“The Senate President is reported to be earning N250m quarterly or N83.3m per month while his deputy earns N50m monthly.

Democracy is popularly defined as a system of government designed by the people for the people. The adoption of this style as best practice of governance by several nation states is supported by the far reaching economic and social progress made by those countries with strong democratic principles and structures.

“We are tired of the military repetitive tendency to experiment with our economy: Today, they say “no controls”. Tomorrow; they say “full controls”.

The issue of the removal of petrol subsidy is one area that has exposed our government’s characteristic indecision and prevarication.

Nigerians maybe forgiven if they do not know that the cumulative effects of the policies of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) are generally responsible for the level of economic growth and price stability in the country.

In an attempt to encourage Nigerians to see the Jonathan Presidency as a continuation of Yar’Adua’s ‘legacy’, the Federal Executive Council recently announced their adherence to the late President’s controversial 7 Point Agenda.

Inadequate power supply has choked the development and growth of Nigeria’s economy, particularly in the last two decades. The Punch Newspapers editorial of 22/3/2010 explicitly paints this reality.

The Nigerian case is in sharp contrast to the UK response; for example, there is no attempt to curtail the heavy overheads and operational expenses of government at any level. Indeed, quarterly allowances for members of the House of Reps are being considered for upward review from N27.2m per quarter to N42m (see ThisDay, 24/5/2010, pg 1 – re: Jumbo Pay) Abuja Airport Road is being ‘expanded’ with over N250bn, while the airport runway itself will be upgraded with almost N50bn after a downward review from about N60bn. Meanwhile, education and health enjoy less budget allocations than the Abuja runway and Airport Road!

Inadequate power supply has chocked the development and growth of Nigeria’s economy, particularly in the last two decades. The Punch Newspapers editorial of 22/3/2010 explicitly paints this reality. That editorial specifically notes that “Poor power supply has been at the heart of the nation’s wobbly manufacturing sector whose capacity utilization has today plunged to 29 per cent.

The following article is courtesy of a guest columnist, Mr. Adaighofua Ojomaikre, who is also an advocate of the views consistently paraded in this column with regard to the correct infusion process of our nation’s export dollar earnings with the instrument of dollar certificates.