Fuel scarcity looms as fuel depots shut down.

 by Ifeanyi Onuba.

Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The Jetties and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners Association has said it will from Wednesday (today) shut down its depots across the federation to press home its demand for payment of fuel subsidy.

The Executive Secretary of the association, Mr. Enoch Kanawa, made this known in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.

JEPTFON owns 60 per cent of depots in the country, while the remaining 40 per cent belongs to major marketers.

Kanawa said contrary to claims by the FG that marketers were being paid, none of them had received payments for fuel importation.

He said operators in the industry were currently being owed over N200bn by the government for fuel imported.

This, he said, had led to a halt in their business operations since the banks had refused to lend them money to import fuel.

He said, “We are closing down our operation because it is not practicable to continue in business, since the operating environment is hostile and we believe that we need to be in business.

“Government can still go ahead with its investigation of indicted oil marketers but payment should continue so that we can continue to import products.

“We have collected money from the banks and interest rates are running and all these things are financial burden on us and we are also owing banks.

“So at the moment, the banks are not ready to give us more money to import, and as a matter of fact, many of us have run out of products and within the period, we have been forced to pay salaries and some of us are owing salaries.

“At the moment, we are contemplating retrenching some of our workers when we close down our jetties.

“Government is owing over N200bn to our members generally in the industry for this year alone. We don’t know who they say they are paying. Maybe they are paying those briefcase people because we are not aware of any of our members that have been paid. So we have no option than to close down operation tomorrow.”

Efforts to get the Minister of Finance’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, to react to JEPTON’s claim that none of its members had received subsidy claim, did not succeed.

He did not pick calls to his mobile phone neither did he respond to a text message sent to him as at press time.

But the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had in a statement on Friday said N42.66bn had so far been paid to marketers between April and July.

She had said, “We would also like to stress that marketers with legitimate and unencumbered claims have been paid and will continue to be paid as these details show.”

Jonathan Blames Mass Media For His Government’s Poor Performance, Says It Is Unreliable And Politicized

Posted: August 23, 2012 - 02:29

President of NUJ, Pres. Goodluck Jonathan and Nigeria journalists during the last NUJ delegates conference

President Goodluck Jonathan today announced a new rebranding scheme for officials of his government, blaming the mass media for its poor image.
Mr. Jonathan was speaking at the Presidential Villa where he unveiled a new performance assessment scheme for his ministers, a mechanism which, he said, will help highlight government’s targets and achievements in all sectors of governance.
He blamed the necessity for the new performance evaluation mechanism on the mass media, which he said no longer reflects the voice of the ordinary man.
“Before, the media used to be the voice of the ordinary people,” he said in his speech.  “But now, the media is the voice of those who own the media houses and those who owned the media houses have private jets and those who own private jets are not ordinary people.”
The remarks came at a time that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who leads the opposition Action Congress (ACN), and who owns newspapers of his own, was describing the government Jonathan leads as a massive bureaucracy suffering from “elephantiasis.”
Mr. Tinubu was in Washington DC, and speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the subject, “Current Developments in Nigeria; The View of the Opposition.”
The former Lagos State governor has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the Jonathan administration.  Mr. Tinubu is also known to be working with other opposition parties towards unseating the PDP federal administration in 2015.
He told his American audience that the federal government is too powerful, and that this has led to deeper corruption as well as other problems.
Said Mr. Tinubu, “We are at our worst poverty level, education is degenerating, industries are moving out of Nigeria, we have zero capital development project, the only thing the government is doing is borrowing, and we have Boko Haram.”
He spoke about the need to decentralize political power as a panacea for these problems, pointing out how Mr. Jonathan has authority over the federal legislature, a pattern that he said has been the case since the PDP assumed control in 1999.
Mr. Tinubu cited some examples to illustrate how the federal government ignores other political voices in the country, stressing that Mr. Jonathan ignores such suggestions because he is a beneficiary of the system.
“You can’t fight corruption because the government itself is corrupt,” he said.  “Majority of the perpetrators made financial contributions to ensure the president wins the election, so he cannot prosecute them.”
He said that as a result of the record of the PDP, Nigerians have lost faith in government, stressing,
“Enough of PDP in our lives, they have been tagged as Poverty Development Party.”
On the current insecurity in the country, he said that as leader of the opposition, the ACN has made proposals to the federal government, including subsiding farming, especially in the North, so that Boko Haram will no longer be able to recruit the unemployed and beggars.
 “If they have jobs, they won’t be going about killing people, and it will improve their nutrition value,” he said of the militants.  “Concerning Jos, all the federal government needs to do is create another local government for the people.
Mr. Jonathan’s blame of the media returns attention to the subject of his performance in office, as he has so far failed to honour any of his electoral promises, including fighting corruption and providing jobs.  Only last month, he refused to declare his assets publicly, which gave an additional black eye to his government.
“So the same man who says he does not give a damn about declaring his assets wants to blame the media for not polishing the awful image of his government?” a media analyst asked today.  “And now he wants a “performance evaluation” designed and implemented by his government that will make the government an achiever?  Why does he not begin by giving a damn?”

Rohypnol: The drug they gave her.

By Babatunde Ayankunle.

Rohypnol

Rohypnol is the brand name for flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine drug in the same family of medications of Vallium and Xanax. However, unlike these other drugs, Rohypnol has never been approved for any medical use in the United States. It is illegal to manufacture, distribute or possess it in the US.
Rohypnol is a potent sedative. The physical effects of the drug may be noticeable within twenty to thirty minutes after ingestion. The effects may last for many hours.
If taken, Rohypnol may cause drowsiness, confusion, impaired motor skills, dizziness, disorientation, disinhibition, impaired judgment, and reduced levels of consciousness. You may look and act like someone who is drunk. Your speech may be slurred, and you may have difficulty standing or walking. Or, you may be rendered completely unconscious.
It is very dangerous to mix Rohypnol with alcohol or other drugs. The combination can produce extremely low blood pressure, respiratory depression, difficulty in breathing, coma, or even death.
One of the most disturbing effects of Rohypnol is that it can cause complete or partial “anterograde” amnesia (absence of memory for the events that occur after it is ingested). This means that you may not be able to remember what was done to you while you were under the influence of the drug, which may have been for a significant period of time. This “amnestic” effect is especially likely when Rohypnol is ingested with alcohol.

Murder Suspects Gave Gruesome Account Of How They Raped, Tortured, and Killed Cynthia Udoka.

Late Cynthia Udoka thought she was coming to Lagos to meet genuine friends who are interested in doing business with her after meeting them on Facebook, not knowing she was embarking on a journey of no return (alive).
Friends and relatives of the deceased post graduate student of Nassarawa State University raised alarm when she could not be reached not knowing she had been murdered by cruel animals in human skin who disguised as business partners and lured her to Lagos only to rape, torture and kill her in the process.

Giving account of their wicked act, one of the suspects said they invited her to Lagos to buy goods at cheap prices after meeting her on Facebook.
Read the full excerpts of the story below…

“Two murder suspects who were paraded today by the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, Echezona Nwabufor, 33, and Ezekiel Nnechuwu Olisa Eloka, 23, have narrated how they drugged the daughter of a retired General, Miss Cynthia Akuzogwu Udoka, 25, and strangled her in order to steal her money.
One of the suspects, Eloka, said they killed Cynthia because they thought she had a lot of money in her possession. But after the dastardly act, they did not find a reasonable amount of money on her.
According to the suspects, “we met her on the facebook on our Blackberry. We invited her to come to Lagos to buy goods at cheap prices.
“When she got to Lagos, we took her to a hotel in Festac. We thought she had a lot of money, but she said she didn’t have any money. We gave her Reflon tablet in her Ribena drink. After this, we slept with her for 12 hours in that hotel. We discovered that the tablet did not work quickly on her.
“We then attacked her, tied her up and used cellotape to cover her mouth. After that, we beat her to tell us where she kept the money.
“When we didn’t get any money from her, we tied her mouth and strangled her and then we abandoned her in the hotel and fled.”
The suspects and the General’s daughter became friends on Facebook and were exchanging messages and phone calls.
She told them she was coming to Lagos. They met her at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja from where they ushered her into a hotel in Festac town, Lagos.
Briefing journalists on how policemen were able to arrest the suspects, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Abubakar Manko, said detectives made use of the close circuit television, CCTV, at the hotel where the crime was committed to identify them.
The Area Commander, Area ‘E’ Police Command, ACP Okoro added that the suspects who are undergraduates of Nigerian universities were nabbed through the call logs of the telephone conversations they had with the late Cynthia who was a post graduate student of Nasarawa State University.
When the suspected killers strangled Cynthia, they deposited her corpse at the mortuary of Isolo General Hospital in Lagos.
ACP Okoro stated that many ATM cards, about 23 SIM cards, different identity cards were recovered from the suspects.
Police sources said the two suspects will soon be arraigned in court to answer a charge of murder.”

         mercyjohnson.com

NUPENG anti-Nigerians, says Okonjo-Iweala.

By Emma Ujah & Victor Ahiuma-Young
ABUJA—The Federal Government, yesterday, lambasted the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, describing the union as anti-Nigerians over its insistence to embark on nationwide strike from Friday unless oil marketers are paid their subsidy claims.
The union said that only the payment of subsidy claims to verified oil marketers by the Federal Government would avert the planned nationwide strike from Friday as leaders of the union meet with Government today to find solution to the lingering dispute.

Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Meanwhile, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said the report from government on the implementation of the communiqué at last week meeting would also determine the next line of action in its face-off  with government over the deployment of armed soldiers to Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and pending labour issues ahead of planned privatization of PHCN.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke with Vanguard in Abuja, yesterday, said that NUPENG was collaborating with the wrong people, referring to the fuel subsidy cabal that has been milking Nigerians of billions of Naira in the past years.
According to her, “NUPENG is anti-Nigerians. NUPENG is siding with the wrong people. There is no reason for NUPENG to hold Nigerians to ransom on behalf of people who have been taking public money for fuel they did not supply.”
The minister who has been meeting several stakeholders in the oil industry said that NUPENG was working for the interests of corrupt people.
She said that if NUPENG was interested in the welfare of Nigerians and the nation’s economy, it would join forces with government in stopping the impunity that has been associated with subsidy corruption which has even attracted public outcry.
She explained that a lot of progress has been made from the discussions between the federal government team and the oil marketers who have agreed to work with the government towards an efficient and transparent fuel distribution system, adding that the current administration will always insist on transparency in the interest of Nigerians. She, therefore, urged the public to stand with the government on this matter.
The Group Managing Director, GMD, of the NNPC, Engr. Andrew Yakubu who also spoke with Vanguard confirmed that the corporation’s branch of NUPENG did not join the strike that crippled fuel distribution in Abuja in the last five days. He said that the claim that the union was striking on behalf of NNPC was not true.
We held no meeting with Finance Minister — NUPENG
Speaking with Vanguard on today’s meeting, Acting General Secretary of NUPENG, Comrade Isaac Aberare, dismissed any meeting with Finance Minister as reported in the media, saying “we read it in the newspapers today (yesterday). There was no meeting and no contact with the Finance Minister. We only received an invitation from the Minister of Labour for us to attend a crucial meeting tomorrow (today) by 11 am.”
On the union’s expectation from the meeting, NUPENG’s General Secretary, said “we expect government to plead that we suspend the planned strike and that everything will be done to pay the marketers. But if that is all they will tell us without evidence of payment, our Monday ultimatum subsists because the jobs of our members  in Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Jetties and Petroleum Tank Farms Owners of Nigeria, JEPTFON, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN , are at risk. In fact, they have not been paid for the past five months. They have suffered a lot. What I am saying is that if the government fails to provide convincing evidence of payment, I am afraid, we will commence full blown nationwide strike after Thursday.”
Acting General Secretary of NLC, Comrade Chris Uyot, on his part said: “We will attend the meeting with the Minister of Labour. We expect government to present a report of the last meeting which recalled the demands of NLC that the Minister promised to take to the appropriate authorities for action. Some of the demands are the withdrawal of soldiers from PHCN installations. It is the report that will determine the next line of action.”
It would be recalled that NLC had threatened a nationwide solidarity strike of workers of PHCN to force government to address the workers’ concerns and had already set up strike committees across the country.
NUPENG had on Monday in Lagos issued a Thursday deadline to the Federal Government to pay oil marketers their verified subsidy claim or members would begin a nationwide strike by Friday.
At briefing in Lagos, President of NUPENG, Comrade Igwe Achese, demanded the resignation of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, accusing her of not only undermining the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, but also paying subsidy claims to “portfolio importers” because of their closeness to corridors of power.
Oil marketers are claiming N200 billion unpaid subsidy claims. Vanguard gathered from MOMAN that only one of its members has been paid while five were yet to be paid.
It was gathered that no members of JEPTFON, IPMAN and DAPPMA, had been paid. Achese dismissed allegation that the union was being used by marketers, saying not even the government could use it, but was fighting for the interest of members who had not been paid for the past five months because of the unpaid subsidy claims.
The NUPENG President equally accused the Minister of selective payment of subsidy claims and asked the government to distinguish between real importers who had invested massively in the industry and ‘portfolio importers’.
Achese called on government to publish names of marketers that had been paid and those not paid as well as explain reasons for their non-payment.
He said the union restricted industrial unrest to Abuja, the Federal Capital, because of the Ramadan and the Sallah celebration, warning that should government fail to pay the marketers between now and Thursday (tomorrow), the union would declare a full blown nationwide strike by Friday.
He recalled that the union’s last strike over the same matter was suspended based on a memorandum of understanding, MOU, signed with all the stakeholders and the Finance Minister that payments would commence on the subsidy owed the marketers.
According to him, “NUPENG cannot and will never be used by the Federal Government, institutions, companies because we are stakeholders in the industry. The fight and struggle for the enthronement of democracy in this country during the June 12, 1993 struggle cannot be in vain.
The struggle for the emancipation of Nigerians from the hands of the military cannot be rubbished or swept under the carpet by some ministers. It is our firm belief that His Excellency, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the number one worker of our great country, Nigeria, will heed this clarion call in order to move the transformation agenda forward.”

Jonathan orders affordable housing for demolition victims in Abuja.

By Favour Nnabugwu
President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, to ensure that it provides affordable houses for owners of houses demolished or to be demolished, to alleviate their plights.
FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, who relayed the President’s directive when he hosted some residents of FCT after the Eid prayers, at his official residence in Life Camp, said the palliative measure as ordered by the President, would cushion the effect of the exercises on the victims.
He solicited the understanding of Abuja residents on the matter.
He said: “The demolition exercises carried out in the last three months were not a deliberate act to inflict harm and impoverish those affected but  to rescue the Abuja Master Plan and for security reasons among others.
“We are not demolishing houses because we want to cause pain to anybody. At times we take such a decision because of information at our disposal. We, as an administration, know the agony the affected people are going through.
“We are going to do something in tandem with the directive of President Jonathan to make sure we provide some solace on a long term basis by building houses in FCT that are affordable to those affected,” he explained.
The minister explained that the impending demolition exercise was imperative to restore FCT to the path envisaged by its founding fathers as he pledged some succuor for affected residents to cushion the effects of the demolition.

President Jonathan's High-Priced Militants: Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Ateke Tom Paid Millions of Dollars Annually.

President Jonathan's aide, Oronto Douglas and ex-militant, Asari Dokubo

By PM News, Lagos

America’s Wall Street Journal today revealed the mind-boggling million dollar sums that the Nigerian government has been paying Niger Delta warlords to keep them off the oil pipelines in the past 12 months.
 Mr. Dokubo Asari, the former warlord that first shot to national limelight collects $9million every year to keep his estimated 4000 soldiers at bay. ‘General’ Ateke Toms and ‘General‘ Ebikabowei Boyloaf Victor Ben collect $3.5million apiece while General Government Tompolo Ekpumopolo is the most priced of all: he gets $22.5 million yearly.
The newspaper said the figures were gotten from senior officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, which makes the payment direct to these warlords.
While Dokubo shrugged off the huge payment he receives, about N1.44 billion, as nothing unusual, there is the belief that the selective payments have bred some jealousy among other militants, not so rewarded, who in reaction continue to pillage Nigeria’s crude oil pipelines. Nigeria loses no less than 10 per cent of its crude production to oil thieves on prowl in the Niger Delta, despite the programme of pacification called the Amnesty Programme.
By Shell’s account, no less than 150,000 barrels of Nigeria’s production are stolen daily, a very low estimate in the eyes of many Niger Delta watchers.
The Wall Street Journal said in its report that government plans to spend $450 million on the amnesty programme this year alone, despite the increasing theft of crude in the region.
Said the respected journal: The gilded pacification campaign is offered up by the government as a success story. But others say the program, including a 2009 amnesty, has sent young men in Nigeria’s turbulent delta a different message: that militancy promises more rewards than risks.