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Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt must end impunity, says Amnesty

    Fed Govt must end impunity, says Amnesty

    Amnesty International has said the Federal Government can end impunity by investigating and dealing with all cases of human rights abuses.

    AI, in a statement by its Africa Director – Research and Advocacy, Netsanet Belay, said President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to ending impunity.

    The statement reads: “Observing the public debate following the publication of Amnesty International’s recent report on war crimes committed by the military I am reminded of the words of Wole Soyinka: “Power is transient, justice eternal”.

    “Since we came back from Abuja, I have noted the positive commitment from the President as well as the usual dismissive response from the military. I have heard from Nigerians from all walks of life.

    “Time will tell whether truth and justice will prevail in Nigeria. But let me set the records straight to clarify some emerging misconceptions.

    “Amnesty has documented and condemned in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Boko Haram and we will continue to do so.

    “As recently as April 14, 2015, the first anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok school girls, we published a comprehensive report, ‘Our job is to shoot, slaughter and kill’ documenting and condemning the horrific crimes of Boko Haram in the Northeast of the country.

    “The April report showed that in addition to abducting at least 2,000 women and girls, Boko Haram had killed at least 5,500 civilians and brutalized tens of thousands between 2014 and March 2015.

    “And this report was not the first. My team have been on the ground documenting and exposing multiple war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses committed by Boko Haram since the start of the crisis. These findings were published in Amnesty International reports in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. And each time, we have called for justice for the victims of Boko Haram.

    “But we have also documented serious human rights violations perpetrated by the military in the course of the fight against Boko Haram.

    “In our sister report to the report about Boko Haram atrocities, ‘Stars on their Shoulders. Blood on their Hands’ we documented war crimes and crimes against humanity by the military.

    “What Amnesty International uncovered in Nigeria was not a handful of civilian casualties caught in the cross-fire. It was evidence of a systematic process whereby more than 7,000 mainly young Nigerian men and boys died in military detention and more than 1,200 people were unlawfully killed. The vast majority of those unlawfully murdered were non-combatants, most killed following arbitrary arrests.

    “These are Nigerian fathers, sons and brothers. They are the missing husbands of the women interviewed by Amnesty International who cannot afford to feed their children or send them to school since their husbands disappeared. They are the sons of the parents who have spent the past year visiting every barracks, police station and jail they can reach to search for their missing children.

    “As an independent, impartial organisation, dedicated to documenting and exposing the most serious human rights violations wherever they are committed and whoever they are perpetrated by, Amnesty International is speaking out about these violations, and with a clear purpose.

    “We are asking what happened to the thousands of young men arrested without any evidence against them and who have never been brought to court.

    “We are demanding justice for the people trapped by the cycle of violence and impunity, perpetrated by both Boko Haram and the very military that is supposed to protect them

    “The horrific acts committed by Boko Haram must end and perpetrators of crimes under international law in its ranks must be punished. But their horrific acts cannot and should not be used to justify the Nigerian military’s unlawful conduct and human rights violations. The military cannot tackle war crimes by committing war crimes. Safety and security cannot be delivered by executing, torturing and ill-treating thousands of people.

    “The findings of this recent report resulted from years of detailed research including more than 400 interviews and the analysis of 90 videos and 800 official documents. We travelled repeatedly to the Northeast, gathering information and interviewing witnesses, victims and the families. People told us how they had been rounded-up with hundreds of other young men and boys after cordon searches and held in overcrowded cells. Many were starved, suffocated, and tortured to death.

    “We also spoke to other witnesses who are themselves senior members of the security forces, but who felt that these abhorrent practices within the military must be stamped out.

    “We shared our findings with various sections of the Nigerian government. Since 2013, we have sent 57 letters to the federal and state authorities: sharing research findings, raising concerns about ongoing violations and requesting information and specific action, such as investigations. We only received 13 responses, none of which demonstrated the previous government’s commitment to launching an independent, impartial and effective investigation into these serious crimes. Where investigations were launched they were conducted by the military and the conclusions have never been published.

    “The Nigerian government has had repeated opportunities to confront and investigate these allegations but, despite mounting evidence, they have failed to do so.

    “President Buhari has stated that his government will leave no stone unturned to investigate and deal with all cases of human rights abuses. We join millions of Nigerians in welcoming this commitment.

    “We hope that this will be the beginning of the end of impunity in Nigeria and that it will bring hope to those desperate to find out what has happened to their loved ones.

    “No military is beyond scrutiny. All we ask is that the government of Nigeria does what is right, and what it is bound to do under international law, and delivers justice to the thousands of victims of this conflict.

    “The time to act is now.”

  • Fed Govt plans increase of gas supply to Lagos

    The Federal Govern-ment is working to make up the natural gas supply shortfall of 400 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) to the Lagos axis for power plants and other industrial concerns before the end of this year, it was learnt.

    The Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr David Ige, told The Nation that the state-run oil firm is working hard to ensure that the gas supply gap is completely closed before end of August to improve power supply.

    He said the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline Project is expected to be completed within that period, which will significantly boost supply to the Lagos axis. He also noted that pricing issue is no longer responsible for inadequate gas supply for domestic usage including the power plants as the current domestic gas price is competitive.

    He said: “We are making a lot of progress in terms of constructions on both the East and West pipelines. We expect that by December next year, we would have the mechanical completion of the pipeline and by early 2017, we will start to flow gas through them.

    “Lagos pipeline is almost completed, we expect that between now and end of August that project would have been completed. We have completed and inaugurated Lagos to Oben, completed Emure to Itoki and the bit that remains now is from the Benin end to Emure and that is progressing very well. The expectation is that before end of August this year, the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline would have been completed and would have doubled the capacity of the pipeline to two billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) of gas. That volume will make it the biggest pipeline in Africa.

    “On the Eastern side, we have gas. For example, we have gas at Gbarain-Ubie power plant in Bayelsa State, which we hope to commission shortly, we have gas at Omoku in Rivers State, which is awaiting the power plant and we have gas at Egbema in Imo State. The gas supply to the power sector was over Ibscf/d and we expect that by the end of this year, we will make significant increase in that.

    “Cumulatively, we produce 2bscf/d and some of the gas we have available is probably stranded may be because some of the power plants are not ready. Over the next couple of months, we will see a bit of increase in gas supply. However, not all these gas volumes are in active generation today. It is either the power plant is not ready or the power evacuation is not ready.”

    Ige also said contrary to reports, pricing is no more responsible for lack of gas supply. He noted that the challenge is that gas consumers don’t pay for the gas they take; hence the gas debt was so huge at a time that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had to intervene.

    He said: “I’m not sure gas pricing is an issue for producers and consumers because gas price has been increased to export price in Nigeria. The issue today is not pricing really. What has remained a challenge in Nigeria is the mounting debt because the gas price is not being paid by the consumers at the rate they supposed to pay. A couple of months ago, the CBN put a programme in place to extinguish some of the legacy debts. But we will ensure that the new volumes that are being supplied are actually being paid by the end consumers through power operators back to gas suppliers. I believe that right now the issue is not the price; it is the collection and the payment. Our price now is at par with that of Henry Hub.”

     

     

  • 16m Nigerians displaced last year, says Fed Govt

    16m Nigerians displaced last year, says Fed Govt

    About 16 million people, many of them children, were displaced last year, Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs  Permanent Secretary  Dr. Jamila Shu’ara said yesterday.

    Dr. Shu’ara, who gave the figure at an event marking this year’s World Refugee Day in Abuja, said it might triple this year, if urgent steps were not taken to stop insurgency.

    With about 47,000 persons displaced daily, she said: “The issue of refugees and displaced persons has become a major concern globally because of the negative effects on humanity.”

    Dr. Shu’ara said her office was collaborating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other stakeholders to provide succour for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

    Speaking on the theme of this year’s celebration: “Ordinary people living through extraordinary times”, she said it was appropriate for the country to encourage the younger generations to respect other people’s opinion and embrace peace and dialogue.

    The Federal Commissioner for Refugees in the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, Hadiza Kangiwa Sani, said  because of the security challenge in the Northeast, hundreds of Nigerians now prefer to seek asylum in neighbouring countries.

    “We all have a moral obligation and responsibility to lend a helping hand to people, who want to flee as a result of conflict.

    “The government is firmly committed to these principles while also seeking lasting and durable solutions to the challenge

    “Domestically, we are committed to offering protection to genuine refugees and to also strengthen our international commitments and humanitarian traditions.

    “The Federal Government appreciates the support and assistance of all United Nations (UN) agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and other development partners towards their prompts intervention, protection and assistance for persons of concern in Nigeria,” she said.

    UNHCR Country Representative Mrs. Angele Dikongue Atangana said the agency is reinforcing its activities in support of IDPs in the Northeast through protection training, registration, profiling and conducting intention surveys forthe return of IDPS.

    She said the UNHCR would soon engage in psychosocial support for liberated IDPs.

  • ‘Fed Govt needs N69tr for housing’

    For the Federal Government to tackle the housing deficit in the country, about 820,000 housing units worth about N69 trillion will be required yearly, the Managing Director of Home Lottery Limited, Mr. Kelvin Otung, has said.

    He spoke at his firm’s presentation to a winner of a three-bedroom house in its home lottery scheme.

    He explained that the motivation for the lottery was borne out of the fact that Nigeria has a huge  housing need.

    Otung explained that though the firm was not assuring on having the capacity to resolve the housing deficit through the home lottery, his company plans to contribute about 1, 000 housing units yearly, and build a very good bridge between the government and the people by bringing housing closer to the people, especially people who cannot  own a house with ease.

    Furthermore, he explained that the idea behind the lottery is to offer Nigerians the opportunity to own a home through a credible, sustainable and logically transparent lottery scheme

    His conviction of achieving this feat may have been buoyed by the participation level in the first draw in the first week of the firm’s outing.

    According to Otung, in the first draw which produced the first winner, 2,000 people played in the lottery- an impressive figure considering that it just started operating. Subsequently, draws for homes are to hold weekly, and ultimately, multiple draws daily, until the 1, 000 housing units are achieved.

    The winner of the home,from Delta State, Mr. Elue Gabriel Mokogwu, said it was his first time to play a lottery because he had always considered lottery as a fraud.

    “On May 30, 2015, I bought two lottery tickets at N250 each of Home lottery Limited. When I got a call that I had won, I couldn’t believe it because I had never played any kind of lotto before now; I am so happy,” he explained.

    The house may likely serve as a good source of income for the Asaba-based businessman since he has no plan of relocating to Lagos. However, he said he was yet to decide what to do with the house.

  • Fed Govt trains fishermen

    The Federal Government has disbursed 24 Yahama out­board marine boat engines, 50 bundles of fishing nets, 10,000 pieces of SH-20 floats and 100 units of marine ropes to Itsekiri Fishermen Cooperative in the Niger Delta.

    Deputy Director, Ar­tisanal Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Olusegun Babatunde, while presenting the equipment and inputs in Abuja, said the gesture was in line with government’s effort in increasing local production of fishes with additional 200,000 metric tonnes in Nigeria.

    A statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, said artisanal fishing has contributed 80 percent of fishes produced locally in Nigeria.

    The Federal Government, he said, has designed a programme targeted at 27 states engaged in artisanal fishing with focus on 200 fishermen per state.

    He added that such fish­ermen were expected to ben­efit from the empowerment drive in form of fishing in­puts like boats and canoes as a way of support and not subsidy from government.

    Receiving the fishing in­puts on behalf of Itsekiri Fishermen Cooperative, Mrs Ritalori Ogbebor said the gesture would reduce restiveness in Niger Delta.

    She, however, said gov­ernment’s gesture would also address some of the grievances in the region and pleaded for more as­sistance in swamp rice pro­duction and piggery.

    According to her, such assistance could be in the area of equipment for rice processing, harvesting and polishing.

  • ‘Kano to strengthen rapport with Fed Govt’

    Kano State government would work with the Federal Government to develop the state, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said.

    The governor, who spoke yesterday at the inauguration of a 10–man committee on abandoned and ongoing Federal Government projects, said: “In a democracy, the level of competition is high. It is those persistent in knocking at the doors of the Federal Government that will derive benefit for their people.”

    He said Kano needed to maximise relationship with the Federal Government since the leadership at the centre had changed, stressing that since Kano gave President Muhammadu Buhari the highest votes in the March 28 election, the state had a reason to ask for more federal presence.

  • Ubah to Fed Govt: remove fuel subsidy

    •Says oil marketers must be probed

    The Managing Director of Capital Oil, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, has called on President  Muhammadu Buhari to remove fuel subsidy and probe the marketers responsible for the shutdown that culminated in the biting fuel scarcity that is just easing.

    Speaking with journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Ubah wondered why the Federal Government should  keep paying subsidy while  the citizens are not benefiting from the scheme.

    He asked the President to deregulate the oil and gas sector, noting that the deregulation would bring down fuel price drastically.

    His words:  “I urge President Buhari to take a bold step and deregulate the oil sector. He is not a stranger to the sector, having being a former minister of Petroleum.

    “He will be respected for taking the step. There’s no point paying subsidy when Nigerians are not benefiting from  it. The president will be doing the right thing if he deregulated the sector  so that the product will be sold at cheaper rate in the future.”

    Insisting that deregulation will bring down corruption, Ubah said it was unfortunate that the citizenry never bought the idea from former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Ubah, who confirmed that the Federal Government owes petroleum marketers, said they did not properly handle their agitation for the payment.

    He said: “If marketers’ action is not investigated and controlled, there may be a repeat of a similar energy crisis in the country”.

    He added: “Indeed the marketers are being owed large sums of money and I am one of those being owed. But I believe that dialogue should have been the choice of the marketers, especially considering the state of the nation.

    “It was unprecedented in the country for oil marketers to go on strike for up to four days and what I expected was a warning strike before a total shutdown.

    “It was unpatriotic for them to shut down the country. If this is not properly investigated, there could be a repeat of such action. Marketers should know that they are not labour unions. There was an agreement with government to pay them gradually. But they disregarded the agreement and unpatriotically threw the country into crisis.”

    Ubah sid he pulled out of the oil marketers’ strike because his company was not consulted before the marketers decided to shut down operations.

    He said: “My facilities store products for the Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which means such products belong to the Federal Government.

    “For a facility like ours, we should be considered before taking this position. What if people storing product in our facilities sue us? They have the right to take their products. What if PPMC sue us or cancel our contract? We need to ask these questions,” the Capital Oil boss said.

    Ubah said he decided to resume fuel supply because he could not bear the horror of the citizens dying in hospitals and banks shutting down, and consequently, putting the masses in hardship.

  • Agro-allied operators tackle Fed Govt over N175b unpaid export grants

    Key operators in the nation’s agricultural sector have been lamenting over the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and the Negotiable Duty Credit Certification (NDCC) policies fashioned out by the Jonathan Administration to principally boost the nation’s Rice Value chain.

    In a letter to outgone President Goodluck Jonathan, copied to the immediate past Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy/Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the operators under the auspices of Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), regretted that the government reneged on the agreement to implement the EEG policy framework for 2014 as announced by the Finance Ministry. The letter,  signed by FACAN’s National President, Dr. Victor Iyama, observed that member-companies and organisations in the agriculture and agro-allied sector form the bulk of the non-oil exporters in the country and contribute over 80 per cent of the nation’s non-oil export earnings.

    According to the association, government’s lukewarm attitude towards boosting the non-oil sector has continued to negatively affect sustained economy growth.

    Part of the memo stated: “Our members have relied on the EEG and NDCC policies to plan their investments and make their pricing decisions. Now, government has been foot-dragging on the issue of implementation of these policies. It is rather saddening that while the Federal Government regularly pays fuel subsidy to marketers with interests and exchange rate adjustments, it (FG) is refusing to allow the utilisation of NDCCs which has been signed by the Federal Ministry of Finance and disbursed to the exporters as a “legal tender”. Our members have been patient but have been subjected to continued neglect.

    “We gathered that the EEG Policy Review was on the cards throughout the duration of Jonathan administration (2011 – 2015).

    “We urge you to kindly ensure that the appropriate details are shared with the Transition Committee so that the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari would be assisted to complete this process soonest”.

    FACAN also claims that it has become an increasingly difficult and uncertain process for the exporters to collect their NDCCs.

    “Even after the exporter finally gets the NDCCs, the Nigerian Customs Service, has been allowed to act with impunity when they have restricted the use of NDCCs or stopped the use of NDCCs altogether.”

    The exporters agreed, in February 2013, under pressure, to pay seven per cent to Customs for utilisation of NDDCs, even though it was outside the EEG policy, in the hope that this would result in smooth usage of NDDCs. That hope has been betrayed. We are also meant to understand that since August 2013, the NDCCs utilisation has been barred largely at the instance of Ministry of Finance. It was a solitary instance of your “magnanimity” where the Ministry of Finance allowed 5% of outstanding NDCCs to be utilised”.

    The contentions of FACAN include that: EEG claims be treated with same seriousness as other subsidy payments like fuel, fertiliser, etc, as non-oil exporters should not be subjected to an inferior treatment; The 2 EEG claim files pending for Finance Ministry approval for over a year be approved and released; NEPC should continue processing of EEG claims submitted to them which are pending for processing; the Nigerian Customs Service should allow the utilisation of NDCCs without any further delay.

     

  • IDPs’ plea to Fed Govt: wipe out Boko Haram

    IDPs’ plea to Fed Govt: wipe out Boko Haram

    They may never recover what the insurgents took away from them, but they do have one wish: the Federal Government should do everything possible to keep the terrorists out of business. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    •Victims of child abuse
    •Victims of child abuse

    It is tough being a victim of Boko Haram. They wrecked lives, torn families apart, anihilated whole communities and sent victims to places they never wished to be. One such place is a displaced persons camp, where the victims live on charity and public goodwill.

    Happy to survive the terrorists, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the New Kuchigoro camp along Games Village Abuja, over 8,000 of them, have pleaded with the government to crush the sect. Perhaps, that will be the best way to recover from the insurgents’ horrors.

    The Foundation for the Victims of Child Abuse (VCAF), which has been helpful to the displaced persons, also has a plea of its own: successful and well-meaning Nigerians should give back to the society by investing especially on the women and children in the IDPs camps.

    The foundation gave the advise while donating relief materials to the Boko Haram victims.

    VCAF assisted by another foundation, Daughters of Abraham, donated relief materials which included bags of rice, noodles, roofing sheets, writing materials, T-shirts and mosquito nets.

    President of the Foundation, General Abdulmalik Jibril (rtd), said any nation that wants to nurture its future must take the care of women and children seriously.

    He said: “For many of us who have benefited from this country should at one point or the other give back to the society.  Any nation that cherises its future should invest extensively on women and children so that at the end of the day we will be better for it.”

    He added that the gesture is only a token donation to the victims who have been afflicted with the insurgency.

    “Our organisation deemed it fit to make this donation. Taking a look at the commonest issues we have today, the children. We thought of how to touch the lives of the children and encourage the mothers not send them hawking.”

    He urged the government to do more in the fight against Boko Haram so as to enable the IDPs return to their various homes.

    “Government has been doing well by even providing this environment. They have made good contribution but government should do more so that they can go back and settle in their respective homes”

    Speaking also, the vice chairman of the board, Prof. Tajudeen Akanji who represented the former Chief of Army Staff and chairman of the Board, General Abdulrahman Dambazau, said this is just to show kindness to the less privilege in the society and the focus is the children as just a token to their well being.

    “The broad objective of our organisation is to as much as possible make the children and women have a livelihood. We are going to serve camps where there are victims of child abuse anywhere they are to see where our foundation can assist.

    •Some of the items displayed
    •Some of the items displayed

    He promised that the foundation  will remain supportive of the IDPs for as long as they are in the camps so as to give them a means of livelihood.

    “We have come here with food items like rice, Indomie, roofing sheets because we can see that they are living in a makeshift tent. Exercise books for the children to be able to work, T-shirt, so that they can dress properly as members of the society and mosquito nets”

    In his response, Chairman of the IDPs Camp, New Kuchigoro, Philimon Emmanuel, expressed appreciation to the foundation while calling on the “federal government to try and do something about Boko Haram. We are suffering here. We thank God, we have one school here for our children and the people are helping us with food items. We want the government to pursue the Boko Haram from our villages” adding that all the 873 IDPs in the camp will get a share of this donation.

    However, he urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to build a special camp for them as promised. Saying that “we have been here since January last year and up till yesterday some of our people are still coming to the camp”.

    An eight-year-old boy Ibrahim Musa told Abuja Review that things are really difficult for them and that they find it difficult to eat even ones a day.

    His word: “Government has abandoned us. Only some Nigerian do remember us. We are happy that these gifts will go a long way to alleviate our suffering. Here”

    Another girl simply known as Mary said government should try as much as possible to tackle Boko Haram so as to enable them go back to their states.

    From the look of things only God knows when the Boko Haram saga will end to enable victims relocate back to their states.

     

  • Fed Govt relocates Co-operative Dept to ministry

    The Federal Government has approved the movement of the Federal Department of Cooperatives from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity in accordance with the provisions of the Cooperatives Development Act CAP. 23 and Nigerian Cooperative Society Act CAP. N98.

    The office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, in granting the approval, directed Labour Ministry to take necessary steps in relocating the department in accordance with its enabling laws, adding that its current location in the Department of Cooperatives,  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is irregular and should therefore, be re-located accordingly.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh, in line with the approval, has re-established the Cooperative Department in the Ministry, charged with the broad mandate of ensuring effective coverage,  coordination and improved performance of Cooperative Departments of all sectors of the national economy.

    He assured of the Labour Ministry’s commitment to best practices, delivery of quality services and restoration of people’s confidence in cooperative administration in Nigeria.

    Dr. Illoh also announced the appointment of Mrs. Mojisola Sonubi, a Director in the ministry, to oversee the activities of the Department of Federal Cooperative in the Ministry.

    Relying, Mrs. Sonubi called on the states departments of Cooperatives, Federation of Cooperative Colleges, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other relevant national cooperative organisations and special agencies to cooperate with the Ministry’s federal department of Cooperative as the coordinating centre for cooperative activities in the country.