[Opinion] RE: Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election - By Dr Kayode Fayemi

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMl1Tvitudu96abPd_55iLcwoZ_JVBl3eB5W-D_3fo6qOns1QTKI19iaIvEiBPM8wF7X-Yx_UtueE_42EanBwqbVcoQ2yNnyLxj2LO_D3kFMiNdTW4KJk_5yAmB1609h72OibGNpMrMI_/s1600/Fayemi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMl1Tvitudu96abPd_55iLcwoZ_JVBl3eB5W-D_3fo6qOns1QTKI19iaIvEiBPM8wF7X-Yx_UtueE_42EanBwqbVcoQ2yNnyLxj2LO_D3kFMiNdTW4KJk_5yAmB1609h72OibGNpMrMI_/s1600/Fayemi.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>We commend Professor Chukwuma Soludo’s for his insightful and incisive article published on January 26th in the Vanguard Newspaper, The Nation Newspaper and major online news platforms under the above title. We agree with Professor Soludo that if the political parties, including ours, must justify the overwhelming enthusiasm of Nigerians about the 2015 elections we must remain focused on the issues that matter most to them, which is the progress of our country and the well being of our people. Indeed, this has been the driving conviction of our party and our campaign all along.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> While we accept his critical comments on our party, more for the intentions than for the letters, we believe some clarifications would be quite necessary. We wish to emphasise that our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), presents a real option to Nigerians. Professor Soludo expressed the sentiments of most Nigerians when he spoke about the incalculable damage that the PDP under President Jonathan has done to the Nigerian economy and the unprecedented hardship that his six years of the locust has brought upon Nigerians.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> However, the APC does not intend to ride into power on a mere rhetoric of 'change'. The change that we propose is fundamental in many ways as it is critical to the very survival of our country. This in itself presents a major distinction between our party and the PDP. Perhaps, the most compelling argument against the Peoples Democratic Party today is that its government and leadership does not even see that Nigeria is in trouble. While majority of our people wallow in abject poverty, and the gap in inequality gets ever wider by the day, yet PDP has basked in self-celebration of imagined accomplishments. How can a party or a government even begin to solve a problem that it does not believe exist? Like in all things, PDP is stuck in denial.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> APC does not promise Eldorado. Neither our candidate nor our manifesto has made such promise. Our programs are based on the critical awareness of the difficult task ahead, while holding out a ray of hope to our people. The promises that we make reflect our innermost belief that the people must be at the centre of development. Especially, we believe that any economic growth that leaves the majority of the people behind, and does not protect the weakest and the vulnerable among us, is merely delusionary.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Professor Soludo has drawn our attention to the striking but unfortunate similarity in the nation's economy in 1982-1984 period and what we are experiencing today. Back then, a period of sustained high crude oil prices had also ironically led to unsustainable debt levels and introduction of the austerity measure. Just as it happened more than three decades ago, it is difficult to explain how a sustained period of oil boom should ultimately lead to austerity measure except to say that huge opportunities that the period of boom presented were frittered away by mindless profligacy, wanton corruption and bad economic choices made by the PDP government, which has rewarded a protracted period of boom with uncertainty and austerity and is still asking for another mandate to do more damage. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> If we sound upbeat in our manifesto, it is because we recognise that this crisis period also presents us a great opportunity to restructure the economy in a way that improves the quality of lives of our people by ensuring that our economic growth is job-led. Our party has identified job creation as a critical priority of government. We have noted with concerns that Nigeria’s unemployment rate of 23.9% should be seen as a national crisis. And if this government was more sensitive to the enormity of the challenge that this presents, it would be reluctant to jump all over the place in self celebration while so many of our youths are wasting away. In the immediate future, our priority is to tackle unemployment and provide good jobs by embarking on a massive programme of public works, building houses, roads, railways, ports and energy plants. Over the long term, we believe we must wean Nigeria off its dangerous addiction to oil, which currently provides 80% of our spending leaving us at the mercy of volatile international oil prices. Even as a federalist party, we believe that an economy that is dependent on a commodity that is so dangerously exposed to price volatility must always prepare for eventuality through savings and investments once the agreed thresholds are met. What we disagree with is the unilateral and arbitrary deductions in accruable revenues in a way that hampers the development of the federating States.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Going by the government's own statistics, is it mere coincidence that the three States with the lowest unemployment rate - Osun, Lagos and Kwara - are all APC States?  This is evidence of our Party's ability to tackle this problem head-on. APC’s policy thrust will create an enabling environment and incentives for the formal and informal sectors to lead the quest for job creation. This will be done in addition to skills acquisition and enterprise- training to ensure our youths are equipped with the appropriate skills to take these jobs. Merely introducing a National Qualification Standards would power a whole new world of opportunities for our artisans by launching them into the international job markets. We note the issue that Professor Soludo picked with our figure of 720,000 jobs. We need to clarify that this is limited to immediate direct employment opportunities from public projects and maintenance works only. Our manifesto actually promises a lot more jobs but we see that as the product of the enabling environment we seek to create for private sector-led job creation, especially in high opportunity sectors like agriculture, construction, entertainment, tourism, ICT and sports. APC economic policy is driven by an overwhelming concern for the level of inequality in our country today. Specifically, to quote from our manifesto, we intend to achieve our job-creation agenda through:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <ol> <li>Massive public works programme especially the building of a national railway system (complete with tramline systems for our major cities), interstate roads, and ports. These projects must commence early in the life of the new administration.</li> <li>Establishing a new Federal Coordinating Agency - Build Nigeria - to fast track and manage these public works programmes with emphasis on Nigerian labour.</li> <li>Embarking vigorously on industrialization, public works and agricultural expansion.</li> <li>Diversifying the economy through a national industrial policy and innovative private-sector incentives that will move us away from over reliance on oil into value-added production especially manufacturing.</li> <li>Reviving textile and other industries that have been rendered dormant because of inappropriate economic policies.</li> <li>Reinvigorating the solid mineral sector by revamping our aged mining legislation and attracting new investment.</li> <li>Developing a new generation of domestic oil refineries to lower import costs, enhance our energy independence and create jobs.</li> <li>Working with state governments to turn the country into Africa's food basket through a new system of grants and interest free loans, and the mechanization of agriculture.</li> <li>Encouraging and promoting the use of sports as a source of job creation, entertainment and recreation.</li> <li>Creating a knowledge economy by making Nigeria an IT/professional/Telecom services outsourcing destination hub to create millions of jobs.</li> <li>Filling the huge gap in middle level technical manpower with massive investment in technical and tradesmen's skills education.</li> <li>Ensuring that all foreign contractors to include a plan of developing local capacity (technology transfer).</li> <li>Creation of six Regional Development Agencies covering the country with representatives from the Federal Government, States and the private sector to manage a new ₦300 billion growth fund.</li> </ol> <br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Our obsession with job creation stems from the fact that we believe we must focus on actions that would serve the twin purpose of closing the gap in inequality and creating opportunities for our people, especially the youth. Our current situation is dangerous for the stability of the country. The Human Development Index position ranks Nigeria 152of 169 countries surveyed.This is incompatible with the present administration’s insistence on celebrating GDP growth and our absolute economic size hinged on a routine rebasing exercise. As many commentators have pointed out, rebasing the GDP is not an achievement. Rather, it is a mere statistical adjustment that does not impact on the real or imagined standards of living of the people. So, we also wonder what this PDP government is celebrating. And maybe it is not that difficult to explain when one discovers that a small elite has captured the state and converted our commonwealth into private gain, becoming disproportionately rich from massive corruption while poverty has deepened. The income gap and illicit capital flight are growing alarmingly. Instead of investing in modernizing our economy, massive theft has starved the country of desperately needed resources for infrastructure and public services and left us dangerously dependent on fluctuating global oil prices for our economic survival. For the ordinary Nigerian, the much-touted economic growth cited by the present administration has not translated into employment or development. Over 100 million Nigerians are struggling to make ends meet on a regular basis.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/01/opinion-buhari-vs-jonathan-beyond.html">READ ALSO: Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election - By Chukwuma Charles Soludo</a></b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Furthermore, we understand Professor Soludo’s concern on the cost of implementing our various programmes, especially those relating to social welfare. The enormity of this challenge is not lost on us. We also know that sometimes, going into government is like buying a "no testing" electronic equipment. You may never know the true state of what you are buying until you get in. We want to assure Professor Soludo and other like-minded Nigerians that our policy team is looking at all the options - including the worst-case scenario of a completely empty treasury. We are however confident that by blocking avenues of wastages and corruption alone, savings could run into billions of Naira that could be deployed for productive use. Even so, we agree with Professor Soludo that savings from corruption alone will not tackle the enormous challenges we are likely to confront in government. We are however comforted by the fact that a four-year period provides opportunity for phased implementation while growing the resource base as well as changing the culture of graft while reducing the cost of governance.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Quite significantly, we know that periods of economic downturn also potentially provide opportunity to lay the foundation for real economic restructuring and development; and we can reflect on how Singapore under Premier Lee Kuan Yew and the United States of America under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used historic moments of economic downturn in their countries to launch a period of sustained development and a new deal for their people. General Buhari has never claimed to have the magic wand nor the answers to all of the country’s problems. His greatest assets would be his moral authority borne out of his self-sacrificing integrity, his sincerity of purpose and his patriotic zeal to return Nigeria to the path of progress and genuine development.  He is committed to utilize competent and committed people of integrity wherever he may find them. This is precisely why he promised when flagging off his campaign in Port Harcourt on January 5, 2015 that if voted into power, it would be an opportunity to, in his words, "finally assemble a competent team of Nigerians to efficiently manage this country”. This is a clear sign that a meritocratic process will govern the appointment of those that would be entrusted with managing our economy and country. His stint as Head of State shows a track record of using self-sacrificing professionals in his governance team. His previous cabinet included the likes of Dr. Onaolapo Soleye, Professor Tam David-West and Professor Ibrahim Gambari.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The All Progressives Congress (APC) is determined to lead Nigeria in the direction of change that is so urgently required. And even as we prepare for the immediate rescue mission in 2015, our minds are also set on building the necessary democratic institutions that would entrench our ideological conviction as a progressive and people-centred party. A National Progressives Policy Institute is part of this plan in the near future but we are very clear about the enormity of the task ahead. We would not seek to underplay it. We are supremely confident that we are equal to the task and we appreciate the commitment of majority of Nigerians to this quest for change.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>Dr. Kayode Fayemi heads the Policy, Research and Strategy Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign.</b></div>

[Opinion] RE: Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election - By Dr Kayode Fayemi

We commend Professor Chukwuma Soludo’s for his insightful and incisive article published on January 26th in the Vanguard Newspaper, The...

Read more »

OMG! See Woman Inhumanity Woman As Madam Brutalizes Her Maid

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoo5SqGVArEZX7zmnh6q3agU1qW4haSl5Iahx8vIBI5Zh1Qu4XjGINCQQacfvM7LTjV50uOjfyP_SMGkdcHmcZe31phM3I9XR4XjGzN7qGoo3bDCH-lttDidXHWFmMczfN2woQITbyqSJy/s1600/Brutalized+Maid0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoo5SqGVArEZX7zmnh6q3agU1qW4haSl5Iahx8vIBI5Zh1Qu4XjGINCQQacfvM7LTjV50uOjfyP_SMGkdcHmcZe31phM3I9XR4XjGzN7qGoo3bDCH-lttDidXHWFmMczfN2woQITbyqSJy/s1600/Brutalized+Maid0.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>In a clear case of a woman's inhumanity to a maid, a woman in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital has been reported to have severely brutalized her housemaid for not cleaning the house.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Obviously, it seems the incidences of madams brutalizing their maids are becoming common these days because no one is being punished for the dastardly act. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> According to <b>Talkloaded.net</b>, this latest incident which left the maid almost blind and a tooth knocked off happened at the Eleyele Police Barracks in Ibadan. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMK7bwT3biAy_2pmbvrkwRKvhiUG0UWSqpTqyhkBLCANirAY3A_Chjfs69-cUIX8_FZSD_qNe7_bB9vpwrliLZ6V8XAHwjQdb1EUCS8lZVsGEFQnHQiN526L_OH01h3rOBy1PTUc6VmHa/s1600/Brutalized+Maid0_Madam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMK7bwT3biAy_2pmbvrkwRKvhiUG0UWSqpTqyhkBLCANirAY3A_Chjfs69-cUIX8_FZSD_qNe7_bB9vpwrliLZ6V8XAHwjQdb1EUCS8lZVsGEFQnHQiN526L_OH01h3rOBy1PTUc6VmHa/s1600/Brutalized+Maid0_Madam.jpg" width="538" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wicked woman who brutalized her housemaid</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> According to reports, after beating the poor girl mercilessly the woman who is also a mother poured hot water on the girl, scalding her breasts and other parts of her body. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> But for the grace of God and the intervention of neighbors, the maid would have been dead by now.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8J-nrmkgCre8gfUk-UvtavV7C165muVkEJV6YcHWgXh_5f_s8Sny9gNj7Pt-c12MUX0-T_qoqn5XRIvoDw6hYdcckYzPz8iDzDtxRmq8-8g3VCVYwK18pbPc60BlNYpE9TcL8KhJ234K/s1600/Brutalized+Maid1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8J-nrmkgCre8gfUk-UvtavV7C165muVkEJV6YcHWgXh_5f_s8Sny9gNj7Pt-c12MUX0-T_qoqn5XRIvoDw6hYdcckYzPz8iDzDtxRmq8-8g3VCVYwK18pbPc60BlNYpE9TcL8KhJ234K/s1600/Brutalized+Maid1.jpg" width="574" /></a></div>

OMG! See Woman Inhumanity Woman As Madam Brutalizes Her Maid

In a clear case of a woman's inhumanity to a maid, a woman in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital has been reported to have severely bruta...

Read more »

JUST IN: Ex-Eagles Goalkeeper, Wilfred Agbonivbare, Is Dead

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguje98WbbeAFqxf6VMp1LlY4_k9tLiMwarCQR6iozDqMlRJiuxXnTNq9zWtwE9ueuAzYfPAVkqaT-CInkkJuIvvjKc_3MXOF6HNeXTc_N1__G17qSBPYnX60Kh5kQoV9E1oVHFCWIj2phN/s1600/TNN+Just+In_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguje98WbbeAFqxf6VMp1LlY4_k9tLiMwarCQR6iozDqMlRJiuxXnTNq9zWtwE9ueuAzYfPAVkqaT-CInkkJuIvvjKc_3MXOF6HNeXTc_N1__G17qSBPYnX60Kh5kQoV9E1oVHFCWIj2phN/s1600/TNN+Just+In_1.png" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Wilfred Agbonivbare, is dead.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b><br /></b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Agbonivbare died in Spain Tuesday morning around 4.00am.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The ex-international goalkeeper had been treated for cancer in the United States until he was asked to return to his Spain home about three weeks ago.</div>

JUST IN: Ex-Eagles Goalkeeper, Wilfred Agbonivbare, Is Dead

Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Wilfred Agbonivbare, is dead. Agbonivbare died in Spain Tuesday morning around 4.00am. The ex-in...

Read more »

PMS Price Reduction And The Economy: My Takeaways - By Babatunde Fashola

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3KOSN3tQnerJjSmJwz5Y0iK-3eu1Xng5VnFerWDykKfhoNaRWNEJQs16GY0xpWmelIC_2Yqibm6yyCmqSVzi0GhiFaodvorf-N1M7YNYgmQlZBHoXC5G7qo3KIeIs5i74wfoGkIgwnq5/s1600/Fashola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3KOSN3tQnerJjSmJwz5Y0iK-3eu1Xng5VnFerWDykKfhoNaRWNEJQs16GY0xpWmelIC_2Yqibm6yyCmqSVzi0GhiFaodvorf-N1M7YNYgmQlZBHoXC5G7qo3KIeIs5i74wfoGkIgwnq5/s1600/Fashola.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b><br /></b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>It is no longer news that the federal government has announced a reduction in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol. While I have made my position known on my Twitter handle that ‘a little over 10% reduction in cost of the final (crude oil) product (PMS) in response to an over 50% drop in the cost of the raw material is a good try and that Nigerians can get a better deal’, I am constrained to make this further intervention for a few reasons.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> 1. There is a sense in the public space that this reduction is politically motivated, given the reactions that have followed it. To the extent therefore that there is a political nexus, it deserves further interrogation because it is an ECONOMIC issue and this is a major issue in the elections as canvassed by both parties, especially at the presidential candidacy level.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> General Muhammadu Buhari had seized the moment and the importance of the economic issue earlier this month. Through his campaign council he said: "Stop stealing from Nigerians and allow them enjoy the relief that has come to consumers of petroleum products globally.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "For the Nigerian consumers, unfortunately the collapse of crude oil price since October 2014 has not translated into any change in diesel, kerosene and PMS prices across the country."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> 2. The second reason for my intervention is also economic, and it goes to interrogate POLICY, particularly this PRICING POLICY, and the consistency of the party in government vis-a-vis their credibility before the Nigerian public.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>The Economics of Oil</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> It must be obvious to any discerning mind that you cannot have a viable democracy without debating the management of the economy. This is because the real issue in elections is the way people’s lives have fared during the tenure of the incumbent. The question, sometimes spoken, sometimes not, but never forgotten, is this: Has my life been better in the last few years or not? This question always involves an examination of the record of service of the incumbent and many have lost their seats in a bad economy. So, the present government must defend its record on the economy and this involves its management of prices and consumer indices.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The cost of energy, fuel, gas, electricity for transport, cooking, heating and manufacturing is a direct determinant of the cost of living and how far people’s wages can take them before the next pay day. It is not therefore surprising that in the last decade and a half, many western countries have gone to war "in order to make peace", especially in the Middle East, so that there is no scarcity of petroleum (crude oil) supply. The reason is simple.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Scarce crude means high prices of crude oil, translating to high fuel, gas and production costs, leading to restive domestic population, which can translate to electoral defeat.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> If one remembers Iraq, Libya and Egypt; in spite of the democratic masks that those military interventions wore, it is difficult to dismiss a domestic, political (electoral) self interest in them. In the aftermath of these interventions and investment in shale oil as an alternative, leading to the crash of crude oil prices, what have these western countries done at home for their people in terms of oil price management?</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Let us look at a few examples:</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> i. <i>United Kingdom</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Drop in price (dollar per litre): 0.52</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Percentage of price drop: 23.75%</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> ii. <i>United States of America</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Drop in price (dollar per litre): 0.39</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Percentage of price drop: 36.57%</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> iii. <i>Singapore</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Drop in price (dollar per litre): 1.79</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Percentage of price drop: 21%</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> iv. <i>Nigeria</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Drop in price (dollar per litre): 0.03</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Percentage of price drop: 10.3%</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>My Take Aways</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> a) It is poor economic management to import the final product of a commodity whose raw material (crude oil) we produce in abundance.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> b) A refinery in Nigeria, such as the 400,000-barrel refinery we are supporting by providing land for the Dangote Group in the Lekki Free Zone will keep jobs at home (instead of in foreign refineries), create income for the Nigerian government by way of companies income tax, and give us better control of pricing by eliminating subsidies and demurrage charges by port delays paid to ship owners in dollars against a weak naira; and it will eliminate many other charges that are passed on to ordinary Nigerians.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> c) Clearly, an inefficient port management that escalates shipping costs, a devalued currency, and an exorbitant interest rate on borrowing, which are economic failures of the current government, are part of the reasons why Nigeria cannot get a better deal from an over 50% drop in crude oil price.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>Interrogation of Policy</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In announcing the reduction of fuel pump price, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, stated the reasons for the government’s decision in her own words as follows: "As you may be aware, there has been a lot of volatility in the price of petroleum products, particularly crude oil, over the last few months. Invariably, this has meant that the price of the product in Nigeria has also been greatly impacted."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> When addressing journalists, she added: "After watching the price per barrel drop over the last few months, we have finally achieved parity... therefore this would be the best time to actually reduce the price. We have been watching very carefully over the last two weeks to ensure that the volatility did not destabilise this reduction in price and we think it’s safe to implement it at this time."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Please note she used the words (1) ''price per barrel drop" and (2) the "achieved parity" in the oil price regime to justify the reduction.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> i) <i>Price Per Barrel Drop</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> As I have pointed out, I doubt that a 10% reduction is the best that we can get in response to a 50% drop in oil price, and this is simple common sense. If a product is manufactured at X price and the price of the raw material drops by Y%, I think it is simple economics to reflect that Y% drop in the price of the final product without doing any damage to the cost of packaging or transporting the product. And this should happen vice versa if the price of the raw material heads in the opposite direction.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> But let me be quick to acknowledge that these price changes may not necessarily be effected overnight in a period of volatility; and this is the relevance of the minister’s point about 'parity', which I will come to later.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> But the quick additional point to make is that diesel has not enjoyed any subsidy for a long time and there is a loud silence on this product, as far as pricing policy is concerned; and nothing is said about kerosene. So, if this was really meant to bring relief to the people, I think diesel, which impacts on production costs, power costs in homes through generators, and kerosene, which ordinary Nigerians use to cook, would have been the place for government to demonstrate that it understands the plight of the people. This would have afforded some cushion against the austerity measures indicated by the Minister of Finance.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> MY TAKE AWAY</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This price reduction is not far reaching enough. It demonstrates a knee-jerk reaction to a serious economic issue where the majority of ordinary Nigerians are concerned. When we factor the fact that the majority of Nigerians generate their own power at four times the cost of public power, and they mostly use diesel, a reduction there would have reduced the pressure on their disposable income.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> (ii)<i> Achieved Parity</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> My understanding of the minister’s use of these words is that government now believes that oil prices will hover around the current prices of $50 per barrel, so that, according to her, "the entire country will benefit immensely from this reduction." If this is correct, then who are we to believe? If we go back to the statement of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on December 17, 2014 when, while defending the oil budget benchmark of $65 for the 2015 budget which some observers felt was too ambitious, she said: "This is what we have done by proposing a benchmark of $65pb. We recognise that prices might still fall further but we do not intend to revise the price further down as price intelligence indicates that prices might average between $65 and $70pb in 2015." If the Finance Minister expects oil prices to get to $70 and the Petroleum Minister says we have "achieved parity", there seems to be inherent contradictions within the same government.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> MY TAKE AWAYS</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> a. Are government departments talking to themselves?</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> b. Who is co-ordinating the economy?</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> c. Why was the Minister for Finance not part of this major pricing policy briefing?</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> d. Was this price reduction provided for in the 2015 budget?</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> P.S.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> As I concluded this intervention, my attention was brought to a response by former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi to a contribution I had made, in which he said in THISDAY Newspaper that: "The president showed that the sound economic policies of his government have brought about macro-economic stability. This has been acknowledged by the renowned economist and former Chairman of the Asset Management Division of Goldman Sachs Group, Dr. Jim O’Neill, who coined the term BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), recognising these countries as the world’s fastest growing economies."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> I have no issue with Governor Obi, because his role in government and policy making is still unclear to me. If he speaks as a party man, it is a measure of credit to him that he knows more about the programmes of a party he joined a few weeks ago, than those he met there. But for the record, the same O’Neill, whom he quotes in support of this government’s policy and the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, said: "If he (Jonathan) doesn't get re-elected, and it's because of Nigerian people wanting something different and something better, I think the markets would be happy with that. Foreign investors are pretty negative about Nigeria, so I don’t dismiss the possibility that if he lost, people actually might react positively."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Those who seek the truth should simply visit this link and verify the facts of what O’Neill actually said:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-08/o-neill-says-jonathan-vote-loss-may-be-seen-as-nigeria-positive.html</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> MY TAKE AWAY</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> I think O’Neill is right. Nigerians want "something different and something better". They want CHANGE.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b><br /></b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>Babatunde Fashola is the Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria</b></div>

PMS Price Reduction And The Economy: My Takeaways - By Babatunde Fashola

It is no longer news that the federal government has announced a reduction in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly c...

Read more »

I'll Handover On May 29, Jonathan Tells Kerry

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VZburFtHYLRG_YWwzCw5MUKo5kx7gK0LI1Q-8ShXvcX2_1rjd9fROFzOEMGcORIkU940OVzMDUAznsRmjIotkPwUhbdtqN807sT2j1Su-gM1QEaiAqdfLhwj5VUPRA8hEhm1hx-gnr0b/s1600/Kerry2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VZburFtHYLRG_YWwzCw5MUKo5kx7gK0LI1Q-8ShXvcX2_1rjd9fROFzOEMGcORIkU940OVzMDUAznsRmjIotkPwUhbdtqN807sT2j1Su-gM1QEaiAqdfLhwj5VUPRA8hEhm1hx-gnr0b/s1600/Kerry2.jpg" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday affirmed that the May 29 handover date has not been changed.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He was apparently reacting to the calls by some individuals including the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), for the postponement of the February general elections.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> A statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, quoted Jonathan as saying this during a closed-door meeting he had with the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, at the State House, Marina.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The statement was signed personally by the President.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He said he had what he called "a candid and constructive discussion" about a broad range of issues with his guest.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He said he emphasised to Kerry that he was deeply committed to ensuring that the elections were free, fair and credible.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Jonathan said, <i>"I emphasised to Secretary Kerry that I am deeply committed to ensuring that our forthcoming election is free, fair, and credible.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i><br /></i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>"It is especially critical that all political parties abide by the Abuja Accord, which commits each to non-violence before, during, and after the election.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i><br /></i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>"I made it absolutely clear that the May 29th handover date is sacrosanct.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i><br /></i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>"In addition, the government will provide all resources that are required by the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the election goes smoothly.</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i><br /></i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>"I also emphasised that INEC is an independent body, which makes its own decisions without any interference from the government."</i></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The President said he was grateful to the US for standing with Nigeria and its people in the nation’s fight against Boko Haram.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div>

I'll Handover On May 29, Jonathan Tells Kerry

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday affirmed that the May 29 handover date has not been changed. He was apparently reacting to th...

Read more »

Panic In PDP Over Elections' Eve High Profile Defections

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQdo0jAMA5dbZMFMa3xUXXPKM-iIGgHKtrCXGsa-c3_wW7UEJJLCeXrPvwGIexKr3PZX8mcxCMsgCoAmllTj3Wj5CyIJHrkLpFlCjYnEglilzA-kbf2tq477165LXsnbsWU9QcS0djRXn/s1600/PDP-CARTOON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQdo0jAMA5dbZMFMa3xUXXPKM-iIGgHKtrCXGsa-c3_wW7UEJJLCeXrPvwGIexKr3PZX8mcxCMsgCoAmllTj3Wj5CyIJHrkLpFlCjYnEglilzA-kbf2tq477165LXsnbsWU9QcS0djRXn/s1600/PDP-CARTOON.jpg" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>Barely 2 weeks to the 2015 presidential election, the political atmosphere is charged again as high-profile political figures across the country have been moving from one political party to another.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The defection is not limited to the ruling PDP and the leading opposition APC but they are the major losers and gainers, respectively. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Last Monday, the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, received Niger State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Musa Ibeto, alongside members of National and State Assemblies, and aides to Governor Babangida Aliyu who left the PDP for the APC.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b><a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/01/just-in-niger-state-deputy-governor-200.html">The Deputy Governor had said he defected to APC alongside 200 others</a></b>, most of whom were serving aides of Governor Aliyu because of PDP’s shoddy handling of their petition on the gubernatorial primary election in the state.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Already, the Niger State Deputy Governor, Mr Ibeto, said on Wednesday that he had assumed leadership of his new party, being the highest political office holder in the state.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He spoke during the inauguration of the State's APC gubernatorial candidate, Mr Abubakar Sani Bello's campaign committee in Minna.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Reacting to the defection last Wednesday, Governor Aliyu denied reports that he begged the former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, to convince his deputy and others who recently defected to the APC, to return to the PDP.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Also, penultimate Saturday, prominent PDP chieftains in Plateau State also defected to the APC when the APC and Buhari visited the state for campaign.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b><a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/01/pauline-tallen-others-dump-pdp-for-apc.html">The defectors, who were led by a former Minister of Science and Technology, Pauline Tallen</a></b>, were officially received into the APC during the mass rally held at the Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Jos.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Former Minister Tallen, who was also a former Plateau State Deputy Governor and governorship candidate in the state in 2011, was received together with other PDP chieftains that included Mr Sambo Wampuk, a former Director General of the ITF and a former House of Reps member, Leonard Dilkon.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Also last week, about 435 PDP members in Makarfi LGA of Kaduna State left the party for the APC during a campaign rally for the APC’s governorship candidate, Malam Nasir el-Rufa'i, in Makarfi, the hometown of a former governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> El-Rufai’s campaign spokesman Samuel Aruwan cited poor internal party politics in the PDP as one of the reasons given by the defectors, adding that they also promised to work for the success of the APC.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> A former DG of NEMA, Alhaji Salihu Makarfi, and a former Information Commissioner, Saidu Adamu, who had earlier defected to the APC from the PDP also took part in the rally.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> President Jonathan was said to have suspended his Akure rally about two weeks ago, following the defection of some aggrieved PDP leaders to the APC in Ondo State.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Among those who defected were Mr Femi Agagu, a former Chief of Staff to late Governor Segun Agagu, two former Speakers of the Ondo State House of Assembly, five former Commissioners in the state, eight former LGA chairmen as well as scores of ex-Councillors.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> On Wednesday, January 14, 2015, the ranks of the PDP in the House of Reps further depleted as eight more members defected from the party. Four of the defectors joined the rival APC.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The same day, the PDP lost nine senators to the APC and other political parties because of the outcome of last month’s primary elections across the country, thereby depleting the membership strength of the party in the Senate.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Consequently, President Jonathan was said to have met with the PDP leaders last Sunday behind closed doors at his Campaign Office, Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja, to address the gale of defections. But will his intervention help save the situation before the elections? Hopefully!</div>

Panic In PDP Over Elections' Eve High Profile Defections

Barely 2 weeks to the 2015 presidential election, the political atmosphere is charged again as high-profile political figures across th...

Read more »