Category: Abuja Review

There is a new man at the helm of affairs at the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS). In one month, he has initiated his own reforms and vowed to go after tax defaulters using ICT. Muhammad Nami looks like a sheriff with his own agenda to generate revenue and fund infrastructure development. Assistant Editor NDUKA CHIEJINA reports on what Nami has been up to one month on the saddle.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is very critical to the development of Nigeria’s revenue generation exercise.

This is made more pressing with the passing and signing of the 2019 Finance Bill which now requires non-oil revenue generating agencies to generate more money for the government.

In December, 2019, Muhammed Nami was appointed Executive Chairman of the FIRS after his predecessor’s tenure expired.

100 days Reform

At his inauguration, Nami presented his agenda first by admitting that “the FIRS is a work in progress which needs continuous improvement because the service has had its fair share of challenges, some of which it has been able to withstand so far.”

Nami said in his first 100 days, he plans “building members of staff capacities for service delivery to make doing business easier for taxpayers and collection target will be easy to achieve.

Within that period, he has vowed to close “all lien cases in order to build new enforcement strategies. Restructure and reposition audit function.”

Under him, the Service has commenced the review of structures for optimal performance which was unveiled at the FIRS Corporate Strategic Retreat. For the first time in seven years, the FIRS held its Corporate Strategic Retreat to define roles and target setting.

The Service wants to engage its members of staff in capacity building on Finance Bill and other Tax programmes; Review Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) administration process which started with January TCC issuance programme and revamp the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) operations, starting with adopting the current capabilities and upgrade to next version of the solution.

The new man at the FIRS has started by offering a 30-day window to enable tax payers to obtain Tax Clearance Certificate with ease.

Mr. Nami personally signed the public notice with the aim of assisting tax payers meet their obligations as they might need TCC by putting in place machinery to issue 2020 TCC for all eligible tax payers from January 2 to January 31, 2020.

He warned that the FIRS will not fail to invoke the provisions of the Law; including enforcement and imposition of lien should it be apparent that a tax payer has misled the FIRS to issue a TCC.

Nami said: “The Service may not hesitate to use enforcement activities, including imposition of lien on bank accounts of such defaulting companies to recover any outstanding debts when it discovers that the tax payer has misled the Service in its duty to observe tax compliance.”

The issuance of TCC he said, “is to ease the burden of tax payers in line with the provisions of Section 101 (1) of CITA LFN 2004 and in conformity with Self-Assessment Regulation, 2011.”

The issuance of TCC to tax payers has been a thorny issue which past Executive Chairmen of the FIRS had tried to tackle; Nami is standing in the cusp of time to be the one who perfected the ease of accessing TCC by tax payers.

Capturing the informal sector

At the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) meeting in Abuja recently, tax administrators from the continent raised the alarm that ensuring that the informal sector pays tax may be taxing because of the shenanigans of politicians.

Nami lamented that “making the informal sector to pay tax is viewed as politically unpopular and politicians are unwilling to risk losing the high number of votes represented in the sector. This is because politicians promise informal workers protection from taxation in exchange for their votes.”

Such businesses, he said, “also operate on a cash basis and maintain poor or no accounting records. Most of the businesses in the sector are also small and fragmented, making it inefficient for the revenue administrations to enforce compliance.”

However, African tax administrators led by Nami have agreed to design ways to drag the operators of informal businesses into the tax net.

To support the planned capture of the informal sector into the tax net, Nami and others agreed that “enforcing taxation on the informal sector may also be a way of promoting good governance and political accountability of the State because tax strengthens the social contract between the citizens and the government. Thus, informal businesses that contribute to tax revenues are likely to assert their rights to receive certain services from government thereby ensuring accountability.”

“Paying taxes”, he said, “is likely to promote responsiveness by the state to the needs of the informal sector in a bid to encourage voluntary compliance. It is also likely to encourage collective action, collective political engagement and bargaining by the informal sector.”

Nami stated that “if Africa is to reduce its budget deficits and increase revenue mobilisation, it must widen its tax base and the informal sector provides the opportunity to do so.”

The Executive Secretary of ATAF, Mr. Lorgan Wortt stated that over the past four years ATAF has helped eight member countries trace $1 billion in taxes $300m of which is already in the bank.

He said:  “These days the world is gathering over this period to discuss how to tax the digital economy. Nigeria is a massive market, e-commerce and social media platform is widely used in this country and it is widely used in other continents, mobile cell phone is the biggest on the continent. What does that mean for revenue and for economic activity now that companies can do business in our countries without having a presence here?”

As an organisation, ATAF, he said, has, in the last 10 years, trained 16,000 tax officials who have trained 500 tax auditors, have graduated 85 Master’s degree students in tax who were trained in English Master’s degree offered through ATAF.

They have published more than 300 academic policy and administrator academic papers through the African Tax Research Network and have produced formidable tax statistics publication anywhere on African traveller’s tax statistics.

At the meeting, it was revealed that imposing tax on the informal sector may yield low returns in the short run, but the benefits are worth the effort. Bringing the businesses into the tax net, they said, instils a tax-paying culture in the businesses, which ensures tax compliance when the businesses expand.

Demanding tax from the informal sector is considered critical in ensuring a perception of fairness in the tax system. “Those who operate in the formal sector deem it unfair to have to pay taxes while those in the informal sector do not. This impacts their tax morale and can result in low tax compliance among those in the formal sector.”

They lamented that “furthermore, in some instances, enterprises within the informal sector create unfair competition for those operating in formality. This reduces the income generated by the formal firms and consequently, reduces the taxes paid.”

Blocking $10 billion leaks

Coming back to Nigeria, FIRS has moved to block $10 billion tax leaks through illicit profit shifting by multinational corporations operating in the country.

These monies would have been applied to critical infrastructure development by the three tiers of government.

Quoting the African Union Illicit Financial Flow Report, Nami said: “Africa is losing $50 billion through profit shifting by multinational corporations and about $10 billion of this amount is from Nigeria alone.”

To block this and other identified tax avoidance schemes by individuals and corporate organisations, Nami said he has launched a comprehensive, ongoing tax collection reform process “anchored on four cardinal pillars of rebuilding FIRS’ institutional framework; robust collaboration with stakeholders; building a customer or taxpayer-centric institution and  making the FIRS data-centric institution.”

The FIRS Chairman, his board and team have also set a target of improving the Service’s performance over the next four years by a “minimum target of $5 million staff-to-revenue- ration and a 10 per cent tax-to-GDP ratio.”

Showing that the FIRS is gradually weaning Nigeria off its dependence on oil revenue, Nami revealed that non-oil taxes “accounted for 60 per cent contribution to the total collection” of taxes in 2019.

Projecting into this year, Nami stated: “For the year 2020, we have a target of N8.5 trillion. This is broken down into oil tax of N3.7 trillion and non-oil taxes target of N4.8 trillion.”

FIRS failed to meet tax target

Non-discretionary tax waiver grants, illicit financial flows abroad and high overhead costs have been adduced as major reasons why the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had failed to meet its tax revenue targets in recent times.

Mr. Nami, told the Senate at an interactive session with revenue generating agencies, which was aimed at improving the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the Federal Government through non-oil revenue sources.

Nami said: “Nigeria loses a lot of revenue through tax waivers granted to large companies which otherwise would have been taxed to buoy up government revenue.

He, once again, identified illicit financial flow as a major cause of revenue loss to Nigeria.

Coupled with this is the operational cost of the FIRS which he said is high compared to the statutory provisions for the running of the organisation. Nami revealed that upon his assumption of office, he discovered that, among others, this factor contributed to making the FIRS unable to meet its target in recent times.

Consequently, Mr. Nami canvassed better official discretion in granting tax waivers, even as he assured that he is working hard at the FIRS in collaboration with relevant government agencies to stem illicit financial flow, especially via profit shifting by multinationals operating in the country.

The FIRS chief urged the National Assembly to assist the FIRS in this regard in order to increase government’s revenue towards the modernisation of public infrastructure.

Senate President Ahmed Lawan urged the revenue-generating agencies to do better, stressing that “the revenue profile of the country is going down.”

Lawan added: “We believe that revenue generating agencies of government can do better. The National Assembly wants to help you in terms of legislative support and even with some incentives to ensure that your targets are met.

“Revenue agencies must meet their targets. They must aim higher. When they are not able to meet their targets, we ask them questions. There should be no reason why targets should not be met. But if anyone has any reason, we can also listen to him to know how genuine it is.”

Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola stated that “it is our belief that revenue accruable to the government will increase when we have interactive sessions such as this. The interactive session is going to hold quarterly. But subsequently, we will have the sessions in smaller groups to enable better interactions.”

Going after elite tax dodgers

Those who make more from the system will have to pay a more equitable share of their income as tax towards the public good, especially in lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

A clear roadmap to achieving this national imperative was outlined in Abuja on the final day of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Management Retreat by paper presenters, discussants and the audience who discussed the 2019 Finance Act in a deeply stimulating debate.

The Lead Paper of the day delivered by Mr. Taiwo Oyedele entitled “Strategies for Implementing the New VAT Regime” dismissed erroneous public apprehension that the new 7.5 per cent VAT would impact negatively on poor Nigerians.

Oyedele made it clear that the “well-to-do” would now pay their fair share of taxes in the country unlike before.

He argued that the key to building this fair, equitable tax system lies in transparency, accountability, integrity, work and objectivity to build confidence in tax payers and stakeholders in the tax sector.

To accomplish this, the FIRS 2020 Corporate Plan was also unveiled and subjected to a robust, on-the-spot debate.

Intelligence system to track tax evaders

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under Nami has also launched a national intelligence gathering system to gather data and track all tax evaders and defaulters, with a view to bringing them all to justice and make them pay their fair share of taxes to the country.

Nami said the Service is restructuring and revamping its system to enable it to meet and even surpass its 2020 revenue target of N8.5 trillion.

According to Nami, the intelligence gathering system is Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based and is being implemented in close collaboration with the ICPC and other anti-corruption agencies.

Financial institutions have also been drafted into the programme to tackle economy-based crimes, including money laundering.

Nami said: “We are improving our collaboration with the ICPC to track tax fraud and block all revenue leakages to ensure that we raise the revenue for the government to fund its budget.”

He added that the Service needs the data and intelligence which the ICPC has to help it track tax evaders and bring them into the tax net.”

Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owansanoye said the ICPC was open to share data with the FIRS to track tax evaders, defaulters and tackle illicit financial flow in Nigeria to raise the revenue profile of the government.

He said: “The collaboration between the FIRS and the ICPC is very important to Nigeria. One of the cardinal objectives of this Board of the ICPC is to widen the tax net.

“When we come across any company that is not tax compliant, we refer such companies to the FIRS. We have referred over 500 companies to FIRS. We want them to be captured in the tax net so that they continue to pay their taxes” he said.

As mindless killings continue unabated in different parts of the country, political leaders and clerics warn of dangers of complacency on the part of the Federal Government, writes GBENGA OMOKHUNU.

The call on Nigerians to live in peace and harmony seems to be getting more strident in the face of incessant killings in the country, particularly in the northern part. Both Christian and Muslim leaders across the country have been clamouring for peace and appealing to sects, bandits and kidnappers to cease fire and allow peace to reign.

But, rather than reducing, various efforts to bring the situation under control have remained fruitless. Appeals by President Muhammadu Buhari that herdsmen and the natives should embrace peace seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Activities of Boko Haram are raising concerns on a daily basis.

In Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Kaduna, Borno and Katsina states amongst others, the crises have continued unabated. With the added dimension of soulless kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling and banditry, the war has spread to the nooks and crannies of the country. The Army was brought in and for some time, just for a few months of reprieve, people thought they could now sleep at the night with their two eyes closed or travel by day, with the hope of getting to their destinations. But the ugly situation has continued to aggravate.

Saddened by the situation Christian leaders and traditional rulers gathered at the Christian Ecumenical Centre Abuja to proffer solutions. It was a book presentation entitled, CAN, Religion, Politics and Power in Nigeria. The book was authored by a former General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Samuel Salifu to condemn the upsurge in killings across the country. At the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha criticised those calling for the sack of Service Chiefs as solution to the problem.

Mustapha declared that President Buhari’s administration will not sack the Service Chiefs, adding that due process must be followed if at all they would be sacked. He warned members of the public against creating “cracks and divisions” in the country with the call the sacking of the Service Chiefs, which, he said may give the adversaries the opportunity to destabilise the country.

His words: “We are in a very difficult time now. We need everybody to be on board. We need synergy within the intelligence community, within the military formations that will help fight this war. We are in a very difficult situation and when we begin to create cracks and divisions, who will be the beneficiaries? The adversaries are the ones that are going to exploit those deficiencies and further the cause of destabilising the nation.

The SGF said what government wants at this moment is for everybody to be on the same page, fight the battle of securing the nation, for protecting lives and property and ensuring that every Nigerian has the opportunity to live a prosperous live. “You don’t sack people like that. There are processes and I believe that at the opportune time, those processes will be followed. You don’t just wake up and say sack people, it doesn’t happen like that.

Mustapha described the book as a reservoir of information, history and past years of struggle. “That is the reason why we are in government. We are to show forth the righteousness of Christ in government. Righteousness exalts a nation. For those of us that find ourselves in the position of government, we are stewards and we are accountable to the almighty after the exercise of our offices. God in his infinite mercy will continually watch over the affairs of our country and at the end of the day it is only His will that shall be done.”

Read Also: ‘Amnesty’ plan for repentant Boko Haram members risky

A former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, attributed the insecurity and disunity in the country to emphasis on religious differences. Clark advised government to ensure that no religion is regarded as superior to the other.

He said the entire world is watching how President Buhari will handle the next appointment of the President of the Court of Appeal. The incumbent will be bowing out of service on March 4, 2020. The elder statesman also said that the seats of the Service Chiefs will soon be vacant.

Clark, who was represented by a former Nigeria Ambassador to Scandinavian, Mr. Godknows Igali, said: “I have been quite active in the politics of our dear country for over 60 years. But never a time have I seen it so polarised on the basis of religion and ethnicity. Or when qualification, seniority, merit and sound reasoning have been sacrificed on the alter of nepotism. Such behaviour was not pronounced during the years of military rule, as well as during the First Republic or the Second Republic.

“I recall that growing up as a young man in this nation, I had friends from all sides and we were quite open to ourselves when we talked politics and governance. But from 1999 to date, religious considerations have increasingly become the basis of consideration for government appointments and other legitimate benefits, thus heightening security threats because of discontentment and agitations from other groups who genuinely, feel excluded from the scheme of things.

“Even worse than that, people are killed and communities are razed down by people who feel that all of us must be practitioners of one religion.”

Continuing, Igali said: “I am very happy that the National Assembly wants to amend our Constitution. Like I stated recently in the media, religion should be one of the critical areas the legislature should look into. Religious differences have been one of the main problems causing insecurity and disunity in the country. No religion should be regarded as superior to the other, or be given priority consideration. For instance, the whole country and indeed the international community is watching to see how Mr. President will handle the next appointments for the President of the Court of Appeal as the current occupier bows out and the position becomes vacant on March 4, 2020; and that of the Service Chiefs which will soon be vacant. My prayer is that Mr. President will do the correct thing.”

CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle advised government to put an end to the killings in the country.

Ayokunle said: “Whatever is happening now will become history. This is why we should speak to those in government. We should write good history about yourselves. Let Nigerians know you for peace. I have said it again and again that the type of blood shed that is going on in Nigeria is not going to be a good history that we are going to recall. It will be good to make sure that those in government fight violence in Nigeria. Because if they fail to accomplish a Nigeria where there is peace and security, it will be sad and it will be part of our history forever and ever. Let us appeal to those in power to write history that we all will be proud of.”

Former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan expressed concern over the rate of killings.

Onaiyekan said Nigeria will stand and flourish only when Muslims and Christians can worl together to make religion a factor for stability, unity, peace and prosperity. And that the people must insist on that because there is no other option. He noted that there is an easy way to peace and prosperity than through the way of war.

He said, “Let us pray for our nation and save our country. I do not think we are doomed to a major clash. There are people who want it. I do not think that is the will of God for us. Terrible things are going on in Nigeria. We do not want to arrive at that situation where you can now arrange a meeting and not be able to attend. Things are very hard but it could be better. The priority of the Christian faith is not negotiable and everybody knows that.

Government should defend those who are persecuted or those who have said they are persecuted. Please, if somebody says he is persecuted, don’t tell him that he is not persecuted. Why people say that they are prosecuted let no one say that they are not. It is for them to say how they feel.”

Continuing, Onaiyekan said: “There are many Christians in Nigeria who feel persecuted. Please, allow them to cry, so as to know when to help, to stop those things which make them cry. We must live for all. So the God that created members of the Boko Haram sect is the same God that created me. We must find a way of getting ourselves together. In Nigeria, it should be easy for us to see ourselves as human beings, as brothers and sisters.”

Also contributing, a former Governor of old Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife urged Nigerians to pray for the survival of the country. He accused politicians of fueling major crisis in the country, adding that a broken country is not the best for Nigeria.

His words: “We must ensure that we live in oneness, but our politicians are part of our problems.”

The author of the book, Salifu, advised government to urgently end the killings in the country. He urged the SGF to, as a matter of urgency, continue to advise President Buhari not to rest on his oars in ensuring that peace continue to reign in Nigeria.

Salifu said as the engine room of government, the SGF should always be on the part of the truth at all times, no matter the situation. He urged Christians and Muslims to ensure that the incessant killings in the country come to an end without further delay.

The Nigerian Air Force has just added over two thousand trained personnel to its numerical strength. OKODILI NDIDI reports that with the new addition, NAF appears set to confront security challenges headlong.

With additional 2,079 fresh recruits, the Nigerian Air Force has gotten a major fillip to its growing capacity to carry out its constitutional responsibility of national security.

It is believed that this number will boost its ability to effectively tackle internal security challenges in the country, especially the war against insurgency where it has deplored air power to protect the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Aside the geometric increase in its manpower base in the last five years, NAF has equally scaled up its airpower, through the acquisition of new platforms and reactivation of abandoned ones. It has also expanded its structures and enhanced its manpower training and capacity building, as well as research and development.

According to the Director Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the NAF has substantially bridged the gap in manpower disposition to meet the imperatives of its constitutional role of defending the territorial integrity of the country.

After six months of vigorous military training at the Military Training Centre, Kaduna, the Basic Military Training Course (BMTC) 40/2019 set completed its programme on February 15, 2020.

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, in his speech at the graduation ceremony, noted that the graduation of the set had lent credence to the efforts of the current NAF leadership to reposition the Service.

According to him, the ultimate target is the achievement of a highly professional force that is appropriately manned and adequately trained.

This, he said, is to ensure that Nigeria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty are not undermined or subverted by any individual or group of individuals. The CAS charged the airmen and airwomen to operate within the Rules of Engagement as enshrined in the Code of Conduct for the AFN personnel.

They were reminded of the fact that they are joining the military at a time when the Armed Forces of Nigeria are involved in several internal security operations. Air Marshal Abubakar charged them to always respect and protect the innocent and law-abiding civilians that they are being paid to defend.

The Air Chief emphasised that the new airmen were deliberately subjected to very rigorous training sessions were designed to equip them to face near-life scenarios when deployed for operations.

The nation, he said, expects so much from them in the war against insurgency and other organised crimes. He further charged them to be resilient, tough and courageous in the performance of their duties at all times.

“You must embrace the core values of integrity, service before self and excellence in all you do as essential ingredients of the high reputation which the NAF has earned over the years.

“You must be innovative and take advantage of the opportunities that will be provided for you through specialisation training and re-training to become proficient in your chosen specialties.”

He assured that NAF would continue to ensure their welfare by improving and providing relevant facilities within the bounds of available resources. Abubakar reiterated that as personnel of the NAF, the new airmen/airwomen must subject themselves to both military and civil laws in accordance with democratic tenets.

The CAS challenged them to be vigilant and guard their utterances and conducts at all times and must not allow themselves to be used by subversive elements in the society to compromise national security.

Charging them further, he said, “You are to project the good image of the NAF and resist the temptation to harass or engage in physical contacts against any member of the civil populace.

Always remember that our duty as professionals is to protect all Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliations.

Also, you must remain apolitical and not succumb to any inducement or actions that would cause disaffection amongst fellow members of the Armed Forces.”

Abubakar further remarked that in the last four and half years, the Federal Government had facilitated an unprecedented increase in the number of aircraft available for NAF operations, bringing the aircraft serviceability rate of the Service from 35 percent in July 2015 to 82 percent as at February 2020.

The achievement, he said, was brought about by intensive training and retraining of aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians who subsequently played a crucial role in the reactivation of platforms and maintenance of equipment.

The Air Chief recalled that 22 platforms were inducted into the NAF since 2015 and that they have since been launched into operations.

The CAS further disclosed that the NAF was in the process of acquiring the JF-17 Thunder aircraft and the Super Tucano (A-29) light attack aircraft.

According to him, the JF-17 was due to arrive Nigeria in November 2020, while the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft were expected to be inducted into Service by 2022. He said this would further boost operational capabilities of the NAF by bridging the hitherto wide gap in platform disposition of the Service.

“This unprecedented achievement needs to be sustained for the next 10 years if the NAF is to be adequately positioned to defend the territorial integrity of the nation,” he observed.

Highlighting other bold steps which he said were taken by the current NAF leadership, the CAS noted that the Special Operations Command was established to address the challenges of asymmetric warfare.

The offensive by the Boko Haram Terrorists, according to him, is an example of asymmetric warfare, saying that the NAF Regiment Specialty had been considerably expanded. Majority of its personnel he said, had been trained in Force Protection in Complex Air and Ground Environment (FPCAGE) for the enhanced protection of NAF bases and critical national assets. Abubakar expressed appreciation for the priority attention given to the needs of the Service by the Federal Government.

This, he said, had enabled it record some laudable achievements. He assured President Muhammadu Buhari of the NAF’s unalloyed loyalty and total dedication to his administration’s commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria. The Air Chief said the Service would continue to make deliberate efforts to increase its infrastructure, which include the upgrading and provision of additional housing units, schools, hospitals, operational and recreational facilities.

These efforts, he noted, had led to the provision of accommodation for over 6,500 families, thus enhancing the welfare of personnel, which he said, has reflected in the quality of their outputs. He acknowledged the support of the National Assembly, especially the chairmen and members of the NAF committee of the two chambers.

Highlight of the event was a silent drill demonstration, which was executed with precision, by the passing out recruits to the delight of invited guests. The ceremony also featured the presentation of awards to the three best graduating recruits.

The award recipients were Aircraftman Muhammed Abdulmutalib, Aircraftwoman Abisola Alade and Aircraftman Uwem Essien, who won the CAS, AOC GTC and Commandant’s Awards, respectively, for emerging first, second and third in that order.

The ceremony witnessed a large turnout of dignitaries, including the representative of the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, chairmen of the NAF committee in the National Assembly, the Chief of Defence Intelligence; representative of the Emir of Zaria, serving and retired senior officers as well as families and friends of the newly enlisted airmen and airwomen.

No fewer than 40 members of the House of Representatives co-sponsored a motion for a debate on the dreaded coronavirus disease. But when it was time to debate the matter, they all backed out. TONY AKOWE reports

 

Discovered in Lasa Village, Borno State in 1969, Lassa fever has remained a recurrent pandemic in many parts of Nigeria with no vaccine discovered for it over the years.

The outbreak of the disease in recent times has given Nigerians cause for concern. Presently, almost two-thirds of the states in Nigeria are grappling with the disease.

While Nigerians battle to curtail this deadly ailment that has practically come to stay, at least for now, a new attack, Coronavirus, has emerged on the global stage.

With no known cause, Coronavirus has attracted the attention of Nigerian lawmakers. Strangely, however, the federal lawmakers, just last week, turned down a motion seeking to compel the government to evacuate Nigerians resident in Wuhan, China where the disease was first discovered.

Benjamin Kalu, who serves as the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media, had sought to move a motion on the need to evacuate and quarantine Nigerians in that region.

As the rules of the House demand, he needed the leave of his colleagues to move the motion which was co-sponsored by 40 other lawmakers.

But immediately the lawmakers got to know the subject of the motion, they began to grumble and immediately, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila put it to vote.

To the surprise of the Speaker and the sponsor of the motion, opposition voices carried the day. Hard as the Speaker fought to get members to treat the motion, they remained adamant.

Gbajabiamila’s suggestion that the motion be amended to include quarantining the would-be evacuees for two weeks before being released to their families did not move those opposed to it.

Incidentally, while some of the co-sponsors tried to get members to listen to the body of the motion, debate it before taking a decision, many others simply kept quiet.

Curiously, also, some ranking members who were listed as co-sponsors rejected the idea that the motion be listened to by members.

 

Listed as co-sponsors were Deputy Minority Leader, Peter Akpatason; Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu; Majority Whip, Tahir Mongunu; and Chairman of Rules and Business, Abubakar Fulata.

Also listed as co-sponsors were Reps, Sada Soli, James Faleke, Jimi Benson, Oluwole Oke and Abdulrazak Namdas among others. But they all failed to second the motion.

Incidentally, the same House had, at its sitting of January 29, 2020, passed a resolution asking the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Quarantine Services, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, and other relevant agencies to set up screening centres at all points of entry into the country.

This, according to them, was for these agencies to screen travellers into the country with a view to preventing the spread of the virus in the country.

The lawmakers had, at that sitting, also asked the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with other relevant agencies to set up testing and isolation centres in all points of entry into the country.

All for the purpose of detecting symptoms of the virus and where necessary, isolated cases, with particular emphasis on travellers from countries that have already recorded cases of the virus.

The House had also asked all health institutions in the country to be on high alert and to look out for signs of the virus.

The Reps had also mandated the committees on Healthcare Services, and Interior to ensure compliance. They equally urged the Federal Government to declare public health emergency when China first recorded an outbreak.

However, in his motion, which was killed before it was moved, Benjamin Kalu had wanted President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently constitute and authorise an inter-Ministerial Task Force on the matter.

He had suggested that the proposed Inter-Ministerial Task Force comprise the relevant MDAs. It was a move to ensure the quick, successful and infection-free evacuation of Nigerians currently trapped in the city of Wuhan and environs back to the country.

Kalu had also wanted the House to direct that some properties recovered from looters be designated as centres for screening and quarantining of returnees from China until they are certified free to move around or join their families and relatives.

However, a member, Bashiru Dawodu (APC, Lagos) was of the view that the House should have listened to the motion and debate it. Dawodu, who is a medical practitioner, told The Nation that it was unfortunate that the motion was killed at birth.

He lamented that members were not allowed to give their expert opinions on the issue even though they were able to do that at a committee level.

According to him, 33 per cent of those affected by the coronavirus presented symptoms of mild cold or catarrh with a fatality rate of just about two per cent. He said, “It is very scary, but it is not as bad as SARS and other viruses”.

He, however, warned that it should not be trivialised. Dawodu said the Speaker felt that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was trying to trivialise the effects of the virus.

“But technically, what they are saying is sound because they have a lot of data to show that Coronavirus is not as deadly as other viruses.

Read Also: China’s new coronavirus cases drop as world still scared

 

Dawodu said Nigerians were worried about the outbreak of the virus and that they have been asking questions about what the National Assembly was doing about it.

According to him, “The Speaker got letters from Nigerians living in China and from our constituents. My take, however, is that we should follow what the experts are saying.

What the NCDC told us was that they would not recommend the evacuation of Nigerians living in China.

Their recommendation was that those living there should be left there, while we work to boost our own system here so that we are able to take care of those at home.

As a medical doctor, I agree with them because you don’t take someone from an epidemic area and put them where there is no disease. But I think the Speaker is looking at it from a compassionate angle.

Even the WHO did not recommend that. But if our compatriots come from China, they need to be quarantined and checked at the borders.

So, I support their being where they are right now and that anyone that comes should be checked at the borders.

The Lagos born lawmaker said it was sad enough that the motion was rejected without being given a hearing, adding that members acted out of panic and fear. He reasoned that debate would have given a great deal of insight into the infection Amos its management.

But the NCDC had cautioned against the evacuation of Nigerians from China, advising rather, that the authorities watch out for any possible infection in the country.

The Director-General of the Centre, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, had told the lawmakers that there was no cause for alarm as the disease was not as deadly as it is being painted. He warned that Lassa fever was deadlier than the coronavirus.

The Director-General had revealed that about one per cent of those affected by the coronavirus had actually died of the ailment. According to him, the victims were either aged or already had some other health issues prior to infection.

Ihekweazu maintained that human to human transmission of the ailment had been reported in only three countries outside China. He added that there has been a coordinated international response to the disease. The WHO, he said, had warned against imposing travel and business restrictions on China over the outbreak of the disease.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, Rep. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, observed that the coronavirus was attracting global concerns at the moment because the cause and mode of transmission have not been discovered.

For this reason, Sununu said the matter should not be downplayed because of its economic implications. The following day, the House had met in a closed session and agreed to consult with some medical experts on a way forward. Details of the meeting had yet to be made public.

Not even the fear of coronavirus could dampen the collective enthusiasm as Nigerians celebrate with Chinese at the Spring Festival. VINCENT IKUOMOLA reports.

 

The Chinese New Year celebrations officially began on January 25 and ended February 4, 2020. The celebrations are marked with public holidays, which allowed the Chinese about seven days’ absence from work.

In the Chinese tradition, the period is set aside as a time to honour household and “heavenly” deities as well as ancestors. It’s also a time to bring families together in feasting.

Although the Chinese still join the rest of the world to celebrate January 1 as New Year’s Day, they still hold to the traditional Chinese New Year.

The Chinese calendar, it was learnt, dates back to the early 14th Century when the Shang Dynasty was in power. The calendar wasn’t static, as it was reset according to which Emperor held power and varied from region to region.

The Chinese New Year typically begins with the new moon that occurs between the end of January and the beginning of February.

This was however stopped in 1949, under the rule of Chinese Communist Party leader, Moa Zedong, that forbade the celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year in preference for the Western Gregorian calendar. But in 1996, the Chinese reintroduced the traditional celebration called the “Spring Festival”.

The 2020 edition was reported to be a quiet one back in China, due to the outbreak of coronavirus. But the same cannot be said of the celebrations in Abuja, as nationals turned out in their numbers to be part of this year’s celebrations.

The Chinese calendar also includes the Chinese zodiac animals, which explained the theme for this year’s celebrations. It was themed “2020 year of the rat”.

The other zodiac animals are the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

The Spring Festival has gained popularity in Abuja as the Chinese community enthralled a host of Abuja residents at a carnival-like celebration that brought other residents from all walks of life to the colourful cultural exhibition. It was the first of several events lined up for the celebrations.

Among the audience were diplomats, top government officials, captains of industry, students amongst others. It was organised by the China Cultural Centre, in collaboration with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria.

It was all fun as the gathering was enthralled by a colourful exhibition of the Chinese culture and various Chinese and Nigerian art performances.

A Chinese mascot was also on hand to provide entertainment with its acrobatic dance and displays. The dragon dance, which is often performed during Chinese New Year celebrations, was performed by nine Nigerian male dancers and a lady dancer who manipulated the long flexible figure of the dragon using a pole.

There were also tea ceremonies, craft demonstration, under tree party with different Chinese dishes for consumption.

There were different types of games and dancing competitions among secondary schools students invited for the festival. The students danced to current Nigerian music in vogue.

The 2020 Spring Festival is expected to bring together extended families to feast. At this year’s celebrations, the Chinese embassy had also announced that food items would be donated to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps as part of the events to mark the fourth edition of the Chinese New Year Temple Fair in Abuja.

In an interview, Chinese Ambassador in Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, told journalists that the celebrations were to mark the beginning of good things to come.

Read Also: Sanwo-Olu, others attend Chinese New Year in Lagos

 

“With a fresh start here, we are very confident and optimistic about the cooperation and friendship between our two great countries and our relations,” Pingjian said.

The Director, China Cultural Centre, Mr Li Xuda, explained that the Chinese New Year boasts a history that dates back to 2000 BC. According to him, it marked the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese Lunar calendar.

He maintained that 2020 was the year of the rat, which was the first in the 12-year cycle of Chinese Zodiac, symbolising a new beginning.

Xuda added that it’s the year of the People’s Republic of China’s 8th decade, the year China lifted all rural residents living below the current poverty line and eliminated poverty in China.

“Just like Christmas to the Christian world and Eid-el-Fitr to the Islamic world, the Chinese new year or lunar new year is the most celebrated traditional festival in China and Asian countries and among the Chinese communities worldwide.

“The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in China. Among the many customs, rituals and practices associated with this festival, the temple fair, a traditional cultural gathering of folks is outstanding,” he said.

The Chinese cultural chief said that as part of the 2020 temple fair, there would be special donations session in which the Chamber of Commerce would utilise the temple fair as a platform to reach out to people in IDP camps.

“The Chamber of Commerce will utilise the temple fair as an important platform of influence and attention, calling for donations among Chinese companies for IDP camps.

It is themed ‘Cares in the festive season. There are plans to donate rice, noodles and oil to the helpless people in IDP camps with selfless assistance and devotion”, he further said.

Mr Patrick Otoro, Creative Director, POP Theatre, described China as a very culturally rich country.

He said the collaboration between the two countries would help to harness the diversity in both countries for a proper bilateral relationship when it comes to cultural affairs.

“We hope that this relationship will create more jobs for Nigerian youths, especially in the performing arts sector and we are hoping to build strong ties with China.

It will also further help us to strengthen the economic ties between the two countries,” he added.

 

Auto mechanics and traders at the Apo Mechanic Village are counting the days as the authorities hands down a quit notice to relocate. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

 

Anxiety has gripped traders at Buffer Zone, Apo mechanic village, as they are waiting for the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to decide their fate on when to finally move to their permanent site, where the authorities have provided them with land to ply their trade.

Although FCDA, after issuing the traders eviction order, has given them a place to relocate to. However, government is still holding unto some issues begging for answers.

Apo mechanic village is well known to most people and many residents frequent the mechanic village for one reason or the other. Sprawling on over 30,000 hectares, the vast land is a business and technology hub, where different auto spare parts are sold or cobbled together as millions of naira change hands on a daily basis through buying and selling.

Vehicle parts of all brands and models can be found in Apo Mechanic Village, which has become one stop shop for auto spare parts and repairs. Apart from mechanics, some traders also sell their wares at the same mechanic village.

Accessible and easy to describe, Apo Mechanic Village is also a meeting point of some sorts, where customers, mechanics and vehicle owners navigate how to fix auto problems or buy just about every day commodities.

But with the eviction order handed down by the FCDA, all these activities will soon give way to a proposed road dualisation meant to pass through the heart of ever bustling auto mechanic village.

The mechanics and traders have been plying their trade in a symbiotic relationship for a long time. Findings revealed that they relocated from the Garki District to Old Apo, very close to an area known as National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA) junction.

That was some 38 years ago. From there, they were again forced by the authorities in 2006 to relocate, on grounds that they occupied a road corridor.

With the new relocation order, the mechanics and traders are expected to move to a Buffer Zone, called Wasa, a very remote location.

But the mechanics and traders are demanding a resettlement plan that will include the provision of infrastructure before they could quit their present location.

They are also demanding compensation for their immovable assets that will be destroyed in the course of the planned road construction. The authorities have yet to respond to their demands.

Most of the traders who spoke to The Nation, said they are willing to relocate but urged the authorities to hasten the relocation process. But some others are grumbling.

Read Also: Katangua traders appeal judgment on market ownership

 

Speaking on the development, the Chairman of Apo Traders Association, Chief Chimeizie Ifeh narrated the pains and anguish in an encounter with our correspondent.

Ifeh said so much money had been spent by his colleagues trying to negotiate the relocation order. According to him, some of the traders have had a heart attack, resulting in untimely death of a few of them.

 

Minister’s intervention

The traders had, in 2010, written letters to the former FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, detailing their complaints and pleading with the the Minister to address some of their concerns.

Ifeh said a number of meetings were held between the the Minister and representatives of the traders. He recalled Bala Mohammed made a number of promises, including a directive to the Urban and Regional Planning department to provide them with an alternative location.

Ifeh said, “After that, the department asked the traders to pay some amount of money, which we did. And before his tenure expired, the former Minister ensured that we were given land in Wasa with a letter of intent. But other documents that we need to enable us enter the site were not given to us.

“In 2010, we applied for a land with the name of the association because we cannot continue waiting for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

In 2015, the present Minister, Mohammed Bello, approved our application for a land and asked the urban and Urban and Regional Planning department to look for a space for us and they called us for a meeting.

“We went for the meeting and they said we were to provide all the expenses involved. We agreed because we needed the land. But the land documents were not given to us.

The National Assembly intervened and asked the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to go and look for land and give to us.

The National Assembly asked them how long would take for the land to be ready, and they said three months.

“But nothing happened after the three months and we had to write another letter and stage so many protests. After all these, the land was later given to us at Wasa.

We have spent more than N60 million on that project. The land was given to us in 2016 and they said we should sign an agreement concerning the land. Since then we are still waiting to sign the agreement.

“We have had several meetings with the present Minister, but up till now, we are still waiting. The last meeting we had was in October 2019, where the Permanent Secretary advised us to be patient, that the agreement will be signed.”

As the traders continue to wait for positive response from the authorities, there are indications that further delay in settling the matter may lead to a clash between the two parties.

With the quit notice hanging over their heads, the traders appear to be losing patience while the authorities do not seem in a hurry to address the issue.

Ifeh said the traders would still write to the Minister any time next week, to remind him of their plight. “We do not understand what is happening”, he said dejectedly.

Officials of the FCDA were not willing to comment on the matter. However, the media assistant to the Executive Secretary of the FCDA, Richard Nduul, told our correspondent that construction work would soon reach the present location of the Apo Mechanic Village.

“You should know that the traders are sitting on the right of way. The place is a public facility”, even as he could not give explanations why documentation in respect of the traders’ relocation was still being put in abeyance.

 

Ushafa, a pottery community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is gradually losing the allure of its age-long art. NICHOLAS KALU reports that the matter is made worse by dwindling patronage and neglect from the authorities.

 

Couched in the rocky mountains of Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, is the Ushafa community, a quiet agrarian settlement.

Among other things, this community is known for mastery in the art of pottery, a culture, which has contributed to boosting the economy of the area.

Ushafa is also known to have hosted former United States (US) President, Bill Clinton in 2003. In fact, it was christened “Clinton Village”, after that visit. It was a momentous occasion for the people. It was an occasion that brought the community to the limelight.

Those who still remember the visit of the ex-American president recalled that he used the occasion to call on the people not to allow the art of pottery, which he admired, to die.

Clinton would rather be disappointed if he visits the community today, as according to one potter, who did not want to be named, the art has died and waiting to be buried.

Located within the community is the Ushafa Cultural Pottery Centre under the Department of Arts and Culture. A man who seemed in charge of the centre refused to talk and would not even give his name.

At the centre, it is observed that there is no activity. It was gathered that the centre was established by former First Lady, Maryam Babangida in 1990, in a bid to harness the potential of the people  under a government programme at that time.

In time past, the centre used to attract visitors from all over the world, who came for the purpose of tourism and to buy the items. These were times a few who are still into the art recalled with nostalgia.

The people worry that beyond the economic implication of such decline, the skill was a part of their culture, which as many others, is at risk of fading into oblivion.

This is worsened by the fact that the youths no longer seem to have any interest in taking it up, as they consider it not as lucrative as they had wished.

Within the premises of the centre, there are two kinds of potters- modern and traditional. The modern section, housed in the main building and operates with machines, seemed completely comatose.

The building also houses the pottery studio where some beautiful works done in the past were displayed. Findings revealed that the modern section has not worked for a long time.

The only signs of life in the premises were the rather slow activities of local potters around 10 small round huts in one corner of the main building. Women were also predominant in this area.

The locals complained that the government has to do more to keep the culture alive and boost the economy of the community. To them, it has continuously witnessed a steady decline within the past decade.

One of the potters from the modern section, who begged not to be named, complained of being abandoned by the government. He lamented that rather than patronising them, Nigerians prefer imported pottery materials from China.

“I want to state that as far as pottery is concerned, we have what it takes to produce the best that can compare to any other ware from any other part of the world. Most of the wares gotten in the country today are from China.

But here, we can even do better than what they get from there. Why go to China to import, when locally what is needed is some support to get the best and improve the local content and culture? The Chinese quality is not even as good as ours. What they get from China is called earthenware.

You realise that the Chinese wares that you use whether as mugs or teacups if you use some of them for two or three weeks, they start fading. The materials used in making the products often mix with consumable contents, be it tea or water. This poses serious health hazards to the consumer.

The Chinese use chemicals like lead in making their products. This is dangerous for health, especially where the wares are used to store food or drinks that we take into our body.

“Here, what we make is called stoneware, which is completely safe. A reason they do not go for stoneware is that heating the work to arrive at this quality takes between 10 and 11 hours at a temperature of 720 degrees for better quality.

Earthenware is just heated for about four hours so it can be mass-produced. But there is no support from the government here. The government can put their searchlight on us here and improve and rebuild.

It’s not that pottery is losing its appeal. No. We are not just able to meet up without help from the government. Right now, only the local potters are even doing anything, which is at a skeletal level. This should not be so.”

An elderly female potter in one of the huts in the local section regretted that things are not as good as they used to be. The woman, who combined the job with attending to her little grandchildren, said she learnt the art from her own mother and dismayed that her only child has refused to learn the skill.

According to her, she makes a wide range of wares including pots, plates, vases, bangles and necklaces among others. She lamented the tediousness of the traditional method of task. She explained that pottery is done with three different types of clay – the hard black clay, the yellowish hard, and the yellowish sandy type.

According to her, the black clay is the most difficult to get. The other two could be easily accessed within the community. Potters go several kilometres outside the village to manually dig up the black clay.

This, she said, is one area the government can help the local potters, by bringing in equipment that would enable them to get the material easily. She also pleaded with the government to help with the mass publicity of their work.

Read Also: World Bank, Fed Govt to revive Ladi Kwali pottery

 

She said: “I learnt this skill from my mother and it is what I have used in taking care of my family. But my daughter does not want to learn it.

She is the only child I have. I was born and raised in this community. In the past, we used to see a lot of people coming here. Sometimes people used to come and ask for pots and we would be struggling to meet up with the demand. Now we make pots and keep and there is nobody to buy.

This is the only thing we do that earns us income to feed and send our children to school. Now there is no patronage like it used to be. I don’t know why it is so.

The time Bill Clinton visited, he came here and encouraged us to do this business more. Since that time, we have not received any support from any quarters.

“I think the government should help publicise what we are doing here to the outside world, so people can come and buy our work. Everything here is locally made.

I do pots, plates, beads, vases and many other things. We don’t have any other work to do. Besides that, this is a culture and it cannot be allowed to die, especially, now that the young ones do not seem interested in it.

“Another area we are seeking help from the government is in terms of the materials. We suffer to get the clay we use. It is very hard to get. We dig deep holes and enter the holes to get the black clay, which is the most important material.

We get it only in the dry season, not in the rainy season. If you try to get the clay during the rainy season, it may collapse on you and it is very dangerous for us because you have to dig underground to get it. The two other materials are not difficult to get as they can be gotten around the village.

“If they can help us get a vehicle like a caterpillar to help us dig up the clay, it would be good for us. People are not doing this work as much as they used to do it before.

We don’t have the market anymore; that is why some people left the trade. Also, there are people who don’t have the strength to dig the clay. This art should not be allowed to die. I advise the government to intervene and help us in any way they can.”

She regretted that words of encouragement given the community by President Clinton during his visit were not backed by positive response from the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory.

She noted that the community would have made appreciable progress in pottery if the government had taken steps in ensuring that the growth and development of the art.

Also giving his experience, a young male potter, Sule (not real name), bemoaned the shrinking business and development in the community as a result of low patronage.

“So many visitors used to come here in the past, but they are no longer coming because the government is not supporting the skills. Sales have dropped drastically and money is very hard to come by.

“It appears the government is not serious about promoting this art, that is why things are this way today. I remember when this place was set up, there were people that were brought in to learn. After learning there was no support, so everything just died.

“Today people hear so much about the pottery here from outside, but when they come here, they get disappointed. What we have are just the local people struggling through various challenges to keep the culture alive as well as get some little money for themselves.”

A staff member of the centre, who also did not want to be named, regretted that the art was no longer growing as expected.

“This is one thing we are well known for here. When this centre was established, each of the huts for the local potters used to have up to five people then. But now, it is no longer the case. Learning pottery takes years and people, especially young ones, feel it is not so lucrative.

Our young generation is not ready to participate because after everything how much would they sell one pot? The highest you can sell a pot on the local side is N2000. But in the modern section, you can sell a pot from N3000 upward.”

Sule said besides the business aspect, pottery is a culture of the people of Ushafa and that everything should be done to preserve and sustain the culture.

He narrated how women who are still in the art form themselves into groups to enable them pay the cost of transporting clay to their various sheds.

“They are charged N300 per bag by truck owners to get the clay from the bush to destination. Sometimes the truck drivers reject the trips and there is nothing the potters can do.

If the government can make excavators available to them, even if at a subsidised rate, things will be easier for them.

“We also have the challenge of casual workers at the Centre. Some have been casual workers for up to 20 years and this can affect commitment and motivation.

The truth is that the government needs to pay attention to. They should come in and discuss with the people and know the gaps and how they can be filled so that this legacy can be preserved.”

Despite the gory tales that have trailed gas explosions across the country with the attendant human and material losses, not too many Nigerians have learnt any lessons from the incidents. OKODILI NDIDI and JULIANA AGBO report

 

By now, dealers on Liquefied Petroleum Gas would have taken precautions as to where to site the business and how best to operate it to reduce the risk of explosions.

In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the story is the same. Just beside the GSM village, Wuse Zone 1 in the heart of the city, a mini gas depot is tucked between metal fabrication workshop and a cluster of restaurants.

Close by, lines of naked electric cables that supply power to the welding workshops and other business centres around the highly walled premises dangle overhead.

At that depot, which also hosts several mechanic workshops, tankers take turns to discharge gas into stationed large cylinders at the risk of possible explosion that may result from a spark of fire.

Despite the lurking danger, people throng there in large numbers daily to buy gas, patronise the restaurants or repair their cars. The scenario could best be described as a disaster waiting to happen.

Whether the authorities are aware of the looming danger is another matter entirely. But those operating the gas retail business are not oblivious of the danger they are toying with.

In the last few weeks alone, fatal explosions had been reported in Kaduna State where five persons were killed and four others injured in a gas explosion.

Kaduna police spokesman Yakubu Sabo, who confirmed the casualty, said the explosion emanated from a roadside gas vending shop in the business area of the town of Sabon Tasha, affecting passersby and shop owners.

Within a spate of two weeks, at least seven persons were injured and property worth millions of naira destroyed after a cooking gas cylinder exploded and kindled a fire in Onitsha, Anambra State. Many are of the view that the authorities should be worried that hundreds of lives have been lost to gas explosions in different parts of the country.

An energy expert, Jerome Okwu, who spoke with The Nation during a visit to the mini depot, attributed the major cause of gas explosions to poor awareness on the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas and the illegal locations of most of these gas plants.

Read Also: Shift to gas will knock out petroleum subsidy – Sylva

 

Okwu, who pointed out that a lot of fake cylinders were in circulation, stressed the need to educate Nigerians on how to identify a fake or expired cylinder, adding that the authorities could do more to stop the risks of rising cylinder explosions.

Speaking further, the safety expert reiterated the need to monitor and sensitise members of the public on the safe handling of petroleum products to prevent explosions.

The expert also observed that most of the cylinders in use at the mini gas depot pose a severe danger to members of the public.

He challenged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to be proactive and ensure that gas plants are built in safe places.

However, a trader at GSM Village, Ike Okechukwu, who called on the relevant authorities to carry out risk assessments across the nation, said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), failed to follow-up on its pledge to monitor and sensitise members of the public on the safe handling of petroleum and gas products.

He said: “There is the need to ensure safety in everyday life and the procedures and principles guiding it. The relevant authorities need to organise sensitisation programmes to all gas retail outlets on how to operate their business with minimal risk.

“They are expected to carry out risk assessments while executing their tasks and control the workplace and households.”

Another expert, Stan Chibuike, who said the country will continue to witness gas explosions if proactive measures are not taken to ensure gas plants are built in safe places, urged the government to come up with policies that would ensure that all plants are built in safe places.

According to him, gas refilling is a high-risk activity that should not be allowed close to residential areas.

Some of the vendors at the mini depot of LPG said they were unaware of the risk the gas plants pose to people. They, however, said they would comply with regulations so long as such regulations would not put them out of business.

One of them, who identified himself as Praise Chibuzor, said: “We are doing everything that the DPR said we should do. No one has told us this location is illegal, but we are ready to follow the rules.”