celebrity radar - gossips
Recession: FG To Sell Refineries, NLNG Shares & Presidential Aircraft
The Federal Government has concluded arrangements to sell the nation’s critical assets in order to raise $15 billion to rescue the country out of economic recession. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, disclosed this at a cabinet retreat hosted at the presidential villa, Abuja.
New Telegraph investigations revealed that some of the assets being considered for sale are government shares in Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
The national assets to be sold include the four refineries in Kaduna, Wari, and Port Harcourt as well as some aircraft in the presidential fleet. Speaking at the just concluded cabinet retreat, Udoma in a document entitled “Turning a Crisis into an Opportunity: the Economy and the 2017 Budget,” obtained by New Telegraph yesterday, explained that the sale of government assets, Advance Payment for License renewals, infrastructure concessioning and use of recovered funds from corrupt officials were part of strategies put in place by government to bridge the huge funding gap. Our correspondent confirmed that the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) contains 10 aircraft.
These are Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or AirForce One), one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500), two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and two Agusta Westland AW 101 helicopters. Each of the two Falcon 7X jets was purchased in 2010 by the Federal Government for $51.1 million, while the Gulfstream 550 costs $53.3 million.
The Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), owns 49 per cent shares in NLNG Limited while Shell Gas B.V. owns 25.6 per cent, Total LNG Nigeria Ltd owns 15 per cent and Eni International owns 10.4 per cent. In the four refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, the Federal Government has 100 per cent stake, which is up for sale.
The government has, since 1999 when the country returned to democracy, expended N264 billion on maintenance of the four refineries. In spite of billions claimed to have been spent by the NNPC over the last 16 years on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), the country’s refineries have remained in comatose.
The four refineries located in Port Harcourt (two), Warri and Kaduna have a combined capacity to refine 445,000 barrels of crude per day. The Senate yesterday threw its weight behind the Federal Government in the planned sales of the national assets. Senate President Bukola Saraki, at a plenary, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sell some important national assets as part of efforts to boost the country’s dwindling foreign reserves.
According to Saraki, “The executive must raise capital from asset sales and other sources to shore up foreign reserves. This will calm investors, discourage currency speculation and stabilise the economy.
“The measures should include part sale of NLNG Holdings; reduction of government’s share in upstream oil joint venture operations; sale of government stake in financial institutions e.g. Africa Finance Corporation; and the privatization and concession of major/regional airports and refineries.”
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote,have expressed support for the sale of the national assets.
Emefiele said the best option open to government is to sell the assets. “In the short run, we can sell assets… before the government came on board, I had opined that there was need for the government to scale down or sell off some of its investments in oil and gas, particularly in the NNPC and NLNG as at that time when the price of oil was around $50-$55 per barrel.
“We actually commissioned some consultants that conducted the study and, at the end of that study, we were told that if we sold 10% to 15% of our holding in the oil and gas sector, we could realise up to $40 billion,” the CBN governor said at the weekend.
At the weekend, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, specifically told the Federal Government to sell its stake in the NLNG, to beef up foreign reserves.
A communique issued at the end of the ministe-rial retreat indicate that the Budget and National Planning Minister had explained that “government was working hard to resolve the militant disruptions in the Niger Delta, and, in addition, a fiscal stimulus strategy was being developed involving, amongst other things, a plan to generate and inject large amount of funds, principally in foreign currency, estimated at $10 – $15 billion into the economy through Asset Sales, Advance Payment for License renewals, infrastructure.”
The Federal Government intends to achieve the sale of the assets through introduction of measures, including presidential orders that could fast track transaction processes. Buhari is expected to send to the leadership of the Senate soon an Emergency Economic Recovery Bill (EERB) that will take care of some of the challenges that are likely to thwart the sale process.
“Government was also planning to introduce measures for fast-tracking procedures so as to speed up the processes for getting these funds into the economy. Some of these will be achieved by Presidential Orders and Directives. “In addition, an Emergency Economic Recovery Bill is also being prepared for submission to the National Assembly to deal with those changes requiring legislation,” Udoma said.
The key resolutions, according to the communiqué issued at the end of the retreat and obtained yesterday by New Telegraph, are: (i) The programme of action for dealing with the recession and the current effort of government in developing an Economic Emergency Recovery Bill to address the situation, as well as the plan to bridge the funding gap was endorsed by participants; (ii) The need to prioritise capital spending in the 2017 budget in the area of infrastructure development, agriculture and social intervention; (iii) The retreat participants agreed on 2-3 quick-win areas to be implemented before the end of 2016 and six priority/ programme project areas for the 2017 Budget.
The quick wins agreed on are: (i) Immediate implementation of the social intervention programmes (School Feeding, N-Power; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scheme; Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), etc.; (ii) Effective communication of government projects, programmes and policies to the citizens will go a long way in mobilising support for government to succeed; (iii) Local debt repayment, including debt owed states and contractors to stimulate spending.
Meanwhile, government has confirmed that the 2016 Budget poor performance is reflective of the low revenue out-turns attributable to the global and domestic developments earlier highlighted.
“Oil revenues fell significantly in the second quarter compared to the first quarter as a result of increased oil pipeline vandalism and production shut-ins.
“Non-oil revenues also declined due to the acute shortage of foreign exchange,” Udoma said. The minister said that the failure to diversify the economy and implement the national goals due to lack of discipline in the past had made the country witness negative growth. Udoma said the major factor responsible for the recession was the overdependence of the economy on revenues from a single commodity, petroleum.
According to him, revenue source is not sustainable since the country doesn’t control the price of crude oil.
He said unsustainable structure was characterised by some indices, including “oil sector less than nine per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but about 80 per cent of government revenue and 95 per cent of Forex.” Other indices are “nonoil sector about 90 per cent of GDP (of which 52 per cent was indirectly dependent on oil) but less than 20 per cent of government revenue.
According to him, another index is declining capital expenditure with rising recurrent expenditure (2015 about 10 per cent capital) and import dependent consumption growth model with stagnant growth in investment to GDP.
New Telegraph
celebrity radar - gossips
TINUBU IS THE WISEST MAN EARTH -PROPHET IKURU
TINUBU IS THE WISEST MAN EARTH -PROPHET IKURU.
by Collins Nkwocha
Nigerian prophet, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos magnetized everyone’s attention when he referred to the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the wisest man on earth regarding the appointment of Daniel Bwala as special Adviser on policy communications.
Speaking to reporters today in Lagos,
Prophet Ikuru applauded the president for choosing him and enunciated that he’s capable of delivering effectively and marketing the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president and urged Nigerians to stop the criticism because of what he said in the past “I’m personally happy with his appointment and I urge Nigerians to forget about the past, forget about what he must have said about the president some years ago which people are now disseminating on the social and taunting him a betrayal that lacks integrity, Nigerians should forget his past because he’s the best choice”.
Prophet Ikuru insisted that Bwala saw the sincerity and genuity of the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda and he decided to partake in it “even if he criticized the president, it was in the past, he saw the sincerity in the Renewed Hope Agenda and decided to join in nation building ,the president is ready to unite everyone in order to build Nigeria,that’s why someone like Wike is in his government,Bwala has what it’s required to be successful under Mr.president, as a wise man, the president saw it and decided to harness it ”
Finally, he praised Tinubu and referred to him as a great leader who is ready to involve everyone in his government, he maintained that his wisdom is magnanimous ,Baba is truly the wisest man on earth.
celebrity radar - gossips
U.S. Courtroom Shock: Funke Ashekun, Husband Collapse as MFM Wins
U.S. Courtroom Shock: Funke Ashekun, Husband Collapse as MFM Wins
celebrity radar - gossips
Had FFK Faced Mehdi Hassan, Nigeria Would Have Spoken With Fire
Had FFK Faced Mehdi Hassan, Nigeria Would Have Spoken With Fire
By Mohammed Bello Doka
In politics, timing is everything. In diplomacy, character is everything. And in moments of national importance, leadership must be entrusted to individuals who possess not only experience but courage, intellect and an unshakable commitment to the nation they represent.
It is for this reason that the appointment of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as Nigeria’s Ambassador to a foreign nation stands out as one of the most consequential diplomatic decisions in recent years.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, better known in the South as “FFK” and in the North as “Sadauki”, is one of the most brilliant, experienced, accomplished, vocal, respected, educated, profound, intellectual, patriotic, disciplined, well-read, historically literate, versatile, forceful, persuasive, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, charming, eloquent, courageous and resilient men in Nigerian politics and he has paid his dues and proved his worth over the last 35 years in politics and political discourse.
In each role he has played he has excelled and succeeded even when he was in opposition.
His friends value him as a great and loyal defender and his traducers and political adversaries fear and respect him because when he goes to war he is utterly relentless, takes no prisoners and literally spits fire.
How I wish it was him that was interviewed by Mehdi Hassan of Al Jazeera and not the young and inexperienced Daniel Bwala because he would have not only humbled Hassan but also done Nigeria proud.
He played Bwala’s present role in the Presidential Villa 23 years ago as President Olusegun Obasanjo’s spokesman and not only brought the then President’s domestic enemies to their knees but also had a series of very hot exchanges with foreign Government officials like America’s Under-Secreatary of State for Africa Jendaye Fraser and the White House over the Charles Taylor issue and Liberia.
Tinubu decision to appoint him as an Ambassador for our nation was a wise one because he will fight for and protect the interests of Nigeria and the Nigerian community whetever he goes and will never sell his soul or bow to foreign imperialist interests.
His appointment is not about just rewarding loyalty for the key role he played in Tinubu’s presidentiel campaign organisation as Director of New Media and Special Operations in 2023 and the staunch support he has given the President over the last three years but also about putting a square peg in a square hole.
If you want to put Nigeria first Sadauki is the one to do it.
If he runs the Nigerian Mission in the country that he is sent to in the same way he ran the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Aviation when he was Minister to each of them one after the other twenty years ago he will do very well and both our nation and whichever nation he is posted to itself will benefit from his efforts.
History teaches that diplomacy is most effective when nations deploy individuals who possess both intellect and courage.
As the American statesman Henry Kissinger once noted, “Diplomacy is the art of restraining power.”
To do so successfully requires deep historical awareness and strategic clarity—qualities that have long defined Fani-Kayode’s political career.
Sending a politically seasoned voice like FFK to any nation that is a key partner to Nigeria signals that Bola Ahmed Tinubu intends to strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic posture with confidence.
Throughout more than three decades in the political arena, Fani-Kayode has remained one of the most resilient and outspoken figures in Nigerian public life despite numerous challenges which would have broken and destroyed lesser men.
Regardless of all that was thrown at him he continues to pull through and come out victorious which is why many refer to him as the “Akanda Eledumare” and the “Ayanfe Oluwa” which mean “the strange one of God” and “the beloved of the Lord”.
There appears to be a divine dimension to his life that makes him unstoppable and irrepressible even though his enemies are legion.
One wonders what sets him apart and makes him so different.
There is no doubt that his education played a part in it and this set him apart from most.
He never went to school in Nigeria but was educated from the age of eight in England starting off at Holmewood House School in Kent, one of the UK’s best and most famous Preparatory schools, after which he attended the famous Harrow School just outside London which is, together with Eton College, an institution that is the exclusive preserve of high society in the UK, one of the two best private schools in that country where only the ruling elite, the rich, the well-to-do, the famous and only a tiny proportion of those in British high society can afford or even qualify to attend.
No less than eight British Prime Ministers, including the great Sir Winston Churchill, and countless British cabinet ministers attended Harrow and so did many leaders, diplomats and top politicians from many foreign countries.
After finishing at Harrow he attended some of the top universities in the world, including London University (SOAS) and Cambridge University (Pembroke College) where he did so well.
As a matter of fact his great grandfather, Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode, attended Furrough Bay College which at that time was part of Durham University and graduated with an MA (Hons.) in Theology in 1893. His grandfather Justice Adedapo Kayode attended Cambridge University (Selwyn College) where he studied law and graduated in 1922. His father Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode attended Cambridge University (Downing College) where he studied law and graduated in 1943. Sadauki himself graduated in law at Cambridge University (Pembroke College) in 1984 whilst his daughter Folake Fani-Kayode graduated from Durham University in 2009.
No African family has an uninterrupted streak of 116 years of Oxbridge-level university graduates except for the Fani-Kayode’s which is something that both his family and every patriotic Nigerian should be proud of.
It therefore makes perfect sense that a man from such a distinguished pedigree and intimidating lineage and that has such an extraordinary intellectual heritage should represent Nigeria on the international stage.
There is also his role in the debate on Gaza which made him a hero in the eyes of millions of people in the Global South both amongst Christians and Muslims.
He spoke out consistently about what he described as the genocide being committed against the Palestinians and he was prepared to put his life and career on the line for this cause even though most Nigerian leaders and politicians refused to say what he was saying publicly out of fear of the Zionist lobby and the Jewish state.
His sense of patriotism is unquestionable and nothing reflects this better than his series of essays written against Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Opposition Conservative Party and his write up against one Ben Llewelyn-Jones, who at that time was the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, when the former consistently sought to insult and denigrate Nigeria and the Nigerian people and the latter attempted to interfere in our internal affairs by making statements in support of Peter Obi and his Obidients in the 2023 presidential elections.
Sadauki successfully put them both in their place and when American Senator Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump, Congressman Tim Riley and other American politicians began to peddle the false narrative and fake gospel of Christian genocide and persecution in Nigeria Sadauki, a devout Christian himself, rose to the challenge and more than any other Nigerian wrote about the issue in a series of essays pointing out the fact that as many Muslims were being killed as Christians by the terrorists in our country and that Christians were not being persecuted by our Government and are in fact faring better when it comes to positions in the security apparatus and governance under Tinubu than they did in the previous administration.
He also spoke out boldly against President Trump and his administration when they accused the Government of South Africa of indulging in genocide against the white minority population in their country and pointed out the fact that South Africa, like Brazil, was a shining example of a successful multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation that was treating its white minority population with the greatest respect. Few Africans said a word to defend South Africa at the time even though they knew that Trump was wrong but Sadauki did so without thinking twice.
He is clearly a strong Pan-Africanist and a believer in the importance of the African Union, African solidarity, the BRICS coalition and the Global South alliance comprising of China, Russia, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other emerging world powers.
This is commendable and it reflects his courage and disdain for those that display ignorance, disdain and contempt for our nation and people and that seek to denigrate and misrepresent us.
Sadauki is not the type that bows and quivers before Westerners like so many other Nigerian leaders and politicians but rather takes pride in his Nigerian culture, race, heritage and identity and is prepared to defend us and speak for us no matter whose ox is gored and who is involved.
In an increasingly competitive global environment, Nigeria requires diplomats capable not only of negotiation but also of defending national interests with conviction.
If the energy, eloquence and intellectual fire that have defined Fani-Kayode’s political life accompany him to the country to which he has been posted, his tenure may well become one of the most consequential chapters in Nigeria’s modern diplomatic engagements.
I wish him well and I thank God that he is back in the saddle of public office after so many years.
What more could any of us ask of this great and noble son of Nigeria?
This is undoubtedly the quality of personnel and leaders that we need on the international stage.
I hope and pray that in his endeavours and during the course of his work he meets with Mehdi Hassan in a debate and prove to him and the rest of the world that Nigeria still has men that can not only match them but that can also remove their trousers in any verbal encounter. Bwala put us to shame but FFK can redeem us before the eyes of the world.
(Mohammed Bello Doka, the author of this essay, is the publisher of Abuja Network News and can be reached via [email protected])
-
society6 months agoReligion: Africa’s Oldest Weapon of Enslavement and the Forgotten Truth
-
news3 months agoWHO REALLY OWNS MONIEPOINT? The $290 Million Deal That Sold Nigeria’s Top Fintech to Foreign Interests
-
society6 months ago“You Are Never Without Help” – Pastor Gebhardt Berndt Inspires Hope Through Empower Church (Video)
-
Business7 months agoGTCO increases GTBank’s Paid-Up Capital to ₦504 Billion




You must be logged in to post a comment Login