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Tag: Fed Govt

  • Poultry farmers ready for Fed Govt’s Home Grown School Feeding policy

    Poultry farmers ready for Fed Govt’s Home Grown School Feeding policy

    The National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN),Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, has said of the  the association in has the capacity to meet up the various demands and challenges that might arise from the Home Grown School Feeding Programme of the Federal Government

    The natnudO Foods boss, however, added that it might take up to four years or longer for the country can reach self-sufficiency status if the needed support is not forthcoming to the sector

    Addressing reporters after a tour of the facilities at Amo Byng Nigeria and Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited  in Awe, Afijio Local Government, Oyo State, the natnudO Foods boss explained that if properly harnessed, the poultry value chain has the capacity to absorb millions of people and make them economically productive

    Oduntan said: “The local poultry sector has the capacity to produce and meet the poultry demands that will arise from the new government policy of home grown school feeding programme

    “We advocated for the inclusion of eggs and poultry foods in the meals to be given the school children and I can assure you that, if given the needed support in terms of fund and materials we will meet the demands

    “Meeting local consumption demand is achievable in two years at the rate we are growing, we only need patience and support, but if we are denied such, it might take up to another four years before we can attain that level”

    According to Oduntan, the amount of money spent by entrepreneurs in providing infrastructure and facilities to keep business running is huge and diversionary.

    He said: “We are here because as producers of natnudO chicken, we want to show Nigeria and Nigerians that with a little bit of support and patience, Nigeria can be sufficient in the production of poultry produce.

    “We are a Nigerian company and we can lead the way for other poultry farmers to produce enough that will be sufficient for Nigerians and save our people from the hazards of smuggled poultry products into the country

    “Our target as a company is to make at least ten percent of total poultry production for the Nigerian market in the next five years”

    “Our motivation has been to create jobs for the people and bring something out from nothing. We need the banks to believe in us more and support us with funds to run the sector,” the natnudO Foods boss said.

  • Bishop to Fed Govt: take pro-active measure on Boko Haram insurgency

    Diocesan Bishop of the Osun North Anglican Communion, Rev. Abiodun Taiwo Olaoye yesterday urged the Federal Government to take more proactive measures against attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast during the Ramadam fasting period.

    He warned that the people in the troubled region must not be caught unaware by members of the deadly sects, whom he said were bent on wreaking havoc during and after the period.

    Speaking at the weekend in Igbaye, Osun State, during the church’s Second Session of the Third Synod, ?the cleric said it was unfortunate that the group had made people their target.

    Preempting that the insurgents might devise fresh strategies during the Ramadan, Rev Olaoye urged security agencies, including the military, to be more vigilant.

    He advised the Federal Government to intensify efforts by empowering the army to continue hostilities against the group until the battle was finally won.

    The cleric also called on Nigerians’ support for the government and the troops by being more vigilant and security-conscious by reporting any suspicious movement and strange personalities within their immediate environments and neighbourhoods to the security agencies.

    In order to win the ongoing war against insecurity, the cleric also urged government to provide employment for the youth to checkmate the rising spate of kidnapping and armed robbery attacks in different parts of the country.

    He assured that with God’s ultimate support, all the different forms of menace facing the country would soon be over.

    Lamenting the biting economic hardship, Rev. Olaoye called on the government to implement the 2016 Budget.

    He also urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to give up in his battle against corruption but advised that the recovered funds should be   injected to stimulate the economy.

    The cleric commended the President for his doggedness and commitment in the battle against insurgency and terrorism as well as the high magnitude of successes so far recorded.

    He warned that the battle was not yet over and asked the military not to give up yet.

    His words: “It is not yet uhuru as there are still cases of bombings in the area. Aside from that, pipeline vandalism and militancy in the Niger Delta have been on the rise. The menace of kidnapping, armed robbery and cattle rusting have not also abated. All these must be checked.”

  • Varsity workers to Fed Govt: we’re dying

    Varsity workers to Fed Govt: we’re dying

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), University of Ibadan (UI) chapter have appealed to the Federal Government to pay their salaries.

    The Chairman of SSUNU, UI chapter, Comrade Wale Akinremi, spoke with reporters at the weekend.

    He said life has not been easy for the workers in the university because  of the shortfall in payment of salaries.

    According to him, the development has affected school system because the workers are psychologically unbalanced due to heavy indebtedness of bank loans and inability to take care of their homes.

    He added that the university workers have been suffering from this since December last year while their counterparts in other universities who are in similar circumstance have resolved the issue.

    Akinremi wondered why only workers of the University of Ibadan are experiencing hardship coupled with lack of incentives while he said the workers are not willing to go on strike but if situation don’t improve, they willing resort to strike.

    Also speaking, the Chairman NASU of the university, Comrade Oluwasegun Arojo, said there is no assurance that the Federal Government would be able to pay debts.

    Arojo said the university workers have reliably confirmed that the shortfall from the Federal Government is 92 per cent but the workers are only receiving only 50 per cent of salaries.

  • Fed Govt loses N1.3b daily to Avengers’ attacks on oil facilities

    Fed Govt loses N1.3b daily to Avengers’ attacks on oil facilities

    Sustained attacks on pipelines by Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have led to the daily loss of 140,000 barrels of crude from oil fields operated in Bayelsa State by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Aiteo Oil, it was learnt yesterday.

    Using $48 per barrel price benchmark, the two oil firms are losing an estimated $6.72m (about N1.3 billion).

    Eni, an Italian energy firm and parent company of Agip, said the oil firm’s production had been cut by 65,000 barrels per day following last Friday’s attack on its pipeline in Bayelsa.

    Previous attacks in Agip oilfield on May 18 and May 24 were said to have resulted in a shutdown of some 5,200 barrels of the company’s equity share of oil output.

    A company source, who pleaded for anonymity,  confirmed the development yesterday.

    The source said: “The total deferred production due to the attack is 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. There is no further impact on production, since all production from the swamp area has already been stopped days ago.”

    Spokesman of Aiteo – operator of the Nembe Creek trunkline –  which was attacked on May 28,  Mr. Shola Omole, said the line which conveys crude to Bonny export terminal had been shut.

    Omole said some 75,000 barrels daily production had been deferred as the line remained out of service following the attack on the facility.

    Figures from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) could not be obtained, but the Dutch oil firm has placed its oil exports from Bonny export terminal under force majeure.

    Force Majeure is a legal clause that frees a company from liabilities arising from its inability to meet contractual obligations due to reasons beyond its control.

    SPDC in 2014, sold the 100-kilometre Nembe Creek trunkline to Aiteo, but still relies on the line to lift crude produced from onshore oilfields in Bayelsa to the Bonny terminal in Rivers State.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, was quoted as saying that Nigeria was producing 1.6 million barrels per day, excluding further production outages due to attack on Agip, Chevron and Shell at the weekend.

    The development will likely affect the implementation of the N6.07 trillion 2016 budget premised on a daily crude oil production of 2.2 million barrels.

    The Niger Delta Avengers, the group which has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks, has rejected dialogue with the Federal Government, demanding instead a Niger Delta Republic.

    But the Federal Government, which has delpoyed troops in the creeks has vowed to deal with the militants. It has deployed attack aircraft, and naval war boats in the region.

  • Fed Govt hosts dialogue for Boko Haram victims 

    The Federal Government will today host a dialogue for victims of Boko Haram insurgency at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

    Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.) said the dialogue, which would be held in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has become imperative in view of the adverse effects of the Boko Haram insurgency on the livelihood of the population of the Lake Chad Basin, consisting of Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Bassey Akpanyung, said the dialogue would adopt measures to support governments in ensuring the protection of refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and host communities.

    He said emphasis would be on vulnerable groups, such as women, children and the elderly, noting that the dialogue would provide the opportunity to decide on common solutions to the problems of those affected by violence and displacement.

    “Participants at the Dialogue will include the Ministers of Interior of the affected countries, as a ministerial meeting on June 8, 2016 will validate the findings for full implementation,” the statement added.

  • ‘Why Fed Govt must ban fish importation’

    ‘Why Fed Govt must ban fish importation’

    Nigeria spends billions of naira yearly on fish importation, despite its huge marine resources. The Executive Director/CEO, Nigerian Institute of Oceanography & Marine Research (NIOMR), Dr. Gbola Akande, in this interview with OLATUNDE ODEBIYI,urges the government to ban fish importation to stimulate domestic production, as aquaculture can enhance economic  divesrification .

    How do we bridge the gap between fish supply and demand?

    Aquaculture is the only way to bridge the gap.  All we need is more campaign and awareness on the importance of people going into aquaculture or fish farming. If we embrace aquaculture, it would help to reduce pressure on the amount of fish that we import and also reduce pressure on fishing. With our current population estimated to be about 170 million, the demand for fish is about 2.6 million tonnes annually. Locally, we produce only about 800,000 tonnes and import about 800,000 tonnes of frozen fish; this adds up to 1.6 million tonnes annually. This leaves a wide gap of about a million tonnes.

    Aquaculture is the only way to bridge the gap between fish supply and demand. For this to happen, more people should go into aquaculture. Although fish farming in Nigeria has been on the increase, for it to contribute meaningfully to the protein needs of the country, we need more campaign and awareness on the importance of people going into fish farming. This will help to reduce pressure on the amount of fish that we import and also reduce pressure on artisanal fishing.

    How should the government intervene in aquaculture?

    One area of aquaculture that is critical is feeds and this is where government must come to our aid. In aquaculture, feed accounts for about 75 per cent of the overhead cost. This is why NIOMR has been involved in carrying out research to reduce the cost of feed by looking into ingredients that can make feed come at a cheaper price. For instance, NIOMR’s research into the use of maize with cassava for aquaculture feed has brought down the cost of feed, though not drastically. Another major component of fish feed is fish meal, which is being imported. In this regard, we are researching into using some fish which species are in abundance in our water, to convert them into fish meal, to also reduce cost of feeding.

    How would NIOMR integrate Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into fish production?

    NIOMR yearly carries out training for SMEs on aquaculture, fish processing and marketing- which is the bone marrow of the future. Currently, catfish is the major aquaculture product that we have, and it can be said that catfish takes about 90 per cent of what we produce in aquaculture while the rest are tilapia and all other fish species.

    NIOMR is researching into various tilapia species, so that there will be no problem with their growth. This would help us to have a second candidate that farmers will also be able to culture and farm with ease. Our effort to increase fish production in Nigeria has also led us into instituting a scheme known as entrepreneurship in aquaculture for young potential fish farmers. The Institute has also formed fish farmers into innovation platforms which would enable us to have marketers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and producers. The platform would help them to get better price for their produce.

    When you culture your fish, they do not come out equal. You could put 1000 fish in a tank, but all the fish will weigh differently. This is why the Institute came up with canning of cat fish, just like we have canned sardine and geisher. With this innovative platform, farmers may now can the smaller fish and sell the big ones. We have been canning catfish and tilapia which is our value addition to aquaculture as there will be choices to either have your fish fresh, canned or smoked. Value addition is critical for us because with more value on your product, you get more money.

    Nigeria is targeting agric as the arrow-head of its renewed economic revival plan. Where does your institute fit in?

    A lot of areas. For us to shift from oil to agriculture, it means we have to produce locally. One area that NIOMR has been working on is to discover fish species that can be used to produce fish meal as an alternative to imported fish meal; this is part of our effort to reduce the cost of feed. We have discovered the fish,. It is known as “Nectar Fish,” but we are still doing the preliminary studies. We have produced fish meal from this fish, and we have done the analysis of the protein, the fat, the moisture, the proximate composition and what the fish meal contains in terms of protein. We found out that the protein level is high- over 60 per cent. So, the next stage we are in is that we are undergoing is feeding trial to compare the fish meal produced from this fish with imported fish meal. If we can source the fish meal locally through this effort, that will be our own contribution to the economy.

    Another area is that in the ocean, we have another fish called ariomma fish species, which is a good replacement for titus and the sardine. We have located where those fish are in abundance and what we have done is to can the fish and do a comparative analysis between the ariomma fish species and the imported titus. Also, we have conducted research on and already gone into the culture of marine shrimps. We earn foreign exchange from export of shrimps but because of the quantity that we are able to catch, we do not get much. We are into research to enable us culture marine shrimps properly. Our aim is to have export potential in the nearest future, rather than just bringing in and not exporting.

    We also have plans to develop fish crackers which could replace prawn crackers being imported from China. Also, our smoked fish is a good product for export. Some people are exporting smoked fish. These are some of the things NIOMR is doing to support the Federal Government in its change programme – from a net importer to exporter.

    How can aquaculture be positioned as a major contributor to the GDP?

    Government should provide the enabling environment for the fishing industry to thrive. As the fish industry is today, some  people who are interested in it are not doing the business because of some of the problems in the Niger Delta and because we have the problem of pirates and militants to mention a few. In the past, the number of vessels that were operating in the country was between 200 and 250, but now this has reduced to less than 150. These are areas that government can come in.

    Another important step to take is that the Federal Government should totally ban importation of fish. This would help to protect our fish farms. There is no point importing fresh water fish since we have a lot of farmers investing in fish farming locally. If government bans fish importation, there will be massive cultivation of agric products and this would grow the economy. We have to produce what we eat locally, otherwise, we will run into problem and that is why this government is saying that we must produce what we eat locally. We need to sit down, look inwards and make sure that whatsoever we do has local content so that with time, there will be total ban of imported frozen fish, rice, tooth pick and other agricultural produce. If aquaculture takes its rightful place with the awareness we are creating, fish importation into the country is going to be a thing of the past because we are going to do massive aquaculture.

    What challenges do you face in carrying out your duties?

    Our major challenge is funding. Whether you are given enough money or not, research is a continuous exercise, but by God’s grace, this year’s budget is going to propel us to do more than what we have done in the past. This is because the projects we are going to have this year is enough for us to propel our research to a point that we will be able to say funding is not a major problem. The more money we get for the research, the better for us and, the more we can turn out more research results the more our findings. When we do research, we do not stop at research but, we take the research into a pilot level so that we will be able to tell interested entrepreneurs whether that project is viable or not.

    What are the latest innovations and researches by the institute?

    One major thing is that we have been able to solve the problem of catfish being underpriced from the farmers. That is why we are providing smoking klins that can smoke fish in a neat way so that the end of the day, they will get good price for their products. We have being able to use the smoking klins to assist farmers to add value to their fish and also to reduce fish excess which cannot be sold at a go when harvest is much.

    How do you fund your researches and projects? Do you depend solely on government’s subvention?

    Apart from the government budget, we have some projects that are externally funded. This year’s budget will be far better than what we got last year, and we will manage it judiciously to be able to achieve our targets and further justify the establishment of the institute.

    What are NIOMR’s targets?

    For this year, part of our target is to raise farmers as much as possible. We are going to produce a good number of smoking klins to spread all over the 36 states of the federation. For this year, we have targets on the number we are going to produce and we have targets to produce fingerlings that will be sold to farmers at subsidised rates. We also have plans to make all male tilapia fingerlings in order to boost a lot of aquaculture farming from tilapia. We are doing research to make sure that catfish can be bred all year round, because at certain points of the year, they don’t breed.

  • Fed Govt saves N185b from new payroll system

    The Federal Government has saved over N185 billion from the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS),  Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Director-General Dr Joe Abah has said.

    He said remarkable reforms had taken place in the civil service, including the removal of 65,000 ghost workers from IPPIS.

    Abah spoke on Tuesday while presenting the “Status Report of Reforms” at a five-day Specialised Reforms/SERVICOM Training Programme in Abuja.

    “We started off with a completely inaccurate and unreliable payroll system. Since we put IPPIS in place in 2007, government has saved in the region of N185 billion and weeded out  65,000 ghost workers,” he said.

    He said the Work Efficiently Unit saw the identification of another 23,000 who were collecting multiple salaries.

    “IPPIS has been a great success, but it has some challenges and it has some weakness. One of the weaknesses is that as soon as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) put in place IPPIS after piloting it for a couple of years, it was basically taken over by accountants and they started with payroll instead of with the Head of Civil Service Commission (HCSC).”

    Abah said it was possible to get on the payroll without being known by the Federal Civil Service Commission and that was why the Bureau still had issues with IPPIS. He, however, said the Bureau was working on that. “We are hoping that complete HCSC switch will come on board in July,’’ he said.

    He said the Bureau was also working with the Efficient Unit to ensure that the salaries were linked with the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).

    Abah said civil servants shouldn’t allow people to accuse them of not doing well, saying that some of the reforms were working in spite of challenges. He said one of the reforms that had also worked in the civil service was the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    “Before 2004, if you retire; you will be entitled to a pension whether you actually get it, it is another matter because at 2004, we had Pension deficit of N43 billion. So, the real chance is that you could retire but wait for 10 years and you will actually not see the Contributory Pension Scheme; our pension pot is now credit of N4.8 trillion as at 2015,” he said.

    The DG, however, said there are still challenges as Nigeria is still not managing her Pension Funds Administrators (PFA) very well. According to him, “there is still a big gap between when you retire and actually when you start to get a pension sometimes a gap of about nine months – that is a gap we still need to deal with’.’

    Abah further said in terms of procurement, government was losing $10b annually as result of fraudulent procurement practices. He said of every one Naira one spends, 60 Kobo goes into fraud.

    According to him, since putting in place the Procurement Act in 2007, government has saved more than N650b.

    He, however, said there were issues with what was provided in terms of budget and what was released, which made procurement planning a little difficult.

    “You don’t know when the release of fund will come; you don’t know whether is coming in full or not, it is difficult to plan your procurement properly. There is still challenge with contract splitting that we need to deal with in procurement,’’ Abah said.

  • Fed Govt earmarks N40b for housing

    Fed Govt earmarks N40b for housing

    • Fashola: planning vital to reviving housing sector

    President Muhammadu Buhari  has said the Federal Government will spend about N40 billion on affordable housing for Nigerians.

    Buhari, who spoke at the 35th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and international symposium of Shelter Afrique yesterday in Abuja, stated that the fund would be used to implement a comprehensive housing development plan for the country.

    Represented by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammed Bello, he said Nigeria requires a minimum of additional one million housing units yearly to reduce its 17 million housing deficit in order to avert a housing crisis by 2020.

    Buhari said: “We are therefore very much convinced of the catalytic development potentials of the housing sector and have accordingly, earmarked about N40 billion in the 2016 Capital Budget to implement a comprehensive programme for housing development in Nigeria.

    “The problem of housing the urban poor is not entirely new and I believe that different efforts must have been deployed in the past to confront it. But even today, the problem is still with us. Such reality challenges us to re-assess our methodologies and evolve fresh strategies to meet the exigencies of these times.”

    Buhari said the new national housing development programme initiated by the government would address housing shortage through direct housing supply, adding that the initiative would also harness all forward and backward linkages offered by each housing project for rejuvenation of sustainable development.

    He said the initiative would guarantee access by middle and low income earners to the housing units through targeted mortgage and off-take arrangements.

    Buhari listed some of the key thrusts of the new National Housing Development Programme to include: direct housing supply as strategic intervention measure to ameliorate growing deficits and most urgent cases of housing shortages in housing stock in urban areas across all geo-political zones in Nigeria.

    “And continuous precaution of an overall housing sector and promotes vibrant reforms in land administration, urban planning and renewal, housing finance and mortgage market.

    In his address, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, (SAN), lamented that the series of housing initiatives embarked on by Nigeria over the years had not been pursued with consistency or any measure of sustainability. The minister said planning was key to acheiving sustainable housing policy in the country.

    He explained that Shelter Afrique had financed 23 housing initiatives with N10. 435 billion between 2005 to 2010.

    Fashola said: “Over the years, Nigeria has embarked on a series of housing initiatives but not one of them has been pursued with consistency or any measurable sustainability. We are convinced that this change must be led by government and subsequently driven by the private sector and I will explain why; and in the process, reveal the road map of our Ministry for Housing.”

  • Fed Govt to adopt simple planning process

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo-Udoma, has said the Federal Government will adopt a simple planning process to achieve inclusive growth and development in the country.

    He spoke while fielding questions from some participants at the Annual Public Lecture of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) in Abuja.

    Senator Udoma said the country would learn from Ethiopia’s experience which recorded 10 per cent growth rate for over 10 years in the agric sector.

    He said he had visited the country to learn the secret of their success and was ready to replicate it in Nigeria.

    “I went to find out from Ethiopia how to achieve this and how they did their planning and the processes. I found out that they consulted farmers; they went down to the grassroots and made their planning very simple,’’ he said.

    The minister said Nigeria’s plans are too complex and that the nation has top economists, who put the plans in a language that many do not understand.

    “We need to do simply plan; we need to make use of a language that everybody can understand and we need to consult with economists.

    “We encourage them (economists) to simplify it to be able to achieve inclusive development. We want a simply plan, a plan that will consult extensively, a plan that everybody will understand, a plan that will be internalised by everybody,’’ he said.

    According to him, making the plan simple is the only way the country can achieve inclusive growth and development.

    The topic lecture tilted: ‘Strengthen Budget – Plan link for inclusive development in Nigeria.’ was delivered by Prof. Mike Obadan of the University of Benin Foundation for Education and Development.

  • Fed Govt sets up presidential committee on loans recovery

    Fed Govt sets up presidential committee on loans recovery

    The Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee on the recovery of loans granted to commercial banks and corporate organisations by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    The committee headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) is to coordinate the recovery of loans owed to AMCON.

    In a statement issued yesterday by the media aide to the AGF, Sailhu Othman Isah, the Minister said AMCON was established to prevent the collapse of the banking sector following the banking crisis which resulted in the Bank Consolidation Reforms in 2008.

    The AGF said the situation led to huge indebtedness for banks which culminated in the eventual purchase of the toxic loans by AMCON so as to stabilise the banking sector, and by extension the Nigerian economy.

    Malami said the debtors, who cut across the aviation, banking and the oil and gas sectors failed to repay the loans, while some of them resorted to court actions all in their bid to frustrate the loan recovery efforts of AMCON.

    Malami stated that in some cases, this was with active conspiracy of some financial institutions among others.

    The AGF argued that the failure of debtors to repay what they owed informed President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval and directive for the establishment of an inter-agency committee to effectively pursue the loan recovery.

    Among the terms of reference of the Committee are to ascertain the status of AMCON recoveries in terms of achievement from inception to date as well as the total outstanding namely value of assets; and to ascertain how government at various levels can be made to honour their debt obligations to the Corporation.

    It is also to request and obtain information from any person or persons and/or entity or entities onshore and offshore with the full support and weight of the Federal Government and its agencies towards the pursuit and realisation of the Committee’s mandate; as well as to assist in third party investigation outside AMCON office relating to obligors and identify the criminal nature of commercial transactions that would assist in pursuing criminal prosecutions.

    In addition, the Committee will ascertain how government agencies can collaborate to support AMCON’s recovery effort in; ensuring payments due to obligors are made to AMCON, the possibility of going into a joint venture agreement with AMCON, the acquisition of forfeited assets from AMCON and take-over of recalcitrant businesses/companies where feasible.

    It is also expected to establish the working framework for the Committee such that AMCON would have direct contact with the agencies for assistance and report to the Committee on achievement and challenges as well as design and come up with workable strategies to pursue aggressive recovery of the AMCON loans.