Culled from www.newmailng.com

by Kayode Ogundele/ Lagos 0 Comments 09.Apr 2014

An anti-corruption campaign group, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) on Wednesday flayed the refusal of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke to respond to the query issued her by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Accounts.

The committee had written the minister demanding information on the controversial Challenger 850 aircraft chartered for her use allegedly by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

However, the committee while probing the alleged N10bn expenses she incurred in the last three years, discovered additional information that Alison-Madueke had in the course of the same period chartered other jets, including a Global Express XRS. Continue reading “CACOL flays petroleum minister for spurning NASS query”

Culled from Daily Independent

Monday, April 8th, 2014

By Chukwudi Nweje

Assistant Features Editor

IF the figures being reeled out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are indeed factual, then one could argue that the Federal Government is on course to realising the aims and objectives of the Financial System Strategy (FSS) 20:2020. Initiated in 2006 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with all other Nigerian financial services regulators, the FSS 20:2020 is a visionary and an ambitious developmental programme designed to create an international financial hub in Nigeria as well as evolve a financial infrastructure to finance the country’s quest to join the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020. It also aims to “drive rapid and sustainable economic growth” as envisioned by Vision 2020.

The NBS report released on Sunday by Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at an interactive session showed that Nigeria’s GDP grew by $149.3 billion or 41.4 per cent (N26.018 trillion or 48 per cent) between 2010 and 2013. In the three-year period, the size of Nigeria’s economy stood at N54.204 trillion (about $360.6 billion) in 2010; rising to N63.258 trillion ($408.8 billion) the following year; and N71.186 trillion ($449.9 billion) in 2012. According to the NBS report, the changes between the old and new rates “represent growth of 59.5 per cent in 2010; 69.13 per cent in 2011; 75.58 per cent in 2012; and 89.22 per cent in 2013 (forecast)”.

Incidentally, it also showed that with the economy, at $509.9 billion (N80.222 trillion) at the end of 2013, Nigeria has become Africa’s biggest, pushing South Africa with $370.3 billion to the second position.  The Minister of Finance further disclosed that the rebasing also showed that Nigeria’s economy is now far more diversified than previously thought, with new, previously un-captured, sub-sectors. She listed major growth drivers as agriculture, which alone contributed 24 per cent, as against 30 per cent in the 1990 data, while the services industry (comprising telecommunications, Information Technology, airlines) emerged the biggest with 50 per cent contribution. The exercise also revealed that Nigeria’s GDP makes it the 26th largest economy in the world. With the latest ratings, Nigeria only needs to move up six places again to realise its FSS 20:2020 target.

Nevertheless, the figures have generated some debate among analysts. Some of them have described the data reeled out by the NBS and the ministry of Finance as deceptive and a government propaganda. They argue that an economy like Nigeria’s which is import dependent and which has a very high rate of unemployment cannot be bigger than that of South Africa that is export driven with sound infrastructures.

For instance, Finance and economic analyst, and Managing Director of Lagos-based Financial Derivative Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, in a chat with BBC described the revisions as “a vanity”. He argued that the figures mean nothing to the average Nigerian. According to him, the new figures will not make Nigerians “better off tomorrow. It doesn’t put more money in the bank, more food in their stomach. It changes nothing”.

Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) agrees.  “There is virtually nothing to be happy about. What is the essence of Nigeria becoming the Africa’s biggest economy when it doesn’t translate to improved standard of living for the common man? What is the essence of the new GDP figure when it doesn’t translate to reduction of employment in the country?” he queried. He added that Nigeria was also rated as one of the poorest countries in the world by the World Bank, alongside countries that are either overpopulated or ravaged by war like Bangladesh, China whereas the country does not suffer such fate.

According to him; “These are parallel things. If Nigeria is the Africa’s biggest economy, what are the indices that the judgment was based on?  An average Nigerian citizen does not have access to the basic things of life like potable water, decent accommodation, good health care delivery among other things; life expectancy is below 50years; infant mortality rate is 78 per 1000 live births; under-five mortality rate is 124 per 1000 live births and Nigeria is the 7th highest infant mortality rate in the world. Nigeria boasts of the richest man in Africa and we also parade the poorest people in the world. One out of 7 poorest people in the world is a Nigerian.

“Basically, the new GDP does not translate to good living condition for the mass of Nigerians when about 80% are living below poverty line. As a matter of fact, out of that, more than 60% are actually living below $1 a day which means the country harbours the poorest of the poor. It is the mal-governance that allows the lopsided and the inordinate correlation between the economy growth and the per capita income. The economy of the country has been put in the stronghold of less than 1% of the population.”

Culled from ireports-ng.com

Posted date: April 07, 2014 In: Business, Latest, Politics, Press Releases | comment : 0

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has described the rebased Gross Domestic Product for the country which showed that the Nigerian economy had overtaken South Africa’s as the biggest on the continent as a facade.

The Federal Government while presenting the outcome of the preliminary estimates of the GDP, said that the country’s real GDP for 2011 and 2012 now stood at 5.09 per cent and 6.66 per cent, while the economy grew by 7.41 per cent in real terms last year.

Speaking on behalf of the Coalition, its Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran noted that the new GDP is nothing to be happy about because it is not in terms of per capita income. Continue reading “Nigeria’s New GDP Figure Fraudulent- CACOL”

CULLED FROM DAILY INDEPENDENT

Monday, 7th April, 2014

By Chukwudi Nweje – Assistant Features Editor

Two weeks after President Goodluck Jonathan officially inaugurated the 2014 National Conference it appears the only serious business the 492 delegates have executed is resolving the voting consensus required to adopt a resolution.  When the Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, released the report of the Senator Femi Okurounmu-led Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) in January, he had noted that: “Decisions at the National Conference shall be by consensus; but where it is not achievable; it shall be by 75% majority…” The delegates have after stormy debates resolved that 75% majority, which represents three-quarters majority votes may be difficult to attain and have brought down the required votes to 70%. The other serious thing they have dwelt on is debating the President’s inaugural speech that is if there was any need to do that.

Two weeks and counting now, these two subjects, the delegates have rather spent hours arguing over frivolities.  If they are not arguing over sitting arrangements as if occupying the front row would make an argument more convincing or transform a bench-warmer or sleeper delegate into a vibrant debater, they are fighting over allowances for the chain of personal aides some of them brought along.   Now, the delegates are fighting over the feeding arrangement by the leadership of the confab. While some of them expressed disappointment about the poor quality of food, others said they wanted the food to be monetised to enable them to source for food outside the conference venue. A delegate from the South South, Mr. J.I Ebinum, had moved a motion to stop the secretariat from the provision of lunch for the delegates, arguing that the caterer handling the feeding services had failed to make enough food available despite complaints to that effect. When the Chairman of the conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, put the matter to vote, the delegates rejected the motion and trooped out to the restaurant to eat. Continue reading “National Confab and the difficulties ahead”

Culled from www.informationng.com

Posted by: daniel on April 4, 2014

Delegates at the on-going National Conference have been taken to the cleaners for complaining about the feeding arrangement provided by the leadership of the conference.

A group, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) described the delegates’ action as selfish, saying rather than focus on burning national issues that brought about the conference in the first place, they were busy dwelling on trivial issues.

Information Nigeria reports that some of the delegates on Thursday expressed disappointment about the poor quality of food, saying they wanted the food to be monetised to enable them to provide for their own feeding outside the conference venue.

The executive chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, in a statement on Friday, stated that many of the delegates have forgotten the reason for the conference. Continue reading “Confab: Delegates Rejection Of Food Sign Of Selfishness, Says CACOL”

Culled form Daily Newswacth

Thursday, April 03, 2014

By: WALE AKINOLA April 3, 2014 in Politics Leave a comment

Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has berated the Department of State Security (DSS) for alleged killing of 21 people  suspected to be members of the Boko Haram insurgents last Sunday.

Executive Chairman of CACOL, Debo Adeniran, in statement on Tuesday, condemned the SSS for the mass killing of the suspects and called for quick investigation into the incident.

Adeniran explained that it baffles every right-thinking Nigerian why it was difficult for the men of the SSS to subdue only the one that disarmed their man. “If the gun seized by the suspect contained 90 rounds of ammunitions, why shooting for a prolonged time? Continue reading “Killing of 21 Boko Haram suspects by SSS extra-judicial – Adeniran”

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Posted in: Man in the News

By Chukwudi Nweje

Assistant Features Editor

Allegations had been rife that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke had never travelled on a commercial aircraft since she was appointed to that office in April 2010. Rather, it is said that she has reportedly been going on chartered private jets at the expenses of tax payers. In fact, they say she has about two or three of them and the average cost per trip of the chartered private jets is put at about $300,000. Recently, a motion endorsed by the House indicated that Alison-Madueke allegedly spent N10b to run the jet for her personal trips within the country and abroad. It had also been said that it costs about $500,000 per month to maintain the jets. Some pertinent questions analysts have been asking since these information started trickling out many months ago included how does she pay for the services of these jets? Is there a budgetary provision? Who approved it? As a minister of the Federal Republic, is she entitled to a private jet funded by public resources?

It is in the light of this that the decision of the House of Representatives to probe the estimated N3.120b the Minister allegedly spent on the maintenance of these private jets is a welcome development. The decision followed a motion by Babatunde Adejare, (APC) Lagos State, who informed the House that maintaining the jet alone, gulped N3.120b in the last two years and that the minister reportedly spent N130m monthly to keep the jets. Continue reading “Allison Madueke and the N3.120b private jets”

President Goodluck Jonathan

The Coalition against Corrupt Leaders has decried President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent statement that corruption in the country has been blown out of proportion.

President Goodluck Jonathan, at a meeting with the Nigerian community in Windhoek, Namibia on Thursday, had said corruption in Nigeria had been exaggerated and the trend had negatively affected the image of the country.

The President also noted that his administration would not condone the menace, but that using the proverbial big stick would not be a solution to end corruption. Continue reading “Corruption not overstated, CACOL tells Jonathan”