The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fed Govt

  • Islamic Council chides Fed Govt over Palestine  

    Islamic Council chides Fed Govt over Palestine  

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday condemned the Federal Government for refusing to vote in favour of independence for Palestinian state.

    The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the establishment of a Palestinian state by late 2017.

    The resolution called for negotiations to be based on territorial lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. It also called for a peace deal within 12 months.

    The United States vetoed the resolution, which needed nine votes in favour and no vetoes from the council’s five permanent members.

    The European and African camps were split in the vote. France and Luxembourg voted in favour of the resolution. Britain and Lithuania abstained. Among the Africans, Chad voted yes. Rwanda and Nigeria abstained.

    Yesterday in Ilorin, NSCIA Secretary General  Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, a former vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin, said: “Whatever must have influenced the position of the Federal Government, it is condemnable by all lovers of peace and liberation all over the world.

    “And we believe that Nigeria needs not degenerate further than this because if we cannot manage our domestic issues, it is clear that in foreign affairs we are almost betraying the heroes of this nation.

    “We are very sad about this and we feel Nigerians should know that the NSCIA is opposed to this and we believe that those who are at the helm of affairs of our foreign policy will have to explain to the Nigerian people what they should betray them.”

    He added: “The NSCIA is very sad about this development and we feel that the Federal Government has betrayed the people of Nigeria and has created a very serious problem for our foreign policy.

    “We believe that what Nigeria has just done is not only a somersault in terms of foreign policy of Nigeria it is also a slap on those who are lovers of freedom all over the world and one cannot explain why this ought to be so except that we believe the Nigerian government is carrying its divisive domestic policies to foreign policy of the country and this is very sad.

    “The main thrust of our opposition is just to call attention of the people of Nigeria to the very sad situation in which we have been plunged into by the federal government. You all know the historic position of Nigeria in terms of fighting for freedom and liberation all over the world.

    “You know Nigeria has always been on the side of justice and liberation from South Africa etc. Nigeria’s position has always been very firm on the part of liberation and freedom of the people.

    “We were therefore surprised and amazed by the turn of events at the Security Council where nine votes were required for endorsement of freedom for the people of Palestine only for Nigeria, having played a mischievous role of expressing its well position about liberation turning round immediately after communication with some so-called leadership of the foreign affairs managers to abstain from voting for this historic resolution of the 66 years old crisis.

    “Of course, if countries like Britain and USA are opposing it, we can understand; why should Nigeria be the one to abstain from such a progressive step and this is why the NSCIA is very unhappy about the situation and we believe all lovers of freedom should condemn the Federal Government for what it has just done. It is a step against freedom and what Nigeria has always stood for.”

  • Fed Govt approves disbursement of N166b outstanding fuel subsidy

    Fed Govt approves disbursement of N166b outstanding fuel subsidy

    • Okays release of Q1 2015 fuel allocation to marketers

    The  Federal Government has approved the payment of about N166 billion to petroleum marketers as reimbursement for outstanding subsidy claims.

    According to sources at the Federal Ministry of Finance, the payment is for batch I to part of batch M.

    However, the other part of batch M, and batches N, O, and P to the tune of N105 billion are still at the Debt Management Office (DMO) awaiting payment.

    This part payment is geared towards ensuring stability in the fuel supply as well as to encourage banks and other financial institutions, who were hitherto, reluctant in issuing letters of credit to finance petroleum products’ importation.

    Meanwhile, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani-Alison Madueke has approved the release of first quarter (Q1) 2015 allocation to marketers for the importation of petroleum products.

    A statement issued by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), said the early release is in furtherance of the government’s resolve at ensuring continuous and robust products supply in the system, aimed at sustaining the serenity in the downstream industry.

    While calling on motorists not to engage in panic buying,  the Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, assured that, “there is ample supply of petroleum products in the country and discharges and truck-out had continued in spite of the holidays and the festive periods”.

    The PPPRA further explained that apart from facilitating an improved national Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supply and stock build-up, the latest effort is also to enable marketers make adequate preparations towards products sourcing and importation early in the New Year.

    The PPPRA attributed the proactive initiatives put in place at ensuring products availability across the nation to the support and direction of the Petroleum Resources Minister. Mr. Ahmed said the agency on its part, is committed to prompt processing of documents for all imported products duly brought into the country.

    The minister had commenced a regime of early release of quarterly PMS allocations in addition to supplementary allocations to complement national demand.

    According to the PPPRA, the widely-applauded early approvals, apart from providing additional imports to supplement the prevailing stock level in the system, is now responsible for the sustained availability of petroleum products across the country at regulated prices.

  • Fed Govt may overshoot budget deficit in 2015, say analysts

    Fed Govt may overshoot budget deficit in 2015, say analysts

    The Federal Government may overshoot its proposed budget deficit of N722 billion in 2015 given the current global crude oil price scenario and the fragility of government’s non-oil revenue mobilisation.

    Analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited said the current scenario suggests possibility of a higher deficit than anticipated in 2015 citing the declining crude oil price and the vulnerability of the non-oil revenue mobilization.

    According to analysts, with a new floor yet to be established, there is the possibility of crude oil prices declining, which will undermine Nigeria’s budget benchmark and pose major challenge to budget performance during the year.

    Analysts noted that in the scenario that oil prices do not recover to a minimum of $65 in 2015, Nigeria’s budget benchmark price, government may incur larger deficits than the previously estimated sum of N755 billion.

    The 2015 Budget indicates net federally collectible revenue of N6.9 trillion, with a total of N3.6 trillion envisaged to fund the FGN 2015 Budget, representing about 3.4 per cent drop from N3.7 trillion for 2014 Budget. Details of aggregate budget revenue of N3.602 trillion included oil revenue of N1.92 trillion and non-oil revenues of N1.68 trillion. This represented a ratio of 53 percent oil revenues to 47 per cent non-oil revenue.

    “Whilst we acknowledge the non-oil revenue mobilization efforts presently embarked on by the government, we note that the structure of this revenue mobilisation effort is still fragile, hence will require a considerable time lag before results will be evident,” Afrinvest stated.

    Analysts noted that while the reduction in total budget expenditure from N4.7 trillion appropriated in 2014 to N4.36 trillion in 2015 reflected the decline in national revenue due to the oil slump, the proposed reduction in the fiscal expenditure is not broad based.

    According to analysts, the reduction being proposed in 2015 will only affect capital expenditure while recurrent expenditure is still on the increase.

    “With the already huge infrastructural deficit in the economy, we are of the view that 14.6 per cent allocation to capital expenditure is relatively miniscule, hence major impediment on growth and development in 2015,” analysts stated.

    Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services had in its recent report pointed out that an increasing number of sub-Saharan African sovereigns have begun accessing international debt markets. South Africa has been issuing for many years. In 2007 Ghana and Gabon also issued debt, of $750 billion and $1 billion, respectively. Senegal followed in 2009 with $500 million issuance, followed in 2011 by Nigeria, also with $500 million. In 2012, Zambia issued $750 million, while Angola issued a $1 billion structured transaction. The following year, issuance was led by Rwanda with a debut Eurobond of $400 million, followed by Ghana ($1 billion, including a $250 million buyback), Nigeria ($1 billion), and Gabon ($1.5billion). Of the sub-Saharan African sovereigns not rated by Standard & Poor’s, Namibia issued $500 million in 2011 and Tanzania issued $600 million in early 2013.

  • ‘Fed Govt needs N5tr to complete 8000 abandoned projects’

    THE Federal Government will need about N5 trillion to complete over 8,000 abandoned projects, it was learnt yesterday.

    A former director at the National Planning Commission (NPC) and lecturer of Economics at the University of Abuja, Dr. Nazifi Abdullahi Darma, spoke in Minna, the Niger State capital, at a workshop on “Entrepreneurship in Tertiary Education Curriculum”.

    It was organised by the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai.

    The economist lamented that majority of the projects have been abandoned since 2009.

    Expressing doubt over the likelihood of their completion, he blamed lack of collaboration between the three tiers of government and communities, where the projects were sighted, for the neglect.

    Darma said a survey by the commission on some Federal Government projects showed that states and local governments were not aware that such projects exist in their domains.

    The university don cited some water and dam projects that were unable to serve the local people due to what he called “lack of collaboration between the Federal and state governments and non-awareness of the project by benefiting state authorities.”

    According to him, “If the state and local governments were involved in these water projects, they would have collaborated and ensure that water get to the people”.

    He called on the Federal Government to formulate a national policy on innovation as well as set up a national implementation council on innovation development to drive entrepreneurship development.

     

     

     

    The lecturer, who is also a member of Lagos State Innovation Council, advocated for special funding for innovative ideas.

    He stressed the need for all universities and polytechnics to develop a curriculum that would promote specialisation based on entrepreneurial innovativeness.

    The university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Ibrahim Kolo, stressed the need to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship in students to help them become self-reliant after graduation.

  • Rice import waivers to cost Fed Govt N40 billion

    Rice import waivers to cost Fed Govt N40 billion

    The Federal Government’s backward integration plan in the rice industry may cost the nation over N40 billion through indiscriminate granting of waivers and concessions to non-committed investors as well as smuggling of the product unless, The Nation has learnt.

    Many of the non-committed investors, who got the import allocation quotas for rice, are trading it to interested stakeholders at between 60 to 80 per cent levy, after obtaining same at 20 per cent.

    The development, it was learnt, has cost the Federal Government over N20 billion.

    Documents obtained by The Nation showed that investors, who have only submitted expression of interests in the sector without any visible form of investment, might be enjoying waivers amounting to about N20 billion under the exercise.

    For instance, allocation of rice import quotas under the new rice policy by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that a move to bridge the supply gap of import-grade rice of 1.5 million metric tonnes was designed to ensure that existing rice millers and new investors receive a preferential levy of 20 per cent and duty of 10 per cent. But other importers pay a higher levy of 60 per cent and duty of 10 per cent.

    Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Dr. Akinwunmi

    Adesina had in a letter to the Minister of Economy and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the allocation of rice import quotas, noted that the criteria for allocation of quotas under a methodology, which assigns weight to key criteria of self-sufficiency in rice production and milling in Nigeria, include the submission and approval of a Domestic Rice Production Plan (DRPP) among others.

    Adesina said a supply gap of import-grade rice was determined to be 1.5 million metric tonnes for 2014 while an inter-ministerial committee discussed the methodology for allocation of the import quotas.

    “Subsequently, a letter was sent to existing rice millers and new investors to submit a DRPP, and based on their submissions;

    1.3 million metric tonnes of rice import quotas were issued to 25 qualifying millers at the preferential levy of 20 per cent and duty of 10 per cent.

    “The remaining 0.2 million metric tonnes of rice imports will be at the higher levy of 60 per cent and duty of 10 per cent for other rice importers”, the letter reads in part.

    However, documents obtained by The Nation showed that the supply gap estimate is unrealistic when compared to a total of 2.74 million metric tonnes of imported rice that made its way into the country in 2014 – representing a combination of rice imported into the country and the smuggled commodity from neighbouring West African countries.

    In other words, through the indiscriminate granting of waivers, government might have been promoting the activities of rice smugglers.

    Hence, the country, according to experts, may continue to lose at least N20 billion to smugglers, while putting the rice policy under serious threat.

    Documents also showed that new investors without milling capacity or investments in the country received the highest quota of the allocations to approved rice millers, while actual millers did not receive allocations and in some instances, received very low portion.

  • Fed Govt warns against intervention funds misuse

    MINISTER of Education Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has said serious punishment awaits any Vice Chancellor (vc), who invests Federal Government intervention funds to earn interest.

    He said this in Abuja, at one-day sensitisation retreat on the implementation of needs assessment intervention in Nigerian public universities.

    Shekarau said: “We thought we should bring all the Vice Chancellors and all their management staff concern with management of funds to inject into their heads that this money coming must be prudently utilised.  The implementation monitoring committee, chaired by my humble self, will be monitoring every naira and kobo released to every university and we will make sure that due process is complied with. We will not spare any head of any institution that violates the rules and regulations guiding the expenditure of this funds.

    “Distinguished participants, please permit me to sound a note of warning. On no account should universities invest the intervention funds to earn interest. There must be no delay in meeting financial obligations to contactors, vendors, suppliers and staff undergoing training. All beneficiaries are to maintain a single dedicated bank account to which funds released by IMC are lodged, and from which the universities settle their contractual obligations. The intervention funds cannot be paid into any other account. Any change of account must receive the prior approval of IMC.”

    He urged stakeholders within the university community to support the government’s quest to improve the quality of students that pass through the university.

    “With the quantity of funds injected into the tertiary education sub-sector this year, the Federal Government expects a reasonable infrastructural transformation of our universities in the next few years,” he said.

    The Minister said the 2012 report of the Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities exposed the decay of learning facilities, hostels, high percentage of abandoned projects, poor sanitation in universities.

    He said: “Hostel accommodation had rapidly deteriorated due to intense pressure on existing facilities, resulting in overcrowded rooms and overstretched lavatories and poor sanitation. Municipal, electricity, medical facilities are no better. Many of the universities had a litany of abandoned projects, insufficient or out-dated. The Universities were grossly understaffed; many of the staff available requires capacity building or re-training.

    “The Committee made far-reaching recommendations, which were considered and adopted by both the Federal Executive Council and the National Economic Council. It is at the backdrop of this that the Federal Government inaugurated the implementation monitoring committee (IMC) to oversee the administration of this intervention, in collaboration with the universities.

    “The Federal Government is making available the sum of 1.3 trillion naira to be disbursed as follows: 2013 – N200 billion, 2014- N220billion, 2015, N220 billion, 2016 – N220 billion, 2017 – N220 billion and 2018 – N220 billion.

    He said the government would not rest on its oars to ensure that “our universities are citadels of learning and ivory towers, and that your score cards at the end of your tenures  would be assessed by all stakeholders”, urging them to be responsible in the discharge their duties to their immediate communities.

  • Hazards of phone use worries Fed Govt

    The Federal Government has expressed worries over the likely health hazards of the use of mobile phones. It has asked experts to examine the issue and fashion inputs that will assist regulators in West Africa to tackle the issue.

    Minister of Communications Technology Mrs Omobola Johnson, who spoke in Lagos at the second West African Conference on Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Exposure and Health, said it was also vital the people’s health is taken care of in the booming telecoms business.

    She said:  “Even as we celebrate the gains of this revolution, it is important that we are mindful also of the health of our people, both in the short and in the long term. Mindful of the concerns, which have been expressed both locally and internationally, on whether exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) poses any health hazards to humans; and determined to ensure that the people of West Africa are well advised as to the facts regarding the issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to take the initiative to bring about this conference, which is a follow up to the first one held in 2012, also here in Lagos, Nigeria.

    “As you may be aware, Mobile or cellular phones are now an integral part of our lives. In many countries, over half the population use mobile phones and the market is growing rapidly. Already, here in Nigeria as at September 2014 there are over 135 million active subscribers of both mobile and Fixed Wired/Wireless lines; and this number will increase. The growth has been equally phenomenal in the other countries in West Africa and in many instances mobile phones are the most reliable or the only phones available.

    “Given the large number of mobile phone users, it is important therefore to investigate, understand and monitor any potential public health impact. Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of fixed antennas called base stations. Signals in the mobile telephony bands of the radio spectrum are non-ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization in the human body.”

    According the minister, the big question is whether there are any health effects from the use of mobile phones. She said a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk, adding that to date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.

    “But the agitations and concerns continue to surface time and time again. It is, therefore, for us to get the true situation on this topic, as it is currently, and from some of the most informed experts. The Federal Government is very concerned about the welfare and the health of her people; I believe this is the same of our sister countries in West Africa,” she said, adding that the forum would help the governments to get a position that they can use to either reassure the people that they have nothing to worry about. She however said if the conference finds at the end of the day that there is something to worry about, then, it becomes the duty of the various governments to do that which must be done – “to ensure safety of our people and the environment while using mobile communications.”

  • Court restraints Fed Govt, CBN SCUML from enforcing money laundering act on legal practitioners

    A federal high court, Abuja has restrained the federal government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) from enforcing the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (MLA) against legal practitioners.

    The court presided by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government, the CBN and the SCUML from seeking to enforce Section 5 of the MLA against legal practitioners. He made no order as to costs.

    In an originating summon dated March 15, 2013, the NBA had asked the court to declare that the provisions of Section 5 MLA, in so far as they purport to apply to legal practitioners, are invalid, null and void.

    The originating summon was filed on behalf of the Registered Trustees of the NBA by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), Messrs Babajide Ogundipe, Emeka Nwadioke and Davison Oturu.

    The defendants in the suit were the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)  and the  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). They were represented by Mr. M. B. Wali for the first defendant while Chief Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan(SAN) was lead counsel for the second defendant.                                                        The plaintiffs had sought an order of the court deleting legal practitioners from the definition of “Designated Non-Financial Institutions (DNFIs)” as contained in Section 25 MLA, an order of perpetual injunction restraining the CBN from seeking to implement its circular reference FPR/CIR/GEN/VOL.1/028 dated  August 2, 2012 in relation to legal practitioners.                                                                                           They also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government, acting through Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or otherwise howsoever from seeking to enforce the provisions of Section 5 MLA in relation to lepractitioners.                                                                             The plaintiffs had raised three issues for determination by the court. They prayed the court to determine whether Section 5 of the MLA is unconstitutional, whether SCUML is the body authorised to regulate the conduct of legal practitioners and whether it is a juristic body, and whether in view of the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA), Evidence Act and the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the legal profession is not already well regulated?

    In an 18-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Osita Okoro, NBA Executive Director, the plaintiffs had stated that the action was brought on behalf of members of the legal profession in Nigeria to challenge Nigeria’s anti-money laundering regime as set out under the MLA, and following complaints from legal practitioners all over the country regarding, among others, potential encroachment on the principle of lawyer/client privilege through the implementation of the anti-money laundering regime by the SCUML.

    Arguing for the first defendant, Wali submitted that the objective of the MLA  and the SCUML was not to monitor the legal practitioner but to monitor their clients who may have the potential to commit heinous crimes.

    Wali stated that the MLA 2011 “is a valid and deliberate exercise of legislative power to enact a law in derogation of the rights conferred by Section 37 of the Constitution for the purposes of preventing the financing of terrorism and other criminal activities inimical to public health and safety.”

    Responding to the plaintiffs’ argument that Section 192 of the Evidence Act “specifically forbids and prohibits legal practitioners from divulging to any party all the secrets or transactions or communications between them and their clients,” he contended that Section 5 MLA “which is the portion of the Act that requires reporting to SCUML apply only to legal practitioners who are engaged in cash transactions as defined by section 25 of the MLA,” adding that the section applies “to only certain classes of legal practitioners.”

  • Coalition sues Fed. Govt over alleged war crimes

    Nine human rights groups have filed an action at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking an order of mandamus to compel investigation into war crime allegations.

    President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke (SAN) are the defendants/respondents.

    The plaintiffs are praying for an order of mandamus  to  compel them to conduct “a thorough, prompt, and impartial investigation into allegations  of  brutal  extrajudicial  killings/executions  and  war  crimes  made  by Amnesty  International  (AI)  on  August 5.”

    The civil society organisations are the Access to Justice (AJ), One Voice Coalition  for Sustainable  Development  in  Nigeria  (OneVOICE), Women  Advocates  Research  and Documentation  Centre  (WARDC), Human  Right  Law  Services (HURILAWS), and the Socio-Economic  Rights  and  Accountability  Project  (SERAP).

    Others are the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria Foundation (NOPRIN), the Nigerian Automobile Technicians  Association  (NATA), Centre  for  Constitutional  Governance (CCG)  and  Centre  for  Constitutionalism  and  Demilitarisation (CENCOD).

    They said: “AI’s  report,  accompanied  with  video  footage  depicts horrendous  acts of extrajudicial  killings  and  possible  war  crimes against  suspected  members  of  the  Boko  Haram  sect  carried  out  by members  of  the  Nigerian  military and  the Civilian  Joint  Task  Force (CJTF).

    “The  accompanying  video  footage  shows  horrific  images  of  detainees  having  their throats  slit  one after  the  other  and  their  bodies dumped  in  mass  graves  by  men who  appeared  to  be  members  of the  Nigerian  military  and  the  Civilian  Joint  Task Force  (JTF).  It  also shows  16  young  men  and  boys  all seated  in  line.  One  by one,  they are  called  forward,  and  ordered to  lie  down  in  front  of  a  pit  that served as  a  grave.  Five of them were reportedly killed this way.”    The  suit  follows  the government’s alleged refusal to demonstrate that  it  had  acceded to demands  by the applicants for a thorough  investigation  of the “serious allegations.” No date has been fixed for hearing.

  • ANAN urges Fed Govt on budget funding

    ANAN urges Fed Govt on budget funding

    The President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Alhaji Sakirudeen Labode has urged the Federal Government to look inwards for alternative means of funding the budget now that prices of crude oil had fallen in the international market.

    Labode made the plea at the Sixth Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPD) of the association held in Abeokuta.

    The ANAN chief said the country could no longer rely on the price of crude oil in the international market in preparing and financing its national budget adding that the product remains unpredictable.

    He advised that all tiers of government should reduce the cost of governance by cutting down on its recurrent expenditure. “Leakages and wastages in business of government should be blocked. Our national needs should be prioritised by appropriating funds to those sectors that will grow the economy like agriculture, rods, health, education, transportation and others,’’ he said.

    Labode said ANAN was last month, admitted into full membership of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in Rome, Italy.

    He said: “The IFAC Governing Council announced the admission during her November meeting held in Rome. You will recall that ANAN was made an Associate of the World Accountancy body in December, 2012.’’

    He described the MCPD as a continuous retraining programme for members of the group aimed at enhancing their service delivery to their employers and also a key requirement of IFAC.

    “It is rotated among the six geo-political zones of the country every year, affording members the opportunity to know other parts of the country,’’ Labode said.

    According to him, the theme of this year’s MCPD is ‘Trends in Professional Practice and Regulation’’, and the sub-theme are all enriching. He said the Governing Council had given approval for the opening of Outreach Campuses of the Nigerian College of Accountancy in the six-geo political zones of the country.