Tambuwal formally defects from PDP to APC

The Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday in Abuja defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Tambuwal announced his defection shortly after the House Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola (PDP-Oyo) moved a motion for the house to adjourn sitting till Dec. 3. “In pursuit of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and in view of the political developments in my state, I wish to formally inform you of my membership of the APC . “This is in continuation of the great sacrifice and also the need to ensure development of constitutional democracy,’’ Tambuwal said. Meanwhile members of APC caucus in the house, in a swift reaction, told newsmen that the development was a historic one. Leader of the APC caucus, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos) said that the move was consistent with the law, adding that “the APC members would continue to support the current leadership’’. Similarly, Rep. Samson Osagie (APC-Edo) said that the house, which adjourned till Dec 3, was to enable the lawmakers to consult with their constituents and promote their political interest ahead of the 2015 general elections. Osagie, however, ruled out possible counter move by the PDP against the leadership of the house. According to him, “there is unity in this house and that is the kind of unity we want to be replicated in every part of this country”. He further described Tambuwal as a bridge builder who had united the house in spite of different political affiliations of ,members of the parliament. Tambuwal became the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the platform of PDP in 2011. (NAN)

Ghana to cut gas import from Nigeria

Ghana has announced plans to significantly reduce the quantity of gas it purchases from Nigeria in the next couple of months through increased local gas production. gas tanksPresident of Ghana, Mr. John Mahama, who was responding to questions on the economy at the Global African Investment Summit in London, said the country is working hard to court more private investors to shore up local production of gas to solve the country’s power crisis. He said this will end the country’s over-reliance on the West African gas pipeline which has been inconsistent with supplying gas to the country. He said, “We had a lot of excitement when the gas pipeline was built hoping that the abundance of Nigerian gas will flow through the pipeline to help all the four countries signed onto the pipeline, but the volume has been very disappointing.” He, however, expressed the hope that the country’s current energy crisis will stabilise when works on the Atuabo gas processing plant is completed, adding that the plant should start producing gas for power generation by the end of November. Mahama said the facility, which has the capacity to generate about 140 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day, is estimated to save the country more than $500 million annually when it is substituted for light crude oil in the generation of power. In addition, he stated that the facility will produce more than 70 per cent of the estimated 240,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) required annually for domestic use in the country. A Ghanaian news website, Ghanaweb, said at least three power plants in the country were taken offline in September, after Nigeria stopped supplying gas to Ghana over a strike by oil workers. The news website said this has been a regular tale which plunges the country into black-outs almost instantly. According to the news website, the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG) had a couple of days ago, announced a 48-hour-on; 24-hour-off load shedding regime after it was forced to shed over 500 megawatts of power. It said, “That led to an emergency meeting by stakeholders with a plan to purchase crude oil at a cost of $120 million to power the thermal plants. “The ongoing load shedding programme across the country may soon improve considerably following measures taken by power producers to increase generation capacity. The Bui Dam is now operating at full capacity following a slight improvement in the water level.

Amaechi shows strength

It was the seventh anniversary of Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s extraordinary inauguration as governor of River State last Saturday. The opportunity turned out to be an opportunity for the governor to make a bold statement on the political morphology of the state. The 40,000 seating capacity stadium in Port-Harcourt, the state capital was fully occupied forcing many late comers to the celebration to make do on the playing pitch. It was an opportunity for several stakeholders to give assessment of the Amaechi administration and among them were Non-Indigenes who speaking through a representative, just identified as Obinna praised Amaechi for integrating non-indigenes into the politics of the state. We can’t be bribed—Rivers Assembly •Amaechi addressing supporters during the rally •Amaechi addressing supporters during the rally Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Dan Amacheree who has 25 of the 32 members of the House on his side equally affirmed the determination of the House not to be cowed by money or might into fighting the governor. “Governor Amaechi has brought change and transformation to Rivers state. He has made been made the face if transparency in Rivers state. We want to assure you that the 25 members of the house are behind you and we pledge our commitment to you because no form of opposition, intimidation or bribery will deter us from supporting you. Opposition and intimidation We will make sure we change Nigeria and Rivers state. They even bribed some of us with oil blocs but we resisted it. Go home and spread the message that we do not exist on billboards.” Rivers will vote the APC way — Reps members Members of the House of Representatives caucus from the state were not left out. Chairman, House Committee in the Downstream sector, Mr Dakuku Peterside, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said: “We have taken note that you are a man of principle, character and integrity and you have shown that you can stand up for Rivers state. We also want to assure you that the people of Rivers state will vote APC all the way from the president down to the councilors.” Change is coming to Nigeria—Sen Abe Also, the Senators from the state predicted victory for the party ahead of next year’s polls just as they appealed to Rivers people to vote out PDP at the centre. Senator Magnus Abe, who led seven other senators on solidarity said “from the National Assembly, we have seven senators present here, we are celebrating the seventh year anniversary of the governor and seven represents victory. Our message for Nigerians is that they should get ready with their voters card because by February 2015, there will be change in Nigeria”. A thief ‘ll not govern Rivers——Amaechi When it was time for governor Amaechi to deliver his speech, he went spiritual as he led the people into a spiritual realm of singing and dancing to God the victory he got at the apex court seven years ago. Amaechi, who interrupted his speech with repeated jubilation, was in high spirit at the rally. He, however, took a swipe at one of his arch opponents, who was aspiring to govern the state. Amaechi said “one of them campaigning for governorship was the contractor that was supposed to do the roads. He collected N3 billion and left, now he wants to become governor, a thief will not become governor. I challenge them from Rivers State to Abuja, to an integrity test. I have worked with them, I have their records, their records are in the office of the governor. So go and rest.” He also took time to fault the anti- graft fight saying “the problem we have is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is no longer working, corruption is at its industrial peak. Thieves are thieves because we now have an industry called corruption”. My victory is divine While he appreciated God for his Supreme Court victory, he said “the day I was told that the President and his people were trying to remove me as governor, I called for prayer session in Government House and I said to them, ‘God told me that I would finish my tenure’. When we finished praying, I said the fight has started and believe me, this fight will continue but we are going nowhere.” “There was a case in the Supreme Court and everybody was worried but I told you we would win it, that the God I worship told me we would win it. I thank God for keeping us and I want to tell them, we are going nowhere. There is a punishment for people who betray others, God is very clear about thieves and those who betray others. After stealing government money, you betray people because you want to become governor, they will get nowhere. Before I became governor, I went to God for more than 10 months. They have the president, the army and the police but they do not have God. They can go to Jerusalem 50 times, God has decided what will happen in Nigeria in 2015. Take it for free, there will be change in Nigeria”, he said. He also commended the Senate President, Senator David Mark and the leadership,of the Senate for wading into the planned hijack of the Rivers State House of Assembly. According to him, “in thanking members if the Senate, let me also thank the President of the Senate because when they tried to hijack the house, the a Senate President and all the members of the Senate, rose up to the task and stood by us. Rivers people stood by me as governor and are still standing by me, I have no choice but to deliver on my service. I have to deliver on my promise because that is the task I have.” Achievements In seven years. I have built 20 classroom blocks and 500 of them are ready. We have built over 140 health centres, we employed over 13000 teachers, we have employed over 400 doctors and we have created farms so that our children can go there to seek employment. The federal government does not care for you, they want you to die of water borne diseases, punish them with your votes.” He lampooned the presidency for failing to embark on developmental projects in Rivers State. He said “punish PDP with your votes. They said the reason the President is not performing in Rivers State is because he is quarrelling with the governor of Rivers State that is what they said. It is more of lack of performance. What is the quarrel? When the president spoke in Benin, he spoke in a stadium that was less than 20000, when TAN held their rally in Port-Harcourt, it was held in a 15000 capacity stadium.” Commenting on his move from the PDP to the APC. Amaechi said “We had to leave the PDP because they were against a Rivers people and we moved to the APC. APC is the solution, it will protect our interest, we must vote out the PDP. He (Jonathan) is not my brother, my brother is the one who delivers on the service for me. So, if the president says he is our brother, let him call one project he has done for Rivers state”. Solidarity messages Solidarity messages were received from the party’s presidential aspirants who were present at the occasion who used the occasion to sell themselves. Those present were Leadership publisher Sam Nda-Isaiah, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwanso. For APC national chairman, Odigie-Oyegun, the outpouring of affection for Amaechi that day was enough to rubbish the claim made by the President at the Benin PDP rally that the PDP was in full control of Rivers. “The entire leadership of APC has come, we have seen and we are convinced that Amaechi controls the crowd in Rivers state.

Wage: NLC plans mass protest

ABUJA – THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Monday evening, sent warning signals to members of the National Assembly over the recent removal of wages from the Exclusive legislative list to Concurrent list, saying that the organized labour would work against their interest as they choose to trample on the rights of Nigerian workers. In a communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council, NEC, in Abuja, which was signed by its National President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar and the General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC, condemned the recent report of stepping down of of labour, including wages from the Exclusive list to Concurrent List by the National Assembly. The NEC-in-Session mandated the leadership of the congress to meet with the leadership of the senate to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the claim that the Red Chamber was leading the crusade for the deregulation of wages in the country. It also mandated its leadership to meet the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and the Principal Officers of the house for re-assurance that the house had not relinquished its pledge to retain wages on the Exclusive List. The communiqué further stated that in spite of denials by some officers of NASS that wages was still on the Exclusive List, its NEC had directed its members to commence immediate mobilization of members including visiting their representatives in the State Houses of Assembly and the Federal Lawmakers to demand their input in maintaining the status quo of Labour on the Exclusive List. It also advised that in the interest of industrial harmony, those enjoying underserved advantages should not do anything to further make life more difficult for Nigerian workers. It was however gathered that the Conference Committee of the National Assembly agreed to retain labour and indeed wages on the Exclusive List, but the highlights which was made available to journalists from the senate put wages on the Concurrent List. Reliable sources within the Conference Committee had told Vanguard that the error of putting wages on Concurrent List was made by the Consultant that handled the printing of the report. Meanwhile, there seems to be looming crisis between the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, over the status of senior staff in the workforce. At the NEC meeting of NLC Monday, it was disclosed that TUC was working in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour to hold meeting by November which NLC said was going to be against her interest and the meeting being on the instance of TUC. Consequently, it advised members that would be attending the meeting to be extra careful so that its interest would be protected. The bone of contention it was gathered was the alleging scheming by the TUC to remove Senior Staff Association Nigerian Union as an affiliate of NLC to TUC.

Nigeria needs $5bn to sustain economic stability, says Okonjo-Iweala

ABUJA—MINISTER of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said yesterday that for Nigeria to sustain stability of its economy, it has to raise its excess crude account, which currently stands at $4.1 billion to $5 billion. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala This came as indications emerged that the Senate may peg oil benchmark in the 2015 fiscal year at $78 per barrel as against $77.5 benchmark in the ongoing year. Dr. OKonjo-Iweala, who spoke in Abuja, when she appeared before the Senate committees on Finance and National Planning, during consideration of the 2015-2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, as a working document for the 2015 Budget, also dismissed claims that the country was financially bankrupt in spite of some cash fluctuations it was experiencing. “Nigeria as a country has quite enough assets and I think anybody will agree to that. That is why when people say the country is broke, I say ‘absolutely not’ because if we wanted to mobilise any of our assets to cover, we could do that. Of course it could take a little bit of time. “However, that does not mean that we cannot have some cash flow fluctuations, we just have to manage it because we have an economy that is reasonably self sufficient. We are able to manage ourselves well while everybody is willing to do a few things and we should be able to get there,” she said While answering a question on whether the 2015 budget would be a workable one or not, based on its proposed parameters in the MTEF document, the minister said irrespective of whatever oil price benchmark will be approved by the National Assembly, the most important thing was for the country to arrive at a price that will give leverage for enormous savings against times like this. “My belief is no matter what is settled on at this point in time, what is pleasing and that brings us all together is the realisation that what we were trying to say a few years ago has happened and it is happening in front of us and all of us need to come together to find a solution. “Whatever the decision will be, even if we agree on another benchmark, we still need measures to be in place because we have no idea on whether the oil price will continue to drop or go up. “So I think we need to prepare ourselves in two or three scenarios and we can share some of the scenarios that we have been thinking about that will guide our development of those contingency measures. “I think that the excess crude account was built to be able to cushion us at times like this, when we have some kind of difficulties and I think it played that role to perfection during the crises of 2008, when oil fell to 38 to 40 dollars per barrel, even worse than what we have now. At that time, we still saved up quite a lot of money, as such we were able to draw at least for a quite a few months to carry the economy. She added: “We have calculated that in order to help us regain this stability, we need a minimum of about five billion dollars and anything about that is good. The IMF actually calculated 6.3 billion to be maintained in that account. “It helps to cushion our exchange rate so if we go and withdraw it abruptly beyond that amount it causes a problem and you know we went down to two billion last year and then we built it up to nine billion and there was insistence that we must share which made it to come down to $2 billion but we later at least built it back to $5 billion. Right now we are at 4.1 billion”. Although, none of the committee members at the meeting could disclose the benchmark arrived at during the session, Vanguard gathered that members of the Red Chamber in the two committees opted for $78 oil price benchmark. In the 2015-2017 MTEF, the executive had proposed the $78 oil price benchmark for the 2015 budget. The minister told the committees that: “Every country faces a certain amount of risks and uncertainty at different times, so it is how you manage it that is a problem.” “Are we prepared with a list of measures that can help us manage any of these outcomes? Have we thought through the various scenarios to say if anything happens? Yes, at the present time, we are reasonably stable compared with other countries but if those risks materialize, we need to have action in order to keep the economy stable. Asked by the committee whether the 2015 budget was workable, Okonjo-Iweala responded: “My belief is, no matter what is settled on at this point in time, what is pleasing and that brings us all together is the realisation that what we were trying to say a few years ago has happened and it is happening in front of us and all of us need to come together to find a solution.” “Whatever the decision will be, even if we agree on another benchmark, we still need measures to be in place because we have no idea whether it is going to go.