Friday
Monday
Hike In Price Of Food, Transportation As Fuel Scarcity Spreads In NIgeria
In Lagos State, a litre of petrol sells for over 300 Naira, leading to huge hike in the price of food items. Transport fare has doubled or trippled in some cases. In some areas of the Lagos State, the amount the commuter pays depends on his bargaining power.The price of food items has doubled, with sellers willing to see their perishable items lose value than to sell at the old price.
Nigeria President Elect snub PDP FG handover programme.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has expressed disappointment
with what it describes as the apparent snub by the President-elect, Muhammadu
Buhari of the handover programme lined up by the Federal Government to transmit
power to him by Friday, May 29, 2015. The PDP said such behaviour was a measure
of lack of democratic discipline.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a
statement on Sunday said the President-elect owes Nigerians explanations on why
he snubbed the prayer sessions scheduled for Friday and Sunday for Muslims and
Christians respectively to usher in four years of his in-coming administration
as well as the embarrassing protocol gaffe and low-down treatment that
characterized his visit to British Prime Minister, David Cameron, last
Saturday.
The PDP said it was disgraceful that due to poor coordination
and crass ineptitude in the handling of issues, the President-elect was left
almost stranded while waiting for about thirty minutes before he was received
by the British leader and wondered if such is a foretaste of the muddling to be
experienced under the All Progressives Congress’ administration.
“Nigerians, as citizens of a sovereign nation were thoroughly
embarrassed when they saw their President-elect cheapened and kept waiting at
the door of 10 Downing Street to see the British Prime Minister due to shoddy
arrangements by his handlers.
“Indeed, they are becoming increasingly worried about the
frightening unpreparedness of the APC for governance and the huge
embarrassments they have been attracting to our nation. We know that the APC
has been lying over issues. We also know that the APC and the President-elect
have been flip-flopping and reneging on their campaign promises; but to
embarrass the nation by embarking on such a sensitive visit without adequate
preparations is shameful and completely unacceptable.
“We share the fear of well-meaning Nigerians on how a party
which cannot adequately handle a simple task of organizing a diplomatic outing
will effectively administer a country as complex as Nigeria.
“The APC has continued to give signals that it lacks capacity to
face the challenges of governance. Such has been evidenced in the uneasiness of
the President-elect who in apparent loss of confidence in himself has started
reneging on his promises of quick fixes while confessing in a meeting with APC
governors-elect on May 5, 2015 that he has ‘started nervously to explain to
people that Rome was not built in a day’.
“Instead of settling down for governance and working out how to
fulfill its promises of making the naira the same in value with the dollar,
paying N5,000 monthly to 25 million poor Nigerians, providing electricity on
24/7 basis, providing free meals for school children and allowances for
discharged but unemployed youth corps members among others, the APC is busy
inventing excuses for failure and blaming everyone else but themselves. We hope
they will not blame the PDP for their Saturday’s embarrassing outing at 10
Downing Street.
“Furthermore, we find it curious and more than a co-incidence
that the nation is experiencing an acute shortage of fuel and electricity
supply at this point in time, when such has not been the case under the
current PDP-led administration. We ask, are there some forces sabotaging the
system to create an impression that the APC is inheriting poor infrastructure
and complete system breakdown?
“Is this also part of the larger plot to embarrass and defame
the PDP-led administration in an attempt to justify APC’s excuses for failure”,
the PDP said
The party insisted that despite the challenges of insecurity and
global economic recession that negatively affected many other nations, its
administration had in the last 16 years worked very hard in repositioning
critical sectors of the polity and laying strong infrastructure backbone that
that any prepared and result oriented in-coming administration can comfortably
leverage on.
It therefore asked the APC to get ready to apply its
much-mouthed manifesto or be bold to apologize to Nigerians for presenting
false messianic posture and making false promises to them.
Nigeria Can be GREAT AGAIN.....
A former Nigerian
President, Olusegun Obasanjo, says the oil-rich nation has a new
opportunity to be great again under the leadership of the President elect,
General Mohammadu Buhari.
He expressed this hope in a meeting with Women Leaders from the south-west
states of Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo and Lagos at his hilltop residence in
Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Mr Obasanjo, however, urged Nigerians to be patient with the
administration, as it finds solution to those challenges facing the country.
The former President also asked all Nigerians to continue to
pray and support the administration in its onerous task of rebuilding the
nation’s socio-economic and political life.
The leader of the delegation of the Women, Mrs Alaba Lawson,
asked the former President to continue to offer the leadership that would ensure
the success of the new administration, especially in the task of ensuring
growth and development in the face of the challenges facing Nigeria.
Addressing the delegation, Obasanjo asked Nigerians to be
patient with the incoming administration and also urged General Buhari to take
the right steps in the right direction, especially in his first three months in
office, as Nigerians’ expectations are high.
While asking Nigerians to play their path in the development
of the country, he, however, expressed his willingness to continue to offer
support until his service is no longer needed.
He also asked the president-elect to leverage on his
acceptability both at home and abroad by providing the much needed leadership
and direction for Nigeria.opinionvoices.blogspot.com
NIGERIA FACES A FULL BLOWN NATIONAL CRISIS.
Nigeria is facing a full-blown national crisis as virtually all
sectors of the economy has grounded to a halt as the fuel scarcity bites harder
across the country.
As the economy races to breakdown, the Nigerian government
appears helpless, with President Goodluck Jonathan merely counting days to hand
over the problem to the incoming government of Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.
From the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to the 36 states of
the federation, reports are that virtually all public and private institutions
have shut down in the face of shortage of fuel to maintain normal businesses.
Worse hit are hospitals, schools, banks, transportation companies
and telecommunication operators, which have either suspended normal operations
or issued notices of closure or scaling down on full business hours for lack of
fuel to power the engines that power their activities.
For most part of last week, several airline operators announced
plans to significantly alter their normal flight schedules, blaming it on their
inability to get aviation fuel for their aircraft.
“Due to the current scarcity of Jet-A1 fuel being experienced in
the country, we regret to inform you that all our flights will not operate
regularly as scheduled,” one of Nigeria’s premier arlines, Aero Contractors,
informed its customers on May 22. “We regret any inconveniences the changes will
cause. All efforts are being made to ameliorate the situation and revert to our
regular flight schedule.”
At the airports in Abuja and Lagos, thousands of travellers were
stranded as most airlines cancelled their scheduled flights.
Both MTN and Airtel, two of Nigeria’s major telecommunications
operators, have all notices to their customers to inform them that their
services might be disrupted till the fuel supply situation improves.
The text message from Airtel management to its customers on
Sunday read: “Dear Valued Customer, this is to inform you that due to
nationwide fuel crisis our services may experience some strain. We are doing
everything possible to manage the situation. Thank you for understanding.”
In a similar message on Sunday, the management of GTBank issued
notice of early closure of its branches nationwide.
“The current shortage of petroleum products in the country has
limited our ability to supply diesel to all our branches, in order to continue
normal branch operations.
“Due to this, we unavoidably have to close our branches
nationwide at 1 pm, from tomorrow Monday, 25th May 2015,” the bank said in the
text message.
In its own notice to customers, MTN announced that the
intractable fuel shortage might force it to shut down some of its base-stations
that are powered by diesel-operated generators.
“The management of MTN states that the current diesel scarcity in
most parts of the Nigeria is posing threat to quality of services and the
ability to optimally operate the network,” the company said in a statement
released on its Twitter handle.
“MTN’s available reserves of diesel are running low and the
company must source for significant quantity of diesel in the very near future
to prevent a shut down of services across Nigeria. If diesel supplies are not
available within the next 24 hours the network will be seriously degraded and
customers will feel the impact.”
Car dealer, Cosharis Motors, has also warned buyers of its new
BMW cars to park them until fuel is available, apparently in other to avoid
using adulterated fuel purchased from the black market to run the vehicle that
may cause serious mechanical damage in the cars. Experts say the new BMW cars
have zero tolerance for adulterated fuel.
Throughout last week, as the fuel scarcity took its toll on
businesses, parents experienced difficulties transporting their wards to school
and back, as no filling station opened for business following the continued
strike action oil workers.
Some schools’ management in Abuja and environs were compelled to
order early closure of their schools for mid-term break, as most teachers and
parents could not cope with the unprecedented pressure imposed on them by lack
of fuel.
On Sunday, the Divine Scholars School in the Lekki area of Lagos
informed parents it is closing for mid-term break till June 1, although
insiders in the school said the forced holiday was caused by the biting fuel
shortage
A visit to some public hospitals, including the National
Hospital and Garki General Hospital, witnessed significant reduction in
activities at the weekend.
Similarly, churches and other places of worship in the Federal
Capital Territory also witnessed low turnout of the usual population of
worshippers, most of whom found movement difficult.
At Jabi and other locations where there are motor parks, the
usual hustle and bustle of activities by travellers were almost absent, as very
few commercial transport operators were on duty.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Sunday
called on the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari to consider the
deregulation of the oil and gas downstream sector as a priority on assumption
of office.
The President of the Chamber, Remi Bello, said the current fuel
scarcity and power supply situation in the country have grounded the economy
.
Mr. Bello said only the immediate deregulation of the sector would help resolve the recurring problem of scarcity of petroleum products in the country.
.
Mr. Bello said only the immediate deregulation of the sector would help resolve the recurring problem of scarcity of petroleum products in the country.
The Chamber identifies massive corruption in the fuel subsidy
regime, collapse of the country’s refineries, dwindling investment in the
downstream sector and loss of jobs as some the key challenges the sector was
facing.
The current fuel subsidy regime and government’s direct
involvement in the operations of oil and gas sector should be stopped if normalcy
is to be restored in the nation’s economy.
Regardless, while the people continue to suffer untold hardship
as a result of the fuel supply crisis, the oil marketers and the outgoing
government continue to bicker in their unending blame game over unpaid subsidy
claims.
The marketers, under the umbrella groups of Major Marketers
Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association
(DAPMA) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN),
have continued to accuse government of refusing to pay outstanding claims of
about N200 billion.
But the outgoing Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on
Saturday accused the marketers of blackmail, claiming that government had
agreed with marketers that N159 billion would be paid after a reconciliation by
a committee constituted for that purpose.
Meanwhile, another systems collapse has been reported at Shiroro
Power Plant on Sunday amid the worsening energy crisis.
The latest systems collapse reported at about 4.10 pm on Sunday
by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) said the development has
left the zone with just 15 mega watts (MW) at about 5.05 pm.
The AEDC said at about 6.50pm, only sensitive installations
within the Central Business District had electricity supply.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali, had
on Friday reported that power generation nationwide had dropped from 4,800MW to
1,327MW, leading to the massive load shedding ongoing across the country.
The AEDC said it has sent alerts to customers in the FCT, Kogi,
Nasarawa and Niger states to apologise to them for the difficult situation
caused by the huge drop in power supply from the national grid, from about
450MW daily to less than 200MW in recent times.
The company said allocation to the zone for Friday, May 22 was
145MW, while allocation for both Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, was
115.6MW.
“The situation has been worsened by the system collapse at
Shiroro this evening, which brought our supply down to 15MW,” the company said
in a statement.
Fuel crisis worsens nation’s power problems
The current nationwide scarcity of refined petroleum products
has reached a crisis point with a litre of petrol selling for between N200 and
N600 in many parts of the country, while diesel, household kerosene and
liquefied natural gas have also become elusive.
Also, with power generation dropping to an all-time low of 1,327
megawatts, most Nigerian households are now living without electricity as they
have also run out of fuel to power their generators.
Even before the dip in power generation, most Nigerian
households have been relying on generators as the main source of their power
supply while using the public power supply as a backup. However, the fuel
shortages which started over a week ago, have made it impossible for households
to even get fuel to power their generators.
Although, daily fuel consumption nationwide is about 40 million
litres per day, it is estimated that a sizeable proportion of the demand goes
into fuelling of generators.
“It is now impossible for me to get a four-litre fuel to
run my small generator,” a man who was in the queue in one of the
filling stations, told one of our correspondents on Sunday.
Also, a resident of one of the upscale estates in Magodo,who
identified himself as John Adebayo, told one of our correspondents that he had
been unable to run his generator for three days because he could not get diesel
to buy.
“I have money to buy diesel but it is just not available
anywhere. I can’t even pump water, it is really pathetic,”he
lamented.
Already, the situation has started affecting companies with some
firms like MTN and Airtel saying that they could not get diesel to run
generators at base stations.
Unless urgent steps are taken by the Federal Government and all
concerned stakeholders, many citizens will find it difficult to get to their
various places of work and business as from today (Monday) due to the crippling
scarcity of refined petroleum products occasioned by the refusal of marketers
to import them and a strike by tanker drivers.
Our correspondents reported on Sunday that petrol had dried up
in almost all the filling stations nationwide, while black marketers
capitalised on the prevailing scarcity by selling the product in jerry cans for
between N200 and N600 per litre in places like Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Kaduna and
Oyo states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
The situation affected vehicular movements in many parts of
Lagos and Ogun states on Sunday, with attendance at religious centres unusually
low, while commercial transport operators raised their fares by over 300 per
cent.
All the filling stations owned by major oil marketers visited by
our correspondents were under lock and key. Majority of the independent
petroleum products marketers were also not selling petrol on Sunday.
The very few independent marketers with petrol were selling the
product for between N150 and N400 per litre, while black market dealers were
selling for between N500 and N600 per litre in some of the stations visited.
A motorist plying the Berger-Mowe route traversing Lagos and
Ogun states, who simply identified himself as Ola, expressed disappointment
with the slow response of the government to the problem, adding that with the
situation on the ground, workers would have to part with a lot of money to get
to their offices on Monday (today).
A commercial transport operator in Ikorodu, Lagos, told one of
our correspondents that he bought 30 litres of petrol for N12,000 instead of
N2,610 at the regulated price of N87 per litre.
It was gathered that virtually all the filling stations in Osun
State had run out of petrol as of Sunday, thereby forcing the residents to stay
indoors.
A major petroleum products’ marketer told one of our
correspondents that the Federal Government had refused to meet them to resolve
the lingering issues surrounding the payment of the subsidy arrears owed the
marketers.
The marketer, who pleaded anonymity, said since the last meeting
they had with the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on May 4,
nothing had changed.
The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of
Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Olawore, said though the marketers had reached out to the
President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on the lingering fuel supply problems, they
had yet to get a positive response.
He confirmed that the marketers were not importing petrol at the
moment, because they did not have the wherewithal to do so.
The spokesperson for the Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr.
Saidu Muhammed, said the product scarcity was primarily due to the ongoing
workers’ strike in the NNPC.
He said, “Products are not coming out from the depots and
there’s virtually nothing anybody can do for now. But hopefully, when they
resolve the strike, things may become normal.
“The strike by the NNPC workers is affecting all the depots. And
until the strike is called off, there will be no loading. There is no loading
in almost all the depots across the country and so products are not coming
out.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has noted
with concern the current energy crisis facing the country, which it describes
as unprecedented.
In a statement signed by its President, Alhaji Remi Bello, the
LCCI called on President Goodluck Johnathan to bring a halt to the imminent
collapse of economic and social life in the country.
Bello said, “There should be an immediate engagement of
stakeholders in the petroleum industry to discuss the outstanding issues of
indebtedness and related labour matters in the interest of the economy and the
citizens. The situation should not be allowed to degenerate any further.
“The Lagos Chamber urges the incoming administration to
immediately deregulate the oil and gas downstream sector on assumption of
office in order to provide an enduring solution to the recurring problem of
petroleum products’ scarcity, corruption inherent in the subsidy regime, the
collapse of refineries, lack of investment in the downstream sector, loss of
jobs and so on.
“Options available to the incoming administration in this matter
are very limited. The current regime of subsidy and government’s direct
involvement in the operations of oil and gas sector should be discontinued.
Government needs to get out of the way, so that the sector and the economy as a
whole can make progress. This will pave the way for the restoration of normalcy
in the sector and attract private capital, boost investments and create jobs.”
Similarly, a Global System of Mobile communications provider,
Airtel Networks Limited, said in a statement that its commitments to delivering
best-in-class quality of service and seamless telephony experience to all
Nigerians was being affected by its inability to procure diesel for its base
stations.
The company stated, “While we are currently doing everything
within our means as well as going the extra mile to ensure that all our base
stations and switches are up and running, it is sad to note that it is becoming
increasingly difficult to replenish current stock of diesel due to the
lingering scarcity of the product.
“We are also concerned that, if the situation persists, it may
have adverse effects on our network, impacting both voice and data services.”
MTN Nigeria had issued a similar statement on Saturday.
A faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress led by Mr. Joe Ajaero
said on Sunday in Kaduna that the current fuel scarcity across the country was
a war against Nigerians.
It, therefore, warned that should the scarcity persist,
organised labour would have no choice than to embark on an indefinite strike.
This was contained in a statement by the factional Deputy
President of the NLC, Alhaji Issa Aremu, which was made available to newsmen in
Kaduna on Sunday.
Thursday
President Jonathan Settles His Political Rift With Obasanjo and others.
The trio were seen at the National Council of State meeting . After the meeting, they were seen at various times, separately though, chit-chatting, which suggests they might have made peace.
According to The Opinionvoices, Obasanjo and Jonathan were seen laughing, shaking, back-slapping and holding hands after the meeting. 
The President, while waiting for the valedictory photo-session at the fore court of the Presidential Villa, shook hands with the governors around him, and when he saw Amaechi, he playfully hit him severally, 
while the Rivers State governor bowed, laughing and holding the President’s hand all the while, with the words “Your Excellency” coming out from his mouth.
The President, while waiting for the valedictory photo-session at the fore court of the Presidential Villa, shook hands with the governors around him, and when he saw Amaechi, he playfully hit him severally, while the Rivers State governor bowed, laughing and holding the President’s hand all the while, with the words “Your Excellency” coming out from his mouth.
Jonathan has been at loggerheads with the duo. Obasanjo had publicly tore his membership card of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
while Amaechi is one of the aggrieved PDP governors who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
while Amaechi is one of the aggrieved PDP governors who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amaechi ended up as the Director-General of the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation. A team that defeated Jonathan in the presidential polls.
Amaechi has also had several political brush-up with Jonathan’s wife, First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan over political issues in Rivers State where the first lady hails from.
Wednesday
We’re Inheriting Nigeria’s Worst Economy In History – Vice President, Osinbajo
The Vice President elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday revealed that the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration will be inheriting a gross debt of $60 billion both foreign and domestic, with a 2015 debt serving bill of N953.6 billion, representing 21 per cent of the 2015 budget from the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
Speaking at the opening of a two -day policy dialogue on the implementation of the agenda for change, in Abuja. His statement in parts: “We are concerned that our economy is currently in perhaps its worst moment in history. Local and international debt stands at $60 billion. Our debt servicing bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, about 21 per cent of our Budget. On account of severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of the states in Nigeria owe salaries. Federal institutions are not in much better shape. Today, the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure. “The figures of extreme poverty in our society- 110 million by current estimates- makes it clear that our biggest national problem is the extreme poverty of the majority. Thus, no analysis is required to conclude that dealing with poverty and its implications is a priority”
“In the course of the election campaign, we ran an issues-based campaign that identified certain areas of public policy as high priorities for propelling Nigeria forward. We addressed the challenges of the economy, insecurity, corruption and jobs creation. We spoke on the challenge of providing opportunities for self-actualization to millions of our young people who face an uncertain future with understandable anxiety” “Our goal this morning is to interrogate these positions and propositions before a wider audience and to launch a robust public conversation on policy directions and priorities that will help inform our administration’s approach in the next four years,” he added. Osinbajo said the forum exemplifies the sort of consultative and consensual approach to policy-making that the party and the new administration intend to model in.
Speaking at the opening of a two -day policy dialogue on the implementation of the agenda for change, in Abuja. His statement in parts: “We are concerned that our economy is currently in perhaps its worst moment in history. Local and international debt stands at $60 billion. Our debt servicing bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, about 21 per cent of our Budget. On account of severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of the states in Nigeria owe salaries. Federal institutions are not in much better shape. Today, the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure. “The figures of extreme poverty in our society- 110 million by current estimates- makes it clear that our biggest national problem is the extreme poverty of the majority. Thus, no analysis is required to conclude that dealing with poverty and its implications is a priority”
“In the course of the election campaign, we ran an issues-based campaign that identified certain areas of public policy as high priorities for propelling Nigeria forward. We addressed the challenges of the economy, insecurity, corruption and jobs creation. We spoke on the challenge of providing opportunities for self-actualization to millions of our young people who face an uncertain future with understandable anxiety” “Our goal this morning is to interrogate these positions and propositions before a wider audience and to launch a robust public conversation on policy directions and priorities that will help inform our administration’s approach in the next four years,” he added. Osinbajo said the forum exemplifies the sort of consultative and consensual approach to policy-making that the party and the new administration intend to model in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)