba Salam! Now you are truly telling the South Easterners that Buhari is not serious with all these noise he makes about building a united Nigeria.
Those contracts in "enemy camps" are only noise making. Thanks for this clarifications! Enjoy the CHANGE...

They want to make everybody look like their parents, while they enjoy in Aso Rock!

The Defence authorities have said that not less than 800 members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect had surrendered to the military in the last three weeks.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed to our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday that 800 of the insurgents surrendered to the troops of the Nigerian Army in the last three weeks.

He said, “I can confirm that about 800 of the Boko Haram members have surrendered to the military.”

Abubakar spoke barely 24 hours after the Defence Headquarters announced the establishment of a rehabilitation camp for repentant Boko Haram members.

Abubakar had said in a statement on Tuesday that the rehabilitation camp was being established under Operation Safe Corridor which was created as a platform to rehabilitate and integrate repentant members of the sect to the society.

He had said that the insurgents would be made to go through vocational training under the programme and empowered for reintegration into the society.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army said on Wednesday that it had rescued 11,595 captives of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East in the last one month.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Wednesday that some of the hostages were rescued from the communities erstwhile under Boko Haram control in the North-East while others were received from Cameroon.

He stated that out of the figure, the troops of the 155 Task Force Battalion received 10,000 refugees from the Cameroonian authorities at Banki and the Bama area on March 1, 2016.

Usman said that the Army Headquarters Special Forces Battalion rescued 779 captives at Fotokol general area between Nigeria and Cameroon in addition to 63 others freed from Boko Haram at Maleri, Borno State.

He added that the troops of the 254 Task Force Battalion also rescued 45 persons at Kuaguru, while 143 Battalion similarly rescued 27 persons at Gadayamo,15 at Galadadani Dam in Madagali and 10 persons from Disa village in the first week March, 2016.

The Acting Army spokesman added that troops of the 22 Brigade and their counterparts from the Army Headquarters Strike Group freed 309 hostages from the Boko Haram at the Kala Balge general area on March 23, 2016.

According to him, similar efforts yielded results with the rescue of 48 men, 85 women, 137 children at Zahdra and Weige villages by troops of the 25 Task Force Brigade on March 30, 2016.

Copyright PUNCH.

Since a new version of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, that removes the strategic Host Community Development Fund as proposed in the botched PIB is set to commence legislative deliberations in the next few days, expectations are that the oil communities who took their time to vote APC into power, should have asked some simple questions. But these guys are mute and are watching where the next wind of CHANGE will take them. This is serious...!!!! The electrorates have no power of say in the government they laboured to install. Enjoy the change:

The proposed industry wide regulatory framework titled Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB was prepared by the two chambers of the National Assembly. The removal of the Host Community Development Fund as envisaged in the original PIB is, however, set to reawaken ethnic and geopolitical fractures in the country given the immense support for the proposal in the country’s oil producing regions in the Niger Delta. The Senate and the House of Representatives also, in their proposals in the new PIB, scrapped the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation,NNPC, and replaced it with a body to be known as the National Petroleum Company, NPC.
The two chambers may have also bowed to pressure from the International Oil Companies, IOCs, by scrapping the aspect of the bill that emphasises local content, as the new bill is silent on the issue. This is unlike the previous PIB in the 7th Assembly which placed so much emphasis on local content. Under the new bill, the National Petroleum Company is exempted from certain laws of the country, including exemption from provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act 2007. In the new bill, re-christened “Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB”, due for laying in both chambers of the National Assembly, upon resumption of lawmakers from the Easter break, the legislature equally proposed the scrapping of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its subsequent replacement with the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated, MOPI. The new bill is an Act to provide governance and institutional framework for the petroleum industry and other related matters. The 53-page bill, exclusively obtained by Vanguard, also seeks the scrapping of the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA and the Petroleum Inspectorate. The three agencies, according to the new bill, are to be replaced with Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NPRC. A governing board is expected to be responsible for the policy and general administration of the commission, which shall consist of a non-executive chairman, one non-Executive Commissioner, three other executive commissioners and representatives of Ministries of Finance and Environment who shall not be below the rank of a director.
The New PIGB The Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, as it would be known, also seeks the creation of National Petroleum Company and the Nigeria Petroleum Assets Management Company not only to manage commercial operations of the petroleum industry but also the assets and liabilities of the nation’s oil and gas sector of the economy.
The document also indicated that while the Nigeria Petroleum Assets Management Company “shall be responsible for the management of the assets detailed in the Fourth Schedule to this Act”, “the National Petroleum Company shall operate the assets transferred to it as fully commercial entity.” Interestingly, the bill said at the time of incorporation of the National Petroleum Company, its initial shares shall be held in the ratio of 51% by the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated and 41% by the Bureau for Public Enterprises on behalf of the government. “The National Petroleum Company shall not be subject to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act, 2007.” But the bill empowers the Minister of Petroleum Incorporated to, in addition to the incorporated entities, incorporate other entities, as may be necessary to assume and manage some of the liabilities of the NNPC. The objectives of the bill being enacted by the National Assembly, according to the document, are to create efficient and effective governing institutions with clear and separate roles for the petroleum industry, establish a framework for the creation of commercially oriented and profit- driven petroleum entities that ensure value addition and internationalization of the petroleum industry. Others are to promote transparency and accountability in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria and foster a conducive business environment for petroleum industry operations.
One of the highlights of the revised bill, which ex-President Goodluck Jonathan re-submitted on July 17, 2012, to the National Assembly was the inclusion of the establishment of a Petroleum Host Community Fund, PHCF. According to section 116 of the revised PIB of former President Jonathan,”there is established a fund to be known as the Petroleum Host Communities Fund”. Section 117 states that the “fund shall be utilized for the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the communities within the petroleum producing area”. The Petroleum Host Communities Fund, PHCF, contained in the botched bill, prescribed 10 per cent of the net profit of upstream oil companies to be paid into the fund, a development that had drawn the ire of the North, which had noted that the way the PIB was structured won’t benefit them. The Petroleum Host Communities Fund was contained in section 116 of the old PIB. The bill, in its section 117 states that the fund shall be utilised for the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the communities within the petroleum producing communities. In section 118(1), it further states that “each upstream petroleum company shall remit, on a monthly basis, 10 per cent of the net profit as follows (a) for profit derived from petroleum operations in onshore areas and in the offshore shallow water areas, all of such remittance directly into the PHC Fund; (b) for profit derived from upstream petroleum operations in deepwater areas, all of the remittance directly into the Fund for the benefit of the petroleum producing littoral states. Sub-section (2) states that ‘net profit’ means the adjusted profit less royalty, allowable deductions and allowances, less Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax less Companies Income Tax. Subsection (5) states “where an act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest occurs that causes damage to any petroleum facility within a host community, the cost of the repair of such facility shall be paid from the PHC fund entitlement, unless it is established that no member of the community is responsible.’’
The IOCs were against the old bill because it emphasized local content, contrary to their preference to export gas, and reluctance to produce it for the Nigerian market. The old PIB gave the companies great reasons to produce gas for Nigerian consumers, including tax breaks, but the IOCs in protest, made it clear that they still favoured export to America and Europe. The draft PIB 2012 contained two new taxes at fixed rates – the Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax and the Companies Income Tax. But though these tax rates are fixed in the PIB, royalty rates – the amount of profit that the IOCs get – were going to be set at a later time, in more detailed regulations. Contrast this with the 1993 deep water regulations, in which oil companies gained an 80 per cent share of profits, and it’s clearer why the IOCs are dissatisfied with the new PIB model. For the IOCs, this new deal enforces a standard of fairness that defends the Nigerian taxpayer and the underdeveloped communities of the Delta, asking a little more from the IOCs’ generous profit margins.
Recall that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had two weeks ago, while declaring open the 8th National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable, hinted that the PIB would soon be re-presented in the National Assembly for consideration. He added that the Senate and House of Representatives had resolved to do a joint work on the Bill. The development is coming after many years of non-passage of the bill by both chambers of the National Assembly. Saraki said: “The National Assembly, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives, is working very closely together. “As part of this commitment, we would all see next week when we lay down the Petroleum Industry Bill; you will see that the bill we are going to lay in each House is the same. “We are going to lay the same version in the Senate and the House of Representatives because that is going to be the first time we are open to our words.”

I was like stopping some people from commenting on the 419 story that made healine before, but after I checked again, I heard this news and say, Aah! The Igbos are truly a great nation!

The story goes:

New York Valedictorian is Celebrating Her Acceptance to All 8 Ivy League Schools

Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, a high-school student from Long Island, N.Y., has a big decision to make soon. The Elmont High School valedictorian was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools!

Schools in the Ivy League are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.

She also gained admission to Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Augusta is the daughter of Nigerian immigrants and said her parents instilled in her the value of education.

“Though I was born here in America, I visited Nigeria many times,” she said. “And I’ve seen that my cousins don’t have the same opportunities that I have. So definitely, whatever I do, I want to make sure that it has an impact on Nigeria.”

She also says her own tenacity and persistence helped shape her into becoming a great student. But as with a lot of students, she did face hardships with some classes.

“I’ve struggled with numerous classes in the past,” Augusta said. “But I guess what allowed me to be successful, ultimately, in those classes, at the end, is my persistence and my tenacity.”

Augusta hasn't decided on which college to attend, but with a GPA of 101.6, and a recent invitation to the White House Science Fair, there's no doubt that she'll continue her academic excellence.

Read more at: wric.com

ChetaNwaeze:
TY Danjuma is a Junkun, Buhari is a Fulani. What made Buhari to go after Sambo Dasuki, a fellow Fulani who is also a sokoto Prince, should make you know that Buhari fears no friend nor foe.
Mallam no dey support corruption . Na we Igbos still get that ''leave am na our son'' mentality

If at all you are Igbo as you claim...

ChetaNwaeze:
TY Danjuma is a Junkun, Buhari is a Fulani. What made Buhari to go after Sambo Dasuki, a fellow Fulani who is also a sokoto Prince, should make you know that Buhari fears no friend nor foe.
Mallam no dey support corruption . Na we Igbos still get that ''leave am na our son'' mentality

If at all you are Igbo aa you claim...