COBHAMS ASUQUO IS MUSIC! [VIDEO]

    Music producer extraordinaire COBHAMS ASUQUO showcases his talent on Ndani.tv once again to remind us how talented he is. i say his talent is just it, i mean just it. watch and have your own take.

Read More

JESSE VENTURA GOES HARD ON PIERS MORGAN. [VIDEO]

      Jesse Ventura goes hard on Piers Morgan in a public debate. Are we being mislead from Jesse Ventura's point of view? listen closely and hear what he says. *wow*

Read More

KANYE WEST SPEAKS ON CRUEL SUMMER. [VIDEO]

      Kanye West is the CEO of good music and he speaks on the creativity that brought cruel summer (just released 2012 album) into being. watch and hear him yourself as he speaks on creativity and the number of artists he featured, including our own D'banj.

Read More

WHY WE INSIST ON FULL BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION - TAMBUWAL.

     

      The House of Representatives Tuesday resumed plenary after its annual vacation, insisting that its demand for the full implementation of the 2012 Appropriation Act was neither a fluke nor an attempt to witch hunt anybody.

The clarification came same day the Presidency formally sent the 2013-2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper to the National Assembly.

The framework which had earlier been unveiled by the Coodinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is a prelude to the presentation of the 2013 Appropriation Bill.

The Presidency also declared that the implementation of the 2012 Budget had reached a “highly impressive” level.

Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, who spoke to journalists after the day’s plenary,  disclosed that while the lawmakers were on vacation, the Presidency signed a performance contract with the ministers in order to ensure high performance in terms of budget implementation.
She said that there has been a drastic improvement in the performance of all the MDAs which, according to her, would translate to improved service delivery. 

She disclosed that government was already fine-tuning the 2013 Appropriation Bill to ensure its presentation to the National Assembly this month as earlier promised.

Emodi lauded the lawmaker for their cooperation but urged them  to continue to work with the executive arm of government  particularly on critical issues such as the budget, constitution amendment and the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

In an opening remark to welcome members back to the parliament, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, said the mandates given to parliamentarians by the electorate can only be sustained when  projects and programmes  in  the budget were implemented  in such a way that the needs of the citizenry are met.

He lamented that the national budget  has become a yearly ritual observed more in breach than execution.

“When this House insists on budget implementation by the Executive it is never meant to witch hunt anybody. Budget implementation is the only way Nigerians can feel the direct impact of government in their daily lives.

“Nigerians need to be reminded that when we insist that budgets be implemented as passed by the National Assembly we are doing no more and no less than what is our duty. Although we live in a society where suspicion and slander clouds every important discourse, we shall never because of that neglect our responsibilities.

“It is time to remind us all that Appropriation Act is a law passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President. It is not a document of convenience to be executed as officials deem necessary.

“It is a solemn legal commitment of Government to intervene in various areas of need of our people. It is the instrument of infrastructural and economic development. The budget allocates resources and guides governmental activities in a given year,”he said.

Tambuwal who described budget implementation as a challenge to the legislature pledged that the lower chamber of the National Assembly  would strive  to fulfil the terms of its social  contract with the people  with integrity and honour.
  
He described the performance contract recently  initiated by  President Goodluck Jonathan  to monitor the performance of  Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs)  as a  vindication of the  position and resolution on budget implementation.

He disclosed that  all Committees of the House have been directed to collate information on the 2012 Budget in terms of  level of funding and implementation by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

“In the course of the week, a day will be set aside to deliberate in plenary session, the level of budget implementation as collated by the various committees.

“After the deliberation, the House will suspend plenary for one week but the House work will continue in committees. Within this period, various committees will be required to go on physical inspection of projects and authenticate all information provided by the various MDA’s on the level of 2012 budget implementation. The report of the various committees of the House after the oversight visits will form the basis of further action by the House,” Tambuwal said.
The Speaker acknowledged the plight of some constituencies that had been ravaged by flood and other natural disasters and reminded the lawmakers  that there was  plenty of work to do to ensure the wellbeing of the citizens.

Apparently reminding the lawmakers of the cardinal programmes as outlined in the Legislative Agenda, Tambuwal said the House will pursue  the  Constitution review process with greater vigour.

According to him, the House will ensure  that the constitution review will follow  an all inclusive and consultative process  where every  Federal Constituency in Nigeria would have a say on the content and aspects to be amended.

“Our proposal is that every Federal Constituency should constitute a panel of credible persons that would organise a public hearing and engage an extensive public consultation. This will involve Representatives of each of the following stakeholders in each Constituency namely: The Honourable member representing the Constituency; Civil Society Organisations; Nigerian Bar Association; Labour unions; Academic Staff Union of Universities( ASUU); youth organisations; women organisations;  religious groups; mass media and  other stakeholders as the Committee on Constitution Review may think fit. These stakeholders will appoint their own representatives in the various constituencies. “Furthermore, a template and details of the issues to be discussed would be worked out by the Committee on Constitution Review, following from memoranda already received from the public,” he said.

Tambuwal also pledged that the House would continue to expedite action on  the Petroleum Industry Bill, Electoral Act Amendment Bills,  Police and Security Agencies Acts as well as  bills to boost agriculture and  deal with  high unemployment situation in Nigeria. 

“In our Legislative Agenda, we made a commitment to run a technology driven parliament. We believe strongly that in the 21st Century, electronic voting system should be the dominant method of voting in this chamber. This makes voting more transparent and accountable. It makes every member accountable and responsible for votes and positions on issues.

“The votes and proceedings of the House, the Order paper, the Hansard must all be accessible to members and the general public electronically. This will deepen access to the legislature and improve our democratic credentials and practice.

“We believe that this will engender greater transparency, openness and accountability. We intend to put our legislative procedure at par with international best practices, to advance our members’ technological savvy and further strengthen our cooperation with other national parliaments,” he said.

SOURCE: THISDAYLIVE

Read More

ATIKU BACKERS RETURN TO REGIONALISM.

     Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar Tuesday called for a review of Nigeria’s political system with the country returning to the regional structure that obtained in the First Republic.

Atiku said that the current three-tier structure, comprising the federal, states and councils should give way to a two-tier system made up of the six geopolitical zones with states serving as provinces.

He called for decentralisation of power to other lesser tiers of government so that the people would have a greater say in governance, but disabused the notion that decentralisation could lead to a breakup of the country.

The former vice-president spoke at the annual Leadership Newspapers Awards in Abuja where former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, called for the scrapping of the Senate as a way of reducing the cost of governance, while former Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, decried the overweening influence of governors in the polity.

The former vice-president, in his address, advocated the restructuring of the federating units in such a way that it would strengthen the various geopolitical zones.

According to him, “I want to recall that during the 1994-95 Constitutional Conference, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, the Second Republic vice-president of this federation, introduced and canvassed for the concept of geopolitical zones.

“I was among those who opposed it because I thought that Ekwueme, coming from the defunct Republic of Biafra, wanted to break up the country again.

“Now, I realise that I should have supported him because our current federal structure is clearly not working.  Dr. Ekwueme obviously saw what some of us, with our civil war mindset, could not see at the time.  There is indeed too much concentration of power and resources at the centre.

“And it is stifling our march to true greatness as a nation and threatening our unity because of all the abuses, inefficiencies, corruption and reactive tensions that it has been generating.

“There is need, therefore, to review the structure of the Nigerian federation, preferably along the basis of the current six geopolitical zones as regions and the states as provinces.

“The existing states structure may not suffice, as the states are too weak materially and politically to provide what is needed for good governance.”

Atiku also weighed in on the ongoing debate over the desirability or otherwise of decentralising the nation’s police force, saying there was nothing wrong with each state having its own police unit so long as it could be insulated from and is independent of the state or regional government.

“Should we abolish the Nigerian Police because it is often abused by those in power at the federal level?  Should we abolish the state treasuries because governors abuse them? And should we also abolish local governments for the same reason? No. We should, as a people, struggle for and put in place institutional safeguards against abuse of power by those in power at all levels.

“We have a chance now to put many of those safeguards in a new constitution. The argument that governors will abuse state police is rather specious,” he added.

On decentralisation of power, he said: “Why should we be talking of federal roads and federal secondary schools?  Decentralisation is not an invitation to the breakup of the country and national unity should not continue to be confused with unitarism and concentration of power and resources at the federal level.

“Of course, I am aware that some of the main beneficiaries of our erstwhile regional parliamentary democracy have been hiding behind the call for restructuring to push for the breakup of the country because of their proximity to a finite natural resource and transient political power.”

Atiku said because of excessive centralisation and the military rule that facilitated it, the Nigerian president is the most powerful leader in the world.

“This is because he can quite literally unleash all security agencies on an individual or organisation, undermine the National Assembly, and turn the judiciary into an almost pro-government and conformist organ.

“This is not in the realm of speculation; it has been happening in this country. Indeed, I drew attention to it when I was in office as vice-president and was having a political face-off with my boss. It is not healthy for democracy and must be changed,” he said.

Supporting Atiku’s position, Danjuma described governors as powerful sole administrators who command enormous powers.
He said the governors are in control of ministers appointed at the national level, adding that even in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the president has no power without the governors who control the delegates.

“Our governors are the most powerful. There is the need for a radical and drastic restructuring of the country,” he stressed.

In his speech, Tinubu who lamented the cost of governance, called for the scrapping of the Senate, saying only the House of Representatives should be retained, as it is more representative of the people.

He queried why the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should have a first line charge, when its chairman has no power to appoint resident electoral commissioners (RECs).

He said it was not in the interest of democracy for the president to be appointing RECs.

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who received an award during the ceremony as Governor of the Year, however, told the gathering that there was hope in the country.

Fayemi, who spoke on behalf of the recipients of the awards, called on Nigerians not to lose hope in their country, adding that the desire to make the country better must be collective.

He said the opposition would make sure that they come together to provide an alternative to the ruling PDP.

The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of the Leadership Newspapers awards of Person of the Year to Danjuma, Governor of the Year to Fayemi and the Politician of the Year to House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

SOURCE:THISDAYLIVE

Read More

AMEACHI: DONT BLAME US FOR COLLAPSED BRIDGE.

The Rivers State Government has said it should not be blamed for the collapse of the over-head bridge which links the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway at the Air Force Base; Junction with the East-West Road.

A section of the bridge at the state ICT Centre collapsed on Sunday after a heavy rainfall that lasted more than five hours.

The incident also caused  massive traffic gridlock that lasted for many hours.
In a joint news conference, the state Commissioners for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari; Works, Chief Victor Giadom; and Transport, Mr. George Tolofari, said the bridge was constructed under the administration of former Governor Peter Odili.

According to the officials, the contract was awarded by the Special Projects Unit of the Office of then Governor Odili to Bulletin Construction Limited and engineers from the Ministry of Works were not involved in the supervision of the project.

Semenitari reiterated the determination of the Governor Chibuike Amaechi-led government to ensure that all projects awarded by the present administration passed through due process so that the state government could be held accountable for any breakdown on the roads and other projects.

“We are committed to delivering roads that are of standard and roads that will last for many years to the people of Rivers State. Before we award any contract, we pass through due process and other rigorous processes to ensure that our projects are of standard. We are not delivering sub-standard projects,” she said.

Semenitari also apologised for the inconveniences Rivers people were facing, especially in terms of bad roads. She assured them that the pains would soon be reduced, when construction works would start after the rains.

She however said the bridge would remain closed to motorists for about three months for total rehabilitation to be carried out on it.

Tolofari disclosed that while he and other top government officials were controlling traffic at the scene, till 10 pm on Sunday, a soldier wearing camouflage almost shot him, for preventing a military man from driving against traffic.
The transport commissioner noted that the military personnel serving in the state, who felt they were above the law, had on many occasions shot at officials of the Rivers State Road Traffic Management Authority (TIMA-RIV).

The three commissioners revealed that they would soon meet with the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air force in Port Harcourt on the need for their personnel to always be of good behaviour in public and to obey road traffic rules and regulations.

They said: “Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi does not drive against traffic. He shows good example by not taking one way and all of us are emulating him. The military men do not like to obey traffic rules and regulations. They always announce that they are military men. Rivers residents, including the military men, must always obey the law.”

Meanwhile, the State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said the government’s excuse as escapist and not satisfactory.

The ACN in a statement issued and signed by its publicity secretary, Jerry Needam, said government is a continuum and must not accord significance to projects based on who initiated or constructed them.

Needam said if the relevant authorities had taken proactive measures, upon noticing cracks on the flyover or finding out through soil test as it is claims that the construction of the bridge was faulty, the collapse would have been averted and the people saved the embarrassment and trauma occasioned by the Sunday incident.

SOURCE:THISDAYLIVE

Read More

DONT DISTRACT ME, JONATHAN TELLS POLITICIANS.

President Goodluck Jonathan With (from right), Govs Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Bar. Bala Nggilari, Govs Theodore Orji of Abia and Rotimi Amechi of Rivers State during a meeting on Saturday Night In Abuja. Photos-State House

President Goodluck Jonathan declared, yesterday, that he is presently preoccupied with serious governance and warned politicians not to distract him with politics of 2015, saying the next general elections in year 2015 was still three years away.

The president, who spoke, yesterday, in Lagos through his Senior Special Adviser on Research, Documentation and Strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas, at a media presentation of a book entitled Sure and Steady Transformation, said his main focus was to keep his promises to Nigerians which are already being witnessed across the country with the improvement in the power sector.

The 155-page book documents the numerous achievements of President Jonathan’s administration in first one year in office.

The President said the warning had become necessary given the preponderance of reports and comments on the 2015 election in national newspapers and other media channels.

He said in politics, 24 hours is a long time, and wondered why politicians are already talking about 2015 that is three whole years away.

He said: “There seems to be too much politics in Nigeria than governance. In other democracies, politics stops at the end of an election, and governance starts. But in Nigeria, it is the opposite.”

Politics will not put food on the table of the people. It is governance that will. Let us focus on governance.”

He advised Nigerians not to allow politicians distract them with talk about 2015 election, and focus on sincere assessment of his administration’s Transformation Agenda, which achievements in the last one year are documented in the book, and a website, www.sureandsteadytransformation.gov.ng.

Read More