The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • Abuja revs master plan machine

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Its population, now at  2.5 million, is also growing rapidly.

    What about order in the city?

    Every administration has always sought to keep the nation’s capital tidy through a master plan drawn up strictly for that purpose. The plan envisages a city where houses are built in proper places, not anywhere the builders please.

    During the era of former FCT minister who is now the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, most residents of the FCT were made to comply with the master plan even when the then minister was tagged “an evil man” for demolishing illegal structures.

    Findings revealed that many just do whatever they like without following the rule of law guiding the city.

    Successive governments after that of el-Rufai have been trying to maintain the legacy he left behind despite the difficulty and challenges.

    As the 2019 elections draw near, the authorities in the FCT want everyone to behave themselves. Do not put up anything in the wrong place, or you will see the master plan machine coming after you.

    The Coordinator of Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, in an interview with Abuja Review vowed to strictly follow the Abuja Master Plan no matter who may oppose it.

    Shuaibu said any building without approval will be demolished, bemoaning the level of vandalism going on in the city.

    “This year alone,” he said, “we have paid N1.5 billion on electricity. So you can see how expensive it is and what we are facing. Many people are bent on defacing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and by doing things contrary to the development plan of the city.”

    He also disclosed that as the 2019 elections approach, any politician, political party or individual caught pasting posters within the city centre and any unauthorised places will be fined and charged to court.

    The AMMC boss, while explaining the categories of levies, said individuals will be made to pay N500 thousand and organisations will pay N1 million.

    He spoke extensively on efforts of the agency and how to keep Abuja on the right track.

    He said, “We face so many challenges. Whenever anyone is given allocation he or she has to come to us for building plan approval. The major challenge we have here is some people will decide to cut corners even if they are given approval and start building without approval, thereby building contrary to the plan. For those that build without approval develop ghettos, building unauthorised structures and without plan. And those places might have been marked road corridors, high tension and no-go areas people develop on them.

    “All these are our major challenges. Where an area is marked for green you cannot put up a structure because when you put up a structure there it will collapse. These are also challenges. We also provide street lights, drainages but some indiscipline Nigerians who are bent on destroying Abuja master plan are stealing these facilities. We have serious vandalisation of our street lights. And the cost of providing all these facilities is high. Maintaining them is also much that is the reason why we are paying high bills to Abuja Electricity Development Company (AEDC).

    “To keep the Abuja master plan you have to enforce, that is why we are regulating and enforcing the law by ensuring that people do the right thing. When you do not enforce people will not comply. That is why you will see so many buildings that we have marked. We mark for demolition, we give notice to stop work for those who did not comply. If we are not enforcing that law Abuja will not be as beautiful as this because Abuja is developing every day and buildings are coming up every day.

    “On several occasion, we have have driven people away from a lot of places, especially at A.Y.A. You can imagine we provided bus stop at several places but people will still prefer to pick passengers at an unauthorised places within the city. We do not have any choice then to start arresting these people. In a city like Abuja we do not want to see people hawking especially at places that are not authorised. We are forced to be arresting them. Hawking in the street is not done in other capital cities across the world. We have tried to provide where the informal sector can practice there trade. We cannot allow people to deface Abuja.

    “The best option for offenders is to arrest them and take them to mobile court and charge them to pay. This step will make the people to do the right thing. Our task force are not resting in ensure that they force people to do the right thing. In the task force we have all the security operatives represented to make sure that whatever clearance that we need is achieved.

    “In the cause of this job we have been receiving threats from the individuals that though that they are above the law and can do anything. Most time they beat our people on duty. Anybody that past posters at an unauthorised place will be charged to court. For individual the fine is N500 thousand and for organisation is one million Naira. People must know that they cannot past posters anywhere in Abuja now.

    “We have gone to political parties and we have carried out several campaigns to let them know that posters are not to be pasted anyhow in Abuja. In doing our job we are only managing the little resources at our disposal, no government agency will say that the budgetary provision is enough.”

     

  • Singles’ forum marks 7th anniversary

    A Christian forum for unmarried people, Singles of Purpose has celebrated its 7th year anniversary in Minna, the Niger State capital.

    The two day event which had the theme ‘Marriage Bank’ was held at the Abdulsalam Youth Center had in attendance singles and couples across Niger state.

    Speaking on the first day of the event, the Convener, Pastor Flora Ojo Peters spoke on some divine operations that must not be ignored by singles in order for them to have a Godly marriage.

    According to her, singles must not ignore divine invitations, divine assignment, ,divine movement, divine pulling, divine desires, divine live and divine conviction.

    Speaking on the Marriage Bank, the Convener urged singles to make positive and impactful deposits into the marriage bank which they would be expected to withdraw from after marriage.

    “God is expecting is to make serious things into the marriage bank. One thing with the marriage bank is that either you deposit or not, you will withdraw daily. A marriage bank where there is no transaction would not be fruitful”.

    Peters also cautioned the singles to be conscious on who deposits into their marriage bank and what is deposited into the marriage bank, “you are going to be the determinant factor of who deposits into your marriage bank. Be conscious of who and what is deposited into your marriage bank account”.

    The Forum which is part of the activities of Tabernacle of Mercy Ministries International had word ministration, prophetic ministration, song and drama ministration, impacrtation, testimonies, questions and answers and pep talk.

    The attendees were given opportunity to ask questions bothering on courtship, relationship, marriage and singlehood. The questions were answered by the General Overseer of Tabernacle of Mercy Ministry, Pastor Ojo Peters and his wife, Pastor Flora Ojo Peters.

     

  • Winning the anti-graft battle

    Not a few Nigerians in the past three years have doubted the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption fight. They found it difficult to see its toughness and deep bite against corruption in the country.

    They could not help but compare Buhari’s fight against corruption under his military rule in the early 1980s and the fierceness of the battle in the past three years.

    This set of Nigerians believed that Buhari has really lost the steam to completely flush out corruption in the country. They have wondered that the latest Buhari’s anti-graft battle was essentially the exertions of a toothless bulldog. Their argument was based on the fact that no tangible number of corrupt Nigerians have been convicted and sent to jail in the past three years.

    This, they have noted, has made corruption practices to even fester under the current administration rather than subsiding.

    The fight has also been termed selective by critics, who believe that it is only targeted at members of the opposition parties.

    Apart from denying any selectiveness in the anti-graft battle, the Buhari administration has also continued to raise the alarm that corruption has been fighting back.

    The fight against corruption in the last three years, the government said had not really moved the way expected because of the enormous resources in the hands of looters, which have been deployed against the anti-graft war.

    The anti-graft battle, it also noted, could not move very fast like under the military rule because of the respect for democracy and the rule of law.

    To give the anti-graft battle more bite, President Buhari last week introduced another dimension: tracking the corrupt and their cash with a view to making it difficult for them to sabotage the anti-graft fight.

    He gave a hint of what was to come last week Wednesday while answering questions during the visit of Namibian President Hage Geingob to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari had said, “We are pursuing people who have declared assets. But we find out that they have much more than they have declared. We follow them through their bank accounts to the companies they formed to the contracts they got. Sometimes they swear to Almighty God that their structures that cannot develop feet and run away does not belong to them. Then they are confronted with their bank accounts.

    “Again, using my experiences when I was arrested and detained, people were given back what they have appropriated. This time around, I said we are going to sell them and put the money into the treasury and I will see whoever comes after that will have the courage to take money from the treasury and give to anybody.

    “So, we are winning, but it’s very difficult under this multi-party democracy system. And we are getting the cooperation of countries.

    “We are trying to sell the assets wherever we find them and bring the money into the Nigerian treasury.” he said

    Noting that his administration would soon reorganize the nation’s judiciary to boost fight against corruption in the country, he added: “We are going to dedicate some judges to deal with corruption cases and try to put forward and prosecute all those that investigations proved that they have questions to answer.

    “So that is what I’m telling you that we haven’t given up; we are doing our best and we will recover as much as humanly possible,” he said.

    Barely 24 hours after that remark, the President took a step further by signing Executive Order No. 6 of 2018 ‘on the Preservation of Assets Connected with Serious Corruption and other Relevant Offences’ towards freezing assets  of suspected looters.

    While signing the order at the Council Chamber of the State House last Thursday, Buhari said “It has thus become necessary to re-kit and re-tool our arsenal to be able to effectively tackle corruption’s perilous counter-attack against the Nigerian State.

    “Accordingly, the Federal Government of Nigeria has declared a national emergency to deal with that crisis. In this regard, the Federal Government of Nigeria in line with its anti-corruption strategy seeks to ensure that the ends of justice is not defeated or compromised by persons involved in a case or complaint of corruption.

    “It is in consequence of this that I have decided to issue the Executive Order No. 6 of 2018 to inter alia restrict dealings in suspicious assets subject to investigation or inquiry bordering on corruption in order to preserve such assets from dissipation, and to deprive alleged criminals of the proceeds of their illicit activities which can otherwise be employed to allure, pervert and/or intimidate the investigative and judicial processes or for acts of terrorism, financing of terrorism, kidnapping, sponsorship of ethnic or religious violence, economic sabotage and cases of economic and financial crimes, including acts contributing to the economic adversity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria  and against the overall interest of justice and the welfare of the Nigerian State,” he said.

    The President went on: “Therefore, in order to preserve Nigeria’s political and economic systems, and the continuous progress of the Nigerian State from the serious threat of corruption, I call on all stakeholders, and indeed every Nigerian to give effect to this Executive Order.

    “Agencies of the Federal Government in consultation with the Attorney General of the Federation should identify and adopt best practices, and develop strategies for action.

    “The fight against corruption is one that must be fought by everyone wherever corruption rears its head.” he stated

    The leading opposition party in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a statement on Friday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, criticised the Executive Order.

    Describing it as illegal, unconstitutional, reprehensible and in total disregard to the provisions of the Constitution, he said: “Therefore, President Buhari’s unilateral Executive Order is a travesty of justice and rule of law, as it vehemently seeks to hijack and usurp the powers of both the legislature and the courts and vest it on himself so that he can use same at will, as a political instrument, to haunt, traumatize, harass and victimize perceived political opponents.

    “In other words, Mr. President wants to change our democratic governance to a military regime, in line with his lamentation, two days ago, that the fight against corruption will be better under a military regime than under a democracy.

    “It is instructive to emphasize that the PDP is not in any way opposed to the fight against corruption. Rather, the party holds that the imposition of this Executive Order, which is radically at variance with the provisions of the constitution, is totally unacceptable.

    “PDP takes this Executive Order 6 of 2018 as a reenactment of the obnoxious Decree 2 of 1984, which incidentally was also an enactment under then military Head of State headed by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and this must not be permitted in our current democratic dispensation.

    “If allowed, this Order will confer limitless powers on Mr. President, whose administration’s penchant for violation of rules and order already suggests a readiness for autocracy and a drive towards fascism.

    “In a democracy, the role of the executive arm of government is to enforce court orders/judgments handed down based on the interpretation of existing laws. Any suggestion to the contrary, as clearly intended by this Executive Order, is totally an aberration and inconsistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “We invite Nigerians and the international community to note the deliberate attempts by the Buhari administration to side-step the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), usurp the powers of the legislature, the judiciary and impose an autocratic regime on our nation.

    “The PDP therefore charges the judiciary and the legislature to save our dear nation and her people from an imminent fascism by rejecting this obnoxious Executive Order.

    “Nigeria is a democratic state run by the dictates of the law and the constitution and not by the rule of the thumb of any elected officer.

    “Already, our lawyers are considering legal action against the Federal Government on the illegality of Mr. President’s action in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.” he added

    While the battle against corruption in the remaining last one year of the first term of Buhari’s administration should not be selective and not for witch-hunt, corruption definitely cannot be allowed to kill Nigeria.

    The fight should be taken to a higher level where every Nigerian will be made to think twice before venturing to loot the treasury.

    The commonwealth of Nigerians must be preserved at all costs for the generality of Nigerians and development of the nation.

     

  • 29 for foreign varsities as Brookstone School graduates

    |It was a day of excitement and joy as the International Foundation Year of the Brookstone/Northern Consortium of United Kingdom Universities (NCUK) Abuja Study Centre had its first graduation and awards day. At a colourful event, parents, guardians, students and invitees savoured the moment as 29 students graduated in the Abuja Study Center of the Brookstone/NCUK. Some students received prizes and recognition for their excellence.

    Brookstone is in partnership with Northern Consortium of United Kingdom Universities (NCUK) and offers an International Foundation Year (IFY) programme leading to guaranteed admission in over 30 universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America.

    All 29 graduating students gained admission into various universities in the United Kingdom, most having admissions offered to them from three universities abroad at the same time, especially in the United Kingdom.

    The Chairman of Governing Board, of the Brookstone Schools, Mr. Kalada Apiafi in his speech at the event said:

    “It is with pleasure I welcome you to the first graduation ceremony of Brookstone International Foundation Schools, Abuja. We are exceedingly happy to have our parents in our midst. I am sure that you are proud of what your children have been able to achieve in the last nine months as ‘A’ Level.

    “The graduating students are making history today as the first set of graduates of Abuja centre, four students are also making history as our first set of January to June stream.

    “Our congratulations to you all! All students have shown a high level of discipline, academic excellence, initiative, self-confidence, diligence and teamwork. Consequently, they all had a minimum of three admission offers from universities of their choice.”

    One of the award and prize winners, Oluwafunsho Olajide said the Brookstone Study Centre has made them “shinning stars.”

    “There is much to be thankful for,” he said.”First, we have made it to the end of the 2017/2018 academic year, which is the first academic year in Brookstone School, Abuja. Moreover, we have all received a great education.  Yes, during the the period of our stay at Brookstone, we received a great education. Yes, during the period of our stay in Brookstone, we underwent rigorous transformation that has resulted in our becoming shining stars at would shine even brighter as we look to take on the world.

    “The feat was no wishful thinking. It did not just happen. It took tons of inspiration and perspiration on our part , the students, our diligent teachers, the ever-supporting management , and our incredibly caring and optimistic parents .

    Another award- winner and one of the graduating student of the Brookstone 2018 set, Hafiz Abdulkareem, in his speech said the experience acquired from the institution is one he would hold dear to his heart for the rest of his life,

    “This is mainly because of the exceptional individuals I was fortunate to come across during my stay here, the challenges we had to overcome and the moments we made makes it so hard to believe we were only here for some months.

    “Brookstone International Foundation Year has so many interesting things about it, but what made it for me were the individuals I met here who over the past few months have found a permanent spot in my heart. The people in front of me are men and women of exceptional character. The faces I see in front of me today are people who have the capability and eagerness to take the world by storm and to do the one thing that truly matters, which is going out into the world and breaking uncommon records.

    “In front of me today, I see indefatigable lawyers, innovative engineers, successful entrepreneurs, world-class medical practitioners and smart professionals who will lead others onto career path ways. I see people who have grown through thick and thin to achieve this academic glory and do not succumb to challenges easily, people who are able to go into the world for what it is today and conquer it, people who although are within my age have taught me valuable lessons and have acted as role models to me.”

     

  • Women lawyers cheer up IDPs in Benue

    CREDITED with the kindest touch on humanity, it was just as well that a group of women professionals showed love to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Benue State.

    The state, among others in the Middle Belt, is the epicentre of attacks by suspected armed herdsmen who have sacked many communities, disrupted farming activities, destroyed the villages they conquered, and sent survivors into hundreds of IDP camps across the state.

    The state chapter of International Federation of Women Lawyers visited two camps located on the outskirts of Makurdi, the state capital.

    The state chairperson of the organisation, Mrs Margaret  Atu noted that their visit to the Abagana and Agan Primary School camps was intended to put a smile on the faces of the displaced people.

    She said, “FIDA came here to encourage the IDPs not to lose hope. It is unfortunate that they have found themselves here (camps). We believe that God shall arise in their situation. God will make a way so that they will go back home and continue with their normal activities.”

    Atu said FIDA will continue to pray until peace returns to the deserted communities.

    The state secretary of FIDA Mrs . Terfa Suswam commended Mrs. Onyeaka Mary, also a lawyer and FIDA member, for mobilising her clients to donate drugs for the health needs of the IDPs

    Mrs. Oyeaka was accompanied to the IDPs by the Managing Director of BellaDona Pharmacy Mr. Azegba MacDonald who provided the drugs that were donated to the IDPs.

    Special Adviser to the governor on MDGs,  Dr. Magdalene Dura, also a lawyer, on her part, provided sanitary bags containing towels, soaps and other toiletries to  FIDA for  onward presentation to the IDPs.

    The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)’s camp official, James Iorkyaa, who received the women, including the zone 4, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Hilda Harrison, thanked FIDA for their kind gestures.

    Iorkyaa also received the food and non-food items as well as drugs donated by the women. He said that about 20 and 30 families in the camp attempted to go back home but had to return to the camp for their safety.

    “Their homes are not yet safe for them to return to,” the camp commandant said.

    Items donated to the IDPs include cloths, maternity kits, beans, rice, noodles slippers, drugs and cooking ingredients like salt, and palm oil, among others.

  • Fela ‘resurrects’ in Abuja

    You are greeted with a bold print of “Welkorr: Na De Shrine” as you make your way into the main bowel of the magnificent Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Centre, Abuja.

    A larger than life painted picture of Abami Eda himself adorns the centre to the fascination and admiration of Fala’s apostles.

    Vehicles of fun lovers spilled over to adjoining roads of Kado area of Abuja due to lack of parking space at the events centre.

    The hall was full to capacity with Abuja capital city dwellers. It was indeed, a recreation of Fela at its best.

    As if people starved of fun for a long time, music lovers continued to pour into the event centre hours after the command performance had started.

    It appeared everybody wanted to catch fun. Nobody wanted to be left out. They were not disappointed at the wrap up of the musical show.

    The stage was set on June 9th for the highly rated musical fiesta of Fela and the Kalakuta Queens.

    It was another Bolanle Austen-Peters production (BAP), which communication giant, MTN Foundation, joined other corporate organisations to support.

    The musical performance chronicles and showcases Fela’s birth, rebirth, activism and marriage to his 27 wives, women who were for all intents and purposes, a source of strength and inspirational support to the Afrobeat creator in the face of constant brutalization, intimidation and even ridicule from the society and government.

    It is incontrovertible fact that Fela not only used music as a righteous and powerful weapon against corruption and oppression.

    The Afrobeat creator also became an artistic prophet whose music is still very much significant as most of the messages in his songs are relevant till date.

    MTN, it was learnt, decided to support the production as part of her continued efforts to promote the advancement of theatre and performing arts in Nigeria.

    The MTN Foundation Arts and Culture initiative was launched in 2015 with the hope of facilitating the renaissance of the theatre dimension of arts and culture in Nigeria.

    The production is a huge point of pride for MTN Foundation to have past beneficiaries of the MTNF-MUSON Scholarship programme being integral parts of the musical and other great BAP productions.

    This further validates the Foundation’s involvement in arts and culture.

    The MTN Foundation over the years has sponsored other Bolanle Austen-Peters’ award winning theatre plays like ‘Wakaa, the Musical’ and ‘Saro, the musical’ within and beyond the shores of Nigeria.

    Some of Fela’s great hits featured at the musical included

    Lady; Water no get enemy; Trouble sleep, yanga go wake am; Beast of no nation;

    Shakara oloje; Teacher no teach me nonsense, Zombie.

    The tale about how Nigerians beef up security to protect themselves, buy stand-by generator to give them light, construct borehole to provide water and build clinic for medical services, make them members of the Kalakuta Republic.

    At the end of the performance, many of those in attendance applauded MTN for organising the events. Like Oliver Twist, they did not fail to ask for more of such star performance in Abuja.

     

     

  • Catching them young 

    Nigeria, among the nations of the world, is now heavily saddled with the problem of unemployment.

    Many tertiary institutions in the country have continued to produce a huge number of graduates who end up in the labour market every year.

    This trend has continued for many years even though things are no longer as rosy as they used to be in the 1970s and early 1980s when graduates had many job opportunities awaiting them before even graduating from school.

    The situation then was so good that such job opportunities always had attached fringe benefits like official cars, private health care and befitting accommodation serving as incentives.

    So, it was normal for students in schools then to continue to look forward to white-collar jobs.

    It was unthinkable then for such students to be engaged in entrepreneurship and skills acquisition trainings.

    Such entrepreneurship and skills acquisition trainings, then were believed to be for school dropouts and illiterates.

    Then the problem graduates mostly faced when passing out from their tertiary institutions was how to select the best out of the various job options they had.

    But all that is now history as the complete opposite is what prevails today.

    Now, you have graduates, who have no form of entrepreneurship or skills acquisition training, moving from one office to the other in search of employment.

    Some of them, who have remained unemployed for up to nine years since graduation, have continued to rely on the support of their families and loved one.

    Others have taken up demeaning jobs, which are not befitting their certificates, just to make ends meet.

    But to change the trend, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has started to change the orientation of students and pupils in secondary and primary schools.

    The students are now to be equipped with entrepreneurship and creative skills that will make them, at the end of their tertiary institutions, become their own bosses and employers of labour rather than searching and waiting endlessly for jobs in the labour market.

    This is to be achieved through the National School Entrepreneurship Programme (N-SEP) launched at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, last weekend.

    During the launching, two schools out of the twenty four that have competed in entrepreneurship skills, were awarded and given prize money of N500,000 each.

    They were involved in many entrepreneur skills including recycling plastics into inter-locking tiles.

    The two winning schools, Government Secondary School, Garki, Abuja and Government Girls Secondary School, Abaji, Abuja, will also represent Nigeria at the Student for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) 2018 World Cup scheduled for Durban, South Africa from August 8th to 14th.

    Speaking at the occasion, the Director General/CEO of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, said “The development of entrepreneurial mind-sets among pupils/students in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria is becoming increasingly important in preparation for catching them young for improving employment generation through wealth creation and self-reliance.

    “N-SEP is set to provide access to functional and hand-on entrepreneurship and community service education to every primary and secondary school students in Nigeria.

    “This is to reduce poverty and massive youth unemployment. Also to create a network of leaders who will see the challenges in their communities as their responsibilities.

    “N-SEP is to empower the students to recognise opportunities, exploit them, and succeed in entrepreneurship and community service.

    “SMEDAN is mindful of the paradigm shift in today’s education, it is no longer ‘go to school, get a good grade and work in a reputable organization. It is now go to school, get a good grade, acquire the skill and knowledge that will enable you to start your own business’.

    “The era of brilliant curriculum vitae is over, this is the era of crafting a bankable business plan that will launch the students into being their own bosses.” he said.

    According to the Vice President,Yemi Osinbajo’s speech  at the occasion, the increasing influence of globalization and emergence of knowledge based economy have led to the adoption of entrepreneurship education as a means of linking knowledge and skill with learning for developing critical human capital and mitigate social consequences of unemployment.

    “Socio-economic implications of entrepreneurship and human capital development all over the world is seen as booster for wealth creation, employment generation, living standard, poverty and crime reduction which have direct impact on the national economy.

    “This programme we are launching today is aimed at encouraging an innovative/skills among basic and secondary schools pupils/students as this will enhance entrepreneurship and enterprise development towards poverty reduction and employment generation.

    “They should cultivate the culture of being their own bosses and not job seekers right from primary and secondary schools.

    “The development of any nation depends mainly on the creative capacity of the citizens to be capable of effectively exploring and exploiting the country’s natural resources and transforming them into finished products and services through value addition.

    “The main purpose of entrepreneurship for children in primary/secondary education is to encourage them to think of creativity and innovation.” he stated

    Despite Nigeria winning the SAGE World Cup eight times in the last ten years, observers have noted that it has not shown any corresponding improvement in self-employment in the country.

    It is hoped that N-SEP, in no distant future, will boost entrepreneurship and self-employment while also scaling down the unemployment rate in Nigeria.

  • Dead on arrival

    The desire and moves by the President Muham-madu Buhari’s administration to return Nigeria’s budget cycle to January-December did not achieve its purpose last week.

    The 2018 Budget which ought to have come into effect by January this year in line with the government’s plan was only signed into law last Wednesday, which was over six months into the year.

    Also similar efforts by the past administrations to return the Federal budget to the January to December cycle never saw the light of day.

    Most of them were never able to even meet their plans to submit the Federal budget proposals to the National Assembly every September.

    The September deadline for submission of the budget proposals to the National Assembly was aimed at giving the legislators ample time, at most three months, to work on the document and possible passage and assent to the budget latest by every December.

    The plan’s sole aim was to allow implementation of every Federal budget to commence every January and terminate in December.

    Budget proposals presentations by past governments, despite every effort, mostly took place in December every year thereby defeating the effort to return the cycle to January – December.

    The late submissions and delayed passage of the budgets have resulted in poor implementation of the budgets over the years.

    They have also led to spillover of budgets implementation to the year following the actual year of the budget passed.

    There were also common stories of unutilized funds of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) being returned to government coffers due to lack of time for budget implementation.

    The Buhari’s administration was said to have made spirited efforts last year to correct the problems in order to return the budget cycle to January – December.

    So it was a cheering news last year when it was disclosed that the Buhari administration’s 2018

    Budget proposal was ready for presentation to the National Assembly in October 2017.

    After all the necessary logistics were met, President Buhari on the 7th of November, 2017, finally laid the 2018 Budget proposal before the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

    When he laid the document in a joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly, the President was optimistic that its implementation would effectively commence in January.

    But that was not to be as it took the National Assembly over six months to work on the 2018 Budget.

    Beside the delay in the passage of the 2018 Budget, the Executive arm of government believed that other factors are already working against its smooth implementation.

    Even though the National Assembly has the constitutional responsibility to amend the budget proposal, the Presidency believed that implementation of the 2018 Budget would be difficult due to new injections to the budget by the National Assembly.

    Due to the difficulty of implementing it, the 2018 Budget was feared to be more or less dead on arrival and would be corrected by a supplementary budget to be forwarded to the National Assembly.

    If not to prevent grounding of the economy, the President would have refused to sign the 2018 Budget into law.

    The President didn’t hide his feelings during the budget signing ceremony, which was for the first time done in the absence of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.

    He said “I would like to thank the leadership of the National Assembly, particularly the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as all the Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, for passing the 2018 Appropriation Bill, after seven months.

    “When I submitted the 2018 Budget proposals to the National Assembly on 7th November 2017, I had hoped that the usual legislative review process would be quick, so as to move Nigeria towards a predictable January-December financial year.  The importance of this predictability cannot be overemphasized.

    “While the Federal Government’s budget represents less than 10% of aggregate yearly expenditures in the economy, it has a very significant accelerator effect on the financial plans of other tiers of government, and even more importantly, the private sector, which mostly operates on a January-December financial year.

    “Notwithstanding the delay this year, I am determined to continue to work with the National Assembly towards improving the budgeting process and restoring our country to the January-December fiscal cycle.

    “It is in this regard that I am concerned about some of the changes that the National Assembly has made to the budget proposals that I presented.  The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that, it is the Executive that knows and defines its policies and projects.

    “Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me.  The National Assembly made cuts amounting to 347 billion Naira in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to 578 billion Naira.

    “Many of the projects cut are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation.  Some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly have not been properly conceptualised, designed and costed and will therefore be difficult to execute.

    “Furthermore, many of these new projects introduced by the National Assembly have been added to the budgets of most MDAs with no consideration for institutional capacity to execute them or the incremental recurrent expenditure that may be required.

    “Another area of concern is the increase by the National Assembly of the provisions for Statutory Transfers by an aggregate of 73.96 billion naira.

    “Most of these increases are for recurrent expenditure at a time we are trying to keep down the cost of governance.

    “An example of this increase is the budget of the National Assembly itself which has increased by 14.5 billion Naira, from 125 billion Naira to 139.5 billion Naira without any discussion with the Executive.

    “Notwithstanding the above stated observations, I have decided to sign the 2018 Budget in order not to further slowdown the pace of recovery of our economy, which has doubtlessly been affected by the delay in passing the budget.

    “However, it is my intention to seek to remedy some of the most critical of these issues through a supplementary and/or amendment budget which I hope the National Assembly will be able to expeditiously consider.

    With the 2018 Budget being the last that could still be fully implemented under the first term of President Buhari’s administration terminating next May, it would really be good if the budget and the coming supplementary budget would add more values to the Nigerian economy and the lives of more Nigerians than the previous budgets.

  • ‘Parents, teach your children Nigerian culture’

    There is a correlation between a country’s development profile and its language and culture.

    That seems to be the position of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC).

    The council has advised Nigerian parents to lay the foundation for national greatness by teaching their children the Nigerian language and culture.

    Director-General of NCAC Otunba Olusegun Runsewe said a people without a culture can never make progress because they are like a people without identity.

    Runsewe was speaking in Abuja at a children’s quiz and essay competition on Nigerian culture featuring about 100 pupils drawn from different primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Runsewe said it is unfortunate that some schools don’t have culture clubs.

    He added that Edo State has insisted that every school must have a culture club which the agency has recommended to other states.

    He said, “There is no child that is not good at something, the child might be good in one area and not in the other, so we must check our strength in whatever we do with the youths.

    “I was very impressed on how our children were speaking their dialects today, which we know is not easy in our Nigeria of today.

    “Do you know before, if two Hausa men were having an argument and a traditional ruler passes, the quarrel ends because they will listen to the traditional ruler. These are our cultural values which we are losing. It is unfortunate that some schools don’t have cultural clubs. Edo state recently insisted that every school must have a cultural club which we are recommending to other states.

    “One thing you can never leave behind is your culture, a people without a culture can never make progress, it is like a people without identity. People talk of corruption and I have a solution, we went to visit EFCC with the management and I told the chairman that one of the reasons is when somebody steals money in our society, they call him and give him a title, are we not encouraging criminality?

    “This country used to be one of the greatest countries with no criminality and living together as one but now tribalism has changed it, we need to give orientation to our children when they are young. We need to build a better today for a greater tomorrow.”

    At the event, 14-year-old Lawrence Rita from Junior Secondary School Tudun Wada, Wuse Zone 4, said, “I started learning to speak my language from my mum at age eight and now I speak very well. To me, it is very good to speak your language because you might have a visitor at home and your mother wants to say something to you, in order for the visitor not to know what she is saying, she will use your dialect which is better.”

    Ten-year-old Egbuobi Lancelot, a Basic Five pupil of Solid Rock Academy Kubwa, Abuja told The Nation: “I learnt to speak Igbo from my mother, I love my culture, if you see an Igbo man walk pass, you will know because of the dressing, the way they speak, dance and eat. My school encourages me to speak my language a lot especially on cultural days.”

    Another student from Kubwa, 13-year-old Ahmadu Victor from Government Secondary School Kubwa said, “I speak my language fluently and I learned it from my mom, she always speaks it to us, now because of that, I am able to communicate with people of the same ethnic group and I like it because when I go to a new place and speak my language, I might find a person that speaks my language, identify with the person and make a new friend.

    “Although it is good to speak English since it is the official language of Nigeria which will be helpful when you go out but we need to preserve our own culture because whatever you do not preserve will go into extinction. To prevent it, kids need to be taught their languages. They could speak the language at home and learn English in school.”

  • Residents relish flood-control interventions

    With the ravages of 2012 flooding fresh in mind, there is a sense of relief in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the federal government launches erosion and flood control measures. OLUGBENGA ADANIKIN reports

    It may have happened six years ago, but the 2012 flood across the country is alive and well in memory. It took many unawares, washing away homesteads and farmlands. It claimed lives, forced people from their homes, leaving hunger and sorrow in its trail.

    Will there be an end to flooding? The answer is no and this is due to increasing climate change impacts and continuous rising sea level. These are testimonies that affirm that climate change is real and can only be mitigated through adaptation and resilient measures.

    No wonder residents of the Federal Capital Territory largely hit by flooding, gully erosion among environmental challenges could not hold their enthusiasm during the commissioning of erosion control projects funded by the Ecological Fund Office under the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

    The intervention was at three project sites which cost over N1 billion fully paid for by the Presidency. The projects located in Bwari Area Council and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) costs N650 million, N280 million and N110 million respectively.

    The Vice Chancellor, Veritas University, Prof. Michael Kwanashie was full of appreciation over the Bwari project. He pondered over magnanimity of the government to have interceded in their situation despite being a private university.

    For over four years of the school 10-year existence, creating an access road had been an herculean task due to the huge gully erosion.

    Prior to the intervention, the Varsity community could not access other sections of the institution due to the huge gully erosion. hostel and other building construction was at a halt.

    The VC, who pleaded for more of similar intervention corroborated that for years, the school struggled to erect bigger structures yet persistently hit by severe flood and gully erosion.

    “The University community and our host community will forever be grateful for this intervention. We are happy that the Federal Government considered us despite being a private university, we are able to benefit from government support.”

    Kwanashie was the representative of Conference of Catholic Bishop at the event. He said the intervention made so much impact on the institute’s 220 hectares of land.

    Kwanashie, who is also the VC of Veritas University, expressed satisfactions by the students, management and rural farmers residing in the locality.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha while handing over N750 million erosion control project to Veritas University described the intervention as part of commitments of the present administration to delivering on its various campaign promises.

    He said the country has witnessed tremendous improvement in all spheres compared to the past.

    “The project which is one of the three ecological intervention projects approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2015 was awarded by the Ecological Fund Office Tenders Board on 31st August, 2015.

    “The project is expected to check erosion and flooding menace in the institution.”

    Mustapha added, saying, “The enormous challenges faced by the Veritas University Community as a result of bad roads and gully erosion over the years cannot be overemphasised. The federal government’s intervention has therefore brought a huge relief to the suffering in the university.”

    The SGF reminded the people of President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise that no part of the country will suffer any neglect owing to its geopolitical location or political consideration.

    Describing the project as sincerity of the present administration towards promoting justice, equity and fair play to each geopolitical zone in the country irrespective of the political lining, he advised the community to avoid indiscriminate dropping of refuse into the drainage channels.

    The enormous challenges faced by Veritas university community as a result of bad roads and gully erosion over the years cannot be overemphasized. The federal government intervention has therefore brought a huge relief to the suffering in the university.” He noted.

    At Jikwoyi and Suberu communities in AMAC, residents applauded the federal government for similar interventions describing it as timely and relevant to their survival.

    The SGF commended the contractor Gaffar Worldwide Resources Limited for executing a good job before the delivery date.

    In his remarks, the Project Manager, Michael Chibuzo explained that both projects were delivered in two months despite its six months contractual delivery deadline.

    He lauded the federal government for its confidence on local contractors stressing that such gesture will further create jobs and boost the economy.

    The Permanent Secretary, EFO, Mrs. Habiba Lawal advised the communities to jealously guard the projects.

    “The commissioning and handing over of this laudable project to the befitting institution will no doubt make them take over the ownership of the project to ensure maintenance and sustainability.

    “The resources which the federal government had committed must not be allowed to waste,” she stated.

    Beyond Abuja, similar project was carried out at Ifedayo/Boluwaduro/Ila in Osun and 14 other locations.

    Former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi at the commissioning reiterated Federal Government’s commitment that no project will suffer setbacks owing to its geopolitical location or political consideration.

    The intervention project is also expected to boost social economic wellbeing and development of the people in the erosion prone areas.

    “I have no doubts in my mind that the successful completion would enhance holistic control of soil erosion and flood menace in the communities. This would at the same time reduce dangers to lives and properties associated with erosion and persistent flooding that has been experienced in recent times.”