Yoru_Igbo:

Please can you exp-antiate more on these culture you are talking about? I have lived in both igbo and Yoruba land and I still struggle to understand or see these culture in any of our society. In igbo land we have stopped worshipping amadioha and in youbaa land no more sango, ogun and oya so what other tradition are we missing out from? is it respect your elders? smoking and drinking? abi na dressing? abeg please educate me on the culture my kids will miss out from if they live abroad

when I talk about culture I am mainly talking about language. Language is a big part of your cultural identity. I did not say kids living abroad will not learn culture. The point I am trying to make is that when you see other immigrant groups who are in west, many of their children can speak and understand their native language. but for some reason many nigerian parents refuse to teach their children their native language and even boast that their children only hears english. They will even be impressed that their child knows how to speak spanish or some other langugage even though their child can't hear their own native language. If the child can speak and understand their native language they will at least always know where they come from.


This rising trend is a recipe for destroying ones own identity. These kids today who can't speak their own language will grow up and not be able to teach their kids their language. This trend will continue until the language goes extinct.

Latinos, Chinese and other groups have stuck with their language so well that many applications  have both english, and spanish and sometimes mandarin written. If those groups threw their language away you wouldn't be seeing this occur on an increasing trend.

When I think about why other immigrant groups are able to keep their language despite living in west, I ask why not nigerians. The only reason I can think of is that many nigerians have some level of inferiority complex. They believe their language is less than, so they easily let it go.

norrisman:

Oxymoron

it's not an oxymoron. I'm talking about the historical events which tooks place more than 70 years ago.

Yoru_Igbo:

Rubbish!!! I know loads of Nigerians in Lagos, Abuja and Portharcourt with Kids who don't speak their language, who hasn't gone to their village for one reason or the other, in fact all they speak is English sometimes because parent don't even speak the same language but trust me I know families in the UK with kids that understand Nigerian culture more than most Nigerian children simply by coming home once a year!!

That is an even bigger inferiority complex that is being suffered by those in Nigeria that throw their language away. Throwing ones language away and only speaking english is not smart. One of main reasons people do that is they feel inferior and don't put value on what they have.

Kobojunkie:

The problem with Nigerians like you is your IMPOSE upon others what you have DECIDED to take on as your conviction. There is NO TABLET out there that commands that all Nigerians MUST stick to just the nigerian culture or the way of our fathers when dealing. We have seen how some of the evil perpetrated in Nigeria today, and for generation, has been rooted in that same culture you cling to.

People have a right to choose to cling to old ideals , or not. Those who believe there is better out there have every freedom to choose a different path. That you believe that probably if you let go of your culture, your life will be inferior DOES NOT mean the next man feels exactly the same way of these things.

Please read what I wrote before writing this rubbish. I never said Nigerians couldn't have their culture AND another. I said they shouldn't throw theirs away. With the way its going in next few generations many of the language in nigeria will probably be going extinct. Again, why is it that others like chinese, indians, etc all cling on to their culture, while nigerians forget about theirs because they feel speaking english and forgetting their native language makes them feel superior.

The problem with Nigerians abroad and maitaining their culture has to do with inferiority complex. Why is it that many other immigrant groups stick close to their culture, while many Nigerians will throw theirs into the bush.

Many of the problems Nigerians experience today in Nigeria is a symptom of the lack of national pride and selflessness. While things began to rot, if people organized and came together and said "no" its possible things would not be as bad today.

One of the reasons why countries like america got to where it is today is that the people as saw themselves as americans and were willing to do what it took to make the country a better place.

cuteonyii:

please poster make your research very well before you start typing and posting.

Which debt?
which stress?
which Education?

I spent my 32 years in NIgeria schooling and working. I never counted N 100,000.00 in my a/c.
I been here in USA for 2 years, not showing off i been counting in mils,
MY HND is evaluated to be equivalent to BSC and am working with it.
most times i spend only few hours in my work place and have a lot of free time,

Even though the economy is bad now,  there is no comparison between USA and Nigeria in any way.

So for all these year in Nigeria you could do much and all of a sudden withing 2 years in U.S. u couting millions of dollars, lol   . It is these kinds of statements that make people in Nigeria to think people abroad come by money very easily. And that they are all living large.

america's debt situation has to do with  spending more than is generated so they borrow from countries like China to finance their budget. Those loans come with interest of course.

Things got way out of hand once wars began to be fought, a prescription drug benefit was passed, tax cuts were passed, Bank bailout, and stimulus was passed. Also programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid have costs which are rising really fast. All these actions involved spending money without new sources of revenue. So as you can see, the debt situation kept getting worse.

America does not have to eliminate all its debt, it can continue on a long time with debt, but it just has to be managed so that it doesn't get to a point thats out of hand.


The thing mentioned about culture is true. Many nigerians who come to america fail to ensure their kids understand their culture and language. It's hard to understand this trend b/c even other groups of people like the Chinese, Latinos, etc all still stick to their culture and ensure their children can speak their language. Many of those kids are given traditional names. In the case of Nigerians, many simply throw away anything about their culture.

ekt_bear:

You pay property taxes explicitly if you own your own home, and implicitly even if you rent. Your landlord will tack on the tax into your rent.
I guess nothing is really "free", again you pay for it through some tax/fee of some sort. But yeah, you just put the trash in your bins then haul it out in front of your house on trash day.

hmm, guess your city or county must have a lot of money. In many other places the city may be the one providing the service but you will receive a bill in the mail for you to pay for the service. If you don't pay your bill the garbage truck will skip your house when collecting garbage.

dayokanu:

Compare house in NYC with house in Lekki and Asokoro and lets know what you have.

Odumchi,

Texas is one of the biggest state and has one of the cheapest real Estates for an economically viable state

For 200k you would get the equivalent of a mansion in Nigeria. In an area with security, Good roads, Good schools that doesnt flood

I live in Texas and I know this

So a 3 or 4 bedroom house now qualifies as a mansion?

ekt_bear:

This complaining about homes in the US is a bit dumb. As @oyb points out, when you buy a home in Nigeria, you become your own LGA. You must provide your own power, security, buy education for your kids, etc.

When you buy a house in the US, you don't have to hire your own security, supply your own power, etc. If you keep up with your property taxes, you can also send your kids to the local schools for free.

Trash taken away for free.
That home I linked to earlier, property taxes are $6500 annually. So if you have 4 kids, you can send them all to the public schools there for free (assuming you've kept up with your taxes).

How much do you think your average wealthy Nigerian spends annually on educating his children? Probably $5k+/kid.

Nigeria is an extremely expensive place, man

Everyone does not pay property tax. That is for those who live in a home they bought and not those that live in apartments,etc.  Public education from K-12th grade is free in most or all places whether you pay taxes or not b/c some people who are very low income don't make enough to pay taxes but they kids can still attend public grade school.

So you really have a garbage truck that comes to your house and picks up garbage for free? I find that hard to believe, unless you don't own your own home.

2bosun:

That is true but you cannot under-estimate the influence of the Finance Minister's position on the economy. The Finance minister works together with the CBN to create policies that move the economy forward. May I remind you also that he was the Chairman of the much trumpeted economic team (NEMT), which also had the CBN governor on board. He had his chances to make a difference, he simply couldn't.

Yes that is true. the Finance minister and Central Bank governor need to work together so their policies don't contradict each other. Aganga should have been more forceful in trying to cut down the recurrent expenditure in the budget. The annual budget should contain a greater percent of money for capital projects than on paying salaries.

the trade and investment ministry replaces the commerce and investment ministry. Hope Aganga will deliver.

2bosun:

As "unreliable" as wikipedia is, there is almost always some truth in their entries. Show me otherwise and I'll take a bow- anyone with a brain can become investment banker.

That's the familiar excuse, he had the time to create a sovereign wealth fund, which is basically losing money now. He could have also seen that the budget deficit and recurrent expenditure was unsustainable, that mopping up the economy at the cost of N500bn/yr to reduce inflation is madness, and that Nigeria will NEVER move forward with banks lending at interest rates of 20%.

He should have attacked the fiscal and monetary framework immediately but he decided to do what all IB's do which is to take risks with our money. At least inflation was in single digits with Ngozi in charge, - at this rate (10%), a tear rubber Toyota Camry could cost N20m in 10 years!

Far from it, I have one of such degrees and I'm far from incompetent. Having said that, I think I would rather have an economist in charge of a $40bn budget than a scientist, theologian, or IB. What do you think?

It is not the Finance Minister's job to manage the inflation rate. That is the role of the Central Bank through monetary policy.

looking at how France destroyed Canada 4-0 it seems Super Falcons actually did pretty good.

The thing which is glaring from both the France and Germany game is the lack of any real offensive attack. Super Falcons are not really able to control the ball and generate strong attack. They kept relying and kicking the ball downfield  and hoping that one of their players will get it.  The Germans did their homework and were ready for that.

Super Falcons need to get better training for off-ball movement and in dribbling skills.  Either a new coach who can train the girls better is needed or Coach Uche needs to attend training sessions for coaches between now and next world cup to really learn more.

Coach Uche doesn't really know how to make adjustments at half-time.

Other than that, the Super Falcons played good against Germany. Not many thought they could keep up with Germany.

all this boko haram nonsense is being driven by politicians.  Is today that islam existed in states like borno. All of a sudden they want total sharia state etc.  Until Nigeria becomes a country that is more serious about security and where there are no sacred cows, these kind of things will keep happening.  These boko haram get their funding from somewhere. It's about figuring out who their sponsors are.

super falcons did not play good at all. all they did was send long ball. they never made passes up the field to score.  How can they not be fit when they have had all this time to train?

why must they force their own beliefs on other nations?

hopefully her prior experience as Finance Minister will help her to perform even better this time

Nigerians must be ready to pay for democracy

By Jide Jegede
May 23, 2011 02:00AM



The chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Ayo Adeseun, has said that Nigerians should be ready to bear the cost if they truly desire a working democracy.

Mr Adeseun, who defended the jumbo pay of the members of the national assembly, encouraged Nigerians to look at the fruit of democracy rather than the financial input.

“Democracy is not cheap. Democracy is very expensive. But the product of the expense is what the people should focus on,” he said. We have not been doing that. People malign us in the assembly, that we are stealing the money. Well, I think we must have a whipping boy. Somebody must be at the receiving end. But if Nigerians want democracy they must be willing to pay for it.”

The lawmaker, who was elected on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the last election to represent Oyo Central in the senate, also hinted that the house would settle the N10 billion loan crisis before it winds up its parliamentary sessions this week.

Last week, the lower chamber of the nation’s legislature almost sacked the speaker, Dimeji Bankole, over the allegation of taking a N10 billion loan in the name of the house, a development that has affected the allowances of members.

However, Mr Adeseun told journalists last weekend that the lapses arose from an error made in the 2010 budget of the national assembly, adding that the hope of accommodating the effect of the error in the 2011 appropriation bill was dashed by the alarm raised by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the allegation that the legislature gulps the chunk of the nation’s overhead.

According to him, were it not for the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to sign the recently passed supplementary budget, the issue would not have blown open to the public.

‘Jumbo pay is necessary’

According to Mr Adeseun, the leadership of the house was making necessary efforts to see that the issues are resolved “in a matter of days” and to ensure that the house does not close on a rancourous note.

“It is most unfortunate that the event came about because it takes away from the very quality work that the house had done in the last four years and it is a disservice to the members and the institution itself. But that is life. We can’t always determine how events unfold. We are very much on top of the situation and we will soon resolve the matter,” Mr Adeseun said. “I am confident that in the next few days we would have resolved the crisis in the house. All efforts are underway to ensure that members are paid their entitlements and that the house closes on a very positive note.”

Speaking in defence of the humongous constituency allowances accruable to the federal lawmakers, Mr Adeseun said they were provided for to ensure that each of them effectively performed their oversight function.

He disclosed that there are many expenses the lawmakers incur while carrying out such oversight functions that could not be recorded for public record.

The lawmaker however agreed that many of his colleagues simply convert the allowances to personal use, while the jobs they are meant for are left undone.

Mr Adeseun also spoke against the manner in which projects were being abandoned or badly executed across the country. Insisting that the nation did not lack the laws to address these anomalies, he said the implementation of those laws was the problem.





http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5703828-147/nigerians_must_be_ready_to_pay.csp

@jason123

why are you posting pictures of lagos light rail. Isnt it of topic, since they are two separate projects.

jason123:

Nigerians, we have our First MAN-MADE ISLAND.

Eko Atlantic City is NOT an island. An island is a body of land completely surrounded by water. Eko Atlantic is made by extending the Victoria Island coastline.

Fiver:

Any plans to build a rail link to the mainland from this city?

The Lagos light rail project and Eko Atlantic City are two separate projects. There is no connection of the rail system for both area.

PDP Opts out of Presidential Debate
11 Mar 2011

Dr. Haliru Mohammed, PDP Acting Nattional Chairman


By Imam Imam in Lagos and Chuks Okocha in Abuja

As the presidential debate organised by the Network News 24 Television (NN24 TV) kicks off Friday, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will not participate in the debate as the party was not properly invited.

And commenting on the debate controversy, Special Adviser to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas, said while President Goodluck Jonathan is not afraid of debate, the organisers were acting in an uncoordinated manner.

According to the schedule of programmes for the debate unveiled yesterday by the organisers, the vice-presidential candidates of four political parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), PDP, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – will participate in the television debate to be aired in all Nigerian television stations, BEN TV in the United Kingdom, Sky Television from 6 to 9 pm Friday.

But the PDP Presidential Campaign Council said the party’s presidential candidate, Jonathan, and his running mate, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, were not properly invited and therefore would not be taking part in the debate.

The Council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Mallam Abba Dabo, told THISDAY that the party was currently in campaigns and that Sambo has party activities in Kano Friday.

According to Dabo, “we were not properly invited. Moreover, the vice-president will be attending a PDP reconciliation meeting in Kano tomorrow (Friday) and so he will not be attending. The party is currently in the middle of its campaigns and therefore PDP will not be participating in the television debate, whether for the president or for the vice-president.”

It was further gathered that PDP backed out of the television debate because there were no concrete agreements on the nature of questions to be asked and how to admit the studio audience.

PDP, it was gathered, felt the presidential debate was a bait for some of the political parties to embarrass its presidential candidate and the running mate.

Releasing the details of the presidential debate to be anchored by Jonathan Mann of the Cable News Network (CNN) and Khadaria Ahmed of the NEXT newspaper, the trio of Anthony Dara of the NN24 TV, Newspaper Columnist Haruna Adamu and Clement Baite said that they had an agreement in principle that all the four listed political parties would attend.

On why the organisers were limiting the number of political parties to be invited to only four, Dara, who is the Chief Executive Officer of NN24 TV, said they took into cognizance the issues of spread and reach of the political parties before extending their invitation.

But the presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Oworu, told journalists that the organisers were myopic and out to cause mischief.

“How can they not invite all the political parties that are fielding candidates at the presidential elections? What are the criteria for inviting only four, if not for the purposes of mischief and myopism?” he asked.

Also another group, the Nigeria Election Debate Group headed by the former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Taiwo Alimi, will between March 28 and 30 organise their own version of television debate for all the presidential candidates and their running mates.

Meanwhile, Douglas told journalists in Lagos Wednesday night that a lack of coordination among the debate organisers was the major hindrance to the president's participation.

He said so far, no fewer than four groups had invited Jonathan to participate in their debates, a situation he said was almost impossible considering the tight schedule of the president.

He said with the campaigns gaining momentum by the day, the president had been busy visiting almost two states per day, “so it is difficult to abandon the campaign for multiple debates”.

Douglas said since the campaign schedules were drawn up over a month ago, altering them at this point would create logistical problems for the campaign team.

"The president is not afraid of debate. The insinuation in some quarters that he is shying away from facing his co-contestants is not true. As a former teacher, the president is not afraid of facing such challenges. He is focussed and wants avenues to further remind Nigerians what he has done for the country and what he intends to do if elected," he said.

The presidential aide said the last few months had provided opportunity for Jonathan to reaffirm his commitment to the country, adding that already, a majority of the people had keyed into his message of unity, stability and hope.

He urged Nigerians to keep faith with the president, adding that everything promised them during the campaign would be fulfilled after May 29.

"Don’t forget the fact that Mr. President has overtime proven to be the symbol of unity for the entire country. You can see from his campaign messages that the era of divisive politics is over. He is today telling all Nigerians that they can achieve their potentials and that a conducive atmosphere is being created for all persons to achieve their full greatness," he added.



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/pdp-opts-out-of-presidential-debate/87658/

Beaf:

The bolded is a very funny question, don't you think? Dude, Akpabio is Fashola's mate; GEJ and Ribadu are not. Protocol.
As for the links you asked, I guess you are being funny or cracking a new kind of joke, cos every informed person knows the source of that info. Come on, tell me you're pulling my legs! lol

Why engage in arguments when you arent clued up?

So just because Fashola was not mentioned means he is no good ehh. Fashola has received various awards internationally on leadership and governance. I don't hear about Akpabio receiving awards. Anyways I don't know why you are here trying to argue who is better. If both are doing good, thats all I care about. Each have their own unique challenges to deal with. Lagos has a lot more challenges than Akwa Ibom.



again i ask What meaninful debate would Fashola have against Akpabio if they are not contesting for same office?

Beaf:

You must be very daft. Whoever said I am against a presidential debate? It always wise to read through the thread before airing your smelly arse through your mouth.
It is not Fashola's place to call for a debate, that is for Ribadu to do. Fashola is a mere governor who is getting too big for his boots and talking crap all over the place.

Let him go debate Akpabio who is noted to be Nigeria's best governor by independent foreign watchers and knowledgable Nigerians. Lets see how small he would look at the end of what would be a humbling experience.

ANYONE can present their opinion on the need for a presidential debate. How hard is that to understand. Did Fashola specifically say "Jonathan should debate Ribadu"? No he didn't. All he said was generally Nigeria should begin to have presidential debate. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT? The common man on the street is free to say that, it makes no difference if they are running for presidency or not?

What business does Fashola have debating Akpabio? They are not competing for the same position. Please provide credible links (not wikipedia) to the so called foreign watches that place Akpabio as the best governor. until then, your claim is simply your own opinion.

no wonder this country does not move forward when people who think like @beaf are the ones in control. Some of you who are against presidential debate need to get your head examined. So the other countries in the world that have presidential debates are stupid for doing so ehh.

Presidential debates will separate the contenders from the pretenders. We will see who has really studied the situation of nigeria and has tangible plans for moving the country forward. Fashola or anyone else can call for Nigeria to begin to have Presidential debates. With the amount of corruption in the government there should be debates for local government, governorship and presidential races.

How can you be comparing the situation of Fashola to Akpabio? Akwa Ibom is an oil producing state so they are automatically on better footing financially. Akwa Ibom should be much more developed than Lagos with its smaller population but why is it not.

this jonathan govt. is unbelievably wasteful. How can Jega and govt. spend almost N100 billion on machines and now want to throw them out the window.

Why can't they use the DDC machines as a way to verify that the person coming to vote has registered. then person can submit paper ballot. They don't have to vote through a computer. They should have had a bar code printed on each card which would get scanned by computer and pull up info of the person to make sure they are legitimately registered.

I really don't know who should win this upcoming Presidency election .

Jonathan is too wasteful,

Buhari is old and still doesn't believe that more private sector participation and not government can move country forward fast,

Ribadu has not really articulated what he really wants to do or what his economic plans are,


Pat Utomi's party has no real weight to sway votes.


oh boy. I can't tell where Nigeria's future is heading.

This PDP candidate Dosunmu is clueless. This guy really wants to turn everything over to the Federal government. We have seen how the Federal government has woefully failed and this guy is advocating more of of it.

Fashola should win by a landslide.

Dosunmu takes on Fashola

By Segun Balogun


February 18, 2011 01:51AM


The construction of the proposed fourth mainland bridge formed the core of the debate between second term-seeking Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, and his main rival, Peoples Democratic Party’s gubernatorial candidate, Adegboyega Dosumu, on Thursday. Both candidates, during the debate organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, agreed to the immense need of the bridge but differed on their preferred mode of implementation.

How they sparred

Mr Dosumu indicted the governor’s administration for not commencing the construction of the fourth mainland bridge as promised while campaigning in 2006 and concluded that “the federal government built the third mainland bridge and therefore the fourth mainland bridge will also be built by the federal government.” “Let me sound a note of warning here,” he said. “Lagosians will be taxed out of existence if the state government constructs that bridge.”

However, the governor, intermittently addressed Mr Dosumu as “my friend” and “my opponent,” said that a responsible government will never concede its people’s needs to impossibility, especially because “the federal government has proven quite unreliable where needed most by Nigerians.” “The federal government has kept us in perpetual darkness and has not even maintained the federal roads, so while my friend will prefer to wait for the federal government, I have chosen to take my destiny in my hand,” he said, explaining that the vicissitudes of the global financial meltdown stalled the construction project.

Mr Dosumu fired the second salvo by accusing the state government of spending taxpayers fund unnecessarily by undertaking projects meant to be done by the federal government. He blamed the state for not cooperating with the Lagos Infrastructure Development Authority, an agency of the presidency saddled with building infrastructure in Lagos State. “NDDC accessed N500bn from the federal government and nothing stops LIDA from doing the same but the policies of the state government does not allow the agency to operate smoothly,” he said, promising that the federal government will be more forthcoming about issues concerning Lagos if elected as governor.

The manifestoes

Drawing from his performance in the last four years, Mr Fashola said that he will achieve his plan for Lagos as “Africa’s model megacity of eight independent but interconnected cities.” However, Mr Dosumu said his manifesto will soon be released to the public but offered a preview of his plan for the state, the highlight of which is to provide low cost housing, and implement liberal taxation policy. “Public utilities can only be affordable if it is run by the government because the private sector only thinks of making profit,” he said. “That is why there is clear difference between public and business administration.” He promised to reduce the tax burdens of businesses to forestall further relocation of businesses from Lagos.

Reacting, Mr Fashola said the tax laws was made by the PDP dominated National Assembly. “We have not increased tax rate,” he said. “What we have simply done is to ask more people to pay. I think it is deceptive to promise good governance and at the same time reduce tax rate. Where will the money to deliver good governance come from?”

Earlier, in his welcome address, the President of chamber, Femi Deru, said the debate is necessary “to know the aspirants’ thinking on a number of critical issues that are of concern to the private sector in Lagos State.”



http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5677978-147/story.csp

this may be the first time there will be a legitimate increase in power supply. Let's see if people will notice effects.

FG Cedes Olorunsogo Power Plant to Chinese Firm
16 Feb 2011


History was made Tuesday as the Federal Government handed over the Olorunsogo Power Station in Ogun State to a consortium led by Sepco III Electric Power Construction Corporation of China and an indigenous company, Pacific Energy—the first under the Power Roadmap of the administration.

This is in line with its decision to cede its controlling stakes in electricity generation and distribution to private investors under the privatisation programme.

The choice of the Chinese firm in the sale of the power station stemmed from the inability of the Federal Government to repay the loan provided by the Chinese government for the construction of the plant.

The Chinese government provided the 65 per cent funding for the 335-megawatt-capacity Olorunsogo plant and the 335-mw-capacity Omo-tosho Power Station in Okitipupa Local Government area of Ondo State.

The loan was provided through the contractors for the projects - Sepco III Electric Power Construction Corpo-ration and China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation -  for Olorunsogo and Omotosho plants, respectively.

Minister of State for Power, Mr. Nuhu Wya, said while handing over the Olorunsogo plant that the final documents for the transaction would be signed later this week by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Chinese firm.

"We have resolved today that in line with Federal Governm-ent's divestiture policy from the generation and distribution aspects of electricity supply, we have reaffirmed to Sepco that they are the core investors for Olorunsogo Power Plant. They will manage this plant; work with our existing Nigerian workers to ensure that power is delivered to Nigerians with effect from tomorrow (today). We have agreed and they have assured us that they have repaired seven out of the eight turbines and they are ready to be fired. By tomorrow (today), we expect to get at least 200 megawatts from Phase 1 of Olorunsogo Power Plant," he said.

The minister assured the workers that they would not be dismissed on account of government's divestiture and appealed to them to render their loyalty and commitment to the new management of the power station for the overall development of the power sector.
He said the government approved the sale of the plant to the new investor due to the fact that the Chinese provided 65 per cent of the funding, while the Federal Government contributed the remaining 35 per cent.

Wya disclosed that the BPE was putting finishing touches on the privatisation documents to be signed at a later date.
"But for the expediency of geting the plants running, I have today handed over a letter to Sepco to ensure that they commence full operation of this plant with effect from tomorrow (today). The agreement does not cover Phase 2 because Phase 2 is National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), which is jointly owned by the Federal and state governments," he said.

He however noted that the divestiture plan for Phase 2 was being worked out, adding that a competent managing firm would take over the plant in due course.

Following the inability of the Federal Government to repay the loan for the two plants, the contractors were said to have left with the manuals and other documents relating to the running of the plant, while the few documents left to help Nigerians to manage the plant were written in Chinese.

The minister noted that this development might have contributed to the inability of Nigerians to successfully run the plants.
"It is not written anywhere but I believe that it sounds very logical. A contractor who is being owed will guard jealously his fallback position and these are issues we are trying to unravel and solve once and for all. You heard the plant manager for Omotosho saying that most of the catalogues are in Chinese language. The cards for the operation are also not there," he added.

Chairman of the Kepco-Pacific Energy Consortium that acquired the Olorunsogo Plant, Dr. Deji Adeleke, said seven out of the eight units were operational. He however stated that only two units were running, generating 105 megawatts of electricity.

"It is now left for us to prove ourselves because the government has done their own. We have to show that the private sector can make things work in the power sector just like the telecoms sector. We will have a meeting with BPE on Thursday and hopefully, we will sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)," Adeleke said.

The minister also disclosed that the government was discussing with the Chinese contractor that built Phase 1 of the 335-megawatt-capacity Omotosho Power Station, which is currently generating about 30 megawatts to take over the station.

"The negotiation for Phase 1 of Omotosho has not gone very far. I will not want to make announcement until negotiations are concluded," he said.

Phase 2 of Olorunsogo, which is NIPP project has a capacity to produce 750 megawatts on completion, while phase 2 of Omotosho, which is under construction, will generate 500mw.




http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-cedes-olorunsogo-power-plant-to-chinese-firm/86317/

Chyz*:

There was no primary(if i'm not mistaking).

If that is the case, I wonder the basis the court used to award Onwuebu as the PDP candidate. And if it is something Chime can challenge and reverse.

spyder880:

The declaration was only ceremonial, the real power lies with the courts and their rulings.

But can't the party deny Onwuebu as being their flagbearer. I'm hopin Chime will fight this in court. If the party has chosen their flagbearer don't the courts have to respect that decision?

But how did this guy Onwuebu come out anyways. Did Chime not contest in the primaries or what?

This is really bad news. What options does Chime have now?

I think he should have switched to APGA or ACN or some other party when he and Nwodo were arguing and it seemed like it may get in the way of him getting the party ticket.

But what about the recent declaration the party made that Chime would be on their ticket. Doesn't that factor in somewhere?

This is good. Hopefully Chime can defeat those trying to prevent him from running for 2nd term as governor so that INEC will place his name back on list of candidates.