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Panafrican News Agency
Jonathan's performance sheet, "honour" for Abiola reported in Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - President Goodluck Jonathan's self assessment in office, the renaming of the University of Lagos after the late politician, Moshood Abiola, and new electricity tariff which took effect Friday were the major stories in Nigeria this week.
"Jonathan scores self high on nation’s progress" was the headline of the Guardian on Wednesday with the story saying that President Jonathan on Tuesday reviewed the state of the nation and submitted that Nigeria, under his charge, has made appreciable progress in the last one year and was firmly keeping to the path of greatness.
In an early morning broadcast to mark this year’s “Democracy Day”, the President presented an overview of his administration’s achievements in office and pledged to do more over the next three years.
In the broadcast, President Jonathan said that the Federal Government generated 6.6 trillion Naira (about US$ 44 million) worth of investment commitments in one year under him and attributed this to the new National Draft Trade Policy, which, he said, was the first ever in the nation’s history.
Rendering his scorecard, President Jonathan said: “Today, progress has been made. The country’s credit rating is positive, in contrast with many nations being downgraded. In 2011, our economy grew by 7.45 per cent. As at mid-May 2012, our foreign exchange reserves had risen to US$ 37.02 billion, the highest level in 21 months.
"We have stabilized and improved our fiscal regime. We brought the fiscal deficit down to 2.85 per cent of GDP from 2.9 per cent in 2011. We reduced recurrent expenditures from 74 per cent to 71 per cent and reduced domestic borrowing from 852 billion Naira in 2011 to 744 billion Naira in 2012. We cut out over 100 billion Naira of non-essential expenditure and increased our internally generated revenue from 200 billion Naira to 467 billion Naira.”
Against the backdrop of current security challenges, President Jonathan gave his assurancde on the indivisibility of the country and vowed to tackle terrorism head on.
However, not all Nigerians agreed with the president on his self assessment.
The Nation captured the story under the headline "ACN: Jonathan’s first anniversary a legacy of insecurity, scandals". The pro-opposition newspaper quoted Nigeria's most-effective opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as having rated Jonathan's administration below average.
According to the paper, the ACN described the President’s performance as a far cry from the transformation he promised Nigerians at his inauguration.
After appraising President Jonathan’s first year in office, the ACN on Tuesday concluded that the administration has been a monument to insecurity and scandals of historic proportions.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party alleged that Jonathan frittered the people's goodwill quickly after his inauguration.
The party said: ‘’A president who asked Nigerians to dream again succeeded in turning their dreams into nightmares. Simply put, Nigerians are worse off today than they were when President Jonathan assumed office on 29 May, 2011, and the country under his watch has become more divided today than at any other time since the civil war of 1967 to 1970.
‘’In sports parlance, President Jonathan has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and left his compatriots forlorn and transmogrified, instead of being transformed,’’ the ACN said.
Although the ACN noted that a year was too short to judge an administration for failing to fully upgrade or put in place new infrastructure, more so in a country where everything from roads to hospitals, schools and public utilities have been left to decay by successive administrations, the party, however, said that the pill from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was worse than the country’s disease.
It cited the case of electricity, which has worsened so much that the only point of light for a large swath of Nigerians has been the sun during the day and the moon at night.
The party described the Jonathan administration’s first year as a tsunami of scandals and monumental corruption that have put a lie to President Jonathan’s inauguration pledge to fight corruption.
ACN said: “While Nigerians are willing to wager that the administration could yet rediscover itself and make some impact in upgrading or building infrastructure, they are fast losing hope when it comes to the government’s ability to ensure the security or life and property, a key responsibility of any government; check runaway corruption and prevent shameful scandals.
‘’As at the last count, over 1,200 Nigerians have been sent to their early graves by the rampaging Boko Haram, as the Jonathan administration waffles - or perhaps deliberately delays on efforts to end the crisis.
“Today, Boko Haram has seized the initiative from a government that allocated a lion’s share of the 2012 budget for security.
‘’Add this to the continuing cases of kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes across the country, and one begins to wonder whether Nigeria is on the road to Somalia, or if indeed there is a government worth its name in Abuja.’’
The Punch headline was "Jonathan govt, legacy of insecurity, scandals – ACN", with the story quoting the ACN as saying that Jonathan’s first year in office was a poor and faltering start to his four-year tenure.
As part of the National Day celebrations, President Jonathan, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, also renamed the University of Lagos after the late business mogul and politician, Chief Moshood Abiola, to honour the presumed winner of the 12 June, 1993, presidential election in Nigeria.
But that singular honour sparked a wave of protests across the nation's commercial nerve centre, Lagos, with students of the institution protesting the government action.
The Nation carried three stories on the event, headlining its first story as "Students protest renaming of UNILAG". The second headline was "Controversy as UNILAG is renamed Abiola Varsity" and the third "No going back on renaming of UNILAG - FG".
According to the Nation, the Federal Government on Wednesday stressed that there is no going back on the renaming of University of Lagos after Chief Moshood Abiola, saying "the decision was taken in the interest of the country."
It reported that the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, made the statement while responding to questions from newsmen on the protest that greeted the president's gesture. He said that Nigerians should not allow the protest to overshadow the national significance of what the president has done.
Maku stated that the president only showed that he truly appreciates the late Abiola’s contribution to the political development of the country.
Jonathan had said that Abiola’s presumed victory in the presidential election, and death, while in custody, proved to be the catalyst for the people’s pro-democracy uprising. “After very careful consideration, and in honour of Chief M.K.O Abiola’s accomplishments and heroism, on this Democracy Day, the University of Lagos, is renamed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Moshood Abiola University, Lagos."
But that did not go down well with the students of the university.
In one of its two stories, Thisday newspaper, with the headline "Protests: Authorities Shut UNILAG", reported that authorities have shut the institution for two weeks following a second straight day of protests by students.
University authorities, apparently in an attempt to douse tension and passions, consequently ordered students off the campus, which will remain shut for two weeks.
Since the announcement was made on Tuesday, students have been up in arms and on Wednesday morning caused heavy traffic in the Lagos metropolis after they blocked the Third Mainland Bridge.
It took the intervention of senior police officers and university officials before the students agreed to remove the barricades blocking the ever busy highway.
On power, the Vanguard reported the commencement on Friday of a new electricity tariff regime with potentially grave cost implications for urban dwellers, the rich and commercial concerns.
It reported that the new tariff regime reduces the cost of electricity for rural consumers who do not use electronics or other heavy equipment. However, more affluent consumers, commercial and industrial consumers would pay higher rates above the 4 naira (about 25 cents) per kilowatt hour that would be paid by the very poor.
Middle income consumers would be expected to pay between 11 naira and 12 naira/Kwh. The highest rate would be paid by consumers living in high brow areas of the country such as Maitama, Asokoro in Abuja, Ikoyi and Banana Island in Lagos.
Consumers in these areas grouped as R3 and R4 would pay as much as N23.71/kwh with fixed metre charges of 21,256.30 naira and 118,830.56 naira respectively.
Appearing before the House of Representatives on Thursday, the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, said the new tariff regime was formulated to stabilise the sector as well as attract private investments that is required to drive the sector in the medium to long term.
The Vanguard quoted Ministry sources as saying that the new pricing regime will enthrone efficiency and good governance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), eliminate waste and guarantee cost-reflective pricing.
Besides, Vanguard learnt that the Ministry of Power is to distribute free energy saving bulbs that allow lower power consumption and consequently lower electricity bills to be paid by the customers.
Four-watt energy saving bulbs, which are said to be safer and reduces health hazards, will be deployed in place of the present heavy energy consuming 40 and 60 watt bulbs.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it was insisting on its opposition to the new tariff.
Congress had last Sunday declared its strong opposition to the June 1, 2012, take off of the regime, declaring that the proposed energy tariff without improved power supply is not only uncalled for, but insensitive to the prevailing plight of workers and the Nigerian people.
NLC, in a statement by its President, Abdulwaheed Omar, called on the Federal Government to put on hold any future increase in electricity tariff until all the issues raised against such moves have been dealt with to avoid the wrath of Nigerian masses.
At a briefing in Abuja to kick start the new regime, Chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, noted that the new tariff is established to ensure steady power supply and guarantee efficient customer delivery in Nigeria.
-0- PANA VAO 2June2012
"Jonathan scores self high on nation’s progress" was the headline of the Guardian on Wednesday with the story saying that President Jonathan on Tuesday reviewed the state of the nation and submitted that Nigeria, under his charge, has made appreciable progress in the last one year and was firmly keeping to the path of greatness.
In an early morning broadcast to mark this year’s “Democracy Day”, the President presented an overview of his administration’s achievements in office and pledged to do more over the next three years.
In the broadcast, President Jonathan said that the Federal Government generated 6.6 trillion Naira (about US$ 44 million) worth of investment commitments in one year under him and attributed this to the new National Draft Trade Policy, which, he said, was the first ever in the nation’s history.
Rendering his scorecard, President Jonathan said: “Today, progress has been made. The country’s credit rating is positive, in contrast with many nations being downgraded. In 2011, our economy grew by 7.45 per cent. As at mid-May 2012, our foreign exchange reserves had risen to US$ 37.02 billion, the highest level in 21 months.
"We have stabilized and improved our fiscal regime. We brought the fiscal deficit down to 2.85 per cent of GDP from 2.9 per cent in 2011. We reduced recurrent expenditures from 74 per cent to 71 per cent and reduced domestic borrowing from 852 billion Naira in 2011 to 744 billion Naira in 2012. We cut out over 100 billion Naira of non-essential expenditure and increased our internally generated revenue from 200 billion Naira to 467 billion Naira.”
Against the backdrop of current security challenges, President Jonathan gave his assurancde on the indivisibility of the country and vowed to tackle terrorism head on.
However, not all Nigerians agreed with the president on his self assessment.
The Nation captured the story under the headline "ACN: Jonathan’s first anniversary a legacy of insecurity, scandals". The pro-opposition newspaper quoted Nigeria's most-effective opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as having rated Jonathan's administration below average.
According to the paper, the ACN described the President’s performance as a far cry from the transformation he promised Nigerians at his inauguration.
After appraising President Jonathan’s first year in office, the ACN on Tuesday concluded that the administration has been a monument to insecurity and scandals of historic proportions.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party alleged that Jonathan frittered the people's goodwill quickly after his inauguration.
The party said: ‘’A president who asked Nigerians to dream again succeeded in turning their dreams into nightmares. Simply put, Nigerians are worse off today than they were when President Jonathan assumed office on 29 May, 2011, and the country under his watch has become more divided today than at any other time since the civil war of 1967 to 1970.
‘’In sports parlance, President Jonathan has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and left his compatriots forlorn and transmogrified, instead of being transformed,’’ the ACN said.
Although the ACN noted that a year was too short to judge an administration for failing to fully upgrade or put in place new infrastructure, more so in a country where everything from roads to hospitals, schools and public utilities have been left to decay by successive administrations, the party, however, said that the pill from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was worse than the country’s disease.
It cited the case of electricity, which has worsened so much that the only point of light for a large swath of Nigerians has been the sun during the day and the moon at night.
The party described the Jonathan administration’s first year as a tsunami of scandals and monumental corruption that have put a lie to President Jonathan’s inauguration pledge to fight corruption.
ACN said: “While Nigerians are willing to wager that the administration could yet rediscover itself and make some impact in upgrading or building infrastructure, they are fast losing hope when it comes to the government’s ability to ensure the security or life and property, a key responsibility of any government; check runaway corruption and prevent shameful scandals.
‘’As at the last count, over 1,200 Nigerians have been sent to their early graves by the rampaging Boko Haram, as the Jonathan administration waffles - or perhaps deliberately delays on efforts to end the crisis.
“Today, Boko Haram has seized the initiative from a government that allocated a lion’s share of the 2012 budget for security.
‘’Add this to the continuing cases of kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes across the country, and one begins to wonder whether Nigeria is on the road to Somalia, or if indeed there is a government worth its name in Abuja.’’
The Punch headline was "Jonathan govt, legacy of insecurity, scandals – ACN", with the story quoting the ACN as saying that Jonathan’s first year in office was a poor and faltering start to his four-year tenure.
As part of the National Day celebrations, President Jonathan, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, also renamed the University of Lagos after the late business mogul and politician, Chief Moshood Abiola, to honour the presumed winner of the 12 June, 1993, presidential election in Nigeria.
But that singular honour sparked a wave of protests across the nation's commercial nerve centre, Lagos, with students of the institution protesting the government action.
The Nation carried three stories on the event, headlining its first story as "Students protest renaming of UNILAG". The second headline was "Controversy as UNILAG is renamed Abiola Varsity" and the third "No going back on renaming of UNILAG - FG".
According to the Nation, the Federal Government on Wednesday stressed that there is no going back on the renaming of University of Lagos after Chief Moshood Abiola, saying "the decision was taken in the interest of the country."
It reported that the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, made the statement while responding to questions from newsmen on the protest that greeted the president's gesture. He said that Nigerians should not allow the protest to overshadow the national significance of what the president has done.
Maku stated that the president only showed that he truly appreciates the late Abiola’s contribution to the political development of the country.
Jonathan had said that Abiola’s presumed victory in the presidential election, and death, while in custody, proved to be the catalyst for the people’s pro-democracy uprising. “After very careful consideration, and in honour of Chief M.K.O Abiola’s accomplishments and heroism, on this Democracy Day, the University of Lagos, is renamed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Moshood Abiola University, Lagos."
But that did not go down well with the students of the university.
In one of its two stories, Thisday newspaper, with the headline "Protests: Authorities Shut UNILAG", reported that authorities have shut the institution for two weeks following a second straight day of protests by students.
University authorities, apparently in an attempt to douse tension and passions, consequently ordered students off the campus, which will remain shut for two weeks.
Since the announcement was made on Tuesday, students have been up in arms and on Wednesday morning caused heavy traffic in the Lagos metropolis after they blocked the Third Mainland Bridge.
It took the intervention of senior police officers and university officials before the students agreed to remove the barricades blocking the ever busy highway.
On power, the Vanguard reported the commencement on Friday of a new electricity tariff regime with potentially grave cost implications for urban dwellers, the rich and commercial concerns.
It reported that the new tariff regime reduces the cost of electricity for rural consumers who do not use electronics or other heavy equipment. However, more affluent consumers, commercial and industrial consumers would pay higher rates above the 4 naira (about 25 cents) per kilowatt hour that would be paid by the very poor.
Middle income consumers would be expected to pay between 11 naira and 12 naira/Kwh. The highest rate would be paid by consumers living in high brow areas of the country such as Maitama, Asokoro in Abuja, Ikoyi and Banana Island in Lagos.
Consumers in these areas grouped as R3 and R4 would pay as much as N23.71/kwh with fixed metre charges of 21,256.30 naira and 118,830.56 naira respectively.
Appearing before the House of Representatives on Thursday, the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, said the new tariff regime was formulated to stabilise the sector as well as attract private investments that is required to drive the sector in the medium to long term.
The Vanguard quoted Ministry sources as saying that the new pricing regime will enthrone efficiency and good governance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), eliminate waste and guarantee cost-reflective pricing.
Besides, Vanguard learnt that the Ministry of Power is to distribute free energy saving bulbs that allow lower power consumption and consequently lower electricity bills to be paid by the customers.
Four-watt energy saving bulbs, which are said to be safer and reduces health hazards, will be deployed in place of the present heavy energy consuming 40 and 60 watt bulbs.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it was insisting on its opposition to the new tariff.
Congress had last Sunday declared its strong opposition to the June 1, 2012, take off of the regime, declaring that the proposed energy tariff without improved power supply is not only uncalled for, but insensitive to the prevailing plight of workers and the Nigerian people.
NLC, in a statement by its President, Abdulwaheed Omar, called on the Federal Government to put on hold any future increase in electricity tariff until all the issues raised against such moves have been dealt with to avoid the wrath of Nigerian masses.
At a briefing in Abuja to kick start the new regime, Chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, noted that the new tariff is established to ensure steady power supply and guarantee efficient customer delivery in Nigeria.
-0- PANA VAO 2June2012
