Tag Archives: Broke

Why Nigeria Is Broke– Lai Mohammed

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Federal Government on Wednesday summed up the reasons for the all-time increase in the pump price of fuel, saying that it was broke and needed to raise money to keep the system afloat.

The government said that Nigeria’s foreign earnings had drastically waned in the recent times that the only way out of the financial quagmire was to look inwards to generate more money. Information Minister, Mr. Lai Mohammadu made the disclosure while briefing the State House Correspondents alongside his colleagues, the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngigie at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Council met to review most contemporary national issues which prominently revolved around the fuel hike, its attendant challenges and industrial action by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC. He said: “The current problem is not really about subsidy removal. It is about that Nigeria is broke. Pure and simple!

“It is like somebody who has been earning N100,000 a month and he is faced with a situation where his employer says henceforth you will be earning N10,000 a month. He would need to make some very painful decisions and some very painful adjustments. That is the situation with Nigeria today.

  “A few months ago, we were earning as much as $100 for every barrel of crude. In the months of February and March, we were short of…so, we no longer have the resources, the foreign exchange to bring in refined fuel products. And our economy is shrinking.

“We appreciate the fact that the decision is going to affect everybody. We appreciate what we are going through, but Nigerians should also know that the government has the responsibility at times to take very difficult decisions. So, it is not always about popularity.”

Credit: vanguardngr

Woman Spends All Her Money On Powerball Tickets Then Creates A Go Fund Me Page To Ask For Funds

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A woman by the name of Cinnamon Nicole from Cordova, has raised a little more than $800 in seven hours via her Powerball Reimbursement Go Fund Me page. Nicole alleges to have spent all of her money on purchasing tickets with the assumption she would win the $1.6 billion jackpot, but soon realized the winning tickets were sold in Los Angeles, Florida and Tennessee suburbs.
Despite the chances of anyone winning the jackpot being 1 in 292.2 million, Nicole still decided to go big, and unfortunately now can’t go home because she allegedly doesn’t have any money.
She wrote:

Please help me and my family as we have exhausted all of our funds. We spent all of our money on lottery tickets (expecting to win the 1.5 billion) and are now in dire need of cash. With your small donation of at least $1.00, a like  and one share, I’m certain that we will be able to pick ourselves up from the trenches of this lost and spend another fortune trying to hit it big again! PLEASE, won’t you help a family in need. DONATE NOW.

For your charitable donations, Nicole promised to make givers her #MCM or #WCW. Yet, despite the gall of the Go Fund Me Page, some users simply weren’t in support of her attempts.
Sonya Hagans quoted new viral internet star, Michelle Dobyne and wrote “Not tuhday” while Kenyatta Gibson was a bit more spirited in her response.
The page has since been taken down.

States May Get Broke Again– Masari

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At the backdrop of expected significant drop in revenue accruable to the three tires of government from the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, state governments may need fresh bailout arrangements as none of them have indicated plans to rejig budgets in line with the merging fiscal realities.

To underscore this development Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari said last week that some state governments in the country may find it difficult to pay workers salaries in the next three to six months as a result of the current economic hardship occasioned by falling oil prices.

The governor said this at the foundation laying ceremony for construction of three blocks of 12 classrooms, office block and a computer centre at Kadandani Community Secondary School in Rimi Local Government Area of the state by Continental Computers. “In three to six months time, some states will find it difficult to pay salaries due to fall in the price of oil in the market,” he stated in Hausa language.

Some of the state governments are already complaining that the recently settled issue of minimum wage may be revisited following the weakening of the revenue base. Some states are indicating that they would not review the minimum wage downward but they may be forced to retrench to reduce recurrent expenditure within available resources, otherwise the workers would be owed indefinitely.

Credit: Vanguard

PDP Laments Being Broke, Says No Money To Complete N11.5bn Secretariat

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Following the fallout of the last general elections, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has affirmed that it no longer has money to complete its multi-billion naira new national secretariat.

The new secretariat is situated at the Central Business District, Abuja.

It was gathered that the project was billed to cost N11.5bn when it was awarded some years ago.

However, recent checks at the building site lately show that there was no visibly work going on there. Grasses have overtaken the site, just as contractors have abandoned the job half-way.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, told Punch that the claims in some quarters that members of the National Working Committee of the party got a huge sum of money from the fund realized for its Presidential campaign early in the year were untrue.

He said, “During our sale of forms, we had planned to use substantial part of the money to complete the secretariat.

“We also had a fund-raising dinner where money was raised and we were told that about N21bn was raised and that some of it would be given to us for the completion of the secretariat, but we didn’t see the money.”

Credit: SunOnline

PDP Tells Buhari To Resign For Admitting Nigeria Is Broke

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to resign as the country’s President for admitting that the nation is broke.

The party said the comment was a clear manifestation of inability to lead the country.

PDP described Buhari’s lamentation as “annoying”, wondering why he was looking for excuses after boasting to the whole world that he will fix Nigeria.

At a press conference yesterday by PDP publicity secretary in Edo state, Chris Nehikhareto, the party challenged Buhari to publish account balances of all transactions by previous PDP led government under former President Goodluck Jonathan and the APC led government under him since assumption of office.

“President Buhari should show Nigerians the account balances and how much money he met in the coffers of the federal government since he came in,” he said.

“He has not shown anybody the accounts balance as at today. If he says the government is broke and he cannot manage it he should resign and handover power to someone who has responsibility and can manage the economy better.

“The lamentation of Mr. President and his APC government is becoming annoying and I don’t think we should tolerate any more lamentation. They fought tooth and nail to take over government and now they have government, let them deal with it”, he stated.

Credit: SunOnline

5 Foolish Things People Do When They Are Broke

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1. Splurge when money comes in

It’s easy to get into the “I’ve been broke for months, so I should be able to treat myself” mindset, and when a large sum of money — like a tax return or bonus from work — comes in, sometimes people run out and spend this money instead of using it for something practical.

According to data published on Mint.com, “Taxpayers reporting more than $50,000 in income were more likely, at 52 percent, to put refunds into savings than those who made less.” Whether this money goes to a vacation, shopping spree, or a new piece of technology, spending a lump sum of money on wants instead of saving it, or using it to pay down debt, is not the wisest choice.

2. Prioritize convenience

When you’re broke, small things make a difference. Each trip to the convenience store to buy milk or bread, for instance, adds up. Second to gasoline, the most commonly purchased items at convenience stores are candy and gum (31%) and soda (29%). Although you may only be spending $2 or $3 more each trip, after 20 or so trips, you’ve spent around $50 that you could have saved simply by going to the grocery store.

The same principle applies with cleaning products, fast food, and other conveniences. It’s much easier to buy disposable cleaning products than to use more inexpensive options like reusable mops, sponges, and toilet brushes. But, many people — even when they’re broke — are willing to pay extra money for the convenience.

3. Take on too much debt (or take on bad debt)

If you have a low income, it is more difficult to pay off debts like student loans, credit cards, etc. Talk Poverty found that earners in the lowest quintile face education debt that averages around one-fourth (24%) of their income. However, the average for all household is only 6%. Some debts like medical debts, of course, may be unavoidable, and some — think student loans, mortgage debts, and responsible credit card debt — may even be practical. But taking on more debt than you can handle is asking for trouble.

Many people who are broke still take on high-interest loans (e.g., payday-type loans) and large amounts of credit card debt. Bankrate found that as of last year, nearly one out of four people (23%) earning less than $30,000 had more credit card debt than savings.

4. Live above their means

Do you spend more money than you earn? If so, you’re certainly not the only one. A large portion of households, particularly lower-income households, have higher expenditures than they do income.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer expenditure surveys, consumer units (which are kind of like households) categorized as earning between $30,000 and $39,999 earned an average pre-tax income of $34,655, but they spent $36,093.

In each of the lower-earning income groups, average spending was higher than average income. It wasn’t until the $40,000-to-$49,999 income level (and higher-income levels) that average income finally exceeded average spending.

5. Have no savings

Whether we’re completely broke or not, most of us could benefit from saving more money. It’s a lot more difficult to save when you’re broke, and you need every penny you earn to cover the basic essentials. But it’s still a good idea to save some money. Even if you can’t save up the ideal six months of emergency savings and place large chunks of your paycheck into retirement funds and savings accounts, that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to give up on savings altogether. Even the smallest amounts can make a difference for a rainy day.

Read More: cheatsheet

PDP Broke? We Warned Earlier On That Being In Opposition Is Not A Walk In The Park – APC

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied the allegation by the PDP that the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura, is a card-carrying member of the party (APC), calling the accusation absurd and frivolous.

Alh. Lai Mohammed

In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party challenged the PDP to publish any evidence it may have to confirm the allegation, adding: ”After all, it is trite that he who alleges must prove.”

”In the absence of that, the PDP must call another press conference to publicly apologize to all Nigerians for engaging in barefaced lies,” it said.
APC expressed shock that the PDP has started exhibiting all the symptoms of hallucination so soon after its gravy train derailed, saying it’s obvious that the party has now started hearing voices.

”We know that the psyche of the PDP has been badly affected by its loss of power at the centre. Even the party itself has admitted that much. That situation has now been compounded by the fact that the party is broke. It is therefore not a surprise that it is no longer able to think straight. The reality of its new situation is just beginning to dawn on it.

”But we warned the PDP early on that being in opposition is not a walk in the park. We warned that while the party was used to eating its bread with butter on both sides, it will now be lucky to even have bread to eat,” the party said.

It warned the PDP to spend more time in patching its tattered and battered umbrella than acting as a cog in the wheel of progress of the new Administration

Nigeria Is Broke Because Some People Have Stolen So Much- Oshiomole

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Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to go after those who have stolen the country’s money.

Addressing newsmen after the meeting of the governors on Wednesday, Oshiomole noted that the country’s financial issues was not just because oil prices had fallen but because some people had deliberately milked the nation’s treasury dry.

His words, “I think the media is not being accurate, the country is bankrupt, not just the states. The Federal Government’s finances are even worse, considering that they borrowed over N4 trillion. The entire funds for pension scheme has been drawn down by the Federal Government. It is because they borrow at will that you can’t seem to see that they are also bankrupt. So, when we talk of bankruptcy, we should be talking about serious national economic crisis that is not limited to states…”

Read More: dailypost

National Assembly Broke, Borrows To Pay Lawmakers

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The stark reality of the sharp drop in the nation’s revenue following crude oil price slump at the international market now stares Nigerians, including federal lawmakers in the face.

Now, the National Assembly Service Commission which is on first line charge and used to get about N150 billion yearly to run its affairs, has come out to say it is cash-strapped and cannot pay salaries of its legislators most of whom have completed their tour of duty and were either voted out or did not seek re-election.

Also unable to pay salaries in their states, governors will consult with President Muhammadu Buhari next week to discuss the way out of the quagmire.

They will meet him under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) that has also congratulated and pledged to work with the leadership of the National Assembly.

A top management official of the commission with knowledge of the financial state of the National Assembly told The Guardian: “Our account is in the red. We can’t even pay our staff salaries. In fact, I can confirm to you that we are yet to complete the payment of salaries of the Seventh Legislators that wound up their activities last June 9. We have to obtain loans from banks to be able to pay them. So nobody is talking about the allowances of this Eighth Assembly now. We don’t know how we are going to handle it.”

“I don’t know where the information came from that we are going to pay wardrobe allowance amounting to almost N9 billion.

“Whoever is peddling that rumour is really doing a disservice to the new presiding officers and members of the Eighth National Assembly who may unduly come under pressure from their constituents. I can assure you that nobody knows when the Eighth Assembly members are going to get any kobo here.

“In fact, our financial situation is compounded by the inability of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) to meet last Tuesday or yesterday as is normally the case, because even after the meeting, it takes more than two months before the Federal Government would source for money to its agencies. That is why you see that salaries of some agencies too are in arrears.

“What the Federal Government does after every FAAC is that it manages to settle the states and local government counterparts of the allocation while it begins to source for its share of the allocation which is just on paper.

“The implication of this is that even if FAAC meets today or next month, we don’t expect to get our own share of the allocation released to us immediately until the next two months except President Muhammadu Buhari is going to reverse the trend.”

“What is most disturbing to us as management at this time is how to even arrange for residential and office accommodation for the new presiding officers as the residences of both the Speaker and the Senate President were sold to former Speaker, Dimeji Bankole and immediate past Senate President, David Mark.”

Read More: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/06/national-assembly-broke-borrows-to-pay-lawmakers

Nigeria Is Broke, Amaechi Insists

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The Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has again declared that Nigeria is broke and blamed the inability of the state and others to pay workers’ salaries and pensions on the nation’s current poor financial condition.

Amaechi said that the nation’s economic condition could be noticed through the dwindling statutory monthly allocation usually received by the state from the Federal Government.

Speaking during a thanksgiving service organised by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and his campaign outfit, the Greater Campaign Organisation in Port Harcourt on Sunday, the governor recalled that he was described as an alarmist last year when he cried out over Nigeria’s poor financial state.

Amaechi pointed out that the nation’s economy had continued to fall since he made the statement in December 2014.

“When I said sometime last year that Nigeria’s finances was in a dire strait, some people referred to me as an alarmist. Since I made that statement in December last year, the statutory allocation to the state has continued to decline.

“Now, almost all the states are finding it difficult to pay salaries. The state government owes civil servants their April salaries and pensioners’ four months’ salary arrears because the state does not have the money to pay them,” the governor said.

Amaechi explained that he decided to channel financial resources towards the completion of ongoing projects, which he promised would be completed before the end of his administration on May 29, 2015.

He said, “Some people have chosen to make an issue of the difficulty we are currently experiencing in paying the salaries of civil servants as well as the arrears of our retirees. It is not our making.

“No government will deliberately refuse to pay the salaries of its workers. We will pay as soon as we receive our share of our statutory monthly allocation from the Federal Government.

“It is not easy to joggle the payment of salaries and the implementation of capital projects that are actually geared towards developing the state, creating jobs and improving the economy of the state because more monies go into the society when you award contracts and pay the contractors on time so that they can also pay their workers on time.”

Credit: punchng

#MorningTeaser: Is Rochas Broke???

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It is funny how people define the outcome of people’s predicaments… that is if this one is a predicament.

Well here is a morning teaser to begin your Saturday, but the question is, do you think Rochas is broke after the purchase of the APC presidential form and do you think he will secure his seat as governor of Imo State come 2015???

Oscar Pistorius ‘has no Money’ says Lawyer

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Pistorius sobbed as defence lawyer Barry Roux said that the athlete no longer had any money after the long trial, which has lasted over seven months. “He is not only broke but he is broken,” he said. “He’s a first offender. What has happened to this man? He was on the rise,” Mr Roux added.

The lawyer asked Judge Masipa to consider the South African principle of “ubuntu”, roughly translated as kindness towards others, in her sentencing. The prosecution is expected to present its closing argument later on Friday.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide last month after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year, but was cleared of murder. Judge Thokozile Masipa is expected to deliver her sentence on Tuesday.

He faces up to 15 years in jail, but the judge may choose a suspended sentence or impose a fine instead. The sentencing hearing, which began on Monday, has seen the prosecution push for the maximum custodial sentence.