Strike Update – Day 3: FG on Fuel subsidy while Labour paralyses the country.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has vowed to press ahead with its controversial deregulation policy after its weekly Federal Executive Council meeting today. The Minister for information, Mr. Labaran Maku accused labour leaders of creating more pains for Nigerians with the ongoing general strikes.

Meanwhile, today being the third day of the general mass protest called by Labour witnessed  a large turnout all over as businesses were shut in most parts of the country. There was a large crowd at the Ojota Park, (Gani Freedom Park) where a lot of activists continue to demand for the reversal of the fuel price and prosecution of those involved in the ripping off of the nation.

Civil Servants defied the order of the Federal Government to resume work. The Secretariat was devoid of the usual hustle and bustle as workers continue to stand solidly with Labour.

PENGASSAN has declared that it is solidly behind NLC and TUC  and reiterated that before the removal of fuel subsidy, some conditions must be met such as fixing of Refineries and building more, regular power supply,etc. They called on all Nigerians not to be weary and continue to support the NLC and TUC.

In Minna, Niger State, there were reports of of riots during the mass rallies and the State government has had to declare a 24 hour curfew in the state.

I would like to ask all Nigerians to ensure that violence is not resorted to during this mass rallies and implore the Government and Labour to find a swift solution to this impasse.

Strike Update – Day 2: Update

Today marked the second day of the protests called by the NLC, TUC and other activists against the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government. Today’s protest was generally more peaceful and there was a lot more people out taking part in the protests.

In the seaport in Lagos, operations were grounded as there was visibly no activity going on. A large presence of security was around to protect the ports but there was no business activity going on as people obeyed the sit at home order. At the Airports, International Flights where in operation while the Local Airport was grounded.

In the Federal Capital Territory, the protest was in full force as the Federal Secretariat was under lock and key. In Kwara State, the strike continued for the second day running and it took off from the NLC secretariat through Offa road and headed for the Government House.

It was reported later this evening that the Police fired live bullets at Jakande Round about, Lekki to scare off protesters.

In general, the general protest spread round the country and presently it seems the citizens of this country are solidly behind NLC and TUC and the demand is for the Federal Government to revert back to its former N65 before any negotiations can take place.

Some protesters were reportedly at the premises of Femi Otedola though this report could not be confirmed and two lives were also lost in Lagos State as a reckless driver hit and run over some protesters while trying to avoid a burn fire.

We look forward to the third day of protests.

 

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Unconfirmed reports say that ''Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, told BBC World News this morning that it was the State Governors that demanded the removal of fuel subsidy, to increase their incomes. And this demand predates her appointment, (meaning this scam was in plan before she was appointed to office as Minister of Finance) she asserts on BBC.Who are we to  believe now?

If this is true, it means the Governors are also in the know of the removal of subsidy, but what efforts have been made to reduce the pains of their citizens. Our leaders must ensure that the citizenry do not suffer for an offence they did not help in creating.

Strike Day 1: One Dead, Nigeria grounded!!!!

Today is the day the general strike called by NLC and TUC and everywhere was shut down. From Kwara to Lagos, from Oyo to Kano people trooped out enmassed to protest against the removal of fuel subsidy. Government Offices were under lock and key in all the states and there was a total paralysis of Government activities.

Reports from Gombe State say that miscreants took over the protests and disrupted it and the President has said that the passage of motion by House of Reps passing a motion against the fuel subsidy is a mere expression of their opinion.

In Lagos State, one life was reported lost around Ogba and it has really caused a lot of uproar in the social media. Ademola Aderinde is the name of the young man felled by bullet of the Nigerian Police.

Protest was also carried out in Ilorin and the security operatives were well behaved and did not disrupt the proceedings.

In general, Nigerians want the price of fuel reverted back to the former N65 and the so called cabals arrested if found guilty.

More updates to follow….

Nigeria's Federal House of Reps vote on Subsidy Removal!!

Nigeria's Federal house of Representatives have just voted on the removal of fuel subsidy and it has voted that the removal should be suspended for now. The House asked that should be wider consultations and it set up a committe to dialogue with Labour and the Federal Government.

Is this victory for the Nigerian masses or just a temporary measure to ensure that the strike does not hold tommorrow. I believe its in the interest of this country that wider consultations are made to ensure that when the removal of the subsidy is finally done it will be of great benefit to the whole country.

In as much as the Federal Government seeks to gaurantee the future existence of this great country, it needs to quickly resolve the issue of porous borders through which a lot of goods pass through to destabilse our economy. Doing this would reduce the smuggling of contraband goods and improve the economy.

We await labour's reaction to this motion.

Stay blessed.

Will the Strike hold?

The various labour organs have called for a general and industrial strike from Monday 9th January, 2012 and a lot of arrangements are being made for it to be a success.

But the real question is : Would the strike really hold? Would Nigerians be bold enough to actually heed to the call for a total blackout form Labour?


President Jonathan made a public broadcast last night to actually let nigerians know that 'tough choices would have to be made'. He also informed Nigerians that there would be a cut on allowances of the Federal Cabinet and a reduction in travelling.

Would this be satisfactory to Nigerians?

Only time would tell.

Interview with CBN Governor conducted by Zainab Mahmoud !

The post below was taken from http://amahzeeing.blogspot.com and was conducted by the owner of the blog with CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Enjoy!

My e-interview with Mal. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi!

From: Zainab Mahmoud
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 07:57:33 -0500 (EST)
To:
Subject: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

Dear Sir,

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know you are a very busy man and I hope you will reply even if briefly.

I am Zainab Mahmoud, 23, a doctor working in Ireland.
I stole your email address from email threads from my father (he does not know I am sending this!)

I have read a lot about the current situation in Nigeria re: subsidy, I have listened to your interview on BBC in support of it.
I, like many Nigerians, don't fully understand the economics of this.

My view is I agree that subsidy is not sustainable but what I know is lack of it is simply not 'survivable' for many Nigerians.
I also agree that subsidy should be on production and not consumption.

Correct me if I am wrong, but a lot of this subsidy goes to corruption.
So if we say NO to subsidy removal, it means we are fighting the battle of the corrupt. We continue to fee their pockets!
And if we say YES to subsidy removal and fuel prices double it means we have made the state of the corruption permanent and will continue to feed their pockets, only this time from our empty pockets!

You are respected by a lot, me inclusive, but..
Why isn't your stance stronger about making cuts in other areas like recurrent expenditure?
Why should Nigerians buy fuel at the same price as non-oil producing countries?

I want to make it as short as I can.
It took a lot of courage to email you directly but we don't get the information we need!
Our media is hopeless and our Minister for information even more so.

Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely,

Zainab Mahmoud.



From: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
To: Zainab Mahmoud
Sent: Fri, Jan 6, 2012 1:47 pm
Subject: Re: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

Zainab hi
Good questions. Actually I have been screaming about government recurrent expenditure and overheads since 2010-as well as the corruption in subsidy regime.

It was my criticism of overheads that led to my wahala with national assembly. And I keep fighting it. However if u look at the 2012 budget the entire recurrent exp of the executive arm is N1.8tr of which N1.6tr is personnel costs. So cutting this means paycuts and retrenchment and this is politically suicidal.

Cab subsidy be phased? Possible and maybe govt will reach that compromise but better to do it once and for all. I have advised a phased approach if that will give a political solution but don't know
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.




From: Zainab Mahmoud
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 14:36:15 -0500 (EST)
To:
Subject: Re: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

Thank you very much for replying! I appreciate it.

Can I please take more of your time and make a few more points?

From what you have explained and the happenings it appears that the Government are not willing to make cuts in their expensive lifestyles but want the masses to take the burden of their mismanagement!
If the Government had suggested a phased approach alongside cuts in their 'overheads' I am sure it would have had a better welcome.

May be the protests need to take a new turn and push for cuts in recurrent expenditure.

If the subsidy is removed completely and petrol is sold at N141, doesn't that mean that Nigerians will continue to fund corruption endlessly because the true price of refining Nigerian oil cant be equal to the price our neighbouring non-oil producing countries buy petrol at.

Why cant we push for better border policies and sanctions on importation of petrol rather than worsen the already dire condition of the average Nigerian?



Can I get your permission to share this explanation with my fellow youths via twitter and facebook?(I will scribble out ur email ofcourse)

Sincerely,
Zainab Mahmoud.



From: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
To: Zainab Mahmoud
Sent: Fri, Jan 6, 2012 3:00 pm
Subject: Re: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

Well two things; in real (ie inflation adjusted terms) expenditure is coming down. Budget this year is 6pct higher than last year but inflation is at about 11pct.

Secondly I am sure we can get government to chip away at spending but in terms of materiality it will be symbolic. With a budget of about N5tr a N10b or N20b dent in spending makes a political statement but has little impact on such things like deficit/GDP, debt/GDP, debt service/revenue ratios, or reserves, exchange rates and inflation.

Fuel subsidy removal knocks off N1.4 tr which is equivalent 30pct of expenditure in 2011 and more than 100pct of capital budget and a third of total debt. I agree that we need both the symbolic and the material but in terms of macro level analysis items talked about-feeding in the villa or gardening are insignificant relatively speaking, which is not to say they shouldn't be looked at.

On borders in theory smuggling is illegal. In practice if you have money you can bribe officials on both sides and smuggle goods. A government subsidy of N80 for every litre is enough money cross the borders. Saudi arabia is surrounded by countries like bahrain and oman and yemen and kuwait all of which sell cheap fuel so no arbitrage opportunity. Once you have a huge price differential, goods will flow to the higher price market-legally or illegally. We learn this in price theory as a subject called price fixation. Prices below equilibrium always result in rent seeking and black markets or scarcity.
You may
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.




From: Zainab Mahmoud
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 15:09:22 -0500 (EST)
To:
Subject: Re: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

Thanks again!

The economics of it appear complicated and I will be lying if I said I understood all that.

How do you explain this to the average Nigerian who earns the minimum wage of N18000 and because of subsidy removal is now expected to spend N15000 on petrol?
Subsidy is not sustainable but lack of it isn't either!




From: "Sanusi Lamido Sanusi"
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 20:30:02 +0000
To: Zainab Mahmoud
ReplyTo:
Subject: Re: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

The short term impact at the micro level is reduction in disposable income after fuel and transport costs, as well as a fall in real income due to inflation. Painful.
If the fiscal space freed up leads to improved power, infrastructure and productivity then we get growth, jobs and industrial development in the medium to long term.
Success depends on implementation of sound policies and improvement in governance and accountability. What I think is that Nigerians intuitively understand why this has to be done but don't believe government can deliver on the promise so they may end up with pain without gain. I don't blame them as the record of govt has been poor. Its up to govt to prove them wrong.
Sleep well continue tmrw have bad migraine
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.




From: "Zainab Mahmoud"
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 20:31:42 +0000
To:
ReplyTo: zainabmahmoud@aol.com
Subject: Re: Greetings and questions..Thank you for reading.

Thank you very much,

Allah ya kara sauki.

Via BlackBerry® from Vodafone

Posted by Amahzeeing at 8:41 PM