FG to float national carrier with 30 aircraft

Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah

The Federal Government said on Thursday that a new national carrier with at least 30 brand new aircraft would soon be established.

The Director of Operations, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Henry Omeogu, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during his visit to the Port Harcourt International Airport.

Omeogu explained that though the new national carrier would be private sector-driven, fairly used or old aircraft would not be allowed to be among the fleet of its airplanes.

He said the move was part of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan for the aviation sector, adding that the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, was determined to turn around the industry.

Explaining that the Federal Government was interested in raising the standard in the aviation sector to a world-class level, Omeogu disclosed that the government had begun the renovation of 11 airports across the country.

“We are going to have about 30 brand new aircraft and they (aircraft) will be our national carrier. The effort will be private-sector driven. We will insist that others who would want to be part this should come with brand new aircraft,” Omeogu stressed.

The FAAN director gave an assurance that by 2014, the Federal Government would have achieved nearly 100 per cent of its plans to transform the aviation sector.

He said improved security within and around airports across the country was part of the arrangement for a new aviation industry, adding that over 50 policemen had already been moved from Abuja to the Port Harcourt International Airport.

“The President has signed performance contracts with all the sectors, and at the end of the day, any person that cannot key into the new vision of the Federal Government will naturally leave the system,” he added.

Omeogu explained that the ongoing transformation of the country’s aviation sector would provide many employment opportunities for the citizens.

He said materials needed for the renovation of some of the airports in the country were available, while the contractors had been paid to avoid any delay in the completion of the projects.

$11bn cash taken abroad through Nigerian airports — Sanusi

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, has said that about $11bn (N1.73tn) has been taken out of the country through the airports this year, a development he describes as worrisome.

Sanusi, while speaking at an event organised by Bank Directors Association of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday, wondered why many Nigerians now preferred carrying out transactions with the United States dollar at the expense of the local currency, the naira.

According to him, the dollar is becoming the country’s second currency based on its usage, adding that the central bank’s aim for contemplating the introduction of the N5,000 bill was to address the development.

He said, “In this country, almost everybody uses the dollar. This year alone, the records we have based on the declared amount at the airports is getting to about $11bn in cash that was taken out of Nigeria.

“Why would anyone walk out of an airport with $5m? Well, they will say is because the law has made it clear that you can take any amount so long as you have declared it and I cannot stop you. These are some of the issues we wanted the introduction of the N5,000 note to address.”

Sanusi said the planned introduction of the N5,000 bills was part of a thought process aimed also at driving the cash-less policy initiative.

He said, “If people want to carry N15m, they go to Bureau De Change and change it into dollars. You give them $100,000 and that is about N15m. The dollar has become a second national currency. Barely two months ago in Zambia, the nation passed a law stating that anyone who refuses to accept its local currency and who charges for a transaction in a foreign currency goes to jail for 10 years.

“But you come to Nigeria and you see people paying their children’s school fees in dollars. We laugh about this but it is an important issue. Can you go to America and buy something using pounds sterling? Or you go to Tokyo and use dollar and see if the hotel will accept the currency? Before they will transact with you, you must change it into their local currency.

“So, this is a problem, and it is apart from the fact that we are in a country where monetary and economic policies have been subjects to popular vote. In fact, it is not an election! If I want popular vote, I will go and contest for the chairman of a local government. Everybody is an economist, a central bank governor and many more.”

Total fuel subsidy removal is a must – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday launched a fresh campaign to totally remove the subsidy on fuel, barely a year after a similar campaign and forceful removal of subsidy almost brought the country to a standstill.

Jonathan said only the total removal of subsidy on petroleum products would attract investors to the oil sector and put an end to the importation of petroleum products as it is currently being done.

About this time last year, the President, in his budget estimates submitted to the Senate, proposed total removal of subsidy on petroleum products and in spite of public protests removed subsidy on January 1, 2012.

The President’s action was greeted by spontaneous protests among the citizens.

A mass action coordinated by civil society groups paralysed activities in the country for about two weeks until the government backpedalled and announced a partial removal. Per litre pump price of petrol was consequently reduced to N97 from the initial N141 under the zero-subsidy regime.

The pump price of the product pre-January 1, 2012 was N65.

Jonathan started the fresh campaign to totally remove subsidy while receiving the report of the graduating participants of the Senior Executive Course 34, 2012, of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Why is it that people are not building refineries in Nigeria despite that it is a big business? It is because of the policy of subsidy, and that is why we want to get out of it,” the President said.

Like the President did late last year, he argued that while the total removal of subsidy could be painful to Nigerians he said they would be happier at the end if they could bear the initial pains.

Jonathan said, “To change a nation is like surgery. If you have a young daughter of five years who has a boil at a very strategic part of the face, you either as a parent leave that boil because the young girl will cry or you take the girl to the surgeon.

“So you have the option of just robbing metholatum on the face until the boil will burst and disfigure her face or you take that child to the surgeon. On the sighting of a scalpel of the surgeon alone, the child will start crying.

“But if she bears the pains and do the incision and treat it, after some days or weeks, the child will grow up to be a beautiful lady.

“There are certain decisions that government must take that may be painful at the beginning and people must be properly informed so that they will be ready to bear the pains.”

Jonathan said he believed that Nigeria could witness a turn-around within 10 years once the right policies were put in place.

“I believe that you do not need a lifetime to change a nation. Under 10 years, Nigeria can change and people will not even believe that this is Nigeria again. Immediately you come up with strong policies in key sectors of the economy and keep it for 10 years, the change will be astronomical,” he said.

He said Canada had 16 functional refineries and Nigeria has four that are struggling to refine at 30 per cent of installed capacity because all the refineries in Canada are privately-owned.

In the aftermath of the January protests and in the desire to assuage ill feeling of citizens over large scale corruption in the oil sector, Jonathan had promised to probe the sector.

The probe committee set up by the House of Representatives subsequently found that oil thieves had defrauded the country of N1.7trn under the fuel subsidy regime. Many suspects, including a son of the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mahmud Tukur, and children of other notable Nigerians and their companies, are currently on trial for making claims for fuel not imported.

Curiously, the nation has been suffering from acute shortage of fuel for almost two months with filling stations selling, unofficially, at between N100 and N150 per litre.

The situation has also made critics to submit that the shortage, notwithstanding official explanations, might be a design by the government to surreptitiously increase fuel pump price in the new year.

Obasanjo Refer To Jonathan As A ‘Weak Leader’?

From right:; and L-R: Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi & Chief Olusegun Obasanjo At A Lecture Entitled “The Nigeria Of My dream: Towards The Consolidation Of National Unity” In Honour Pf Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s 40 Years In The Ministry At Word Of Life Bible Church, Warri, Delta State, Yesterday.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, blamed president Goodluck Jonathan for allowing the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to fester and grow into a monster that is out of control by his failure to act on a report submitted to the government.

The former president was speaking at a lecture delivered by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi in celebration of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s 40th anniversary as founder of the Word of Life Bible Church, Warri in Delta State. Obasanjo also tasked Nigerians to choose between a strong leader who might adopt unusual approach to tackle a problem or a weak leader who will leave the problem to fester.

While responding to a question from a pastor from Borno State on how he could forge any form of unity with those who are perpetuating violence in the northern part of the country, Obasanjo went philosophical, saying: “Boko Haram is an ill wind that blows nobody no good.”

The former president also narrated his experience when he visited the hot-bed of Boko Haram, Borno, on a fact-finding mission and blamed the government’s inability to act on his findings as reason why the problem grew to “become something else.”

“Whichever way, you just have to attend to it. Don’t leave it unattended to. On two occasions I had to attend to the problem I faced at that time. I sent soldiers to a place and 19 of them were killed. If I had allowed that to continue, I will not have authority to send security whether police, soldier and any force any where again. So, I had to nip it in the bud and that was the end of that particular problem,” he said.

Obasanjo was however quick to admit that not all problems might require a tough stance as according to him, “if you say you don’t want a strong leader who can have all characteristics of leaders including God fearing, then have a weak leader and the rest of the problem is yours.”

Theformer president was also quick to dispel insinuations that he single-handedly foisted president Jonathan on Nigerians saying that he didn’t give all the votes that brought him to power. But he did give a remedy when he said, “the beauty of democracy is that power rests in the people, and every elected person would seek your votes to come back; if you don’t want him, he won’t come back.”

And like he has been advocating over the last couple of days, the erstwhile PDP BOT Chairman charged Nigerians to stand up and take their destinies in their own hands, reminding them of a Yoruba adage, “if you say it the way it is, you will die; if you don’t say anything at all, you will die, why don’t you say it and die?”

Kwara declares 3-day mourning Over Sola Saraki`s Death

Following the death of Second Republic Senate Leader and frontline elder statesman, Dr. Olusola Saraki, the Kwara State Government on Wednesday declared a three-day mourning period across the state in honour of the late political stalwart.

According to the state Governor, Abdulfattah Ahmed who announced the demise of the late iconic leader at the Government House in Ilorin, the late Waziri of Ilorin passed away in the early hours of Wednesday at the age of 79.

The remains of the late politician would be flown to Ilorin at 2:00 p.m while interment commences at 4: 00 p.m according to Islamic rites.

It was gathered that when the news was broken on Wednesday morning, many residents stormed the GRA residence of the late Saraki to sympathize with the family.

Insiders disclosed that the state-owned radio station, Radio Kwara, suspended all regular programmes in honour of the late politician.

In its place, the station was playing different songs celebrating the life and times of their former leader.

Arrival of the body of former Senate leader Dr. Sola Saraki's for burial

This is the Arrival of the body of former Senate leader Dr. Sola Saraki's for burial at the Ilorin International Airport.

Oshiomhole appoints Patrick Obahiagbon as Chief of Staff

Former lawmaker and a member representing Oredo constituency in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, has been appointed by Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as Chief of Staff.

His appointment was announced on Wednesday evening and he will be officially sworn in by 10am on Thursday morning at the Edo State government house.

The Law Graduate of University of Benin is as self-styled verbal contortionist who enjoys a cult following.

Ask Obahiagbon about himself and he would simply tell you: “I want to give you homo sapiens a infinitesimal sample of how the ingredients compose to form me. Anyone care to know? Most yes and a few imbeciles who lack compassion and common sense to get inspired.

“Since it’s most yes, I’ll navigate you through my journey. I grew up in Benin, but was born and had my elementary education in Sapele. When my father went for further studies in England, we had to relocate to Benin and that got me into Edo College and St. John Bosco Government School, Ubiaja. I proceeded to read law at the University of Benin. After my youth service, I contested an election to represent my ward as a councilor in Oredo Local Government Area in 1990. After, I went to England in search of greener pastures, but I could not take it for more than 18 months.

“This was because I had a passion for the political developments going on in Nigeria. I died silently in London, but returned to Nigeria , where I joined again in the political development. Six months after my arrival, there was a local government election and I contested for the chairmanship position Long story short, after a few losses. I won an election to the Edo State House of Assembly, where I spent eight years on the platform of my people and it was time to move to a latitudinarian pedestal to discharge service to Nigerians and I presented myself before my party in a hotly, fiercely, but democratically contested primary and it pleased the cosmic masters and my constituents to give me the mandate to fly the party flag and I won. That began my journey to the House of Representatives.”