Friday, November 25, 2011

Why a Lawyer sues Jonathan and Others

We know that you will be wondering why someone could sue a President. The truth about leadership is that a good Leader will always give room for criticism. That freedom of speech is very very essential, if the leadership most die-hard. 

The National controversy over the proposed removal of fuel subsidy has assumed a legal dimension, as an Ibadan-based legal practitioner, Mr Kole Ajayi, has instituted a legal action against President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney-General of the Federation  and the National Assembly at a Federal High Court, Ibadan, praying the court to stop President Jonathan from implementing the proposal.

In the early part of the action issued by the legal practitioner against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation, the plaintiff is praying the court to grant the following reliefs: a declaration that the proposed removal of fuel subsidy by the first defendant is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void as it is against good governance and public policy and against the economic interest and well-being of the good people of Nigeria and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, their servants, agents and/or privies from implementing or ratifying the removal of fuel subsidy.

Ajayi implored the court to determine, among other things, whether the proposed removal of fuel subsidy by President Jonathan was not a contravention of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and whether the proposal, if implemented, would not cause untold hardship on the people of Nigeria.

The early activity was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit  deposed to by the plaintiff.
The deponent, among other issues, deposed that President Jonathan, in a document submitted to the National Assembly, made projections for revenue generation for the next three years for the country, including an estimated income from fuel subsidy removal.

But today. Nigerians are asking whether this removal is the answer to  our Country's problem or not?

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Waziri's sack won’t fix EFCC

It wasn't too long ago when the Human Rights Watch (HRW), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), says the removal of Farida Waziri from the headship of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would not solve the commission’s problems, which is perhaps, the problem of Nigerians.

This came as a product of Mr. President relieving her of the duty on Wednesday and appointed Mohammed Lamorde as the acting chairman of the commission.

In a statement on Thursday in Lagos, the HRW said that only institutional reforms would improve the operations of the anti-graft agency. The statement was signed by Daniel Bekele, Africa Director of HRW.

The organisation claimed that the EFCC had been unable to secure convictions against government officials charged with corruption due to institutional failures such as executive interference and judiciary inefficiency. “One of the EFCC’s greatest weaknesses has been its lack of independence and susceptibility to political pressure. “President Jonathan’s sudden firing of Farida Waziri will only make that problem worse, unless the government pushes through reforms to bolster both the EFCC and the other institutions it depends on,” it said.

According to the organisation, the EFCC has so far arraigned 35 prominent politicians, including 19 former state governors over corruption, since its establishment.
“But many of those cases have made little progress in the courts, and not a single politician is currently serving a prison term for any of these alleged crimes.
“The commission has secured four convictions of senior political officials since 2003, but they have faced little or no prison terms,” it noted.
It urged amendments to the EFCC enabling law that would not allow the President of the country to dismiss the commission’s chairman at will.
This, it said, would give relative independence to the commission and improve its operations.
“The government should begin repairing the battered federal court system, reforming federal criminal justice administration procedure, and examining ways to establish special courts to hear only corruption cases,” it added.

Will the value of our currency, Naira hold?

Nigerians were asking whether the devaluation of our currency by CBN will support production or not. But, we are back with a new information in that respect. 

Previously, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its Monetary Policy meeting (MPC), the first after the emergency meeting it had last month. Just like last month when the CBN surprised everyone by increasing its monetary policy rate by a staggering 2.5 percent to 12 percent, the apex bank set a new band of N155 +/- 3 to a US dollar, effectively announcing a depreciation of about 3 percent.

This appears a culmination of the fight by the CBN to keep the rate at about N150 to the dollar, despite increases in the demand for the dollar in the last few months and decreases in Nigeria’s reserves. It has become very obvious that the Bank is working from three dimensions. First, the CBN has increased interest rate and the expectation is that this presents Nigeria as a competitive portfolio investment attraction. As this pulls in the foreign currencies, it should help hold the Naira.
So far, there is no evidence that the recent increase in interest rate has significantly increased portfolio flows in Nigeria. Some analysts believe this is because there is still focus on the crisis in Europe, and once there is a measure of certainty, Nigeria, with such a huge interest rate, will attract investors.
Second, the CBN believes it can continue to improve on the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) and minimise speculation demand. In this respect, it has sought to separate genuine demand for foreign exchange and those that engage in speculation and currency trading.
Third, which has also become very critical, is that the CBN hopes it will receive cooperation from the fiscal side to minimise the fiscal deficits and improve on the efficiency of government spending. It is these three factors that it hopes will hold and thus help maintain the Naira value at its current band rate. 

However, the most fortunate is that, despite the fall in oil prices, we have not seen the levels and rates of fall that we saw in 2008.

The critical possibility that the CBN can continue to lead and determine the Naira rate changes, rather than react to changes determined at the parallel exchange rate depends on the rate of fall in oil prices. In this context, we believe the most critical of data to examine on a continuous basis is how the global demand for oil is shaping up, especially if the crisis of confidence continues in Europe. Indeed, the CBN recognises its helplessness when it comes to changes in oil prices.

On the basis of the current and changing economic environment, we believe three things should happen or should be made to happen as quickly as there is a signal of worsening economic conditions, especially downward risks to oil prices being realised. 

First, the government’s current US 70 oil price benchmark should be made flexible, and ensure that a new one  is triggered if oil price falls consistently, for, say a month. 

Second, the CBN should also put in place greater flexibility around the band of exchange rate. This will effectively expand the possibility of the depreciation of the Naira without having to set a new band.

Finally, as important as the measures that both the CBN and the government have taken on the economy in the last few months are, it is their work on the supply side of the economy that will help strengthen both the growth process and the Naira exchange rate in the medium and long term, and that should be the focus, while ensuring that short term dynamics do not affect such planned trajectory. Difficult task, we know.

Former Captain, J. J. Okocha turns down Beach Eagles' Offer

To be a worthy Citizen, ask yourself whether you are productive or not. The future belongs to productivity. I want you to be a producer, not a consumer!

FORMER Super Eagles captain, Mr. Okocha, has turned down an invitation to play for the Beach Eagles saying that he has no plan to return to active football four years after he ceremoniously called it quits.

Coach of the Beach Eagles, Adamu Audu, siad that he extended invitations to Okocha alongside Mutiu Adepoju, Garba Lawal, Friday Ekpo and Victor Ikpeba to join the team in preparing for the Four-Nation tournament, Copa Lagos billed to hold in December in Lagos.

Okocha, while speaking in Lagos however, said that donning the colours of Nigeria as a player again is out of place. “I made my retirement official and it’s almost four years now and I’m not planning to come out of retirement. I believe I ‘m still contributing to football and this is voluntary because I’m not being paid but I believe I’m giving back to the society what I have gained from it.
“So, coming back as a player is a taboo for me.  I mean, my career as a player is over. If I have the opportunity to have fun on the beach, it’s a different thing but it won’t be an obligation or career. If I’m going to play beach football, it’s left to me decide but as a player, I’m history,” said the man who captained the Super Eagles to the 2002 World Cup.

I love people who have the king-making plans. Okocha is actively contributing to the Nation's sport, he should be given go ahead! He is a true hero.

What would you do to make this Country proud? Go and start something!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

CBN devalues naira, From 150 to160 per $

Before we proceed, what do you think that devaluing our currency, naira will mean to you? How will it affect your productivity and growth?  Do you think it will affect Nigerian producers?

It was yesterday when the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, devalued the nation’s currency from N150 to N160 to the U.S. dollar. In devaluing the currency, the CBN moved the band it wants the naira to trade in to between N150 and N160 to the U.S. dollar, compared with N145-N155 to the dollar it sold previously, due to the prolonged weakness of the naira and high demand of the dollar. At the official market, the naira has always sold above the CBN’s upper band.

At the foreign exchange inter -bank market, yesterday, the naira was trading at around N158.90 to the dollar, having hit an all-time low of N167.40 in October, prior to sharp monetary tightening measures adopted by the apex bank. The CBN Monetary Policy Committee also left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 12 per cent and its 200 basis point corridor around the benchmark rate. Its recommended deposit rate is 10 per cent while its lending rate is 14 per cent. Interest rates were hiked by a surprise 275 basis points at an emergency meeting in October.

The CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, said the headline inflation figure should not be “exaggerated” because it was mostly driven by food inflation and other prices actually declined. Sanusi said the CBN would be ready to react if fuel subsidy removal pushed up inflation but he didn’t expect the policy to have the strong impact on prices some expect.
Cash reserve requirement
The cash reserve requirement of banks was left at eight per-cent, having been hiked from four percent at an emergency meeting in October to help support the naira.
Sanusi who briefed the press at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting in Abuja, also announced that the official market would maintain a band of +/- 3.0 per cent, saying that the Naira would, therefore, float between N150 = $1 and N160 = $1.
In Malam Sanusi’s words, the committee decided to “adjust the mid-point of target official exchange rate from N150/$1 to N155/$1 and maintain the band of +/- 3.0 per cent.  This means that the Naira should float roughly within a range of N150/$1.00 –N160.00/$1.00, unless extraordinary shocks necessitate a change in stance.”
Sanusi noted that the exchange rate opened at N158.48/$1 on October 11, 2011 and closed at N156.05/$1 on November 18, 2011, representing an appreciation of N2.43k or 1.53 per cent within the period.
However, at the inter-bank market, the selling rate opened at N158.90/$1 and closed at N158.62/$1, while at the Bureau de change segment the rate opened at N165/$1 and closed at N160.00/$1.00 for the period. The CBN boss said the organization would continue to seek the convergence between the official weekly Dutch Auction System, WDAS, of the apex bank and the inter-bank rates “to reduce arbitrage opportunities, avoid speculative attacks, and the emergence of a multiple-exchange rate environment.” The Monetary Policy Rate, MPR and the Cash Reserve Ration were maintained at 12.0 per cent and 8.0 per cent, respectively.

Sanusi said the nation’s External Reserves stood at $34.38 billion as at November 17 but noted that the slow accruals has continued to characterize the reserves, at the face of sustained pressure at the foreign exchange market. This, he said made diversification of the nation’s foreign exchange reserve base more imperative than ever, as according to him, there were no indications that the financial crisis in the Eurozone and Americas could be resolved in the immediate future and could impact negatively on oil prices. He said: “In the case of some countries of the Euro area, the markets are still not certain that risk of sovereign default will be addressed expeditiously and in an efficient manner.


Financial stability
These concerns have opened up issues relating to financial stability, given the considerable exposures of banks and other financial institutions to government securities across countries. Consequently, financial markets have become nervous with the uncertainties reflected in the volatility of stock, bond and foreign exchange markets. Current account imbalances are also projected to be high in 2011 in both the US and the Euro area.
“Growth performance of industrial and emerging economies in 2012 is vital to Nigeria’s economic performance. Oil demand, in the committee’s view, would soften as a consequence of slow global growth and would necessitate comprehensive and sound policy actions to help diversify the domestic economy away from oil.”
In spite of several challenges, Sanusi said the nation’s economy had a positive outlook as he put real output growth as at third quarter at 7.40 per cent, with non-oil Gross Domestic Product, GDP, put at 8.81 per cent in the same period. Nigeria’s real GDP for 2011 has been projected at 7.69 per cent.

Imo State, Set to strengthen security

This was said by the governor during a meeting with traditional rulers, Presidents- General of town unions and Transition Committee chairmen in Orlu.           
He urged them to work in collaboration with security agents to curb crime in the zone. 
Gov. Okorocha addressed them at Rochas Foundation College, Ogboko, describing the increasing kidnapping cases in the state, especially in Orlu zone.       
                                                           
 He regretted that barely two weeks after his Operation Rescue Mission / Community Policing was launched, about six people were again kidnapped and warned that government would deal decisively with criminals. 
Okorocha was accompanied to the meeting by his deputy Jude Agbaso;  Brigade commander, 34FAB Obinze, Maj Gen A.I. Danpome, Commissioner of Police Mohammed Abubakar, among others.                           
The police commissioner said an information box had been opened at the Police Headquarters in Owerri and urged the public to volunteer information. 

The state deputy Governor, Sir Agbaso urged traditional rulers to expose criminals in their communities.                                                          
 House of Assembly Speaker, Benjamin Uwajimogu said a law has been enacted against kidnapping. 
According to him, the penalty for kidnapping is death.
Highlight of the occasion was the launching of Operation Rescue/Community Policing.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Why Achebe rejected national award

Before now, we have been receiving commendations on our production materials. Today, we want to bring to your notice, and others who have been asking why Prof. Chinua Achebe rejected the National award by the Nigerian President on Monday, 15th of November, 2011.

One of the academic assistants working with Prof. Achebe, the internationally acclaimed author and novelist, told Journalists that by the time the offer reached Achebe’s address, he was not around and could not be reached by telephone.

The source added that at that time, Prof. Achebe could not “be reached till late next week,” and he had no phone access where he was at the time.

It was said that there was no way Achebe would have “jumped” on the plane at that time even if he wanted to accept the honour. Observers wondered why it took the panel charged with the selection of the awardees such a long time before contacting those proposed to be honoured.

Besides, it was also revealed that one of the senior aides of Prof. Achebe had earlier made overtures to the presidency, seeking to invite the president to the yearly Achebe colloquium on Africa at Brown University, an event which had grown in stature in the United States academic and policy communities, as it has also drawn top Nigerian political elite and public officials as participants and speakers.

A source said there were suggestions from the Achebe team to ask Jonathan to grace this year’s edition of the event, which comes up every December, and possibly deliver one of the keynote addresses. It is believed that the invitation is a proof that Achebe may not be irredeemably opposed to the Jonathan administration or to the person of the president, despite his conviction not to receive an award from the government.

       However by last Saturday afternoon when the presidency intervened and managed to formally contact Achebe in the U.S. with the help of the Nigerian Ambassador, Prof. Ade Adefuye, Achebe’s aides and associates had decided with his approval to reject the award, not just because it was a late offer but due to the view of the literacy icon that nothing had changed in Nigeria between now and seven years ago when he spurned the same award during the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo presidency.
In the statement through, which Achebe rejected the award, he said: “The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed, let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must therefore regretfully decline the offer again.”

In his own reaction, after speaking with Achebe, Adefuye said: “Prof. Achebe and I discussed the issue of the award. The literary giant is a highly respected member of our community. He is entitled to his opinion and the Jonathan administration recognises that.”
Adefuye who said he spoke to Achebe at the weekend added that “the Jonathan administration is however poised to continue removing whatever defects that do exist in Nigerian politics, economy and society.”

The ambassador concluded by saying “the process of building a Nigeria of which Prof. Achebe will be proud has begun and that process is irreversible.”

Fuel Susidy - Removed or Sustained?

It took over a two-hour audience as Senators and members of the House of Representatives continued to keep President Goodluck Jonathan in suspense over plans to remove fuel subsidy.

But the President warned that the economy may collapse, if the subsidy remains, said by sources.

But the Senators and Representatives endorsed Jonathan’s plans to tackle the Boko Haram menace and rid Nigeria of terrorism.

The President met with members of the National Assembly at the Presidential Villa between 3pm and 5pm.
The moderator of the session was the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, a former Senate President.

It was learnt that after the opening prayer, which was said by the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, the session went into the two issues on the agenda - removal of fuel subsidy and Boko Haram’s insurgency.

The President (with whom were some ministers and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi) explained why fuel subsidy must be removed.

It was gathered that when Sen. David Mark gauged the mood of members on the removal of fuel subsidy, he intervened by changing the focus to Boko Haram menace and insecurity.

After the President’s speech, two Senators reportedly spoke Deputy Senate leader Abdul Ningi asked the President to deal with the cartel reportedly gaining from the fuel subsidy. He reportedly said: “You are the most powerful black President; you have the power to deal with the cartel. We should confront the cartel.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Sen. Ita Enang(Senotor, representing Uyo senatorial district), reportedly said: “What makes political sense might not make economic and security sense.”
Members of the House of Representatives declined to speak.
The deafening “NO!” re-echoed the position of the House that if the cartel is checked, the nation can afford about N500billion fuel subsidy per annum.

Sensing likely rowdiness, the Senate President prevailed on the President to address insecurity, especially the Boko Haram menace.
The source quoted Mark as saying: “I think the President cannot get the commitment of any member here, but we will go back and discuss the issue of removal of fuel subsidy and get back to him.
“But members will want to know what your administration is doing to address insecurity in the country.”
Following Mark’s intervention, the President briefed the session.
Another source said: “The President told us that his administration was tackling the terror attacks from Boko Haram. He said unlike Niger Delta militants who can be identified, Boko Haram members have mingled with the society under one guise or the other and cannot be easily located.”
The source quoted the President as saying: “We are trying to address the insecurity; we are making efforts to tackle the Boko Haram menace via intelligence gathering. We are collaborating with some countries to get to the roots of these terror attacks and put the menace behind us.
‘We are on top of the situation; we will soon get over it. Terrorism is alien to our culture; we will address it once and for all.”
Tambuwal gave the vote of thanks, it was learnt, urging the President to take whatever steps necessary to address insecurity “and members of the National Assembly will back him”.
Tambuwal is quoted as saying: “We have heard you, Mr. President. We thank you for addressing insecurity. Security is for all of us. We will back you.”
On the removal of fuel subsidy, the source said, “the Speaker simply maintained that ‘we will meet and discuss it in our fora.”
He added: “The Speaker’s non-committal on fuel subsidy removal drew instantaneous applause from members of the House at the session.
“At the end of the day, senators and members of the House decided to keep the President in suspense. But that may be the end of the matter if care is not taken. The House is certainly opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy.
“But Jonathan also got the backing of the National Assembly members to fight terrorism and address insecurity in the land,” he added.
Yesterday’s meeting which lasted about two hours was held at the Banquet Hall of the State House.
Senator Ayogu Eze, chairman of Works Committee said though the meeting was inconclusive, “it is assumed that it is going to continue and I can see two or three more meetings before we can come to a comfortable platform.
“I want to let you know that this is a very useful exchange, very useful interaction and we hope at the end of the day, it will produce desirable results for our people.
“A whole lot of governance issues were discussed. We discussed security, subsidy and the issue of balancing the budget and just making sure that government works for the benefit of the people. It will be premature to say that we have failed to understand ourselves. This is the first interaction, we have listened to him (President) and we are going to take it further”, Senator Eze said.
He dismissed speculation of the attempted vote of no confidence on the President by the Senate, saying they were scandalised by the report. He said they only discussed security challenges since members were worried about the state of insecurity in the country.
“That (vote of no confidence) never came up in the Chamber of the Senate.
The Special Adviser to the president on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emordi also dismissed the report that the legislators were planning to pass a no confidence vote on the president.
Besides the President, some members of the Federal Executive Council at the session were the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke; the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman; and the Minister of Youths Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi, among others.

Now is the time to change things around us. We can now produce anything and help ourselves and others in this Country...

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A view on Politics In Bayelsa state

Though our main area is on production, we know that political instabilities also affect Production, which is why we thought we should bring in a bit of what is happening in the Country.

We published earlier that people are looking for thermometers to measure the political temperature
 in Bayelsa when somebody suggested that this one will be polimeter. But now, we to ask whether there is any instrument as such.....



Governor Timipre Sylva, disqualified by the PDP from bidding for the ticket, yesterday asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to pull the brakes on the primary election.

Sylva says his name should be sent as the PDP candidate on the basis of the January primary election, which he won. He said a fresh primary election will amount to substituting his name, which is against the provision of the Electoral Act. Sylva is claiming the ticket through a letter to INEC chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, by his lawyer, Mr Femi Falana. The letter is dated November 15.

The PDP conducted the primary election in January ahead of the April governorship elections.
But a Federal High Court, judgment, upheld by the Court of Appeal stopped INEC from conducting governorship elections in five states, including Bayelsa, where rerun elections were held.
The other states where elections were postponed are: Cross River, Kogi, Adamawa and Sokoto.
In his letter to INEC, entitled: “Re: Decision of the Peoples Democratic Party to conduct fresh governorship primaries in Bayelsa State”, Falana said:
“Our client is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State and currently the Governor of Bayelsa State an the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“Following the publication of the Time Table of Activities for 2011 General Elections by your Commission, the Peoples Democratic Party duly set in motion the machinery for the conduct of governorship primaries in Bayelsa State to nominate its candidate for the Governorship election in Bayelsa State that were scheduled to be held in April, 2011.
“The governorship primaries were duly held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on 9th January, 2011 and at the end of the exercise (which was observed by officials of your Commission), our client emerged the winner, having scored majority of the valid votes cast. We attach herewith Result of the Gubernatorial Primary Election and the Report of the Electoral Panel for Gubernatorial Primary in Bayelsa State dated the 10th January, 2011 as ANNEXURE “AA” and “BB” respectively for reference purposes.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) consequently submitted the name of our client to your Commission vide a letter dated January 24, 2011 but received on January 27, 2011 as its governorship candidate in Bayelsa State as required by Section 31(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended). Attached herewith as ANNEXURE “CC” is a copy of the said letter.
“The Governorship election was scheduled to hold on 15th April, 2011 by your Commission. However, your Commission later postponed the conduct of the election to a later date following the judgment of Federal High Court, Abuja Division delivered on 23rd February, 2011 in the case of CHIEF TIMIPRE SYLVA & 6 OTHERS v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 OTHERS which decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
“Recently, your Commission announced that it would conduct the governorship election in Bayelsa State in February, 2012. Our client has since started campaigning for votes throughout the nooks and crannies of Bayelsa State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the governorship election. Your Commission did not call for fresh nomination of candidates by the political parties.
“However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has published a paid advert in the national dailies of its intention to conduct a fresh governorship primaries in Bayelsa State and has even gone ahead to schedule 19th November, 2011 for the fresh primaries despite the protest from our client whose nomination has been forwarded to your Commission as the party’s candidate for the governorship election.
“We wish to state, without any fear of contradiction, that our client has not withdrawn his candidature to contest the governorship election in Bayelsa State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
As you are no doubt aware, the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) are  now very clear that once a political party has submitted the name of a candidate to your Commission for a particular elective office, the political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute the name of that candidate. Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) provides as follows:
“A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted pursuant to Section 32 of this Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate.”
“By scheduling to conduct a fresh governorship primary in Bayelsa State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is about to change or substitute the name of our client as its candidate for the governorship election.
“It is against the backdrop of the above that we urge you to use your good offices as recognised by Section 86 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) to direct the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to conduct a fresh governorship primary in Bayelsa State as same will amount to a contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act.”

Kerosene and Petrol Scarcity

When people from a Country like Nigeria which we belong to experiences a thing like fuel scarcity, it bothers other people a lot. As people from Cross River and Akwa Ibom  are crying for high petroleum and kerosene prices, we continue to ask "who will be blamed?"

Abuja – The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), yesterday, Tuesday said that inflation rate stood at 10.5 per cent in October.

Dr Yemi Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation announced this at a news conference in Abuja, saying that the figure was higher than the 10.3 per cent recorded in September.

Dr. Yemi said that all Items year-on-year average consumer price level for urban and rural dwellers rose by 7.8 per cent and 12.8 per cent, respectively.

He said that the urban All Items monthly index was -0.1 per cent in October against 1.4 per cent in September, while the rural index was 0.9 per cent in October compared with 1.4 per cent in September.

“The All Items Less Farm Produce’ index which excluded the prices of agricultural products increased by 1.1 per cent in October against 1.9 per cent in September,’’ the statistician-general said.
Kale said that the increase was mainly caused by rising prices of some household items, building materials, diesel and kerosene.

According to him, prices and weighting are the two basic parameters used to arrive at the CPI.
“The price data are collected for a sample of goods and services from a sample of sales outlets in a sample of locations for a sample of times.
“The weighting data are estimates of shares of the different types of expenditure in the total expenditure covered by the index’
“These weights are usually based upon expenditure data obtained from expenditure surveys for a sample of household or upon estimates of the composition of consumption expenditure in the National Income and Product Account, ’’ he said.
Kale said that 10,534 officers were used to collate data for the CPI monthly, and that 740 product specifications were priced across the rural and urban areas of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

He said the average price of each item was computed for each sector for each state and the FCT and used for index computation. (NAN)

Today's Politics in Bayelsa State

Some people in the state are still thinking of using thermometers to measure the state of affairs in the state, especially, politics.

In the state, the aspirants denied that the PDP's congress was peaceful.

Dickson had, Monday, while speaking with newsmen, said though he did not see the members of the panel sent from the national secretariat for the conduct of the ward congress, the exercise was peaceful. He said he had set up a contact committee to reach out to stakeholders of the party in the state with a view to getting their support.

Dickson also denied claims by some politicians that he was “forerunner” to another powerful candidate yet to be “anointed” by the Presidency.
He said: “These are claims made by political desperadoes and schemers. I am prepared for governance. I took off from day one without needing tutelage.”

“The congresses were meant to elect ward delegates and party men participated. It is mischievous for anybody to claim that there was no congress.
“The five aspirants who claimed there were no congresses are Governor Sylva’s agents and they are being used by the governor to discredit PDP and the congresses.”
However, aggrieved aspirants, Messrs Christopher Enai, Boloubo Orufa and Austin Febo, yesterday in Yenagoa, called for outright cancellation of the Monday’s ward congress, saying, “the ad hoc delegate congress scheduled for November 14 in Bayelsa State, did not take place in any of the 105 wards in the state.”

While condemning the actions of the party representatives from Abuja and the claim by Dickson that the exercise took place, Enai, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved aspirants, said: “We deny and refute the claims by Dickson and his agents, purporting that the ward congress held.
“We also confirm to be true, the position of the state PDP that no ward congress took place in 105 wards in the state. Certain persons, claiming to have been sent by the party from the national secretariat arrived at the party secretariat at about 2pm and left five minutes later, stating that they were going to report their presence to the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the State Security Services in Bayelsa State to enable them sign certain documents.
“They never returned.”

Insisting that the party representatives from Abuja did not come with any materials or documents to the party secretariat at Onopa, Yenagoa, the aggrieved aspirants said results purportedly emanating from the ward congresses were fabricated, false and misleading.

While expressing confidence in the ability of National Chairman and the National Working Committee of the party to put a stop to what they call a charade capable of dampening the moral of party supporters and dragging the reputation of the PDP into the mud, they called on the leadership of PDP to send new set of unbiased officials to conduct the ward congress.

Today's

Yenagoa-Some aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirants in Bayelsa State, Tuesday, called for a fresh ward congress in the state, insisting that Monday’s exercise was a sham.
They also called for the suspension and disqualifi-cation of Mr. Seriake Dickson, one of the leading contenders for the party’s ticket, from contesting this weekend’s primaries over alleged false claim and misrepresentation of truth.
The aspirants denied that the congress was peaceful.
Dickson had, Monday, while speaking with newsmen, said though he did not see the members of the panel sent from the national secretariat for the conduct of the ward congress, the exercise was peaceful. He said he had set up a contact committee to reach out to stakeholders of the party in the state with a view to getting their support.
Dickson also denied claims by some politicians that he was “forerunner” to another powerful candidate yet to be “anointed” by the Presidency.
He said: “These are claims made by political desperadoes and schemers. I am prepared for governance. I took off from day one without needing tutelage.”
He told Vanguard, yesterday, that: “Six PDP council chairmen, out of eight, addressed newsmen and affirmed that congresses held in all the wards. The acting chairman of Bayelsa affirmed it to be free and fair.
“The congresses were meant to elect ward delegates and party men participated. It is mischievous for anybody to claim that there was no congress.
“The five aspirants who claimed there were no congresses are Governor Sylva’s agents and they are being used by the governor to discredit PDP and the congresses.”
However, aggrieved aspirants, Messrs Christopher Enai, Boloubo Orufa and Austin Febo, yesterday in Yenagoa, called for outright cancellation of the Monday’s ward congress, saying, “the ad hoc delegate congress scheduled for November 14 in Bayelsa State, did not take place in any of the 105 wards in the state.”
While condemning the actions of the party representatives from Abuja and the claim by Dickson that the exercise took place, Enai, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved aspirants, said: “We deny and refute the claims by Dickson and his agents, purporting that the ward congress held.
“We also confirm to be true, the position of the state PDP that no ward congress took place in 105 wards in the state. Certain persons, claiming to have been sent by the party from the national secretariat arrived at the party secretariat at about 2pm and left five minutes later, stating that they were going to report their presence to the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the State Security Services in Bayelsa State to enable them sign certain documents.
“They never returned.”
Insisting that the party representatives from Abuja did not come with any materials or documents to the party secretariat at Onopa, Yenagoa, the aggrieved aspirants said results purportedly emanating from the ward congresses were fabricated, false and misleading.
While expressing confidence in the ability of National Chairman and the National Working Committee of the party to put a stop to what they call a charade capable of dampening the moral of party supporters and dragging the reputation of the PDP into the mud, they called on the leadership of PDP to send new set of unbiased officials to conduct the ward congress.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Gov. Akpabio's Presidential Award

It was early hours of Monday, 14th of November, 2011 that people turned out in mass number to be flying out of the state and i stood close and asked, "where are they so hurry about?" And suddenly, i heard a voice asking me "have you not been listening to news or are you not from this state?"

We want to say that you will here details of the award ceremony at Abuja right here on this blog. We will update you on all the things that happened there.

For now, we want to say that Akwa Ibom people are very happy with the award conferred on His Excellency, by the Number 1 Citizen of this great Country. 

Thank you for the trust! 

Soap Production Guide (p2)

A very important questions have been asked on the subject, "soap production".
Infact, i have received hundreds of messages on that same subject, soap production.

I never knew that my work will be that accepted and cherished that people now call me "The Young Investor".
I have decided to launch a website that supply all answers with respect to production.

So, i want to say that, if you want to produce anything, keep an eye on this blog, as a website that will come as a promise will soon be launched for your use.

The website on its own, is a symbol of hope and acceptance. So, be ready for a big time opportunity to learn, from production of soap to production of other things!

Ubong Edem

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Police aborted protest against removal of fuel subsidy – NYCN

  It was the youth leader of National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN who said that armed policemen, Friday, aborted his group’s planned protest in Abuja over the government proposal to remove fuel subsidies, which would result in higher pump prices.

The NYC had planned a National Rally and 24-hour hunger strike against the federal government’s planned removal of fuel subsidy, in Abuja.

“We got to the venue of the protest and we found it already cordoned off by armed policemen… They later brought in their dogs and chased us out of the place,” the head of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Wale Ajani, said.

“They said they got an information that there was a bomb threat and our presence at the venue constituted a security risk,” he told AFP.

But, the police spokesman in Abuja, Moshood Jimoh, denied his men deliberately took action to stop the group’s one-day sit-in protest.

“We did not stop the protest. We are just on operation stop-and-search to prevent crimes in Abuja. We started that last week. We never targeted any group specifically today,” Jimoh told AFP.

An AFP reporter said that he saw at least two police armoured personnel carriers and an unusual massive deployment of policemen around the venue of the planned protest.
Ajani said that the secret police, known as the Department of State Services, Wednesday detained him for several hours during which he was urged to cancel the protest against scrapping the subsidy.
Many Nigerians, most of whom earn less than $2 per day, view it as the only benefit they receive from their country’s oil wealth, much of which has been squandered through corruption and mismanagement.

Government officials and many economists argue that the billions of dollars being spent on the subsidy each year go to a corrupt few, and that money saved could be used for infrastructure development or other important programmes.

But, we must ask ourselves whether this good. Why would some people always plan wicked moves?

You have the right to produce now and be your own boss!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Ndigbos In Nigeria Urge Unity As They Celebrate Ojukwu’s Birthday Igbo people saw the need for peace among themselves and others which appeared to be one of their paramount discussion as they met at the residence of Ikemba Nnewi, Odumegwu Ojukwu to celebrate his 78th birthday. Among the dignitaries present at the event were; the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign States of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike , Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, former Governor of Imo State Ikedi Ohakim, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Charles Soludo, Publisher of Champion Newspapers, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among others. In an address, Owelle Okorocha declared that the day the Igbos decided to come together, other groups in Nigeria would bow for them, pointing out that disunity had torn the zone apart. Additionally, the problem of Ndigbo was themselves because they have not come together and work as one and queried what the Igbo were looking for that is hindering them from coming together. Okorocha continued that day of the Igbo looking for pity and crying of marginalisation was over because no one can marginalise the Igbo, rather they are the ones marginalising themselves. Okorocha advised the Igbo to shun violence or adopting methods by other Nigerians to achieve their aims because violence would not take the Igbo anywhere. He described the celebration of Ojukwu’s birthday as a celebration of excellence and to give honour to whom honour is due. Gov. Obi noted that whatever progress that Nigeria had made today was as a result of the sweat of the Igbo as it were the Igbo that spearheaded the struggle for Nigeria’s independence. In remark, Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca, said she was overwhelmed by the show of love for her husband and the mammoth crowd that turn out for the event that was supposed to be a private one. In the famous words of Mr. King, why can't we and others just get along? Let us live peacefully for a better Nigeria!