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| Posted By: Oshimiri Posted On: Apr 1, 2012 Views: 754 | Giant of Africa 10,500 Nigerians sought asylum in 2011, says UN Email0 April 1, 2012 | 5:24 pm News Some 10,500 Nigerians sought asylum last year in industrialised countries compared to 9,500 in 2010, according to a report released by the UN refugee agency. The report, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, ranked Nigeria 10th on the list of asylum claimants to the world’s richest countries in 2011. Afghans topped the list of global asylum claims in 2011, followed by Chinese and Iraqis. Overall the report, which surveyed asylum applications to 44 industrialised countries, found that applications rose to 441,300 in 2011 from 368,000 the previous year. The figure represents a 20 per cent increase and UNHCR said it was the highest since 2003. The figures of Nigerians seeking asylum varied from country to country. According to the report, 2,876 Nigerians claimed asylum in Italy in 2011, compared to 1,165 in 2010. In other figures, Nigerians filed 1,303 applications for asylum in Switzerland while UK received 1,055. In the U.S, a total of 257 applications were received from Nigeria asylum seekers in 2011. Reflecting turmoil in West Africa and in the Arab world, the UN report notes that asylum seekers from Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Syria and other countries reached record levels in 2011 with 16,700 more applications than in 2010. NAN |
| Posted By: Kendo Posted On: Apr 1, 2012 Views: 828 | The unwanted crystal ball The super speed in which Nigeria has perfected to collide at present is avoidable. Sometimes, reasons behind Africa’s backwardness become a pendulum twist wrestling my imagination. Can’t we be innovative enough in providing paradigmatic pace the outside world will emulate? Must we at all time dive into avoidable and senseless wars to destroy innocent lives and properties before calling a spade a spade in Africa? Lives and properties lost in Nigeria on daily basis transcend the records of countries that were undergoing a full blown war. Naturally, the young ones have the prerogatives to bury their parents but on the contrary is the case today in Nigeria. Life expectancy in Nigeria is selected to last. Monitoring the future with a broadened scope, you will discover that we don’t need a crystal ball to predict how unfriendly the future will exacerbate to our detriments under Nigeria’s current structure. Don’t get me wrong without providing your factual statistics for building a harmonious nation under Nigerian current structure. In the olden days, the voices of elders were known as voice of the spirits. ALAS! The elders we have today are octogenarians whose voices are taboo in the spiritual world. The spirits has no business with people that cannot eat and dine with the truth in their old age. Mostly, people we call elders today in Nigeria are nothing but gluttonous senile apes cowardly propelling a diverse society brainlessly. One must have done a heroic job to deserve a thunderous hands of applauds. Almost all these senile bigots know why Nigeria is in shambles today but chose to do nothing that will abate the worsening situation. I may be lucky to be among the middle class Biafrans living under captivity in Nigeria. Does it give me joy to see a society I love so much in disarray? So, where is the love from those One Nigeria mongers? Do they now converge to destroy a nation they claimed to love with all their hearts? For how long must these people continue to deceive themselves that their love for one Nigeria is not fallacious? Each and every one of us knows that amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914 is for colonial interests. It is not for the interests of different ethnic tribes that were manipulated to join together under the umbrella of One Nigeria. The amalgamation of Nigeria is the last fraud the British committed on African soil. This is why even an angel will never fix Nigerian cracked walls until the house is pulled down to crosscheck the foundation. Call me a prophet of doom, but I have to say the truth now our elders were busy wrestling national cake that is meant for future generation in Abuja. None of them is ready to sacrifice their hopeless lives by saying the truth no matter whose OX is gored. I have strong beleive that if Nigeria do not converge as a matter of urgency and discuss how to disintegrate peacefully, things will surely get out of hands someday to our surprises. Most people, who see Biafrans struggle for freedom today as a taboo, will one day fight more than Biafrans to have their separate nations from Nigeria. My prayer is that we learn to fight without violence just like non violence Biafrans proponents on that day. We are called cowards for using non violence method. I always laugh each time I come across those people as……………………… Long Live Biafra! Long Live Igbo Nation!! Long Live All Our Well Wishers!!! |
| Posted By: Omaba Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 1290 | re WORST NORTHSIDE northside watin be your wahala & business concerning southside matter? who called you for settlement? Abeg leave southside to kill & die themselves, we go finally settle as neighbors or brothers. No dey put your mouth for our matter, take your time. Face your northside matter & leave us alone. na person wey get tribe na him de dey tribalistic, is not easy to get tribe wey you go dey proud of, many Nigerians are not proud of their tribe bc their tribe has nothing meaningful to show or contribute to Nigeria society. northdise gbara ogwu gi nuo. |
| Posted By: Vincent Ajanma Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 1259 | Baby Factory Afte reading this article, one question quickly comes to mind; how then can one adopt a child legelly, without getting into trouble? Since some of them can even give u forged court orders, how can u know it's fake and how do u make an authentic adoption? |
| Posted By: ORACLE Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 1148 | SODOM and GOMORRAH INSIGHT BABY FACTORY PLC •How and where girls are paid to get pregnant and their babies sold •The police connection By HENRY UMAHI Saturday March 31, 2012 In the bubbling Ihiala village, in Anambra State, off the Onitsha-Owerri expressway, one massive compound, with high walls is always a beehive of activity. Teenage girls and flashy cars go in and out daily. From outside, it is difficult to see what goes on there. However, checks revealed that the compound is a factory of sorts. Just as normal factories, where ordinary goods are made, this peculiar “factory” churns out special products. It is a place where babies are produced and sold. It’s Spormil Hospital and Maternity and/or Iheanyi Ezuma Foundation. Director of Child Development in the Anambra State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mr. Emeka Ejide, said this of the place: “The foundation is registered under a non-government organization, but the latest discovery is not in the certificate given to the office.” What is the latest discovery? Following a tip-off, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Okere Okey and Inspector Francis Ogbuonye, from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Awka, Anambra State, swooped on the facility on Friday, October 14, 2011. The police team made a stunning discovery: About 30 teenage girls lived inside the compound. They were not related or from Ihiala. They came from various places. Three of them claimed to be students of former Alvan Ikoku College of Education (now Federal College of Education, Owerri, Imo State, while others were secondary schools dropouts. No matter what they are, they share a common destiny or fate: They were pregnant. During the raid, the 49-year-old proprietress of the centre, alongside two security guards and two other unidentified men were arrested. The police also made a similar raid on another ‘baby factory,’ Divine Mercy Motherless Babies’ Home, in Ibosi, where the proprietress, allegedly escaped before policemen arrived. It was gathered that the woman evacuated 20 pregnant teenagers in her ‘baby factory’ as well as eight babies. New face of ‘baby factories’ Investigations revealed that ‘baby factories’ are springing up in parts of the country with reckless abandon, especially in the South-East and Port Harcourt axis. Some of them operate under the guise of rehabilitation centres, orphanages and motherless babies’ homes. According to Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr (Mrs) Ego Uzoezie, there are over 51 illegal orphanages and motherless babies’ homes in Nkpo and Awada axis. And as some are being closed, new ones are opening shop. Take this: Not long ago, soldiers burst a baby factory tucked inside the sleepy Ugwaku community in Okigwe, Imo State. Situated along the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway, it was a haven for child tracking activities. There, scores of pregnant girls were camped until they put to bed, after which they are given between N50, 000 and N100,000 depending on how long they stayed at the centre, and their babies taken away. It was gathered that while some pregnant girls found their way there, some hired deviant boys and girls were also camped there to engage in sexual orgies with the sole aim of making the girls pregnant and the fruits of such exercises belong to the operators of the camp. To facilitate access to the factory, the owner, an Ondo-born woman popularly known as Iyawo, allegedly built a bridge on old Okpara Road, Umumahia, to link the community so that her clients won’t pass through the Umuahia expressway. Saturday Sun undercover reporter recently paid a visit to the area and discovered that the factory has been relocated from Umumahia village, in Ugwaku, to Umuagwu village, where Iyawo’s daughter lives with the husband. Ironically, her new base is the home of the traditional ruler of Ugwuaku autonomous community, Eze Emmanuel Igbojionu, Aku 1 of Ugwuaku. When the reporter met the traditional ruler in his palace, he denied knowledge of such practices in his domain. He said: “If such a thing is in existence, I would have known because the vigilance team is working 24 hours a day. If they get any information, they will come and brief me. They cannot see such a thing and hide it.” Despite the monarch’s denial, a source said: “The community is under siege. People here see no evil and speak no evil because powerful individuals are involved.” Saturday Sun observed that every stranger into the community is subjected to some form of scrutiny. When our undercover reporter asked a young lady the direction to the house of Iyawo’s daughter’s husband, she feigned ignorance. In fact, she claimed not to know anything about the community, even though she was born and bred there. But unaware that the reporter was watching, she stopped in her tracks, ducked under a tree and began to work her mobile telephone frantically. It was gathered that the woman, who also postures as a herbalist, has made a kill from the illicit business and uses the proceeds to intimidate the hapless villagers. Among other property, she owns a filling station on Enugu-Port-Harcourt expressway. An untouchable, she is also said to be in a dalliance with a former local government chairman and now serving member of the Imo State House of Assembly, who provides support. Indeed, the Okigwe child trafficking kingpin is well connected. For example, shortly after the army team led by Major Obasanjo burst her former operational base and arrested her, high net worth individuals moved in to secure her release. Eventually, the Army officer was removed and she was released. And the business goes on. A notorious baby factory There is also a notorious “baby factory” at Umunkpeyi Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State. The place, which has existed for several years, is like a phoenix. It has been raided many times by security agents but it usually bounced back. Saturday Sun undercover reporter was at Umunkpeyi Nvosi recently and saw it bubbling. Pregnant teenage girls milled around the home owned by a nurse. Several raids in the past have not stopped the wheel of the factory turning, as it were. According to the Commissioner of Police in-charge of the X-Squad, the ‘factory,’ which presents itself as a maternity clinic cum charity home and child care centre, operates a private mortuary and cemetery, where dead pregnant teenagers and/or their babies are buried unceremoniously. During a raid by police operatives, a grave was dug up, revealing a fresh body of a mother with the infant child. Enyimba City involved Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, is also home of “baby factories.” One of the most notorious is on Okigwe Road. Its owner is rich and drives cars with customised number plates. Security agents have raided the place in the past but it usually bounced back. A NAPTIP source described it as a pain in the neck. Another one is found along Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, by Osisioma junction. Both of them have been perpetually involved in the illicit business. When Saturday Sun visited the factory on Okigwe Road recently, it was in full swing. About 10 pregnant girls were seen in the reception room watching television and chatting heartily. The “doctor,” who runs the factory at Osisioma is being aided by his wife, a foreigner. Method of operation Investigations revealed that while some of the “factories” operate clandestinely, others function with seeming force of law. Those in the second category usually register as charity organisations and motherless babies’ homes but they convert such to avenues for the trafficking of babies. Speaking on Ngozi Ezuma’s operations, Uzoezie said: “What the woman is doing is not what she was registered for.” In the same vein, Anambra Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Chukwuemeka Chukwu, admitted that people are “taking advantage of these innocent girls for business rather than going into charity work they registered for.” Checks revealed that some of these child traffickers registered non-governmental organizations, posturing as compassionate homes. A source said: “These non-governmental organisations lure or con young girls to camp with them. In some cases, the girls are subjected to unpaid hard labour while pregnant.” According to 17-year-old victim, Chioma, inmates at a home in Okigwe are made to crack one bucket of palm kernel before they could eat. In the high profile factories, the pregnant girls are kept and fed miserly, particularly on beans until they put to bed. The racket The operators of the homes create the impression that they are on a charity mission and providing the shoulder for teenage girls, who tasted the forbidden fruit too early and got trapped with pregnancy, to lean on. For instance, when 49-year-old Ezuma was arrested, she declared: “Rather than encouraging them to do abortion, we take care of them.” The inevitable questions are, what happens to the babies delivered by the teenage girls? How do the care providers recoup their expenses on the girls while pregnant? A resident of Umunkpeyi Nvosi, said that none of the girls is ever seen leaving with a new born baby. However, while pregnant, the girls are sometimes seen in the village market or around the centre but when leaving, after putting to bed, they leave alone. Their babies are sold and they are paid off. Buyers are always on queue waiting for babies to be delivered. The ‘baby factories’ also help women who buy the babies to cover their track and pretend that they are the biological mothers of the babies. These women are fed with some drugs that make them look pregnant. After nine months, it was learnt, when a delivery is due, they come to the home and pick a baby that has been arranged for them. Fake adoption is also part of the business. Some prospective adoptive parents willingly or inadvertently connive with assessors without following due process and rules stipulated for adoption. Checks revealed that assessors who are supposed to be attached or posted to Magistrate’s Courts procure fake or forged court orders with which they sale babies. The operation involves tiers and layers of fraudulent activities. In some cases, it starts with a pregnant teenager being delivered at a hospital. Afterwards, the baby is deposited at a motherless babies’ home, where it would be sold using forged court order. Adoption by proxy, another illegal act, is also adopted. For instance, one retired Chief Social Officer with the Anambra State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and an assessor, was recently nabbed for his alleged involvement in an attempt to sale a baby with a forged court order. The baby in question was said to be from the Crowther Motherless Babies’ Home, Onitsha, which gets its supply from Concord Hospital and Maternity, Onitsha. It was gathered that when girls are delivered of their babies at the hospital, such babies are trafficked to the home, where they are adopted using illegal means. Meanwhile, the teenage mothers, when asked, claim that their babies died shortly after delivery. When apprehended, the man said: “I am owing up to this crime because I prepared the order. It is a mistake. As a man with family and they have not paid me since two years, that’s why I am doing some illegal jobs to survive. The child is from Concord Hospital and Maternity, Onitsha to Crowther Motherless Babies’ Home, Onitsha. My offence is the court order for adoption I forged; nothing else.” The 65-year-old man added that his financial benefit was only N20, 000, which he got from Grace Esebameh, a nurse at the motherless babies’ home. Esebameh, from Edo State, however, claimed that her involvement was only to keep the babies in the home for the medical director of Concord Hospital and Maternity, Dr Odili Ossai. While the Crowther Motherless Babies’ Homes and its like try to put up seeming adoption process, some of the ‘baby factories’ have no time for such pretensions. They simply sell the babies, like ordinary products, such as bread or groundnut. One of such places where the illegal sale of babies thrives, as reported not long ago by Saturday Sun, is the back streets of Iponri area of Lagos, near Costain. There, new born babies are sold to whoever is interested. There, the transaction could be concluded within minutes. The moment the buyer doles out the money, the baby is handed over to him or her. Price tag Investigations revealed that there is no fixed price for the sale of the babies. It all depends on who is buying and who is selling as well as the place where the transaction is taking place. However, in all instances, male children are costlier than their female counterparts. At the Iponri market, a female child could be procured for N250, 000 while males go for about N350, 000. But at the homes, male children are sold for N450, 000 and N500, 000 while females go for between N350, 000 and N450, 000. Mothers for rent Checks revealed that some ladies bear children for men just for a fee. In other words, such ladies are hired to conceive for men not as wives, but for commercial purposes. And after they are delivered of the babies, they hand same over to those who contracted them for the purpose. End of business. Undergraduates of tertiary institutions are mostly involved in such arrangements. Conception, under the arrangement, could be through sexual intercourse or insemination. The ladies that play the role charge between N200, 000 and N500, 000, even as the person contracting them also shoulders the ante-natal bills. Depending on the arrangements, the rented mothers could live with her ‘customer’ for the period of the pregnancy or an apartment would be secured for her. Her upkeep during the period is also the responsibility of the ‘customer.’ Indeed, there are no hard and fast rules to the deal. It all depends on the agreement reached by both parties. For instance, the payment could be made in two or three installments, but the ladies readily relinquish custody rights over the babies they are rented to bear once they put to bed and/or paid off. In the course of this report, our undercover reporter encountered a student of Delta State University, who was willing to carry a pregnancy for a fee. The 25-year-old lady, who identified herself as Christiana, said: “I can do it if you can pay me N350, 000. You will give me N100, 000 once it is confirmed that I am pregnant. When the pregnancy gets to four months, you will give me another N100, 000. I will receive the balance when I put to bed. You will not see me again after that unless you want me again.” Christiana also insisted that accommodation will be secured for her outside Delta if the reporter does not want her to stay with him. She added that the reporter will take care of her upkeep and medical bills for the period of her pregnancy. A stripper in Owerri, who claimed to be a graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) accepted to do the pregnancy-for-money deal. Mary, as she identified herself, is ready to accept N250, 000, which must be paid in block after she is delivered of the baby. She, however, insisted that she will live with the reporter for the duration of the pregnancy. She said that she will use her pay off to start a business and give herself a new life. Saturday Sun gathered that many childless couples are favourably disposed to the arrangement. In some cases, a husband’s sperm is used to fertilize eggs harvested from the wife and subsequently implanted in the rented mother. And with this arrangement, the surrogate mother cannot come back in future to lay claim to the child because the DNA test will show who the biological father and mother are. A top medical practitioner told Saturday Sun: “A neighbour of mine did it. The girl they rented gave birth to set of twins. Perhaps, to cover their tracks, the family relocated to Europe shortly after the kids turned one. They have been married for about 18 years without a child.” Police connection Those who operate baby factories are usually well connected. They are said to have the security agencies on their payroll, so that they can operate without hindrance and even when they run into trouble, they are not consumed. According to a police source, operators of the ‘baby factory’ at Umunkpeyi Nvosi have “bought over all the security agencies in the state.” A recent encounter with the police at the Lagos Local Airport Police Station, Ikeja appears to support the complicity theory. Take this: On Saturday November 12, 2011, a female passenger aboard a mid-morning flight from Owerri to Lagos reported two fellow elderly passengers carrying a new born baby in a suspicious manner to security operatives at the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport but within minutes, they were left off the hook. Undaunted, the woman reported the matter again at the Lagos airport on arrival. The women were subsequently arrested and taken to the Lagos Local Airport Police Station, Ikeja for questioning and investigation of how they came about the baby who they appear too old to give birth to. One of them said to be the wife an Ota traditional ruler claimed to be the mother. When contacted, a police source disclosed that the matter was being investigated, adding that the hospital mentioned as place of delivery would be visited to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the claims. But each time the reporter enquired about how far the police had gone in the investigation, they claimed not to have raised the money and vehicle to embark on the trip to Aba, where the woman said she was delivered of the baby. Meanwhile, she was allowed to go with the disputed child pending the conclusion of the investigation. However, last week, the source said that the matter had been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Human Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) without further details. Another development that tends to give credence to the complicity theory involves a woman standing trial in Owerri on allegation of child trafficking. It was gathered that during investigations, it was discovered that a certain nurse, Blessing, operating in Port Harcourt was involved. But rather than being arraigned with the suspected child trafficker, the nurse was allowed to slip away. An impeccable source said: “When the woman was in detention in Owerri, she mentioned the name of the nurse as Blessing Ngozi, but they took money from her and asked her to varnish. By so doing, the supply has been broken, so conviction is now remote because no one is claiming maternity.” What a lawless, evil society called Nigeria!!! |
| Posted By: TEA Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 550 | An Hausa Man- the art of killing Northside & Naija Hausa need not to be trained on how to kill. He was born with it. It takes you to witness a riot in the North to appreciate my position. I asked myself question, most especially the value these set of people placed on human lives. ARE WE TRULY HUMAN. They can kill at will even if not provoke, this is their behavior all over the world, the tuareg of mali are presently killing the southerners in a bid to entrench sharia in their constitution. Oh Allah, teach your people to have a rethink. Fulani herdsman machetes man By Bode Durojaiye, Oyo.18/03/2012 A middle-aged man Deacon Pekun Olusola is lying critically at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan , Oyo State capital, following severe machete cuts sustained in both arms and forehead after an attack by a Fulani herdsman. The incident, the NATION gathered occurred at Aba Alata, near Ajagba village, along Awe / Iwo road, in the Afijio local government area of the state. The man was said to have entered into an agreement with the Fulani herdsman known as Aliyu Raman to rear cattle numbering about 20 in his ranch. But the Fulani herdsman was said to be selling the cattle unknown to the owner. Some months after, the owner of the cattle decided to visit the Fulani herdsman in his ranch. But Olusola was said to have been disturbed on noticing reduction in his cattle and demanded explanations from the Fulani herdsman. He was said to have macheted Olusola in anger. He also attempted to burn the motorcycle. Olusola’s scream of pains attracted the attention of nearby villagers who promptly called men of the vigilante at the neighbouring Awe town. They handed over the herdsman to the police. |
| Posted By: Abel Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 608 | WORST NORTHSIDE Northside, go find who u go decive. u think u make sense? no waaay!!!!! Luk, our target is Biafra. Ofeke has the right to be a hardliner tribalist. Who tell you say Igbo piple here are listening to the garbage from sapele water? The sapele water piple themselves are konfused. U talk nonsense. Do u want Igbo in Nigeria, why talk nonsense? The more u talk that kind rubbish, the more u think u are indirectly saying Igbo is beginning to be reasonable about ur trash one Nigeria. Plis don't insult us. |
| Posted By: Northside Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 620 | This Ofeke... Abeg, shut up your mouth Ofeke. While some respected Igbos and their brethrens on this site are now coming together to say, 'let bygones be bygones' only you still want to continue with your primitive way of reasoning like, "If you are not an Igbo man..." You are an incurable, one-way-traffic primitive, tribalist, maybe because of your half education. You should have noticed when the ethnic music tune had changed. NONSENSE!!! |
| Posted By: Ofeke Posted On: Mar 31, 2012 Views: 634 | Once beating, twice >>>>>> I won't join issues with these PSW's. I have made my point. If you are an igbo man, then you are onye igbo and if you are not, you can never be period. No mater where you live, as long as you are an igbo man, you are a Biafran. This include whether you like it or not. You can dance from ikwerre to Calabari, that is your headache. You do not achieve republic in the old people home. |
| Posted By: southside Posted On: Mar 30, 2012 Views: 624 | WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF NIGERIAN EMBASSIES ABROAD The essence of having an embassy in abroad is to make holier than thou nigerian mongers like you proud. Why are you complaining? Do you know the numbers of nigerians that are killed in nigeria daily? Ok, read today naija newspapers first. It might interest you to know that death is no longer news in nigeria. |
| Posted By: IHEBOM CHIDI.E Posted On: Mar 30, 2012 Views: 715 | WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF NIGERIAN EMBASSIES ABROAD A Nigerian was killed 4days ago by a Malaysian police man&our embassy and ambassado in Malaysia didn't even show up to care as if the person dead is not a Nigerian and again a Nigerian in Ukraine Europe was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for minor issue and our embassy&ambassado in uKRAINE doesn't want to come and come to the rescue of the nigerian.what is the essence of have embassies abroad? |
| Posted By: OBSERVER Posted On: Mar 30, 2012 Views: 801 | PARTY PARTY PARTY Lagos State To Cough Up N1 Billion To Fund Tinubu's Birthday Celebration. ####################################################### Just one billion for Owambeee party. Is that not too small? Jobless youths are going to be special guests. |
| Posted By: Truth is Life Posted On: Mar 30, 2012 Views: 768 | A COWARDISE MOVE !!! Boko Haram: FG moves to appease North with 13% derivation Abuja - As violence continues to rock parts of the North, the Federal Government may have opted to appease some northern states with the payment of 13 per cent derivation on solid minerals with immediate effect. A competent source told Vanguard that government was worried about rising insecurity in the northern part of the country with vociferous leaders of the north blaming the situation on poverty and inequality arising from alleged lopsided revenue allocation against them. The source said President Goodluck Jonathan was considering various measures, which include the immediate payment of the 13 per cent derivation to solid mineral-bearing states, a preserve hitherto enjoyed by the nine oil producing states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Rivers, Delta, Imo, Abia and Ondo since the inception of democratic rule in 1999. It was learnt that government's decision to pay the money was an indirect way of stemming the growing discontent and violence in that part of the country. The Federal Government has been paying the derivation fund, which runs into trillions of Naira to only the nine oil-bearing states. Payment to commence next month But Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMFAC, Mr. Elias Mbam, claimed in an exclusive interview that the payment, which is to commence next month, has no political motive. Mbam, an engineer, made it clear that the decision to extend the payment to solid mineral states was in obedience to the relevant section of the Nigerian constitution. The chairman said: "The payment is a constitutional matter, which states that derivation should not be less than 13 per cent and derivation is not limited to oil and gas. This also includes all other mineral resources. "If you have minerals in your state and it is developed and it generates revenue into the federation account, you are entitled to 13 per cent of what is paid into the federation account." The chairman, who did not, however, list the benefitting states and how much would be shared to them, said the commission would also not be drawn into agitation by some states for a review of the revenue allocation formula to give them more money. Section 162 (2) of the Constitution of Nigeria states: "The principles of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than 13 per cent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural resource." Non-oil GDP N90. 4 billion is expected as non-oil Gross Domestic Product by the Federal Government in the next three years as contained in the revised Medium Term Financial Framework between 2012 and 2014. The solid mineral states are expected to earn 13 per cent of the amount. On the other hand, the nine oil producing states will share at least N1.9 trillion as their share of 13 per cent derivation within the period. The Minna meeting But it is not clear whether the leaders of the North would be pacified as they had only a few days ago called for an urgent review of the revenue formula. In a well publicised communiqué, the North rejected the current revenue allocation law and called for its immediate review, saying it was lopsided, unfair and detrimental to the interest of all Nigerians, including the real people of the oil-producing states it appears to favour superficially. They argued that oil-producing states were equally victims because the revenue accruing to their states on the basis of derivation over-weighted formula was far beyond their executive capacity to manage, thereby promoting corruption and hyper-inflation in those states, their neighbours and the country at large. The communiqué said: "This revenue allocation law also stands in violation of the international law with particular reference to the International Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC). The LOSC treaty, which has since come into force (1982), is the principal governing law for all maritime resource issues." |
| Posted By: Alexgote micheal smith Posted On: Mar 30, 2012 Views: 589 | Nigeria should find a way and go back to agriculture oil is causing so much problems in the country so i think that if we can go back to agriculture everybody will have to bend down and work.oil now serves as blood money coz there is a lot of killing becos of this natural resources we have nd imagine we hav it and don't have refineries to go with it instead we export it to countries like the US 4 it 2 b refined 4 us 2 use,i think dats d worst thing dat can eva happen 2 any country so i plead with the government 4 us 2 b going bak into wat we knw hw 2 do best nd initiative lyk the (OFN) should b brought bak...... |
| Posted By: mazi Posted On: Mar 30, 2012 Views: 526 | yorubas are already chopping themself the yorubas in osun are already eating the ones in ogun. the hopeless ones in ondo is eyeing the ones in ekiti. they already have chop bola ige and funsho williams. hahahahahahaha |
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