The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Committee

  • Ex-Kogi speaker heads Agric Committee

    Kogi State House of Assembly former Speaker Abdullahi Bello now heads the Agric Committee, as the Assembly announces the reconstitution of the 25 standing committees.

    The Speaker, Momohjimoh Lawal, last week announced the dissolution of the standing committees to pave the way for the injection of new people into the committees.

    The decision is one of the actions taken by the new leadership of the Assembly. The crisis in the House was resolved last year, which led to the resignation of the former Speaker.

    In the other reconstituted committees, the Majority Leader, Yakubu Yunusa, heads the Business and Rules Committee; Christopher Atule heads the Works and Housing Committee; Paul Gowon heads the Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Committee; Gabriel Daudu heads the Finance and Appropriation Committee; while the only female lawmaker, Habiba Deen, heads the Committee on Women Affairs.

     

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt floats committee to pay electricity workers

    The lingering crisis between the Federal Government and electricity workers may soon come to an end, as the government has set up a committee to pay members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) their terminal benefits.

    Workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) under the aegis of NUEE have been quarrelling with the government over their severance package following the privatisation of the company.

    The Minister of State for Power, Hajia Zainab Kuchi, said at the inauguration of the committee, that the team would be headed by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mr Godknows Igali.

    The Minister told The Nation that the committee is to determine the correct number of workers affected and obtain their bio-data. It is also saddled with the responsibility of determining components of staff entitlements, including gratuity, pension, and repatriation.

    It is also to conduct verification of affected staff with bio-metrics to ensure that authentic beneficiaries obtained 10 digits Nigerian Uniform Bank Account Number for each worker.

    Representatives of the ministries of Finance, Labour and Bureau of Public Enterprise are members of the committee.

    Others  are representatives of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation, Pension Commission, PHCN, NUEE, Electricity and Allied Companies, Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company, and Alexander Forbes Consulting.

    The terms of reference also include computations of audit by a team from the Auditor-General’s Office and payments to be made to the verified beneficiaries by the Accountant-General’s Office.

    The committee is expected to present progress report and status of the payments to the vice-president through the Ministry of Power as well as address other related concerns of the government and the union to ensure amicable conclusion of the exercise.

    Kuchi said the committee was expected to complete its assignment within three weeks.

    She said that because of the importance of the committee, members must not be below the level of deputy director.

    According to her, negotiations carried out by the government, labour and other stakeholders led to the signing of the December 11, 2012, agreement.

    Kuchi said the agreement outlined the benefits to be paid to the union and also envisaged vital requirements for efficient workforce that would make the sector perform optimally.

    The dispute between the government and union lingered for two years before the signing of the agreement.

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity Chief Emeka Wogu, told The Nation that the agreement was the final progress made by the government and the labour union.

    Wogu promised that the government would not short-change the union, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was concerned about the workers’ plight.

     

     

     

     

  • Oyo gets land committee

    The Oyo State Government has inaugurated a committee that will identify suitable land for various investments across the state.

    The 10-man committee is headed by Mr. Tayo Oyetunji, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Lands.

    It comprises two representatives from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey and a representative each from the Surveyor-General’s Office and the ministries of Physical Planning and Urban Development; Culture and Tourism; Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development; and Justice.

    The Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Survey, Bimbo Kolade, said the committee would identify land in various locations, which can be acquired by the government and allocated to investors.

    Kolade said the government is determined to maximise the state’s resources and improve its economy.

    He urged members of the committee to be professional and thorough in the discharge of their duty.

    The committee is expected to submit its report in three months.

    Last month, the state offered generous land discounts to investors.

  • Aregbesola congratulates NGE new executive committee

    Aregbesola congratulates NGE new executive committee

    The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has sent a congratulatory message to the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) for a successful transfer of power to a new executive council.

    In a statement by the Director of the Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said the choice of Mr. Adesina by the body was a wise, informed and progressive one.

    Aregbesola said the smooth transfer of power from one executive to another best exemplifies true democratic system that respects and recognises people’s choice.

    He said by so doing, the media top brass have set example for the country on the manner af power transfer devoid of rancour.

    The governor noted that at all circumstances, the NGE must make sure that the media does not lose focus of its primary responsibilities to all in the society.

    He said: “I congratulate the Nigerian Guild of Editors for the successful transfer of power to a newly elected officers.

    “I also congratulate Mr. Femi Adesina, who emerged as the new chairman of the association. His choice is a well-informed one.

    “As a seasoned journalist and administrator, who rose to the pinnacle of his journalistic career as editor of one of the frontline newspapers in the country, I have strong conviction that his choice will help the NGE in no small measures with his wealth of experience.

    “Under the new executive, it is our hope that the media organisations in Nigeria will redouble their efforts towards discharging their primary responsibilities without fear or favour, let or hindrance and with undiluted objectivity.”

  • Bankers’ Committee to engage NCC on cash-less policy

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido has said that the Bankers’ Committee is currently working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other service providers to ensure that some of the challenges of cash-less policy are addressed.

    Sanusi said this at the fourth annual investors’ forum organised by Renaissance Capital (RenCap) in Lagos. The CBN governor expressed satisfaction with the level of progress made on the cashless policy.

    “The numbers done in terms of Points of Sale (PoS), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are very remarkable. We started last year with 5000 PoS machines, we ended the year with 165,000 PoS machines. Mobile banking for example, in January was doing N4 million per month, by December last year, it went up to N8 billion. It is moving up and we hope it continues,” he added.

    Sanusi stressed that some of the challenges confronted by the policy had to do with telecommunication. He said: “If you want to move data for example, you need more bandwidth. It is not enough to have PoS terminals, or to have ATMs, there is need to expand the bandwidth. There are operational issues, simple things such as: my name is Mohammed Michael in one bank and there is Michael Mohammed in another bank, you will be amazed that you do a transaction on the PoS and you have operational issues because the name doesn’t match. So these are all small things that we discovered. We can say that we are not where we want to be, but definitely we are inching closer and we will get there”.

  • Committee on corporate governance constituted

    The Federal Government has inaugurated the  Steering Committee for the development of the country’s National Code of Corporate Governance.

    The committee has six months to submit its report.

    Speaking during the inauguration in Abuja, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said the Committee would develop a unified Code of Corporate Governance that would enable the FRC to act as the national coordinating body for corporate governance issues.

    He said: “It will also promote the highest standards of corporate governance principles and practices while encouraging sound systems of internal control and information systems control to safeguard stakeholders’ investment and assets of public interest entities, among other things.

    “The need for a comprehensive and mandatory National Corporate Governance Code had become imperative given the multiplicity of Corporate Governance Codes in the country, this new initiative would instill the culture of transparency, accountability and improve the country’s Doing Business Ranking.

    “I must say that this administration views the issuance of a National Code of Corporate Governance as a very important deliverable that can be used to enhance our national competitiveness and address some socio-economic issues, including corruption and lack of independence.

    “It is also an opportunity to raise the bar in the public and private sectors and to ensure that there are stiff penalties and that directors are personally liable for their actions and inactions.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Memo to Senate constitution review committee

    Memo to Senate constitution review committee

    We say no to autonomy for local councils. We also wonder at the apparent zeal to create more states despite prevailing realities. If our distinguished senators insist on autonomy for local councils as a third tier of government, let the states be abolished.

    Enlightened opinion has rejected attempts by our legislators to amend a fundamental document guiding their operations. Such exercise should be more appropriately handled by an independent ad-hoc body so constituted. Only such a detached assembly can produce a thorough, dispassionate and enduring constitution. The Nigerian state glaringly slides downwards as it now exhausts 70% of its annual budget on recurrent expenditure, a clearly unsustainable profligacy. For a nation dangerously tottering on the brink, autonomy for local councils, creation of additional states, should only be treated as incidentals after much more critical and urgent agenda. Our distinguished senators need to rise above narrow partisan interests to produce a befitting document.

    The only genuine reason for constitutional review now is to redefine our nationhood, so that a proper nation-state can evolve to give Nigerians hope. We want devolution of power back to the regions, or zones, as it was in the First Republic. We want to control our own resources, insignificant as they may be. We want to determine our own future within the context of a properly structured federation. In short, we want a truly peoples’ constitution, so that the Nigerian project can stand. Only our elite who earn their living directly from government may be pretending all is well, when the house has all but collapsed.

    A properly structured federation cannot tolerate the cynical, derogatory six-zone imposition which the committee has assumed as sacrosanct. Nigeria consists of over 250 ethnic nationalities. The southern minorities herded into the so-called south-south zone number over 100, with as many distinct cultures and languages. If, for example, Izon land were geographically contiguous, nothing prevents Nigeria’s 4th largest ethnic group from having its zone. The Mid-West Region stood on its own in the First Republic. It can do so now. So also can the minorities of the former Eastern Region. Your amendment should, therefore, incorporate a minimum of five regions from southern Nigeria alone, please.

    The argument between indigene and resident should never arise. The distinction between them is clear and should be left as already constitutionally provided for. Our worry is that abrogating one for the other suggests a subtle attempt to impose unitary government through the back door. A multiethnic secular state should forever abhor and reject the unitary system of government. Let the review committee prove its critics wrong. We plead with our distinguished Senators to strive to let the authentic wish of the people prevail, so that Nigeria can celebrate her centenary in one piece, and in peace.

    John Ingwu,

    4, Winners Way,

    Calabar, Cross River State

     

  • NPL names Sport Editor of The Nation, Ojeikere in 3-man committee

    THE BOARD of the Nigeria Premier League rose on Monday from an emergency meeting in Abuja, calling off the proposed Annual General Meeting of the Board slated to hold in Abuja today as directed by the NFF, and also instructing the Chairman of the League Board Rumson Baribote to step aside pending when a three-man investigation panel they set up to look at the crisis that engulfed the League last week will submit its report.

    According to the communiqué the members of the Committee will include Leye Adepoju, an Executive Committee member of the NFF, Ade Ojeikere, Sports Editor, The Nation/SportingLife and a representative of the League clubs. The committee has three weeks to submit its report.

    The NPL said they have already sent in their technical report to the NFF Board, and has communicated the date of the kick-off of the 2012/2013 League season. They commended the NFF for their timely intervention in the crisis that erupted last week, and also appreciated the Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports commission for ensuring that peace reigns in the League Board. They wished the NFF good luck in their Annual General Assembly holding in Port Harcourt this weekend.

  • FG inaugurates committee to evaluate foreign certificates

    FG inaugurates committee to evaluate foreign certificates

    The Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja inaugurated a committee to assess the quality of qualifications obtained from overseas.

    The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, said on the occasion that the committee became necessary to assess such qualifications for employment and admission purposes.

    She recalled that the Federal Government had in 1979 initiated a similar committee, the National Standing Committee, when many Nigerians were sponsored to eastern European countries to acquire degrees and diplomas.

    “The need to assess the quality of foreign qualifications obtained by Nigerians therefore arose,’’ she said.

    She said that due to paucity of funds, the ministry had been unable to anchor the programme for a long time as the last one was held in 2002.

    She expressed the hope that the committee would be diligent as its decisions would be vital to the well-being and future of those who acquired the qualifications and certificates.

    The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. McJohn Nwaobiala, said the importance of ensuring quality and standards in the sector could not be over-emphasised.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that membership of the committee is drawn from more than 30 educational bodies.

     

  • Governors set up security committee

    THE Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) rose from a meeting on Wednesday, condemning the spate of violence in Borno and Kaduna states.

    It mandated its security committee to begin work on seeking a solution to the situation.

    The governors met at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja.

    According to Governor Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), who is also the Chairman of the Forum, the recurrent security situation was deliberated upon extensively.

    He said: “ The Forum extensively deliberated on the recurrent insecurity in the country and expressed deep regret over the recent acts of violence in Borno and Kaduna states.

    “It mandated the security committee to begin work immediately and find a lasting solution.”

    The communique, read by Amaechi expressed deep concern over the plane crash involving Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai, who is receiving treatment in Germany.

    They said the situation in the aviation sector required a holistic approach, hence the need to hold talks with stakeholders to seek ways of addressing the situation.

    He said: “Upon comprehensive discussion on the present state of the aviation industry, members of the Forum observed that there is need for a holistic approach to arrest the dwindling state of the sector and resolved to engage all stakeholders at the national level to address this challenge.”

    On efforts to eradicate polio, Amaechi stated that the Forum reiterated the need for renewed commitment to eradicate the scourge.

    “The Forum hails the on-going efforts of members in their states in the past six months and reiterates the need for renewed commitment to eradicating polio by December next year as agreed at its previous meeting,” he said.

    The Forum also congratulated Ondo State Governor Dr. Olusegun Mimiko on his re-election.