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Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt gives N15b interest-free loans to traders, says Osinbajo

    THE Federal Government has spent N15 billion on interest-free loans across the country, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

    He spoke during the 9th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, the Federal Government is working with eight banks, which were very committed to the “Trader Moni scheme”.

    He said the administration would make a massive difference if N1 trillion is spent on the poor yearly.

    Stressing that job creation has always been a top priority of the administration, he said the surest way to create jobs was by enabling the private sector.

    He said: “N15.183 billion in interest-free loans ranging from N50,000 to N350,000 have been disbursed to more than 300,000 market women, traders, artisans and farmers across all 36 states and the FCT. By the way, 56% of the loans have gone to women.

    “We took the view that since the largest number of small businesses in Nigeria are the market women and men and petty traders, we needed to expand the opportunities in these categories.

    “Our energising economies project is putting power, especially solar power in markets and commercial clusters. We have powered Ariara Market, Aba; Sabongari Market, Kano; Sura market in Lagos, Isinkan market in Ondo, Bola Ige market in Ibadan, Oyo State and Edaiken market in Benin, Edo State.

    “So, there are actual interactions with the small businesses. Our focus has been to ensure that the regulators understand their role as facilitators not an obstacle to business. We are also establishing one-stop shops in the states, where all regulators are under the same roof in the states.

    “If we spend N1 trillion to bail out the poor in this country every year, we will make a massive difference.”

    He added that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are among government agencies improving on the ease of doing business.

    The government, he said, is working through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to improve the business environment.

    Declaring that the MSME clinics carried out across the country have been a great success, he said he has personally attended 18 of the 20 clinics carried in 20 states so far.

    He said the government also expanded the micro credit to small businesses, under the Government Empowerment & Enterprise Programme (GEEP).

    He hailed the NAFDAC and the CAC for their efforts at improving on the ease of doing business in the country.

    He described the “Trader Moni programme” as one of the most crucial components of expanding opportunity for millions of Nigerian traders by giving micro- credit to the bottom of the trading pyramid.

    “The smallest businesses; the one table trader; the bread or plantain seller or the Mai Shai.

    “This is the largest segment of our working population; their inventory is no more than N5,000 – N10,000. But they are an important part of the value chain of most goods. They sell the single sachets of soap, sugar and spices to the largest numbers of our people. But they are forgotten and ignored in economic plans and budgets and considered too unwieldy and risky for micro credit loans.

    “The N-Power programme is the largest post-tertiary jobs project in Africa, placing 500,000 young people in existing teaching jobs and also identifying new roles they could fill in the health and agriculture sectors.

    “Some of our N-power graduates are also being employed as enumerators for data collection and research because of the new skills they have gained.  In addition to these 500,000 N-Power graduates, we have 20,000 non-graduates working and learning as part of the build programme in various construction, the automotive and technology sectors,” Osinbajo said.

    He announced that government has empowered two million petty traders under the Trader Moni scheme, giving microcredit across the country.

    Osinbajo added that the Federal Government spent N1.7 trillion in capital investment in two budget years. The vice president said infrastructure growth was crucial in economic growth and job creation.

    He hailed the commitment of the participants to expanding the work being done by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on skills acquisition.

    According to him, there is the need to put emphasis on skill training and placing large numbers of young people in the workplace.

    Osinbajo said that the Federal Government was also looking at solving the power problem.

    He said the Federal Government would review the previous power privatisation and how to enhance capacity of business people by boosting power supply.

  • Malami: Fed Govt winning anti-graft war

    The Muhammadu Buhari administration is winning the war against corruption through legislation and commitment, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice  Abubakar Malami (SAN) has said.

    Malami said corruption was being fought to a standstill.

    “The political will of the President has also helped in stopping the illicit flow of funds from the country.

    “Various policies adopted by this government have helped in no small measure to stem the tide of financial outflow from the country

    “Policies like Treasury Single Account (TSA), Biometrics Verification Number (BVN), whistle-blowing, are all geared towards ensuring that corruption is reduced to the barest minimum,” Malami said.

    He stressed that there was need for African countries to collaborate to block illicit financial flows from Africa.

    Malami said those who have stolen from Africa must not be allowed to enjoy their loot.

    He added that there was the need for African countries to collaborate with the international community to stop looting from the continent.

    Malami advocated visa restriction, tracing and repatriation of stolen funds wherever they are found as a way to help curb corruption on the continent.

    He added: “We have gone a long way in stopping illicit financial flow through quality decisions.

    “Above all, there is need for collaboration with international community in the fight against illicit financial outflow

    “Nigeria has built institutions through quality legislation to curb this.

    “We have created the EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Financial Intelligence Unit, among others, to stem the tide of illicit financial flow.

    ‘There is also Proceeds of Crime Act, Terrorism Act, they are targeted at financial crimes and in support of these other institutions.

    “Biometrics Verification Number (BVN) is also a policy introduced by this government to trace ownership of bank accounts of illicit funds. TSA was also introduced to identify movement of funds,” the AGF added.

    By way of this administration’s desire to block the flow of illicit funds, “this government has encouraged the policy of whistle blowing.

    “This was why other colleagues of the President asked him to lead the anti-corruption war in Africa,” he said.

    Malami spoke while addressing a forum by the High Level Panel (HLP) on Illicit Financial Flows, chaired by former South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki, in Abuja.

    Mbeki said African countries must act to retain about $80billion yearly lost to illicit financial flows out of the continent.

    Mbeki said the money, when retained on the continent, could be used to tackle some of the infrastructural challenges faced by countries in the continent, calling on African countries have to act with other nations to stop the outflow and free the fund for use in developing the continent.

  • Bayelsa sues Fed Govt over sharing of oil revenue

    The Bayelsa State government has filed a suit at the Supreme Court  against the Federal Government over sharing of oil revenue.

    The suit with reference number SC 386/2018, was filed under Civil Summons Order 3 Rule 5 of the Supreme Court by its Attorney-General.

    The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) is the defendant in the matter.

    The state, through its counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), is praying the apex court to declare that by the provision of Section 44(3) and Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, all revenue collected from the sale of crude oil by or for the Federal Government should be paid into the Federation Account.

    “A declaration that by virtue of section 162(1) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, all revenue collected shall be paid into the Federation Account except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry of Department charged with foreign affairs and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    “An order that the Federal Government to pay plaintiff  N136,266,385,850.96 and N154,719,603,662.84 being money payable to the plaintiff by the defendant from Federation Account between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017 pursuant to the provision of section 1 of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, etc) Act and under the Domestic Crude Oil sales Revenue regime of the defendant but which were withheld by the defendant and represented to have been used to settle Petroleum subsidy without the plaintiff consent.’’

    The Bayelsa government  therefore prayed the Supreme Court to restrain the federal government,  whether by itself, it’s agencies, servants, privies, officers representative or otherwise howsoever called from utilising any part of the revenues collected from the sale of crude oil which otherwise payable into federation Account to pay for or cover petroleum subsidy.

    In the plaintiff witness statement on oath deposed to by the Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai, it was averred that various activities of federal government under its petroleum subsidy have resulted in continuous dwindling of Federation Account revenue to the detriment of its state because of the unlawful deduction from source.

    It also said unlawful deduction has adversely affected the money paid to states and Bayelsa as well as 13 percent derivation fund being paid to the its state from the Federation Account.

    In its 28-paragraph statement of claim, the plaintiff claimed that N6,430,890,322,306.37 was not spent on petroleum subsidy as claimed by the Federal Government but withheld as “Withheld Fund”.

    The plaintiff averred that between January 2011 and December 2017, the revenue collected from crude oil sales lifted by the Federal Government under its Domestic Crude Oil Sales Revenue regime amounted to N15,259,070,879,388.50, out of which only N8,828,180,557,087.12 was remitted to the federation accounts.

    The plaintiff further stated:  N6,430,890,322,306.37 was deducted by the Federal Government from the source and presented to the other states of the federation and the plaintiff to have been used to settle petroleum subsidy and associated costs.

    “Despite repeated demands by the plaintiff, and indeed other states of the federation, the Federal Government has not been able to show evidence of  N6,430,890,322,306.37 as claimed.”

    The plaintiff further stated that the Federal Government has deprived of oil-producing states of N836,015,741,899.83 out of ‘withheld fund’ based on 13 per cent derivation formular, including the plaintiff’s share amounting to N136,266,385,850.96 which remain unpaid to the plaintiff by the federal government.

    The plaintiff further averred that continuous use by the federal government, part of the monies payable to the federation account to settle petroleum subsidy without plaintiff consent, has subjected the plaintiff to double jeopardy because it has been deprived of its share of 24 percent of the revenue which is divisible amongst the 36 states of the federation pursuant to Section 1 of the Allocation of Revenue Act.

    The Supreme Court is yet to fix a date for suit’s hearing.

  • Fed Govt starts N1.07b erosion control project in Akwa Ibom

    The Federal Government yesterday started a N1.7billion erosion control work on Nduetong Oku-Ikpa road, cutting across Uruan and Uyo Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom.

    Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), did the flagging off ceremony.

    He said the project would alleviate the suffering of the people and boost economic activities.

    Enang sympathised with the people for the inability to convey their farm produce to the market due to the deplorable condition of the road.

    He assured them that the Buhari administration would continue to implement projects to alleviate the suffering of the people.

    The presidential aide said that government was committed to improving the living standard of the people by addressing their plight.

    “Let me bring greetings from the Presidency to you. President Muhammadu Buhari cares for every life and communities in this country.

    “For about seven years this road had been impassable, for some years the children and people of this community had not been able to cross to the other part of the community.

    “The Federal Government is committed to improving on the plight of its citizens,” Enang said.

    Speaking to reporters, the Project Manager, Mr Friday Iniobong, said that the project would be completed within the next six months.

    He solicited the cooperation of the community to ensure timely completion of the project.

    Responding on behalf of the community, the Clan Head of Oku community, Chief Enefiok Ukpong, thanked Buhari for the gesture.

    The royal father said that the project when completed would reduce the suffering of the people.

     

  • Fed Govt to set up permanent electoral offences tribunal

    THE Federal Government is set to establish a permanent electoral tribunal that would be saddled with the main responsibility of addressing issues relating to electoral fraud and offences.

    Special Adviser to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mohammed Kuna, said yesterday that the Federal Government had proposed a bill for the establishment of the tribunal.

    Kuna, who delivered a keynote address during a training organised for INEC legal and police officers on prosecution of election offences in Calabar, said: “This is a welcome development to the commission because it would mean that some of the cases we have been seeing of electoral fraud and offences would be addressed by separate body that would be fully staffed and funded to address exactly the issue of electoral offences.”

    The training was organised by INEC with support from the European Centre for electoral Support (ECES) within the context of Component One of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN)

    Kuna said there was need to collectively address the problems of electoral impunity by ensuring that electoral offenders were diligently prosecuted.

    According to him, to move the democratic process forward, it must be ensured that those who break the law were brought to book, and this, he said, was part of what the training programme sought to address.

    “The issue of the electoral offences tribunal is something that has been recommended since the Uwais Commission and INEC, after the 2011 registration, given the number of multiple registrants, thought it was not capable technically and resources-wise to prosecute all the 870,000 cases of multiple registrants at that time. So, it lent its voice to the implementation of that aspect of the Uwais Commission that said that there is a need to create an electoral offences tribunal.

    “After the 2011 general elections, the government set up the Lemu Commission, which also recommended that an electoral offences tribunal be created.”

    He added that the commission was also working hard to check the problem of vote-buying during elections.

    Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner Dr. Frankland Briyai said it was not just important to institute legal proceedings against electoral offenders, but far more important to successfully arraign, prosecute and secure conviction against such offenders.

    Briyai, who was represented by the state INEC Administrative Secretary, Mrs. Irene Oghuma, urged the participants of the training to the make best use of the opportunity.

    ECES Senior Electoral Expert Maria Teresa Mauro said the perpetration of election offences undermines the smooth conduct of the elections and impacts on the integrity of the electoral process.

  • Fed Govt ‘ll win war against corruption, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that the Federal Government is committed to winning the war against corruption in Nigeria.

    The President spoke in New York at the African Union High-Level Dialogue with the theme: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.’’

    The president was unanimously endorsed by AU leaders in January to champion the commission’s theme for 2018.

    Buhari commended African leaders for the honour bestowed on him to champion the course of fighting corruption in Africa in 2018 and beyond.

    The president, however, urged African leaders to also remain committed to the fight against corruption to ensure rapid development of the continent.

    According to Buhari, Africa loses about 50 billion dollars to illicit financial flow annually.

    “Illicit financial flow out of the continent has become a major concern because of the scale of its negative effects on economic development and governance agenda.

    “Some of the effects of corruption include draining of foreign exchange reserves, reduction of tax revenue collection, poor investment inflow and escalation of poverty,” he said.

    He said that efforts were being made by African leaders to checkmate the illicit financial flow from the continent

    Buhari said that one of the measures necessary if Africa was to make headway in the fight against corruption, was to evolve laws and policies which encourage transparent financial transactions.

    He said that another measure was to ensure implementation of measures that would mitigate the incentive that facilitate the illegal outflow of funds from the continent.

    The president called on the leaders to organise African youth conferences against corruption in order to sensitise the youth on the fight against corruption

    He also called for the mobilisation of African Union member states to implement the convention on combating corruption.

    The president advocated the strengthening of the criminal justice system against corruption and boost exchange of information sharing best practices in the fight against corruption.

    The AU Chair person, Mousa Faki, commended Buhari for his resolve to fight corruption, stressing that it was not by accident that he was appointed to champion the campaign.

    Faki described corruption as a cancer that had eaten deep into the fabric of the continent.

    He said corruption and illicit financial flow had hindered investment and deterred the growth of the continent.

    “Corruption in all dimensions discourages investment flow, creates inequality, escalates poverty and increases public expenditure,” he said.

    Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu, warned looters of the country’s treasury to voluntarily return stolen funds and assets or face prosecution.

    Magu, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, described corruption as “an evil that would not be tolerated.’’

    He said: “All of them (looters) should return all the looted funds and join us in the fight against corruption because it is important.

    “All of us have a responsibility in the fight against corruption, whether you are corrupt or not.

    “But my take is that they should return all the stolen funds and we can see what we can do.’’

    The anti-corruption chief, however, warned that if looters decide to remain adamant, the law would catch up with them.

    “We would prosecute them, we would get them, no matter how long it would take, we would get them; I’m telling you.

    “Corruption is an evil that affects all of us. So we should join hands to eradicate it,” he said.

    He also said that there was hope that Africa would win the war against corruption if there was collaboration among the anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies through “timely intelligence.”

  • Fed Govt, states share N741.84b

    Federal, states and local governments yesterday shared N741.84 billion. The revenue generated in August rose by N27.04 billion;  N714.84 was shared in July.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, told reporters after the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja that the increase in crude oil exports sales volume from 37.4 million barrels in July to 45.7 million barrels in August caused the rise.

    Isa-Dutse said Value Added Tax, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax increased in the month of August, while Companies Income Tax and oil royalty decreased.

    Giving a breakdown of the revenue generated, the Permanent Secretary said N451.29 billion was generated as mineral revenue, while N175.84 billion came as non-mineral revenue.

    The minister said the Federal Government received N274.88 billion, states N139.42 billion and local government N107.49 billion.

    He said N53.03 billion was shared among the oil producing states, representing 13 per cent of the oil revenue generated in August.

    Isa-Dutse said because the revenue for the month surpassed their expectation, an equivalent of N40 billion was transferred into the Excess Crude Account (ECA), adding that the balance in the ECA account was 2.46 billion dollars.

    On the claim that the Federal Government had recalled the second tranche of the Paris Club Refund from Delta, Imo, Benue, Rivers and Osun state, he said that the issue was not raised by the committee members.

  • Labour insists on strike as Fed Govt reconvenes wage panel for Oct 4

    THE Federal Government has bowed to pressure by organised labour to reconvene the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage.

    It announced that the committee, which adjourned sine die on September 4, will reconvene on October 4 to conclude its assignment and submit its report to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige, at a meeting with organised labour in his office, said the two weeks ultimatum issued by labour leaders demanding the government reconvene the committee did not get to him.

    He noted that the issue would have been addressed scientifically.

    But the announcement by the Minister did not stop the proposed warning strike as organised labour insisted that the strike, which began midnight yesterday, would go ahead till further notice.

    It noted that when labour issued their notice, the government did not bother to call for consultation and dialogue to avert the strike.

    The tripartite committee on the new National minimum wage which was supposed to conclude its report on the 21st of August, 2018 adjourned sine die at the instance of the government team on the excuse that the government needed more time to consult and arrive at a figure.

    The adjournment did not go down well with labour leaders who accused the government of deliberately frustrating the process.

    The minister, who met with the labour leaders on government’s position, said the Buhari government has shown in several ways that it was a labour-friendly government.

    He added that government would keep showing its Labour-friendly disposition.

    Ngige said: “One of the ways that we are going to show it is by implementing the new national minimum wage and this we need to fix a base for the lowest paid worker in Nigeria.

    “We are resuming next week, precisely on Thursday, October 4 and the meeting may split over to October 5, as we normally use two days for the meeting. So, we are reconvening the meeting on the October 4, and all the process have being put in place.”

    But Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba said the strike by organised labour would go ahead and asked workers to await further directives.

    Wabba said: “We had a meeting where the Minister of Labour tried to update us. Since the time we issued this notice, there has been no consultation or meeting.

    “This is the first meeting and he tried to update us on what they are trying to do. So, the briefing needs to be communicated to our membership. Our demand is that the Tripartite Negotiating Council should be called back to conclude its assignment.

    “We are taking back the discussion we had with him, especially the update on what they are doing which before now, we are not aware because there was no consultation.”

    On his part, Deputy President of United Labour Congress (ULC) Comrade Igwe Achese said the meeting was an interactive meeting with members of tripartite committee.

    Achese said the meeting called by the minister was to brief the organised labour on the update of the Federal Government activities as it concern the new national minimum wage.

    Before the meeting with the minister, the organised labour directed workers in both the public and private sector to remain at home as from yesterday midnight, till further notice in protest against government’s failure to reconvene the tripartite committee.

    Addressing a joint news conference in Abuja, leaders of NLC, TUC and the United Labour Congress (ULC) said the development since the ultimatum was given by the workers was a clear indication that the government was not serious about the issue of the new minimum wage

    Wabba, who spoke on behalf of the other labour leaders, said the strike is expected to affect public and private schools, banks, fuel stations and private and public institutions across the country.

    Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) yesterday said it has joined the indefinite warning strike.

    Court workers also gave notice to begin the industrial action after close of work yesterday.

    Its National President, Comrade Nuhu Ogirima, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, decried the Federal Government’s insensitivity to Nigerian workers’ welfare and the pathetic plight of colleges of education.

    Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) President Marwan Mustapha Adamu said the strike was in compliance with the directive of the nation’s three labour centres to down tools.

    In a statement issued yesterday, Adamu directed JUSUN members nationwide to comply with the warning strike.

    The Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), in a statement signed by its chairman, Comrade Korede in Abuja, called on workers to comply fully with the strike action.

    Also, the National Public Relations Officer, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Fortune Obi, who spoke with The Nation on phone, noted that the association would comply with the directive of its parent union, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), on the issue.

    According to him, the Central Working Committee of the association would be meeting today from which it would reach a decision on the industrial action.

    He added that PENGASSAN “as at now, we are watching the situation”.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), however, told The Nation that it has sufficient petroleum products supply, if the organised labour makes good its threat to embark on the industrial action.

    Its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, who spoke on phone yesterday, said NNPC would ensure that there were no hitches in the supply of the fuel and the other products of the corporation.

  • Fed Govt to rehabilitate Kastina roads

    The Federal Controller of Works for Katsina State, Tunde Balogun, an engineer, has assured motorists that rehabilitation of  federal roads in the state would soon start.

    This is coming on the heels of the submission of proposals for the repairs for their capture in the ministry’s budget

    Balogun, who gave the assurance  in Katsina, during a chat with The Nation in his office, said already the dualisation of the Kano-Katsina federal highway was in progress and that work on the Katsina border end of the road, which was awarded to Chinese firm, CCECC, was also ongoing.

    He said: “The state government is taking charge of internal roads within the state capital or local government headquarters, like the Kano road in  Malumfashi and the bye-pass. It is the Katsina State government that has been maintaining that intersecting roads within the town.’’ He revealed that road maintenance remains the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency’s  (FERMA) responsibility, while rehabilitation of major highways, especially when it stretches to eight kilometre and beyond.

    According to Balogun, there is much improvement on road funding under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari compared to the past, hence the reason for the rehabilitation and construction of federal roads.

    On his assessment of the condition of federal roads in the state, the controller said it is fair, when compared to what obtains in some other states. He identified other federal roads being captured in the proposals to include; Katsina-Dutsinma-Kankara road, Katsina-Jibia road and Daura-Kano road.

    Meanwhile, FERMA has assured motorists plying Funtua-Bakori-Katsina roads that the patching of the potholes on the road had not been abandoned as being insinuated, and that work would resume on the road as soon as the rainy season is over.

    FERMA Resident Engineer in Katsina State, Ali Abdul, told The Nation, that the road was being handled under direct labour and supervised by one of their workers.

     

  • Fed Govt approves N42.68b for ASUU, Nigeria Airways ex-workers

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N42.68 billion for workers in the aviation and education sectors.

    The release of N22.68 billion is for the settlement of part of the retirement benefits of former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL). The other N20 billion is for the revitalisation of public universities in line with demands of the Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU).

    Finance Minister Hajia Zainab Ahmed who broke the news yesterday to reporters in Abuja noted that the initial submission regarding the retirement benefits of ex-NAL workers in liquidation was N78 billion.

    The minister said: “The amount was verified by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) and other relevant stakeholders in line with the conditions of service of Nigeria Airways and other extant rules and regulations.

    “At the end of the verification, the sum of N45 billion was agreed as the total retirement benefits of the affected staff.”

    The former workers have not been paid their retirement benefits for the past 15 years despite the liquidation which inflicted on them inconveniences.

    “This unfortunate situation”, Hajia Zainab said, “cannot be allowed to continue under a responsible administration.

    “It is on this basis that President Buhari approved the immediate release of N22.68 billion being 50 per cent of N45.3 billion total entitlements of the ex-workers of Nigeria Airways limited in liquidation.”

    To ensure the implementation of the President’s directives in line with extant financial rules, the minister constituted a committee to be headed by the PICA Secretary.

    To serve on the committee are: representatives of the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, ministries of Aviation and Finance, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Union of ex-NAL workers and Budget Office of the Federation.

    The Committee has been mandated to physically verify the claims of the Pension and relevant next-of-kin before the release of the funds to the genuine beneficiaries.

    On the funds released for the revitalisation of public universities, Hajia Ahmed stated that the ASUU signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Government in 2013 to improve funding for staff welfare and the provision of critical infrastructure in public universities but some challenges had dogged the implementation of the bilateral agreement due to revenue shortages and other reasons.

    She said: “To revitalise public universities and ensure smooth running of the tertiary education in the country, it was decided that N20 billion be immediately released for the public universities through the revitalization scheme.

    “These funds will be released to the beneficiary universities in line with the established criteria used by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC).

    “The government will monitor the progress of the implementation with a view to resolving emerging issues and keeping the promises to the relevant stakeholders.

    ASUU Vice President Emmanuel Osodeke wondered why government was releasing only N20 billion, which was to have been a palliative since September 2017.

    He said: “What we expect to be discussing now is how to properly fund public universities sustainably without recourse to national budgets.”