- ‘ Cases of rape rise to 84% in Nigeria’
- Dana air crash update: 23 aircrash victims’ families yet to receive compensation
- Mimiko inaugurates new Mother & Child hospital today
- N4.56b pension scam: Female accused hospitalised,trial stalled
- Construction workers hail FG’s decision on Lagos-Ibadan expressway
- Senate adjourns plenary for 1 week, dissolves to Appropriation committee.
- Blackout looms as Egbin power plant breaks down
- FMBN, NEXIM, BOA, IB lose N47bn in 6 months - CBN
- FirstBank wins Nigerian Bank of the Year award
- PDP tackles ACN over Tukur’s comments
- Electricity workers threaten strike over Wamakko
- ‘NDIC prosecuted 55 directors, staff of micro finance banks in 2011’
- Judgment in Oni’s appeal stalled, re-fixed for Jan 8
- Slain banker: Deceased had only 3 wounds -Accused’s father
- Appointments: S/West not marginalised —FCC
Let’s remove oil subsidy, Jonathan pleads with Nigerians •Says palliative measures are on the way
Written by Biola Azeez, Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi Wednesday, 07 December 2011
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has reiterated his resolve to go ahead with the planned withdrawal of the oil subsidy, just as he said that efforts were in top
gear to introduce palliative measures to address the hardship that Nigerians might face.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the second quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Ilorin, on Tuesday, President Jonathan said the government was not unmindful of the hardship being faced by the average Nigerian.
The president, while answering some of the questions raised by some participants at the forum that was attended by the host governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed and his Niger State counterpart, Alhaji Aliyu Babangida, urged Nigerians to be patient with the government on the issue of oil subsidy removal, believing that it would lead to creation of more job opportunities for Nigerians.
President Jonathan, who said that apart from creating job opportunities for the nation’s teeming youth, added that some sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, would be strengthened to ameliorate the suffering of the citizens.
Jonathan harped on the need for government at all levels to see agriculture as a potential tool for eradicating poverty in the country, nothing that the poverty level of the people of the North-Central geopolitical zone was lower than that of other five zones, because of the high level of agricultural practice in the zone.
He, therefore, urged support for the Federal Government in its quest to fast-track the economy and secure a buoyant future for the youth, adding that removal of oil subsidy was just an aspect of deregulation, as there was need to plan a future for the youth to get employment through revitalisation of private sector of the economy.
President Jonathan also disclosed the plans by the Federal Government to put structures in place to tackle corruption outright and called on all Nigerians to participate in the war against corruption by reporting and exposing any corrupt act.
The president commended NIREC for its contribution to the peace and stability of the country through its mediatory activities, while seeking its support in the implementation of government’s policies geared towards ensuring harmonious and peaceful coexistence of Nigerians of different faiths.
The president, who quoted copiously from the Qur’an and the Bible to show that peace is the fulcrum of Islam and Christianity, said that God wanted Nigerians to live together in peace.
Also speaking, the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and NIREC co-chairman, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor described the wanton killings in parts of the country by the Boko Haram sect as a declaration of war against the state.
He charged the Federal Government to tackle the Boko Haram menace decisively, saying that “this issue should be seen as a declaration of war on the nation.”
“We should be concerned about the wanton daily killings of the innocent citizens. There is no substitute for peace, which we must all strive to achieve,” he said.
The co-chairman of NIREC and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, said the council, since its inception in 1999, had been going round the country to feel the pulse of Nigerians on what should be done to move the nation forward.
Also speaking, the chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum and Niger State governor, Alhaji Mua’su Babangida Aliyu, said that “considering the current religious, political and socio-cultural challenges in some parts of the country, this meeting is very desirable and relevant, as most of the conclusions that will be reached in this meeting today will help in complementing the efforts of the government in meeting up the country’s socio-cultural and political challenges.”
On his own, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said Kwara State was a direct beneficiary of NIREC as a result of the peace existing in the state.
He urged NIREC to harp on issues that unite Nigerians rather than those ones that would divide the country.
Meanwhile, senators, on Tuesday, were divided over the removal of oil subsidy.
Senator Ayogu Eze, who spoke in favour of the removal, believed that if the government did not remove the subsidy now, it would come to a time in the country that NNPC would not be able to bear the cost of subsidy again.
Senator Emmanuel Paulker also insisted that the fuel subsidy must be removed because a majority of Nigerians were not benefitting in the country.
In his own contribution, Senator Aweisu Kuta, said that the government should have a second look at the proposed removal of subsidy, saying that the removal should not be at a time but gradual.
He added: “I want the government to look at this approach. If it will do it, let it be gradual.”.
Meanwhile, the Senate also adopted the 2012-2015 medium-term fiscal frameworks and 2012 fiscal strategy plan, just as it directed committees on Finance Appropriation and National Planning to advise it on its implementation.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who sent for approval on October 2, informed the lawmakers that the report was prepared against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty.
The president added that “I firmly believe that the MTFF and FSP will ensure that planned spending is set at prudent and sustainable levels, and is consistent with government overall medium-term developmental objectives set out in the transformation agenda of the administration.”
The joint committee was given one week to look at the projected figures and report back after the debate.
The Senate President David Mark asked the committee to quicken its work on the 2012 budget.
He said the framework was a projection and not fixed, and asked the joint committees of Finance and Appropriation to look critically at the projections.
The Federal Government, however, in the framework is targeting marginal increase from N2.37 trillion to N2.47 trillion between 2012 and 2015 from oil revenue, using $75 as the benchmark price.
But in the 2012-2015 medium-term fiscal frameworks submitted to the National Assembly, oil production is projected to rise from 2.48 million per day to 2.6 million per day, and “the drive for increased receipts from non-oil revenue will be intensified and this is expected through better management and intensification of IGR, CIT and Customs collections.”
The external debt profile of the country at $5.227 million for the year 2011 while domestic debt for the year was put at N4.768 billion with the total debt profile put at N5.552 billion.
According to the document “debt service payments are made to service our obligations to foreign and domestic creditors. Although the domestic debt stock had been on the rise in recent years, with our current policy of fiscal consolidation and its positive impact on the size of the fiscal impact and thus domestic borrowing, a reduction in the domestic debt stock is expected.”
On the four-year capital budget planning, government said it was adopting a four-year capital budget plan commencing in the 2012 fiscal year.
The document added “the focus is on the completion and exit from the portfolio of ongoing capital projects and programs which are being re-prioritised in line with the developmental objectives of the First National Implementation Plan (1st NIP) of the Nigeria Vision 20:2020.
“Capital budget allocation will reflect government priorities and there will need to be serious trade-offs in order to ensure flagship projects in key sectors of the economy are adequately funded.”
The 2012-2015 Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) are statutory requirements for submission to the National Assembly under the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
The MTFF consists of the Medium-Term Revenue Framework and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, both of which outline principal components of the government’s revenue and expenditure plan.
The federal government in the framework is targeting marginal increase from N2.37 trillion to N2.47 trillion between2012 and 2015 from oil revenue using $75 as the benchmark price.
Share
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
Headlines
More Headlines
- ‘ Cases of rape rise to 84% in Nigeria’
- Dana air crash update: 23 aircrash victims’ families yet to receive compensation
- Mimiko inaugurates new Mother & Child hospital today
- N4.56b pension scam: Female accused hospitalised,trial stalled
- Construction workers hail FG’s decision on Lagos-Ibadan expressway
- Senate adjourns plenary for 1 week, dissolves to Appropriation committee.
- Blackout looms as Egbin power plant breaks down
- FMBN, NEXIM, BOA, IB lose N47bn in 6 months - CBN
- FirstBank wins Nigerian Bank of the Year award
- PDP tackles ACN over Tukur’s comments
- Electricity workers threaten strike over Wamakko
- ‘NDIC prosecuted 55 directors, staff of micro finance banks in 2011’
- Judgment in Oni’s appeal stalled, re-fixed for Jan 8
- Slain banker: Deceased had only 3 wounds -Accused’s father
- Appointments: S/West not marginalised —FCC
Other Links
More Links
Subscribe to Daily NewsTranslate this site
Health
Op-Ed
Opinion Poll
Should the local government be a federating unit in the Nigerian nation?
The difference between the price of petrol in Nigeria and neighbouring countries is so high that even Angels would smuggled petrol by ships! All Nigerians of goodwill should support the President to remove Petroleum Subsidy so that the country does not go bankrupt like Greece.