Anambra Residents Protest Alleged Plans by FG to Transfer Boko Haram Prisoners to Anambra Prisons(Photos)

 Residents of Anambra state today took to the streets in Awka the state capital to protest the alleged plans by the Federal Government to transfer some Boko Haram prisoners down to Awka prisons to serve their time.

 The residents are not in agreement with the alleged transfer. There are reports that major markets in the state including the Onitsha main market were closed down.

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Federal Government Reduces Electricity Tariff By Over 50%(Report)

 This is highly commendable. The Federal Government has announced the reduction in electricity tariff by half. Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Sam Amadi, who made the announcement in Abuja today March 17th, said after a review of the tariffs being paid by Nigerians, the commission agreed to slash it by half. The reduction takes effect from the end of March.

He said the commission agreed to remove the Multi-year tariff order, MYTO 2.1 following multiple petitions and complains from Nigerians especially members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria who said inclusion of the MYTO 2.1 caused them to spend more on their businesses and in some cases loss of jobs.

“The Commission also invited the Chief executive Officers of the distribution companies to the hearing to respond to the case of the consumer groups. Furthermore, the Commission reviewed the technical and financial assumption of MYTO 2.1. The review shows that the major underlying cause of the skyrocketing increase in the tariff is the huge Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which are passed through to consumers. In some DISCOs ATC&C losses increased tariff by as much as 80-103%. “…

It is the responsibility of the DISCOs to collect their revenue from their customers. Failure to do so should not be a penalty to customers who pay their bills. It is clear that removing the collection losses will lead to lower tariffs for consumers. The removal of collection losses from customer tariff has reduced tariff by more than 50 percent in some places. Please note that the reduction does not affect the CBN facility and its repayment.

“Therefore, On Monday, March 9, 2015 the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) issued a new order to the effect that henceforth collection loss, which is defined as the ‘amount billed but not collected’, will not be automatically passed on to consumers of electricity. Consequently, the collection loss for all DISCOs is set at zero. It is now the responsibility of DISCOs to convince the regulator of any exceptional circumstances for such loss to be passed to the consumers,” Amadi said in a statement.

Source

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Federal Government Introduces Austerity Measures As Drop In Oil Price In Int'l Market Threatens Nigerian Economy

 Due to the continued drop in oil price in the international market, the FG yesterday announced the introduction of some austerity measures such as tax introduction on luxury goods such as champagne, jets, amongst other, to be implemented to reduce the effect of the continued oil price decline on the Nigerian economy as Nigeria is largely an oil dependent economy.  

 Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday November 16th, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, said as part of measures to cushion the hardship that is to come due to the continued drop of oil price in the international market, government would henceforth collect “tax on luxurious goods,” and that this was part of measures aimed at increasing revenue from non-oil sectors.

 "We all know the definition of luxury goods, we are still compiling the lists and one of the things we can tax is champagne, alcoholic beverages, jets, luxury cars- we will look at the engine capacity, and yachts. We are putting the list together but we intend to do a surcharge going forward on these items. The principle is that those who are better off in the society and I hope they won’t mind will be willing to share a bit more in remitting a little bit more to the treasury than what they normally do on these things.” she said

She revealed that another austerity measure being put in place by the government is the reduction of international travel within the public service.

 “We are not talking about (cutting) salaries and benefits. We are talking of trainings and travels and these will be only for critical and essential items which will be pre-approved by the Head of Service and the Director-General of the Budget Office and then if someone invites you for overseas course, you can go provided they pay for your training and your stay and you have to furnish evidence that they are paying before you will be allowed. The purpose of this is to tell you what we are doing and this team is calm and will be effective and we are working with the monetary policy authorities and together we will manage the economy in a transparent manner so that people need not have any fear.” she said

The Minister said that after studying the trend in the drop of oil price in the international market, the economic team approved a $5 per barrel reduction in the 2015 budget benchmark price for oil from $78 to $73 per barrel.

 “As part of the response, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Budget 2015 proposal to the National Assembly have been revised. Government is now proposing a benchmark of $73 dollars per barrel to the National Assembly compared to the earlier proposed benchmark of $78. Given the nature of the oil market, we needed to see the extent and trend of the oil price in order to take the right measures. Panic is not a strategy. It’s important that our strategies are based on facts and a clear understanding of both the strengths of the economy and the challenges posed by the drop in oil prices which is currently at $79 for our premium Bonny Light Crude. The drop in oil prices is a serious challenge which we must confront as a country. We must be prepared to make sacrifices where necessary".

 On the advise from some scholars to print more Naira notes so as to reduce the effect of the oil price drop on Nigerians, the Minister said such an action if implemented would be disastrous to the nation as it would increase the inflation rate of the economy'.

"Printing money without adequate revenue support will lead to serious consequences for the country. It will spur inflation as the experiences of Germany in the early part of the last century and more recently, Argentina and Zimbabwe demonstrate. This prescription will victimise the poor and the middle class that it is supposedly protecting.” she said

She said one of the best ways of managing the situation was to create more jobs. She announced that President Jonathan would today November 17th launch the 4th edition of the You Win youth empowerment programme.

 “To show how serious government is about job creation, President Jonathan will tomorrow, (Monday) November 17 launch the 4th edition of YouWin to support another 1,500 entrepreneurs along with a private equity fund for entrepreneurs. That is an expression of government’s commitment and seriousness to job creation.”

Dr Okonjo-Iweala said the reduction in price of the oil prices in the international market may continue but that government would do everything possible to make sure Nigeria is not adversely affected.

 She said from the $4.1bn (N656bn) in the Excess Crude Account, the government would be withdrawing $2bn (N320bn) between now and the end of this year to take care of critical expenditure.

 “We will work in such a way that we won’t deplete the ECA because we have to leave something for next year but we might go to tap about a half of it ($2bn) or slightly less than half to be able to meet expenditures that are crystalizing at the moment that we need to make.” she said

She also stated that infrastructural expenditure would still continue as the economy can only improve when infrastructural development is in place. Source

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No Ceasefire Agreement With Boko Haram Yet – Federal Government

 The Federal Government on Tuesday said it was yet to reach a ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram sect.

 NationalMirror reports that briefing State House correspondents after the Council of State meeting at the Presidential Villa, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio said that the National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) presented a report to the Council on the current war against the insurgents as well as efforts to rescue the Chibok girls abducted in April.

He said:

“The NSA was of the opinion that high level contact with the Republic of Chad was made and that some persons who acted on behalf of Boko Haram and who claimed to have authority also had discussions with them and there are some Nigerian officials with them and of course, no agreement has been reached yet, it is just that the press probably misunderstood what was reported, the discussions are on-going.”

 Akpabio noted that what came out of the NSA briefings was that the President would do everything possible to ensure the release of the Chibok schoolgirls and the protection of lives and property. That Council was satisfied that the defence ministry and all the security agencies have taken the right steps to combat insurgency in the country.

 According to him, the Council urged Nigerians to be patient, stressing that the issue of insurgency could be easily resolved.

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Revenue Allocation : See How Much Your State Got From The Federation Account

 The above data shows how much each state in the federation received from the federal account in the first six months of the year, that means from Jan-June 2014.

 Now measure the development in your state and compare it with the allocation received from January to June this year. Have your state government done a great job or not? let us know what you think.

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Federal Government Officially Postpones Resumption Of Primary And Secondary Schools - Report

 The FG has announced the postponed the resumption of primary and secondary schools across the country to October 22nd, it has been announced.

 Primary and Secondary schools were supposed to resume on September 22nd but about two weeks, FG postponed it indefinitely to prevent an outbreak of the Ebola Viral Disease. They announced today that schools can resume October 15th.

The Federal Government also stopped all summer schools. Source

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"Tell Us If Our Daughters Are Dead'' - Chibok Parents To Federal Government

 Parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped have asked the Nigerian government to confirm if their daughters are already dead, and hand over their bodies for burial.

 The solemn call came Friday, more than four months after armed insurgents stormed Government Secondary School in Chibok, loaded more than 200 girls on to trucks, and drove them away in the dead of the night.

 According to the heartbroken parents, they would rather welcome such news and prepare for the funeral than wait endlessly for update on the fate of their children abducted by Boko Haram April 14.

 On Friday, marking 130 day of the girls’ abduction, over 50 protesters marched from the Unity Fountain to the National Secretariat demanding that the girls be returned alive. The demonstrators distributed flyers and stickers. They chanted: 

“What are we demanding for? Bring our girls back and alive” as they marched.

One of the leaders of the march, Hadiza Bala-Usman, told PREMIUM TIMES:

“The parents said they would rather know that theirs daughters are dead and their bodies brought back and buried so as to put an end to this endless wondering about the status of their children. They are calling on the Federal Government to help them search for the bodies of their children; that’s if they are dead. It’s better for them to know that their kids are dead and the bodies are brought back.”

An official of the Centre for Democracy and Development, Jibrin Ibrahim, who was also at the protest ground, told PREMIUM TIMES that the march was to remind the Federal Government of its responsibilities. Mr. Ibrahim said:

“Today is 130 days since the abduction of the girls. Since they were abducted, our government promised us swift action, to search and rescue them; that, has not happened. We are therefore out on the street to remind the government that they have a responsibility to rescue these girls and return them to their parents and homes.”

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Federal Government Arrests Top Politicians With Boko Haram Links, Calls #bringbackourgirls Campaign Fraud - Report

 The Nigerian Federal Government yesterday July 9th, said it has arrested some politicians over evidence of their ties with the feared Boko haram terrorist group.

 The Coordinator of the Joint Information Centre for Security, Mike Omeiri, revealed this yesterday while speaking at a briefing at the National Information Centre Abuja, he said following the recent arrest of some members of Boko Haram in Bauchi and Borno states, some materials retrieved from them after detailed investigation had evidential links with the politicians they have arrested. He however declined to disclose the names of the politicians. 

 Also speaking, the spokesperson for the State Security Service SSS, Marilyn Ogar accused the #bringbackourgirlscampaign of running bank accounts. She said the Nigerian security agents have information that the #Bringbackourgirls campaign now operate bank accounts and also compel members to register and carry tags before joining. 

 In a swift reaction, the convener of the #bringbackourgirls campaign and a former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili(pictured above) in a telephone interview with Channels TV this night, refuted the claims made by the SSS spokesperson.

"It's absolute falsehood. In fact I call it a cocktail of falsehood. We don't need bank account. This is strictly a citizens movement and neither do we need to register members. There is no person who walks over to the Unity Fountain that has not participated in our meetings. There is absolutely no truth to that and I think that should really worry Nigerians that our own state security sadly could actually put out such....I don't even know what to call it". 

Asked how the campaign is being funded, Dr Ezekwesili said;

"Well its very simple. The needs that we have are so basic. Its the Tee shirts and I can see some of the people in tee shirts and I can see some of the people wearing those face caps, that's all we need and what normally happens is that all these members you see there, some bring in 10 Teeshirts, some 100. There is nothing that will need any kind of money, so you know this is really a pedestrian kind of falsehood" she said. 

Source

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ASUU Latest FG Sets Final Resumption Deadline For Lecturers(Read)

 In what has been described as a mark of respect to the late Prof Festus Iyayi, past president of ASUU, whose funeral rites begins on Sat December 7th, the Federal Govt has decided to shift its deadline for resumption of lecturers to Monday December 9th.

 This was made known by the Executive Secreatry of the Nigerian University Commision, Prof Julius Okojie while addressing  journalist in Abuja yesterday.

Prof Okojie in his briefing said:

"Government decided to shift the date of resumption so as to allow lecturers attend the funeral rites of Late Prof Iyayi We just received information that the burial rites of Festus Iyayi begins on the December5 and would last till December 7"

On the issue of salary arrears been demanded by lecturers, Prof Okojie said:

“You cannot pay someone who has failed to resume work. You are on strike and you want to be paid. What if some have already left the system? Some of our very bright lecturers may have gotten jobs elsewhere already,” he said 

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