Sdtrendsblog

Thursday, 2 June 2016

I can no longer pay salaries – Gov. Sani Bello

The Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, on Wednesday painted a gloomy picture of his state’s economy, saying it had become impossible for him to pay salaries.

Bello spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “We have laid the cards on the table; we are not hiding anything. We are very transparent as much as we can but the truth of the matter is that I cannot give what we don’t have. I wish I had; personally if I had, I would have paid (salaries) from my pocket but I can’t,” the governor told reporters.

He said his government had been borrowing from banks since January to augment whatever came to the state in form of federal allocation.

He said as of May ending, his government was in debt to the tune of N3bn.

According to Bello, if the trend continues till December, his state’s debt profile will have risen to N10bn.

He said his government decided to sit with labour leaders and discuss the issue because it could not offer what it did not have. While saying it was not healthy to continue borrowing to pay salaries, the governor said there were other pressing issues that needed his government’s attention apart from salaries.

“I think we should go back to the table. Of course, we can’t give what we don’t have. “We are facing difficult times now, so let us sit down and see what we can do.

“I really think it is unhealthy to keep on borrowing just to pay salaries. Apart from that, we are not just there to pay salaries, there are a lot of issues.

I got a call this morning from one Girls’ Secondary School that their roof is off in six out of seven dormitories. Where will they sleep? Now if I take the whole revenue and pay salaries, how am I going to fix schools, hospitals?” the governor wondered. He said the state has a population of over four million, while he put the civil service strength at about 40,000.

Bello explained that with N1.5bn from federation account, the state still had to borrow to pay 40,000 people against over three million people that it needed to cater for‎. While saying that nobody should be blamed for the sharp drop in oil price, the governor said everybody should be ready to make sacrifices.

He said, “I am willing to make sacrifices, all my appointees are willing to make sacrifices. “We have shown example by cutting down our expenditure, we have cut down the expenses of the Government House from N150m a week to between N20m and N25 million a week. “So we have cut down Government House expenditure by over 70 per cent and I mean these are all sacrifices.” The governor disclosed that his government is currently probing the administration of his predecessor, Babangida Aliyu.

He said although some pension funds that were misappropriated in the past had been recovered, investigation was still ongoing. Although he said he did not want to interfere with the investigation, Bello said the team had met with the former governor.

Ondo workers begin in definite strike over unpaid salaries

Government workers in Ondo State have begun an indefinite strike over five month’s arrears of unpaid salaries.

The workers fully complied with the strike, as all state government offices on Wednesday remained locked, with the whole offices vicinity deserted.

Leaders of the workers were seen going round government offices to enforce the industrial action.

The State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Bosede Daramola and that of the Joint Negotiating Council, Sunday Adeleye, told Channels Television that the workers in the state were in serious financial crisis, as most of them could not sustain their financial obligations to their immediate families any longer.

“We have waited patiently. We collaborated with government and participated actively in all the screening exercises to make sure that we have a very clean document to work with.

“At the last meeting we had with the government, they promised to pay us, they paid us the December salary and promised to pay on or before May 31 the outstanding salaries and pensions to our retired officers,” Daramola said, decrying the situation that had affected many of the workers financially.

According to them, they were ready to dialogue with the government but would not resume work until government fulfilled its promise.

Attempts to reach government officials to speak on the issue failed, as they were not available in their offices. Their telephone lines were also switched off. Meanwhile, there are reports that Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who is presently out of the state, is expected to cut his trip and return to the state on Thursday to meet with the workers to resolve the crisis.

Akwa Ibom Poly Extends Late Registration/ Payment of Fees Deadline 2015/2016

The management of Akwa Ibom State polytechnic has extended the period for late payment of fees and course registration.

The process which was suppose to end Friday 27/05/2016 will now end Friday 03/06/2016.

Any student who fails to complete the process on or before the stated date will be deemed to have forfeited his/her studentship.

The portal for this will close by 4.00 pm on the mentioned date.

Note: Late payment/registration attracts a late penalty fee of N5,000.00.

NSUK ASUU Calls Off Its Over 3 Months Strike, Resumption Date Announced

Report reaching us has it that the Over 3 months strike embarked upon by the Nasarwa State University (NSUK) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been called off.

Consequently, academic activities will resume June 6th, 2016.

Students are advised to resume accordingly as lectures will commence immediately.

FG To Build Science Museums In The 6 Geo-political Zones

The federal government has disclosed that it will build a Science and Technology museum in each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.

This was made known by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, during an interview.

According to him, this will stimulate children’s interest in science and technology.

“One, all the natural phenomena that happen – lightning, rainfall – we will have explanations on them there.

“All these little equipment and so on, we will put it in a way that children will start developing interest from early age.

“Then adults will also like to go in because we also showcase major achievements of science and technology across the country. “It will take us time to get it built but it is very important; there is no major country that does not have many of those.”

Funny: If You’re The Husband, What Would You Do If This Happens To Your Wife

Not a True Life Story!!!

Read below:-

A wife suspected the husband of having s*x with their maid, then she set a trap for the husband by sending the maid to the village for the weekend without telling husband.

At night, the husband told his usual story “Darling I want to go and watch wrestling in the sitting room” he left.

The wife silently went to the maid’s room lying down on the bed naked without any light, he open the door and join her on the bed without wasting time and without a word, he had s*x with her. After the fifth round she said, it’s enough, I have caught you, so this is how you use to have s*x with her, you will do two round and you will tell me you are tired; fifth round now and you are still demanding for more.. The gateman replied “AM SORRY MADAM I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE THE ONE” EWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!“She shout, hahahaha then the husband rushed in and caught them.

If you are the man, What would you do?

Drop your comments.

Buhari leaves Forex traders guessing on path for Naira

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Sunday speech has left foreign-exchange traders with little clue as to the fate of the naira, reports Bloomberg.

It said far from clarifying the government’s approach on the currency, following central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele’s pledge last week to adopt a more flexible exchange-rate policy, Buhari’s words have left the market as confused as ever. While some, including Standard Chartered Plc, said a looming recession had forced Buhari to change tack and allow the naira to depreciate, others said the president — who once likened letting the currency weaken to “murder” — had signaled continued resistance to reducing its value, it noted.

“What Buhari was saying is that while he is committed to stability, he concedes that only a strong economy can have a strong exchange rate,” Razia Khan, the London-based Africa economist at Standard Chartered, told Bloomberg by phone on Monday.

“No one wants to see disruptive weakness for the sake of it — hence the commitment to stability — but that commitment does not rule out the adoption of a more flexible foreign-exchange regime.”

Emefiele said on May 25 a more flexible exchange-rate system would be unveiled “in the coming days,” sending naira forward contracts to record highs as traders anticipated a devaluation. Nigeria has held the naira at N197-N199 per dollar since March 2015, even as other oil exporters from Russia to Colombia and Malaysia let their currencies drop amid the slump in crude prices since mid-2014.

Foreign reserves dwindled as the central bank of Africa’s largest oil producer defended the peg, while foreign investors, fearing a devaluation, sold Nigerian stocks and bonds.

Buhari, who has opposed weakening the currency since coming to power, didn’t specifically refer to the central bank’s statement in a speech Sunday marking his first year in office. He said only that he would “keep a close look at how recent measures affect the naira and the economy,” while also saying devaluation in the past “had done dreadful harm.

Based on the president’s recent comments, it is clear he remains firmly opposed to the idea of a devaluation,” Cobus de Hart, an analyst at Paarl, South Africa-based NKC Independent Economists, said in an e-mailed response to questions Monday.

“Whether this implies that he may overturn the central bank’s decision to allow more flexibility in the interbank market remains to be seen, but what has become more clear is that, even if the CBN goes ahead and introduces some sort of new foreign-exchange arrangement for the interbank market, it will likely not be a fully flexible regime.” Nigeria’s economy — Africa’s largest — is headed for a recession, Emefiele said last week as the central bank left its policy rate on hold. Gross domestic product fell by about 0.4 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier — the first quarterly contraction since 2004 — as oil output slumped amid militant attacks on pipelines and as the central bank’s foreign-exchange restrictions led to shortages of imported goods, including fuel.

“We cannot get away from the fact that a strong currency is predicated on a strong economy,” Buhari said. “The measures we must take, may lead to hardships.” The floundering economy left the central bank — and Buhari — no choice but to let the currency weaken, said Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer at Financial Derivatives Co. in Lagos, the commercial capital. “Nigeria has been compelled to make a currency adjustment because of market forces and the deteriorating state of the economy,” Rewane said by phone on Sunday. “The anti-devaluation lobby has succumbed to the reality of the day.” Emefiele said last week the central bank would allow the currency to trade at a market-related level on the interbank platform while continuing to allocate dollars at a fixed rate to strategic industries.

Buhari’s comments “raise concern in relation to what proportion of trade will be shifted to the interbank market, assuming the CBN’s decision is not overturned completely,” De Hart at NKC said. Calls to Buhari’s spokesmen seeking comment went unanswered.

“The genie is out of the bottle,” Magnus Kpakol, a director at Abuja-based consultancy Economic and Business Strategies, said by phone on Monday. “They will have to do the right thing and introduce some kind of flexibility.