Nigeria’s economy in dire strait, says Fashola

by: Oziegbe Okoeki • NNPC under-remitted N2.4tr
LAGOS State govenor District 13 Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has painted a very grim picture of Nigeria’s economy saying the situation demands urgent attention.
Addressing members of the state House of Assembly on the state of the nation at plenary yesterday in Lagos, he complained that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under-remitted N2.4 trillion to the Federation Account.
The governor, who was visibly saddened by the situation, gave the impression that no state would be able to meet its target for the year 2014 as the 36 states of the federation are in serious financial problems.
According to the governor, for the first time in almost 14 years of the nation’s democratic experience, the country has recorded walk-outs staged by commissioners of finance during meetings of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FACC) in Abuja.
He said the first one happened in 2011, while the country witnessed more of such walk-outs last year due to irreconcilable accounts of the federation.
As a result, he said, some states have had to borrow to keep the government going.
He said:“The reasons for those disagreements were largely reported revenue declines that were disputed by the various states as represented by their various finance commissioners,” he said, adding that the pattern had continued right from the second half of last year to January this year.
“Now whilst this revenue decline has gone up, we have been unable to hold the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
“In the past, the meetings had held every month. The meeting has not been held now for, at least, six months in spite of clear revenue declines.”
He said the NEC is a forum for the discussion of economic issues concerning the 36 states of the federation and it is made up of governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the ministers of National Planning, Finance and others. The meeting is chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo.
He said the revenue decline should have been a major issue for discussion at the NEC meeting since the constitution of the country provided for it.
Fashola reminded the House that he had always complained of decline in revenue and the inability of the state to meet optimal budget performances, lamenting that the government has left social services to meet welfare needs of personnel.
According to him, the revenue declines are credited to “what is characterised as uncoordinated and discretionary application of the Federal Government’s fiscal policy on waiver and negotiating the duty credit certificates.”

TheNation

Catholic Bishop Hails Buhari’s Religious Tolerance As A Unifying Factor

Catholic Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, His Lordship, Rev. Lucius Ugorji, has hailed a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari for his religious tolerance which he said is a unifying factor for all people.
The Bishop said this at the burial ceremony of Sir Martin Agwu Ohadiugha, the father in-law  to  Chief Ikechi Emenike, a chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Abia State, personalities from different walks of life and religions were present.

General Muhammadu Buhari, was one of the attendees at the burial.
He said the fact that, Gen Mohammadu Buhari, a Muslim, could stay through the Christian service without opting to  sympathize with Chief Emenike only in his house  spoke volumes of  his religious tolerance.
“This burial is a unifying factor for all the people of the country to learn that there is no problem living together, as we can see ministers of God of different denominations coming together to worship and pray for the repose of the soul of the dead, including a Muslim like Gen Buhari,” he said.
The funeral service held at the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, Umule, in Umuahia North local government.
Present at the service were ministers from other denominations, including the Assemblies of God Church and the Methodist Church, were present.

Abusidiqu

Sarah Palin predicted in 2008 that Putin would invade Ukraine if Obama was elected

The then vice-presidential candidate showed unexpected accuracy with 'extremely far-fetched' prediction six years ago

James Vincent

Long-derided as a soccer mom with a limited grasp of international geopolitical affairs, it turns out the world may have misunderestimated Sarah Palin.

Speaking as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in the 2008 US presidential campaign, Palin warned that if Barack Obama was elected then Russia would be likely to invade Ukraine.
Palin made the remarks when outlining various “crisis scenarios” that would face the US if Obama became president. She was speaking in response to comments made by Obama’s running mate Joe Biden, who warned democratic supporters that other world leaders would want to test the then Illinois senator.
“After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama's reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia's Putin to invade Ukraine next,” said Palin.
A blog post from American magazine Foreign Policy described such a scenario as “extremely far-fetched”, noting that Russia already held significant influence over Ukraine (presumably in the form of now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych) and that the magazine “didn’t see why violence would be necessary to bring Kiev to heel.”
The latest updates from Ukraine suggest that with the change in government, Russia is now content to use military force instead of political influence. Russia is now fully in control of the Crimean peninsula with tense stand-offs between Moscow’s troops and Ukrainian soldiers reported around key military sites.
 Palin’s comments may seem prescient but as one YouTube commenter noted “Palin made so many wacky claims its about time one was proved right. A broken clock is correct twice a day.”
 

TheIndependent

Poll: A quarter of Republicans say they may vote for Clinton in 2016

CNN's Dan Merica

Washington (CNN) – If Hillary Clinton runs for President in 2016, a new poll finds she may have some support from an unlikely group: Republicans.
According to The Pew Research Center/USA Today poll, 8% of Republicans said there is a “good chance” and 17% said there was “some chance” they would vote for her in 2016. Seventy-four percent said there was no chance.

Since ending her tenure as Secretary of State early last year, Clinton, who has not said whether she’ll run, has been the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Previous polls showed Clinton as the top pick of Democrats and Tuesday’s survey was no different: 87% of Democrats said there was a “good” or “some” chance they would vote for her, if she ran.
Liberal Democrats are the most excited, according to the poll. Eighty-seven percent want to see Clinton run, while nearly seven-in-10 (69%) of conservative and moderate Democrats want the same.
Although Clinton, also a former first lady and U.S. Senator, has not said whether she’ll mount a candidacy, former campaign staffers and confidants have built a sophisticated apparatus urging her to do so.
The latest poll delivered insight into how Clinton’s time as America’s top diplomat is viewed by Americans.
According to the poll, 12% of those surveyed said Clinton’s time at the State Department was the most positive aspect of her long career.
That number, however, is overshadowed by the 15% of Americans who said the deadly terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 was the most negative aspect of Clinton’s career.
That number jumps to 28 % among Republicans, who would be sure to make Benghazi a campaign issue if she launches a White House bid.
Some Republicans in Congress continue to push for answers for the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, and don’t believe Clinton has been held fully accountable.
Despite concerns about Benghazi, the Pew/USA Today poll found that a majority of Americans saw Clinton as tough, honest and not hard to like.
Likability has long been an issue that Clinton aides and confidants have sought to work on.
When Hillary Clinton weighed whether to run for Senate before her husband left the White House,
aides coached her on how to interact with the public and press, according to recently released documents from the Clinton presidential library.
“Don't be defensive. Look like you want the questions,” wrote Mandy Grunwald, a former aide, in a July 6, 1999, memo to Clinton. Later, she added, “Look for opportunities for humor.”
The issue came up again in 2008, when Clinton squared off with Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination.
During a January 2008 debate in New Hampshire, Clinton was asked why people didn’t seem to like her as much as Obama.
“He's very likable," Clinton said. "I agree with that. I don't think I'm that bad."
Obama’s now famous response: “You're likable enough, Hillary, no doubt about it.”
 

CNN

Rivers get zero allocation for roads in 2014 Fed Govt budget

• Peterside

by: Victor Oluwaeegun and Dele Anofi •Peterside walks out of budget defence session
There is zero allocation for federal roads in Rivers State in the 2014 Federal Government budget, it was learnt yesterday.
This led to the walking out on the budget defence session of the Ministry of Works by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dakuku Peterside, (APC, Rivers).
Some members of the Committee also raised concerns over some projects in the Northeast and the Northwest, as Umar Abubakar Sade (Bauchi/PDP) alleged that projects in Northeast had been abandoned.
Peterside said: “I checked the document and saw that there’s no single allocation for the projects in Rivers State,” adding that he would excuse himself from the session in order not to get angry.” He then walked out.
Minister of Works Mike Onolomemen however insisted that there was no political undertone to the development. He said the executive had no issue against Rivers State.
“There were challenges with the contracts awarded last year. The contractor could not access his money as at when due from the finance ministry,” he said, adding that efforts were on to make amends.”
The breakdown of the ministry’s budget showed that N161b was proposed for capital projects. The Ministry will take N141b while its agencies take N20b.
The inability of Nigeria to meet its financial obligations to the various international organisations to which Nigeria belong has become an embarrassment, the supervising Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Afgairs, Prof. Viola Adaku Onwuliri said yesterday.
Onwuliri said the accumulated recurrent debts incurred by all the 119 foreign missions across the world added to the embarrassment.
The minister spoke yesterday while defending the ministry’s budget.
Chairman of the Committee, Nnenna Elendu Ukeje, asked the minister if the country has debt concerns with her diplomatic levies.
The Minister said: “Yes, although, the diplomatic debts are under the schedule of the Ministry, the payment of diplomatic levies is solely handled by the Ministry of Finance”.
Minister of Power Prof. Chinedu Nebo said without more fund, the country would not be able to attain the 10,000 mega watts of electricity before the end of the year.
Nebo, during the defence of the ministry’s N59,051,290,389b budget for the Ministry and the six agencies under it.
He also stated that areas of priority for the ministry in the current year included the completion of 215MW Kaduna power project, completion of bankable feasibility studies on 17 small/medium hydropower sites, coal-fired Power Plants at Enugu/Gombe axis.
He also said the ministry was ready to fast track the development of 70MW Zungeru hydropower projects, fast track Operation Electrify Nigeria Project, development of the power component of 40MW Kashimbilla Multiple purpose Dam, fast track the completion of the Power Component of 34MW Dandinkowa Dam in Gombe State among others.
TheNation

Why Jonathan Fired Aviation Bosses

Bayo Oladeji, Igho Oyoyo And Nkem Osuagwu

President Goodluck Jonathan has moved against certain associates of the former minister of aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, in order to sanitise the sector that is said have become an unguarded pot of honey.
The president’s hammer yesterday  fell on the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, George Uriesi; the managing director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Nnamdi Udoh; the director-general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Agency, NCAA, Fola Akinkuotu; and the rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Mrs Chinyere Kalu.
According to a statement by Sam Nwaobasi, special assistant (media) to the secretary to the government of the federation, their successors have all been named.
Under the new arrangement, Engr. Saleh Dumona (director, projects) replaces Mr George Uriesi as managing director of FAAN while Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam (general manager, procurements) is replacing  Engr. Nnamdi Udoh as managing director of the NAMA.
Also, Capt. Samuel Akinyele Caulcrick (government safety inspector & ICAO focal point for Nigeria Online Aircraft Safety Information Systems, OASIS) is to replace Capt. (Mrs) Chinyere Kalu as rector of the NCAT. Capt. Muhktar Usman (commissioner, Accident Investigation & Prevention Bureau, AIPB) is to replace Capt. Fola C. Akinkuotu as director-general of the NCAA, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Engr. Benedict Adeyileka is to act as DG, NCAA, pending the confirmation by the Senate.
Dr Engr. Felix A. Abali (director, licensing, NCAA) is replacing Capt. Muhktar Usman as commissioner,  AIPB. But Dr Tony Anuforo retained his position as director-general of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
But a presidency source confided in LEADERSHIP last night that the removal of the affected aviation chiefs is part of the recommendations made by the three-man panel set up by Jonathan to look into the purchase of the N255m bulletproof cars. The panel members were the former head of service of the federation, Alhaji Sali Bello (chairman), Air Vice Marshal Dick Iruenebhere and the national security adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
The source said, “Their removal has to do with their roles in the administration of  Stella Oduah. The panel set up by the president to probe the purchase of those bulletproof cars had in its recommendations asked for their removal as they were indicted for being cronies of the ex-minister, which did not allow the check and balance in the system. All those agencies were being run from Abuja while Oduah  was in office.”
Speaking further, our source disclosed that since Oduah left the office “so many revelations have been made and, in order to sanitise the place, all those who collaborated with her must give way”.
Aviation stakeholders react
Industry stakeholders yesterday reacted to the removal of aviation chiefs at once, stating it might be a good thing to move the industry forward and remove all sentiments that has to do with Oduah.
Former national president, Nigerian Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, Engr. Ayuba Kyari, said the removal of the aviation agencies came as a surprise, especially the removal of  Akinkuoto because the position of DG comes with a five-year tenure attached to it. “Maybe government wants to remove all strings attached to the tenure of Oduah . It came to me as a surprise, especially the removal of the DG of NCAA . He has not spent up to one year in office and the position comes with a tenure to it. One doesn’t know the thinking of government. Apart from that, I will say the decision to remove them is OK in order to move the industry forward and detach all sentiments that has to do with the former minister of aviation,” he said.
Comrade Olayinka Abioye, assistant general secretary, Air Transport Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN), said it has become a norm in the industry for new aviation ministers to remove aviation chiefs to make way for their own choice, but stated that this was an aberration because the individual at the helm of affairs in aviation is just supervising the industry and as such he should have waited until a substantive one is appointed.
“What if he is not confirmed as aviation minister? Does it mean the one who is appointed would remove all the aviation chiefs and appoint a new set of individuals?” he asked
He further said, “Let’s accept what has happened and hope and  look forward to new and better things ahead.”
 Leadership

BREAKING: Jonathan sacks Sports Minister Abdullahi; swears in 11 new ministers

Talatu Usman

A new Sports Minister was announced.
President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked the Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi.
The sack was announced just before the commencement of Wednesday’s meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC.
The president also swore-in 11 new ministers and assigned them ministries.
Those sworn-in include: Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Minister of State Defence;
Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Minister of State Power; Abduljelili Adesiyan (Osun), Minister of Police Affairs; Aminu Wali (Kano), Minister of Foreign Affairs; Akon Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), Minister of Land and Housing; Lawrencia Laraba(Kaduna State), Minister of Environment; Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers), Minister of Sports; Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger), Minister of State Agriculture; Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara), Minister of Defence; Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Minister of Youth Development; and Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto State), Minister of State, Health.

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