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Tag: allocation

  • Salary: Osun blames delay on low allocation

    The Osun State government has blamed delays in the payment of workers’ salary on the reduction in the federal allocation of the state.

    But it denied that workers were owed five months, contrary to the claim by some protesting workers in Osogbo, the state capital, yesterday.

    The protesters claimed their last salaries were paid last in November.

    By 8am, the aggrieved workers had converged on the state secretariat of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) at Fakunle.

    Led by the state ASCSN Chairman, Akinyemi Olatunji, the protesters said they had been facing hardship since last year.

    Chief of Staff to the Governor Gboyega Oyetola condemned the protest, saying: “They don’t need to do what they are doing because Governor Rauf Aregbesola has signed the remaining salary arrears owed workers.”

    Oyetola debunked the claim that the government owed five months’ salaries.

    “As at now, we have paid up to January and on or before the end of this week, the outstanding salaries would definitely be paid without any delay.

    “So, we don’t just sit doing nothing because we know their plight.”

    In a statement, the Director of the Bureau of Communications in the Governor’s Office, Semiu Okanlawon, said: “While we recognise the right of the workers to seek the payment of that which is legitimately theirs, we wish to repeat that the unfortunate owing of salaries cannot be divorced from the crushing revenue crisis that has hit Nigeria.

    “What is required at this stage is for all to understand the genesis of this saga, which will be helpful rather than being viewed as a deliberate act by government.

    “A government that ensured prompt payment of salaries on or before 26 of every month since inception; a government that introduced 13th month salary and a government that had commenced augmentation of salaries with its savings cannot suddenly wake up to deny workers their legitimate earnings.

    “We are aware that President Goodluck Jonathan made some statements during his visit to Osun at the weekend where he was reported to have asked the people to demand their salaries, saying his government pays states when due and that some states have borrowed money beyond their capacities.

    “The question Mr. President must be asked is: how do loans obtained by states for obvious development purposes and to bring better life to the people translate to revenue deductions across Nigeria?

    “It is on record that the Director-General of the Debt Management Office came to Osun last year and declared publicly that the state’s debts are within its capacity.

    “Can Mr. President justifiably claim that Osun’s unpaid salaries are not part of the hard economic times that his Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, warned us against.

    “As a responsible and responsive government, we can only appeal to our workers in the state and those connected to them for understanding.”

     

  • Are deductions from state allocation legal?

    Are deductions from state allocation legal?

    All Progressives Congress (APC) governors have demanded a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan over the cash crisis, which they said is crippling their states, many of which cannot pay salaries. The dwindling allocation to states is said to be, in part, due to certain deductions by the Federal Government. Are the deductions legal? What options are open to the states? JOSEPH JIBUEZE asks.

    Is Nigeria broke? No, says the Federal Government. But to some governors,something is wrong. Allocations are reducing, and they are unable to meet their states’ needs. Many have resorted to borrowing to pay salaries and fund capital projects. Many states are in debt.

    It is for this reason that the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors met in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, last week and resolved to have an emergency meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan over the crippling cash crisis.

    At the meeting were Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe); Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo).

    The governors were worried that allocation from the Federal purse keeps reducing, even as the central government says the country is not broke. Many states, they said, may not be able to pay their workers.

    Okorocha said the dwindling allocation from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has hampered states’ capacity to pay salaries.

    “This has become a very serious concern to us as governors and we felt that issues that affect the lives of our people must never be politicised. We refuse to accept that this nation is broke. I thank God that the Federal Government is not broke, that if the nation is not broke, what is due to states as revenue should be paid to the states.

    “This idea of cutting down what should go to states does not in any way promote democracy and democratic dividends and so we as progressive governors do call on the Federal Government to look into the issue of dwindling resources or convince us as to why the states should not get what is due to them.

    “We do not know why our colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are not talking of this matter. If they are not talking, it is either they are not affected or somehow they are getting something from the back door, which we do not know.

    “But if that is not the reason, I think the Presidency or the Federal Government should act quickly on the present ugly situation which this terrible condition of dwindling revenue has caused us by making sure that the states get what is due to them at least to pay the basic salaries of the workers.”

     

    Deductions to fund the police

    The APC governors’ complaint is not new. In October last year, they threatened to employ all constitutional means to compel the Federal Government to pay exactly what was due the states. The immediate past Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, had said: “We continue to insist that we condemn the illegal and unconstitutional deductions.”

    States were said to have lost 40 per cent of their normal earnings from the FAAC. They argued that based on budgetary benchmarks, oil never sold for anything lower than $115 per barrel, and therefore, there was no basis for the incomplete allocations.

    In March, Lagos State challenged at the Supreme Court the Federal Government’s power to deduct one per cent from the revenue due to all federating units from the Federation Account for the purpose of funding police reforms.

    Lagos said the defendant had been deducting the one percent since October 2013, describing it as unconstitutional and illegal.

    The state asked the Supreme Court “to declare that it is unlawful for the defendant to deduct at source one percent or any other fraction or per cent of the revenue due to Lagos State and its local government councils from the Federation Account under the Allocation Revenue Act for the purpose of funding police reforms or for any other purpose.”

    Lagos also sought a declaration that it “is unlawful for the National Economic Council or any other agency of the federation to authorise, by resolution, decision or consensus, the charge or deduction at source by any authority or person of any part of revenue due to Lagos State Government and its local government councils under the Allocation Revenue Act for the purpose of funding police reforms.”

    The state prayed for an order compelling the defendant “to immediately reverse the unlawful deduction of one percent…and to credit the amounts so far deducted to Lagos State Government with interest at the current Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) minimum rediscount rate.”

    Governor Babatunde Fashola contended that, as a result of the deduction, insufficient statutory allocation “has reduced the capacity of the state and its local governments to fund their programmes and projects.

    “The police as constituted is an organ of the Federal Government and the constitution does not prescribe a situation where one level of government will impose a financial obligation on another level of government.

    “The National Economic Council has no power under the constitution of Nigeria or under any act of the National Assembly to approve any deduction, appropriation or expenditure from the federation account or statutory allocations due to the states and local governments,” he said.

     

    Fuel subsidy deductions

    The 36 states are challenging at the Supreme Court the Federal Government’s deductions of funds for fuel subsidy and related expenses from crude oil proceeds before making payment into the Federation Account.

    They are unconvinced about the government’s transparency in its handling of proceeds from crude oil sales and urged the apex court to stop the practice.

    The states, in a suit filed by their Attorneys-General, described as “unwholesome and unconstitutional” the practice of deducting “fuel subsidy funds and other expenditure from oil proceeds before it is paid into the Federation Account.”

    They contended that the practice, carried out through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is a means through which the states and local governments are shortchanged.

    The states claimed that the practice has occasioned inaccuracies in the computation of oil revenue remitted to the Federation Account by the government and its agencies and urged the court to abolish the practice.

     

    Sovereign Wealth Fund

    The Excess Crude Account (ECA) was replaced with the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to manage Nigeria’s excess earnings from crude oil. In other words, the fund would hold the differential in oil revenues above annual benchmark price.

    The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority was set up in May 2011 to manage the SWF in the form of Future Generations Fund, Nigeria Infrastructure Fund and Stabilisation Fund.

    Implementation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund began  with an initial fund of $1 billion. President Jonathan assented to the bill setting up the fund on May 27, 2012.

    Governors have opposed the Fund, describing it as illegal, and saying it would deny them the opportunity to have enough money to develop their states.

    A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund investing in real and financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments, such as private equity or hedge funds. Sovereign wealth funds invest globally. Most SWFs are funded by revenues from commodity exports or from foreign-exchange reserves held by the Central Bank.

    Analysts say SWFs are typically created when governments have budgetary surpluses and have little or no international debt. It is not always possible or desirable to hold this excess liquidity as money or to channel it into immediate consumption.

    High volatility of resource prices, unpredictability of extraction, and exhaustibility of resources are some of the reasons for creation of SWFs. It may also be economic, or strategic, such as war chests for uncertain times.

    The states are challenging the legality of the Excess Crude Account and the decision to transfer $1bn from the account to the SWF. They sought an order declaring the SWF illegal and unconstitutional.

    When the case came up on September 24, the Supreme Court said it was not ready for hearing. It adjourned till January 26 next year.

    Presiding judge Justice Mahmud Mohammed said the case was not ripe for hearing because vital documents were not in the file. “In order to hear the case, it is necessary for counsels to go to the registry and make sure that all necessary processes were in the file,” Mahmud said.

    The government had challenged the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear the suit, arguing that the matter was not between states and the federation, but a dispute between the states and the government, which it said ought to have been filed before a Federal High Court.

    The states also prayed the court to order that all sums standing to the credit of the Excess Crude Account be paid into court or be secured as the court may deem fit, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

    The states sought an order compelling the Federal Government to pay into the Federation Account N5.51 trillion being the balance of the money that accrued to the central purse between 2004 and 2007 from crude oil sales, petroleum profits tax and oil royalties.

    The government, however, accused the states of mischief because they allegedly took part in the deliberation of the National Economic Council where the decision to transfer the $1bn from the Excess Crude Account to the SWF was taken.

    But the states insisted that they had shared only the legitimate funds deposited in the Federation Account and not from the funds illegally deposited in the Excess Crude Account.

     

    ‘Nigeria not broke’

    Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, while giving account of her ministry’s stewardship in the last nine months, insisted that all the economic fundamentals remain strong.

    “The country is like a household. There may be periods that your income may shrink because of some unforeseen circumstances and you just adjust.

    “If you were indulging in very expensive food you may tell your children that its time we just manage garri and if you have a spouse that is not working, you tell her please you must go and start a trade.

    “You would not jump out and begin to tell people that your condition is worst and you are dying because you know that it’s a temporary condition. That is the same with a country.

    “We are facing a temporary challenge because of the fluctuation in both price and quantity of oil produced. Yet we are meeting our obligations. We have not got to where we can’t pay our salaries nor are we failing to meet our obligations to our creditors.

    “Our foreign reserve is robust at $39.48 billion as at October 16 and it can finance nine months of import. We are gradually rebuilding our excess crude account, which is at $4.11 billion at the moment and we are working to increase the account.

    “Our Sovereign Wealth Fund today holds investment of $1.55 billion… This is as a result of confidence in our economy, which is today the third destination of foreign direct investment in Africa as a result of the recent rebasing of our economy.”

     

    Are the governors’ claims valid?

    The 2006 United Nations Human Development Index puts Nigeria at 159 of 177 countries, with 70.8 per cent of the population living on less than one dollar a day and 92.4 per cent on less than two dollars a day.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of the poor is rising. In 2004, 55 per cent of the people were living in abject poverty. By 2010, this had risen to 61 per cent.

    Corruption has been identified as the country’s major source of poverty.  A former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, once said more than $380 billion has either been stolen or wasted by leaders since 1960. Nigeria is regularly ranked as one of the most corrupt by graft watchdog, Transparency International.

    A former Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, reckoned that $400 billion of Nigeria’s oil revenue has been stolen or misspent since independence. It is reported that oil is being stolen at a record rate. Some analysts say it is still unclear how much oil Nigeria actually produces. If there were a reliable figure, perhaps the truly horrifying scope of corruption would be exposed.

    To observers, if corruption and wastages are tackled, there will be enough resources to truly transform the country and its citizens.

    This year’s budget is based on a projected $79 per barrel of crude oil. The country has been selling above $100. This, observers say, tends to validate the states’ claim that there is a problem.

    The constitution vests too much power in the Federal Government, giving it wide and imperial powers over other tiers of government. It has been noted that the exclusive Legislative list takes initiatives away from the states, resulting in their dependence on the Federal Government on several issues. There have, therefore, been calls for a reduction or devolution of these powers.

    Former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch, Mr Monday Onyekachi Ubani described the governors’ move as “a wise step and a thoughtful process to getting proper information on what is going on in the management of our economy”.

    He added: “It is clearly frightening as most states that are heavily reliant on federal allocation are on the verge of collapse due to their inability to meet basic economic needs like payment of salaries to their workers. Their demand is legitimate and calls for urgent redress to avoid catastrophic backlash on the entire country.

    “If it is true that the Federal Government is making certain deductions from the federation account which is unknown or not disclosed to the other tiers of government, then such deductions are unconstitutional, unlawful and legally redressible.

    “The budget of 2014 was based on a certain bench mark as pertains to the sale of our crude oil. How come we are in deep economic quagmire so soon due to crash in oil price when for a very long time we have experienced boom in crude oil sales in the international market?

    “The reason is not far-fetched. We have as a nation mismanaged our economy based on greed, corruption and outright theft of our resources.

    “Despite bold face denial by the Finance Minister that we are not broke, the truth of the matter is that Nigeria’s economy  presently is not healthy, and when you take into account that election is next year, then be rest assured that more dangerous health issues on the economy will crop up as we match towards 2015.

    “In all these we pray that what we know from facts available should not happen as its consequence is better imagined than experienced,” Ubani said.

    According to the rights activist, it is illegitimate for the Federal Government to make unauthorised deductions from money due the states’ and must be challenged in court.

    “If its true and the Federal Government does not show remorse and repentance, I will advise the state governments especially, those states that cannot meet their financial obligations to file a straight action before the Supreme Court of Nigeria to halt the illegality and to demand the immediate refunds of such illegal deductions into the federation account for a common sharing.

    “They should seek the instruments of law to nip the illegality in the bud. It is the only way out. Another method may be (used advisedly) seeking political solution.

    “The National Assembly that should carry out their oversight function is failing heavily in this regard. How come they are there and the executive is basking and carrying out illegality with impunity as alleged, and they have not spoken or done anything about it? They have certainly failed the citizens.

    “The Federal Government is advised to stop those deductions that are only known to them as that violates the express provision of the Constitution. They can only spend their own money after the sharing.

    “It is unconstitutional for them to dip their hands into the Federation Account and begin to spend the money that is not meant for them alone. It is not only unconstitutional, it violates the spirit of federalism which we preach that we are practising! That is a short- term solution.

    “A long term solution is the entrenchment of fiscal federalism that will enable each state to produce and control their resources while paying certain percentage to the federal government for common good.

    “Until we start to practise true federalism, encourage competitive economic spirit and diversify our economic pursuit as a nation we will continue to suffer what is happening presently and that is the truth!” Ubani said.

    Executive Director, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) Chino Obiagwu

    urged states to be more creative in the management of available resources.

    “The deductions are based on the sliding national income and huge debt portfolio of states. The truth is that some state governors in the last two tenures have been fiscally reckless. Most of the states have borrowed more money from local and foreign creditors than their states can re-pay in 20 years.

    “Rather than save for the future, the governors are creating liabilities for their people.  Rivers State for example has a debt portfolio of nearly $1 billon. So also Lagos, Imo, Benue etc.

    “Recently, Benue State divested it’s investment in a major industrial stock and Rivers wants to dissipate its long-held reserve. These are reckless financial management. The truth is that no business can run for long in borrowed funds without creating its own wealth. Governance is a business.

    “Most of these people that found themselves in government have never run any business successfully and so they don’t understand wealth building. The state governors are not creating wealth at all. They are not empowering their people. All they do is get money monthly and throw around or build elephant projects and wait for the next round of sharing.

    “Unfortunately the state Houses of Assembly that are supposed to be checking on the executive are just mere rubber stamp legislature. The civil society on the other hand has paid most attention to to federal government but there are a lot of rot taking place at state levels,” he said.

    Obiagwu said LEDAP sued 15 state governors to account for the millions of dollars they borrowed from the capital market.

    “None of them has provided any answer. So, since Federal Government is the guarantor of these credits, it’s natural that it will make deductions from state allocations.

    “Another reason for deducting is the dwindling national income. We all know the price of oil is going down and the US has started massive oil production and has not been importing oil. So that affected the crude oil market.

    “We will continue to see slides in national income for a long time to come. So any governor who still sits back and waits for the national cake should think twice. It’s time our state governments started building capacity of their people to create wealth so they can justify the public vote,” Obiagwu said.

     

  • Council seeks more fertiliser allocation

    The Chairman,Kabo Local Government Area in Kano State, Alhaji Murtala Sulen-Garo, has appealed to the Federal Government to allocate more fertiliser to farmers in the area.

    Sulen-Garo made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kabo Town on Wednesday.

    He said the appeal became necessary because the 11,780 bags of fertiliser allocated to the area were inadequate due to the large number of farmers in the area.

    He said that only 5,890 out of over 11,000 registered farmers in the area benefitted from the Federal Government’s fertiliser policy this cropping season.

    “We received 11,780 bags of fertiliser but only 5,890 out of more than 11,000 registered farmers received the commodity this year.

    “Most of our people in this area are local farmers who rely solely on government’s subsidised fertiliser and other inputs,’’ he said.

    The chairman also called on the Federal Government to review the mode of distribution of the commodity as most of the local farmers had no cell phones with which to receive the text messages.

    “The whole aim is to assist local farmers to access the commodity, but not all the farmers have cell phones.

    “Any farmer who does not have cell phone should be able to collect the commodity at the redemption centres, provided he is a genuine farmer,’’ he said.

    He expressed optimism that if the programme was reviewed, it would help in alleviating the sufferings of local farmers.

    “The scheme is good but there is need for government to review it with a view to achieving total success,’’ he said

     

  • Jonathan stops NFF’s N253m July allocation

    Jonathan stops NFF’s N253m July allocation

    • Presidency orders Danagogo to take charge of funds

    Piqued by the revelation of an alleged monumental fraud and gross misappropriation of funds by the Aminu Maigari-led Executive Board, the Federal Government has stopped direct release of monthly allocation to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

    Nigeria’s World Cup bonus row in Brazil compelled the Federal Government to beam its searchlight on the finances of the NFF in the last four years.

    Prompt News gathered that there was a directive from the Presidency that the Minister of Sports, Tammy Danagogo, should henceforth monitor the release of funds to the NFF to ensure its judicious use.

    Consequently, the sum of N253 million being monthly allocation for the month of July was released to the National Sports Commission (NSC) for onward release to the NFF on an instalmental basis as the Minister may deem fit.

    “That so called ‘Glass House’ stinks. With what we have discovered in that place, you don’t expect us to fold our arms while people misuse government funds in the name of the Federation’s autonomy.

    “Can you imagine that Maigari requested for about N150 million to furnish the new NFF building, (Sunday Dankaro House) when indeed, the former Sani Lulu-led board left $1 million in the NFF account specifically for that purpose,” a top official in the Federal Ministry of Finance alleged to Prompt News on condition of anonymity.

    “How do you expect government to continue to condone such fraudulence and irresponsibility?”

    The source however said direct allocation could be restored to the NFF only when government was convinced that those at the helm of affairs would be accountable and responsible.

    The ousted NFF President, Aminu Maigari, is being asked to account for the funds released by the Federal Government for the World Cup, the money released by FIFA for the World Cup and the over one billion Naira left in the NFF coffers by the Sani Lulu Abdullahi-led board.

  • Council chief seeks increased allocation

    The Chairman of Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Yahaya Garba, has reiterated the need for the Federal Government to increase the revenue allocations to the area council to enable it improve the lives of the residents of the council.

    Garba, who made the appeal during his administration’s one-year anniversary in Abaji, said despite the financial challenges that the council has been experiencing, it had impact positively on the lives of the people.

    According to the council chief, they have been able to meet some of the people’s expectations that have direct bearing to their lives through the provision of access roads, potable water supply in communities and scholarship to indigent people in rural areas.

    “The people should expect more infrastructural development as the financial situation in the council improves because it is our desire to see how we are going to improve on infrastructural development and provision of basic amenities for our people.

    “What we have done in the past one year is not good enough. We need to do more. That is why we are appealing to the Federal Government to increase the area council’s allocation in order for us to provide more dividends of democracy for our people,” he said.

    The immediate past chairman of the council, Hon. Yahaya Mohammed, who expressed satisfaction over the performance of the present chairman, urged him to pursue all projects with vigour so that the people would benefit more.

  • FAO wants more budgetary allocations to agric

    The Food and Agriculture (FAO) representative in Nigeria, Ms. Louise Sethswaelo, has urged African Heads of State and Governments to increase their budgetary allocations to agriculture to achieve set goals. She made the call in an interview in Abuja.

    According to her, this has become necessary in view of the declaration of the year as the ‘Year of Agriculture‘ by the Heads of State and Governments at a summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January.

    “It is for the governments to increase their budgets on agriculture to have a facilitative role in promoting agriculture in the agriculture transformation in the African region. The private sector will then come in; but when they see us just talking, there is no demonstration in terms of providing resources, in terms of making sure that all the instruments that need to be put in place are there, then it just becomes talk with no action and very little result on the ground, “ Sethswaelo said.

    She commended African leaders for demonstrating the political will by the various declarations on agriculture, thereby increasing the sector’s visibility. She however, regretted that African leaders failed to backed the declarations with resources to facilitate agricultural development on the continent.

    “We have had so many summits by the African Heads of States and Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). I think that what we need more is to make sure we implement the programmes because the declarations have been made. Whether I should call it the political will, maybe it is, but it needs to be backed up by resources to facilitate agricultural development in the African region. This is something that is still lagging behind,” she argued.

    Continuing, Sethswaelo said: “That is why for so many years after signing the CAADP and approving it, we are still lagging behind in terms of implementing the CAADP programme that was developed then and approved by the Heads of States and Governments.”

  • APC governors may sue Fed Govt over loss of 40% allocation

    APC governors may sue Fed Govt over loss of 40% allocation

    •Finance commissioners threaten to pull out of FAAC

    There were indications yesterday that the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors would sue the Federal Government over the deductions of 40per cent of their states’ monthly earnings by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi broke the news at a meeting of the APC Governors Forum in Abuja.

    Fayemi said: “W e have said we will take appropriate constitutional measures as far as the illegal deduction of FAAC is concerned. Every constitutional measure, nothing is ruled in, nothing is ruled out.”

    “We decided to take appropriate constitutional measures in order to tackle this vibrant abuse of the Constitution and the Appropriation Act particularly of the National Assembly.”

    Fayemi said the Commissioners for Finance are now on the verge of pulling out of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee meeting.

    The governor recalled that in the last three months, the FAAC has always illegally deducted from states allocation, adding that the APC states have lost 40per cent of their earnings to the deductions.

    Fayemi said something must be fishing as there was no basis for such deductions since the prices of crude oil have not fallen below the 2013 budget benchmark.

    According to him, the prices of crude oil have not declined to less that $110 per barrel this year.

    His words: “We deliberated on matters of states, matters of our party, and discussed also issues that are pertinent to national finances, particularly the Federal Allocation work. We have come to a critical juncture as FAAC has gone in the last three months. You are not unaware of what has been going on. You are also aware of what our Finance Commissioners are about to do in removing themselves from the meetings of FAAC.

    “And we continue to insist that we condemn the illegal and unconstitutional deductions and averagely all of our states lost 40per cent of our normal earnings in the last two to three months from the Federal Allocation committee. And we believe that this is not defensible in anyway, we know that the benchmark that the National Assembly agreed for the budget 2013 is still very realistic because at no time this year (we are still in the month of October) that oil sold for less than $105 per barrel, for most often than not oil has sold for $110 per barrel. So, we see no basis for the incomplete allocations that are given to the states in this regard. “

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha said the danger posed by the recent election in Delta State unsettles the party, stressing this is “to condemn in its entirety that that was not an election at all.”

    He said that reports from the election are indications that it was a mere manipulation of the whole electoral process.

    Okorocha said: “We are worried that this may pose a big danger to 2015. From what we are seeing, we must stand up to it now or Nigeria may pay a bigger price for it in 2015.”

    He complained that in the Oguta election “another issue is when the winning party had over 2000 votes above the PDP. So, this has become very worrisome and it poses a big question to what 2015 will look like.”

    The APC governors, said Okoracha demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) should save its name and conclude the election in Oguta.

    The Imo State governor quoted INEC as refusing to conduct the election until the Commissioner of Police in Oguta guarantee security.

    On Anambra election, he said that APC appealed that the election must be free and fair.

    He said: “the Progressive Governors will not accept anything short of this. And Nigerians will not accept anything short of this-one man, one vote.”

    Warning that there should not be a repeat of what happened in Delta in Anambra, Okorocha called on the security to stand up to defend the nation’s nascent democracy.

    The six Governors at the meeting were Dr. Fayemi, Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, his Oyo State counterpart, Imo State’s Rochas Okorocha, Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe and Deputy Governor of Borno, Zainna Mustapha.

     

  • States, councils yet to get July allocation, says forum

    The Forum of Southwest Local Government Chairmen has cried out that states and local governments are yet to receive their statutory allocations for July.

    The forum said the development had shown that President Goodluck Jonathan is not keen on the welfare of the masses.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, the forum’s chairman, Prince Kunle Ayantoye, said he wondered how local government projects would be funded without funds.

    He said: “In Osun State for example, each council spends no less than N1 million to purchase drugs for the health centres. Since the starvation of fund by the Federal Government started, our intervention in this area has been galloping. Who bears the brunt? The pregnant mothers and their babies feel the insensitivity of the government at the centre. The aged and feeble will feel it as well.

    “This is why we campaign for fiscal federalism. We hope Mr. President will be excited one day as he was when he initiated a process to a national dialogue. Can he be so sincere to implement it to the letter as the proponents envisage or a mere political bait for a good catch in 2015?

    “This is what well-meaning Nigerians have been agitating for. How can a country with diverse needs as Nigeria be run from a point that understands little or nothing about the citizens’ yearnings? We condemn the concentration of fiscal power in Abuja that makes states and local governments go cap in hand for their statutory allocations every month.”

    According to him, the case was made worse with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala running the country with the books she read in the World Bank.

    “If President Jonathan is bewildered by Nigeria’s problems, he should own up and seek assistance from willing Nigerians. Governance is not about grandstanding; it is clear from the media chat that our President was overwhelmed by the mirage of challenges facing the nation. The independence anniversary celebration has only become a mere ritual devoid of any celebrated achievements year in, year out.

    “The other time when Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State said poverty was put at 30 per cent in 1970 and today it is put at 70 per cent, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala argued that it was just 68 per cent. What is the difference between half a dozen and a six?” Prince Ayantoye said.

    He hailed the governors in the Southwest on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for developing sincere and practicable policies that could drive “our programmes and projects” to meet the reality on ground, saying the Federal Government should learn from this.

    He faulted the process of disengagement of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers, describing the Federal Government as insensitive by not paying the workers’ gratuity immediately after their disengagement.

  • Monthly allocation crises: Jang summons emergency NGF meeting

    Monthly allocation crises: Jang summons emergency NGF meeting

    Plateau State Governor and factional chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Jonah Jang, has summoned an emergency meeting of the Forum to resolve the financial dispute arising from the monthly allocation meeting.

    The emergency meeting is to hold at NGF’s secretariat located at no 2 Nana Close, off Nile Street, Maitama Abuja by 6pm tomorrow.

    The monthly allocation meeting held in Abuja last Friday between the Minister of finance and commissioners of finance of the 36 states ended in a chaos.

    The state commissioners in attendance walked out on the Minister of Finance within just thirty minutes into the meeting.

    They also reportedly turned down pleas by the minister to return to the meeting.

    The cause of the dispute was not clear but it was suspected to be over the sharing formula offered by the finance minister.

    A statement by Jang in Jos yesterday read: “In view of the impasse arising from the federal allocation account committee meeting, an emergency meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum has been convened in Abuja.”

    The statement added that all the state governors will meet with President Jonathan by 9 pm on the same matter.

    It therefore urged all the governors to endeavor to attend the meeting in person.

     

  • Group to NCC: Stop allocation of new number range

    Worried by poor services in the country, a group has asked the sector’s regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to halt further allocation of new number range to operators.

    President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Deolu Ogunbanjo, decried the worsening telecoms services being offered by operators to subscribers, urging the commission to step in to arrest the slide.

    He said since imposition of sanctions did not improve service quality, the regulator should stop approving new number range for the operators.

    “The situation is alarming. I think what the NCC should do at this time is to stop issuance of new number range to the operators. We have had enough of these number ranges in circulation. Each number range contains 10 million and each of the operators have a minimum of five number ranges with MTN having the largest, about seven or so. If this is done, there will be a measure of sanity on the network,” he said.

    According to him, promotions and lotteries unwittingly congest the network and cause pains to subscribers who either wished to make urgent calls to their loved ones or use the short message services (SMS) platform.

    He argued that telecommunications infrastructure is for telecommunication including voice, data and video wondering why the platform should be converted to a casino where gambling is carried out under the guise of trying to reward customers.

    “Telecommunication is essentially about talking and not about lotteries and promos. If anybody wants to play lottery, such a person should go and play lotto. So, I do not subscribe to this idea of allowing lotteries and promos to run on the network. The NCC should not therefore think of rescinding its decision in this respect,” he said.

    Sector analysts say with subscriber base of about 110.3 million and teledensity nearing 90, time has come for the regulator to concentrate more attention on regulation rather than growing subscriber base and teldensity.