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NATIONAL NEWS
- Ogun Proposes N100b
Budget For 2009
- Why Fuel Price Stays High
- Fish Farmers Blame Obasanjo For Food Crisis
- NPAN Tasks Govt On Infrastructure, Others
Ogun Proposes N100b Budget For 2009
Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State presented a N100.02 billion budget proposal for 2009 to the state House of Assembly for approval.
overnor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State presented a N100.02 billion budget proposal for 2009 to the state House of Assembly for approval.
Tagged: "Budget of the Secured Future", economic affairs sector got the lion share with an allocation of N25.863 billion (26 per cent) followed by education sector, which was N22.807 billion (23 per cent).
Housing and community amenities got N18.78 billion (19 per cent).
The budget is an improvement on this year's which was N77.34 billion.
Governor Daniel told the gathering at the Legislative Chambers, Oke-Mosan, venue of the event, that the days ahead might be not be economically smooth. "Let me alert that the days ahead are likely to be rough on the economic front. Belt-tightening would be required as the full shape of the economic down-turn impacts on the environment", he added.
The governor expressed the hope that the legislators would show the requisite leadership that would give courage and confidence to the people.
Daniel said: "The challenges that lie ahead of us in the coming year dictate that we should all be together as we seek to bequeath an enduring legacy to the good people of our state and generations yet unborn.
"It is important that as part of our efforts to ensure that we maximise the benefits derivable from positive collaboration in the context of our federal system, appropriate presentation was made to the Senate Committee on Appropriation on the inclusion of federal projects in the state in the national budget from 2009".
Daniel explained that to further enhance the projects of the state towards the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the seven-point agenda of the Federal Government, the preparation of the budget took into cognisance the need to ensure that 10 per cent of capital allocation to "driver" agencies is set aside for projects and programmes specifically geared towards this end.
Daniel explained that the philosophy behind the budget was the imperative of economic independence. "We seek to ensure that our state does not fall an unwary and unprepared victim of the vagaries that are likely to characterise this Fiscal 2009 in the wake of the global economic downturn", he added.
Insisting that the budget was about how much the state was able to cover its cost from internally-generated revenue and through creative new use of the capital market, he stated: "We are looking forward to creating new advantages and fresh opportunities for our people in a competitive environment".
Why Fuel Price Stays High
FROM the oil sector, the news were shocking. First, any notion of reduction in the prices of petroleum products following the fall of price of crude in the international market was foreclosed by the Federal Government.
Also in the sector, an ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives which investigated the operations of the nation's oil industry has indicted former President Olusegun Obasanjo and erstwhile Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director (GMD), Funsho Kupolokun, among others, for the crisis that characterised the various bid rounds carried out between 1999 and 2007. The panel also asked some multi-national oil companies to refund signature bonuses running into billions of dollars.
The government had maintained that the periodic increases in the prices of petroleum products was because of the high price of crude oil.
But the price has fallen from a high of $147 dollars per barrel last July to below $54 a barrel by. United States (U.S.) crude fell to $53.30 a barrel, its lowest since January 2007. London's Brent crude was off 54 cents at $51.30.
Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum), Mr Odein Ajumogobia, told journalists at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that the inability of the government to opt for a reduction in the domestic prices of petroleum products was because the sector was not deregulated.
He said: "We can't enjoy the benefit of deregulation because it's only Automotive Gas Oil - AGO (diesel) that's deregulated. PMS and kerosene are still regulated. Now, we need to take a holistic view of the sector and see how we can put all petroleum products in one basket, so that as the prices go down in the international market, they'll also go down locally.
However, the implication of that is that if the international prices of petroleum products go up, we'll also have to pay more locally. We need to look at the situation holistically and find a solution. We can't eat our cake and have it. We agreed with Labour last year that the pump price would be N70. We have a regulated market for PMS. It is something that we are looking at seriously and we will take a decision about it very soon."
According to recommendations of the House committee that probed the oil sector, 'the practice of forced mergers of companies on the bid floor should cease. The practice violates paragraphs 14-16 of the First schedule of the Petroleum Act particularly in the circumstance where the merger is created for the purposes of bringing companies into a block won by a third party'. The report which may be laid on the floor of the House also said 'the introduction of the First Right of Refusal in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 bid rounds distorted the due process and transparency of these bid rounds.'
The report also frowned at the handling of signature bonuses by Department of Petroleum Resources and recommended that 'as a deterrent, all future signature bonuses that are refunded be refunded with interests calculated at existing bank rates for the period of retention and the officers responsible for the retention should be punished.'
The committee noted that some indigenous oil companies including Obekpa Petroleum were shortchanged and their interest should be reinstated.
In the case of the former NNPC boss, the report said: "Engineer Funso Kupolokun should be reprimanded for arrogating to himself the discretionary powers of the minister', adding that 'Funso Kupolokun's role in the subterranean award of OPL 233 should be thoroughly investigated."
The committee further said that there was confusion as to the number of approved blocks put on offer in the bid rounds. The committee also queried the introduction of downstream projects, noting that it was used to appease friends.
Again, the committee said that awards of OPL 321 and 323 to KNOC violates the principle of transparency in the extractive industry, stressing that 'the misleading information on the payment of U.S.231m signature bonus by KNOC is deplorable.'
Other recommendations are as follows:
·The office of the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources effectively held by the President from assumption of office in 1999 until January 2007 is ultra vires the express provisions of sections 138 and 147 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
Fish Farmers Blame Obasanjo For Food Crisis
Fish farmers in the country declared that the failure of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo to implement agricultural policies was responsible for the nation's perennial food crisis.
National Secretary of the Association of Fish Farmers and Aquaculturists of Nigeria, Mr. Ayodele Okeleji, who stated this at the inauguration of the association's new executives, said the erstwhile Nigerian leader failed to implement the policies presented to his administration by experts on how to transform the sector.
For instance, Okeleji alleged that due to bureaucratic bottlenecks, the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector during Obasanjo's tenure was deprived genuine farmers.
He said: "Rather than allowing a large spectrum of the society, especially farmers, benefit from the loans earmarked for agricultural development to guarantee food security, Obasanjo's policy only favoured some privileged few while budgetary allocations to the sector were mismanaged due to bureaucratic bottlenecks".
Okeleji called on President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to review the various plans packaged by experts in the sector on how to guarantee food security and muster enough political will to implement them with all sincerity of purpose.
In his address at the event, Director of Fisheries in the state Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Mr. Razaq Kolawole, said the state government was looking for markets for fish farmers in other states.
Kolawole stated that Oyo was leading other states in terms of fish production and lamented that lack of markets was frustrating their efforts.
NPAN Tasks Govt On Infrastructure, Others |
Some critical national issues were examined by the Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel and Towers, Lagos, recently.
Delegates to the November 13, 2008 meeting reviewed the activities of the association, developments in the media industry and the state of the nation.
After exhaustive deliberations, the association resolved that the:
·Federal Government should hasten the implementation of policies to revamp decaying infrastructure, especially power supply and roads; growing sensitivity of the Federal Government to dissent and criticisms is a cause for public concern. The Association urged the government not to waiver in its professed commitment to the rule of law and the deepening of a democratic culture;
political reforms announced by the government, especially the ones relating to the review of the constitution and the electoral system should be completed to make the constitution a more democratic document and ensure that peoples' votes count;
·Federal Government should be mindful of concerns being expressed locally and internationally about the waning of the anti-corruption campaign. The government should intensify the fight against corruption by strengthening the capacities of the anti-corruption agencies; and
·association will intensify its dialogue with the leadership of the National Assembly to iron out the misconceptions on the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI).
In a communiqu? signed by its President, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola and General Secretary, Comfort Obi, the association also resolved to dialogue with the new core investors in the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Oku-Iboku, Akwa Ibom State, and determine ways to collaborate with them for the growth of the industry.
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Okiro Asks Police To Reduce Crime At Xmas, Sallah
Ahead of the Christmas and Sallah celebrations, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro, directed all zonal and police commands to ensure that the crime is reduced to the lowest possible level during the festivities.
He noted that the police had in the last five years succeeded in recording the lowest crime rates during these festivities, adding that state police commissioners must go back to the drawing board and ensure that they record further success this year in the area of crime prevention during these festivities.
He also admonished them to sensitise the citizenry, corporate organisations and local councils with a view to enlisting their cooperation and logistic support for crime prevention and control.
Addressing the monthly conference of senior police officers in Ado-Ekiti, Okiro noted that the crime prevention and control campaign of the Force was on course and noted that the only way to sustain the current momentum was for the police to tie up its loose ends.
One of the loose ends, he stressed, was the issue of duplication of investigations through sponsored petitions, saying this vice was not only counter productive but also constituted a major damage to the image of the police.
He pointed out that research had shown that where crime prevention and control initiatives were succeeding, the rate of crime investigation usually dropped, adding that the experience of the Nigeria Police could not and should not be different.
He listed the projects of the Police Force for this year to include preparation and execution of approved work plan for every command; pressing for passage of Police Trust Fund Bill before the National Assembly; massive construction and rehabilitation of barracks, office accommodation and furniture; provision of up-to-date communication equipment for all police unit and mobilisation of stakeholders for crime prevention.
Other projects include execution of security awareness campaign nation wide, ensuring safer communities and grassroots mobilisation for crime prevention; renewal of linkages with traditional rulers, resuscitation of police special constabulary; procurement of specialised police vehicles and armoured personnel carriers; procurement of anti-riot equipment and encouragement of increased private/police partnership in crime prevention.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Governor, Segun Oni has called for greater cooperation between the government, community and the police, saying that a crime-free society could only be achieved if security agencies receive necessary cooperation from relevant quarters.
Oni, who made this call while receiving Okiro in his office, welcomed the highest-ranking police officers to the state. He said many measures were being put in place to reduce the crime rate in the state to zero level.
The governor enumerated such measures to include the electronic call system and the traditional hunter security network.
"If our country must be crime free, it is important that the community, government and security agencies begin to work together because the security agencies alone cannot rid our society of crime.
"The police for instance are no spirit. They need information from members of the public to be able to burst crime as well as support from government in terms of logistics."
In a similar development, the Lagos police command paraded a Beninois for allegedly stealing about N2 million from his Nigerian employer.
The suspect (names with held) who was a domestic staff resident in the Surulere area was said to have stolen the said money over a two year period.
The state police spokesperson, Mr. Frank Mba, who paraded the suspect warned Nigerians to be very cautious when they are engaging domestic workers of the kind of people they employed.
According to him "it is very important to alert the police before anyone engages a domestic worker for security purposes."
The Beninois will be charged to court soon for stealing.
Oil Falls To $60 As China Spending Optimism Wanes
Oil prices fell to near a 20-month low of $60 a barrel as hopes waned that a huge Chinese spending plan will do much to avert a prolonged slowdown in the global economy.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery was down $1.95 to $60.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. Earlier in the session, it fell as low as $59.32 before rebounding. The contract overnight rose $1.37 to settle at $62.41. In London, December Brent crude fell $1.84 to $57.21 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Oil closed at $60.77 on Nov. 6, the lowest closing price since March 2007, and has fallen about 59 percent since reaching a record $147.27 in mid-July. Analyst Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland noted the high volatility accompanying falling prices.
While the Nymex contract is now trading near first-half 2007 prices, the difference then between daily highs and lows was around $1.50 a barrel, while now the average daily range is around $5.50 a barrel with recent daily peaks at $9.50, Jakob said.
Oil prices and stock markets jumped Monday after China said it planned to spend $586 billion in a bid to spur economic growth. But pessimism soon returned as investors focused again on a swooning U.S. economy, which faces its worst recession in decades.
Most Asian and European stock markets fell Tuesday, following the lead of the Dow Jones industrials average, which dropped 0.8 percent Monday and was down another 1.9 percent Tuesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index slid 3 percent Tuesday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 2.9 percent, while London's FTSE and Germany's DAX indexes were both down around 2.5 percent.
“The market is realizing that (Chinese) package can't prevent us from sliding into the mess we're heading toward,” said Toby Hassall, an analyst with Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney. “The economic outlook is pretty bleak.”
Investors are grappling with how bad the recession in the U.S. could be, as government statistics and company results reflect an abrupt slowdown in consumer demand, bank lending and investment during the second half of the year. Crude demand from the U.S., the world's largest consumer of energy, is a key driver of oil prices.
“We saw extremely poor car sales and pretty shocking unemployment numbers from the U.S. last week,” Hassall said. “It wouldn't surprise me if oil edged down toward $50.”
U.S. car sales fell to a 25-year low in October while the unemployment rate shot to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent last month. Oil prices fell despite signs that OPEC members are going ahead with production cuts agreed to at an emergency meeting in Vienna, Austria, last month.
Saudi Arabia told refiners in Asia on Monday that it would reduce supplies in December by around 5 percent, said Sucden Research in London.
Analysts are expecting another cut by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which will hold an extraordinary meeting on Dec. 17 in Oran, Algeria.
The prime minister of Qatar said Tuesday that “fair” oil prices of between $70 to $90 per barrel would ensure that expensive oil exploration could continue, avoiding price spikes in the future.
Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani said that while oil prices below $70 a barrel would help consumers in the short term, it later could trigger price rallies.
Lower prices mean weaker investment and lower output from oil producers, which risks boosting oil prices once global economic growth picks up again.
Militants in Nigeria on Monday resumed attacks on the country's oil installations. The military said it killed eight people while guarding a facility in the oil-rich south of the country.
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