The Nation Newspaper

Tag: agencies

  • Buhari directs agencies to harmonise biometric data

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged government agencies to harmonise the collection and usage of biometric data instead of replicating efforts.

    The President spoke after being briefed by Chairman of the National Population Commission, Mr Eze Duruiheoma, in Abuja.

    Government organisations that collect biometric data include the National Population Commission, National Identity Management Commission, Federal Road Safety Commission, and Independent National Electoral Commission, among others.

    Buhari wondered why each agency would gather its biometric data, when such data could easily be shared.

    “It will be more cost effective if you work together. It helps even the credibility of the election process, as Nigerians of voting age can be identified easily’’, he said.

    Buhari added that all the agencies should work collaboratively, instead of going in different directions, stressing that adequate data was necessary for planning and development in any country.

    Duruiheoma had briefed the President on what would be required for the commission to conduct national census 2016, 10 years after the last exercise, as stipulated by the United Nations.

    A national population census, the chairman said, would cost about N273 billion, while about N10 billion of the amount would be needed immediately.

    He told the President that a biometric-based census was being proposed because it would eliminate multiple and ghost respondents, while making the outcome easy to audit.

     

  • Agencies, boards dissolved

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has dissolved all its agencies and boards of parastatals in accordance with directive from the Federal Government.

    The directive was contained in a circularý signed by the Head of Service of the Federation and dispatched to all the affected agencies and parastatals.

    This was disclosed in a press statement signed by Assistant Director/ Chief Press Secretary to the FCT, Muhammad Sule.

    It read in part: “In compliance with the directive of the Federal Government on the dissolution of Boards, Agencies, Institutions and Government owned Companies, all Boards of the FCT Parastatals and Agencies stand dissolved.

    “It may be recalled that the FCT Administration had earlier conveyed the content of the Dissolution Circular signed by the Head of Service of the Federation to the affected FCT Parastatals and Agencies on Friday, July 24, 2015 with a reminder on Monday, August 3, 2015 to hand over all Government properties and documents in their disposal.

    “Accordingly, the Permanent Secretary, Engr. John Obinna Chukwu, FNSE, has further directed that the Directors of Administrations and Finance (DAF) in all the Mandate Secretariats should ensure strict compliance with the directive of Mr. President.

    “The FCT Administration will take appropriate measures against any official who flout the Federal Government’s directives.”

     

     

  • Agencies hold 42nd AGM in Osogbo

    The Association of Advertis-ing Agencies of Nigeria’s, AAAN’s, 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Congress, which began yesterday would end tomorrow in Osogbo, Osun State.

    Its President, Mr. Kelechi Nwosu, said the theme: “Nigeria advertising, what next”, was to further provide a professional platform for a truly intellectual and practical discourse on the need for the tripod of the Advertising practice to further understand the emerging business issues and its effect on business relationship.

    New members of the Association, Interactive Media Limited, 7even Interactive Limited and Agile Communications Limited will also be inducted during the Gala Nite.

    Traditionally, the association’s executive board members are usually elected during the congress.

  • ‘Multiple agencies at ports killing export business’

    The Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has decried the proliferation of agencies at the ports, saying it is a major disincentive to export.

    Its Director-General, Mr. Emmanuel Cobham, urged government to revisit the plight of indigenous exporters and initiate policies that would make incentives available for them.

    He, however, commended the government for its efforts on port reforms, urging that it should be continued to boost its benefit in the economy.

    On the effects of importation of foreign goods on local businesses, Cobham said: “Indiscriminate influx of foreign good weakens the local currency, adversely affects the growth of the local economy, creates trade imbalance, reduce foreign exchange earnings, increases the inflationary rates and results in job cuts.

    “Every government all over the world is interested in protecting her own industry and market as it has consequence on the Gross National Products (GNP) and Gross Domestic Products (GDP). Consequently, the Federal Government needs to put in place policies that will protect home industries. This is to prevent unemployment which will in turn increasee poverty rate, protect our industries and secure the needed foreign exchange.”

    On the effects of the Common External Tariff (CET), for West African countries, on businesses in the sub-region, the NACCIMA chief said it has the capacity to increase trade among the Economic Community of west African States (ECOWAS) nations that are involved in the regime.

    CET could encourage more investments along the region, however countries with poor infrastructure would be at the receiving end as the cost of their final products may not be competitive with those of the better developed countries, he added.

    Adding his voice to the concerns raised in some quarters on the delay in appointing ministers by He said the fact that appointment of ministers is a serious business in governance and care must be taken to pick individuals best suited for the job for optimal performance.

    He said:“President Mohammadu Buhari has requested for the understanding of Nigerians on this issue and I think we should oblige him this favour. We should not behave as if it does not matter who eventually becomes a minister in this administration. Understanding the direction of this government on social-economic issues is vital; if we do we will appreciate the long wait to appoint ministers inorder to have credible people on board.”

    He said Apapa grid-lock has created a lot of strain on the public especially those involved in the export business  and importation  as the road is the gate way to the ports where business are done.

    “It negatively affected businesses, it created a strain on the system, resulting in time wastage to the extent that the volume of trade and revenue generation by both individuals and government was reduced. For instance, the traffic caused by the trucks operating at the Tank Farm located around the Apapa Port and Tin can Island Port area couple with the trucks collecting and discharging their containers in the ports added to worsening the extent of the grid.

    ‘’The way forward as I see it; is for the road to be rehabilitated, the Tank Farm relocated or an attempt made to increase the capacity of the holding bays.”

  • FG dissolves Federal parastatals, agencies, institutions’ boards 

    FG dissolves Federal parastatals, agencies, institutions’ boards 

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday approved the dissolution of the Governing Boards of Federal Parastatals, Agencies and Institutions with effect from Friday, July 16, 2015.

    This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

    Until the boards are reconstituted, the statement said that the Chief Executive Officers of the affected parastatals, agencies and institutions are to refer all matters requiring the attention of their boards to the President, through the Permanent Secretaries of their supervising ministries.

    It also said that the dissolution does not affect Federal Executive Bodies listed in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    But the dissolution, it said, covers administrative or technical committees and other similar organs established by the now dissolved boards.

  • Protect environment, maximise profit, Emefiele urges agencies

    Protect environment, maximise profit, Emefiele urges agencies

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, has appealed to its sister regulatory agencies in the financial service sector, to expand their areas of focus to cover environmental protection, as well as maximise profit and ensure Returns On Investments (ROI).

    Emefiele,  made the appeal yesterday while declaring open a workshop on sustainable finance for the Financial Sector regulatory bodies in conjunction with the United Nations financial initiatives.

    The CBN helmsmam, who was represented by his Special Adviser on sustainable banking, Dr. A’isha Usman Mahmood, advised leaders of financial regulating agencies, comprising the Director –General of Securities and Exchange Commsion (SEC)  Mounir Gwarzo, Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, Director-General PenCoM, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu and others to adopt sustainable financial practices that will lead to economic development without negative costs to the ecosystem and future generations.

    According to Emefiele, “Sustainable Development concepts pursue a balance between environmental protection, social equity and economic development (ESDN, 2012).  As a result of the growing evidence on the positive nexus between Environmental and Social management and improved economic performance, an increasing number of financial institutions worldwide are adopting sustainable finance practices to ensure that economic development is not achieved at a cost to our ecosystem and our future generations”.

    The Nigerian financial sector he said has “developed and adopted the Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles, which is an industry-led initiative needed to build a more resilient, robust, environmentally and socially responsible financial sector.” This development became necessary owing to the growing evidence that environmental and social issues present growing risks to economic growth.

    The CBN Governor re-echoed the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, 2015) warning that “there is growing evidence that people are consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can sustainably provide.  With the global human population projected to reach 9.6billion by 2050, we will need three planets to sustain our way of life, if the current consumption and production patterns remain unchanged”.

    In her remarks, Deputy Head, UNEP finance initiative, Yuki Yusui lamented that “there is a huge funding gap. A lot of study by the United Nations and other agencies shows that we need trillions of dollars per year to invest in a green eco system and save the economy. We have a lot of people that should be out of poverty and the funding gap means that the financial sector needs to be involved to participate and channel the money from brown economy to green economy and regulators to play a bigger role.”

    She challenged financial regulatory agencies all over the world to “come out and stop just worrying about financial stability, hyper- inflation and now start working with other agencies on eco system development.”

  • Ganduje appoints chief executives of nine agencies

    Ganduje appoints chief executives of nine agencies

    Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has approved the appointment of chief executive officers of nine government agencies in the state.

    Notice of the approval is contained in a statement signed by his Director General, Media and Communication, Baba Halilu Dantiye, in Kano on Thursday.

    The statement quoted Dantiye as saying Alhaji Mustapha Buhari and Retired Group Capt. Muhammad Kura are the new Managing Directors of the state Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) and the Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB) respectively.

    He said Alhaji Muhammad Adamu had been appointed the Managing Director of Kano Urban Planning Development Authority (KANUPDA), while Alhaji Sani Gabasawa is the Managing Director, Youth Directorate for Economic Empowerment.

    He added that Alhaji Abdullahi Yanshana had been appointed the Executive Chairman, Community Reorientation Committee (CRC), while Alhaji Nasiru Koki is the Executive Chairman, Pension Fund Trustees.

    Also, Alhaji Zakari Bagwai had been appointed the Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), while Alhaji Hussaini Ganduje is the Executive Secretary, Senior Secondary School Management Board (KSSSMB).

    Dr Fakhradeen Muhammad had also been appointed the Physician, Kano State Government House.

    The governor urged the new appointees to justify the confidence reposed in them by being dedicated to their duties.

  • Security agencies team up against crime

    Security agencies in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, have assured residents of their enhanced safety, as all law enforcement units are committed to crushing criminals in the Enyimba City.

    The security organisations said they are pooling their resources together to make criminality unattractive.

    This was the position reached at the end of a monthly meeting involving the police, army and other paramilitary agencies to boost the existing relationship among them and enhance the  web of security in the commercial city.

    Addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, the Aba Area Commander, ACP Peter Wagbara said that the meeting between the security agencies was in line with the visions of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adamu Ibrahim to achieve internal security within the state which serves as melting pot for most economic and business activities in the state and the entire southeast.

    Wagbara maintained that for the war on crime to be fought and won, there was the need for security organisations to synergise and fight it collectively.

    “We have conquered September, October and we are now in November with December in view. Like we overcame other months, we are going to conquer the remaining months like we did it in the last months.

    “This monthly meeting helps us understand each other and limit the level of rivalry that sometimes exists especially among the junior officers.

    The convener of the security meeting used the opportunity to seek the support of the public in crime fighting in the city as he advised communities around the commercial city to form a neighbourhood watch or local vigilante that would work in closely with security agencies in Aba and its environs to tackle crime in their areas.

    Earlier in an interview, Maduako Emmanuel, Deputy Comptroller of Prisons Aba said that the meeting has helped to foster the existing relationship between his agency and others security agencies, adding that it has also provided the grounds for them to let others know areas where they (prisons) needed their assistance, adding that the meeting would bring a lot of improvement in terms of security in Aba.

    “All of us, we are here to synergize to make sure that we work together. We have one goal as security agencies; to bring insecurity down and to make sure that we have security at its brim, because if we are working differently there is no way we can achieve success  but if the army, navy police, civil defence and others come together we will be able to work fine.

    “So, that is why we have this meeting every month to talk about lapses where we have problems and others who have more experience can educate us, then we will be able to know how we can be able to forge ahead.

    “We still bring out these things so that when you have any problem; like in my place when you want to go for any arrest and I can’t handle it effectively, I can call the army, police or  navy to come and assist me because all of us are gearing towards one aim of trying to curb criminality. So that is why we are here.

    “Now that December is around the corner, this meeting will help us tackle crime and even traffic gridlock to make sure that the roads were free from traffic congestion. That is why we are synergising to make sure that we have a crime free festive period”, Idang John, Aba Area Commander Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), represented by Chief Superintendent of Corps (CSP),  Aba North  Divisional Officer, Mr. Nobel added.

     

  • IOSCO reviews reliance on credit rating agencies

    The International Organization of Securities Commissions is reviewing the extent to which asset managers, investors and other parties should rely on credit rating agencies (CRAs) in their asset management.

    The global body of securities regulators has published a consultation report on Good Practices on Reducing Reliance on Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) in asset management with the aim of gathering the views and practices of investment managers, institutional investors and other interested parties on the subject.

    It will subsequently develop a set of good practices on reducing over reliance on external credit rating in the asset management space.

    IOSCO noted that CRAs play a prominent role in today’s global financial markets pointing out that while approaches may differ across jurisdictions, investment managers often use the services of CRAs to form an opinion on the creditworthiness of a particular issuer before purchasing securities, selecting counterparties, or choosing the best collateral to secure transactions.

    It added that investors often refer to CRA ratings before buying shares of a fund, or when guiding investment managers on the basis of a tailored investment mandate.

    IOSCO pointed out that the role of CRAs has come under regulatory scrutiny, mainly as a result of the over-reliance of market participants, including investment managers and institutional investors, on CRA ratings in their assessments of both financial instruments and issuers in the run-up to the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

    According to IOSCO, the good practices that result the consultation paper will be addressed to national regulators, investment managers, and investors, where applicable while IOSCO has also launched a separate project to identify the good practices of intermediaries with regard to the use of alternatives to credit ratings to assess creditworthiness.

    The report stresses the importance for asset managers to have the appropriate expertise and processes in place to assess and manage the credit risk associated with their investment decisions. Recognizing the utility of external ratings, the report mentions that they can be used as an input among others to complement a manager’s internal credit analysis and provide an independent opinion as to the quality of the portfolio constituents. However, in order to avoid the over-reliance on external ratings, the report lists some possible good practices that managers may consider when resorting to external ratings.

    Some of the good practices undergoing consultation include that investment managers make their own determinations as to the credit quality of a financial instrument before investing and throughout the holding period. While external credit ratings may form one element, among others, of the internal assessment process but it should not constitute the sole factor supporting the credit analysis.

    Also, there should be an internal assessment process that is commensurate with the type and proportion of debt instruments the investment manager may invest in, and a brief summary description of which is made available to investors, as appropriate.

    Regulators are also expected to encourage investment managers to review their disclosures describing alternative sources of credit information in addition to external credit ratings while also encouraging investment managers to disclose the use of external credit ratings and describe in an understandable way how these complement or are used with the manager’s own internal credit assessment methods

    Also, were external credit ratings are used, investment managers should understand the methodologies, parameters and the basis on which the opinion of a CRA was produced, and have adequate means and expertise to identify the limitations of the methodology and assumptions used to form that opinion.

    Regulators will also encourage investment managers not to rely solely on external credit ratings and to consider alternative quality parameters such as liquidity and maturity when assessing the credit quality of their counterparties or collateral.