Tag: BUHARI

  • APC set for frank talks as Buhari, Saraki, Dogara, others meet today

    APC set for frank talks as Buhari, Saraki, Dogara, others meet today

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) vowed yesterday to emerge strong from its first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting after its post-election crisis.

    The crisis, which has split the party’s leaders, erupted after the June 9 election of principal officers at the National Assembly.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara emerged against the party’s wish.

    The party endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan for Senate and Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker.

    “We are set for the meeting which will address some issues. We are expecting the President, our governors and leaders in the National Assembly. The NEC will properly constitute the Board of Trustees (BOT) of APC because we want all our organs to function effectively.

    “We are in the process of reconciliation; we will definitely put our house in order and emerge stronger,” National Secretary Mai Buni said yesterday, adding:

    “Politics is sometimes like that. You know our party is the first story of a successful merger of major parties in the country; we were also the first opposition party to dislodge a sitting government; and this is the first time an opposition party is having majority in the National Assembly. You should expect some teething problems but we will reconcile and reunite all.”

    Buni said one of the key parts of the agenda is on “ensuring that everybody respects the party.”

    There was anxiety last night that the meeting could make or break the APC in view of the “volatile nature” of the agenda.

    The warring groups in the National Assembly engaged in marathon consultations and intensified the lobbying of NEC members.

    Ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, however, set the tone for the meeting by pleading with APC leaders to “shift ground and move to the centre”.

    He said the blame game targeted at individuals was an unnecessary diversion of energies at the expense of the urgency of the mission of the party.

    Those expected at the session are President Muhammadu Buhari, all APC governors, Senate President  Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, members of the National Working Committee and some principal officers. It will be the first meeting in which the Presidency will be present with Saraki and Dogara in attendance.

    On the agenda are the journey so far by the Buhari administration, the crisis in the National Assembly and the way out; the constitution of the party’s Board of Trustees; and how to enhance party supremacy in managing challenges.

    A source in the party said the session would be devoted to “frank talks” on the crisis in the National Assembly over the election of Saraki, Dogara and some principal officers.

    The source said National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun will make a detailed presentation on the crisis in the National Assembly, the extent of intervention by the party, mediation by President Buhari and the way out of the logjam.

    The source said: “We are set for a NEC session of frank talks because the crisis in the National Assembly has overshadowed our mission for the nation. We promised change and Nigerians are becoming weary with what is happening.

    “Our governors and leaders are really disturbed about the trend of things. Now, we have a golden opportunity to tell ourselves the home truths and resolve the impasse. We are hopeful that we will reconcile and reunite at the end of the day.”

  • Buhari promises better operating  environment for companies

    Buhari promises better operating environment for companies

    President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that his administration will improve the operating environment for domestic and international companies in Nigeria to boost employment.

    He spoke during an audience with the new Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke, while presenting his letter of credence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said his administration would welcome greater investment inflows from Japan and other developed nations in support of its plans to revitalise the economy and create more jobs.

    The president noted that his administration would welcome more trade and economic cooperation with Japan in the manufacturing, technology and agricultural sectors.

    He said: “I was very impressed with the role your Prime Minister played at our talks with G-7 leaders in Germany. He had a deep understanding of the challenge in the Northeast and how it is affecting our economy.

    “We look forward to a stronger partnership with your country in many areas, especially in technology, which is now the major driver of job creation across the world today,’’ he said

    Buhari also received yesterday the letters of credence of the new Ambassador of Ukraine, Dr. Valerii Aleksandruk and the new High Commissioner of Pakistan, Lt.-Gen. Agha Muhammed Umer Farooq.

    The new envoys assured the President that they would work hard to maintain and strengthen existing relations between Nigeria and their respective countries during their tenure.

  • ‘Buhari’ll turn  Nigeria around’

    ‘Buhari’ll turn Nigeria around’

    A chieftain of the Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Francis Inegbeniki, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the Muhammad Buhari administration to change the current woes to welfare and pains to gains.

    Inegbeniki said the new administration needed some time to analyse the damage done to the nation’s system and proffer appropriate solutions.

    The APC chieftain addressed reporters yesterday in Warri, Delta State, on the need for Nigerians to allow the Buhari administration to focus on how to fulfil its campaign promises to the nation.

    He said President Buhari had a genuine determination and commitment to reposition Nigeria for greatness.

    Inegbeniki, who was APC’s senatorial candidate for Edo Central in the March 28 National Assembly election, said: “It is better for Mr. President to study the problems facing the country critically before embarking on the reforms that will bring about the long-awaited change.”

    The APC chief assured that Nigeria under President Buhari would witness tremendous growth, stability and rapid development.

    But he noted that this would require the support and cooperation of Nigerians.

    Inegbeniki said: “We Nigerians must remain thankful to God for giving the country two reliable, competent and trustworthy leaders – President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo – at this time to save the country.”

  • ‘Be patient with Buhari’

    ‘Be patient with Buhari’

    NIGERIANS have been urged to be patient with President Muhammadu Buhari in his bid to tackle corruption and reposition the economy.

    Former Chairman of Ife Central Local Government Area, Osun State Mr. Adetunji Obawole, who said this in a chat with The Nation, noted that it would take time to correct the rot left behind by former government.

    He  added that  the change being clamoured for would come as expected, adding that the country, under Buhari, would witness “tremendous achievement that Nigeria needed to survive”.

    “The president’s rich experience over the years will bail the country out of its present economic crisis,” Obawole said.

    He lamented that for the last 16 years, the nation’s wealth has been squandered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government, a situation which, he said, has put the present government on its toes. “Had it been that the nation’s resources were well harnessed, we would not be where we are today,” Obawole said.

    The former chairman explained that there was need for government to “intensity efforts at making the oil sector to be productive while monitoring and protecting pipelines as well as stopping the oil theft, which has crippled the economic fortune of the country”.

  • Group to Buhari: stop Amnesty stipends

    The Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to send all ex-militants and beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme to a farm settlement where they would be useful to the nation and themselves.

    The group warned that doling out largesse to the former armed agitators and pampering them with political appointments and lucrative contract were dangerous to the economic wellbeing of the country and creating wrong role models for Niger Delta youths.

    CEPEJ CEO Comrade Sheriff Mulade said: “The Amnesty Programme is a Greek gift; we advise President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle head-on the fundamental issues of deprivation in the region as the only way to engender lasting peace in the region.

    “We canvass the adoption of strategic action plans for the massive development of the region, since the present efforts by the Niger Delta Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission are nothing to write home about.

    “On the December deadline set by the Federal Government to phase out the programme, CEPEJ wants the President to carefully study it with a view to adopting effective and more pragmatic methods in discharging its functions.

    “We suggest that the ex-militants should be involved in mechanised farming, rather than dishing out stipends to them at end of every month without doing anything.

    “Beside, we implore the Federal Government to create employment opportunities for those who are undergoing training in various fields under the programme to give them a sense of belonging.”

    Mulade also called on the President to ensure that only credible persons from the region are appointed as Minister of Niger Delta Ministry and to other intervention agencies, such as the Amnesty Programme and the Niger Delta Development Commission.

    He said CEPEJ was not unaware of intense pressure being mounted on the President Buhari by vested interests and stakeholders who are lobbying for the nomination of their “candidates” into the strategic ministry and agencies.

    Mulade advised the President not to be swayed by sentiments and such pressure by bowing to the gambits of the lobbyists and their agents, but he should take decisions that would benefit the people and his administration.

    He said CEPEJ believed that only the appointment of grassroots persons with a grasp of the issues and problems of the oil bearing region into the various offices could bring the much needed impact and dividends to the communities.

    Mulade warned against the appointment of ex-militants and offering of such positions as political patronage as it could provoke and incite their ilk to take on arms against the state, because they would think that it is rewarding to be violent.

    He said: “We believe that appointing a thoroughbred to oversee the affairs of the amnesty office will go a long way to reshaping the programme and making it more result-oriented.”

  • Buhari and federal roads

    The carnage witnessed last week along Benin-Ore road was not an isolated incident. It has become the permanent feature of the federal highways. Over 90 per cent of the federal roads in Nigeria are in ruins. My neighbour escaped death by the skin of his teeth in one of the federal roads, but his wife was not so lucky. In trying to avoid a dangerous crater on the highway, you run the risk of skidding straight into the river or colliding with another vehicle. I often shake my head in pity anytime I drive on these death traps that are called federal highways: How can anyone avoid fatal accidents on these roads? Even the most careful driver is prone to accident!

    Being a new administration, nobody will hold President Muhammadu Buhari responsible for the derelict state of these motorways. But once his government marks one year or two in office, Nigerians will forget that he inherited the dilapidated highways and an empty treasury. It is just about a month that the new government was sworn in and some smart guys are already attempting to deflect attention away from the malfeasance of the last administration. But a word first on the purse of the central government.

    It would seem an understatement for President Muhammadu Buhari to speak of inheriting an empty treasury. I think we should thank God that the President even met a treasury at all. With the monetary bonanza, bazaar and lottery that characterized the electioneering of the ruling party in the last general elections, we should be grateful to the almighty that both the purse and its contents had not disappeared altogether. With the sincerity of purpose, prudence in public finance management, transparency and accountability that will hallmark the Buhari administration (and we can see the signs already), I believe money will begin to flow back into the empty government purse and will ultimately be filled once more.

    But I have some worries. A friend once told me a story that has stuck to my memory. His disciplined, prudent and industrious secondary school principal ensured those sterling qualities rubbed off on the academy, resulting in the students passing their exams with flying colours and a buoyant school till. However, within a few years of graduation, the principal was transferred and replaced by a footloose and spendthrift head. The treasury was emptied in no time, and indiscipline soon began to take its toll on the performance of the students. The school eventually became a shadow of its former self.

    As the saying goes, a man may leave behind a gargantuan fortune, there is no guarantee those coming after him will be wise. As it stands today, the politics of Nigeria is so fluid and there is no certainty about anything.  No one needed a prophet to predict that the present ruling party would undergo one form of crisis or the other. That would be taken for granted in any concourse of people with different or disparate backgrounds. But no political seer could have predicted the recent events in the National Assembly. They left every mouth agape in shock, bewilderment and horror. Dangerous politics, brinkmanship, defiance! Perhaps, I misread the whole thing. My take-away remains – Nigerian politics is fluid; there’s no certitude about anything!

    I have employed every public space in the last decade to discuss the menace of federal roads in Nigeria. I did so many times in relation to our unitary system, often disguised as federalism and the revenue allocation formula, which gives 52 per cent to the Federal Government, 26 per cent to all the 36 states and 20 per cent to the local councils. The Federal Government is also in charge of the balance of two per cent. Clearly, the Federal Government is carrying a load that is heavier than that of the 36 states. No, it should be the other way round. Is it proper for the Federal Government, in a federation, to travel thousands of miles from Abuja in order to sink a borehole in a village or renovate a health centre, a primary school in a far-flung community when there is a state government that is in touch with such people on a daily basis, and will perform these responsibilities at a lower cost, since funds will move directly to where they are needed?

    In one instance, it was observed: “It is cheaper for states to own these federal roads. For instance, the ongoing repair work on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos has continued to consume avoidable administrative costs. The Minister of Works and other federal officials who come all the way from Abuja to supervise and inspect the road will certainly collect allowances running into millions of naira, whereas it would have amounted to a routine duty for the Lagos Commissioner for Works and other officials. And when you consider that the Abuja officials will have to do the same thing again and again in all the 36 states of the federation, the preventable wastage of tax-payers’ money stares you in the face.

    Contiguous states to these federal roads will naturally collaborate to reconstruct and maintain them at far cheaper costs than moving money and officials first from Abuja to the regional office, and from the regional office to the states. There is so much wastage of public funds in Nigeria.”

    In a piece written in April 2014 titled – Between Abeokuta and Abuja, I submitted:Despite the gargantuan 52 per cent being collected by the Federal Government, virtually all the federal roads in Ogun State are in tatters: Atan-Agbara road (Agbara is an industrial hub in Nigeria), Owode-Ilaro road, Ikorodu-Sagamu highway, etc. I’m sure the Minister of Works has never heard the names of some of these roads let alone know their locations… from the meagre 0.3 per cent Ogun receives from the Federation Account, the police are also being funded!…  Imagine the amount the state government spent to repair parts of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and several other federal roads that criss-cross the state! This is because the masses don’t like to differentiate between federal and state roads. Once any road is in Ogun territory, then Amosun is looked up to for its maintenance and reconstruction!”

    I call on the President and the National Assembly to ensure these federal roads revert to the states without much delay. The Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission and National Assembly should ensure that in the new Revenue Allocation template, each of the 36 states receives at least 1.5 per cent from the Federation Account. This is a win-win situation for the Federal Government and all the 36 states of the federation. And if a state governor decides to steal his state’s money rather than invest in social services, then his own people who see how some other governors have judiciously spent their own funds will one day rise up against the governor.

    With 25 per cent, the Federal Government should now concentrate on core federal matters such as foreign affairs, currency, maritime shipping, defence, etc. while most of the responsibilities are devolved to the states. This will make the Federal Government stronger and efficient, a beacon of excellent service delivery and an exemplar of institutional development. The President will even have the rest of mind to make Nigeria a major player in international affairs.

    • Soyombo, a media practitioner and public affairs commentator, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com
  • As Buhari visits US

    As Buhari visits US

    It is an open fact that Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will be an invited guest of President Barrack Obama of the United States on the 20th of this month. Such is nothing strange especially whenever the honeymoon remains fresh for any newly elected President of an African country. Virtually all the former Presidents of Nigeria also enjoyed that privilege in Washington. The difference this time however, is that President Buhari’s visit is coming up at a time when sodomy has become America’s new civilisation. And President Buhari’s host has described that ‘new civilisation’ which was authoritatively proclaimed by America’s Supreme Court last Friday as a joyous victory for his regime which he may want to share with anybody that falls into that country’s web of sacrilege. The Almighty Allah said much about this in Qur’an 11: verses 76, 77, 81 & 82 as follows:

    “And when our messengers came to Lut (Lot), he was grieved for them because he could not protect them against the sacrilegious acts of his townsmen (who were neck deep in homosexuality). Lut concluded: ‘this is a day of woe.’ And as the evil doers came rushing towards him he said: ‘’my people, here are my daughters; they are (sexually) rather lawful to you than your fellowmen. Have fear of Allah and do not humiliate me (with your sacrilege) before my guests. Is there no single good man amongst you?

    “Then, the Angels said: ‘Lut! We are the messengers of your Lord; they shall not touch you. Depart with your kinsfolk in some part of the night and let none of you look back, except your wife. She shall suffer the fate of the others. Their appointed time is the morning. And, is the morning not near? And when our judgement came to pass, we laid them (and their towns) upside down and let loose upon them a shower of burnt stones bearing the tokens of your Lord. Such is not far off from all evil doers”.

     

    Exposition

    The above Qur’anic quotations are in reference to the people of Prophet Lut (Lot) and the consequences of their evil deeds. But as the last quoted verse indicates, the story of such evil machination did not end with them and its consequences will not end with them. Now, the imperial West seems to have found a new civilisation in sodomy. It probably believes that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were afflicted by the mentioned calamity either because they were not clever enough or they had no nuclear power with which to fight God.

     

    Words of advice

    Sodomy has long been a global phenomenon from which no part of the world is excluded. But with its current institutionalisation backed up by governmental authority, especially in Europe and America the leaders of sane countries from the rest of the world must be on their guard. It is characteristic of the West to want to impose any newly invented idea by them, and considered as civilisation, on others. This is where President Muhammadu Buhari has to be very careful when he travels to the United States.

    The Western imperialists have a way of luring others to their traps with open carrots while hiding the stick. With them, there is no free lunch. Every gift that comes from them is a Greek one. As of now, President Barrack Obama seems to be very desperate in helping Nigeria to get rid of Boko Haram menace. And he has noticed desperation on the part of President Buhari in solving the same problem.

    When two Presidents meet with such desperation on the same issue one is likely to bow for the other depending on whose will is stronger. But in a situation where one of them is the giver and the other is the recipient, the elasticity of will may be limited.

    Whoever pays the piper surely dictates the tune. The imperialists do not traditionally live in a house with only one door. They are invariably known for keeping the front door wide open to all visitors while a back door, which is an alternative, remains hidden. No Nigerian interest can ever be a priority for an American President.

     

    The evil axis

    America is currently the champion of modern civilisation. Whatever emerges from America is perceived as a trend of civilisation with which the rest of the world must keep pace. Last Friday (June 27, 2015), America’s Supreme Court gave a split judgment (of 5 to 4) that shocked the sane world to the marrow.

    The judgment officially granted the citizens of that devil’s own country the legal right to practise sodomy throughout the country in what is now seen as a token of civilisation at higher pedestal.

    The implications of that evil judgment are innumerable. Some of them are as follows:

    1.Marriage between male and female has been consigned to the uncivilised basket of the primordial time.

    2.The legal natural and conventional means of procreation of children has been rubbished and rendered irrelevant.

    3.Adoption of other people’s children has become a new artificial means of increasing human demography.

    4.Through a devilish connivance with Europe, America has challenged the authority of the Almighty God to make law for mankind.

    Human history is generally dotted with waves of civilisations from era to era. The fall of one civilisation has always signaled the beginning of another. Where are the civilisations of the yore today?

    Haven’t such ancient civilisations, such as Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Mesopotamian, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman each of which lasted far more than a thousand years now become sheer rubbles on the pages of history? From the experience of history, we have come to learn that when a civilisation wants fall, its conductors will begin to see themselves as super human beings and clad in the garb of arrogance. That is now the lot of America which amounts to challenging the authority of God.

     

    Audacious chief gay

    A few years back, the world’s chief gay crusader was no less a personality than the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron whose campaign for free homosexuality and same sex marriage is going international.

    At the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Australia in 2011, Cameron’s preoccupation was to sell the constitutional entrenchment of free homosexuality to other heads of governments, particularly those from Africa. He threatened to withdraw his government’s aid to any country that refused to allow gay freedom in its constitution.

     

    Reactions

    The first reaction to that threat came from the then Ghanaian President, John Atta Mills, who publicly and eloquently told his fellow countrymen that his government would not tolerate the linkage of foreign aid to promotion of gay rights.

    President Mills’ open denunciation came after David Cameron boasted in the British Parliament that he had sold the concept of gay rights to the Commonwealth countries.

    “If the aid is going to be tied to things that will destroy the moral fibre of our society, do you really want that?” John Mills concluded.

    Ghana was not alone in such denunciation. Uganda also asserted that she would rather suffer any economic backlash from anywhere over her opposition to gay rights. Meanwhile, the Presidents of both countries had separately proscribed homosexuality and condemned Cameron’s threat.

    However, about a year thereafter, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda went back to his vomit and announced to the world that Uganda was ready for institutionalisation of homosexuality in line with the new trend in the West. The presidential afterthought was to enable Uganda gain access to the satanic dollars that were to be granted to her in the name of economic aid.

     

    Analysis

    Out of the 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 41 maintained their enacted laws banning homosexuality with many of those laws dating back to the British colonial rule. During the early days of resistance to that evil proposal, Uganda had described Cameron’s threat to cut bilateral aid as “bullying tactics”. And Ghana, which enjoyed some 36 million British pounds aid in 2010, said she would not compromise on the matter. It will be recalled that Cameron had been harping on gay rights since early 2010. He had apparently promised his party to take the campaign for gay rights to the outside world, convinced that the British point of view was more salutary than Africa’s.

    When Malawi, another African Country, sentenced two homosexuals to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour shortly after the 2011 Commonwealth conference, David Cameron responded by slashing $30 million from that country’s aid.

     

    Nigerian experience

    Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan led a Nigerian delegation to the referred Commonwealth meeting in Australia. But no one in that delegation gave any report of that devilish mission after the delegation arrived home.

    What we rather saw was a shameless sponsor of a bill in the Senate calling for the inclusion of gay freedom in Nigerian constitution. Incidentally, a public controversy had ensued on an allegation that the then Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu was working on such a bill, an allegation which he promptly denied.

    Although the allegation could not be proved, people felt it was be too much of a coincidence for a bill of that nature to suddenly surface in our Senate subsequent to the Commonwealth meeting at which Cameron’s gay crusade was intense. The coincidence became more suspicious when a termagant Nigerian woman of South-Eastern extraction suddenly appeared on the Senate floor to defend the sacrilegious bill.

    However, we thank God that the then Senate President, Senator David Mark, maintained his dignity and upheld the cultural honour of Nigerians by not allowing any debate at all on such an obnoxious bill. In his remark over the bill, David Mark told his colleagues that such a bill was not only incompatible with African culture but also antithetical to religious beliefs in Nigeria.

    Though it could be assumed that for David Cameron to have championed such a desecration, he must have also been a gay but what could be  strange in having a gay as the Prime Minister of Britain when publicly known gays were being consecrated as Bishops in the Church of England which was and is still headed by the Queen. And despite the hue and cry over Cameron’s heretic action in that instance the Queen as Head of State remained silent an action which some people considered as a sign of approval.

     

    Irony

    The irony of Cameron’s crusade in 2011 was that he had, in the past opposed any inclusion of gay rights in the British constitution. Even as recently as 2003 he voted for the retention of section 28 of the British acts which prohibited gay rights in Britain.

    But in a sharp departure from his Tory past, Cameron later came out shamelessly to apologise for supporting that section of that constitution and turned round to say that teaching sexual equality in the British society was an important way of combating homophobic bullying.

    Britain’s changing attitude towards homosexuality was highlighted last in a study in 2011by the National Centre for Social Research which found that 36% of respondents thought sexual relations between two adults of the same sex were “always or mostly” wrong. This was down from 63% in 1983. Today, the figure in favour of sodomy in Europe and America has gone up so tremendously that it has boosted the audacity of some evil agents to turn the evil act into an open market trade.

     

    Nigeria’s cultural bereavement

    Now, with the rapid rate of moral degeneration and deification of capitalism in the West, major vices like homosexuality, lesbianism and bisexualism have become so contagious that those opposed to them are in the minority. This cannot be strange in any European country. What became strange is the official exportation of such vices to Africa with such cheap blackmail. The concern here is not much for Africa as a continent as it is for Nigeria as a country.

    Here is a country of multi-cultural, multi-religious adherents who had once held on tenaciously to their cultural identity and religious affinity for centuries. But with the arrival of European colonialists over a century ago, foreign vices began to overwhelm Nigerian cultural lifestyle as blind imitation became the tradition of Nigerian youths. Thus, today most Nigerians, especially those of the south, only see with European eyes, speak with European tongues and reason with European minds as they have totally lost their cultural origin to the imitated evil lifestyle of the Europeans. In this case and many other vices that are yet to surface, only genuine prayer can bail out Nigeria.

     

    Admonition and supplication

    “Allah does not impose upon a soul a duty that it cannot bear; for each soul is the benefit of what it has earned; and upon it is the evil of what it has wrought. Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake; Do not lay on us a burden that you did not lay on those before us; Our Lord! Do not impose upon us what we have no strength to bear; Pardon us, grant us protection and have mercy on us; You are the Patron (of the universe) so help us to overcome the machinations of the infidels”. Amen.

  • Fuel subsidy: NLC denies making presentation to Buhari

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has denied making any presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel subsidy removal.

    Its factional President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke to reporters on the controversial statement made by the Comrade Joe Ajaero faction of the NLC said: “We would want to state unequivocally that at no time has any one consulted us on the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy.

    “We are certainly not party to this and no one should put words in our mouth. Our position on the issue of the removal of fuel subsidy is unwavering. We recognise the corruption in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry orchestrated by government agencies in collusion with big-time business persons together with whom they have formed a cartel.”

    He said labour strongly beleives that in order to deal with this situation effectively, government needs to break up the cabal by opening up the downstream sector to fair competition governed by ethics.

    He recalled that the mass protest in January 2012 against an increase in prices of petroleum products opened up a can of worms in the sector, prompting legal proceedings against some of the culprits. “Till this moment, in spite of overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence against the culprits, nothing has been heard about the case(s); yet it was a prime opportunity for government to demonstrate its fight against corruption through diligent prosecution,” he said.

    Comrade Wabba urged Buhari to muster the political will by not only opening up the sector to fair competition, but also ensuring diligent prosecution of all the accused. He said labour remained convinced that the real solution to the crisis in the sector lies in ensuring that domestic refining is promoted.

    He noted that this could only be achieved if new refineries are built and the four existing ones made to produce at installed capacity, thus doing away with the need for importation of refined petroleum products. He also said new pipelines should be laid and the old ones refurbished to efficiently channel the products to all parts of the country instead of relying on carriage by tankers on the already over-burdened roads.

    The jobs of workers in the oil and gas industry, he said, must not be adversely affected by the removal of subsidy. “And, of course, there must be clear and well-thought-out palliatives relating to transportation and other social services as would be necessary for ameliorating the effects of subsidy removal on the masses,” Wabba added.

  • Buhari urged to address monopolistic practice in pay TV

    Buhari urged to address monopolistic practice in pay TV

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of African Cable Television (ACTV), Mr. Godfrey Orkeh has condemned existing structure in the nation’s legal system. He lamented that it allows a dominant player to take advantage of the pay TV marketing environment.

    Orkeh who spoke with reporters in Lagos, urged President Muhammadu Buhari  to create enabling environment for other operators to thrive in the industry as the monopolistic tendency in the market is hampering healthy competition among players.

    “We knew there is a monopolistic tendency in the market, the existing structure in the legislature of Nigeria allows a dominant player to take advantage of the environment,” he said.

    Citing Europe, Orkeh noted that no pay TV owns 100 per cent of an industry saying this amounts to anti-competition where such exist.

    He said: “The number one challenge in the industry is that there is no regulation, NBC  (Nigerian Broadcasting Commission) is doing its best but there is no law that backs it up to penalise. Before the last government handed over,  there was a bill that was being pushed, the anti-competition bill. It is like what we find in Europe that nobody can own 100 per cent of an industry, if you grow beyond a particular size, for instance when Microsoft, Google among others grew beyond a certain size, they were stopped to allow room for other players.  There is no such law right now in Nigeria so it is a big barrier; it is only the legislature that can change that.”

    He also complained that the foreign exchange is also affecting the industry player’s budget for foreign content. “Eighty per cent of what we buy is international content: CNN, BBC, Aljazeera; we buy in dollars. Apart from these, other challenges can be dealt with. However, as more players become part of the ecosystem of buying and distributing, the market will grow and there will be several players that will get access and customers will have more options to choose from and it is a good thing that such facility is not limited because it will enable Nigerians to benefit by have more options. This is good for the economy and the customers,” he lamented.

    To stay ahead in the market, he said ACTV is has embarked on value-added approach as unique selling point to cater for the needs of the market of 170 million population. He said the pay TV is offering PVR decoder which they had to expend N70, 000 under the current market structure.

    “Before we came to the market, there was no pay TV offering PVR for the middle class. For you to get decoder with PVR you have to cough out about N70, 000 but we are saying with N15, 000 you can have a PVR. In content wise there was a lot of exclusivity which is going to be difficult for one person to break.  Beyond this, we will develop the market for our self, develop a niche for our self because right now the tendency is also thriving in the industry, Nigeria with a population of about 170 million, 26 million households with television, but the market is so huge. There is still a huge market that is not being addressed, we are here to capture that niche market and grow it,” he said.

    “There are two types of content we buy in the industry, you either develop the raw content or you buy the linear content. The linear content is already a channel that someone has put together. The linear channel is a ready-made content; they determine the schedule like the BBC, the content there is controlled by the BBC. The other aspect, which is the raw content, is for us to buy the materials and put them together,” he said.

    Despite all the challenges, Orkeh said ACTV offer is an all-inclusive service that answers to the questions  of all the demographics. “We are pushing innovation and making it available at a very convenient price. We are actually addressing all our customers. This is different from the tradition which is a trend in the industry; we are targeting every member of the demographic groups in Nigeria, the high income earners to the middle income earners and to the lower earners. Looking at our subscription packages they are structured in that way, we will deliver across all of demographics. Our objective at the initial stage was targeted to the middle class but our experience has shown that the upper class and lower classes are also interested in our service,” he explained.

    On the attitude of Nigerians toward foreign content, he said: “Looking at the entertainment industry now, without Nigeria music, the party will not rock unlike what we had in the seventies and nineties. There is a shift and 40 to 50 per cent of Nigeria adults now watch Nigerian content. Can you believe that Channel TV after CNN in Nigeria has one of the highest rating and it is a Nigerian channel just because people are connected to the station, we belief the mindset is changing,” he noted.

    While piracy remains the biggest problem to content marketing in Nigeria, Orkeh said hackers are becoming a more dangerous threat. He said ACTV decided to use card-less and anti-virus software to protect its intellectual property.

    “The issue we have regarding hackers, the solution we chose is that we are the first paid TV platform in Nigeria that is card-less. We have put away that element that can encourage hacking. Also the software we use is an active anti-virus, it is actively monitors any form of tempering and we deal with accordingly. We are not saying our platform is 100 per cent tamper proof, but what we have done is to reduce it to the barest minimum and make hacking as difficult and challenging as it could be to deter them,” he said.

  • Buhari’s cabinet: We are hopeful, say industrialists, investors

    Buhari’s cabinet: We are hopeful, say industrialists, investors

    Amidt growing concern over the delay in the formation of a cabinet by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, industrialists and business operators are optimistic that the delay will  augur well for the economy. According to them, it will ensure that only technocrats who are square pegs in square holes make the list, thus boosting investor’ confidence, reports Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.

    It’s probably one of the hottest issues of national discourse, but to many industrialists and business operators, the anxiety over the delay in the announcement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet is unnecessary.

    Many who spoke with The Nation said contrary to insinuations that the delay in making the cabinet list is slowing down governance and investment decisions, it is better for the administration to take its time to study the complexities of the economy before announcing its cabinet. According to them, this was necessary to ensure a clean break from the past when square pegs were put in round holes, a reference to the appointment of non-technocrats to man key positions.

    The consensus of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), is that in the long run, the delay could turn out a shot-in-the arm for industrialists and other business operators, as the delay would ensure that only those properly schooled in the dynamics of the Nigerian economy are appointed, particularly now that the nation is facing its worst crisis ever. This, in turn, would boost investor’ confidence, guarantee the protection of their investment, and ultimately return the economy on the path of recovery.

    For instance, as former President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Bode Adediji put it, the nation is in transition and so it needs to take time to ensure a dynamic and credible team to tackle the monumental problems confronting her.

    Adediji, who defended the President’s seeming inaction based on his (Buhari’s) anti-corruption credentials, insisted that he must be given enough time to assemble a crack-team for the job.

    Hear him: “Buhari needs to be diligent. A single man cannot effectively fight the war against corruption, or correct the ills of several years of under development. But based on his track record, l am confident that he is working silently for the good of the nation. I also urge his political party to quickly resolve their differences in order to usher in a sustainable change. A situation that they can’t agree on power sharing formula and other things of common interest, is not healthy for the country.”

    A Public Affairs Analyst, Mr. Mahmud Othman,  agreed with Adediji. He said he wouldn’t join the ranks of those criticising the president for not constituting his cabinet yet.

    According to him, “people are finding it very difficult to believe the level of damage to the economy. The transition committee headed by Ahmed Joda made a lot of discoveries. If you appoint ministers without knowing the state of the economy and bringing the right people on board, the economy will run into deeper problems. People are becoming impatient, but l will counsel that we are better off doing the right thing before constituting the cabinet.

    Othman said Buhari didn’t hide his preference to choose the best for the task ahead and not necessarily based on political consideration, but those who can deliver to move the economy forward. He pointed out that the economy is in tatters as can be seen from the various states that can’t pay workers’ salaries, let alone embarking on new projects.

    “Oil money is no longer available. The debt profile is scary. Personally l don’t envy any political appointee especially ministers because the expectations are too high. As a stop gap to the appointment of ministers, the Permanent Secretaries in the ministries are working and no investor will leave because of late appointment of ministers,” he added.

    The Public Affairs Analyst is not done. While disagreeing with those arguing that governance is crawling because of the delay in constituting a cabinet, he insisted that various aspects of governance backed by law are operating as they don’t need ministers to work. He said anti corruption agencies, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC), have suddenly woken up and are arresting those alleged to be corrupt unlike before. This, he said, is because they have read the president’s body language and known that he is not interested in condoling corruption.

    Othman however criticised the lack of information from the Buhari’s government. While noting that it is a minus to the administration, he said, “Frayed nerves are not calmed because it is a different thing for 36 ministers to be talking from the perspective of their ministries rather than what is obtainable now where nobody is hearing anything that can sooth the nerves of the public and people just believe that governance has taken flight.” He however, encouraged Nigerians to be hopeful and be confident that the Buhari administration will deliver on his campaign promises and that the nation will be great again.

    However, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, over the weekend, sought to close the perceived communication gap when he said it will take time to clear the mess created by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Adesina, in statement, said “It requires scrupulous and painstaking planning to clean the PDP’s Augean Stable.” He also noted that Nigerians were already on the side of the administration, which he said was on course.

    Adesina was reacting to the 30 days appraisal of Buhari administration by the opposition PDP. Its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, had in a statement during the weekend, taken a swipe on the Buhari administration, noting that the enormity of the confusion surrounding the government and the ruling party in the last one month had made it imperative for Nigerians to pray as the success or failure of the Buhari administration would not only affect the President and his party, but also the entire nation.

    The statement by Metuh said: “We urge Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC because with what we have seen in the last 30 days, the present administration is finding it very difficult to get its bearings right while showing no inclination towards implementing its numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the centre. We are deeply worried that the President, who promised to unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to decide on key appointments, such as ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff and advisers in key sectors of the economy.”

    Metu said the delay has brought government business in ministries, departments and agencies to a dangerous standstill with coordination of important policies vested on ministers and the SGF now in tatters while the system drifts. According to him, the situation is taking its toll on the economy, which has in the last 30 days witnessed unprecedented decline with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments, including activities in the money and capital market sectors. He said under Buhari, for instance, the stock market has lost over N238 billion while the All-Share Index fell by 849.87 basis points as at June 19.

    For Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, there is no clear indication on the position of the government and investors need to know the direction the administration is going to avoid creating doubt in the minds of the public. By now, there should have been clear direction in key sectors of the economy such as energy, oil and gas, monetary and fiscal policies. The problems of uncertainty have persisted in the economy and the issue of conjecture has persisted in the economy with people guessing at what the government is planning as far as policy direction is concerned,” he told The Nation.

    While pointing out that people are not insisting on full implementation of the administration’s blue print on the economy, he said there is need for investors to have a bearing on what to expect in the new dispensation. But the thinking of other operators in various sectors is that the delay in constituting a cabinet was informed by the realities on ground particularly the need to get things right.

    For instance, apart from the need to clear the rot inherited from the previous administration, the crisis in the National Assembly over the choice of principal officers as well as the need to prune down the number of ministries and parastatals, The Nation learnt, are also responsible for the delay. But the consensus is that by the time the cabinet is eventually constituted, Nigerians and the economy would be better for it.