Jonathan is a perpertual liar

PRESIDENT Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has set up a high-powered committee headed by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore to meet with organized labour and all other stakeholders with a view to resolving issues that may arise from the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

Analysis: Jonathan is very good at doing this kind of appointment because he is trying to nbuy faces and be regarded as seeking counsel from the wise. That is not what Nigerians asked him to do. He shoulod have set up this committee to dialogue with all stake holders before going ahead to remove the subsidy.

President Jonathan has similarly appointed Dr. Christopher Kolade as the Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Board, which is to oversee and ensure the effective and timely implementation of projects to be funded with the savings accruing to the Federal Government from subsidy removal. Major-General Mamman Kontagora (rtd.) will serve as Deputy Chairman of the Board.

Analysis: We know Kolade as man of honour and integrity, who has headed a lot of international organisation. He has to his honour  the medal of the Order of St. Augustine from the Archbishop of Canterbury (1981), and is also a Lay Canon of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the Diocese of Guildford. These are great achievements, but can he feel what that man in the street feels?


According to a statement by the Presidency yesterday, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Board will also include two representatives of the National Assembly, two representatives of organized labour, one representative of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), one representative of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, one representative of Nigerian Women Groups, one representative of Nigerian youth, one representative of civil society organisations, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy/Minister of Finance, the Minister of National Planning, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Minister of State for Health, the Special Adviser to the President on Technical Matters, and six other reputable individuals from the six geo-political zones in the country, three of whom will be women.
The statement continues: “The mandate of the Board shall be to oversee the Fund in the petroleum subsidy savings account, and the programme specifically to improve the quality of life of Nigerians in line with the Transformation agenda of Mr. President. The Board will have the following responsibilities:
(a) Determine in liaison with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the subsidy savings estimates for each preceding month and ensure that such funds are transferred to the Funds’ Special Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria:
(b) Approve the annual work plans and cash budgets of the various Project Implementation Units (PIUs) within the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and ensure orderly disbursement of funds by the PIUs in order to certify and execute projects;
(c) Monitor and evaluate execution of the funded projects, including periodic Poverty and Social Impact Analyses (PSIA)
(d) Update the President regularly on the programme;
(e) Periodically brief the Executive Council of the Federation on the progress of the programme;
(f) Appoint consulting firms with international reputation to provide technical assistance to the Board in financial and project management;
(g) Appoint external auditors for the fund;
(h) Do such other things as are necessary or incidental to the objective of the Fund or as may be assigned by the Federal Government.”
Members of the Belgore-led committee to meet with organized labour, civil society groups and other stakeholders are: the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.
The Committee which is expected to begin its work immediately also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, the Special Adviser to the President on Inter Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi and Mrs. Ngozi Olajemi.

Analysis: And we ask, is this subsidy removal a tax? Creating a committee to manage the savings will amount to duplicating functions. Why can't the money be spread across other sectors of the economy like health, education and agriculture? There nothing to manage here because the MONEY  is a part of the whole budget. it would be understood if the budget is reduced to show that the subsidy is no more reflected in the budget.

Labour orders nationwide strike as new fuel price regime begins

ALTHOUGH it is still early days, Nigerians yesterday got a taste of the full deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry as pump price differentiation was the order of the day in filling stations across the country.

Also, condemnation and commendation continued to trail the government’s decision to remove the subsidy on petrol.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Labour, civil society groups and others has said it would start a nationwide strike today over the removal of fuel subsidy that has pushed the price of petrol to at least N138 a litre from N65.

Apparently seeking a way to profit from the sudden inauguration of the regime, petroleum marketers in Lagos at first shut their outlets to motorists, which engendered queues at these stations.
Sensing a kill as exasperation kicked in on the public, the filling stations began to open one after the other, hiking their pump price to between N139 and N185 a litre.

However, if the filling stations had hoped to have a field day, they were mistaken as the queues soon dried up, with motorists choosing to buy products where the price was lowest. In what appears to be their reaction to this, price fluctuation kicked in as some of the stations brought their pump prices to retain patronage.

The roads in Lagos were free though, as residents kept indoors observing the holiday. Lagosians who ventured out contended with the expected hike in transportation cost of up 100 per cent. Curiously though, The Guardian noticed that some diesel-powered commercial vehicles tried to beat the competition by keeping to their usual fares.

Any fear of fuel scarcity was also doused as depot operators in Lagos continued to load products. The depot price for petrol ranged between N129 and N130.

Petrol price in Abuja yesterday hovered between N138 and N141. The development had caused a soaring of public transport costs. From Kubwa to the city centre, which hitherto attracted N100 now costs N200 while fare from Lugbe area on the airport road was N250 from N100.

Also, hitherto comatose filling stations in Dutse, Jigawa State yesterday opened up and dispensed petrol at between N140 and N150 a litre.

Some of filling the stations opened in the early hours of yesterday and sold the product at N140 but changed the prices to N150 a litre after realising that the National National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega station was selling at N138 a litre. At Dutse’s motor parks, transportation fares jumped up by 120 per cent.

Passengers from Dutse to Kano paid N1,000 as against N400. Many of them were stranded following this development.

One of them, Dantiye Dauda, said: “It is really unfortunate that the current administration is not sensitive to the plight of the common man.”

In Markudi, Benue State, the few filling stations that opened for business sold petrol at N150 per litre while black marketers sold the product at N200. Several out-of-pocket travellers making for their stations preparatory to today’s work were stranded as transport fares went up at all the motor parks.
Bus drivers who usually collected N30 per drop charged N50. At the Pleasure Travels Park, a trip to Abuja now costs N3,000 as against N1,200 before now while a trip to Lagos now costs N5000 instead of N2500.

Also, a trip to Otukpo now costs N800 as against N350 while Gboko by bus which used to cost N200 now goes for between N500 and N600.

Some commuters who spoke with The Guardian decried the sudden removal of subsidy on fuel and urged the Federal Government to have a rethink and rescind its decision on the issue.

In Plateau, filling stations sold a litre of petrol for N145. In the popular black market, the price of a quarter of a litre of the commodity ranges from N400 to N700.

As a result, transport fares shot up in Jos. For example, from Angwan Rukuba to Jos Terminus, which used to be N50 is now N100, which was a common development across the city.

Opinions were divided though on the appropriateness or otherwise of the petrol subsidy removal.
“Government’s decision is very hasty and callous. Government does not have the feelings of the masses at heart. Government is just wicked,” says Martin Gijo, a taxi driver.

But the National President of Indigbo Democratic Forum (IDF), Chidi Ndu, welcomed the removal saying that the removal will boost the industries.

Petrol has suddenly disappeared from most filling stations in Benin City, Edo State while those opened for business sold the product at between N138 and N145 a litre.

The NNPC Mega Stations, which were the only stations selling for N138 in the state capital suddenly stopped selling the product at about 1 p.m. and this led to long queues building in the few that were selling.

Filling Stations in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital that hurriedly stopped selling and locked up their station on Sunday afternoon yesterday opened for business with new price regime, selling petrol at between N146 and N150 per litre.

But the NNPC Mega station and its subsidiary stations yesterday sold at N138 a litre.
The pump price hike has increased the cost of transportation in the state by 100 per cent. The commercial motorcyclist that charged N40 per drop yesterday charged N80.

Chaos broke out in Awka, the Anambra State capital yesterday when it dawned on residents that a 131 per cent increase in the price of petrol had crept on them.

Commercial bus drivers and their customers engage themselves in bitter arguments, and even fisticuffs before the situation sunk in as the day wore on, the commuters realised that the situation was the same everywhere.

A survey of the situation in Onitsha, Nnewi, Ekwulobia, Awka and even Enugu revealed that the pump price petrol was between N150 and N180 a litre. Many commuters were forced back home, as short distances that hitherto cost N30 became N50, and destinations that were before now N100 turned N300. Awka to Enugu, which used to be N250 is now N1,000.

Also, most filling stations within the Enugu metropolis refused to open for business, while the very few that opened sold at between N180 and N200 a litre.

Transport operators at the busy Old Park, Market Road and Holy Ghost areas made brisk business as they increased transport fares. Travellers from Enugu to Lagos paid N5,000 as against the usual N1,800 during the Yuletide celebrations. Also, transport fares to nearby places like Enugu to Onitsha, Enugu to Umuahia, Aba, or Port-Harcourt tripled.

Most of the travellers, some of who were trying to return to their bases in order to be at work today but could not afford to part with the high fares, had to return home, hoping that the costs might crash soon.

Residents of Kaduna State woke up yesterday to the increase in pump price of fuel in most of the filling stations that had locked their doors the previous day. Pump price of petrol ranged from N138 to N145 a litre.

At the black market where motorists bought petrol for convenience before the removal of the subsidy, a litre was N250 yesterday.

Cost of intra-state and inter-state transportation has also gone up by between 50 and 100 per cent in the state.

Taxi fare from Kaduna to Abuja now cost N1,500 from N1,000; Kaduna-Kano is now N1,200 from N800; Kaduna to Jos is now N2,000 as against N1,300.

A market woman, Mrs. Hannah Mark, said a crate of soft drinks that used to be N1,000 now cost N1,300.

Commuters in most cities and towns in Osun State yesterday experienced hardship due to increase in the prices of petrol and withdrawal of commercial vehicles from the roads by transporters.

When The Guardian visited filling stations in Osogbo, and some other major towns, it was discovered that few petrol stations that had fuel sold a litre of filling at between N140 and N150.
The development engendered sharp increase in transport fares. For example intra-bus fare within Osogbo, which was N30 per drop, has been increased to between N50 and N70.

Also transport fare from Osogbo to other parts of the country has gone up. Osogbo to Ikirun was N250 yesterday instead of N150, while Osogbo to Ile-Ife, which used to cost N200 attracted N400.
Most of the filling stations in Osogbo, Ikirun, Ikire, Ede, Iwo, Ilesa, Ile-Ife and other major towns in the state were closed to customers.

And, residents of Ilorin the Kwara State capital yesterday received with mixed feelings the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol.

The development led to over 120 per cent increment in transport fares. Apart from the filling stations operated by the NNPC all other stations closed their gates to customers.

A motorist told The Guardian yesterday that he had to sleep at the filling station in Itire area of Lagos, in other to get petrol immediately they opened gate in the morning. But he claimed to have bought the product at N185 per litre.

However, the depot operators are now sell the product at about N129 and N130 a litre. The Guardian’s visit to Apapa Jetty showed that loading is in progress at most of the petroleum depots.
Motorists have berated the unjust hike in the price of petrol by the marketers, noting that they were not expected to increase the price yet, because most of them were selling the existing stock, while the PPPRA directive only indicated that subsidy would not be paid on any imported products from January 1, 2011.

The letter that announced the policy by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory agency (PPPRA) had assured that the selling process would be duly monitored while prices would be non-exploitative.
It said: “Consumers are assured of adequate supply of quality products at prices that are competitive and non-exploitative and so there is no need for anyone to engage in panic buying or product hoarding.

“The PPPRA in conjunction with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) will ensure that consumers are not taken advantage of in any form or in any way. The DPR will ensure that the interest of the consumer in terms of quality of products is guaranteed at all times and in line with international best practice,” it assured.

Reacting to the eventually exploitation, the DPR said they are on top of the situation, as it has deployed its officials to monitor the situation in filling stations across the country.

A top official of the DPR, Mrs. Bimbo Ogan, told The Guardian in a telephone chart yesterday that the DPR would soon come out with its official statement on the issue, but noted that it has deployed its personnel to monitor fuel distribution chains critically.

Also speaking yesterday, a reliable source from the NNPC, told The Guardian that there are sufficient products in the market attributing the scarcity to adjusting of pump prices in the filling stations from the previous ones to the current price by the marketers.

According to him, “NNPC stations sell at N138 per litre while other marketers sell between N140 and N145. We can as well relate the scarcity issue to panic buying and security threat as Labour has threatened a mass industrial action soon.”

However, the National Publicity Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Zaid Kolawole, in a statement yesterday, said that the association rejects as totally unacceptable and a crass display of bad faith the unilateral increase in the pump price of petrol by the government in the guise of ‘subsidy removal.

He emphasised that it is a reinforcement of the government’s huge credibility deficit that only a few days after the Minister of Finance, Okonjo Iweala stated publicly that no date had been fixed for the so-called ‘subsidy removal’ and that government would further consult with all stakeholders, the same government through the PPPRA could turn around on new year’s day and increase petrol prices stating unashamedly that this latest round of fuel price increase “follows extensive consultation with stakeholders”.

According to Ogun, “the PPPRA Executive Secretary should tell Nigerians when the Board of the agency of which we are a statutory member met to decide on this policy knowing fully well that the board is yet to be reconstituted

“It is very unfortunate that the only ‘gift’ government can give to long-suffering Nigerians in this new year and season of goodwill is the poisoned chalice of fuel price increase.

He stated that the association reiterates its resolution at its last NEC meeting in Warri, Delta State on November 30th, 2011 that government puts in place certain irreducible minimums and reduce its recurrent expenditure by at least 25 per cent before contemplating any removal of subsidy.

“We insist that government exists for the people and their welfare and security should be its paramount concern. Our government should therefore work for us and not the IMF and World Bank as the organs of the association will be meeting soon to finalise plans and strategies to ensure that government reverses this patently anti-people policy.

“We therefore urge all Nigerians to gird their loins and begin immediate mobilisation for the struggle ahead aimed at ensuring that this exploitative policy designed to further impoverish Nigerian workers and masses does not stand,” he said.

Also, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has flayed the Federal Government’s removal of the subsidy on petrol, describing the decision as “complete insensitivity” to the articulated views of the Nigerian masses.

ERA/FoEN, in a statement yesterday, insisted that the subsidy removal, which the PPPRA dubbed national consultation on which it based the decision to remove the so-called subsidy, was a crude smokescreen to usher in a new era of impoverishment for Nigerians.

ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey stated: “This new year slap on the faces of Nigerians is totally objectionable and smacks of insensitivity to the genuine needs of the Nigerian masses. It shows a government that would rather punish the poor than confront the cabal they say exists in the petroleum sector.”

Countering government’s argument that the central purse subsidises the cost of petroleum products import, Bassey insisted that, on the contrary, it is community people living side-by-side the oil fields and the Nigerian environment that actually subsidize the cost of crude and refined products.

He noted: “Enough is enough! The poor and the environment have sufficiently subsidised resource corruption and through environmental impacts and loss of livelihoods. Ninety-nine per cent of the population is again being forced to bear the brunt of corrupt practices enjoyed by the one per cent.”

Nigeria union chiefs urge general strike amid fuel protests

NLC and TUC Nigeria's main trade union groups called Wednesday for a general strike and mass rallies beginning next week if a controversial government decision to take away fuel subsidies is not reversed.
Angry protests took place Tuesday after gas prices more than doubled following the subsidies' removal Sunday.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and Cabinet ministers were meeting in the capital, Abuja, Wednesday to discuss their response to the crisis.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trades Union Congress (TUC) urged the government to immediately restore the subsidies -- or see the country grind to a halt starting January 9.

"We call on all Nigerians to participate actively in this movement to rescue our country. The emphasis is on peaceful protests, rallies and strikes while refusing to be intimidated," the unions' statement says.

It also calls on "the police, armed forces and other security agencies to reject orders that they turn their weapons on fellow Nigerians."

The unions accused police of using "unprecedented force" against peaceful protests held this week, leading to harassment, intimidation and arrests. Eyewitnesses told NaijaRevolt  the demonstrations have been largely peaceful.

NLC leader Abdulwaheed Omar said all sectors of the economy would be paralyzed, beginning Monday.

"We shall shut down all petrol stations, banks, markets and every business premises to achieve our goal," he said. "This strike will be indefinite."

The unions' statement urges Nigerians to stock up on basic necessities, including food and water, ahead of the industrial action.

The cost of a liter of gasoline shot up from 65 naira (40¢) to at least 141 naira (86¢) almost overnight after the subsidies were removed Sunday.

Nigerians say this is the last straw in a country rich with oil reserves but with poor infrastructure, wide corruption and huge numbers of impoverished citizens.

Union leaders say Nigerian workers are already experiencing unnecessary hardship as a result of the move, which they say is also affecting the cost of transport, food, medicine, rent and school fees.

The government says it believes the removal of fuel subsidies will have a positive impact on the country's economy. It argues the money saved will be used to invest elsewhere, such as in refineries.

Despite being one of Africa's largest oil producers, Nigeria -- a country of 167 million people -- has no functioning refineries and has to import fuel.

Freelance journalist  Eromo Egbejule, 21, joined a portion of a march from Lagos to the city of Ojota Wednesday.

"People were protesting because thanks to this policy, the cost of living has skyrocketed," he said. "Everything is now double its price. Or triple. They were saying their minds."

He saw banners with slogans such as "We want good governance, not good luck," a play on the president's name, and "Tunisia will be child's play," an apparent reference to the ouster of Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali last year amid mass street protests.

Car tires were set alight and gas stations blockaded in some places Tuesday. Video footage showed black smoke rising above crowds of marchers carrying placards or chanting, many of them young men.
Alex Omamuli, a 35-year-old civil service worker from Abuja, accused the government of using force to try to stifle legitimate protest.

"Please let the world know that we have a right to demonstrate peacefully but our government shot tear gas at innocent, peaceful protesters," he said.

"We, the youths of Nigeria, won't stop until this insensitive and wicked act is reversed."

Another Reporter, who asked to remain anonymous, took part in protests in Lagos, the country's economic capital.

"The aim of the protest was to disrupt vehicular movement, shut down gas stations, and ask people to go back home," he said. "The mood was one of anger and frustration towards the government for doing this on New Year's Day."

JONATHAN DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN FOUR STATES

Following increased bombing activities by Nigeria’s Islamist sect Boko Haram, the death of hundreds of innocent lives in the past few months, and public anger against security agents “inaction,” President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday declares a state of emergency in parts of the country’s north-eastern states.

In a television address monitor through Reuters news agency, President Jonathan listed the states affected by the decree to include Plateau, Yobe and Borno. Also, international borders with Niger Republic and Chad are effectively closed.

“The temporary closure of our borders in the affected areas is only an interim measure designed to address the current security challenges and will be resumed as soon as normalcy is restored,” says President Jonathan.

SBG media founder and senior political editorialist Yemi Ifegbuyi describes the President action as “a bit late, but appropriate.”

“Finally, President Jonathan makes the right move. It’s a fair move by the President considering the complexity of our national politics, he should be for once applauded,” says Ifegbuyi.

This is still a developing story, watch this page to get constant updates.

TERRORISM: FEDERAL GOVT CONSIDERING FOREIGN HELP.

AS more Nigerians deplored the activities of Boko Haram and the Federal Government’s response to the sect’s continued attacks, the Presidency says it will seek foreign nations’ intervention on its crackdown on terrorism when it is necessary.

The government said such intervention would only come after it had exhausted all the options it had evolved to curb the menace. And we ask what are the options or are they the same we saw on Aljazera.

According to the Presidency, it is wary of rushing to foreign powers for direct participation in the campaign against terrorism because some of the nations, whose support might be needed, had predicted that Nigeria would break up in 2015.

This clarification came yesterday from the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, during an interaction with journalists in Abuja. He said the government had to study the conditions that might have informed such prediction to avoid working with the people and institutions in tackling the current security challenges.

Gulak said the huge vote for security in the 2012 budget was part of the steps the government had taken to fight terrorism head-on. He explained that the money would be used to equip the military and other security agencies, and recruit more personnel to match the nation’s growing population.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishop of Minna Diocese, Martin Igwe Uzoukwu, has described the bomb explosion at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla in Niger State on Christmas Day as an act of terrorism against Catholic faithful.

He said more than 40 lives were lost in the explosion while several others were injured. The cleric said the injured persons were receiving treatments in hospitals in Suleja, Gwagwalada and Abuja.
At a press conference held inside the destroyed church yesterday, the clergyman called on the Islamic counterparts to condemn the Boko Haram sect.

The church also revealed the identities of its members killed in the blast as Anthony Okoronkwo, Comrade Dike A. Williams, Emmanuel Dike, Richard Dike, Lilan Dike, Linda Chioma Obinkwu, Uche Queenalin Obiukwu, Ifeoma Obiukwu, Ann-Chinedu Asigbadon, Chiemesi Nwachukwu, Cecilia Ebeku, Oluebube Fanstina Pius and Chidera Sylvia Pius.

Others were Florence Nwachukwu, Eucharia Ewoh, Joseph Daniel, Inspector Titus Eze, Obasi Jonathan Onyebuchi, Ehiawaguan Peter, Uche Esiri, Sgt. Kadiri Danjuma and five ‘unidentified persons.’
The casualty list showed that 27 victims were in the National Hospital, Abuja, 15 in Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, three at Suleja General Hospital, one at Kwamba Major Hospital.

The Niger State government, which also yesterday gave an update on the blast at the church, said 38 lives were lost and 76 others wounded.

The government, which has set up a committee to investigate the extent of the disaster and advise it on possible assistance to the victims, said four churches, seven vehicles, and 36 houses were destroyed by the explosion. What have you done with the previous reports from these committees?

Also yesterday, Muslim leaders and groups condemned the killing of innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect. Who are the Muslim leaders? The ones that are abating the crime or the senators that support them?
They cautioned the militant group against painting Islam bad with the blood of Nigerians, noting that the religion abhors the shedding of blood under any guise.

Among groups, which condemned the attack were The Companion, Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), The Muslim Congress (TMC), Nasrul Lahi Li Fatih Society (NASFAT), The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), and the Eternal Sacred Order of The Cherubim and Seraphim Church.

But the presidential aide said since Nigeria is a member of the international community, it would work with people and organisations, which have not only ideas but meant well for the country at this trying times.
He said: “When such a move is actually needed, the government will do a critical scrutiny to ensure that we do not aggravate the problem.

“This is against the background of what some people say from outside because the pictures being painted out there are different from the situation we have on hand. Some people have even said that Nigeria will disintegrate by 2015 and such statements coming from such quarters, we have to be very suspicious in dealing with the members of those societies.

We have to also critically analyse what informed this type of statement and what are the plans to achieve or confirm it. Nigeria is not a failed state and is not at war. We are only passing through a phase of our life as a nation and the challenges are global. Globally, it is acknowledged that terrorism must be handled with caution and courage as well as huge resources.”
Gulak explained that the government in the 2012 budget gave “security the lion’s share because of the need to tackle security issues in the country by increasing logistics, personnel and necessary equipment.
“The number of security operatives we have in the country is not enough for the over 160 million population, we have a little over 300,000 policemen for 160 million Nigerians. The 2012 security budget is based on informed position that the country needs to equip the security agencies and increase the personnel to enable them tackle the security challenges facing the country.”
Gulak stated that government is already consulting with both Christian and Muslim leaders on how to keep the country together, adding that some people have been creating the impression that there is a problem between the Christians and Muslims.
Chairman of the Niger State Committee on Madalla Blast, who is also Commissioner for Local Council, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Yussuf Garba Tagwai, told reporters in Minna that 86 people were receiving treatment in hospitals within and outside the state from injuries they sustained from the explosion.
Tagwai said a computation of the damage to other property was being carried out before a report would be sent to Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, for action.
“Government will ameliorate the suffering of the injured and those that lost their property,” he said.
In the statements they sent to The Guardian, the Muslim leaders said is a religion of peace and urged the bombers to abandon their deviant ways.
National Amir (President) of The Companion, Ahmed ’Tunde Popoola, described the massacre of innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram as “criminal, wicked and totally unacceptable to Islamic injunctions.”
MPAC said it was horrified and sickened by the cold-blooded murder of innocent worshipers on Christmas Day in the North.
The Director of Media and Communications of MPAC, Disu Kamor, said: “The targeting of worshippers is an abhorrent act which contravenes the principles of Islam, humanity and logic. The subsequent bloodbath was an incredible tragedy, which words fail to describe.”
Similarly, TMC declared the “endemic killings as inhuman, wicked, condemnable and totally unacceptable in civilised societies.”
Its leader Luqman AbdurRaheem, said: “The action is even more repulsive during the periods of celebrations. This criminal incident has once again challenged the Federal Government to be more vigilant, responsive and alive to its responsibility of providing security for life and property.”
The National Director of MURIC, Is-haq Akintola, said: “We are saddened and non-plussed by this complete lack of respect for places of worship and an incomprehensible and insatiable thirst for human blood. We strongly condemn this dastardly act. The attacks are barbaric, satanic and absolutely unIslamic.”
National President of NASFAT, Sheriff Yusuf, said: “NASFAT condemns this act of wickedness and terror against innocent Nigerians and the country and commit the perpetrators to the stern judgment of Allah. We further refute in strongest terms the reference to the suspected perpetrators as Muslims or members of an Islamic sect.”
A lawyer, Mrs. Funmi Falana, said President Goodluck Jonathan has not shown enough passion for the bereaved families.
At the end of the year party with the inmates of Erelu Adebayo Motherless Home in Iyin-Ekiti, Mrs. Falana described as saddened and unfortunate that the President did not wear any mournful look when he commented on the incidents.
The Eternal Sacred Order of The Cherubim and Seraphim Church has also condemned the bombing of churches by Boko Haram in the North.
In a statement, the Supreme Head of the church, Amos Akinsanya Akinde and its General Secretary, Kola Odunsi, accused the government of treating the violence with kidgloves and warned that national security is at risk.
The church however cautioned against retaliation from Christians.

SupremeCourt Judgement:Does is it worth celebrating?

It was a glorious moment in the presidential villa as the supreme court proclaims Jonathan winner of April poll.

We congratulate Mr President for this well deserved victory. We believe now that major part of your distraction is out of the way.

I never doubted of this victory as it was Jonathan all the way during and after the election. I recalled how I had to lodge in a hotel on the Lagos Island just to be close to my polling centre because of restrictions on movement occasioned by the election. And we voted massively for him.

But before we shout off our roofs, let us ask ourselves what this victory means to us. Nigeria is at the point of disintegration and ethnic cleansing is going on in the northern part of Nigeria. As we talk people are fleeing their homes in Damaturu, there was also a bomb blast in Sapele. Is it the dreaded Boko Haram at work again, or is it a reprisal attacks from the South. If MEND claims responsibility to this, then we are all is gone.

Major issues are left for less important issues as subsidy removal and victory at court. Our own 'ROME' is burning, who will wake up Nero. He whose house is on fire does not go after rats. This is exactly what we are seeing today. It took Mr President  7 hours to react after the christmas bombing, but took him only 30 minutes to react after the supreme court judgement.

We are calling on our youths again to join hands in this BLOODLESS REVOLUTION and together we can build the Nigeria of our dreams. Look into yourselves and imagine the Nigeria you desire. Is what we are having today what we thought.

We believe that Nigerians are against the subsidy removal because we don't know where the money will go afterall. What happened to all the monies EFCC recovered. Can we say where they have impacted our lives with the monies. I could not hide my disappointment when i saw Okonja Iweala defending RUBBISH in the name of subsidy removal.

Enough of these lies and tricks. Ngozi is back to the same Government that nearly rubbished her reputation. Who knows if the disgrace this time will be worse than what they gave her before.

WISE SAYINGS

When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim that 'a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing him of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause is really a good one.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN