Category: Special Report

Unlike the rest of the world, especially developed countries, it has been a long walk for Nigeria to get the nod of the World Health Organization (WHO) to produce vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccine.

Attaining this is no mere feat for Nigeria, considering the humongous amount of efforts the Federal Government, alongside its development partners have put in to make this a reality. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) actually started the business rolling, while Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited (BVNL) got involved in the completion of the documentation and the interviews. The Federal Ministry of Health officials then went on diplomatic shuttles to seal the deal – the winning team!

Many African countries competed to be listed for vaccine production, however only six countries emerged victorious – including Nigeria. The fact that Nigeria was selected clearly shows it has a lot of competence in that regard.

Information gathered by The Nation showed that the country seems to have met the sundry criteria put in place by the WHO before any country can be deemed fit to produce vaccines. One of such conditions is the attainment of maturity level three (3) in terms of laboratory testing. This can only be achieved when a country has successfully fulfilled the 868 recommendations by the global health body.

As of October 15, 2021, the country had met all 868 recommendations by the WHO, according to the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, in November last year.

The NAFDAC boss disclosed that Nigeria is now leading globally, and is being recognised internationally for the monitoring of vaccines in the supply chain. In fact, Oxford University recognises what NAFDAC is doing and they called it “Abuja Principles.”

Prof Adeyeye said: “This global benchmarking audit wouldn’t have been possible if we did not adopt a change in culture and the way we think of customers. We started using ISO 9001 in January of 2018. We did this in parallel to the WHO auditing.

“Part of the global benchmarking is laboratory testing. They told us that we had to expand our laboratories in order to be able to get to maturity level three. Part of that expansion includes the drug laboratory in Yaba and the vaccine laboratory. The government came to our aid about this as part of improving the health sector. The vaccine laboratory is being built now in Oshodi, and we should be seeing the completion towards the middle of 2022.

“For a regulatory agency to be deemed strong, you have to make sure that the supply chain, which NAFDAC is supposed to be overseeing in terms of distribution, should be strong. We adopted DS1-driven traceability which the Honourable Minister launched in 2020 or late 2019.

“The monitoring of our commodities, including vaccines that we are using as pilot, is to ensure there is no infiltration of substandard and falsified vaccines in the supply chain.”

Implications of the WHO listing

February 18, 2022, will remain a momentous day in the historical annals of the country, as it was the day the World Health Organization named Nigeria, alongside five other countries – Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, as the first countries on the African continent that would receive the technology needed to produce the Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, in order to protect their citizens against the deadly COVID-19. The announcement was made at the European Union (EU) – African Union (AU) Summit in Brussels.

In short, Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines teach the body cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response inside our bodies. Like all vaccines, mRNA vaccines benefit people who get vaccinated by giving them protection against diseases like COVID-19 without risking the potentially serious consequences of getting sick. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines.

According to the latest global updates on COVID-19 from the WHO, as of February 24, 2022, there have been 428,511,601 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,911,081 deaths. Also, as of February 21, 2022, a total of 10,407,359,583 vaccine doses have been administered.

In Nigeria, data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), showed that as of February 24, 2022, the country has recorded a total of 254,428 confirmed cases, with 248,850 discharges, and sadly, 3,142 deaths.

Also, in terms of COVID-19 vaccination, latest data from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), showed that as of February 24, 2022, 17,494,069 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination were reached with first dose while 7,936,257 were reached with second dose (fully vaccinated).

Although the African continent has been the least affected with 8,308,215 confirmed cases, it has vaccinated the least eligible populations due to unavailability and inaccessibility of the vaccines. This is largely due to the vaccine nationalism by richer countries, which the WHO has vehemently condemned.

The WHO stresses that no one is safe until everyone is safe; by this, it means that the hoarding of vaccines by rich countries to cater for only their citizens will only frustrate the collective drive to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

During the announcement of the countries to be provided with technology, technical assistance etc., to produce vaccines, the Director General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said: “No other event like the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that reliance on a few companies to supply global public goods is limiting and dangerous.

“In the mid to long-term, the best way to address health emergencies and reach universal health coverage (UHC) is to significantly increase the capacity of all regions to manufacture the health products they need, with equitable access as their primary endpoint.”

The global mRNA technology transfer hub was established in South Africa in 2021 to support low and middle-income countries in manufacturing their own mRNA vaccines – with the required operating procedures and know-how to meet international standards.

The WHO notes that although the primary aim of setting up the hub is to address the COVID-19 emergency, it however has the potential to expand its capacity to manufacture other vaccines. This puts countries in the driver seat when it comes to the kinds of vaccines needed to address their health priorities.

After three decades of inactivity, is Nigeria getting it right with BVNL?

A little over four years ago, the Federal Government got together with the big pharmaceutical company – May and Baker, to set up a private company called Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited (BVNL) for local vaccine production. The government’s share in terms of assets in the partnership is valued to be about N1.3 billion. As it stands today, the Federal Government is a 49 per cent shareholder in the company. The remaining 51 per cent is the ownership share of May and Baker.

The purpose of the joint venture between the Government and the pharmaceutical company was to bring to life, the Federal Vaccine Production Laboratory in Yaba, Lagos State.

The laboratory, which is now moribund for over three decades now was the darling and pride of the country because it was a foremost vaccine production facility in Africa, which operated between 1940 to 1991 when it was shut down.

The facility produced large quantities of vaccines against yellow fever, smallpox, and rabies for the country. In fact, it also produced vaccines for neighbouring African countries like Cameroon.

Another opportunity for redemption has come with the WHO listing of Nigeria to produce vaccines. Nigeria cannot afford to fail, else it risks being the laughing stock of the global community.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire and other stakeholders in the health sector have continued to advocate that Nigeria needs to begin to invest heavily in vaccine production, as lessons from COVID-19 have shown that the country cannot continue to rely on other countries for the protection of its people.

The Federal Government in October 2021, launched a new vaccine policy meant to enhance access and use of vaccines for protection of citizens from infectious diseases. Dr Ehanire explained that the vaccine policy would create a supportive environment for access and use of vaccines to protect citizens.

BVNL is expected to use appropriate technologies in modern vaccines production to boost local production of vaccines in Nigeria, and make vaccines available to Nigerians, and probably the entire West Africa.

Reacting to the WHO’s announcement, Nigeria’s foremost virologist and Chairman of the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19, Prof Oyewale Tomori, in a chat with The Nation, said: “This is a matter of national importance requiring urgent action. Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited (BVNL) is already in place to work on and implement required action for success. Because of the national relevance and global importance of the project, we should set up an advisory committee of relevant stakeholders from private industry, public enterprises, research and development experts and civil society to work with BVNL.

“We have read positive comments from the government on this matter. Government should move beyond comments and upgrade to commitment – financial, moral, accountable and transparent commitment. This issue requires immediate and sustainable commitment, no matter the outcome of the 2023 elections.

“BVNL has already identified available skill sets and gaps. This will be fine-tuned as soon as details of future activities are available. BVNL will be working with WHO and partners to address these issues. We will complement our skill needs in the areas of research and development, technology transfer, vaccine discovery  development and production. BVNL will work with NAFDAC on regulatory issues, and sourcing finance from development banks and agencies, locally and internationally.

“This selection is a catalyst to accelerate national plans through BVNL for local vaccine production. It is also a unique opportunity, through research and development, to improve on existing vaccines, as well as develop and design  vaccines targeted to control specific diseases unique to our environment, which do not attract global interest.”

The Registrar and Secretary-General of the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science, Dr Godswill Okara, while speaking with The Nation, stressed that vaccine production is not rocket science, as the country has the required skillset and competences to get it done.

“Concerning the production of COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines, it should be a wakeup call for Africa and Nigeria. The earlier we realise that our destiny is in our hands, the better for us. We have the resources because the production of vaccines is not rocket science. They are things that we have done before. As we speak, up to 18 different animal vaccines are being produced in Nigeria. It is the same procedure and principle. We produced millions of doses of smallpox and yellow fever vaccines in Nigeria. Yes, we used analogue procedures; you don’t abandon what you know best to do just because you are waiting to update your procedure and acquire new technology.

“Medical laboratory scientists are trained and skilled in the production of vaccines – that is part of our training. It is only a matter of providing the enabling environment. The human vaccine production laboratory in Yaba has gone into dilapidation for decades now. We make production of vaccines look like it is rocket science. It is not.

“For Nigeria to go cap in hand begging for vaccine donation and allocation is ridiculous. The people that produced smallpox, yellow fever vaccines in Yaba, many of them are still alive. If the government makes available the things that are needed, and brings together the people whose training and professional practice is all about vaccine production, we can produce vaccines,” he said.

Professor of Public Health Parasitology and Director of McCarthy Study Centre of National Open University Nigeria, Mba Okoronkwo, added: “Although vaccines are not the actual cause of the immunity that Nigerians have developed, however, I think it is a welcome idea. If the WHO and other health organisations believe that COVID-19 vaccines are efficacious, and that citizens need to be vaccinated to get protected, then that is very welcomed.”

Speaking about the listing of Nigeria among countries to be supported to produce COVID-19 vaccines, during the GAVI Alliance high level mission delegates’ visit to the National Strategic Cold Store, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, said: “It is exciting news coming to Nigeria and it will be a very strong platform for us to develop local vaccine production capacity. Of course, the federal government in the last few years had heightened the collaborations that needed us to get to this stage. This was not an overnight success. This has come from several months and years of the Honourable Minister of Health engaging with our networks of donors and developing partners.

“For us at the NPHCDA, there is no better news than the opportunity for us to be able to vaccinate our citizens, using vaccines that are locally produced. That will increase the confidence that people have in the vaccines that are being administered – both routine immunisation vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines.”

Nigeria needs between about $60 million for a vaccine production facility

Stakeholders in the health sector have urged the Federal Government to rally the private sector to begin the process of the sourcing of domestic funding for the production of vaccines.

They noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) can work with the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) to develop some platform/initiative to kick-start the process. The Nation gathers that Nigeria needs about $60 million to achieve the vaccine production plant.

Recall that last year, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire stated that the Government had earmarked N10 billion for the production of vaccines.

“In our own home, believing that it is possible to easily find a partner to import the technology to produce our own vaccines here, the National Assembly earmarked N10 billion for the production of vaccines. I will assure you that not one penny has been taken out of it. It Has not been too easy to import that technology to start producing COVID-19 vaccines.

“Therefore, the aspiration to produce vaccines has not been fulfilled. It is not that it is abandoned; we are working on it and I have spoken with one of the members of the board of management of the bio-vaccine and we are working on getting that technology to both produce routine vaccines and also covid-19 vaccines under license and importation of the technology and partnership for it,” he said.

Quest for food security in the country faces serious threat as climate change continues to ravage farmlands. Farmers across the country say they have been recording unprecedented losses on their investments, fearing that food insecurity may get worse in days to come if nothing urgent is done to contain the challenge, INNOCENT DURU reports.

Sadiq Ibrahim, a large-scale farmer based in Bauchi State, looked forward to a bumper harvest last year after spending a fortune to plant cash crops on his over 500 hectares of land.

He had cleared and expanded his barns with high expectation that his harvest would surpass those of the previous years. So, towards the time of harvest, he strolled excitedly to his farm, and with his hands tucked in his white flowing Babanriga, he gladly whistled a melodious song that spoke volumes of his joyous anticipation.

On getting to the farm, however, he beheld one of the most shocking sights of his life. The crops had dried up and his multi-million naira investment had gone down the drain.

He said: “I suffered about 70 per cent  loss last year. My budget proposal was about N60 to N70 million. My expected return on investment was supposed to be about N85 million.

“My harvest as of now is less than N20 million. I have suffered a very high loss close to about N60 million. I lost 70 per cent of my investment.”

The loss last year, according to him, was not the first time a climate setback would affect his business. “I suffered a 30 per cent loss in 2020 because the rain lasted a little bit longer. It started in the middle of July and ended around early October. We were able to harvest most of the crops that we planted but some of them were still affected because of global warming.

“Last year, the rain started in July and ended in September. Even within those three months, there was drought for about 15 to 20 days.

“Last year was a total failure. The crops germinated  but dried up because they didn’t attain their maturity period. Once there is no adequate rainfall, all farmers are affected.

“This is what I have observed generally in the northern part of the country in the last three years, and it keeps increasing. If you had rainfall for four months last year, it may come down to three and a half months this year.”

The unsavoury experience, according to him, “discourages me as a farmer to plant more except we have alternatives in terms of the government realising we are facing this global warming challenge and assisting us on how to preserve water.

“If we cannot get support to improve the system on ground, definitely many large scale farmers have to withdraw and farming would be left only to peasant farmers who are equally facing the same challenge.

“I have a lady farmer friend who told me last month that she is not ready to invest this year because of the magnitude of the loss that she suffered. Some farmers in this area suffered about 90 per cent loss.”

Sadiq also noted that the magnitude of losses suffered by farmers as a result of climate change has made many to suffer shock as they are often at a loss over how to repay the loans that they took.

“A woman here in Bauchi took a loan and invested it in her farm. When she visited the farm, she saw that climate change had badly affected the farm. She screamed, ‘How would I pay back the loan!?’ Then she fainted. She was rushed to the hospital where she eventually died.”

National Vice President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria in charge of root and tuber crops, Chief Daniel Okafor, who owns a farm in Abuja, was also dealt a deadly blow by climate change last year. The pains in his tone said it all that he must have lost a huge investment to global warming.

He said: “I lost heavily last year. After planting my crops, there was no rain and the whole thing died. It happened to me in that manner three good times. I lost nothing less than N25 million as a result of what happened last year.

“The rain that we thought would be around till September started disappearing around July and August. I have more than 30 hectares.

“Last month (January) when I was supposed to harvest my remaining crops left on five acres of land, I found that herdsmen and other criminals had taken away everything. It was a big loss to me,” he said.

He added: “We really don’t give priority to agriculture in this country. When farmers record losses of that magnitude, there should be some form of assistance through the National Insurance Corporation.”

In Gombe, farmers are at a loss over what awaits them this planting season. Since last year till date harmattan has abated in the state. The development, according to the farmers, poses a serious threat to rice production.

Before now, a leading rice farmer in the state, Musa Arab, said climate change had wreaked serious havoc on their investments.

“I was a victim of climate change last year. I planted rice and they started flowering but rainfall suddenly stopped. When we wanted to harvest, we saw that there was nothing inside the chaff.

“My farm is seven hectares. I invested over N2 million but couldn’t get back up to N100,000. There were no grains inside the whole rice. So many other farmers here in Gombe suffered similar loss.

“We are still experiencing harmattan here. It started in November. It will affect rice production. Rice thrives in a hot environment. The cold that comes with harmattan will not allow it to do well.

“Rice farmers will suffer a lot of losses this time because of the prolonged harmattan.”

The weird weather conditions, according to Arab, must have displaced many farmers.

He said: “We have people leaving for other places to farm. I go to Taraba State to farm. I am growing my rice there because the water level is very good. They have fertile land and before you dig five to six metres, you will get water.

“The place is favourable for dry season farming. Most of our people used to go to that place that is favourable to grow rice.”

 

Climate challenges not restricted to north

Contrary to feelings in some quarters that destructive effects of climate change are peculiar to the northern parts of the country, farmers in the south say they are not in any way spared by the challenge.

Director General of  Nsukka Chamber of Commerce, Dr Dan Ochi, shared his bitter experience with the challenge thus:  “I suffered losses in vegetables, tomatoes and pepper farms as a result of diseases that came from the rain. In monetary terms, we lost N1.6 million last year from about three hectares of pepper we cultivated.”

Asked if he feels discouraged by the incident, he replied: “Sometimes you are in between discouragement and continuing. For instance, this year, we don’t know whether to start planting early or wait. In fact, we started poke-nosing to see if we could get active pesticides from India or China to control these pests.

“But we have to continue because this is our major source of revenue. It has been leading to loss of revenues because when the pests attack your farm, the revenue will drop drastically.”

He regretted that many farmers took loans to invest and are facing a crisis. “This especially concerns those who took the Anchor Borrowers loan from the CBN. When such a thing happens to you, you have to look for some other ways to pay the money.

“You pay back the Anchor Borrowers’ loan from the proceeds of the farm. But when there is a loss of revenue, you can imagine how you are going to pay back. And the banks don’t want to listen unless your insurance company covers that. Most insurance companies would continue to delay until banks seize your collateral.”

He disclosed that climate change brought unknown insects and pests that are affecting vegetables. “They often come with the rains and are highly resistant to pesticides.

“Another challenge is that of the weather. Between March and April, the rains are supposed to have started showing signs of coming. But if you plant anything within this period, no matter  how accurately you follow NIMET predictions, you will find out there is a drop in between March and May. This is as a result of climate change.

“Any planting will affect your yield and performance of the crop. And if you decide to wait for the rainy season, then the rains come with its diseases and all that. These are some of the ways climate change has been affecting the farmers.”

A Lagos State based poultry farmer, Mrs Tolulope Daramola of Menitos Farms, said people in her line of business are not spared by the global warming crisis.

She said: “I lost about N300,000 to the climate crisis. There was a farm I had to go and attend to somewhere in Ogun State. They had layers and suddenly their layers stopped dropping and they were losing between 50 and 80 birds per day.

“As at the time they called me, the minimum they had lost were 30 birds a day. The farm went from 5,000 birds to a little above 3,000. For the owner, nothing changed. He was still doing things the way he was doing it.”

She said a lot of farmers are not really conscious of climate change.

“Not all farmers are actually aware  of why they are having the problems that they are having. A lot of farmers just  know that they are having this problem but they don’t know why.

“We have farms that treat birds for Newcastle when the birds don’t have Newcastle. What they are dealing with is the weather.

“When I suffered losses, it took us a while to understand that it was climate change that was disturbing.

“Initially, you deal with the symptoms that you have.  We were treating infections when there was actually nothing wrong. The birds were adapting to the weather just like human beings would adapt.

“A lot of the time, because they are animals, we don’t pay attention to this.”

A former Chairman, Lagos  Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Agriculture, Prince Wale  Oyekoya said: “Every farmer in the country, including myself, is facing serious challenges from  climate change.

“Like in my farm, most of the vegetables cannot survive without irrigation. We cannot plant on a large scale now because of lack of rain. The weather is too harsh on crops and our poultry.

“The weather is very harsh and dry now and farmers are lamenting lack of rain since Nigeria is a rain-fed nation with no adequate irrigation system.

“The weather is really hot in the tropics while it’s extremely cold with snow in some western countries.”

 

Famers lament lack of efforts to irrigate farms

With the rains not coming and lasting as long as the farmers would want, one would ordinarily want to know why they are not irrigating their farms.

Sadiq, the Bauchi based farmer, said he invested over N8 million on irrigation last year but ended up recording massive loss.

He said: “Last year, I tried investing on irrigation and invested about N8 million on it and ended up harvesting crops worth less than N700,000.

“When we started in April, water, including the one we were using for irrigation, dried up in all the areas. All the boreholes and wells we sank dried up.

“We would need experts that would come and survey the land and tell us which part can retain water for rigorous pumping of water to the farm.”

National Vice President of All Famers Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okafor, lamented that  farmers’ efforts at irrigating their farms are not supported by the government.

“We are doing something on irrigation but there is no support from the government. I have travelled wide around the globe and seen how governments subsidise virtually everything in agriculture. You have to do that here if you want agriculture to flourish.

“Irrigation equipment is very expensive and individuals cannot afford it. To make matters worse, the banks aren’t giving loans. Where they want to give, they give to their friends only.”

 

Farmers flay Nigeria’s participation at climate summits

Last year, Nigeria participated at the COP-26 climate change summit in Glasgow, but many farmers are not in any way elated by it. They opine the participations of the country in climate summits have had no positive impact on the agriculture sector.

Director General of  Nsukka Chamber of Commerce Dr Ochi described such meetings as an opportunity for government officials to feather their nests.

“Who and who went there to represent Nigerian farmers? Can they come and domesticate what they have learnt? You would see everybody talking to farmers about climate change, building their capacity on how to withstand climate change.

“This is the problem that we have in this country.  Those who went there went on their own to collect estacodes. If there should be an arrangement where farmers can be educated on climate change and the effects of it, even if it is a one day workshop, knowledge can be gained.”

Sadiq was also skeptical about how such events can improve the living standard of farmers. “To governments in the developing countries, especially here in Nigeria that I know better, nothing is serious about alleviating the poverty level among the masses.

“All these summits they attend end up there. I have never seen any government that directly involves farmers at the grassroots to give them an idea of the problems on the ground.

“Leaders of many non-governmental organisations are directly not into farming or were farmers 50 years ago when there was nothing like global warming.  The issues are multi-dimensional. The government needs to directly engage with real farmers on the ground.”

Daramola, the poultry farmer, said the country thrives on talking without taking corresponding actions. “We do a lot of talking in this country. How many farmers have been educated enough and made to be aware of climate change?

“Part of the issues that were raised in the past was the logistics of moving livestock. Is there a solution for people moving poultry? Most poultries are moved through commercial buses. When you buy birds from Ibadan, before you get to Lagos, some of them are already dead.

“What exactly did the summit achieve- they talked about a lot of things, that is it.

“How many grassroots farmers were at that summit? Were any changes made? Everybody is just going about business as usual, and at the end of the day, you are on your own.”

On his part, former LCCI chair, Oyekoya said  Nigeria’s participation at the recently held climate summit in Glasgow “can only change things at home if the people that follow the President can follow up on what that was discussed and practice and follow it to the logical conclusion; not just going for sight-seeing.

“The government should invest in drip irrigation for small scale farmers to increase our food production and to avert food crisis.”

16.9 million Nigerians risk hunger, 9.4 million displacement- reports 16.9 million Nigerians  may experience food crisis between June and August this year as consumption is expected to slightly worsen due to possible reduction in household, market stocks and rise in prices.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) raised the alarm late last year.

FAO Country Representative, Fred Kafeero, who disclosed this in Abuja during the 2021 presentation of the Cadre Harmonise Analysis Report for the 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, said 16.9 million people in 20 states and FCT were expected to be in crisis or worse, between June and August 2022.

Within that same period, the World Bank in a  report, ‘Groundswell Africa: Internal Climate Migration in West African Countries’

disclosed that about 9.4 million people could become climate migrants in Nigeria by 2050.

The report stated that internal climate migration is unavoidable but the effects differ from one country to another due to how climate factors interact with demographic and socio-economic factors at the local level.

“No country in West Africa is immune to internal climate migration, but the scale in each country will depend on how the climate factors interact with demographic and socio-economic factors at the local level.

“Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal are projected to have the highest numbers of internal climate migrants by 2050: reaching a high of 19.1 million, 9.4 million, and 1.0 million, respectively, under the pessimistic scenario,” the report read.

The report stated that there would be a more pessimistic scenario over an optimistic scenario, with Nigeria having the highest mean number of internal climate migrants of 8.3 million people by 2050.

The report reads: “Of the West African coastal countries, Nigeria is projected to have the highest mean number of internal climate migrants under the pessimistic scenario by 2050 (8.3 million) far ahead of Senegal (0.6 million) and Ghana (0.3).

“However, smaller countries, such as Benin, also exhibit high internal climate migration figures as a percentage of their total population (1.62 per cent for Benin compared to 1.93 per cent for Nigeria and with Senegal achieving the highest percentage at 1.98 per cent).”

 

NIMET debunks farmers’ allegations 

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has debunked allegations of not being adequately informed about weather conditions.  Technical Assistant to the Director General Oluwaseun Wilfred Idowu, said: “We have always used various platforms available to us to tell Nigerians about weather conditions.

“Some days back, we were on NTA  where the agency was represented by one of our officers to talk about issues of climate change and how it affects not just farmers but every sector of the Nigerian economy.

“We also work with non-governmental organisations who target farmer-groups and associations to do sensitization, awareness and training.”

Spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Ikem Ezeaja, said he was in a meeting when our correspondent called him for comments on the predicaments of farmers.

Although he told the reporter to call back later, he did not answer subsequent calls that were made to his phone.

The quest for more funds to carry out developmental projects is driving the Ondo State government’s drive to fully institutionalise its REDEEMED agenda, writes OSAGIE OTABOR

As Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu looks forward to his fifth anniversary in office on February 24, he is not happy that there are not enough funds to achieve his REDEEMED agenda and meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

The REDEEMED agenda, according to Akeredolu, is the developmental policy thrust of his second term which focused on eight key areas of development such as Rural and Agricultural Development; Educational and Human Capital Development; Development through massive infrastructure; Efficient service delivery, Development and Policy Implementation; Effective Health care and Social Welfare Services; Maintenance of law and order for adequate security; Energy, Mining and Sustainable Industries; Digital Revolution and Entrepreneurship.

It was the quest to ensure that political officer holders and Accounting Officers keyed into his dream that Akeredolu organised a three-day retreat for them at Owo, Owo Local Government Area. The theme of the retreat was “One Administration; improved service delivery leads to improved revenue generation.”

Akeredolu lamented that the civil service as presently structured was too heavy. He stated that government could not continue to run in the usual old way am canvassed that there must be a way that those who have stayed too long in a position in the civil service must leave to allow younger ones to come in.

He told participants at the retreat that he was determined to recalibrate government for effective and efficient service delivery but warned that the development goals would only be achieved with improved revenue generation.

“We have a duty. Whatever it is going to cost, we must build up. Our REDEEMED agenda is built around sustainable development goals. If we are able to improve revenue generation, we will be able to meet development goals. Everything must be geared towards revenue generation. It can be done if all of us work together as a team.

“We inherited schools that were just created without any equipment. We have developed schools and equipped them. We have done massive infrastructure in this state and we are proud of our work.

“In UNIMED, We facilitated TETFUND to develop buildings there. Also, Our 250 bed- facility has gone to an advanced stage. We have better beds and facilities in our hospitals now. I have been informed that a number of our facilities are under-utilised. We are proud to have facilitated a lab in Owo, Akure and Ondo,” the governor said.

He went on: “On security, we must pride ourselves on what we have done about security in this state. There is nowhere I go that we have not been singled out that we have championed a good cause. We will not stop. Security is crucial to us. That’s why we are elected to protect lives and property.

“Our youths must be interested in self-employment. They must be employers of labour. They can become entrepreneurs and agropreneur.

“This state is the land of the brave and the virtuous. Wherever we go, we are people imbued with an indomitable spirit. We cannot be subdued. It is our collective haven. Remain bold. Resist all attempts by impetuous and naive people.

“We crave collaboration. But, that we crave collaboration and needed progress of the country does not make us weak. We must speak truth to power. I want us to remain consistent and resilient in the defence of our collective heritage.”

Several presentations were made by speakers on how to redefine governance and ensure effective service delivery to the people.

The Coordinator of Transition Strategy and Implementation Committee, Dr. Patrick Tolani, spoke on “Building a collaborative culture and setting SMART goals”.

Dr. Tolani noted that the common purpose of the retreat was aimed at achieving ‘ONE ADMINISTRATION”. He said the Governor needs maximum collaboration of the political appointees and accounting officers to achieve this purpose.

A former Vice President Secretary General, Africa Development Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Akintomide, who spoke on the topic “Understanding the donor and multilateral funding space and unlocking opportunities for the states said it was important for political office holders to think out of the box towards ensuring that multilateral industries, bilateral engagements and foundations such as Gates, Dangote, Rockteller among others invested in the state economy.

The former Group Managing Director of Access Bank and founder of Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG), Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, identified structural weaknesses as the cause of failure of governance in the country.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who spoke on the topic “Achieving success against all odds (Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa”, said Nigeria’s future successes depend on its ability to address existing market failures.

He listed digitisation of governance, creating an enabling environment and transformational leadership as key steps for leaders to think and act the same way.

Aig-Imoukhuede praised Akeredolu for demonstrating enlightened leadership by continuing with some projects and programmes of the past administration. He said the Ondo Governor has shown simplicity and transparency in handling government business.

Ondo Commissioner for Youth and Sports Bamidele Ologun promised to apply the knowledge gained from the programme to improve his performance.

Ologun said he would work with other MDAs, Accounting Officers, other career officers within and outside the state for improved service delivery to the people of the state.

“I can assure you that the retreat is going to have a lot of positive impacts. For me, in my ministry, I’m more prepared, more ready, and I’m good to go to contribute to the REDEEMED agenda to ensure we achieve the needed results”.

The General Manager, Ondo State Development and Property Corporation, Mr. Nasiru Oseni, said the retreat was about governance and the people.

“Therefore, as a component of Ondo State government, all our plans and objectives in Ondo State Development and Property Corporation must be directed towards impacting the lives of the people.

“We must also see the administration of the State as one administration, focusing on fulfilling the REDEEMED agenda. So we must give our best at all times and be ready to share our ideas, challenges, and experiences with other agencies of government and give and seek assistance where necessary to ensure the fulfillment of the mandate of government,” Oseni stressed.

Akeredolu vowed to commence the construction of a seaport known as Port Ondo even as he blamed the federal government bureaucratic bottleneck as a reason for the delay in kicking off the project.

He said: “There is a contradiction in our federalism. We have a system where there must be a port declaration by the federal executive council before you proceed.

“I have always wondered; the port is in my state and I have people who are prepared to invest. But the federal government is holding on to the port declaration. I believe that states should be left to determine their deep seaport and the investors.

“For us as a state, we have been at this since our first day in government. We found out that we have the deepest draft in Ondo State.

“Our port, we will go ahead. Nothing will stop it; it is a matter of time. It is a port, not only for Nigeria for West Africa because of its deepest draft.

“How do we finance it? I travelled, I spoke to Dubai port. I spoke to China Habour. Dubai port has even written that they are interested.

“Our dream for this port in Ondo State is to serve as a conduit for our goods, agricultural produce and very soon, our bitumen.

“It is the goal of this administration to ensure that the potential of Ondo State is maximised and that all necessary infrastructure required to make this a reality is put in place to achieve this.”

The World Bank is set to release the second final tranche of the $750 million States Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme grant to state governments. As expected, state governments are pitching how well they have utilised the first tranche of grant they received in order to qualify for the second. Assistant Editor NDUKA CHIEJINA reports on what Jigawa and Edo states have done.

To qualify for the next round of $750 million grant, state governments have increased their compliance to the required Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) of the World Bank; States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme.

All the 36 states of the federation have met the initial Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) after which funds are released upon attainment of sets of results. They are now courting the World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Finance to be prequalified to benefit from the next round of grant disbursements.

SFTAS Programme was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria with a concessional loan from the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group.

The loan is designed to support states by the Federal Government through the provision of performance-based grants and technical assistance to implement the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) derived from the Fiscal Sustainability Plan and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) commitments aimed at strengthening fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability across all States of the Federation.

The World Bank-Assisted Programme seeks to strengthen fiscal management at the state level so as to ensure effective mobilisation and utilisation of financial resources to the benefit of their citizens in a transparent and sustainable manner thus reducing fiscal risks and encouraging a common set of fiscal behaviours.

The SFTAS’ Deputy National Programme Coordinator, Mr. Ali Mohammed, representing Mr. Stephen Okon, National Programme Coordinator SFTAS Programme Coordinating Unit Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, said they have embarked on a nationwide evaluation of the programme in all the states.

 

Jigawa State

 

While in Jigawa State, Ali Muhammed said they came “for an interactive session between various states that are into the SFTAS programme. We are in Jigawa for the exercise to foster understanding of the programme. The essence is to look at the Jigawa state SFTAS programme to see the extent of delivery and if there are challenges, we can address them. Jigawa is doing very well no doubt”.

He noted that one area he and his team “would love to highlight is e-procurement. Recently I received a letter from Jigawa State which shows the process has gone far. Jigawa is among the first three states in fiscal reforms in Nigeria. We can look at Jigawa state as a model especially in the North where we are having one or two challenges”.

The Director-General, Due Process Office and also the head of procurement for the Jigawa State government Ado Hussaini, said the “SFTAS programme has done well for us because it has improved our ease of doing business. We are lucky because even before SFTAS, the Governor was committed to transparency. With SFTAS, it has really encouraged us and motivated the state to do more. We signed the law in good time, in line with what SFTAS recommended. We are in the process of completing our e-procurement assignment. We have signed an agreement with the vendors and we have gone a long way. We are targeting June 2022 for delivery on e-procurement. We are doing that because it is possible to achieve full transparency in the state finances”.

Before SFTAS came, Ado Hussaini said Jigawa State already had a law that was being reviewed to incorporate due process and transparent procurement processes.

“But with SFTAS, we relied on their guidance for our operations. We have an existing website, www.jigawadueprocess.com that we uploaded all our procurement and the officials involved for all to see. In fact, we even partner civil societies to achieve greater transparency. They request for documents and we share freely. We have gone a long way. If you go onto our website, you will find everything pertaining to procurement including the law, the template, guidelines and everything else on procurement,” he said.

With SFTAS’s coming on board, the due process and procurement law became mandatory. “Now we will have to publish everything in the media, we have to involve CSOs. We also have the governing board in place. Even the Federal government is afraid of the governing board but we have a governing board in place in Jigawa,” he said.

Ado Hussaini believes that the inclusion of SMEs in the procurement process has migrated people from poverty to wealth especially after the COVID-19.

According to him, “we have now trained small companies that initially didn’t know anything about contracts. They now get contracts and are paid. This is one of the most impactful initiatives. This is the first time since the creation of the states that small companies are brought from nowhere, trained and given contracts. We have already paid about 75 percent of the liabilities that we inherited”.

Speaking further on the liabilities inherited by the present administration, Ado Hussaini disclosed that “we inherited abandoned projects to the tune of about N96 billion. We have done almost 90 percent. We inherited contracts that have been finished and awaiting payment of about N3.6bn, we have paid about 70 percent when there is a will, there is a way”.

The Jigawa State ministry of Lands, Housing, Urban Development and Regional Planning has also been impacted by the SFTAS Programme. The Commissioner, Mr. Sagir Ahmed said the ministry now sees the SFTAS Programme “as a way to improve our capacity in revenue generation, particularly property taxation”.

Ahmed disclosed that “when the project came, the State Government received it very well and the Governor showed political will to see to the success of the project while he appointed a thirteen-member committee with about seven Commissioners, with the Deputy Governor as Chairman for that Property Registration program”.

“Since then, we have been collaborating with the Coordinating Office in the World Bank. They have guided the Ministry since the inception of the project to get to a level where we are about to now do validation for the data that we have generated. And we keyed into this project with expectation because the World Bank has stated what we need to do in terms of property registration – to open about twenty thousand parcels of buildings across the state,” he said.

Ahmed added that “the engagement with SFTAS, property registration has enabled us to prepare adequately for launching our Jigawa State Geographic Information System and His Excellency has already approved the procurement of all the equipment and facilities we require to launch the GIS and we have already engaged Consultants and they have really been working with this Ministry to see that we effect that GIS in our operation”.

On his part, Jigawa State Accountant General, Aminu Sule, revealed the “establishment of a public financial management advisory that now conducts annual, rapid action plan with the aim of improving fiscal performance, budget execution, accounting and reporting, auditing and debt management”.

In readiness for the SFTAS programme, Aminu Sule, said Jigawa State has invested in the State Integrated Financial Management Information System in order to enhance public financial management; the promotion of capacity building for both medium level and intermediate staff officials to ensure efficient skilled manpower to succeed the senior retiring officers from the public financial management MDAs (with the SFTAS grant, there have been a series of training and workshops to prepare those coming onboard to take up mantle of leadership) and now benefit from the support of donors, “although we don’t engage consultants, we have donor agencies that support the State in these endeavours.”

Jigawa Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chairman Ibrahim Ahmed said the SFTAS programme has helped the Service “to achieve a lot and improve our services in the entire government services. We have a treasury account where all revenues that are collected go into a consolidated account at Zenith bank. There is a great achievement in the IGR”.

Ahmed said the Jigawa State IRS have made efforts to strengthen the state IGR and ensure that “we block all the leakages, adopt full automation of the diagnostic system in the state, and distribute POS to some revenue generating MDA’s and also by improving the IGR account. For each payment gateway, you can make payment into the treasury consolidated account and we have a dashboard whenever we receive the money, we can look at it and see what is going on or what has been remitted on daily or monthly basis”.

 

Edo State

 

The acting chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Sadiat Abu, disclosed that the state now generates N2.5 billion monthly. The feat, she said, will reduce the state’s over-dependence on federal allocation.

Sadiat stated this through the Edo Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) Head, Revenue Account, Valentine Adoko, during a media tour of selected government agencies led by officials of the State Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme from Abuja.

“Before now, we were not generating up to a billion naira but after the reforms, we moved to N1.5 billion and currently, we are generating an average of between N2.5 billion and N2.6 billion.

“For Edo, one of the participating states. The SFTAS programme has helped to entrench a number of good financial practices. The state’s Accountant General Mr. Julius Anelu explained that with the help of SFTAS it has been able to achieve some targets including liquidating its pension arrears “we have tried to ensure that modalities are put in place to see how these liabilities are defrayed on time. For example the pension arrears as at 2018 when we started were N2.6 billion and as at the first quarter of 2021, we had paid off that liability”.

Anelu said the state has adopted a citizen led approach to budgeting by involving citizens and Civil Society in the preparation and monitoring of budgets.

The Managing director of Edo State Public Procurement Agency, Mr. Henry Idogun, said the state has been able to make up-to date laws to bring transparency into procurement practices in the state and has gone one step further to adopt e-procurement in four of its biggest MDAs preparatory to state-wide roll out.

“SFTAS programme requires that we sign some framework agreement which we have signed and so we are eligible for the grant and so we should also pilot the four MDAs which we are doing and any procurement in any of those MDAs must be done through the electronic procurement portal,” he said.

The scope of the SFTAS programme also covers registration of land titles. The Programme Manager of the Edo Geographic Information Service, Mr. Eromosele, outlined the benefits of the programme to include enumeration of land plots and registration of property owners. He said this has enabled the state government to achieve a social mapping of its people for targeted intervention.

“We are able to collect socioeconomic data during this process and that data was very vital for the state governor as he was able to know where the poor and vulnerable people are and so he was able to reach out to them, secondly we are able to capture a large database of people who are doing land transactions they will be encouraged because they know that okay they have a lot of property enumerated”.

A Communication Specialist for SFTAS, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, expressed delight at the milestones achieved by some of the participating states and called for measures to institutionalise the reforms by enacting enabling laws.

After a stint leading the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) is in its last moments. Issues such as consensus and zoning are important to its exit for a new leadership to pilot the affairs of the party, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU

A week ago, an aspirant for the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, Chief Sunny Sylvester Moniedafe, was at the party secretariat to buy the form to actualise his ambition. He left displeased.

“I have been on this issue for over 20 months now and in less than two weeks to the convention, we are still asking questions. We want to know what is happening. I have been in touch with the party headquarters since Thursday last week and even on Monday and they keep telling me no news. The party should tell us what is happening.

“There is no communication from the party. We have to be told of the zoning arrangement. Nothing is happening in less than two weeks to the convention. I don’t think that is fair to us.

“This convention must hold. Nothing can stop it. Just that the delay and non-release of information are not expected. If they want consensus, let them come out and say so. There is nothing wrong with consensus, but call all the parties involved. The delay is uncalled for.”

About the same time, a group, which goes by the name, APC Youth Development and Solidarity Forum, addressed reporters in Abuja, reeling out unsubstantiated allegations. The Forum’s Secretary, Chief Tobias Ogbeh, in a speech titled: ‘Exposed: How Governors Mohammed Badaru, Atiku Bagudu, Kayode Fayemi, and others have plotted to impose Senator Sani Musa and others as National Chairman, Excos, to satisfy the selfish interest of projecting Badaru/Fayemi ticket for 2023 Presidency’, said: “These same governors and their minions have in their known fashion hijacked the entire exercise, which was proven to the world by the way they fixed a February 26, 2022, date for the event in flagrant disregard for the preferences expressed by stakeholders.

“Sadly, the governors in question never bothered about what stakeholders thought, wanted, or demanded, because for them the national convention is a fait accompli. Rather than being a forum at which delegates would elect party officials in the hope of righting the wrongs done at the state chapters, the convention envisaged by these political vampires is one at which they will merely browbeat and coerce delegates to rubber stamp the criminal decisions taken; one that would undermine the 2023 general elections because the party’s internal democracy in the APC would have been bastardised.

“Nigerians would be deprived of having an APC presidential candidate that passed the rigours of primary election. Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and their other desperate allies that include serving Ministers, have perfected plans to ensure that Senator Sani Musa is imposed as APC National Chairman alongside other lackeys that would be named to other positions at the convention.

“Senator Sani Musa would in turn deliver Bagudu as APC presidential candidate and Kayode Fayemi as his running mate. They have cooked up what they called “unity list” to package their evil plot as something positive and desirable for the party and the country when the contrary is the case.”

It was not done with its allegations: “We want APC stakeholders and Nigerians to know that these state governors are working against the interest of the country. As things stand, we are collectively staring a full-blown state capture in the face as these band of governors paid a nocturnal visit to the Presidential Villa last week Friday night with their purported “unity list” that they are now desperately promoting.”

The group urged President Muhammadu Buhari “not to allow their criminal intent to materialise; these people have also perfected other plans to make mockery of the convention that has remained a source of controversy.”

Before Moniedafe and Ogbeh spoke with the media, a list surfaced on the social media about the zoning of positions forcing CECPC Secretary Senator John James Akpanudoedehe to explain that zoning had not been concluded.

He said: “I’m here to debunk the fake news going around on the social media that we have zoned offices. We are yet to meet on the issue of zoning. The news and rumour making rounds are fake. We never discussed the issue during our deliberations. People should disregard the story because it is fake news. It is not true.”

A chieftain of the party from Ibadan, Oyo State, Andrew Ayegbege, sees no merit in the positions expressed by Moniedafe and Ogbeh.

He said: “There is no truth in the speculations of postponement and a grand plan to ensure the Convention does not hold. It is also wrong to accuse the CECPC Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni of sit-tightism and an agenda to self-perpetuate. These allegations are frivolous. Buni has been the best thing to have happened to our dear party at a tumultuous time. He has grown the party to 41 million members, 9 million more than the entire population of Ghana. He has digitalised the party and brought in high-profile members into the party. He has successfully conducted congresses at the Wards, Local Government and State levels. And he has reconciled the party significantly as well as set the stage for a great Convention. He would be remembered by history as one of the greatest leaders our party got to know.”

On the claim that forms were not ready, Ayegbege said it would be out of place to start selling form when the issue of zoning of positions was yet to be concluded.

“The forms are ready. The issue of whether the party will adopt zoning or not must be resolved before the aspirants would know what forms to buy. You can’t make people buy forms and then zone the positions away from their zones. If there won’t be zoning, aspirants will know what to do,” he said.

He also faulted the claim that the party was not communicating. According to him, the party’s spokesman regularly addressed reporters.

“Regularly, the Secretary of the CECPC, Senator John Akpan Udoedehe, has been briefing reporters on the level of preparedness of the Committee for the Convention. But Dr Lukman said the Committee has not been communicating. How else do you communicate? APC is an organised party and not a confused circle like the orchestrators of the 3rd Force mirage,” Ayegbege said.

He believes the party has seen its best period since inception under the Buni leadership. “We have 22 governors that are committed to the party and leaders across the geopolitical zones are poised to ensure the party remains unplugged from her support base which is populated by the masses of Nigeria. It is characteristic falsehood that the party is waning. We are waxing stronger,” he added.

This is in sync with Buni’s statement “today, APC parades over 41 million registered members, asserting our position as Africa’s largest political party and of course, Nigeria’s leading political party. With this, we are confident of winning the 2023 general with huge success”.

A party chieftain who is close to the CECPC said the committee was being tactical and that it would ultimately achieve the best result, which would produce a cohesive party.

“The Caretaker Committee is being tactical. It will not rush to sell forms for the national leadership positions when the zoning arrangement is yet to be concluded. The Committee and the progressive governors and other stakeholders are working this out and at the end of the day, almost everyone will be pleased with the outcome of their deliberations. Networking and high-level negotiations are also going on about the consensus option in order to avoid post-convention skirmishes. Everything will soon be straightened out. Ignore the talks about the convention being threatened. The committee is just being tactical,” he said.

The convener of the Concerned APC Members Forum, Okpokwu Ogeni, wants President Buhari to call a meeting of stakeholders ahead of the convention, especially to resolve the issue of consensus.

“Judging by the activities of the various actors, we appeal to Mr. President not to allow the selfish interest of the 2023 presidential ambition of some ranking members to destroy the party. We want Mr. President to recommend a highly committed and disciplined member, a man of humility and resilience with acute knowledge of party administration that will respect both former and serving Governors, Senators, Ministers, party faithful, and of course, the Leaders of our party.

“We recommend Mr. President convene a meeting of all the aspirants for the chairmanship position and hand over the preferred candidate to them, instructing an all-inclusive government. This will immediately heal any injury in the heart of any and the course of explanation to his supporters while he stepped down. We shall continue to work with you for the development of our beloved party, APC, and country, Nigeria.

“In recommending a candidate for the national chairmanship position which may bring about consensus, we advise Mr. President to look into the records of the various individuals aspiring to lead the party, having in mind the internal zoning arrangement of the party which is in North Central Nigeria.

“The measures will go a long way in reducing internal crisis in the party, controlling the expenditure of some aspirants, and solving the problem of reconciliation after the Convention. We also want to draw Mr. President’s attention to the fact that, immediately after the Convention, there is a primary election not far away, so, the need to minimise our crises and concentrate on the 2023 general elections is very important.”

Though the focus is on the National Chairman, other positions to be filled are Deputy National Chairman South, Deputy National Chairman North, National Secretary, Deputy National Secretary, Vice Chairman South-West, Vice Chairman North West, Vice Chairman North Central, Deputy National Organizing Secretary, National Treasurer, National Financial Secretary, National Welfare Secretary, Deputy National Welfare Secretary, National Publicity Secretary, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, National Legal Adviser, National Woman Leader, Deputy National Auditor and National Youth Leader.

Also to be filled are Zonal Youth Leader North Central, Zonal Youth Leader North West, Zonal Youth Leader North East, Zonal Youth Leader South West, Zonal Woman Leader South East, Zonal Woman Leader North East,  Zonal Woman Leader North West, Zonal Woman Leader South-South, Zonal Woman Leader North Central, Zonal Woman Leader South West, Ex-Officio Members South East, Ex-Officio North East, Ex-Officio North West, Ex-Officio South West, Ex-Officio Member North Central, National Auditor, National Vice Chairman South East and National Vice Chairman South-South. Also available are National Vice Chairman, North-East, National Organising Secretary, Deputy National Treasurer, Deputy National Financial Secretary, Deputy National Woman Leader and Zonal Youth Leader South East.