N1bn lost daily to rice importation —FG

N1bn lost daily to rice importation —FG
ABUJA — THE Federal Government has said that the country loses about N1 billion everyday from importation of rice, even as it assured that Nigeria will soon stop importing the grains.
President on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, and African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, disclosed this at a one-day stakeholders’ forum on the establishment of the Nigeria/ECOWAS rice sector policy and regulation advocacy platform, in Abuja.
She added that due to the importation of rice, Nigeria had been exporting jobs and financial resources for the transformation of the domestic rice sector in the country.

Speaking in similar vein, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, also assured that “Nigeria is already at exit door from importation.”
The minister said this when he inspected the 420 hectares of rice farm and mill owned by Olam Nigeria Limited in Rubuki near Doma, Nasarawa State.
He said 2.9 million metric tonnes of high quality milled rice was expected to be produced from the farm starting from the next farming season.

The minister noted that with the importation of about two million metric tonnes of rice per annum, the issue of rice import will soon stop.
“We are going to be the Thailand of Africa in terms of rice production and export,” Adesina said
The minister also said no fewer than 670 jobs were created in 2013 through rice production.
He disclosed that 1.9 million metric tonnes of rice was produced in the 2013 dry and wet seasons thereby contributing N320 billion to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
Source Vanguard.

Legislators Agree to Belt-tightening, Cut N’Assembly’s Budget by 25%"

Towing the same path of the federal government to cut costs owing to dwindling oil revenue occasioned by low OIL PRICES, the National Assembly, for the first time in years, has finally agreed to a 25 per cent cut in its annual budget of N150 billion.
By acquiescing to the 25 per cent cut, the National Assembly will shed N37.5 billion of its annual budget, meaning that when the 2015 budget is finally passed, its budget will stand at N112.5 billion.
A source privy to the negotiations between the National Assembly and the executive arm of government told THISDAY on Wednesday that the lawmakers finally agreed to the cut as part of their sacrifice to steer the economy out of the woods following a significant loss of government revenue to falling OIL PRICES.
Prior to their acceptance to slash their budget, the National Assembly’s budget was a no-go-area for the executive, which for years had allotted N150 billion to the legislature even when other MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) of government were forced to accept budget cuts.
The decision on the cut to the National Assembly’s budget was taken by the lawmakers before the commencement of plenary.
THISDAY had exclusively reported on Wednesday that, while a majority of the lawmakers supported the cut in the National Assembly’s budget, some had kicked against it because they did not want to lose their privileges.
Those who had kicked against the new $52 per barrel oil benchmark as well as the reduction in the National Assembly budget were also said to have demanded that the N50 billion allocated to constituency projects be paid instantly.
In addition to the cut in the National Assembly’s budget, the executive had proposed a 25 per cent cut to the State House budget, and had made cuts to overseas travel and training programmes for public sector workers this year.
Also, the Senate yesterday unanimously reduced the N2.616 trillion proposed for recurrent expenditure in the 2015 budget to N2.5 trillion and simultaneously raised the capital vote from the proposed N633 billion to N700 billion.
The decision followed the presentation and adoption of the report of the joint National Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation on the Medium Term and Expenditure Framework presented by its Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.
The Senate also drastically slashed the subsidy for petrol from the proposed N200 billion to N100 billion and reduced kerosene subsidy from N91 billion to N45.5 billion.
It also slashed the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) allocation from N102 billion to N21 billion.
In the same vein, the parliament cut the N411.8 billion statutory transfers proposed by the executive to N363.2 and increased non-oil revenue expectations from N3.539 trillion to N4.02 trillion.
The report questioned further the rationale behind voting a whopping N360.9 billion as service wide votes in the budget.
It also queried the allocation of N63 billion for the amnesty programme when the project is actually being financed by the Niger Delta Ministry.
Makarfi also queried the classification of N22 billion as allocation for internal operations of the military under the service wide vote, noting that it should ordinarily be part of the Ministry of Defence budget.
The former Kaduna governor also demanded the proper reclassification of pensions and gratuities under the service wide vote and suggested that the entire service wide vote be completely scrapped, as it was considered an avenue for leakages.
The service wide vote is a major component of the annual budget belonging to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) allegedly earmarked for contingencies.
Senators, who spoke on the service wide vote, described the allocation as fake and nothing but an avenue to siphon funds. This allegation, for instance, came against the background that the budget for funding of the amnesty programme is domiciled in the Niger Delta Ministry.
They also argued that the service wide vote window, said to have been created by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been used to perpetrate illegality and fraud.
The Senate therefore resolved that henceforth, the votes should be cancelled and allocations under it appropriately directed.
The Senate also formally ratified the $52 billion oil benchmark and EXCHANGE RATE of N190 to $1 for the 2015 budget which it approved at its closed-door session on Tuesday.
In his remarks, Senate President, David Mark, said budgetary allocations should cut across the three arms of government, noting that there is always talk of diversification of the economy at the beginning of every fiscal year without taking any steps thereafter.
“What this clearly shows is that we all have to tighten our belts across the entire sectors of this government. We have for the last several years relied on oil as the main source of our revenue and I know that budget after budget, we say we will diversify the economy.
“Every time this budget comes we will still be repeating the same thing. The impression I get from this is that those who are responsible for producing the draft merely go there and reproduce what they have been bringing up.
“But I think they need to do a little more; they may not be able to forecast accurately. There are a few things I think we must get right.
“The first thing is let there be a cut across board, the executive, the judiciary and the legislature and we are prepared to lead in this. The areas of leakages we must emphasise on them. The revenue generation and collection, we must make sure that we tighten.
“What has impressed me with the entire discussion and debate is the fact that this has been non-partisan. Everybody has been very fair,” he said.
Source ThisDay.

ISPS Code compliance level up from 7% to 85% — NIMASA"

ISPS Code compliance level up from 7% to 85% — NIMASA"
The Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has said that the International Ships and Ports facility Security (ISPS) Code compliance level has risen from a mere 7 per cent to 83 per cent in the last two years.
According to NIMASA “ The ISPS Code has received an appreciable compliance level since the agency was made the Designated Authority (DA).
NIMASA’s Director General, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi said that there is improved ISPS compliance level in Nigerian ports and terminals , adding that the success story of ISPS Code compliance has enhanced better environment for port operations.
“The improved International Ship and Port Facility Security Code compliance level in Nigerian ports and terminals has pitched those benefiting from the status quo against the agency.
“Since the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan administration appointed the agency as the Designated Authority for the implementation of the ISPS Code in the country, the compliance level rose from 7 perc ent to 83 percent within two years”.
He noted that the compliance level has eliminated wharf rats, hawking and even touting within the ports’ vicinity, adding that unlike in the past; one can now import goods and be sure that the goods will arrive in tact without the usual dreadful experience.
The agency boss disclosed that the NIMASA’s satellite surveillance centre has also assisted in the quest to combating illicit activities in the Nigerian maritime domain , noting that the agency can respond to distress calls on Nigerian waters and beyond.
He said that the 24 hours satellite equipment has the capacity to detect boats, ships and objects predefined cross section floating on waters, which has helped to reduce incidence of piracy and oil theft to the barest minimum.
“We remain committed to the ideals setting up NIMASA and resolute in efforts at evolving a responsive and responsible safety administration in the belief that the future of our country can only be guaranteed by focused leadership”.
Akpobolokemi added that the sponsors of oil theft and pirate attacks are against the agency, hence the numerous mudslinging on the agency and its leadership.
“It is on record that NIMASA in the preceding years demonstrated an uncommon sense of purpose which has resulted in the evolution of a bold maritime safety administration and a responsive and visionary agency committed to growing the potential of the sector through creation of capacities, jobs and various opportunities ultimately designed to propel Nigeria into that enviable status of a maritime nation” he said.
SOURCE VANGUARD.

Minimah Visits Baga, Rewards Triumphant Soldiers with Promotion"

Minimah Visits Baga, Rewards Triumphant Soldiers with Promotion"
Barely one week after the Nigerian military recaptured Baga in Borno State, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Kenneth Minimah, on Wednesday said victory could still be achieved over the Boko Haram insurgents before the elections scheduled to start March 28.
Minimah, who was in Baga town in Kukawa Local Government Area to boost the morale of the troops, said the Nigerian military would not rest until Boko Haram is completely flushed out of the North-east, promising that all officers and soldiers who participated in the recapture of Baga would be promoted.

Baga was attacked for three successive days by the terrorists early last month, leading to its capture and death of hundreds of residents.

Satellite imagery released by Amnesty International (AI) last month showed the level of destruction in Baga after the onslaught by the Islamist group.
The COAS, who said he was impressed with what the troops had achieved, assured journalists in Maiduguri after his visit to Baga that the displaced residents of reclaimed communities could go back to vote during the general election.

Minimah said: “It is achievable to end Boko Haram activities very soon because we are still within the six-week timeframe. But we should not see the six weeks as a final date for the end to hostilities.
“This is a war and we will try and do whatever possible to liberate more areas so that displaced citizens can go and resettle and possibly vote during the elections.”
In Baga, the COAS had told the troops that President Goodluck Jonathan and all Nigerians were proud of them.
“My visit here is a confidence-building trip and is meant to inform you that all Nigerians are singing your praises for your courage and urge you to you keep up the tempo. You have made Nigerians proud.
“From today, it will never be possible for the insurgents to take hold of any of our territories. Today it is going to be victory all the way because the war is almost ended.
“From here we move to retake Gwoza, Marte and Madagali. With this, there is going to be no more Boko Haram; the slogan is ‘never again’ and even the president shares in this slogan,” he informed the troops.
The COAS also announced that every soldier who had participated in the liberation of Baga would get instant promotion to the next rank.

“As a way of commending your courage and patriotism, every soldier who participated in the Baga operation, whether dead or alive has been promoted to the next rank,” said Minimah.
Expectedly, the officers and soldiers were jubilant as they conducted the COAS and his team to parts of the town where he inspected some of the weapons and vehicles seized from the dislodged terrorists.
Source ThisDay.

Fayose: APC must apologise for lying to Nigerians on Buhari, Says; “Chatham House event was bought”

Fayose: APC must apologise for lying to Nigerians on Buhari, Says; “Chatham House event was bought”
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) must apologise for lying to Nigerians on the health status of its presidential candidate, Major General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd), using pictures taken in Transcop Hilton, Abuja and claming that the pictures were taken in London.
Fayose said “it was interesting that the loquacious APC Spokesperson, Lai Mohammed could develop a cold feet and muscle pull in his mouth such that he suddenly realised that he could not join issues with Fayose.”

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said; “The Chatham House one hour event scheduled for Thursday was paid for by the APC with the hope that Buhari will be well enough to appear in public briefly by Thursday.
“The Event Contact person, Chris Vandome confirmed via phone call that the event was ‘Jointly Sponsored’ by the APC and Chatham House.”
The governor said; “Having lied so brazenly that Buhari granted interview in London, using pictures taken in Transcop Hilton, Abuja, it is obvious that the APC is a party of deceitful people that should not be taken seriously by Nigerians.
“If APC ssys that today is Tuesday, Nigerians should check calender to be sure.”
He hailed Guardian newspaper for being honourable enough to publish an apology yesterday, on the false picture it used on Sunday, asking; “When is APC going to be humble enough to apologise to Nigerians?”
“Hopefully, the APC expects to bombard Nigerians with pictures of Buhari’s one hour appearance in Chatham House on Friday, using that to cover up the real reasons he travelled to the United Kingdom.
“However, we expect them to publish pictures of Buhari’s departure from the Abuja Airport, Buhari queuing at the Airport to board his flight as they claimed, Buhari being interviewed by journalists at the Airport, Buhari boarding his flight and waving at those who followed him to the Airport ans Buhari being welcomed at the Airport in London.
“If actually Buhari travelled out of Nigeria under a normal condition, could he have passed through the Abuja Airport without any of the Aviation Journalists interviewing him?
“So, those covering up Buhari’s health issue should know that his paid appearance at Chatham House on Thursday will not do the PR they are expecting. Rather, it will raise further questions which they can only answer by saying the truth and apologising for the lies they told,” the governor said.
Source Pointblank News.

Chatham House: ‘APC Chasing Shadows’ - PDP

Chatham House: ‘APC Chasing Shadows’ - PDP
...Commends Jonathan for Visit to Troubled Spots"
The Peoples Democratic Party has noted the theatrical appearance
of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in that well produced orchestra
earlier today at the Chatham House, London. A script well written, a
script well acted, all a truthful lie. The messenger belies the
message.
The stage was targeted to secure a desperately needed
endorsement of the international community but the world is hardly
fooled by theatrics of desperation. APC is chasing shadows.
That stage may have lifted the badly deflated morale of the
members of APC but the vanishing performance is incapable of
redeeming the forlorn fortune in the bad sale the APC flag bearer is
in the March 28, 2015 presidential election.
Bottom-line, we wish to urge General Buhari to quickly channel his
message and energies home, meet Nigerians who are choking up
with questions on his capacity to lead. He may realize ultimately
too, that politics in this instance is local and shall be decided locally.
The ultimate endorsement lies with the people of Nigeria.
We wish to commend President Goodluck Jonathan for boosting the
moral of our gallant soldiers with a visit today to Baga in Bornu
State and Mubi in Adamawa State. His able leadership has resulted
in the huge successes recorded by our Armed Forces in the fight
against insurgency.
Signed:
Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary

Etiebet, Others Criticise PDP Ward Congresses"

Etiebet, Others Criticise PDP Ward Congresses"
The last may not have been heard over the conduct of last Saturday’s ward congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in across the country as protests have continued to trail the exercise.
In Akwa Ibom State, a member, Board of Trustee (BoT) of the party, Chief Don Etiebet, who strongly criticised the electoral panel and the conduct of the congress describing it as a mockery of the party.
Briefing journalists yesterday in Uyo to register his grievances over the congress, Etiebet urged the national headquarters of the party to urgently wade into the embarrassing situation before things deteriorate.
The former Minister of Petroleum said there was no congress in the state, saying as a veteran of electoral processes in the country since 1978, he knows what congress, primaries and elections is all about, “but that of Saturday was far from what it used to be.

“I want to tell you that I am not satisfied with the conduct of the ward congress conducted in the state on Saturday. It was a farce and there was no congress conducted in the state,” he said.
The Chairman of the PDP Electoral Committee sent to the state, Senator Abdulraziz Ibrahim, Etiebet alleged was biased.
“Ibrahim openly told the stakeholders and aspirants that he did not come to conduct ward congress but to monitor.
“The electoral committee that was sent to Akwa Ibom State to conduct the election arrived Akwa Ibom State and no one knew where they were.
“Normally when such team arrives in the state, they will seek to talk to party elders, they will address the different aspirants and their supporters. They did not do that. We did not even know that they were in Akwa Ibom."

In Abia, the state chapter of the PDP has denied violating court order stopping last Saturday’s ward congresses, saying that no court order was served on the party.
An Abuja High Court had last Wednesday made an order stopping the PDP ward congresses from holding in Abia following a suit challenging the setting up of an 11-member congress committee by the state party leadership.
But the state chairman of the PDP, Senator Emma Nwaka, told journalists at a press conference in Umuahia yesterday that neither he nor any member of the state executive committee received any court injunction concerning the ward congresses. Rather he said what he got was an order from an Obingwa high court obtained by some members of the party vacating the said court order from Abuja, adding that both courts have “coordinate jurisdiction.”
Nwaka insisted that as lawyer with over 30 years experience in the bar, he could not ignored an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

He said the ward congresses were a huge success in all 184 electoral wards in the state and vehemently dismissed the position of the three Abia senators who claimed that no ward congresses was held in Abia.
However, the party chairman acknowledged that there were some shortcomings in the conduct of the congresses but commended the party faithful and members of the electoral committee led by Mr. Tony Okeke for conducting “a peaceful and successful congress.”
In Bayelsa State, despite the seeming peace that characterised the congresses facts have emerged that parallel elections were held in some local governments areas and wards in the state as some leading politicians disagreed among themselves.
THISDAY learnt that it was one of such disagreements that led to an attempt on the live of a former a deputy governor of the state whose boat was attacked and four persons were killed.
Ebebi was considered a loyalist of the state governor Chief Seriake Dickson and a member of the PDP caucus assembly that zoned out the senatorial seat from his own local government area to that of Dickson.
The parallel congresses were said to have been held on the instigation of some serving senators and House of Representatives members who were desirous for a return ticket despite the zoning formula in place in the state.

It was also learnt that Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, representing Bayelsa West senatorial district in the Senate, conducted a parallel congress in his ward headquarters in Ekeremor Local Government Area.
Apart from Lokpobiri, the senator representing the state's central senatorial district, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, was said to have also organised a separate congress of his own in his ward headquarters at Opolo, Yenagoa.
Paulker, a close confidant of President Jonathan, reportedly brought all the materials for the congress from Abuja and conducted the exercise separately from the one held by Dickson's loyalists.
The same scenario also played out in Ogbia, the local government area of President Jonathan where loyalists of Dickson shut out the senator representing the Bayelsa East senatorial district, Mr. Clever Ikisikpo.
Also, the people of Okordia, Biseni and Zarama communities in Constituency lll, Yenagoa local government were said to have protested the conduct of the congress in their area.
They claimed that some prominent politicians led by the member representing them in the House of Assembly, Pastor Gentle Emelah, hijacked electoral materials meant for the congress.
However, the situation seems to be different in Rivers State, as a former Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, described the 16 governorship aspirants who boycotted the ward congresses as professional losers who were waiting for President Goodluck Jonathan's endorsement.
This came as the aspirants and there supporters have said they would not appear before the election appeals panel set up to hear complaints from the congresses.

Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday on the outcome of the elections, Wike said it was unfortunate that the protesting aspirants did not prepare for the congresses.
He said the other aspirants were hoping that Jonathan would prevail on him not to pick the express of intent and nomination form but were surprised when he resigned and paid for both forms.
He also said the other aspirants were also hoping that they would prevail on the president to ask him to drop his governorship ambition, adding that they misfired.

“Where were they all these months that I was on the road working for the resuscitation of the party. Most of them are moles that the All Progressives Party, APC, has planted to derail our march to government house in 2015. I can assure you that they will not succeed,” Wike said.
In Cross River State, though Governor Liyel Imoke is not contesting for any election but that did not stop thousands of his loyalists from taking to the streets of major towns in the state on Sunday to celebrate the outcome of the just-concluded ward congress election.
From Ogoja in the North to Ikom in the central senatorial district and even Bakassi in the southern senatorial district, it was celebration galore for the governor’s loyalists who saw the outcome of the exercise as a revalidation of Imoke’s leadership of the party in the state.
In Ikom town on Sunday, hundreds of okada riders said to be were seen performing some amazing feats along Etomi road axis in jubilation of the outcome of the poll while some women where seen dancing round major streets shouting we “have won;” “our people have done it again.”
Also at Presbyterian Primary School field, Ikom, another set of hundreds of party supporters gathered there celebrating the results of the ward congress.
Source ThisDay.

Presidency to Atiku: You Contributed to Escalation of Insurgency"

Presidency to Atiku: You Contributed to Escalation of Insurgency"
As insurgent activities continue unabated in the North-east geo-political zone, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has berated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for his recent comments on insecurity in the region, saying that some past utterances of Atiku contributed to the escalation of insurgency in the North.
Okupe stated this while speaking on the last day of Public Affairs Forum, a programme organised by his office to enable ministers give an account of stewardship to members of civil society organisations, professional groups and artisans in Abuja.

While making reference to a statement that ‘those who make peaceful change impossible will make violent change inevitable,’ made by Atiku at the northern stakeholders’ forum in 2010, Okupe said it was unfortunate that those who desperately stoked the fire of insurgency are now laying the blame on the shoulders of a government that is working hard to put out the fire.
According to the president’s aide, it is a mark of unpatriotism for Atiku to talk down on the military which he hopes to lead if elected President of the Federal Republic.
Okupe said the former vice-president was not known to have taken any hard position on terrorists and terrorism in the past and shouldn’t expect to gain any political mileage from the unfortunate killings and kidnappings in some parts of the North by presenting himself as being on the side of the victims of insurgency.
He advised the APC presidential aspirant to learn from political leaders in other climes who drop the toga of partisanship in moments of mational crisis by supporting their government to raise the hope of citizens and defeat enemies of civilisation.
Okupe said President Goodluck Jonathan would not be distracted by negative comments from Atiku and a few others whose only concern is politics rather than nation building but he (Jonathan) would continue to work assiduously with security chiefs and community stakeholders to restore peace to Northern Nigeria in the shortest possible time.

PDP Member Asks Court to Nullify Mu'azu's Appointment as Chairman"

PDP Member Asks Court to Nullify Mu'azu's Appointment as Chairman"
A Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to nullify the appointment of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, on the grounds that it was done in violation of Sections 45(1) and (2) of the party's constitution.

The plaintiff, Mr. Emmanuel Onu, who claimed to be a member of the PDP, is praying the court for a declaration that the purported resignation letter of Bamanga Tukur presented by President Goodluck Jonathan to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party was in clear violation of Sections 47(5) and (6) of the party's constitution.

The defendants are the PDP, Mu'azu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Mu'azu was appointed by the party's NEC to succeed Turkur, who resigned as chairman on January 15 this year.

The plaintiff asked the court to hold that Mu'azu's appointment was invalid.
He asked the court to nullify Mu'azu's appointment as PDP chairman on the further grounds that it did not comply with the provisions of Section 85(1) and (3) of the 2010 Electoral Act and Section 223(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
He also wants the court to direct the immediate re-instatement of Tukur as the national chairman of the party or in the alternative order the deputy national chairman to pilot the affairs of the PDP until due process of electing a valid national chairman was complied with.
The court was also asked to stop Mu'azu from parading himself as the national chairman of the party and to also order INEC to stop further correspondence with Mu'azu.
In a 15-paragraph affidavit, the plaintiff averred that the appointment of Mu'azu as the National Chairman was premature and unconstitutional.

He asked the court to determine whether the purported swift resignation of Tukur at the 63rd NEC meeting of PDP was compliance with Section 47(5) and (6) of the 2012 party's constitution of the PDP.
He also wants the court to decide whether the process and procedure that produced Mu'azu complied with the party's constitution.
Also, the court was asked to determine whether the appointment, emergence and continued stay in office of Mu'azu as the national chairman of the PDP was in compliance with provisions of Section 85(1) and (3) of the 2010 Electoral Act and Section 223(1) of 1999 constitution.
A lawyer and a member of the party, Ezionye Ndubuisi, had earlier asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to remove Mu'azu as the chairman of the party.
Source ThisDay.

Crude Oil Prices Tumble as OPEC Maintains Output, Price War Brews"

Crude Oil Prices Tumble as OPEC Maintains Output, Price War Brews"
Crude oil prices sank to new four-year lows on Thursday on the back of the announcement that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has decided to maintain its oil output ceiling at 30 million barrels, preferring, as a strategy, to wait for the market to stabilise instead of cutting production quotas.

OPEC’s decision sent world oil prices tumbling, with London’s Brent Light crude for January deliveries falling to $74.36 a barrel while New York’s West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January slumped to $70.87, triggering the likelihood of a price war among Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States of America as they battle to maintain market share.

The three countries are the world’s largest oil producers. But whilst Saudi Arabia and Russia would prefer higher oil prices over the $100 range, the US wants cheaper oil to reduce the price of petrol at the pump for American consumers.

Arising from the 166th General Meeting of the body in Vienna, Austria, Kuwait’s oil minister told reporters, despite a global supply glut that has sent crude prices crashing, there will be no change in production from member countries.

The 12-nation oil cartel, which is headquartered in Vienna, has opted to leave its collective daily oil output target at 30 million barrels, even after crude prices have plunged by more than a third in value since June.
The decision was in line with Saudi Arabia’s stance that there should be no production cuts in order to put pressure on US shale oil producers, who would buckle under the impact of lower oil prices.
Unlike oil produced in West Africa and the Middle-East, shale oil is much more expensive to produce, and oil prices of less than $70 a barrel will force US producers to cut output to raise prices.
Before the meeting, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, had been under pressure from Russia (a non-OPEC member), Nigeria, Iraq and Venezuela, whose economies are heavily reliant on crude oil revenue, to accept a production cut.
But Saudi Arabia stood firm in its desire to maintain market share in the face of threats from the US shale boom.

While stating that its decision was perhaps a response to the shale oil and gas phenomenon, OPEC noted its concern over the recent rapid decline in oil prices.
The cartel explained that stable oil prices at a level which does not affect global economic growth, but which allows producers to at the same time generate reasonable revenues and to invest to meet future demand, were vital especially in the interest of restoring market equilibrium.
It however agreed to remain vigilant given the uncertainties and risks associated with future developments in the world economy. In this regard, its secretariat has been directed to keep a close watch of developments in supply and demand as well as on non-fundamental factors such as speculative activity for members to be fully aware of developments.

“As always, in taking this decision, member countries confirmed their readiness to respond to developments which could have an adverse impact on the maintenance of an orderly and balanced oil market,” OPEC’s outgoing President and Libyan Vice-Prime Minister for Corporations, Abdourhman Ataher Al-Ahirish, said in a press briefing after their closed-door meeting.
Al-Ahirish explained that the production level would remain the same for the next six months, when the organisation meets at its next general meeting on June 5, 2015.
He also noted the conference’s forecast of an increase in world oil demand in 2015 by 1.36mb/d from non-OPEC supply.

However, earlier Thursday, Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, was elected the first female president of OPEC.
This is just as the minister has passed the blame for the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) on the National Assembly.
With her election, she replaces former president, Al-Ahirish.
She was before her election the alternate president of OPEC and is expected to immediately begin to serve her one-year term at the helm of OPEC affairs.
Her one-year reign at the helm of OPEC affairs will start in January 2015 alongside the alternate president and Algerian Governor for OPEC, Ahmed Messili.
NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Joseph Dawha described Alison-Madueke’s election as an exciting development for Nigeria.

“We know that she is capable of handling the demands of the office,” Dawha said.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Alison-Madueke said non-OPEC oil producers would have to share in the burden of future production cuts.
“I think $70 is a challenge for most oil producing countries not just OPEC. I think all of us are in this together. If non-OPEC countries don’t cooperate with us, there is little that can be done,” Alison-Madueke noted.
She had earlier stated that the US shale oil has had a considerable impact on all major oil producing economies.
She explained: “It is a major game changer for all of us across the globe and we are having to deal with that, and for Nigeria as you know, as our major export destination.”
On Nigeria’s contingency plan, she said: “I think quite clearly, we have to look at setting up an enabling environment, we have to readdress our enablers to ensure that we have access to other markets other than the major market of North America, which has now been shut to us with the advent of the US shale oil and gas.
“To do that, we have to look very stringently again at the Petroleum Industry Bill to ensure that the enablers are there, even though it is under the purview of the parliament – so that we can be more and more competitive.

“The current fall has been sustained, so we hope that the balances level out very quickly but while this happens, we really have to ensure that we are competitive, particularly in terms of end-user markets.
“Nigeria has no recourse at this point in time other than to fully develop our gas infrastructure for domestic use and I think that we are pushing ahead with that in all ramifications,” she said.
Also in his reaction to OPEC’s decision, the Group Coordinator, Corporate Planning and Strategy of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Timothy Okon, said Nigeria is a price taker and not a price setter by any means and will make the most of the situation.
“The market would do what it does. We need to do what others are doing, which is strategic marketing of our crude and through that we can maintain value as much as possible.
“I think there is a general consensus that the market is over supplied but from the analysis that I have seen, it is believed that over supply will be significantly reduced next year as demand will balance supply later next year,” Okon said.

He added that the first quarter of next year will be good to do a re-appraisal of the situation, stressing, “With a growing global economy, I think demand will pick up next year. Overall, I don t think the over supply is too much of a problem.”
In a related development, the federal government is unlikely to consider any compromise on the fiscal regime laid out in the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) on oil sector reform, as Alison-Madueke yesterday appeared to shrug off responsibility for the delay in the passage of the bill that has deterred key new investment in the oil sector, reported Platts, a leading provider of energy and metals information.
It has been suggested that lower oil prices could force the federal government to seriously consider making concessions on the proposed higher fiscal regime in the new law, which is now six years in the making.
But Alison-Madueke, who was speaking to reporters ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna, said the bill was now “out of my purview”, and rests solely with parliament.
“That bill is with the National Assembly, the parliament, it is not under my purview so it is not for us to prescribe. But we do have to look at all possible enablers at this time in view of the sustained downward trend in oil prices,” the minister said.

The bill proposes to hike the government’s share of revenue to at least 73 per cent from 61 per cent, a move industry executives say will halt investment in deep offshore projects and risk reducing Nigeria's oil output by 25 per cent by 2022. But the government has maintained that previous terms introduced in 1993 were based on an oil price of $20 a barrel, and are no longer realistic.
Oil is the key driver of the Nigerian economy and accounts for up to 90 per cent of dollar earnings, but production has stagnated in the past two years and is currently averaging 1.8 million b/d, Alison-Madueke said.

The drop in output is largely due to widespread crude theft and a slowdown in investment.
The 30 per cent slump in oil prices has also forced Nigeria to revise downwards its oil price benchmark for revenue calculations in its 2015 budget to $73/b.
“We should be producing 2.5-2.6 million b/d so we are already facing very stringent cuts,” the minister said.
Nigeria in particular has suffered from the boom in shale oil production in the United States.
Barrels stopped flowing in July for the first time on record from an average of 64,000 b/d in the first eight months of 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), and compared with a full-year 2013 average of 239,000 b/d.
The West African nation hopes to offset the impact of the drop in US sales by increasing exports to China and India but faces competition from Middle East producers vying for key Asian markets.
The minister said Nigeria was more focused on Asian markets rather than European outlets but was looking at various alternatives for its sweet, light crude barrels.
“We are expecting to do a lot more work with our Asian colleagues on the export side. We are particularly targeting India and China as well. At the moment the Asian demand is a lot stronger than Europe,” the minister said.

“But we are open at this point in time and we are having discussions with all possible takers. End-user markets are very important and we are trying to develop those stringently at this point in time.”
Analysts say Latin America crude is fast displacing West Africa crude in both China and India, a development that could see West Africa face a significant demand shock next year

PVC Cloning: PDP Insists APC Has Case to Answer

PVC Cloning: PDP Insists APC Has Case to Answer"
Despite explanations, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said no amount of “dirty tricks” employed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to play on the intelligence of Nigerians will drown its clear criminal act of cloning of INEC’s Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).

The PDP National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwon, in a statement on Thursday, said: “In posting series of lame denials, even when caught in the act and attempting to compare their crime to the American Watergate political scandal, the APC has clearly exposed its culpability and confirmed our stand regarding their criminal tendencies and penchant for deceit and lies.”

Insisting that any APC leader found to be behind the crime should be prosecuted, the ruling party said members of the APC should hide their faces in shame, describing them as a “desperate and disgraceful lot whose activities have continued to stain the image of the country.
“It is, to say the least, despicable that instead of apologising to Nigerians for this heinous crime, the APC leaders have resorted to lies and dirty tricks in an attempt to play the victim and blame the PDP for their self inflicted woes.

“In referring to Watergate scandal involving American President, Richard Nixon and the bugging of Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters, the APC stood the truth on its head and tried to play on the intelligence of Nigerians by trying to politicise an obvious criminal act
“The truth remains that the APC is now hysterical and feverish having been caught in the act. They have been exposed and no amount of antics by their leaders will remove their culpability that deserves the full weight of the law.

“The questions APC must answer are; is their attempt to hack into INEC’s data-base not criminal? What were the 31‘Ghana must go’ bags of INEC PVC specimen doing in their so-called data office in Lagos? We are indeed appalled at the extent the APC can go in their desperation for power for which they have now become notorious.
“We therefore urge our security agencies not to allow themselves to be intimidated by the APC, but hasten investigations on this crime. This is especially as we restate the fear by majority that the APC may have already started cloning ballot papers and other election documents in their quest to achieve political power by all means
Source ThisDay.

The Cowboy Called Aminu Tambuwal" By Yemi Adebowale

The Cowboy Called Aminu Tambuwal"
By Yemi Adebowale
The withdrawal of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Speaker of the House of Representatives from the race for the ticket of the APC in the 2015 Presidential election is no longer news. The news is the unpleasant scene created by Tambuwal and his goons in an attempt to force their way into the National Assembly on Thursday. Some of these touts called lawmakers jumped into the National Assembly like armed robbers. I can’t understand why Tambuwal and these law breakers have chosen to end the 7th House of Representatives in turmoil. He knows very well that minority parties in any parliament in the world do not produce Speakers. Tambuwal would have made history had he chosen the path of honour by resigning as Speaker before decamping to the PDP. Then, he can contest in a fresh election. The action of Tambuwal and his guys on Thursday was despicable. The Speaker and his goons are a disgrace to this country.
The shameful action on Thursday is coming few days after Tambuwal made a disgusting attempt for the Presidential ticket of the APC; he was eventually forced to eat the humble pie. Many are still struggling to recover from the fact that Tambuwal even contemplated the idea at all. Last week, some legislators who claimed to love him so much (surely, they are being economical with the truth) were in his house in Abuja to present him the required forms for the APC Presidential race which they bought on his behalf. It is interesting that Tambuwal who defected to APC just few days back nursed a presidential ambition. What a tall ambition. Ambition should be backed with great stuff. The decision to perish his Presidential ambition is a wise one. Clearly, his youthful dexterity won’t get him anywhere in a Presidential race.

This piece is not meant to demean Tambuwal but to present with facts, that he is not the right man for the Presidency, at least for now. The Speaker is still largely a local politician with very little experience. The Presidency of Nigeria requires much more than this. Apart from his guys in the House, his name does not ring a bell beyond Sokoto State. Tambuwal lacks national name recognition. He is definitely not in the class of Mohammadu Buhari or Atiku Abubakar. That aside, Tambuwal has no track record of having governed any entity other than the House. The only track record he has is inflicting unkind cuts while leaving a party. Another factor that puts a big question mark on his perished ambition is the fact that he plays politics of convenience by switching from one party to the other. He has moved from the ANPP to PDP and now APC. Often, he uses this to get what he wants and not what the masses of the people want. There is nothing like ideology in Tambuwal’s political dictionary. Many see him as not credible. This country can as well do without politicians like this.

The opposition APC still rejoicing over Tambuwal’s defection will soon be disappointed. I am predicting that he would soon stab them on the back. I am an apostle of development politics. Tambuwal doesn’t fit into this. I think he is more interested in his stomach infrastructure. His kinsmen in Tambuwal town (that rustic village) can testify to this. I don’t think they have really benefitted from his years in the House. The last time I was in Tambuwal town was about 23 years during my NYSC programme in Sokoto State and the town was largely rural. On Thursday, I called a friend of mine based in Sokoto to do some checks if things had improved in Tambuwal and his response was to the contrary. Well, now that Speaker Tambuwal has chosen to fight for a gubernatorial ticket in Sokoto State, he would have to explain to his people what he had done for them during his years in the National Assembly

PDP Warns APC, Says Enough is Enough"

PDP Warns APC, Says Enough is Enough"
In an apparent move to whip the leading opposition political party into shape, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it would no longer condone the deliberate, unwarranted and sustained vicious attacks on the person and office of the president, the institutions of democracy and the unity of the nation from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

PDP further expressed concern that the warning last week by security experts that some opposition leaders may be planning to intensify mayhem against Nigerians to justify their only campaign point, which is insecurity, might not be unrelated to the increased spate of bombings following the declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Tuesday said the PDP would no longer fold its hands, while the desperate desire of the APC for power unleash impulses and actions posing threats to the very survival of democracy and the nation.
“The PDP has been watching carefully as the rank and file of the APC, the governors, party leaders, presidential hopefuls and even sidekicks run amok, competing in a heavily subjective castigation of President Jonathan with incendiary utterances, signposting its plans for the dastardly when it loses in next year’s general election.

“However, patriotism, the cardinal value of our great party, indeed, the price of our custodianship of the mandate of over 160 million Nigerians, calls for vigilance, maturity and responsibility, hence our restraints in the face of the naked lies and recklessness of the APC.
“We had thought that the silver hair of its top leaders would caution the thoughtless delinquency of its youngsters. Unfortunately, the recklessness of the old is in competition with the imprudence of the young. What a shame the APC has turned to!” The statement said.

The statement by PDP said the party’s decent political campaigns focusing on the achievements of its party at various levels of government should have served as a pointer to the APC on the need to maintain political decorum and primacy of national interest in the build-up to the forthcoming elections.
However, PDP said it was unfortunate that the APC had refused to shed its penchant for lies, deceit, propaganda, violence and blackmail, the centre piece of their agenda and message to Nigerians.
This disposition, PDP said, had led the APC to work in cahoots with the enemies of Nigeria in an attempt to wreck our democracy and throw the nation into chaos, hence the urgency of the need to warn that ‘enough is now enough’.
“We know that the aim of the APC is to set the stage for violence, instil fear in Nigerians, discourage them from actively participating in the electoral process, thereby giving room for them to perpetrate all manners of electoral malpractices (as evidenced by their cloning of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) which is the only way they may hope to achieve political power in Nigeria. This position is reinforced by their constant threat to cause violent pandemonium when they lose the elections.
“Recall that today’s leaders of the APC had, while contesting on different platforms in 2011, issued such threats and went ahead to precipitate an unprecedented post-election violence in which hundreds of innocent Nigerians lost their lives, yet, the same election was adjudged by local and international observers as the most credible in our recent history.

“One must then ask. Is violence and inflammatory statements the manifesto of the APC? Is plotting against the oneness of the nation the party’s article of faith? Is the never-ending attempt to ridicule the highest office in the land a credo and an explanation of the alternative the APC is flaunting?
“Nigerians may recall that on November 5 at Ilorin, Kwara State capital, the APC leaders with their governors, converging for their usual revelry and self-indulging insults, delegated themselves and self-styled national leader to take stupidity to its apogee by asking President Jonathan to resign.
“On November 19, APC leaders unfurled the much pinched wrap by declaring that they would lead a rebellion against President Jonathan and install a parallel government should APC lose next year’s presidential election.

“In less than 24hours, the APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, on November 21, on a live NTA morning programme, admitted that the APC knew what he called genuine leaders of Boko Haram and went childish by accusing the president of deliberately allowing insurgents take over the country,” PDP said.
The party also said that one of the deductions Nigerians would easily make from the unfolding scenario is that the APC has neither an agenda nor an issue to offer.
“Nigerians have waited for too long for the APC’s roadmap with convention after convention (two in less than a month) producing only humbug, claptrap and a regurgitation of worn- out anachronistic clichés.
“It is therefore clear that the APC is not preparing for elections, rather actively planning to scheme itself into power in 2015, using violent uprising as replacement for peaceful polls.
“Nevertheless, we wish to assure all Nigerians that the PDP is not willing to follow the APC in this road to infamy but to remain focused and jealously protect the interest of the nation, while serving and confidently campaigning and marketing its manifesto to Nigerians,” the party said.

Okonjo-Iweala: FG to Review Duty Waivers, Others to Shield Economy from External Shocks"

Okonjo-Iweala: FG to Review Duty Waivers, Others to Shield Economy from External Shocks"
• Says we will protect the interest of the common man
• IMF lauds fiscal, monetary measures

As part of the measures to help Nigeria navigate the current revenue shortfall arising from declining oil prices and save the country from future shocks, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the finance ministry and the economic management team are working on several scenarios, which include reviewing the nation’s policies on investment incentives, and waivers and exemptions to stem the tide of abuses.

The finance minister made this know on Thursday in her keynote speech at the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) 4th Annual Capital Market Committee Retreat holding in Abuja.
Other measures she disclosed include reducing oil price expectations; increasing the nation’s non-oil revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) to $3 billion in three years; cutting certain recurrent spending such as the purchase of administrative equipment, overseas travel and training; and implementing some cuts in capital expenditure in the 2015 budget.

As part of the renewed focus on increasing tax revenues to mitigate the impact of the fall in oil prices, she said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), working with Mckinsey, has been mandated to increase its target, adding that the agency has already made progress in reaching the target of N75 billion, over and above the regular collection target.

She stated that her first measure was to make up her mind that panic would not solve the problem, stressing that no nation manages economic crisis successfully with panic.
According to her, “Panic is not a strategy. We are managing the situation to keep the economy on a stable sustainable course and we will not listen to those who want us to throw up our hands in despair and give up.
“Our scenario-based approach to managing the impact of the oil price drop is proactive and comprehensive. Even if the price drops to 60 dollars we are ready.

“As a central part of our strategy, we have revised our oil price expectations over the short to medium-term. We have lowered our benchmark oil price assumption to $73 per barrel after some careful analysis of the possible future direction of oil prices as well as the soft floor price for shale oil, which is estimated at about $75 per barrel.

“But let me clearly state that we are not taking a point-estimate position as regards the future price of oil. We fully recognise that oil prices may fall lower or even rebound.”
Prices, she added, could fall to $70 a barrel, $65 or even $60, adding that prices could also rebound to $75 to $85 a barrel.

“What we did was to work within a range of $60 to $85 thought possible by analysts, put a package of measures around an estimate at the mid-point of that range, that is $73, and then built additional measures for scenarios at $70, $65 and $60 a barrel.
“The best way to manage uncertainty is to take a scenario-based approach to be ready for alternatives that may occur. This is what we have done, so panic is not a strategy.
“What is necessary is a systematic and focused approach. This is what we have. Our fiscal measures comprise both revenue and expenditure effort,” she explained.
On the revenue side, she said a lot of work was already underway prior to the fall in price to improve non-oil revenue generation.

“This was sequel to our rebasing exercise which demonstrated a large $510 billion GDP with a diverse non-oil base. The efforts of the FIRS supported by McKinsey & Co is focused on strengthening tax administration and thereby plugging leakages and loopholes.
“For example, only 25 per cent of our SMEs are registered taxpayers. Remedying that will broaden the tax base. Our auditors complete three to five audits a year compared to 50 a year in Angola.
“Speeding up audits will help improve tax collections and anomalies. Correcting for these loopholes is on target to bring in an estimated N75 billion above the 2014 FIRS revenue target.
“We believe that given the impressive performance and the now visible larger economic base, FIRS can do a lot more. Consequently, we have raised the 2015 budget threshold to N160 billion above the 2014 target,” the minister said.

She added that the cuts in capital expenditure in the 2015 budget will be done in a way that they are pro-poor and pro-average Nigerian.
She said: “Focus will be on priority sectors of infrastructure, health, education and security, as well as growth stimulating and job creating sectors like agriculture, housing and creative industries.
“The common man is a priority in our strategy for the fall in oil price. His interests are a priority. That is why even in implementing cuts in the capital budget for 2015, the areas that are of most benefit to the common man, critical infrastructure projects like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Second River Niger Bridge, rail and power projects, etc, which will create jobs and enhance the comfort of our people will go on.
“This pro-common man focus can also be seen in the safety nets, which is a major priority for the president. The projection is for two to three million families across Nigeria to benefit from a conditional cash transfer scheme to encourage school attendance, improve health and nutrition, reduce infant and maternal mortality, etc.

“Anything that affects the poor, the young and vulnerable, we will prioritize it,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised the measures introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to cushion the effects of fall in oil price on the country’s economy, describing it as a move in the right direction, Daily Post reported on Thursday.
“In a combination of actions, most recently the communique after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy committee meeting of November 24-25, the authorities have announced a set of policies aimed at mitigating the impact of the recent significant fall in global oil prices on the economy,” says the IMF chief mission for Nigeria, Gene Leon.

“These include: adjusting the exchange rate, resubmitting the medium term expenditure framework to the National Assembly with proposed tax and expenditure measures to achieve the deficit target consistent with a lower budget oil price, and tightening monetary policy.
“We are supportive of and welcome these actions, which we view as complementary and moving in the right direction.
“Of course, the global situation remains fluid and the key issue is being ready to manage downside risks and for the authorities to be prepared, based on assessments of credible scenarios, to consider additional measures, as necessary,” he pointed out

Court Nullifies Anambra PDP Caretaker Committee, Throws out Umana’s Suit against PDP"

Court Nullifies Anambra PDP Caretaker Committee, Throws out Umana’s Suit against PDP"
A Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Kama-led caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State.
Justice Evoh Chukwu dissolved the caretaker committee while delivering judgment in a suit filed by a former chairman of the party in the state, Ken Emekeanyi, who had asked the court to extend his tenure till 2017.
The judge dismissed the suit on the grounds that it constituted an abuse of court process because similar suits were pending before another court of coordinate jurisdiction.

The judge also nullified the Kama-led caretaker committee, which was set up while the suit was pending.
The judge noted that even though the suit constituted an abuse of court process, the setting up of the caretaker committee in the state chapter of the party, contrary to the undertaking by the party’s lawyers, amounted to foisting a state of helplessness on the court.

“This impunity and judicial terrorism must stop,” the court ruled.
The plaintiff, who was in 2010, elected as the vice-chairman of the party in the state, was sworn in as the state chairman when former occupant of the office, Emmanuel Nweze, resigned from office in 2013.
Emekeanyi had filed his suit dated November 6, 2014, asking the court to declare that his tenure would only start to run in 2013 when he was recognised as the state chairman of the party.
He contended that he ought to remain in office till 2017, when his four-year tenure would elapse.
However, the judge held that the suit constituted an abuse of court process because there were multiple of such suits existing in various courts. This the judge said amounted to forum-shopping.
“I must in strong term condemn this reckless forum-shopping by the plaintiff,” the court held.
The judge further ruled: “His (Emekeanyi’s) executive came into power in 2010 but was refused to function until 2013. Going by the constitution of the party, his tenure elapsed on October 24, 2013. So his argument that his tenure started running in 2013 when it was recognised holds no water and I so hold.
“It is only governors under our law that their four-year tenure starts to run from the day they took oath of office.

“Having said that, this suit which is a gross abuse of court process is hereby dismissed.
“It is further ordered that the act of appointing a caretaker committee by by the fourth defendant which is an abuse of court process is also set aside and nullified.”
The court had earlier dismissed the contention by the PDP, represented by Chief Olusola Oke, that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, because the election of a party chairman was an internal affair of the party.

The court also dismissed the contention that it lacked jurisdiction on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to exhaust internal remedy of the party before approaching the court.
Similarly, another Federal High Court yesterday struck out the suit filed by a governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom, Umana Okon Umana challenging the decision of the PDP to exclude him from the party primaries.
Umana also challenged the legality of the November 1 ward delegate congress of the party in the state.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola struck out the suit on the ground that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
He said it was a mere academic exercise.
The court also noted that the principle of rotation entrenched in PDP constitution in line with Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution must be complied with by party members.
Umana was in court challenging the November 1 ward delegate congress in which he claimed he was unlawfully excluded in spite of the fact that he had bought the governorship nomination and expression of interest form worth N11 million.
The judge said that his court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit because it bordered on intra-party affairs.

Justice Ademola said that the suit was premature, speculative and disclosed no cause of action because there was no indication that he would be excluded at the time he rushed to the court.
He upheld the preliminary objection raised by the PDP through its counsel. Paul Usoro (SAN).The court further held that the plaintiff had not suffered any injury to warrant the invocation of the court’s jurisdiction.
Also, a sister case involving Roberta Nyong against the PDP was also struck out on similar grounds.
Source ThisDay.

Indian Firms Feeling Impact of Naira Devaluation"

Indian Firms Feeling Impact of Naira Devaluation"
The recent devaluation of the naira announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is hurting the share prices of some companies in India.
The Wall Street Journal disclosed this in a report yesterday.
The CBN on Tuesday announced the adjustment of the mid-point of the naira's official trading band from N155/$1 to N168/$1 and widened the band significantly from +/- three per cent, to +/- five per cent.
In addition, the central bank also raised the benchmark interest rate to 13 per cent, from 12 per cent, the first change since October 2011, and the cash reserve requirement (CRR) on private sector deposits was raised to 20 per cent, from 15 per cent.

But the CRR on public sector deposits was unchanged at 75 per cent.
This, according to the report was bad news for the handful of Indian companies that have in recent years built sizable businesses in Nigeria.
“The currency devaluation would be inflationary and affect consumer demand in Nigeria and the Indian companies that export to the African country,” an analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage Sharekhan, Nikhil Deshpande.said.

Prominent Indian companies which likely to feel the pain are Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest mobile phone company, which made a big foray into Africa in 2010, and Bajaj Auto Limited, which makes two and three-wheel motorcycles and exports to Nigeria.
Bharti stock had fallen by four per cent in the last two trading sessions to 385.85 rupees a share, while Bajaj shares fell by three per cent to a two-week low of 2,570 rupees on Wednesday. The stock recovered Thursday tracking other auto companies, to end at 2,648.80 rupees.
Both companies had moved into Africa within the last five years in a bid to capitalise on the growing demand from the continent’s consumers.
Bharti Airtel had entered Africa by buying Kuwaiti telecommunications company Zain for $9 billion, making it one of the largest overseas acquisitions by an Indian company.
Nigeria now counts as one of Bharti’s largest markets in the continent and contributed about 12 per cent of the company’s consolidated revenue in the financial year ended March 31, according to Mumbai brokerage firm IndiaNivesh Securities.
“The devaluation could lead to deterioration in Bharti Africa’s key performing indicators,” head of research at IndiaNivesh Securities, Daljeet Kohli argued.
He estimated that the Nigerian central bank’s measures could ultimately shave off around 0.9 per cent from Bharti’s consolidated revenue, and 0.3 per cent of the company’s operating profits, for the current financial year.

The impact on Bajaj Auto could be larger. Sharekhan estimated that the changes in Nigeria could cause Bajaj’s total sales volume to fall by 2.3 per cent and profits to decline by 2.7 per cent compared to in the next financial year that starts April 1.
UBS Research had downgraded Bajaj Auto shares, advising investors to sell, because it expects weak earnings growth and potential declines in export margins.
Some other Indian companies which have presence in Nigeria are consumer-goods firms Godrej Consumer Products Limited and Dabur India Limited.
However, stocks of these companies haven’t been impacted because Nigeria accounts for a small share of their overall revenues. Godrej stock has been flat over the last two trading sessions, while Dabur was up one per cent.
Source ThisDay.

I’ll Flee Nigeria If APC Wins —Bode George

I’ll flee Nigeria if APC wins —Bode George"
In this interview with ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, a national leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, speaks on the recent comments of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other national issues
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says President Goodluck Jonathan plans to perpetuate himself in government like the former President of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo. What do you think of this comment?

He (Obasanjo) says he is a Christian and as a Christian, it is emphasised in the New Testament of the Bible where Christ said judge not so that you will not be judged. But his judgment is no longer about the policies of Jonathan. He has gone down to the extent of saying Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will jail you (Jonathan), that is why you are afraid. I am holding my breath because in an African setting, you talk to elders with respect and that is why I am trying to get the right words to describe my feelings. Baba (Obasanjo) is not a young man. He was Head of State at 39. So averagely, he should be about 84 or 85 and I am requesting that he should graciously fade away into the midnight. In the Bible, Romans chapter 13 states clearly that we should pray for those in authority. It says pray for your leaders so that they don’t run aground. So, to me that is my own interpretation. If baba (Obasanjo) had attended the Council of State meeting in Abuja, where they were very well briefed, and that it was decided that only the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, that could pronounce a postponement and that he should go and come up with a decision and Jega addressed a press conference. Now to start comparing our President with Gbagbo in Cote d’Ivoire is unjust, unsavoury and unfair because what is the population of Ivory Coast? What are the tribal sentiments of Ivory Coast? Are they the same here? I want to plead with Baba. God has been kind to him and he has served his own time. I don’t want to conclude that his life will be like King Saul in the Bible. I pray it will not be so. Baba has played his role. No generation can finish any job. Nation building is a continuous exercise. You come, do your own and go back into history.
Apart from the issue of insecurity which Jega gave as the reason for the postponement of the elections, do you think INEC was ready to conduct the elections on February 14 and 28?

I granted an interview recently and there were two posers that I gave to Jega. Thank God Jega is a professor. He told us that there was an 88 per cent collection rate in Borno State where there is massive insurgency as well as in Yobe and Adamawa states. Here, where there is calmness and civility, only 30 something per cent of the populace had collected PVCs. It is just improving. I think as of last Friday over three million had collected as against 5.6 million. And he is saying we are ready. Without the Permanent Voter Cards, you are immediately disenfranchised. Ask Jega that as a professor, will it be fair to conduct an examination whereby you have (students who have) covered 80 per cent syllabus and another class where you have (students who have) covered only 30 per cent syllabus. Is it fair?

The other question is this issue of card readers. Have they been tested? I am talking as an electronic engineer of 48 years in practice. You just bought equipment from China and the last time it was tested was in China. Our own environment is not the same. Look at the vagaries of the temperature here from the swampy areas of the South and the savannah in the North. Who has tested the equipment? Now, I am not saying they will not all work but if there are almost 9,000 polling units in Lagos, is he saying all the 9,000 card readers will be functional? If the card readers fail to work in some polling units, what shall we do?
Why did the military surround former Governor Bola Tinubu’s house?

If Bola Tinubu finds his way into national government, I will go on exile. He hasn’t the temerity and the calmness of mind. They don’t even know what to do in power. Because the vice-president is his boy, he will just order that Bode George should be picked up. He said soldiers came to him but he must have been dreaming. When he said soldiers had surrounded his house, I drove down there because my house is not too far from there. I know the hierarchy of the military and its behaviour. That they surrounded his house is lie number one because on either side of his house are two buildings. There is also one at the back. So, I wondered where the soldiers were hiding. Why would you lie for public consumption? So when I got down there, I knew that his spin doctors were working. These days people go on the social media and the story went viral. Why would he (President Godluck Jonathan) from Abuja, be running after Bola? Let them be very careful about the statements they are making. More so, if Obasanjo is now linking Jonathan with what happened in Cote d’Ivoire and coup; not in this 21st Century. That is past and gone forever. No nation goes through this kind of tribulation twice and survive. We have had our own experience of Civil War and I pray that God does not direct our minds in that direction and our people have to watch their mouths.
The general perception in Lagos is that the governorship race is between yourself and Tinubu.

Absolutely not! In the PDP, no individual owns the party. I happen to have been the first national vice chairman, South-West PDP, and then became deputy national chairman South and then deputy national chairman for the whole country and having done that, they have honoured me that as long as I remain in the party, I remain a member of the Board of Trustees and I am the only one representing the South-West in the national caucus forever. That is a great honour in our party but I don’t decide who becomes a candidate. Primaries were conducted and in this particular case, the voice of the people became louder than anybody’s. I am not like Bola Tinubu, I don’t have the papers of the party in my pocket. I don’t even have a veto power. But the other side doesn’t practice democracy. We have friends that are members there. Jimi Agbaje has no godfather but will not behave like an authoritarian governor.
But Senator Musiliu Obanikoro said you were the one that imposed Agbaje.

That is absolute garbage, he knew he was lying. You know he came from their party and that is why he was saying it was me. He has now retracted the statement. We are now one indivisible party and we are ready for election. All the vagaries and all that happened during the primary was a test of the ability and the strength of our party and we listened to the voice of the people. The voice of the people is the voice of God.
Jonathan’s perception in the South-West is not as favourable as it was in 2011. There has been blame on you and other PDP Yoruba leaders for allowing Buhari to increase in popularity in the South-West.
If you had said this about two or three weeks ago, I would have agreed. I got these feelers straight to my face. People came to me and said they would vote for Agbaje but they will not vote for Jonathan because he had done nothing for us here. And I explained that there is a general misunderstanding of the concept of operation in this country. The long periods of military rule presupposed that the Head of State was responsible for everything and it is that same thinking that is responsible for this situation. We are all hands on deck explaining the differences between military governance and democratic governance.

Highly educated people, my age groups, were asking me this question but I explained to them that 60 per cent of the impact the President will have on you is through the federal allocation to your state. Does he give every state and every local government allocation? Yes. They collect it religiously every 30 days. In the area of security, he guarantees it. It is only three states in the North-East battling insecurity. There is peace and he guarantees that. What of infrastructure? All federal roads in Lagos from Alfred Rewane in Ikoyi all the way to Third Mainland Bridge and Ebute Meta are federal roads. Are they like the roads in Somolu and Akowonjo?

Secondly, the APC refused to participate in the National Conference. Since he (Buhari) has refused to debate, what will he do about the resolution unanimously reached by the National Conference? What will happen to the report? The decisions of the National Conference are so germane to the future of this country. The more reasons why the man who conceptualised it should be allowed to implement his decisions.
Culled from Punch.

The Indigbo Will Continue To Support President Jonathan - Umeh

The Indigbo will continue to support president Jonathan - Umeh
For a people that have lost so much over the years, it will be very difficult for them to really see that they are making improvement in their lives. Under Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the Igbos have received a new lease of life.
For instance, the Enugu airport is now an international airport so much that you can fly to any part of the world from there. It wasn’t like that in the past. It will not be nice for us to take for granted remarkable improvements that we have recorded under President Jonathan’s administration. The Enugu international airport is an important achievement for Ndigbo. We longer travel to Port Harcourt, Lagos or Abuja to travel out of the country.
We are able to fly out of the country from Enugu. It is a major development. If we look at the challenges, we will marvel. The cost of transit movement put together runs into several millions. Then, you will know that president Jonathan has really tried.
The second Niger bridge that you spoke about, the government has taken steps. We have gone there to flag off the construction but the issue of funding requires further management assessment to give the project its full light.
That project is still on. Last December, the Enugu/Onitsha expressway got approval of over 20 billion Naira. If you go there now, the construction is in its advanced stage. If people do not get their dividends under other administrations, under Jonathan, it is different. It was a policy of the previous administration that the Igbo will never get an international airport. -
Chief Victor Umeh, National chairman APGA.

PDP Makes U-turn, Passes Confidence Vote on Jega

PDP Makes U-turn, Passes Confidence Vote on Jega"
• Akpabio: No PDP Governor will campaign for APC
Reprieve continues to come the way of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has said that the party has great confidence in him as the INEC chairman.
This was a great departure from the series of allegations made against Jega by the Director of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani Kayode who Wednesday accused the INEC chairman of holding secret meetings in Dubai and other places with the intention of rigging the election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Addressing a press conference in company of all members of the PDP National Working Committee, PDP Governors led by the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio, the governors of Benue, Kogi, Cross River and Bayelsa state, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, among others, Adamu Muazu said that the party has confidence in the ability of the chairman of INEC to conduct the general elections.

Muazu also defended the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, stating that his endorsement of the APC presidential candidate, General Buhari is a rumour and that the former president cannot commit anti-party activities. He restated that former President Obasanjo remains a committed and loyal member of the PDP.
According to Muazu, “President Jonathan appointed Prof. Attahiru Jega and therefore knows him very well before the appointment. The President has restated his confidence in the INEC Chairman and therefore we have confidence in him to conduct a free and fair general election. We have confidence in him and I don’t act on rumours and therefore we will work with him as the chairman of INEC.”

According to the PDP chairman, “Although we tend to agree with INEC on the security reasons given for the postponement of the elections, we are nevertheless not unmindful of the fact that the commission on its own part was not fully prepared for the February 14 election date.
“Taking the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega on his own words, for the 68.8 million registered voters, the commission had only printed and delivered 66.3 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) with 1.3 million yet to be delivered and 1.1 million stolen cards yet to be replaced.

“Also, according to Jega, 45.09 million voters cards were collected by prospective voters representing 65.8 percent of the registered voters and 23.71 million PVCs, representing 34.2 percent were yet to be collected as at February 7th, which is exactly one week to the February 14th earlier scheduled date. Compare this anomaly with the 2011 elections where not a single eligible voter was disenfranchised.
“By this account, INEC could not sincerely claim to have been fully prepared for a desirable credible, free and fair election at the time when more than 23 million registered voters were going to be disenfranchised.”

Jonathan says ‘not consulted’ on election postponement"

Jonathan says ‘not consulted’ on election postponement"
President Goodluck Jonathan said Wednesday that he was “not consulted” on a widely-criticised decision to postpone national elections by six weeks, rejecting claims that his political interests motivated the delay.
“I was not consulted and I don’t want to be consulted,” Jonathan said in a nationally broadcast interview, insisting that election officials made an independent decision after receiving guidance from the security agencies.

The opposition and some independent commentators have argued that Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party had pushed for the delay fearing that it was heading for electoral defeat.
But Jonathan said he did not “see the big deal” concerning the postponement, as the Independent National Electoral Commission acted within the constitution.
He said difficulties in distributing voter identity cards and security concerns in the northeast region besieged by Boko Haram Islamist militants were legitimate reasons for a delay.
He added that the “international community” occasionally sees election delays in Africa as an excuse by the incumbent to “extend tenure.”
“That is not the case in Nigeria,” he told a panel of reporters, assuring that a democratically elected government will be sworn in on May 29, in keeping with constitutional provisions.

Nigeria broke the jinx of decades of dependence on imported food

Nigeria broke the jinx of decades of dependence on imported food, Under the on-going agricultural transformation agenda (ATA), the tremendous achievement in rice production goes beyond what can be wished away as millions of additional metric tons of food are added to local supplies and rice plays big in this increase. 2012 marked a watershed and proved Nigeria’s capability to produce two crops of rice per year as demonstrated in ten northern states of Niger, Kebbi, Kogi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Kano and Gombe

Obanikoro: We're in Borderless Strange War Against Terror"

Obanikoro: We're in Borderless Strange War Against Terror"
•As support group donates items to military
The former Minister of State for Defence and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, has described the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operation against the Boko Haram Islamic sect as a strange war without boundaries.

Obanikoro stated this on Thursday during the presentation of materials to the military by the Support Our Troops Foundation at the Nigerian Army Garrison (Headquarters), Mogadishu Cantonement, Abuja.
He said that for the first time in its history, the country is struggling with war because of its unconventional nature but assured that it must be overcome.
The current ministerial nominee further assured that vital lessons are being learned from the ongoing war against terror that would be helpful in how the country tackles its security challenges in the future.
"It not a conventional war; it is a war that is strange to us, and it is a war that the boundary in not drawn. It is a war that for the first time in the history of our nation, we had to struggle and learn from it with a view to putting it behind us.
"Beyond the fact that we are at war, I know pretty well that we are equally engaged in other security activities, in this great country of ours and also beyond", he said.

Buhari's Contempt for Nigerians" By Godwin Nzeaka

Buhari's Contempt for Nigerians"
By Godwin Nzeaka
After several days of moving back and forth over the much advertised Presidential Debate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), finally scorned the organisers of the event. He refused to participate for no good reason. The event was put together by Channels TV, Arise TV and Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN). Even though the debates have been postponed because of the shift in elections date by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there is no assurance that Buhari would ever attend the session in future.
Before the latest rejection of the debate by Buhari, he had earlier spurned the same debate put together by the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG), alleging bias and hidden agenda on the part of the organisers.
Although it is said that such debates scarcely benefit Nigerian politics as they have no constitutional force, the 2015 exercise being the first of its kind in the evolution of the two – party system here, most Nigerians have looked forward to it as a rare opportunity for the two major presidential candidates (General Muhammadu Buhari in particular, who as it were is in the eye of the storm) beyond their party manifestoes and broad promises to square off face to face and answer crucial questions bordering on the state of the nation in front of millions of television viewers.

For a party said to be as confident as the All Progressives Congress (APC) there is nothing to fear in a televised debate between General Buhari and “a Kindergarten President” like Goodluck Jonathan which a leader of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, said Jonathan is.
The importance of televised debates cannot be overemphasised because the first one in the history of America between J.F Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon had tremendously helped the former, who was in the opposition, to defeat the later in the Presidential election of 1960. Again, the second one held in 1976 had helped Mr. Jimmy Carter, another opposition candidate, to defeat Mr. Gerald Ford, an incumbent president. A contestant like Buhari who believes that he wants to cash in on Jonathan's weak points ought to have embraced the debate. It is shameful and contemptuous for him to have done so.

A major opportunity which Buhari missed was that he should use the platform of the debate to clear the air on his alleged forged certificate. That Buhari dodged the debate clearly shows that he has something to hide on this issue. He was obviously afraid of the fireworks that would have followed. It is interesting to note that the certificate issue was brought to our attention by none else but the APC’s defected stormy petrel and gadfly, Chief Femi Fani – Kayode, showing that one single well-educated and intelligent defector could be more valuable to a party than a million defector governors and assembly men with no brains. That a man like Buhari noted for principle has such a big skeleton in his cupboard is simply incredible. It has seriously dented his saintly reputation. Here is a former head of state and a holder of our highest national honour now struggling to defend himself in a terrible case of perjury and a possible forgery. Little wonder the saying “ If you want to know your real pedigree or family tree, join politics”. This certificate saga has shown that corruption is a monster of diverse colours and forms. We must not cry havoc only when corruption takes the colour of election rigging; the shape of cash or cheque missing, or a minister permitting an aide to do “what is needful”.

No, we should and must also cry havoc and even protest loudest when corruption puts on the toga of certificate scandal coupled or not with perjury, more so in an education intoxicated country like ours. Christopher Columbus, regaling himself in the pecuniary value of his buccaneering voyages was quoted to have said that “with money one can send people to heaven”. In Nigeria with a certificated education, even at the WASC level, one can vie for the highest post in the land. This certificate scandal proves Summerset Maughan right that the most useful thing about principle is that it can easily be sacrificed on the altar of expediency.

How tragic because, based on their sweeping anti – corruption pretentions – something with which they seem to have won many souls especially among the impressionable youth in the Southwest and core North – the APC and Buhari were the least expected to be involved in such a despicable affair because according to the Holy Bible in Mathew 5:13 “you are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing, but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men”. Nothing can be more damaging for a party like the APC which everyone had seen as the proverbial Caesar’s wife who must be above aboard.

Today we have come face to face with a typical case which the Romans would probably term Corruption Optima Pessima, that is to say in English, the corruption of the best is worst - the same thing Shakespeare referred to when he said that “lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds.” It is bad news for Buhari. But is gratifying to note that President Goodluck Jonathan has continued to show not only rare understanding but also good sportsmanship, good conscience as well as empathy, for he must have been the brain behind the indispensable window of alternative debate which now provides General Buhari the much – needed opportunity to specifically take a question or two on the certificate matter and clear the air as to whether in truth he sat for the 1961 WAEC examinations. About this matter, as in many others, history will surely be kind on Jonathan. Yet as the whole episode cannot be wished away by newsroom spin doctors, it is our duty to persuade the general not to allow the golden opportunity of this debate to slip through his fingers, for according to Shakespeare “there is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken on to the floods leads on to fortunes, but omitted all the voyages of their life end in shallows and mysteries”.

As for the media, I am the least surprised that in relentlessly persistently hunting President Jonathan they would one day shoot themselves in the foot, for according to the Greeks, when a thing goes too far, it produces unintended results. In their overzealous but less clever attempt to pull wool over our eyes in the name of defending Buhari, newsmen and women who were not yet born in 1961, the year the man claimed he wrote his “school certificate” exams, have only succeeded in ridiculing themselves and doing Buhari the worst favour by rushing those make – believe credentials to the press. Little wonder Viscount Alfred Charles Harmsworth had to describe journalism as a profession whose business is to explain to others what it does not understand. Otherwise how do we explain a situation where the press would unabashedly publish that fresh – looking, photo – bearing testimonial and result sheet as true copies of credentials awarded 54 years ago, forgetting entirely that WAEC only started affixing pictures on its certificates of recent but had conducted its first exams in 1953 and has been awarding certificates since then, even if up to sometime in collaboration with London and Cambridge.

Questions in Hausa Language were set for the first time in 1956 i.e. three years after WAEC took over from the two British examination bodies and so any one who took the exams in 1961, and passed eight clear years after the takeover, must have received a WAEC certificate, duplicate of which must be found in its Accra head office. But as things stand now, Accra has written to say there is nothing like that. Certainly, if it is not available there, Cambridge has nothing like that because as from 1953 no British University by – passed WAEC to conduct school exams in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. What this means is that by that elaborate but reckless publicity the press had done Buhari, and no less itself, a no – thank – you favour that easily ridicules everyone.
culled from ThisDay.