The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EU

  • Nigeria truly on path to free, fair elections in 2019, says Presidency

    Nigeria truly on path to free, fair elections in 2019, says Presidency

    *2019 elections will be free, fair, says Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday noted that the United Nation’s prediction that 2019 elections in Nigeria will be credible and violent free is another indication of the world’s confidence in Nigeria’s current administration.

    Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Monday, a day after a United Nations representative made the prediction in a Channels TV interview, Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, expressed pleasure at the world body’s accurate observation of the trends in President Buhari’s government, which could only lead down the path of free and fair elections come 2019.

    He said “The Buhari government doesn’t believe in cheap propaganda. It’s not about responding to the attacks, false allegations and insinuations of the PDP or of the still very active media machinery of the previous government.

    “We believe in taking active steps to ensure that the future of Nigeria is better than it is today and we are glad to see that the United Nations has acknowledged this.” he added

    During the Channels TV interview, Head of UN Office for West Africa, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambers, had pointed out the credible and peaceful local elections that have so far taken place in different states across Nigeria, and used this as one of the indices to judge what to expect for the presidential elections in 2019.

    “Under the government of President Buhari, a number of credible elections have been conducted in states and local governments across Nigeria and, so far, there has been no cause for fear or worry,” the SSA Media said.

    He added that the 2015 elections which saw the historic election of President Buhari – the first time in Nigeria and one of the rare occasions in Africa when an incumbent was soundly defeated in an election – were credible simply because of the presence and diligence of Professor Attahiru Jega.

    “At one of its meetings, the Council of States last year put on record the appreciation of the nation for the conduct of the 2015 elections and commended the leadership of Professor Attahiru Jega as Chairman of the Commission for bringing that about.

    “In addition to the steadfastness of the INEC, the ECOWAS, AU, EU, UN and other international bodies also had to be on guard to ensure that there was no opportunity for the kind of foolishness we saw at the INEC collation center from people in the circle of power to flourish,” Malam Garba said.

    “But, in 2019, the international community will have nothing to fear, and I am happy that the UN can already sense that several months in advance.”  he said

  • EU backs immunisation in 23 states, FCT with N3.8b

    EU backs immunisation in 23 states, FCT with N3.8b

    The European Union (EU) has provided an additional N3.8 billion to support the Federal Government’s immunisation programme in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    This is as EU urged states to make adequate allocation in the 2018 budget to cover immunisation programme.

    Speaking yesterday at the commissioning and handing of EU-Sign works and supplies at the Primary Health Care Centre, GUI, Abuja, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and Economic Community of west African States (ECOWAS), Mr. Ketil Karlsen, said the fund was also to strengthen primary healthcare under its seven-year project, Support to Immunisation Governance in Nigeria (EU-SIGN)  (2011-2018) initiative.

    The project is in collaboration  with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
    Before the establishment of the Gui NPHCDA, which was commissioned yesterday, the resident of the community goes as far as 20 kilometer to get healthcare.

    Karlsen said: “The amount was used to fund the procurement of vehicles and solar refrigerators as well as the construction and renovation of health facilities and cold stores in 23 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.”

    Beyond the financial assistance, he said EU “is also concerned about the governance and management of health service delivery and the utilisation of available budgets in a transparent and accountable manner”.

    He said even if the EU is to provide assistance in this area, “but the main responsibility lies with the Federal, state and local government authorities”.

    On the need for states to make adequate budget for  immunisation, the envoy said: “It is, therefore, particularly important for the states and local governments to make adequate and predictable allocations in their annual budgets for recurrent immunisation costs for vaccine distribution, outreaches, regular power supply to the health facilities  as well as staffing these facilities with qualified personnel.”

    Executive Director of  NPHCDA Dr. Faisal Shuaib asked for continuous support from the EU, stressing that the country’s health system is not yet there.

    “I wish to draw the attention of the EU to the fact that Nigeria health system, especially the routine immunisation system is not there yet. With the recent outcome of the MICS and survey 2016, we still have a long way to go, especially now that the country faces economic challenges. Your further support for the continuous improvement of this system will come in handy,” he said.

    The 23 states are: Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, FCT, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Osu , Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

     

     

  • Forbes names Merkel as world’s most powerful woman for 7th time

    Forbes names Merkel as world’s most powerful woman for 7th time

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named the world’s most powerful woman for the seventh time in a row by Forbes magazine, the publication announced on Thursday.

    “Merkel this year won a hard-fought election that saw the far-right Alternative for Germany party creep into the Bundestag.

    “She’ll have to continue to hold tight to the EU rudder as she faces oncoming storms from Brexit and the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe,” Forbes said in a statement.

    British Prime Minister, Theresa May, took second place in the ranking, while Hillary Clinton, who was ranked the world’s second-most powerful woman in 2016, fell to 63rd place after her election defeat to U.S. President Donald Trump.

    Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who has been serving as a White House advisor in his administration, ranked 19th on the list, while the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, came in 43rd.

    Melinda Gates of the Gates Foundation, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Mary Barra, the head of General Motors, took third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.

    NAN

  • EU gives N3.8billion to support immunisation in 23 states, FCT

    EU gives N3.8billion to support immunisation in 23 states, FCT

    The European Union (EU) has provided an additional N3.8 billion to support the Nigerian government’s immunization programme in 23 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    This is as EU challenge states to make adequate allocation in the 2018 budget to cover immunization programme.

    Speaking yesterday at the commissioning and handing over ceremony of EU-Sign works and supplies, at Primary Health Care Centre, GUI, Abuja, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Ketil Karlsen said the fund was also to strengthen primary healthcare under it’s 7-year project Support to Immunization Governance in Nigeria (EU-SIGN)  (2011-2018) initiative.

    The project is in collaboration  with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). Dr. Ibrahim Yisa is the Team leader of the EU-SIGN project in Nigeria.

    Before the establishment of the Gui NPHCDA, the residents of the community went as far as 20 kilometers to get healthcare.

    Ambassador Karlsen said N3.8 billion support “was used to fund the procurement of vehicles and solar refrigerators as well as the construction and renovation of health facilities and cold stores in 23 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.”

    Beyond the financial assistance he said EU “is also concerned about the governance and management of health service delivery and the utilization of available budgets in a transparent and accountable manner.”

    Even if EU is to provide assistance in this area, he said, “ but the main responsibility lies with the Federal State and Local Government authorities. “

    On the need for states to make adequate budget for  immunisation, the Envoy said, “ it is therefore particularly important for the states and Local Government make adequate and predictable allocation in their annual budges for recurrent immunization costs for vaccine distribution, outreaches, regular power supply to the health facilities  as well as staffing these facilities with qualified personnel.”

  • EU allocates €430m for peace, security in Africa, says envoy

    EU allocates €430m for peace, security in Africa, says envoy

    The European Union (EU) has said it has allocated 430 million euros to security and peace building in Africa from 2014 to 2020.

    EU Deputy Head of Delegation in Nigeria and ECOWAS Richard Young said the continent was plagued by a number of complex security challenges, which were intertwined with the EU-owned security.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja at a peace and security conference organised by EU and Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR).

    It is to address issues at the EU-African Union Summit to be held between November 29 and 30 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire

    Young said: “The cost of conflicts around the world is put at approximately 14.3 billion dollars, which is about 50 per cent of the world GDP. This is enormous.

    “If you look at Africa, which contributes about 60 per cent to the world population, it has more than one third of the global conflict.

    “We contested with peace and security challenges in Africa. Of course, the EU has been responding to this. A lot has been committed to the issue of security and defence by the EU.”

    The envoy said the EU had since 2003 given 2.6 billion euro to support peace and security operations in Africa.

    “We have earmarked 430 million euros to peace and security in Africa from 2014 to 2020.

    “The EU is an all-weather friend in Africa and we are ready to work closely and support Africa in dealing with the issue of peace and security issue.”

     

     

  • EU denies favouring Buhari during 2015 Presidential election

    EU denies favouring Buhari during 2015 Presidential election

    The European Union ( EU ) has denied favouring President Muhammadu Buhari above other candidates during the 2015 Presidential Elections in Nigeria.

    Santiago Fisas, the former Chief Observer of the 2015 EU Election Observation Mission ( EU EOM), and Member of the European Parliament,  said this in Abuja on Sunday while making clarification on EU assessment of the 2015 Elections.

    Fisas said that the EU was more interested in deepening democracy and the electoral process than who emerged as the President.

    “The international community is not in favour of any candidate above others,’’ he said.

    He, however, commended former President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting defeat and sacrificing his personal ambition for the interest of Nigerians.

    “The election was done in a proper way and I praise former President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting defeat.

    “I think it has proved that he is a man of the state, that he put the interest of Nigeria before his own interest.

    “That is an example in Nigeria and for many countries in Africa to follow, he accepted that he lost election to another party’’, he said.

    Fisas said that the mission was in Nigeria to assess the present electoral reform process and the extent to which previous EU Election Observation Mission recommendations had been addressed,

    He commended the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for what it described as its increasing initiatives, including an improved continuous voter registration and the merging of accreditation and voting process for off-cycle elections.

    The Mission Head, however, identified areas of failures which he said required urgent attention.

    The areas according to him, include, provisions empowering INEC to sanction campaign violations, increase transparency in the publication of results and reinforce policies to better integrate women and youths into political life.

    “We know to run for election in Nigeria is quite expensive. We also know that campaign is costly so I believe that political parties should help women in campaigning.

    “It is very important to promote the participation of women in politics from the local election.

    “Security is important and the people must be free to go to vote.

    “It is important that Nigeria merge the accreditation and voting on the same moment, this is important for the comfort of the people,’’ he added.

    He also advised political parties to ensure internal democracy by ensuring that their primaries were done in a democratic way,

    According to him, it is important to know the background of the candidates and be sure they are the right people to run for election

    He commended the National Assembly for the progress made so far in constitutional and electoral amendment.

    He, however, called for expedited action of the amendment process, noting “for election reform to be effective, amendments need to be adopted as soon as possible’’.

     

    Fisas said that there was the need for the implementation to start well before 2019 general election.

     

    Fisas also harped on the need for an inclusive, transparent and credible election, to ensure public and political confidence.

     

    This according to him is crucial for Nigeria’s democracy. (NAN)

  • EU foreign ministers signal steadfast support for Iran nuclear deal

    EU foreign ministers signal steadfast support for Iran nuclear deal

    Several Foreign Ministers of the European Union ( EU ) on Monday signalled their resolve to keep the Iran nuclear deal intact after U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt on U.S. support for the deal.

    “The EU does not see any alternatives to the existing deal,’’ foreign ministers said at the sidelines of a meeting in Luxembourg, after Trump refused to certify the deal on Friday, throwing continued U.S. support for it into question.

    However, EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini has said she is not considering alternatives.

    “I’m not considering alternatives, we do not expect the deal to be finished, we expect the deal to be preserved, continued to be implemented by all sides.

    “This is a strong European Union( EU ) commitment,’’ Mogherini said.

    While Trump’s announcement does not mean that the U.S. has withdrawn from the agreement, it is now up to the U.S. Congress to decide if sanctions on Iran will be reintroduced, which would put the deal at risk.

    “We believe that it is wrong to destroy the agreement,’’ German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel noted.

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that “an act of rupture would be extremely damaging.”

    He noted, however, that there were issues that remained to be discussed with Iran such as its ballistic programme and the way the country behaves in regional issues.

    NAN

  • Nigeria, EU, others consolidate progress on trade facilitation

    Nigeria, EU, others consolidate progress on trade facilitation

    Nigeria, Brazil, China, the European Union (EU) and other leading economic powers announced that they have made tremendous progress on investment facilitation initiative for development.

    The group made this known in Marrakech, Morocco, during the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Mini-Ministerial meeting.

    In a breakthrough for Nigeria, the group of World Trade Organisation (WTO) Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development (FIFD) pledged support for the success of the High-Level Investment Forum scheduled to hold in Abuja from November 3- 4.

    The Forum will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) Commission in partnership with FIFD.

    In a statement, the Communication & Strategy Adviser to the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr Okechukwu   Enelamah, Mr. Constance lkokwu, explained that FIFD is an initiative by some WTO members, including Nigeria as a core member to drive trade and investment with deliverables in mind.

    The WTO investment coalition, he stated, is made up of Nigeria, Argentina, China, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Canada and the EU.

    lkokwu stated that a draft declaration is being negotiated for finalisation at the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of the deliverables for the Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ministerial Conference in December. According to him, one of the objectives of the investment coalition was to place investment facilitation as a priority for the WTO Ministerial MC11 in Buenos Aries, Argentina.

    The others, he said, was to achieve coherence between the trade and investment policy communities and position the WTO to be more pro-development with actual deliverables for its members while seeking active investment opportunities in their countries.

    Quoting the minister, lkokwu explained: “Nigeria is part of this coalition because government sees investment and trade facilitation as a positive and pro-development agenda.” Furthermore, he said it was the belief of government that the WTO is better responsive to domestic economic priorities.

    “This investment facilitation initiative is potentially significant to position WTO better to respond to the investment needs of developing countries in general and African countries in particular,” the minister added.

    The Director-General/Chief Negotiator, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN), Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe, expressed delight at the progress made so far, saying: “This is for economic growth and recovery, creation of employment opportunities and connection to global value chains.”

    The Abuja event titled: “High-level forum on trade and investment facilitation for development” is expected to bring together African investment and trade decision makers as well as private sector representatives to share perspectives on leveraging trade and investment opportunities on the continent.

    It seeks to connect actual investors within and outside the continent with African policy makers in order to produce concrete outcomes.

     

  • EU pledges job creation support to Nigeria

    EU pledges job creation support to Nigeria

    The new EU envoy to Nigeria, Amb. Ketil Karlsen, has expressed the desire of the union to support the Nigerian government in creating employment opportunities for young Nigerians.

    He said that creating employment opportunities for Nigerians would discourage them from embarking on dangerous trips to European countries.

    The EU’s pledge of assistance comes against the backdrop of the increasing rate of young Nigerians embarking on dangerous trips to European countries in a bid to secure better living conditions.

    Speaking In Lagos on Monday, Karlsen, who is the Head and Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the union was eager to support Nigeria to facilitate a better future for youths.

    “It is really heartbreaking to see many young Nigerian girls being trafficked and made to suffer so many difficulties.

    “It is natural that young people everywhere should look for job opportunities and better living conditions outside their countries.

    “But, I must say that the right way to do it is not to be allowed to expose themselves to dangers and different forms of abuses, while taking dangerous routes from their countries.

    “We would, therefore, want to see more efforts at creating sustainable job opportunities and better living conditions for these young Nigerians in Nigeria.’’

    He said the EU was prepared to support Nigeria on a long-term strategic planning for sensitising young Nigerians on the dangers of travelling illegally.

    Karlsen said that the EU was willing be part of any initiative by the Nigerian Government to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians in Nigeria.

    He argued that it was imperative to create better living conditions for young Nigerians to reduce their desperation for migration abroad.

    The envoy said that young Nigerians should not be allowed to continuously expose themselves to dangers and abuses in their bids to travel to Europe and other countries.

    “I think that we need to work together, create more investments and job opportunities for these young Nigerians in their communities.

    “We have to make these young Nigerians know that there are currently better opportunities for them in their country than abroad,’’ Karlsen said.

    NAN

  • EU seeks stronger economic ties with Nigeria

    EU seeks stronger economic ties with Nigeria

    The European Union (EU) says it is committed to ensuring stronger economic ties between it and Nigeria through strategic investment in key sectors. The two parties also agreed to facilitate EU investments flow into Nigeria.

    Speaking at the sixth EU-Nigeria Business Forum (EUNBF) in Lagos, the Ambassador and Head of EU delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Michel Arion said the EU and Nigeria could work together for the mutual benefits of both parties and enhance peace, security and economic cooperation.

    Arion said: “What we can do is to facilitate the EU investment in Nigeria which will be absolutely key not only at the level of bilateral relations but in other fora.

    “We believe that our prosperity is your prosperity; we see West Africa as a block of ECOWAS and Nigeria as the big economy in the area.

    “We see West Africa not as export designation for the EU but investment destination for EU, we don’t have hidden agenda.”

    He said the point was not on what the EU could do for Nigeria, but what the EU and Nigeria could do together.

    “I believe that there are a lot of things we can do together basically in two main areas. One is peace and security and security and the other one is prosperity.

    “We really believe that our security in the EU is your security. I believe we are fighting the same terrorists.

    “The one we are fighting in West Africa may go to Europe and the one we are fighting in Europe may come to West Africa.

    “We have common challenges and we can do much together in fighting terrorists and other criminals such as smugglers. We can work together that is for peace and security,” he said.

    He said the EU and Nigeria had, for over 40 years, enjoyed a good business relationship which could only get better with renewed efforts on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between EU and West Africa.

    In line with the country’s plan of diversifying the economy, he said this year’s business forum with the theme, “Youth as an engine of Broad-Based Transformation” would focus on Information Communication Technology (ICT) and agribusiness, “which are the key sectors to support the growth and diversification of the Nigerian economy.”

    He reaffirmed EU’s determination to support good governance and efforts to improve living standard through its carefully mapped out ongoing intervention programmes simultaneously across Nigeria.

    The Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu said the theme of the conference was apt and timely because it brought attention to a segment of the  country’s population that should have been contributing to the economy.

    He said the government has been conscious of the role ICT plays in national development and has, therefore, been committed in the last five years to ensuring that ICT facilities and serices are expanded rapidly.