NOA shares more pics of our men in action to #bringbackourgirls(photos)

NOA is the National Orientation Agency.

  

#bringbackourgirls: Would Jonathan succumb to the pressure for prisoners swap?

President Goodluck Jonathan is currently under pressure from some prominent Nigerians and some of his influential aides to accept the prisoner swap offer made by Boko Haram to release the over 200 schoolgirls it abducted from their school in Chibok on April 14, investigation has revealed.

The leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, had in a recent video asked for the release of Boko Haram members detained by security agencies across the country in exchange for the abducted girls.

Although the Presidency had ruled out what it called “trade by barter” in securing the release of the schoolgirls, some top government officials, including the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, had at different times said the government would go to any length to ensure that the girls were brought back to safety.

But it was learnt on Sunday that the President was being pressured by some prominent Nigerians to accede to the demands of the sect.

Their argument, it was gathered , was that what Nigerians and the international community were
interested in at this time was the release of the girls and not the process leading to it.

“Some prominent Nigerians are already reaching out to the President on the need for him to change his stand on the matter and do anything that can lead to the release of the girls. They are of the view that the release is the most important thing now,” a source close to the Presidency said in Abuja.

He did not name the prominent Nigerians whom he said had reached out to Jonathan on the matter.

The source added that some of the President’s top aides were also of the view that inasmuch as the girls were still in the abductors’ den, Jonathan’s goodwill among Nigerians and on the international scene would continue to dwindle.

This, they argued, would not do the President and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party any good as election year approaches.

Our source said If the President finally yields to the pressure, the release of the Boko Haram members in detention would not be made a public issue like when their wives and children were freed last year.

The source said this was to avoid the moral burden of justifying the release of criminals in exchange for innocent girls.

He added that once the decision was finally taken, the sect members who had already been convicted by courts might not benefit from the arrangement.

The source was not sure whether Shekau would also enjoy the luxury of naming his members who should benefit from the exchange or not.

He said, “Some of us are on the same page with these prominent Nigerians on this matter. Government should not be seen to be too rigid on this matter if we must get result.

“The way it is going, if the pressure is sustained, I see the President giving up on the matter in coming days and processes leading to the consummation of the agreement will be done behind the scene.

“This is why some government officials have been saying that the government will explore all options. It is our belief that this should be done as secretly as possible because of those who do not see the sense in government releasing criminals in exchange for the innocent girls.”

The Northern Elders’ Forum had said no sacrifice was too much to bring back the girls, even if it included releasing Boko Haram prisoners.

The forum’s spokesman Prof. Ango Abdullahi, had told SATURDAY PUNCH that, “every sacrifice is worth making to get these girls released from wherever they are kept.”

Jonathan had in May last year directed the Defence headquarters to release some Boko Haram members in its custody.

The decision was said to have been in furtherance of the Federal Government’’ position in response to requests by the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Reconciliation.

The Spokesman for the President, Reuben Abati, had at that time said Jonathan’s directive was evidence of his government’s multi-dimensional approach to tackling the security challenge in some parts of the country

Plans to Remove Petrol And Kerosene Subsidy underway—Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke

 The Federal Government may have concluded plans to stop subsidising the consumption of petroleum products in the country, especially petrol and kerosene following increasingly dwindling revenue.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, gave the clearest hint yet of the planned removal of subsidies on both products by the Federal Government on Tuesday at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

She said that the subsidies being paid to the marketers by the Federal Government on imported Premium Motor Spirit and kerosene were no longer sustainable, prompting analysts to say the days of the petrol and kerosene subsidy regime might soon be over.

Alison-Madueke stated that the reform already being implemented in the power sector should be taken to the downstream oil subsector, stressing that the negative impact of continued regulation of the sector outweighed the positive impact.

She said, “The continued regulation of the downstream sector has its positive and negative impacts on the economy. But the negative effect is more than the positive. The subsidy policy cannot be sustained any longer.

“This is because the subsidy payment is not benefiting the poor it is targeting; rather, it is benefiting the rich. The industry needs to move to next level by increasing revenue and curbing oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

“Without be labouring the point, we are all aware that the government has to deregulate the downstream sector.

Continuing regulation, we all are aware, has negative effects. It is basically unsustainable, it discourages investment, and principally, it benefits the rich, not the masses in the society that we intend to reach in the first place.

“This means that deregulation is the only way in which capital investment can be encouraged. It can give employment opportunities. At the same time, we are all aware that in a democratic polity, there has to be a balance between different policies and directives of government and the needs and desires of the people of Nigeria at all times.”

If the subsidies on both products are removed, the consumers will be paying a minimum of N144.66 for a litre of petrol against the official regulated price of N97. The N144.66 is the landing cost of the product and the distribution margins as contained in the pricing template prepared by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency for the month of March.

For kerosene, consumers will have to pay N154.36 per litre, which comprises the landing cost of N138.87 and distribution margins of N15.49, instead of the official pump price of N50.

This is the first time in recent times that a top official will provide an insight into government’s thinking on the subject of subsidy removal though there have been official denials that nothing like that is in the offing.