Ogbeni Odumakin hits Tinubu, says he represent deceit

 

Spokesman  of the Save Nigeria Group, Ogbeni Yinka Odumakin alleged that Governors of the ACN award one Kilometer of Road construction for N1 Billion.

Odumakin said, "I can tell you authoritatively that the most dangerous and terrible tendency in Yoruba politics is the house of deceit that Tinubu represents."

Odumakin in a facebook post recalled how he dragged former Governor Alao Akala to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for awarding One Kilometer of road forN50 Million and said most Yoruba leaders are "greedy."

 "I can tell you authoritatively that the most dangerous and terrible tendency in Yoruba politics is the house of deceit that Tinubu represents.

"Only those who have sold their souls will ignore this fact. There has never been any such greedy bunch in our nation; not even under the PDP."

"I took Akala before EFCC in 2010 for awarding roads at N50m per km in all the LGs in Oyo state. Today your Asiwaju is collecting N1b per km across the South-West.

"When Tinubu turned 60 ACN states contributed N1b for a bash, nobody tried that in Yoruba land before.

"Chief Adebanjo was chairman of AD in 1999 and not one relation of his got a ticket unlike your Tinubu, whose wife is a senator, son in law a Rep, Sister in law a House member in Lagos and daughter now Iyaloja via imposition .

Your grouse with the old men may be for reasons you have not stated but you know they are far more honorable than a million Bola Tinubu."

Sagamu charade: What President Jonathan has done wrong again

My Thoughts With Ayodele Samuel 

08074420617  (SMS only)

Good men must die but nothing can kill their good name and good deeds - Tunde Bakare

One of the very good leaders that have served this country in the recent past is the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. He was a President of many good deeds and Nigerians are just getting to realise this.

Late President Umaru despite his complicated health challenges and dubious men making a larger chunk of his cabinet, did not increase fuel price. He gave amnesty to Niger Delta militants and initiated many other landmark projects for the economic development of this country without any unnecessary publicity.

President Umaru awarded the 16-lane Abuja Airport road without any noise, signed a concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Highway Services Ltd to construct the ever busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway without stepping out of the Villa to make any noise.

Governance is the responsibility of any serious government, but President Goodluck Jonathan must be joking if he thinks what happened

Last Friday at Sagamu, where he purportedly performed "turning of sod" (Flagoff) for the repair of the Lagos/Ibadan road is anything spectacular to be celebrated with fun fare, drums and pageantry.

This needless ceremony is the second official function performed on this road; the first was when it was commissioned for use in 1978 by General Olusegun Obasanjo. No ceremony whatsoever by successive governments whenever the road is marked for repairS.

Here are major issues that must be of concern to every Nigerians and particularly about the Project and President Jonathan.

His late boss, Umaru, in a concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Highway Services Ltd, was to expand the lanes to 10 from Lagos to Sagamu, and six lanes from Sagamu to Ibadan. It was also expected to build trailer parks and five interchanges among other things at a cost of N89.5bn.

The Federal Government had, in November 2012, revoked the failed Lagos-Ibadan Expressway concession contract awarded to Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited in 2009.

Last Friday, President Jonathan cut a tape to mark the commencement of rehabilitation and reconstruction of a two lane dual carriageway. From Lagos to Sagamu, only a single lane is added making it three lanes.

But from Sagamu to Ibadan, no additional lanes but just resurfacing, no interchange and trailer parks for N167 Billion.

Why did President Jonathan have to insult our collective sensibility?

This is the busiest road in Africa with average of 250,000 cars passing through that road per day. With the amount of lives that perish on that road day in day out and the kind of man hours lost, one would have expected the President to be more sensitive by making sure it's expanded to about six lanes on either side without increasing its cost.

Also, we haven't seen President Jonathan supervise any party to signal construction of any road in any part of the Country, not even in his home zone, South South, but he derives pleasure in gathering our Obas, chiefs and the political class to clap for him because he has just approved a contract to do a road that has killed many Nigerians irrespective of tribes.

Why did he have to do this in Yoruba land? Why did he have to play the race card? If this is to curry support of the South West people for the forthcoming elections, this has fallen flat. Nigerians cannot be fooled with this white Elephant project.

http://weekend.peoplesdailyng.com/index.php/opinion/opinion/1573-sagamu-charade-what-president-jonathan-has-done-wrong-again

 

PHCN: Before we join Pa Dawodu on hunger strike

The Economic Confidential, in a recent article warned politicians the world over to beware of the wave of anger sweeping through the different climes. 

The protests have different sides. In Brazil people rose up against bus fares, in Turkey, against a building project. Indonesians have also rejected higher fuel hike, in Bulgaria, a sorry state of affairs, the Euro zone the march against austerity, even as the Arab region protests against pretty much everything. The demonstrations have roots in the anger against the various governments resulting in dire consequencies. For instance,  

in Sri Lanka, a 61-year-old man suffered fatal heart attack and died after being presented with a shocking electricity bill. The aged man had protested 50 percent tariff increase at the Ceylon Electricity Board in Colombo last Friday. 

Sri Lanka is one of the most expensive countries in Asia with electricity of a kilowatt hour costing up to 47 rupees ($0.37), here in Nigeria In 2011, our erratic power supplier, the PHCN, jacked up its tariff from N8 to N40 for each kilowatt consumed.  

The wave of anger has been sweeping across our country Nigeria, silently caused by inconsiderate policies despite the fact that Nigerians are not carrying placards screaming the words. Today we have the ongoing ASUP strike, joined by NUPENG (before they called off their own strike), followed by ASUU and another interesting one; the 60 year old man, who embarked on hunger strike to protest high electricity billing, which we can aptly call 'crazy billing' by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)

Pa Abayomi Gbode-Ogun Dawodu's lone protest showcases the anger of  most Nigerians on the corrupt practices in the various sectors.

But sadly in Nigeria, hunger strike is not a language our government understands because it cares less about the likes of Dawodu even though he is a senior citizen. The fact remains that our government for instance does not mind that 4 million Polytechnic students have not received lectures for more than 70 days: our government can still not enhance economic status the people to enable them put food on their table. So such government would certainly not be concerned that citizen Dawodu is on hunger strike and for all it cares, the old man may kiss the dust after all he is already old so what does he need electricity for? Papa can 'deliberately' starve himself to death.

Obviously our government has lost respect for human dignity, if not the story of citizen Dawodu should have given the Minister for Power and the National Electricity Regulation NERC sleepless night for them to address the damning issue of crazy PHCN billing system in this country.

Since Pa Dawodu went on his hunger strike on Monday, what has happened?  And what will happen to other Nigerians groaning under such situation?

The crazy bills issued by PHCN stems from corrupt practices of officials in the system and many Nigerians can attest to this. The situation has worsened lately as the distribution companies have left much to be desired in their manner of reading meters, instead they would dispatch such crazy bills monthly, the type Pa Dawodu complained about.

It is worthy of note that Even the NERC boss 'Comrade' Sam Amadi has accused the management of PHCN of willfully thwarting its own meter deployment scheme in a bid to exploit electricity consumers through the  practice of  such crazy bills to Nigerians.

http://weekend.peoplesdailyng.com/index.php/opinion/opinion/1515-phcn-before-we-join-pa-dawodu-on-hunger-strike

 

I have never accepted bribe in my life —Ribadu

 From left: Former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, chief missioner of the Nasrul Lahi Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode, Alhaji Yusuf Ali (SAN) president of the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni, Alhaji Letr Alimi and vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof Rahamon Bello at a pre-Ramadan lecture at the university.

It was indeed another day for the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Presidential Candidate in the 2011 election, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to give his account and contribution to the anti corruption crusade in the country.

The main auditorium of the University of Lagos was parked full with Muslim brothers and sisters, eminent Nigerians who were eager to listen to the anti corruption crusader at the 15th pre-Ramadan public lecture organized by the  foremost  UNILAG Muslim Alumni Association, UMMA, with theme "Corruption and  Administration of Justice in Nigeria: Agenda for Reform."

Ribadu shocked his audience when he informed them that he has never received or accepted any bribe in his life.

"When we started EFCC, I told myself that we would treat corrupt public office holders as equal to a criminal that stole a goat, if you put those who stole goats in handcuff, I vowed to put those who stole millions in handcuff too. When they brought bribe to me, I always reject it in the presence of other EFCC staff, because a leader must show the way, I have never taken bribe in my life and all my staff know where I stand".

Ribadu told the gathering that anti corruption war could be won if the leader of the country shows the way.

"These corruption we are fighting can be won, if the leader shows the way, all the other people would follow but when the leader takes the other way, we are in a problem.If they are doing a meeting in the Villa you would see our leaders with big, big jeeps, no where to park, but you  would be surprised that a jeep can build a clinic, two jeeps would build a school and a plane would build a university but they believe with good luck, they can do many things.

"From my experience with  the defunct Failed Banks Tribunal and from other works in various panels, I witnessed the lethal effects of corruption on our country. At the EFCC, we tracked the chains of people and organisations from public and private sectors who formed the Nigerian networks.Despite the challenges; we risked our lives, survived the waves of dirty media campaigns and resisted temptations to have us compromised.

"At the coming of EFCC in 2003, there were very few high-profile cases of corruption that were successfully prosecuted; EFCC's interventions led us into various networks that have previously enjoyed impunity and notoriety, from the internet scams that dent the image of the country to abuse of office at the private and public sectors."

Ribadu  said President Jonathan is not building on anti corruption foundations previous governments left behind, insisting that only a corrupt-free president who is also ready to subject his cronies to processes of the law, in case of infringement, can lead the crusade against corruption.

"So many corrupt people get away with their acts, largely because of their relationships with heads of institutions that ought to counter or expose their abuse of office. Some convicts are being granted state pardon, thereby rubbishing the whole effort at corruption. These practices have turned corruption into a sort of culturally or ethically accepted trend."

Noting that  the country is presently locked in a systemic breakdown with widespread bribery, high-profile looting, insecurity, rising debt profiles, perpetuation of lawlessness and impunity as well as collapse of moral values, Ribadu is however unhappy that his recent report on oil revenue which unearthed sharp practices in oil industry has not been given any attention.

"My recent work on oil revenue, for example, which unearthed sharp practices in that industry has not been given any attention. No action has been taken on the report, despite its sheer magnitude and the bad name it brought to Nigeria. Nothing has appeared to be done by the government on the $1.1 billion Malabu oil scandal."

He added: "these cases of mass looting were done with the collaboration of those powerful players in the evil networks of corruption globally".

Proffering way out of  the menace , Ribadu said sensitivity and consciousness of the nation's leader to cases of corruption and abuse of office are the key factors in the fight against corruption,adding that " his (President) decisions and sincerity and refusal to adopt any form of impunity, will determine the success of the anti-corruption campaign."

Ribadu, however, dispelled the clamour for special courts for corruption, arguing that what is needed is review of the procedural laws and sincere application of same by any court of competent jurisdiction, while charging  the legislative arm of government to be alert to its oversight responsibilities which, he said, is a primary mechanism for tackling corruption.

"There should be serious work on the procedural laws. Nigeria has adequate provision in terms of extant laws on corruption including international conventions like the UN Convention against Corruption, FATF Anti-money Laundering protocols, EITI , Public Procurement Act, Fiscal Responsibility Law, Freedom of Information Law, while the professional competence of the law enforcement agencies; the Police, EFCC, ICPC, Prisons etc has to be fully enhanced."

Also speaking, Chief Missioner of the Nasrul Lahi Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode who delivered his sermon in Yoruba noted that Islam does not tolerate corruption in its practice.

While condemning plea bargaining , Akinbode berated situations where petty criminals are caught up by the heavy arms of the law while public officers who stole billions of public money are allowed to negotiate their way out of the law.

He however charged Muslim faithful to kick start a corruption-free political system in Nigeria.

Speaking earlier, UNILAGUMA President  Alhaji Sikiru Lere Alimi agreed that corruption is the major problem the country must address.

"It's the main reason why our educational system has decayed so badly, our health facilities are in deplorable condition, our  security system in a parlous state and our infrastructure seriously dilapidated."

He lamented that corruption is been treated with levity in the country despite the existence of two anti corruption agencies and a robust judicial system in the country.

Access to loan, still a nightmare for SMEs operators -Association

From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

For Small and Medium Scale enterprises and businessmen in Nigeria, ability to access funds in banks and other microfinance institutions has continued to be a nightmare.
Despite various promises and commitment from government agencies, various groups, including operators of small businesses, traders, market women and men, regretted that they were not able to perform due to lack of access to credit facilities in banks, calling on the industry regulators to prevail on banks and microfinance banks (MFBs) to lend to the sub-sector.

Speaking at summit held at the palace of the Ezeigbo of Mushin, Oba John Chukwudi Nwosu, , the President of the Market Leaders Association of Nigeria, Deacon C.F.C. Obih, said over the years, small and medium scale enterprises were believed to be catalysts for economic growth and national development in Nigeria, regretting that the sector had been experiencing retarded growth due to many factors which include lack of easy access to funding/credit which could be traced to reluctance of banks to extend credit to them.
"We have approached banks individually and collectively to assist us with loans but most of us are usually disqualified due to lack of knowledge of the process. Moreover, banks do not have enough personnel to train all SMEs on the rudiments. That is why we have gathered ourselves together on the platform of a summit to be educated on how we can access loans to improve on our businesses. Unfortunately, most banks are still not supportive but we are optimistic in helping ourselves to grow our business and Nigerian economy," he said.

Also, Managing Director of Mayakorp Nigeria Limited, Mr. Martins Ndigwe revealed that SMEs sector had the most need for financial loans to boost their businesses, stressing that they also needed to be educated on the process of obtaining such loans.
"Unfortunately, the banks are not helping much to enlighten them on how to grow their businesses. The small businesses are perhaps faced of inadequate human capacity; poor and inadequate documentation of business proposals; lack of appropriate and adequate collateral, high cost of administration and management of small loans as well as high interest rates," he said.
However experts identified ignorance of the SMEs operator as one of the major reasons why financial institutions refuse to give credit to the sector.
Faculty member of the Lagos Business School and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria Dr. Doyin Salami said entrepreneurs have to take their businesses from the realm of religion and unrealistic belief of succeeding to where people understand the analysis they are doing.
He said beyond the challenges of finance, infrastructure, human capacity development, prevalent in the Nigeria business environment, the lack of business understanding was a possible reason why a lot of SMEs in the country are struggling to survive.
He also noted that over time, SMEs in Nigeria had not performed creditably well and hence had not played the expected vital vibrant role of being the spine of economic growth and development.
He noted that SMEs contributed 46.54 per cent of Nigeria's gross domestic product in nominal terms, according to the 2012 Enterprise Baseline Survey.
"This compares with approximately 60 per cent in China, at the end 2011, and 70 percent in neighbouring Ghana, according to a University of Ghana study. Estimates show the level of contribution in South Africa lying between 52 per cent and 57 percent," he said.
"A 2013 outlook on Nigeria's SMEs envisages capacity development, need to help people build sustainable businesses and access to finance, as key challenges the sub-sector will face in the ongoing year. Although loans and advances by deposit money banks (DMBs) are recovering considerably, prevailing lending rates put borrowing from DMBs out of the reach of most SMEs, and therefore they have to resort to micro financing", he concluded.
He, however, noted that funding for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has, for many years, been the bane of growth of the sub-sector.

http://peoplesdailyng.com/access-to-loan-still-a-nightmare-for-smes-operators-association/
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

ASUP strike: Why oga at the top must intervene

My Thoughts With Ayodele Samuel 

08074420617  (SMS only)

For more than 70 days now, our Polytechnics across the country have been shut down and the estimated 3 to 4 Million students are now forced to sit at home idle with nobody showing any concern about their plight, and it is not known that President Goodluck Jonathan has said anything about it, or is he not aware of the strike? 

If that is the case, we should all know that the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) is on strike, with the usual demand from government to honour its agreement: why is it that our government in this part of the World would sign agreements but would not meet its own part of the bargain? Same with electoral promises after getting votes of the people. Is it unmindful of the fact that these students, who are currently idle, might be forced to perpetrate evils acts against the country? God forbid, Nigerian students are God fearing and love their country, Nigeria. All they are asking is to be loved in return by enhancing their education and being gainfully employed when they finish their studies.   

The problem between ASUP and Federal Government is long overdue and should have been resolved even before the union embarked on its strike, but it seems that those at the helm of affairs don't care about what is happening, they would rather wait to give amnesty to youths turned militants.

With ASUP recently saying, "going by the lip service the federal government is paying to Polytechnic education in the country, the strike would last as long as possible till the time the government listens and implements the agreement entered into," the students involved are in big trouble. And what happens to their parents, who are toiling day and night to pay their school fees? This is besides the challenges of underfunding of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Education, with the situation getting worse under the present administration.

The federal government has neglected these categories of higher learning. If the Universities can be regulated by a national commission (NUC), it's just in line that the polytechnics are also regulated by a commission, which is one of the agitations of the union.

The ongoing strike is also as a result of failure of most state governments to implement the approved salary package (COMPCASS) and 65 year retirement age in Polytechnics.

Another issue of concern for Nigeria Polytechnic students is the discrimination even among government agencies as University unions receive more attention just like its graduates in the labour market than the former.

Now this national embarrassment should stop, the government should as a matter of urgency sit with the polytechnics union to ensure students are returned to classes to continue their studies. Better still the Minister of Education needs to go back to the drawing board on the matter, and involve the Oga at the top so that the students can be recalled quickly.

http://weekend.peoplesdailyng.com/index.php/opinion/opinion/1452-asup-strike-why-oga-at-the-top-must-intervene

Jonathan rubbishing anti-corruption fight — Ribadu

 

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presidential candidate in the 2011 election, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday described President Goodluck Jonathan as rubbishing the anti-corruption crusade in the country.
Ribadu who spoke in Lagos during a public lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni Association (UNILAG UMA) said corruption was the only reason President Barak Obama would not visit Nigeria during his ongoing visits to African countries.
Speaking on the theme, "Corruption and Justice in Nigeria," Ribadu said Jonathan was not building on the anti-corruption foundation of previous governments.
According to him, only a corrupt-free president who is also ready to subject his cronies to processes of the law, in case of infringement, can lead the crusade against corruption.
"So many corrupt people get away with their acts, largely because of their relationships with heads of institutions that ought to counter or expose their abuse of office.
"Some convicts are being granted state pardon, thereby rubbishing the whole effort at corruption. These practices have turned corruption into a sort of culturally or ethically accepted trend," Ribadu said.
He said the anti corruption war could be won if the nation's leaders show the way.
According to him, "corruption fight can be won if the leader shows the way, all the other people will follow but when the leader takes the other way, we are in a problem."
He said that when the EFCC was established in 2003, there were few high-profile cases of corruption that were successfully prosecuted.
"EFCC's interventions led us into various networks that have previously enjoyed impunity and notoriety, from the internet scams that dent the image of the country to abuse of office at private and public sectors.
"At the EFCC, we tracked the chains of people and organisations from public and private sectors who formed the corrupt Nigerian networks, despite the challenges; we risked our lives, survived the waves of dirty media campaigns and resisted temptations to have us compromised," he said.

http://peoplesdailyng.com/jonathan-rubbishing-anti-corruption-fight-ribadu/