The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boost

  • Merchant Navy set to boost water security

    The Nigeria Merchant Navy (NMN) is set to boost mari time security in the country.

    Speaking during its Ceremonial Parade at the Merchant Navy Training Depot, Idah, Kogi State, its Head of Department, Training Depot, Lt. John Buba, said his people are up to the task.

    Protecting the nation’s waterways from criminals, insurgent, and contributing to the growth of the maritime sector, Buba said, are some of the goals of the NMN.

    He said the NMN has acquired the skills to monitor the flow of goods into and outside the country in order to ensure safety of goods and life.

    Buba said, he was happy after seeing the junior cadet displayed various gallantries effort and professionalism in the act of combating crime in the nation’s water ways and maritime domain.

    Buba expressed satisfaction over the turn-out of the event, adding that NMN can boasts of personnel that are technically, physically and mentally prepared and trained to combat local and international crimes.

    Buba commended the effort of the traditional Nigeria Navy towards safeguarding the Nigerian Maritime boundaries.

    He, however, stressed that the activities of the traditional Navy do not cover any vessel beyond the country’s maritime boundary which he said, has led to mysterious leakages of revenue.

    He urged the National Assembly to pass the Nigerian Merchant Bill to grow the economy.

    ‘’The US Navy, US Marine Corp and US Coast Guard are security agencies that have similar mode of operations, but cover different terrains.’’ he said.

    Also speaking at the event, the Head Medical/PRO Training Depot, Lt. Immaculate Aghaulor said that the parade was to show to Nigerians and the world the readiness of the NMN to protect the maritime sector in order to drive the nation’s economy.

    The Assistant Intelligence, Training Depot Officer, Lt. Solomon Ocheja, commended governors and traditional leaders who have been very supportive to them.

  • ‘FAO contributes N55.2m to boost seeds production’

    ‘FAO contributes N55.2m to boost seeds production’

    The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has contributed $345,000 (about N55.2 million) to enhance and strengthen seeds production in Nigeria.

    The FAO Country Representative, Dr Louise Setshwaelo, made this known in Abuja at the workshop on ‘Strengthening National Seed Systems in Nigeria’.The two-year project, in partnership with the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Setshwaelo said, would increase the adoption rate of improved seeds by smallholder farmers, improve income and ensure food security in the country.“To produce food, you need seeds; you cannot produce rice, millet sorghum without using seeds; seeds are key to food production, particularly when you look at crops.“

    The main problem that we have is that farmers do not have access to high quality seeds, which increase production.“The focus of this project is to see how we can improve access of high quality seeds to farmers, especially to the smallholder farmers who are our main food producers.“Seeds production is key to food security; it is a very important component in terms of increasing agricultural production.

    She said the project would be rolled out in five pilot states: Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Sokoto and Jigawa, with four staple crops.

    She explained that the project would focus on rice in Ebonyi, maize in Kaduna and Ondo as well as sorghum and millet in Sokoto and Jigawa.

    The country representative expressed optimism that at the end of the project in 2015, the seeds law would have been updated to international standard and community seeds production would have been increased.

    “We are hoping by the end of 2015, we would have updated the seed law which will now need to go to parliament.

    “Ours is to assist government and the Ministry of Agriculture and its stakeholders to update the seed law, to harmonise it with seed laws in the ECOWAS region to make sure that it is also harmonised with international standards.

    “We will like to see improvement in community seeds production, helping the communities who are producing seeds to be able to look at the quality aspect, to be better organised, to be more efficient.

    “We are looking at developing a strategy for improving private sector participation in the seed industry.

    “Hopefully, by the end of the project, it will not just be a strategy in place; we would have started the implementation of some of the components of that strategy.

    “We are also looking at public awareness; how do we empower the farmers to know the difference between high quality certified seeds and what someone is selling in the market as grain but passing it off as seed.“They should be more empowered to make that difference and also have access to high quality seeds.’’

    She envisaged that the main limitation could be sustainability of the project’s objectives by stakeholders after 2015.

    In his remark, Mr Olusegun Olatokun, the Coordinating Director, NASC, said the collaboration would further enhance the acceptability of high quality seeds at the grassroots. He stressed that the project would improve quality control and certification of seed suppliers as well as promote private sector investment in the industry. Olatokun said that within the two years of the project, rigorous public awareness events on the benefits of improved seeds would be created.

  • How to boost weather services for farmers

    The Federal Government has been urged to put in place measures to ensure proper weather forecasting for farmers.

    This, Prof. Ayodele Ogunlela said, will boost food productivity and achieve food security goals.

    Speaking with The Nation, Ogunlela of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Ilorin, said improving weather forecasting would help agriculture extension officers to make informed decisions about food production which would help farmers minimise losses and also know when to plant, fertilise and spray their crops.

    He called for measures to increase the coverage of the climate forecast initiative nationwide to cover most crops, livestock, fisheries, fruits and vegetable production.

    This will, in turn, enable farmers to plan more effectively and quicken the pace to commercialise their enterprises.

    Calling for enhanced weather stations to provide data for insurers planning to offer weather-based crop insurance, Ogunlela said the lack of adequate weather station facilities for agric forecasting could lead to less qualified data in calculating risk and premium.

    Accurate weather data, he emphasised, is vital for private insurers to help farmers, adding that guidelines should be drawn by the government and private parties to ensure farmer security in weather-based insurance products

    He said insurance companies will be able to pay out to farmers when weather stations show crops are likely to have been damaged by rain or drought, making it possible for small farmers to support their families and continue loan repayments even when crops fail.

    As well as insuring against crop failure, such programmes, he said will help farmers’ access larger loans to pay for seeds and equipment.

    According to him, weather-based insurance schemes will provide poor communities with education to help better protect themselves against the impact of droughts and weather-related disasters, such as flooding.

    If the weather stations are put in place, he said, the risks are spread effectively then it has the potential to deliver real benefits.

    He called on the government to roll out an integrated farmer security plan by reworking insurance schemes and consolidating all other risk management schemes to benefit farmers at large.

    He said standard weather stations would be required at the national level to service weather insurance.

  • Pillars get N50,000 boost

    Pillars get N50,000 boost

    RE-ELECTED Kano Pillars chairman, Bashir Idris Mua’zu on Monday rewarded players with the sum of fifty thousand naira (N50, 000) ahead of Wednesday week 8 crucial Nigeria professional Football League (NPFL) tie against Heartland.

    Club secretary, Bashari Ahmed Maizare, who disclosed this to SportingLife, said Mua’zu gave the money to the players during his visit to their training camp to appreciate their efforts so far this season.

    The defending champions are currently topping the log with 16 points from seven matches played so far.

    “I am here on behalf of the new executive committee and entire supporters of the club to come and show our appreciation for your efforts so far in the league. We are very proud of you and we hope you will continue with this form till the end of the season. We will do more for you if you win the league at the end of the season,” chairman of Kano Pillars fans club, Bashir Idris Mua’zu.

    “We will continue to give you all necessary support in your quest to retain the title which is the prayer of every Kano Pillars supporters. And I believe Insha Allah you will deliver.” The club secretary, Bashari Ahmed Maizare thanks the fans club executive for their support to the team. “This is special because the supporters clubs are only known for clapping and singing during matches but in a situation where the fans club is now giving money to the players is commendable. The players and the club’s officials appreciate this and we thank Mua’zu and his new executive for their kind gesture.”

  • Power sector reform to boost Nigeria’s growth, says IMF

    Power sector reform to boost Nigeria’s growth, says IMF

    Implementation of the power sector reform and rebound from floods would boost Nigeria’s growth this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

    The Fund, which said this in the latest edition of its World Economic Outlook (WEO), also projected a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6.7 per cent and 6.9 per cent for the country in 2013 and 2014.

    Nigeria’s GDP is projected to be seven per cent this year. The country had recorded a GDP growth of 10.3 per cent, 10.6 per cent, 5.4 per cent, 6.2 per cent, 7 per cent, six per cent, 7 per cent, 7.4 per cent, 7.4 per cent and 6.5 per cent in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

    Historically, from 2005 until 2012, Nigeria’s GDP growth rate averaged 6.8 per cent reaching an all-time high of 8.6 per cent in December of 2010 and a record low of 4.5 per cent in March of 2009. The GDP growth rate provides an aggregated measure of changes in value of the goods and services produced by an economy.

    About $2.23 billion revenue is expected by the Federal Government from the sale of the 15 Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) assets. The funds are expected to be pumped into major infrastructure in the country, including the power sector. Once the power issue is resolved, more economic activities will spring up and this will translate to an increase in the county’s GDP.

    Meanwhile, the Fund also forecast a GDP growth of 5.5 per cent and six per cent for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2013 and 2014. Specifically, it expects SSA to continue growing at a strong pace during 2013–14, with both resource-rich and lower-income economies benefiting from robust domestic demand.

    The IMF, however, noted: “The external environment is the main source of risks to growth, particularly for middle income and mineral-exporting economies. Given the still-uncertain global environment, countries whose policy buffers are thin and where growth is strong should seek to rebuild fiscal positions without undermining productive investment.

    “Driven largely by domestic momentum in private consumption and investment, as well as exports, sub-

    Saharan Africa experienced robust growth in 2012, continuing a long trend of expansion only briefly interrupted in 2009. At 4¾ per cent, regional GDP growth was slightly lower than forecast in the

    “October 2012 WEO, reflecting mainly the impact of floods on oil and non-oil output in Nigeria and labour stoppages in South Africa.”

    Besides, it observed that headline growth in SSA in 2012 was visibly affected by the interruption of oil exports from South Sudan. The Fund added: “Activity in Mali and Guinea-Bissau was adversely affected by civil conflict; in Mali, 400,000 people have been displaced, half of whom fled to neighbouring countries. On the positive side, Angolanoil production strengthened, and Côte d’Ivoire experienced a sharp rebound in economic activity after the election-related disruptions of 2011.

    “Growth is projected to reach 5½ per cent in 2013, only marginally lower than forecast in the October2012 WEO. The generally strong performance is based on a significant extent on ongoing investment in infrastructure and productive capacity, continuing robust consumption, and the activation of new capacity in extractive sectors.

    The IMF noted that inflation in the region moderated from 10 per cent at the end of 2011 to less than eight per cent at the end of 2012, a trend expected to continue, absent new fuel and food price shocks. It said: ”The improvement in 2012 was particularly marked in eastern Africa, owing to monetary policy tightening and lower food prices associated with a recovery in local food production.

     

    “Some temporary headwinds to these trends have been observed in countries reforming energy subsidies, where the price level has shown one-time increases (Nigeria), and in Malawi, which has experienced some pass-through from depreciation. In sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, inflation is projected to fall further to 7 percent in 2013.”

    Noting that global economic prospects have improved again but the road to recovery in the

    advanced economies will remain bumpy, the IMF said world output growth is forecast to reach

    3¼ per cent in 2013 and 4 per cent in 2014. “In advanced economies, activity is expected to gradually

    accelerate, starting in the second half of 2013. Private demand appears increasingly robust in the United

    States but still very sluggish in the euro area. In emerging market and developing economies, activity has already picked up steam,” it added.

     

  • Two firms partner to boost power supply

    Two firms partner to boost power supply

    Generator manufacturer Cummins Incorporated and United Kingdom (UK) based Gentec are involved in a joint venture business in Nigeria, it was learnt yesterday.

    They are to design, operate and maintain gas power plants.

    “Cummins partner in this new business venture is Gentec, a specialist UK based power plant constructor and operator, which has successfully built turnkey and independent power producer (IPP) plants powered by class leading Cummins gas generators in Asia, Europe and Africa”, the firm said in a statement.

    Gentec’s Chairman Mr. Dipi Khilnani said: “With over a million hours of operating experience with Cummins gas generator sets in Nigeria, we are confident that we have the right product and the right capability to meet the needs of Nigerian Industry.”

    He added that gas power delivers significant operational savings in these difficult economic times.

    The new venture called Cummins Energy Solutions Nigeria Limited (CESN), according to the partners, is set to capitalise on Nigeria’s growing network of natural gas distribution. This fuel source will facilitate the construction of distributed power plants typically in the two megawatts (MW) to 50 MW range to meet a wide spectrum of industrial and IPP customers . CESN will also introduce smaller gas powered solutions from 40Kva to 1MW to enter into the SME segment.

    “This new venture further illustrates Cummins’ commitment to Nigeria and this business will be an important vehicle to contribute towards reducing Nigeria’s critical power deficit,” said Satish Jayaram, the Director of Power Generation for Cummins Africa.

    “The new venture will harness the strengths of Cummins’ global expertise and its industry leading efficient gas technologies with Gentec’s proven power plant project implementation expertise in emerging markets. This strategic investment is testimony of Cummins’ vision and strategy to accelerate our presence and investments in Africa,” Jayaram added.

  • Boost for reading culture in Kwara

    Boost for reading culture in Kwara

    Governor’s wife inaugurates reading club

    640 students participate

     

    Bothered by the increasing rate at which students lack interest in reading, the wife of the Kwara State governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, has said that one of the ways through which the ugly trend could be reversed is genuine commitment, on the part of parents and teachers. They are to ensure the revival of reading culture in schools, she said.

    Describing reading as the gateway to learning without which children cannot access a broad and balanced education; Mrs Ahmed noted that in today’s literate world, academic success, securing employment and personal autonomy depend on reading and writing proficiency.

    “Reading is a skill that begets many other skills because it constitutes a key part of our capability to increase our capacity,” she said.

    Mrs. Ahmed spoke while addressing secondary school students from 64 public schools in Kwara State who converged on Ilorin, the state capital, for the inauguration of “LEAH Reading Club.”

    About 640 students, with 10 from each school, were drawn from the 16 local government areas.

    While inaugurating the LEAH Reading Club, Mrs. Ahmed said that the education desk of her pet project-LEAH Charity Foundation-would not relent in ensuring that students in the state make reading their hobby.

    Continuing, she said: “The LEAH Reading Club has a vision of building the capacity of our children to read, enjoy reading and apply what they learnt from every book they read to the challenges of everyday life.”

    Represented by her Special Assistant, Administration and Strategy, Mr. Lanre Bello, Mrs. Ahmed said that reading would boost intellectual empowerment of the students, saying that it was a collective responsibility of government and stakeholders to ensure its workability.

    She noted that a good instructional approach will not produce the desired result without a knowledgeable teacher. Teaching reading is a job for experts. Learning to read is a complex linguistic task which is, in itself taxing. For many children, it requires efforts and incremental skill development.

    “Teaching reading requires thorough knowledge or skill acquired through focused study and supervised practice. It is indisputable that classroom instruction works more than any other factor towards ameliorating reading problems.

    “Therefore, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive re-design of reading instruction for the teacher. It is very vital to improve classroom reading instruction.

    “We have a joint responsibility to nurture them into responsible adulthood, to help them open up their minds and hearts to new ideas through books,” she said.

    Mrs Ahmed appealed to the principals of the pilot schools to collaborate with her foundation in ensuring the success of the programme.

    Her words: “It is on this background that I urge all principals and teachers who are in charge of the pilot schools to kindly work with the foundation in ensuring that we lay a proper foundation for the future of our children.

    “We shall discover in due course that this investment is worth every sacrifice that we have made on it. We will work with schools and the ministry of education to ensure proper monitoring of the activities of the club in order to fulfill the goals with which we set them up. I would also like to advise our children to be good representatives of the mission, showing all their peers why they must join the club.

    “The LEAH Reading Club has a vision of building the capacity of our children to read, enjoy reading and apply what they learnt from every book they read to the challenges of everyday life. We want them to see the reading club as a safe place to learn, exchange ideas as well as nurture their public speaking skills.”

    Earlier, the Administrator of LEAH Charity Foundation, Mrs. Bukola Akinleye said the foundation was resolved to endear “our young ones to reading at this early stage so that it will be part of them as they grow up.

    “As it is known the world over, the basic contents of knowledge are best kept in durable archive books. This underscores the importance of books in the pursuit of life.

    “During the reading camp and competition, the foundation hosted school students. The admirable performance of the participants made it imperative for the foundation to make books accessible to schools as the foundation can afford, so as to endear students to reading and stimulate reading interest in them,” she said.

  • NPFL win boost for ACL — Emordi

    NPFL win boost for ACL — Emordi

    Enugu Rangers’ manager, Okey Emordi has said his side’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) opening victory against oriental foes, Enyimba is a morale booster for their continental challenge at Vital’O of Burundi in Bujumbura.

    Bitrus Dada’s 26th minute goal proved decisive to give the Coal City side the maximum points at the start of the 2012/13 NPFL season at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu on Saturday.

    Emordi, who admitted his wards’ opponents, Enyimba did not disappoint however was happy to escape the Aba-based side’s tough scare with a win.

    “I’m happy we grabbed the three points. Everything didn’t work out as planned, there is still work to be done. Enyimba are good side, I’ve my deep respect for them. They fought hard for the equaliser but it fell flat, but they remain a tough side.

    “The victory is a morale booster to our CAF Champions League match at the Vital’O of Burundi next weekend. We’ll take the season’s opening victory against Enyimba to Vital’O in Bujumbura and ensure we record another emphatic win,” said the former Enyimba manager to supersport.com.

    Rangers secured passage to the first round of Africa’s elite club competition courtesy of a walk-over against Sporting Do Principe of Sao Tome & Principe in the preliminary round in Enugu.

    The Flying Antelopes will travel to Bujumbura, Burundi on the weekend of March 15, 16 and 17 to confront Vital’O while the reverse fixture holds in Enugu, Nigeria in two weeks.

  • NAPE to govt: Execute policies to boost oil and gas

    NAPE to govt: Execute policies to boost oil and gas

    The Federal Government has been urged to implement meaningful policies that would boost oil and gas operations in the country Speaking during the monthly technical meeting of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), in Lagos, the Managing Director, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited, Austin Avuru, said the biggest problem facing the industry is that the government had treated policies as events, when policy formulation should rather be a process.

    He said if industry policies are effectively implemented, the oil and gas industry would remain active and useful to the entire economy, harness infrastructural development, open up avenues for job creation as well as streamline sources of revenue for the government.

    Some industry players noted that there are good policies in place but blamed the government for not doing enough to ensure effective implementation of these policies.

    Avuru, who delivered a lecture entitled: Policy and activity in the Nigerian petroleum sector, said: “We treat policies as an event, where as there are departments of the government whose jobs everyday is to look at these policies and their application on a continuous basis and their relevance. Any one that is not relevant it is their daily job to look at how changes would be made to those ones.

    “It is not how much complicated the policies are, it is the fact that we are not engaging policies with the attendant result of those policies and then the application of those policies when changes ought to occur. These are the things that should be a continuous business of the government and policy makers.”

    Avuru said that the government has not done a good job of managing the nature-given wealth over the past 50 years. “We have laboured to share rather than create, and even in sharing we have been found wanting. The parlous state of our economy today only summarises the fact that we have, so far squandered our riches,” he added.

    He said efficient management of a rent economy such as Nigeria requires a consistency of disciplined and visionary leaderships, capable of applying the ample rent so collected to fund a long-term programme of massive education of the citizenry, provision of quality healthcare and a solid infrastructure backbone as well as guaranteeing security of lives and property.

    He noted that a healthy, well educated citizenry operating under a conducive environment would re-generate a secondary economy that would gainfully engage the rest of the population.

    The President of NAPE, George Osahon agreed that policy drives the oil and gas industry. He said without laws, there would be no operations. “It is the law that drives what we are doing, so it is very technical,” he said.

    He however, said there was nothing wrong with what the government has done. The government, he said, had good intentions but some of the policies that were put in place had not advanced the course they had set for themselves.

    He recalled that the government had established the indigenous proprietorship programme and had also changed some aspects of the laws with the policy of the current time. Moreso, the government had given out marginal fields to some companies as independent operators in the industry many years ago.

    On potentials for shale gas, Osahon said that Nigeria has shale gas that can be exploited but the cost of exploiting one barrel of shale oil is so high compared with one barrel of conventional oil.

    According to him, conventional oil is much cheaper than shale oil. He said: “We have to explore the cheaper one first before we go to the more expensive one.”

    He said that the discovery of shale gas is all over the world, adding the US is the one that is actively producing its shale gas but not the only one that has it. He said that anything that happens in any part of the world relating to energy would affect the global energy sector.

    “There is nothing worrisome about what is happening. What we need to do is to look at what is happening and change style if so required, if we must continue to be relevant in the energy sector,” he said.

     

  • Police Games to boost Inter-agency relationship

    Police Games to boost Inter-agency relationship

    The Nigeria Police Force has said that the 10th biennial Police Games going on in Port Harcourt will boost its relationship with other security agencies in the country.

    The Police PPRO, Frank Mbah told SportingLife that the Police want to use this game to deepen their relationship with other agencies in order to help improve crime fighting in the country.

    “Crime fighting today has gone beyond national boundaries. We have challenges that are trans-boundary in nature. We also want to use this opportunity to deepen our relationship with them.

    “We will be having our colleagues from the military. The Nigerian Army has confirmed participation, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air force too. We are also expecting personnel from the Civil Defence, the Nigerian Immigration Service and Customs.

    “They will be participating in the mixed relay, tug-of-war and some other sports.

    “In all these, we try to deepen our relationship, strengthen inter-agency relationship, cooperation and collaboration to build for Nigeria officers that are united and that will give Nigeria a united front and also produce the important synergy for crime fighting.”

    On the issue of security challenges due to the games, he noted that everything necessary has been done to ensure that every other part of the nation is well covered while the police converge in Port Harcourt.

    “The security sub-committee has put adequate measures in place. The waterways are effectively being manned by the Marine Police. We may have several of us here in Port Harcourt now but I can assure you that not only have we put adequate measures in place to ensure a hitch-free event here, we have also put adequate arrangement in other parts of the country to ensure that hoodlums don’t take over those places because the officers and men of the Nigeria Police are converging in Port Harcourt. So they don’t come in and commit havoc.

    “We are not leaving our back unwatched. We are not leaving our track unmanned. We are not leaving any Police Command without adequate security provision”, he stated.

    The games kick off this morning at the Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex.