OSHIOMOLE'S ONE YEAR IN OFFICE

Congratulations on your one year in office. It is nice to hear that there are at least a couple of projects that have been completed. The expectations of the people of Edo state are quite high and you should understand that there is absolutely no room for distractions. You have been very much in controversy lately, you can't afford to be involved in those negative energy sapping ventures. Edo state needs you to focus more on the task at hand. The hallmark of good governance is the ability of those in power to positively impact the lives of the governed and also carry them along, that is the beauty of true democracy.

Governor Oshiomole, the people stood by you throughout your political travails, therefore, they expect you to deliver fully on your promises. Leave a legacy of excellency in infrastructure, health, education, security, sports, accountability, justice...irrespective of the current misbehaviour of those in PDP who have easily forgotten the 8 years of darkness Edo State went through under PDP. As a strong lover of sports, I would like to say that the government should begin the process of reviving sports in our primary and secondary schools. Sports is significant in the overall development of the individual and it helps take the mind away from deviant social behaviours which is now sadly prevalent in Edo state. This will also help to revive the culture of sports excellence for which the Edo people have always been known for. The private and voluntary sector should be attracted to invest in sports and other areas.

I must state here that there were some names on the list of those present at your one year anniversary that leaves a bad taste on the mouth: Falae, Oyegun... these men are a part of the problem on the ground today. How far did Edo go under Oyegun? He desired to share out the Benin trade fair ground before he left office and sold off some of Edo State choice forests also, it took the intervention of the UniBen Students and the people for that to be cancelled after his departure. As for Falae, he was fully a part of the military administrations that solidified the foundation of corruption in our country. Embrace individuals who have succeeded in leaving a positive mark and not the known political prostitutes who are out to seek for parasitic opportunities.

The current trend of defection or cross carpeting by former members of PDP is one that will certainly be of no benefit to your administration. These men should have no place in your administration because they were a part of the PDP administration that ruined the state. It will be nice to say I was right just like many others when you finally won the electoral battle in the court. Keep the focus

David Mark’s comments that Iwu’s removal would not solve the country’s electoral problems

Removing Iwu as the Electoral Commission (EC) chairman will certainly change a lot of things in Nigeria's political climate. The senate President, David Mark definitely missed the point. Its little surprise though and one would have not expected a different comment from David Mark since Iwu was a key factor in the dubious election process that ushered many of them into office. If David Mark, Yar Adua and PDP wants a fair election, they should ask for five representatives from the registered political parties to come together to choose a new EC Chairman.

The PDP is fully aware that Iwu was fully an ally in previous elections and one who can be used in whatever they want. Nigerians as a whole must come together to speak with one voice by asking for the removal of Iwu by next year otherwise other political parties should boycott the elections in 2011. This point should already be made clear now. The technicalities being used to sustain Iwu in office should be completely overlooked and all parties should speak with one voice and now is the to take that action.

Iwu should be replaced with a Nigerian that is known to be progressively orientated and unbiased. We do have many of such persons if only PDP desires fair elections but Nigerians must realise that it is about our collective progress and not PDP. In relation to this, there should be a pre-election for all those in the police and the armed forces to ensure that they are fully available to help ensure security throughout the nation before, during and after the elections. Nigerians must understand that we cannot afford to allow the 2011 elections to hijacked. The country's resources have been squandered enough by these people who do not mean any good for our nation's progress. It is time to make politicians know that the people's votes count.

DEREGULATION OF THE NIGERIAN OIL SECTOR

Why beg NLC to understand when you cannot appr0priately manage the Petroleum sector. NNPC was established about the same time as PETRONAS in Malaysia, while PETRONAS has contributed to the development of Malaysia and grown in many ways, NNPC continue to go bowl-in-hand to the govt. for subsidies. The waste in the Oil industry is simply as a result of the lack of an efficient system of accountability, a problem that is ubiquitous in Nigeria. The Govt. and especially those in the NNPC and its related ministries should be seriously ashamed to even mention that more than 100 Billion!!! was wasted on inefficiencies of the sector last year. Shameless and conscienceless people! Nations that do not even have oil can afford to operate very functional refineries but our govt. continue to give excuses.

How come is when they want to introduce measures that will further strangle the poor common Nigerians that the govt. get serious with negotiations? Prior to the previous increases that were introduced by previous administrations the cry was the same: it cannot be sustained but yet the luxurious lifestyle of the ruling class with all the perks that those in advanced nations do not enjoy could be sustained and is still being sustained. Why do we have to ship crude abroad, refine and then return back to Nigeria at such an expensive rate? What do the common Nigerian enjoy from the myriad of resources we have as a nation? We are simply a nation "governed" by visionless, evil minded and heartless individuals.

What was the worth of Obasanjo and his PDP governors, legislators and many of the politicians and military officers who served in the past before they came to office? How much are they worth now? If nations like Qatar, Venezuela, Kuwait and many other nations with oil like ours have successfully managed their resources to benefit their people I wonder why we cannot have the same. The so called leaders in Nigeria know what the problem is. How come we do not have a fully functional refinery in Nigeria today? Just as it is the case in many other sectors in Nigeria, the cabal of evil do not want refineries in Nigeria so that their investments in refineries abroad will not suffer. The NLC should not yield to the govt. because they never keep their words.

The former minister for transport wept on assumption of office on a visit to the Benin-Lagos road and more than two years after the story is worse off. The people should oppose the move at all cost. Let the budget for the greedy legislators and others be cut down, set up refineries or give investors the appropriate conditions to invest in refineries, let the current system of managing the sector be completely overhauled since it has been identified as innefficient and fight corruption, then we won't even be talking about this total deregulation rubbish. Have some pity on the suffering masses!!! In what way exactly has the government of Nigeria impacted the lives of its citizenry positively in last 10 years??







The above picture (culled from one of our daily newspapers) shows the state of the Benin-Lagos road, "EXPRESSWAY" (a major link between the west, south and east of the country), it should be remembered that funds for road construction was one of the reasons given for previous increases in fuel prices. The people and NLC should highly resist any deregulation moves because it will only make these greedy "leaders" richer while the common Nigerian suffers the after effects