ASAMLY BLOG

Okonjo-Iweala says it was the State Governors that demanded the removal of fuel subsidy, to increase their incomes. BREAKING NEWS: ''Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, tells 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?˚

Shops, banks and petrol stations were shut and the highways into the main commercial city of Lagos, usually clogged with rush hour traffic, were eerily empty. Nigeria's fuel regulator announced the end of the subsidy on January 1 as part of efforts to cut government spending and encourage badly needed investment in local refining. Economists say the subsidy merely filled the fuel tanks of the rich and middle classes at the expense of the poor, fed corruption and siphoned off billions of dollars of public funds to a cartel of wealthy fuel importers. Removing it has been a flagship policy of President Goodluck Jonathan and his economic management team. "It was 25 percent of total expenditure in the budget, the single biggest item - more than education, health and agriculture combined," said Bismarck Rewane, chief executive of Lagos-based consultancy Financial Derivatives. "As long as they spend the money right, removing the subsidy has to be good." But unions, wor...

Beyoncé and Jay-Z 'welcome baby girl and name her Ivy Blue Carter' Beyoncé and Jay-Z have welcomed their first child - a baby girl, it has been reported. The music power couple have named their daughter Ivy Blue Carter, according to eonline.com. The 30-year-old singer gave birth to her daughter by caesarean section at Lenox Hill hospital in New York last night and the website reports 'multiple sources' have confirmed the news. It's a girl! Beyonce is said to have given birth to a baby girl by c-section named Ivy Blue according to reports Celebrities have already started tweeting their congratulations to the couple with Russell Simmons and Rihanna were among the first.

JANUARY 8, 2012 President Goodluck Jonathan again on Saturday insisted that the controversial deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector was necessary if the nation must move forward. Jonathan made the submission in a nationwide broadcast on the issue that has attracted protests across the country. He said if he were in the shoes of ordinary Nigerians, he would have reacted negatively to the deregulation as many were doing. He said, “Since the announcement, there have been mixed reactions to the policy. Let me seize this opportunity to assure all Nigerians that I feel the pain that you all feel. I personally feel pained to see the sharp increase in transport fares and the prices of goods and services. “I share the anguish of all persons who had travelled out of their stations who had to pay more on the return leg of their journeys.” He recalled that previous administrations had tinkered with the pump price of petroleum products and were unable to effect complete deregulation of th...

AIT has just reported that the Industrial Court has issued an order stopping the NLC/TUC from embarking on the proposed strike. The NLC/TUC has earlier. In the week decided to embark on a Nationwide strike on Monday 9th January 2012 following the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government. But just at a time when all it's affiliates such as the Nigerian Medical Association (NBA), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association on Nigeria (PENGASSAN)n etc has all given their backing to the NLC/TUC planned strike, the court has now asked them to reverse their plan. Would the NLC planned nationwide strike still hold? Time will tell!

The serene town of Mubi, the commercial nerve centre of Adamawa State, experienced a bloodbath yesterday as gunmen killed 20 people, including a manager of one of the new generation banks and his driver. Deeper Life Bible Church was also bombed without casualties. Of the 20 victims, four persons were shot dead on the spot, Thursday night, at Goodwill Hotel in Mubi by gunmen who rode on motor bikes. One out of the three others, who were wounded in the attack, died yesterday morning. In another attack, 16 people were killed. Although effort made by Saturday Sun to confirm the degree of the incident and casualties from the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Altineh Daniel, proved abortive, police sources disclosed of those killed were from the southern part of the country. Following the attack, non-indigenes have started relocating from the town. To ensure security in the city, soldiers have been deployed to the streets. Emir of Mubi, Alhaji Isah Ahmadu, has appealed to the security ope...

8 Killed in Gombe church • Friday: 7 Injured in Sapele mosque attack; 20 killed and Church bombed in Adamawa From PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi Friday, January 6, 2012 7 injured in Sapele mosque attack No fewer than seven persons were seriously injured yesterday when a group of Christians attacked a mosque in Sapele, Delta State. Saturday Sun gathered that the youths, who were armed with dangerous weapons, stormed the mosque at about 6am and unleashed terror on the people that were around. It was learnt that the youths, after the attack, asked the Muslims in Sapele to pack out of the area and return to the North. Speaking to newsmen on the attack, Mallam Sadiq Musa said some of the victims have been taken to the hospital for treatment. According to him, “it is a pity that our brothers are attacking us. If they ask us to leave, where do they want us to go? We have no other place to go. “This issue is political and not a religious matter because we are trying to preach peace and we don’t believe in...

8 Killed in Gombe church No fewer than eight people have been shot dead, while several others received gunshot wounds, following an attack on Deeper Life Bible Church, Bogo District of Nassarawu, in Gombe, by suspected members of Boko Haram Islamic sect Thursday night. Following the attack, fear has gripped Christians in the state. advertisement The Group Coordinator of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor Bismark Binue, said the worshipers were observing ‘Miracle Service’ when the gunmen struck at about 7pm. He said: “It is shocking and embarrassing. As an indigene of Gombe, I did know Gombe to be peaceful.” Miracle George,18, whose parents were shot when the gunmen attacked the church, said it was a miracle she escaped alive. According to her, “I was praying when I suddenly heard gunshots. I saw a man wearing thick black sweater by the window shooting. “I don’t know how many they are. There was blood everywhere. He was just shooting.” It was gathered that the left wrist of Miracle’s fat...

THE wave of countrywide protests against the removal of the fuel subsidy entered its second day on Tuesday, with protesters blocking advertisement the Niger Bridge, Lokoja, Kogi State, preventing vehicles from the southern part of the country from travelling northwards and also disallowing vehicular traffic from the North to the South. The protesters, who were over 100, carried placards which bore inscriptions, such as "We need military intervention"; "Jonathan, you are not a good leader"; "Resign now"; "The nation is heading for anarchy." One of the protesters in Ilorin the Kwara State capital was shot dead allegedly by the police at the Post-Office Junction. However, the Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Dabo Ezekiel, who confirmed the death of one of the protesters, said the deceased did not die from police stray bullet as alleged. The state government said it regretted the incident and ordered a full-scale investigation i...

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday said it would not rescind the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products. Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, told newsmen at the end of the emergency FEC meeting at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, that government was not unmindful of the pains being experienced by Nigerians, as a result of the action. He said the Federal Government had commenced a ‘massive mass transit scheme’ to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on transportation. Under the scheme, thousands of mass transit vehicles are to be distributed. He was joined by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; and the Minister of Transport, Idris Umar. The emergency meeting, which was chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan, began at 12. 15p.m and around 3.30pm. Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Labour Minister, Emeka Wogu; and the Minister of National Planning, Shamsudeen Usman, were among those in attendance. Absent from the meeting were Finan...