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Tag: Executive Secretary

  • ECA gets first woman Executive Secretary

    ECA gets first woman Executive Secretary

    United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres has appointed Ms Vera Songwe as  the first female Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

    A statement on the commission’s website on Monday said Ms Songwe, a Cameroonian, is an economist and banking executive.

    It also said she was the first woman to ever be appointed to the position.

    Ms Songwe has been working as the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) regional director for Africa covering West and Central Africa since 2015.

    She is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institute: Global Development and    Africa Growth Initiative (since 2011).

    The commission said she would be bringing to the position a longstanding track record of    policy   advice   and   result   oriented   implementation   in   the   region,   coupled   with   a   strong strategic vision for the region.

    Ms Songwe  is a former Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea    Bissau and Mauritania at the World Bank.

    She is also a former Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for Africa, Europe, Central Asia and South Asia Regions and Lead Country Sector Coordinator, it added.

  • UN appoints first female ECA Executive Secretary

    UN appoints first female ECA Executive Secretary

    The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has appointed Ms Vera Songwe as the first female Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

    A statement on the commission’s website on Monday said that Songwe is a Cameroonian economist and a banking executive.

    It also said that she was the first woman to ever be appointed to the position.

    Songwe has been working as the International Finance Corporation’s regional director for Africa covering West and Central Africa since 2015.

    She is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institute: Global Development and Africa Growth Initiative (since 2011).

    The commission said she would be bringing to the position a longstanding track record of policy advice and result oriented implementation in the region, coupled with a strong strategic vision for the region.

    Songwe was previously Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania at the World Bank (2012-2015).

    She was also the Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for Africa, Europe, Central Asia and South Asia Regions (2008-2011) and Lead Country Sector Coordinator (2005-2008), it added. (NAN)

  • NEITI urges FG to recover $21b

    NEITI urges FG to recover $21b

    The Executive Secretary, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio Tuesday called on the Federal Government to recover over $21billion unremitted fund disclosed by its independent report of the extractive industry.

    He made the call in Abuja, during an interactive session with the media, where he highlighted the policy brief, which focused on economic recovery and unremitted funds by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and it’s upstream arm, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

    According to NEITI, “findings from series of audits of the oil and gas sector carried out by the NEITI shows that NNPC and its upstream arm, NPDC, have failed to remit $21.778 billion and N316.074 billion to the Federation Account”.

    These according to the report, are amounts due from three main sources that includes: federation assets divested to NPDC and NPDC’s legacy liabilities payment for domestic crude allocation to NNPC and dividends from investment in Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) paid to the NNPC, but NNPC has however withheld the said funds.

    These unremitted funds falls under the categories of the full payment for the 12 oil mining leases (OMLs) divested from the shell and Agip ventures. NNPC divestment of 55% of its stake in the shell JV valued at $1.8billion by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    The audit also revealed that cash calls amounting to $552 million were erroneously paid on these divested assets by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), the investment arm of NNPC.

    The NPDC is said to have made a refund of $424 million to NAPIMS but not refunded to the federation account, the brief added that NPDC is yet to refund $148.278 million and 2.42 billion from the cash calls mistakenly paid to it.

    The brief also revealed that” unremitted revenues in this category relates to arrears of liabilities of taxes, royalties and levies. Leaving the amount owed by the NPDC at $5.531 billion and N72.435 billion.

    The brief disclosed that NNPC in its defence explained that ‘withholds DCA earnings to pay for downstream related operational costs and subsidies’, however, NEITI says there are serious doubts about such withholding as they regularly exceed actual subsidy costs.
    waziri called on the government to recover these money and use it for economic recovery and to put the economy on a sound and sustainable footing.

    He added that OMLs that have not been fully paid for, should be retrieved from the NPDC, revalued and auctioned so that the country can get proper value for the OMLs.

    The brief, in its action point, called on the federal government to investigate the status and use of NLNG dividends from 2004 to 2014 bad undertake criminal proceedings against anyone found wanting.

  • UK to expose Nigerian property owners

    The British Government will give the Federal Government information about Nigerians who own property in that country next year, a presidential aide has said.

    Prof. Bolaji Owosanoye, Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, told the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York that negotiations on this had reached  advanced stage.

    Owosanoye said the measure  being taken by the governments of  both countries was  a step forward in the fight against corruption.

    “There’s no doubt that rogues in government oppress and impoverish their people by corruption and this must be sanctioned by collective action.

    “We need to make sure that there is no safe haven for you (corrupt officials) to run to.

    “Britain has promised that by 2018, she will provide Nigeria with the information about who owns what and where; that’s very helpful.

    “These include all the houses that have been bought by public officials or accounts that are held by public officials on which they are right now not paying taxes or which they cannot explain the sources.

    “So if you cannot buy a house in England, you have to look for somewhere else.

    “But if all countries criminalise this, then it becomes much more difficult unless you want to buy the house on Mars,” he said.

    The presidential aide also explained that Nigeria and other African countries, who are victims of illicit financial flows, must challenge developed countries to block illicit financial flows from developing countries.

    “Receiving states – the countries of the North – need to be proactive to block the proceeds of crime even before a request is made by victim countries.

    “This is because, in many situations, it is clear that illegality is taking place.

    “We think that reversing the burden of proof to improve the confiscation of criminal proceeds of crime would help, especially when we are going after the asset and not necessarily the person.

    “If the person who claims to own the asset would not cooperate in giving information, then this should be a point in favour of the state,” Owosanoye said.

    He contended that the burden of proof for criminal proceeds should shift to the suspect and not the government, citing the case  of a former Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    “A former Managing Director of the NNPC was found with nine million dollars cash and over 70 million naira in his house in a small place he has built.

    “He said the money is a gift. He was asked if he could tell the very generous angels who gave him this money.

    “He’s not been able to provide that information. That sort of disposition should be used to penalise a claimant of asset who cannot justify the origin of the asset.

    “The proposed “Unexplained Wealth Order in England,’’ which hopefully we were told would pass through the legal process this year, should really help to deepen the conversation in this regard.

    “It (Unexplained Wealth Order) would help to quickly recover assets,” the presidential aide said.

    Owosanoye said available research records showed that about 60 per cent of capital flight from Africa came from Nigeria because of the size of its economy.

     

  • Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan blew over N70trn oil money in 15 years – Adio

    Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan blew over N70trn oil money in 15 years – Adio

    Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio, Tuesday said that the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan blew over N70 trillion earned from sale of crude oil and gas between 1999 and 2014.

    Adio disclosed this in his office during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs.

    The NEITI boss insisted that unless the country developed a prudent way of expenditure, it is likely to be in for difficult times in the years to come.

    He noted that it was unfortunate that despite the huge earnings from sales of crude oil over the years, the country was unable to account for over $100 billion in the excess crude account.

    He urged the Federal Government to immediately develop a saving culture that would ensure slash on government spending to the interest of the country.

    Adio said: “Let me inform the committee that we discovered that between 1999 and 2014, the country spent over N70 trillion it received from oil and gas alone. That is a whole lot of money. What is sad is that it was spent without the country being able to show anything for it. I think it is quite unfortunate.”

    “For the sake of emphasis, however, I think if previous administrations had developed a culture for prudent management of resources, Nigeria ought to have over $100 billion saved in the excess crude account. So, going forward, it is necessary for government to think about saving a lot more, and do all it can as well to cut down on wasteful spending if the nation must make progress.”

    On the challenges confronting the agency, Adio told the committee that the country risked suspension from the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), if the agency failed to complete its audit report by a given deadline which comes up in December this year.

    The NEITI boss also decried the paucity of funds in the agency due to late releases by the Ministry of Finance.

    He blamed lack of funds for the inability of the agency to conclude work on its audit report to the EITI.

    He noted that should Nigeria be suspended from the world body as a result of the agency’s failure to meet the December deadline for the submission of its audit report, the development would be an embarrassment on the image and reputation of the country.

    He said, “The agency has been battling with the issue of funding, and this is due to late releases. As a result of this challenge which we face, we have been unable to conclude work on the 2014 audit report.

    The deadline which we have been given is December, and this is due to the two year interval required to come up with one as stipulated by the world body. Failure to meet it may result in Nigeria’s suspension. That will be very embarrassing for us as a nation.”

    Vice Chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North), noted that the committee would require the effort of NEITI to close the communication gap between the agency and the upper chamber with a view to ensuring effective collaboration.

    He said that NEITI is the second agency of government among other that has not received its capital releases adequately met by the federal government.

    He described the development as “a misnomer.”

    Hunkuyi said, “All agencies have had releases between 45 percent and 65 per cent. It is a misnomer to find that your agency up till this time has got less than 30 per cent, a figure which falls short of the average releases.

    “Our focus now is to help you achieve greater heights, and this involves working with you and putting heads together so as to avoid a repeat of non-release of funds in the 2017 budget.”

     

  • Flood destroys 300 houses in Yobe

    Alhaji Musa Jidawa, Executive Secretary, Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), on Wednesday, said that over 300 houses, farmlands and livestock had been destroyed by flood in Jakusko and Adaya communities.

    He made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu.

    Jidawa said, “We received report of over 250 houses destroyed in Jakusko and about 54 others in Adaya but no life was lost, the affected people are taking shelter with relations in the communities.”

    The executive secretary added that the state government had provided food, clothes and building materials to the victims to assist them resettle.

    Jidawa said that the agency had embarked on enlightenment campaign, urging communities on waterways to vacate the water routes to avoid disaster.

    “There are early warning signals indicating flood in some states, including Yobe, we have therefore addressed flood prone communities to evacuate the water path.

    “There are communities that have suffered flooding in many years; we are still calling on these communities to leave the waterways.”

    According to the executive secretary, Ngelzarma, Jajere, Nangere, Buduwa, Nguru, Gashua, Damagum, Dapchi and some communities in Tarmuwa experience flooding almost every year.

    He urged residents of towns and villages to evacuate drainage and avoid constructing buildings or dumping refuse in such a way that it would block the waterways.

    “There will be fewer floods if we make room for free flow of water in our communities.”

    NAN reports that two unidentified corpses of young boys were recently recovered by fishermen from river Nguru.

  • FG earmarks N3b for varsity research

    FG earmarks N3b for varsity research

    The Federal government has earmarked N3 billion for high impact researches in federal and state public tertiary institutions, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Funds (TETFUND), Dr. Abdullahi Baffa, has said.

    Baffa, stated that the fund has allocated N15 million to lecturers in the universities and N10 million to polytechnics and colleges of education lecturers to fund their researches.

    The TETFUND boss who said this during a meeting with reporters in Abuja, added that the funds are research grants awarded to qualified scholars who participate in rigorous process of screening, after sending their proposals.

    Baffa said TETFUND was determined to support cutting edge research that would help the future of Nigeria.

    He said: “Research is one of the core mandates of the fund; the fund is supposed to bridge the infrastructural gap in our public tertiary institutions. About N3 billion has been earmarked to support the high impact research at the National Research Fund level.

    “We have been supporting research institutions, where we can allocate up to N15 million for academics in the Universities and up to N10 million to academics in Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

    “Such research would increase our production and improve our efficiency and easing the lives of our citizens. The more we research, the more we industrialize ‎our country. And the more we create more jobs.

    He stated that there was no plan to extend TETFUND’s intervention grants to private tertiary institutions.

     

  • APGC gets executive secretary

    The Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), a non-profit and non-political organisation formed to provide a platform to discuss issues of common interest, has appointed Dr Joy Ogaji as its pioneer Executive Secretary.

    The group was formed to proffer sustainable solutions to sector challenges in the best interest of all stakeholders. APGC include all the thermal, gas, renewable sources and hydro power generating companies in the country.

    Ogaji is a lawyer with over 15 years of experience in commercial/corporate law, such as power/energy, oil and gas, property and regulatory matters.

    She practised commercial and corporate law in Nigeria and in England and Wales.

    Prior to her appointment, she was the Head of the Regulatory and Transaction Monitoring Unit of the Presidential Taskforce on Power as well as its legal adviser.

    She has worked with the various agencies through the pre-and post- privatisation period of the power sector reform.

    Ogaji is  a member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (Nigeria), the Law Society of England and Wales (UK), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Mediation Beyond Borders (MBB) UK, among others.

  • Residents hail council boss over road repair

    The Community Development Associations (CDAs) in Egbe Idimu area of Lagos State have praised the council’s Executive Secretary, Kunle Olowoopeju for repairing the Community Road, Agodo.
    Joint CDA chairman Alhaji Salaudeen Idris said many Landlords abandoned their property due to the bad road. He said many had to park their vehicles far away and walk home.
    Chief Ebenezer Oladipupo Jebutu said the community looked jinxed until the Akinwunmi Ambode administration took over.
    They praised Olowoopeju who vowed to ensure the road got a facelift.
    “He kept his promise. We have resolved to stand by him in his quest for the chairmanship slot of Egbe-Idimu LCDA. He is indeed a promise keeper.
    “This is the single longest street in Agodo, Egbe. It should not have been abandoned by the previous administrations,” Idris said.
    The Palace of the Alagodo of Agodo, Mudashiru Alade Salau Odejobi is said to be on this street.
    “Each time he celebrated his coronation anniversaries, his dignitaries parked their cars far away from the palace. This is an embarrassment to the King,” Idris added.
    The residents urged the contractor to speed up the work.
  • Executive secretary, board for LSSTF

    Executive secretary, board for LSSTF

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday approved the appointments of former Chief Whip of the House of Assembly Abdulrasak Mobolaji Balogun as the Executive Secretary of the State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and Oye Hassan–Odukale as the Chairman, Board of Trustees.

    Both appointments are subject to the ratification of the Assembly.

    Hassan-Odukale succeeds Remi Makanjuola whose tenure has expired after serving two terms. Balogun succeeds Fola Arthur Worrey, who resigned his appointment.

    Both appointments were contained in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Tunji Bello.

    The governor also approved the appointment of other members of the board – Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, Yemi Idowu, Opeyemi Agbaje, Managing Director of UBA, Philips Osuoza and DIG Isreal Ajao (rtd).

    Other members are Commissioner for Housing Gbolahan Lawal and Special Adviser Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof Ademola Abass.