Oshiomhole Suffering From Numerical Diarrhea, Says Okonjo-Iweala

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, has stated that Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state is suffering numerical diarrhea after he alleged that she took $1billion to fund the re-election bid of former president Goodluck Jonathan.

In statement issued by Paul C Nwabuikwu, media adviser Okonjo-Iweala, he described Oshiomhole’s accusations as “another false, baseless allegation against Okonjo-Iweala by Oshiomhole.

“The allegation by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State that former Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spent $1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account to fund the re-election bid of former President Jonathan is the kind of ludicrously false statement that has unfortunately become a trademark of the Governor in his public campaign of falsehood against Dr Okonjo-Iweala,” the statement said.

“The statement is just another example of the numerical diarrhea that seems to have afflicted His Excellency in recent times in his effort to damage the reputation of the former Minister.

“He has, within the last few months, asked Dr Okonjo-Iweala to explain all kinds of totally wild and unsubstantiated figures, ranging from $30 billion, $20 billion, $2.1 billion, N720 billion and now $1 billion.”

Okonjo-Iweala then stated that Oshiomhole’s accusations totally lack any credibility. ” Governor Oshiomhole’s published comments also contain other falsehoods. For instance, he quoted Dr Okonjo-Iweala as saying that she and the Finance Commissioners of the 36 states approved the spending of $2.1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account, adding that the Commissioners had disowned the statement. This is also a complete distortion.

“Dr Okonjo-Iweala never said the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) approved spending out of the ECA. Rather as the Commissioners themselves stated, the former Minister of State Finance informed them that former President Jonathan approved the expenditure to end the debilitating fuel queues across the country.

“As Nigerians know, the Finance Ministry under Okonjo-Iweala regularly published details of revenue allocations from the ECA in national media. So Oshiomhole’s tortured “calculations” based on his “four figure tables” are mere political numbers conjured to achieve a political purpose. Nigerians can see through the elaborate antics.

“Governor Oshiomhole’s latest statement, like earlier ones, labours to give the impression that the entire FAAC process which involves the Federal Government and the 36 states of the Federation is a personal monopoly of Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

“This is, of course not true. FAAC is a long standing national platform for allocating revenues chaired by the Minister of State Finance. The governor’s insistence on pushing this clearly fictional narrative underscores his desperation.

“It is instructive that Governor Oshiomhole is a key member of the committee set up by the National Economic Council to investigate the ECA spending. His continuing attacks against Dr Okonjo-Iweala seem to suggest that he has lost confidence in this platform which he deployed to make some of his initial false and baseless allegations. The Governor does not seem to appreciate that he is undermining the very credibility of the committee.

“Once again, we ask: why are Oshiomhole and his cohorts so ready to sacrifice truth, precedent and decency in this political witch hunt against Dr Okonjo-Iweala? We are confident that they will fail because truth will triumph,” the statement read.

02:44 Share:

From Gospel Mathematics to Crisis Management

A new book titled, God’s Trinity Demystified: The Veil Covering It Is Finally Removed by a clergyman, Adedeji Adeoye, has increased the number of religious books in the country.

Adeoye told Arts Dome that the book employs logic to argue that the Almighty God exists as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

He said, ‘‘This 3-in-1 relationship is what is known as God’s Trinity. The doctrine of Trinity is an issue that had been denied and derided by those that do not believe in it, as well as defended by advocates of the concept. This theological war had been fought for almost 2000 years, yet not abating.’’

Saying he researched the controversial subject for 10 years, Adeoye added that the greatest challenge he encountered while writing the book was to be patient to get divine leading for the work which he said took him 12 years to complete.

According to him, the book having 212 pages and 14 chapters will appeal to many people who want to read about the subject.

Adeoye, who said he started writing Christian literature in 1996, stated that his first book was Gospel Mathematics. ‘‘My other books are; Who is the Liar? Principles of Leadership Development, The Betrayal Case Reviewed, Crisis Management through Faith, Welcome to Gilgal, Coup Against Time, God’s Yellow and Red Cards and Tithe Alone Cannot Bring Down Abundant Blessings,’’ he said.

The clergyman said God’s Trinity Demystified: The Veil Covering It Is Finally Removed — billed to be presented on Sunday in Lagos — was his first book to be published outside the country.

15:30 Share:

Reviewing the 2015 federal budget

The demand for budgetary funds to service debts is increasing. It rose from N712bn in 2014, being 14.26 per cent of the budget, to N943bn in 2015, being 21.14 per cent of the budget. The major issue with the increased spending on debt servicing is that the bulk of these debts were not incurred in accordance with the due process of law. With a debt profile of $69.6bn, the Federal Government and the states cannot point to capital projects and activities or human capital developmental projects worth that much. A good part of the debts were incurred to fund recurrent instead of capital expenditure against the clear provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (Sections 41- 44 of the FRA). To imagine that Nigeria is spending more on debt service than capital expenditure is a nightmare. In 2015, we are proposing to spend N310bn more on debt service than capital expenditure. The debt service provision is 148.84 per cent of capital expenditure! At the same time, debt service amounts to 26.17 per cent of our retained revenue.

Service Wide Votes rose from N301.84bn, being 6.05 per cent of the 2014 budget, to N348.69bn, being 7.82 per cent of the 2015 proposal. This increase is unacceptable in a time of lean resources. The Oronsaye committee on reforming the cost of governance stated as follows of service wide votes: The committee noted the widely held view of the abuse of the utilisation of the service wide vote. It was the view of the committee that budget heads currently captured under that vote could actually be captured either under specific MDAs or the contingency vote. Considering the constitutional provision for the contingency vote, it is believed that the service wide vote is not only an aberration, but also an avoidable duplication. The committee therefore recommended that the service wide vote should be abolished and items currently captured under it transferred to the contingency vote or the appropriate MDAs. It is therefore the considered opinion of this writer that this allocation be restructured and given to the respective MDAs in need of them.

The Federal Government proposes to block leakages and under remittance of internally generated revenue by the MDAs. The proposal is to ramp upon collecting 25 per cent of gross independently generated revenues by the MDAs. This is a welcome development. But the Federal Government should also take cognisance and seek to enforce the express provisions of Sections 22 and 23 of the FRA. Section 22 requires 80 per cent of the operating surplus of scheduled corporations to be paid over to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government. In this direction, the strengthening of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to perform its assigned statutory role is imperative so that more revenues may be collected and paid over to the treasury. Furthermore, there is the need for collaboration between the Federal Responsibility Commission and the Accountant-General of the Federation to firm up the template for the calculation of operating surplus for the scheduled corporations so as to make the collections easier.

New sources of revenue are proposed: Surcharges on certain luxury items at N23bn; 10 per cent surcharge on new private jets, N3.7bn; 39 per cent surcharge on luxury yatch, N1.6bn; five per cent surcharge on luxury cars, N2.6bn; surcharge on business and first class tickets on airlines which has yet to be fixed; three per cent luxury surcharge on champagnes, wines and spirits, N2.3bn; one per cent FCT Mansion Tax on Residential Properties with value of N300million and above is expected to yield N360m and strengthening tax administration and policy expected to yield N460bn in three years. The budget also proposes reduced spending on overheads. Both the new sources of budget funding and the savings will come up to N243bn. Although these steps are commendable, more still needs to be done to save resources from leakage points and get new sources of funding. The implementation of the Oronsaye committee report with modifications that are reasonably necessary in the circumstances will go a long way in facilitating the adjustments.

In this period of austerity measures, let the Presidency and the National Assembly lead the way in the adjustments. They will soon discover that Nigerians are wonderful followers. Specifically, the two arms of government should slice their votes by a minimum of 50 per cent. The Presidency should empower security agencies to do the simple task of stopping oil theft and thereby increasing our crude oil production volume to not less than 2.5mbpd. It is incredible that we have continued this story of crude theft for over four years. This, obviously, cannot go on indefinitely. Stopping oil theft is not rocket science; it is achievable with the right attitude to official duty. The benchmark price of crude oil should be reduced to a realistic estimate, not more than $55pb so as to avoid generating apologies for budget failure. We should have a moratorium on borrowing unless it is tied to specific capital projects. The President and National Assembly should also endeavour to fix the debt ceilings so as to rein in frivolous borrowing and ensure that new debts build the capacity to grow the economy and our ability to repay. It is also imperative to reallocate service wide votes to the MDAs in need of them.

The 2015 budget provides an opportunity for the presidential candidates to have a debate around the different perspectives of handling fiscal policy at a time of crisis and uncertainty. One expects that the main opposition party should have come out with an alternative fiscal vision of how to get new income, spend and manage the available resources in the coming year. For instance, could the already allocated figures be reallocated for greater efficiency and results? Posers would have been raised and answered around such issues like; can we get more out of our crude oil and gas sales? Can we manage our maritime sector for new revenue? Can we reform the land policy to wake up dead capital? How can housing policy create new jobs and increase access to housing to grow the economy? What happened to the implementation of the National Housing Fund? Why is it not yielding the necessary resources to generate adequate housing? How can we fine-tune the new national auto policy for greater development and to yield more revenue to the treasury within a couple of years? This is about issue-based politics that addresses specific issues and provides alternatives. It is not about trading blames but responding to the challenges and emergency at hand.

Finally, it is a shame that 10 days after laying the budget before the National Assembly, the Ministry of Finance has not deemed it proper to make available to Nigerians the full details of the budget. There is nothing on the website of the Budget Office of the Federation to show that a budget document has been released. It is the same attitude to releasing budget implementation reports. Apparently, the ministry still thinks in the old opaque way and manner believing that Nigerians are not entitled to have access to information to enable them make a detailed intervention to the official position. This is unacceptable; it is against all known canons of fiscal transparency.

15:28 Share:

Etim Esin urges Onazi to reject Liverpool

Former Nigeria midfielder, Etim Esin, has warned Lazio’s Ogenyi Onazi not to leave the Italian club for Liverpool, saying a move to Anfield could lead to a decline in his career.

Onazi, who has been a regular in the Super Eagles line-up with a rising profile in the Serie A club, has been linked with a move to Liverpool and Everton in the summer, but the Reds came forward on Saturday to make an offer to Lazio for their midfielder.

Esin told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday that a move to Liverpool would not be the best for the defensive midfielder.

“How many Africans have risen to be great stars at Liverpool? The club’s record with African players is not encouraging. The proposed move is not the best for him at this time of his career. I believe he deserves a more ambitious club where a regular playing time can be assured,” Esin said.

“Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League table and are not likely to win the league or qualify for the UEFA Champions League, while Lazio are third in the Serie A. He stands a better chance of playing UEFA competitions next season with his current club.

“If, however, he has made up his mind to move to Liverpool, I wish him well. But I think players move to the Premier League because it’s England.”

Meanwhile, Lazio have reportedly rejected a swap deal from Liverpool involving Fabio Borini for the Nigerian midfielder.

Liverpool are looking to take advantage of Lazio’s long-term interest in Borini by offering the former Chelsea and Roma forward plus £8m for Onazi’s services.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had opted for Bayer Leverkusen’s Emre Can in the summer when he had the chance to bring in Onazi.

Borini has failed to impress this season alongside Liverpool’s other misfiring strikers, and Rodgers is ready to part ways with the Italian as he looks to engineer an early return for Lille loanee Divock Origi.

Esin added, “If Liverpool desperately need Onazi they will not be offering a player that is useless to the team; that means they are not losing anything for bringing Onazi in. That should be a sign to Onazi that he may not be valued at Anfield. Liverpool’s problems are the strikers, not defenders or midfielders.”

15:27 Share:

Why I’m building three stadiums - Senator Smart Adeyemi

The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi,   says he is sponsoring construction of three stadiums in his state to empower youths in the state.

Adeyemi, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, explained that the 5,000 sitting capacity Kabba Stadium will upon completion host international and local events.

He also said that the Iyara Stadium was about 75 per cent completed while a large expanse of land had been acquired in Egbe town for the construction of a stadium there next year.

The lawmaker said, “The major project I have in mind to productively engage the youths is the construction of the 5,000-seater Kabba Stadium, the seats arrived in Kabba on Saturday. It has an Olympic-sized swimming pool, pitches for tennis and   basketball. It is going to compliment the state-owned stadium in Lokoja.

“There are facilities that could host local and international competitions there. The pitches are ready. We have concluded the fencing and plastering. Three out of the five pavilions are ready and roofed. The swimming pool is in progress. It will be an alternative stadium for competitions in Kogi State.

“The essence of spending money to build the stadiums is to use sports as a means of galvanising socio-economic activities of our people. It is also aimed at creating jobs and engage the youths in productive activity.”

He explained that his intention was that the sporting facilities would assist youths in his area to become international sportsmen and women in future and would return home with enough money to set up business that would equally engage the youths.

The development, he said, would bring development to the area stressing that he would use sports as a catalyst for galvanising socio – economic activities by jobs for the youths.

Adeyemi clarified that he was not in competition with the state government but was rather, complementing the state’s efforts in the area of sports development.

15:22 Share:

Policeman Beaten Black & Blue By Naval Officer Goes Blind

When Emmanuel Mbilla was enlisted into the Nigeri­an Police Force 31 years ago, he might have dreamt of serving the country meritoriously and gloriously before handing over the baton to the next generation. Such dream has now been shattered by one ugly encounter with a naval officer.

Just four years for the long serving of­ficer to say goodbye to serving his country in uniform, what seems a tragedy struck on February 22 which abruptly cut short his long anticipated exit from the force. The singular incident had steadily sunk hole into his pocket, leaving him to now beg before he eats.

The victim’s second wife, Patience Mbilla, who witnessed the incident, told Saturday Sun that it all started when the naval officer, Enejor, drove recklessly to hit the pavement of her shop with his ve­hicle.

It has been nine months since the As­sistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) has been suffering after being allegedly attacked on the eye by the naval rating, identified as Warrant Officer Unaji Ene­jor on February 22 in the Kirikiri area of Lagos State.

Saturday Sun learnt that the 50-year-old victim had suffered glaucoma on his left eye before the incident, and a punch from his attacker on his right eye dealt a big blow to his overall sight.

All efforts made by Mbilla to regain his failing sight proved abortive. He told Saturday Sun that he had visited many hospitals in Lagos in a quest for a cure for his battered eye.

Presently, the policeman, who was previously doing virtually everything on his own, including driving his car, has now turned vegetable, relying on his two wives for help.

23:53 Share:

Read The Touching Story of Taiwo Lawal, The Blind Female Photographer

I found this inspiring story on Betterbext and deemed it wise to share it with you guys. No one has an excuse for failure. Enjoy!

You may consider this the ordinary routine of a photographer. Yes it is. But, what makes it extraordinary is that Taiwo Lawal, the photographer, is totally blind.

Lawal, 35, felt her way round the tripod to our correspondent and explained with a smile, “At the start, I kept wondering how a blind person could learn photography. I thought it was impossible. But the person who introduced me to it said it was possible. So, I agreed to do it.”

She gave her consent to learn the art of photography two years ago. Now, Lawal takes photographs like someone that is not blind.

She continued: “I’ve learnt a lot about the lens of a camera, the view finder, LCD screen and so many parts of the camera.”

Medical science has stated that blind people tend to show enhanced ability in the other senses. This probably applies to Lawal.

Giving an insight into how she is mastering the art of photography, Lawal said she uses her sense of hearing and touch to take pictures.

She said, “If I want to take a picture, I would go to where the person is, and feel his location; then I would communicate with the person to sense the direction, as the sound of the person tells me where he or she is.

“Also, if I want to take pictures of nature, I first feel the object by touching it, then move back and take the picture. When I touch a flower, for instance, I see the colours in my mind. I can also tell if someone is happy or sad, because I know it would be reflected in the picture.”

Lawal put her skill to use as she took many shots of our correspondent and the surroundings.

“Some time ago in Ikeja, someone expressed doubt on the ability of a blind person to take photographs. Immediately, I took my camera and demonstrated to him,”she said, laughing.

But does she have an idea of the outcome of the shots she takes?

Lawal, answered, “Whenever I take pictures, I know it would be beautiful, because I see them in my mind.”

Before photography found her, Lawal had learnt some few trades which included: bead-making and bag-making. These took her four years.

Her photography has, however, been taking her places. Recently, she won an award at the International Day of Persons Living with Disabilites, which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“Lawal is the first blind photographer I’ve ever heard of. She’s an inspiration,” said Mrs. Bitebo Gogo, Executive Director, Keeping It Real Foundation, which organised the event.

Also, last year, Lawal met American Joe McNally, a globally renowned photographer at a photography exhibition.

“When we discussed, he encouraged me to continue with my work. I was happy meeting him, because I never thought I would ever meet such important people. Now, I no longer feel bad because I do not see. If I were not blind, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today,” Lawal said, adding that she wants to pursue a career in photography.

“Taking pictures makes me happy. Also, it has helped me forget my past sorrows, when some people didn’t appreciate me and I endured a lot of insults,” she said.

23:48 Share:

AirAsia Flight From Indonesia to Singapore is Missing

Another Asian airliner has gone missing: AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. local time on Sunday, AirAsia reported about four hours after the plane disappeared en route to Singapore.


Sunday’s missing AirAsia flight was traveling between Surabaya, in Indonesia, and Singapore. There were 155 passengers and seven crew on board the Airbus A320-200, officials have said.


An AirAsia official told the media on Sunday that the plane had requested “an unusual route” before air traffic control lost contact with QZ8501 over the Java Sea. However, an Indonesia Transport Ministry spokesperson later clarified that the pilot’s request was permission to change altitude due to bad weather, Steve Herman reported for the Voice of America.

“At the present time we unfortunately have no further information,” according to AirAsia’s statement. “At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.”

In March 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic control when it was about several hundred miles north of Singapore. Rescuers still have been unable to find any traces of flight MH370, or its 239 passengers and crew, despite an unprecedented search effort.

In April 2014, or one month after MH370 went missing, AirAsia’s CEO was forced to apologize after the company’s in-flight magazine suggested that AirAsia’s own well-trained pilots would never lose a plane.

23:46 Share:

Turkish Assassin Who Shot Pope John Paul II Visits Grave With Flowers After 31 Years

 

 Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish man who shot and injured former Pope, John Paul II in 1981 has laid flowers on the dead pontiff's tomb in the Vatican.

56-year-old Agca told the police he felt the need to make the gesture, according to a report by Italian media.

The visit comes 31 years after the late pope John Paul II visited Agca in prison and forgave him for the attempt on his life - shooting him twice at close range.

The Pope was left seriously injured, with one bullet passing through his abdomen and another narrowly missing his heart.

The former convict served 19 years in jail for attempted murder but the motive behind the shooting is yet to be uncovered.

He spent another 10 years in prison in Turkey on charges related to the earlier murder of a newspaper editor.

Reports say Agca laid white roses at the tomb of the late Pope on Saturday, in his first visit to the Vatican since his attack on John Paul II on 13 May 1981.

However, Agca's request for a face-to-face meeting with Pope Francis has been denied by Vatican officials a second time.

"He has put flowers on the tomb of John Paul II. I think that is enough," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told La Repubblica newspaper.

23:44 Share:

Emotional Toolz Shares Her Experience After Visiting Dustbin Estate in Ajegunle(photos)

Tv personality, Tolulope Oniru, popularly known as Toolz, in the spirit of the festive season decided to share some precious moments with the less privileged. She visited a deserted area known as  'Dustbin Estate' right in the heart of Ajegunle, a popular ghetto in Lagos State. She was absolutely moved to tears. See what she wrote:

"I went to the Dustbin Estate in Ajegunle for the first time to donate food and I'm still lost for words. The people there build their houses with planks on refuse dumps. I spoke with the community leader and he said that the government forget about them. Most of the houses were smaller than my bedroom and had to accommodate whole families sometimes. There's really no running water and only a handful of the houses have electricity,"

Continue to see more photos..

23:44 Share: