LIVE STREAM OF PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN ADDRESSING NIGERIANS.

President of Nigeria addresses the Nation LIVE.

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I CANT DO IT ON MY OWN.

         President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said he could not single-handedly surmount the challenges confronting the nation.

Jonathan, at an  interdenominational church service to mark  the 52nd independence anniversary of the nation  at the National Christian Centre, Abuja,  stated  that only the collective efforts of all would take the country forward.

He  expressed the conviction that the problems of the nation would soon become things of the past.

The theme of the service was “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.”

The President said, “Leadership at all levels of government is a collective thing. One person cannot change a nation. The President, governors, lawmakers, members of the judiciary alone cannot do it.

“The leader matters but he cannot change things alone. All Nigerians, men and women, will change things in the country.

“If God can use Nehemiah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, in all arms of governments, I believe we have many Nehemiahs. There are many of them among teachers, artisans, and clergy.

“God will use these various Nehemiahs to rebuild this country. I can say again that Nigeria will succeed; with our cooperation we shall succeed!”

Jonathan said if the nation must rise above  diseases, insecurity and other ills, Nigerians must earnestly play their roles  and intercede for the land.

He said his administration had succeeded in sanitising the electoral process and assured stakeholders that more efforts were being put into the government’s anti-corruption war.

He said although the works might not be obvious to many now,  his administration had also been doing well in the economic sector.

 Promising  that his administration would continue to work hard on the security challenges in some parts of the country, he added that he and his aides would not sleep until power supply    stabilises in the country.

In his sermon at the service, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, described the fundamentalist  Islamic sect, Boko Haram, as a terrorist organisation.

Oritsejafor said the sect was being funded by some politicians who wanted to create political space for themselves as well as some outsiders who  desired Nigeria’s disintegration

He said, “Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation; you and I know it. The activities of Boko Haram are not fuelled by poverty but by a religious fundamentalist ideology.

“Boko Haram is funded from within by people who desire to use them to create political space for themselves and funded from without by those who want to see Nigeria divided along religious-ethnic lines.

“Boko Haram is also sustained by media apologist who feed the unsuspecting public with politically- incorrect half-truths.”

Oritsejafor said as a nation, if Nigerians were serious about getting answers to national prayers, they must turn from their wicked ways.

 The cleric identified the two conditions necessary for answered prayers as humility and turning from wickedness.

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, in his remarks said the nation’s independence anniversary called for a sober reflection and more prayer and supplication from all.

He said, “Together we can rescue our nation from its present difficulties. Nigeria would have been worst of if not for prayers.

“We have a divine responsibility to pray for the peace of our land, a nation bombarded with multiplicity of challenges. I urge church leadership to put on the armour of prayer to seek divine intervention from God. We must begin the process of mobilisation for prayers.”

Senate President David Mark read the first lesson of the service while Jonathan read the second.

Other dignitaries at the service were former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice- President Alex Ekwueme, members and the  leadership of the National Assembly, ministers, service chiefs, diplomatic corps and captains of industry.



SOURCE: THE PUNCH

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MEN WITH QUESTIONABLE REPUTATION WIN BID FOR POWER PLANTS.

      The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) Tuesday, in Abuja, opened the financial bids submitted by investors wishing to acquire the state-owned power generation companies, with foreign-based companies alongside their Nigerian partners emerging as winners of the power assets put up for sale or concession.

Some of the companies that emerged preferred bidders at the end of the exercise were backed by former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd); Chairman of Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola; Chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Trancorp), Mr. Tony Elumelu; former military governor of Kano State, Col. Sanni Bello (rtd); and oil and gas magnate, Mr. Tony Onoh.

Other prominent persons that bid for the power plants included former Chief of General Staff, Vice-Admiral Okhai Akhigbe, and a former senator and retired military officer, Brig. Gen, Tunde Ogbeha.

During the financial bid opening, Transcorp, alongside its partners, offered $300 million to emerge the preferred bidder for the 360 megawatts (mw) Ughelli power plant in Delta State.
Transcorp beat two other bidders, including Feniks Electricity and Amperion Power Distribution Limited, which offered bid prices of $54 million and $252 million respectively.

Both Transcorp and Amperion’s bid prices were, however, said to be above the reserve price, which enabled Amperion to emerge the reserve bidder for the Ughelli plant. The Amperion Group is jointly owned by Israeli-based BSG Resource Limited, State Grid Corporation of China and their local partner, Forte Oil.

Should Transcorp pay for Ughelli, it will be acquiring 100 per cent of the plant.

However, Amperion's $128.52 million as the sole bidder for the 414mw Geregu power plant fell below the reserve price of $132 million to acquire a 51-per-cent stake and was offered the chance to match the reserve price to win the power plant.

Also, CMEC/Eurafric Energy, comprising a Chinese firm and Eurafric, a Nigerian oil and gas firm owned by Tony Onoh, offered $201 million to secure the 120mw Sapele power station, thus defeating its contender JBN-Nestoil (Julius Berger Nigeria Plc-Nestoil), which offered only $80 million initially.

JBN-Nestoil, however, was allowed to revise its bid price to $106.5 million, a figure declared by the NCP to have exceeded the reserve price. By revising its price upwards, JBN-Nestoil automatically emerged the reserve bidder for the Sapele plant.

Meanwhile, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, which has ties to Bello, Akhigbe, Ogbeha and Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua, Chairman of Bullet Construction Company and patron of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN), who is the vice chairman of the consortium, was also the sole bidder for the Kainji-Jebba hydro electricity plants, as Mainstream offered $50,760,665.18 as fixed annual fees for the facility.

The Kainji-Jebba facility, we learnt, is a 15-year concession and not an outright sale. However, it shall attract a commencement fee of $257 million, which comprises the initial fee and the fixed annual fee.

Also, for the 600mw Shiroro power facility, North-South Power Limited, believed to have the backing of Babangida, offered to manage the firm under a concession for a fixed annual fee of $23,602,484.47 including a commencement fee of $111,654,534.30.

Speaking at the opening of financial bids for the generation assets, the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the NCP, Mr. Atedo Peterside, who has overseen the process, cautioned the jubilant successful companies to be mindful of the fact that their emergence as preferred bidders was still subject to the approval of NCP and that they could still be denied the opportunity of taking over the companies if they failed to pay their fees or if they were found wanting in documentation during post-bid assessment.

He added that the winners should not deem themselves “preferred bidders” yet until confirmation by the NCP and their ability to make a letter of credit or bank guarantee for 15 per cent of the bid amount.

“They will be given 15 business days after the NCP approval to comply and be designated preferred bidder,” he explained.

He said that the power privatisation and reform programme was now at full throttle with the opening of the bid for generation companies (gencos), noting that the power sector in the country has been saddled with insufficient funds and low electricity tariffs.

According to him, the privatisation of the distribution companies (discos) and gencos, besides the introduction of Manitoba as management contractor for the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the strengthening of the fuel to the power segment, would liberate the power sector from the low equilibrium trap.

He observed that if this is done, it “should help unleash long-term private sector investment activity in the country generally,” pointing out that “the electricity sector has segment that are intricately interwoven so in most nations, the pace at which results are achieved by the sector, as a whole, is determined by the weakest link in a complex and inter-dependent chain.”

Peterside concluded that the NCP had done its best to ensure that the genco transactions were accomplished in accordance with internationally accepted standards, stressing that the “NCP raised the qualification bar to ensure that only operators who are technically qualified and financially sound make it to the finishing line”.

In his remarks, Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Ishaku, described the successful conclusion of the exercise as a milestone in the history of the country, given the level of transparency attached to the entire selection processes.

Chairman, House Committee on Power, Mr. Patrick Ikhariale, said the event marked "a new dawn and glorious day" for the country as the issue of monopoly, which had been one of the major problems in the power sector, would be rested.

Also, Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Olugbenga Obadara, commended the exercise, adding that the Senate would intensify its oversight functions to ensure that the new management of the various generation companies are held in trust for Nigerians.

Similarly, the Managing Director of Transcorp, Mr. Obinna Ufudo, who spoke to THISDAY shortly after the bid opening, described his firm’s success as “good news to the development of the Nigerian economy”.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for us and the Nigerian electric power supply situation by bringing private input and resources to this sector,” Uffodo said.

He assured Nigerians that shortly, the country would begin to enjoy the benefits of having steady power supply.
He said: “Transcorp and our partners are very happy to have this opportunity and it is a new dawn for Transcorp and a new dawn for our shareholders and a new beginning for the whole country.”

SOURCE:THISDAYLIVE

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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.

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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*

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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.

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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

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