The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt spending Abacha loot to win poll for Fayemi, says Olusola

    People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Kolapo Olusola, has alleged that the Federal Government has set aside part of the $321 million loot of the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha for tomorrow’s governorship election in Ekiti State.

    He claimed that about $50 million of the recovered loot was ferried from Abuja in a chartered flight through Akure Airport and conveyed to Ekiti State in two bullion vans to be spent in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    The Director, Media and Publicity of Kolapo Olusola Campaign Organisation, Lere Olayinka, also alleged in a statement yesterday that “preliminary findings” indicated that N2.5 billion cash was transferred by the Kebbi State Government to an account in UBA, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

    He said: “We called you here to intimate the public through your various media organisations of the movement of huge cash by the federal government to Ekiti State for the Saturday election.

    “Last week Saturday, two bullion vehicles were moved to the Akure Airport to evacuate cash brought from Abuja by a chartered flight.

    “The flight landed when it was raining and all staff of the airport were barred from going near the aircraft while the cash was evacuated into the two bullion vehicles.

    “After offloading the huge cash, the bullion van first moved to the Ondo State Government House in Akure from where they left for Isan Ekiti, the hometown of the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.”

    On the alleged cash from Kebbi State, he said: “It was withdrawn immediately and moved with a private jet to Akure.

    “Also, apart from the N2.5 billion, another $50m (about N18bn) was taking from the $321m recovered from the late Abacha family.

    “Our question is, how can a government that claimed to be fighting corruption released billions of naira from the public coffers for the governorship election of a single State? Where is their fight against corruption?”

    Olusola called on Nigerians to note this wanton looting of public fund by the APC government to fund election of its members.

    “We must tell Fayemi and his APC that the conscience of the people of Ekiti cannot be purchased and we call on the people of Ekiti to resist the planned use of stolen fund to buy their votes of Saturday,” he added.

    Olusola also called the attention of the public to alleged intimidation and harassment of PDP members by men of the Department of State Services and policemen.

    “Already, Akin Fakorede, an officer of the Federal SARS has been posted to Ekiti State, ostensibly to play the same ignoble role that he played during the Rivers State election.

    “Let me say it clearly that no amount of intimidation will scare our people away from the polling units where they will vote for the PDP on Saturday.

    “We have the people behind us and they are more than ready to give our candidate their votes on Saturday.”

  • Fed Govt launches national campaign against fake news

    The Federal Government yesterday launched National Campaign Against Fake News, advising Nigerians to be vigilant.

    It said the essence of the campaign is to sensitise all Nigerians to the dangers posed by fake news to the peace and security, and indeed the corporate existence of Nigeria by the phenomenon.

    But the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed, said the campaign would not lead to press gag or media censorship.

    He said the modality to be used for the campaign includes information dissemination tools, the traditional and social media, as well as the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to get the word out there about the dangers of fake news.

    Mohammed, who unveiled the campaign at a press conference in Abuja, said the global epidemic of Fake News was already having far-reaching repercussions across the world.

    He said: “There is an epidemic sweeping the world. If left unchecked, it could be worse than all the plagues that the world has recorded put together. It is a clear and present danger to global peace and security. It is a threat to democracy. It is the epidemic of Fake News. Mixed with hate speech, it is a disaster waiting to happen.

    “For the media, the epidemic is even worse. This is because fake news, in most cases designed to misinform, undermines confidence in the media. And once the people lose confidence in the media, the

    society is in trouble.

    “Let’s be straight. Fakes News is not new. It is said to be as old as the printing press. What has made it an issue of concern is the means and speed at which it is now spread around the world, and that

    means is the social media.

    “Anyone with a phone and internet access can author and make fake news go viral in minutes. With the number of mobile phone users in the world expected to pass the 5 billion mark by 2019, you can see the kind of crisis we face.

    Mohammed explained why the government decided to launch the campaign now in the country.

    “ For those who may not know, we have been calling national attention to the issue of fake news, misinformation and hate speech since 2017.

    “We even organized a special National Council on Information on the issue of fake news, misinformation and hate speech in Jos in July 2017. And at a conference for media handlers of state governors, in Abuja in 2017, we warned that fake news and misinformation could pose a threat to the 2019 general elections.

    “Unfortunately, instead of abating, the fake news issue, which became a global phenomenon in the wake of the 2016 US election, has grown worse, hence our decision to launch this National Campaign Against Fake News.

    “The essence of this campaign is to sensitize all Nigerians to the dangers posed to the peace and security, and indeed the corporate existence of Nigeria by the phenomenon, and the fact that each and every Nigerian has a role to play in curtailing the spread of fake news.

    “The timing is also not unconnected to the role of fake news in aggravating the various crises in the country as well as the need to check this phenomenon ahead of the 2019 elections.

    On the modality of the campaign, Mohammed said:  “We will use all the information dissemination tools at our disposal, work with both the traditional and social media, as well as the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to get the word out there about the dangers that fake news poses to our peace and security, our democracy and our corporate existence.

    “We are also appealing to the media to lead the campaign. They should remember what authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel said in their book – THE ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM – that journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.

    “At this juncture, let me thank the media organizations that are collaborating with us to sponsor this campaign. They are the NTA, FRCN, Vanguard, The Nation and Leadership. We have no doubt that the entire Nigerian media will join us in this campaign.”

    He said Nigeria was not immune from fake news including those capable of aggravating farmers-herders clashes.

    He cited a front page publication last Thursday, by a national newspaper which claimed that a Court ordered the National Assembly to begin impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari as fake news.

    He said by the Certified True copy of the order, the Presiding Judge of the Federal High Court in Osogbo only ruled that “the applicants are hereby granted leave to issue and bring an Application for the order of Mandamus to compel 1st to 3rd Respondents to start impeachment proceedings against the 4th Respondent, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’ This was manipulated to read that the court has given the go-ahead for the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against the President.” Fake News!

    “In a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like ours, fake news is a time bomb. And in recent weeks, many anarchists have been doing everything possible to detonate the bomb. But for the prudence and vigilance of Nigerians, they – the religious and ethnic bigots among us –  would have set the nation on fire, especially over the farmers-herders clashes as well as communal clashes.

    “Having come under fire for their role in spreading fake news, the big technology companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter have started to address the problem. Google is reported to have dedicated 300 million US dollars over the next three years towards efforts to fight the spread of false information.

    “Facebook, according to Bloomberg, took down 583 million fake accounts in the first three months of 2018. And, according to Reuters, Twitter suspended over 70 million accounts in May and June this year alone, and the pace of suspension has continued. Apart from the techies, the European Commission, in January 2018, set up a high-level group of experts to advise on policy initiatives to counter fake news and disinformation spread online.

  • Fed Govt, AfDB, partner to bridge $3tr infrastructure gap

    RELIEF is underway for the Federal Government as the African Development Bank (AfDB) offered yesterday to assist in bridging the country’s infrastructure gap estimated to cost about $3 trillion in the next 26 years.

    AfDB Senior Director (Nigeria) Ebrima Faal broke the news yesterday at the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Road show in Abuja.

    Mr. Faal said the AIF idea came from the reality that the government alone could not finance the infrastructure gap in the country which made it difficult to achieve sustainable development.

    He said: “Indeed, over the last decade, and despite impressive growth rates in most of the continent, Africa’s infrastructure needs remain formidable with annual financing gap between 130 and 107 billion dollars annually.

    “Nigeria’s infrastructure cumulative financing needs are estimated to reach $3 trillion dollars by 2044 or about $100 billion annually.

    “This is all happening at a time when public sector finances are extremely pressured. There is therefore a critical need to change the current funding mix and create partnerships to finance infrastructure and other projects in Africa.”

    To this end, Faal said the AfDB planned to assist Nigeria put together a pipeline of bankable projects ahead of the AIF coming up on November 7 to 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    He said the bank, working with multilateral institutions and the private sector, would help the country to develop investment-ready projects for investors, fund managers and others at the forum in South Africa.

    The AfDB chief said: “The African Development Bank is committed to the development of effective public-private-partnerships and has been developing new innovative financing programmes, instruments and partnerships.

    “This is to facilitate the financing and construction of critical infrastructure on the continent.”

    Stella Kilonzo, a Senior Director at the AfDB in charge of the AIF, said through the forum the bank aimed to de-risk investments in Africa.

    According to her, African countries, including Nigeria, struggle to attract significant capital due to poor preparation and packaging of project proposals, limited availability of tools for credit enhancement and risk coverage among others.

    She said in Nigeria, the bank would fast track the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by developing bankable projects in the agricultural, energy and infrastructure sectors, among others.

    The Coordinator of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), Folarin Alayande, said the Federal Government had identified key priority projects that would spur sustainable growth.

    He listed private investments and job creation; agriculture and transportation; manufacturing and processing; as well as power and gas supply as the sectors being mobilised by the government to attract investment focus.

    To this end, he said Nigeria would require about $22.5 billion of investment commitments by year 2020 to cover 164 projects, spread over six geo political zones.

  • Fed Govt unpaid ex-employees can’t access 25% pension

    Federal Government employees under the Contributory Pension Fund (CPS), who lost their jobs before 50, have not been able to access 25 per cent of their pension benefits, The Nation has learnt.

    Investigation has revealed that the government is yet to pay their accrued pension rights into their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) managed by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

    The accrued rights unpaid by the government makes the 25 per cent fund inaccessible for the workers, contrary to the provision in the Pension Reform Act (PRA), as repealed by the PRA 2014. Similarly, it makes it impossible for retirees to access their fund after retirement, years after retirement.

    While employees in the private sector who lose their jobs are able to access 25 per cent of their fund, those in the public sector are unable to do so.

    Section 7, subsection 5, of the Act states that without prejudice to subsection (1) of this section, any employee who disengages, or is disengaged from employment before  50 and is unable to secure another employment within four months of such disengagement, may make withdrawal from his retirement savings account.

    Accrued rights on the other hand, is the debt owed by the government to the workers as pension benefits  before the commencement of the CPS in June 2007.

    Section 15 ( 1 ) states: “From 25 June, 2004, being the commencement of the Pension Reform Act, 2004, the accrued pension right to retirement benefits of any employee who is already under any pension scheme existing before the commencement of that Act and has over three years to retire, shall in the case of employees of the public service of the Federation where the scheme is unfunded, be recognised in the form of an amount acknowledged through the issuance of Federal Government Retirement Benefits Bonds by the Debt Management Office in favour of the employees and the bond issued under this subsection, shall be redeemed upon the retirement of the employee in accordance with section 39 of this Bill and the amount so redeemed shall be added to the balance of the retirement savings account of the employee and applied in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of this Bill.

    “Where there is such a debt, the employer shall immediately issue a written acknowledgement of the debt to the relevant employee and take steps to meet the shortfall, and such debt shall not be affected by the provisions of any limitation law in force for the time being. The employer shall notify the Commission of any written acknowledgment that arises under paragraph (c) of subsection (I) of this section and any steps taken or planned to meet the shortfall.

    “The accrued pension rights and entitlements of employees of the public service of the Federation as provided for under subsection (1) of this section, shall be reviewed by the Federal Government from time to time in line with the provisions of section 173 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), provided that the variation so derived from the salary reviews shall be provided by the Federal Government and credited directly into retirement savings account of individual retiree”, the Act read.

    One of the affected out of job persons, 45 year old Adebayo Aderibigbe who spoke with The Nation lamented his ordeal. He said he needs the money to be able to start a trade.

    He stated that his PFA, ARM Pension told him they cannot pay him 25 per cent out of his pension because they have to wait for the federal government to pay his accrued right to pension account before they can pay.

    He said: “I told them to pay me from the money remitted as my contributions that was deducted from my salary when I was working, but they said no.

    “I and my family have been suffering. I cannot pay my children’s school fees nor feed them, yet I have money locked up with my PFA because government has refused to pay my accrued right. I do not understand why I have to be left to wallow in abject poverty when I have money somewhere. This us unbelievable.

    “I am appealing to the government to pay me my money.

    Head, Corporate Communications, Peter Aghahowa said the commission was aware of this shortcoming and had been working to correct the anomaly.

    “We have been on the accrued right issue for Federal Government workers for some time.

    “By law, accrued right and pension need to be consolidated. The Commission is inhibited to abide by the law but we are working to address it. But ideally, this is one of the issues that are inhibiting the progress of the CPS,” he said.

     

  • Otedola Bridge: Fed Govt to ban importation of vehicles over 10 years

    To end accidents, like the June 28 fire on Otedola Bridge in Lagos as well as other road crashes involving haulage vehicles, such as tankers and trailers, the Federal Government will soon ban haulage vehicles exceeding 10 years of manufacture.

    The ban will take effect from January 1, 2020.

    The government will also place mandatory certification on huge vehicles twice a year and insists that all of such vehicles install standard speed limits.

    These decisions were reached in Abuja at a meeting of stakeholders on haulage operators, coordinated through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

    Corps Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bisi Kazeem, broke the news in a statement yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    Kazeem said the meeting agreed that vehicles without safety valves and required number plates be banned from loading.

    He said: “Concerned with the spate of road traffic crashes involving haulage and other related vehicles in the country, the Federal Government, through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, called a meeting of relevant stakeholders on haulage operators.

    “…The meeting had in attendance all critical stakeholders from private sector and government organisations, including the Chairman, Senate

    Committee on Federal Character and Inter-governmental Affairs; Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transportation; Chairman, House Committee on Road Safety as well as Chairman, House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi.

    “Other stakeholders in attendance were the representative of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), heads of various transport related agencies, transport unions and petroleum industry. After the opening address by the SGF, presentation by the Corps Marshal and goodwill messages from members of the National Assembly present as well as inputs by various stakeholders, a plan of action capable of addressing the menace and binding on all members was adopted.”

     

     

  • Pay our entitlements, pensioners beg Fed Govt

    THE Association of Federal Contributory Scheme Pensioners in Oyo State yesterday appealed to the Federal Government to promptly pay the full entitlements of members so as to ameliorate their sufferings.

    The association’s president, Mr. Matthew Shittu, made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

    Shittu said retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) were being short-changed as a result of the non-payment of their full entitlements.

    He said the Federal Government still owed pensioners, who joined the CPS at inception, accrued interests on their initial entitlements as at July 2004.

    Shittu added that this was deposited with the CBN as bonds.

    “We demand from the Federal Government the payment of our accrued interest on our money bonded with the CBN since 2004, when the Federal Government retired us.

    “They only pay our accrued rights and the money we contributed to the PFA, leaving outstanding the accrued interest,” he said.

    Shittu demanded the calculation and payment of all accrued interests for pensioners as at July 2004 at the government’s official interest rate.

    The association’s president said that the seeming silence of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on the accrued interests payable to retirees under the new scheme was a cause of concern to his members.

    He called on the Federal Government to direct the commission, CBN, Account-General of Federation and other relevant agencies, which are custodians of contributory pensions to calculate and pay the outstanding interest of pensioners’ bond without delay.

    Shittu also called for the payment of the retirement benefits of pensioners who retired since January 2017.

  • fed govt seeks unity in dealing with herder-farmer crises

    •Only sick person ‘ll accuse President of backing killers, says Kalu

    THE Presidency has appealed to its citizens and members of the international community to refrain from spreading false stories and inflammatory statements concerning herder-farmer clashes.

    The Federal Government, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, is working closely with state governments, the security services and international partners to resolve the issue.

    Noting that the clashes between herders and farmers were historical, he said that the causes of the new confrontations are varied and complex.

    “Climate change, specifically the drying up of the Chad Basin, has led to more pressure on the population in the North of Nigeria, which further compounded the problem.

    “As President Buhari indicated lately, there is evidence of involvement of some politicians using criminals to perpetuate the killings.

    “Climate change is an issue of global significance and the Nigerian Government is determined to continue working closely with its neighbours in order to ensure that a long-term solution can be implemented.”

    The Federal Government, according to him, makes no distinction among the population and works tirelessly to protect the citizens.

    “We are strongest as a nation when we are united and it is through unity that we will overcome this challenge,” he stated .

    Also at the weekend, Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu said only a sick man or woman will accuse the President of supporting herdsmen to kill innocent Nigerians,

    According to him, the Buhari he knows could not support killing of citizens under his administration.

    He spoke in his resident in Abuja while hosting the outgoing Czech Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Pavel Mikes, to a dinner.

    Those who attended the dinner included Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, Reformed-All Progressives Congress (R-APC) National Chairman Alhaji Buba Galadima, former APC National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun and Minister of Labour Chris Ngige.

    Kalu said: “It’s surprising when people will accuse our President of supporting herdsmen. It’s a sick man or woman that will be able to say that.

    “I don’t know why a President of Nigeria would be expected to aid people to kill his citizens. It’s embarrassing to even hear that…

    “The issue of herdsmen has become a big challenge to us since government dismantled Boko Haram. It’s embarrassing to continue to see where human being will kill their fellow human beings. It is not acceptable to anybody created by God.”

    Being a former governor himself, he urged state governors to do more to end the series of herdsmen killings in the country.

    Speaking with reporters on APC, he said: “APC is on track, it is the most progressive party in Nigeria and sub-Sahara Africa. We are very ready for the next task.”

    On whether truce was in sight in APC since Galadima attended the dinner, he said: “There was no meeting; it was dinner. Buba Galadima had been my personal friend. You remember I went to school in the University of Maiduguri. I know him and Dr. Haman Sule through President Buhari. I invited him for this dinner and he came.

    “Through our new comrade chairman, we have engaged most of them to get them back. We will control it because it is a family matter. In every family, you quarrel. All arms of the APC are busy talking, as much as we can talk to them. There is no panic.

    “We have not got to the destination. The destination is to bring back an APC President in 2019, which is Muhammadu Buhari.”

     

     

  • Fed Govt to implement ratified ILO conventions

    The  Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has promised that the administration  will all ratified International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) conventions will be implemented.

    Ngige gave the assurance in his Abuja office when he received a team of experts on a working visit from the ILO.

    He said: “It is important to express our efforts at aligning our labour laws with the contemporary issues in labour administration and in the spirit of ILO convention to which we are a signatory. In this regard, efforts are being made to fast-track the passage of the outstanding labour laws by the National Assembly with necessary review and amendment in tandem with development in International Labour Standards and the dynamics in Nigeria labour administration system, policies and practices.

    “To ensure that progress is made in updating the outstanding labour bills, officials of the Ministry of Labour and Employment recently undertook in-house validation meeting to effect corrections and inputs made during the tripartite meeting and prepare the bills for further scrutiny, validation and consensus building by all stakeholders. I want to assure you that we will again re-energise the various departments so we can speed up on the revalidation of the bills to see the one we can again get into law.”

    Ngige said Nigeria was one of the frontline member-states of ILO, having been elected into its governing board as a government representative, workers’ representatives and employers’ representative; hence, it cannot be seen to be lagging behind.

    “I want to assure you that with the technical assistance you have rendered, we will work diligently to ensure that we render outstanding reports in September as stipulated; we will do so and I want to assure you that we will not fail,” he assured.

    Earlier, the ILO team leader, Mr. David Dakenoo Kwabla, said the they came at the invitation of the Federal Government to come and build capacity for the ministry andother relevant stakeholders in the country. This is to enable the government to fulfill its obligation on the reporting on international labour standards.

    He stated that for the past two days, there had been an intensive training programme for both the ministry and other relevant stakeholders, such as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

  • Fed Govt pays over N150b to construction firms

    The Federal Government has paid over half of the N300 billion which was owed to the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI).

    Speaking in Abuja yesterday at FOCI’s 62nd Annual General Meeting (AGM),  FOCI President, Nasiru Dantata, confirmed the payment.

    Dantata said the payment made it possible for the member companies to resume work on several roads across the country.

    He also said the government has contracted some new key projects to member companies.

    Dantata who is also the Executive Director, Dantata & Sawoe Construction Co., blamed lack of skilled and trained workers who can perform required tasks for growing  unemployment in the country.

    He said this was the reason why construction companies are reluctant to hire graduates.

    “The issue is finding capable hands because we don’t have as many trained professionals as we would like to at the moment.

    “I am not saying that Nigerian universities turnouts are not employable, but we are not only looking for graduates. We employ few engineers, but many artisans. So it is the issue of artisans: masons, carpenters, and operators of heavy-duty machineries.

    “We are looking into training Nigerians so that when construction companies are expanding, we will be able to find skilled hands for the jobs,”he said.

    Speaking on bad roads and collapsing infrastructure, Dantata exonerated FOCI and assured that the companies under the industry’s umbrella are competent contractors with enough hands and equipment to execute projects.

    He said: “If we build a house for 10 people and you allow 100 people to use it, you should not ask the builder what happened when it goes bad.

    “Most of the roads our members have built in Abuja have been around for over 30 years, and the only way they might fail is through aging and cracking, but you won’t see potholes occurring.

  • Social security: Fed Govt takes interest-free microcredit loans to grassroots

    The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) MarketMoni is a Social Intervention Programme (SIP) that provides loans of up to N300, 000 to rural dwellers. The scheme, anchored by the Bank of Industry (BoI), directly impacts traders, market women, artisans, and farmers across the country. COLLINS NWEZE captures experiences of some beneficiaries of the scheme.

    Grassroots dwellers, petty traders, artisans, traders and cooperative societies are among the most neglected segments of the society when it comes to credit access in Nigeria.

    Ironically, more than 70 per cent of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are operated by these categories of people. They lack access to loans and financial facilities to sustain and grow their businesses.

    But, the narrative is changing as the Federal Government has taken steps to bridge the credit gap and create wealth for Nigerians on the lower rung of the economic ladder. To tackle the issue head-on at inception, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration introduced the Government Empowerment and Enterprise Programme (GEEP). The GEEP is one of the Social Intervention Programmes (SIPs), designed to offer zero interest rate loans to over 1.2 million beneficiaries at the grassroots.

    Under the scheme, micro business owners, who hitherto had no access to loans to grow their businesses, are being offered unhindered access to affordable micro credit.

    Some beneficiaries of the GEEP TraderMoni scheme, a unique micro credit facility rolled out nationwide by the government spoke on their experiences of the live-changing SIP.

    Joining a long line of other selected beneficiaries, Mrs. Patience Ikhiapa was overjoyed to receive her payment notification during the pilot phase of the TraderMoni interest-free loan disbursement in Edo State.

    Speaking on how she started her business, Ikhiapa said: “I thought it was a joke when a GEEP agent came to tell me that the government is helping people like me. Although I was reluctant at first, I gave the agent my details. Later, I got a call and a text to come for verification”.

    According to her, she was trading with only N500.

    She said: “I was selling cold pure water. Each day I buy a few bags and sell in public places. Things were very hard for me, sometimes at the end of the day, my gain may just be N300. In the process of hawking, I found a place in Sapele prison to sell bread and minerals to people. With this N10, 000 loan, I am planning to add more things to what I sell… I am very happy that little by little, things are getting better for me.”

    Mrs. Ikhiapa, alongside 368 others, got the interest-free loan of N10,000 per person in Edo State. Asides the money, the beneficiaries also got food and some products from well-known fast-moving consumer goods brands, to add to their wares.

    According to the GEEP organisers, majority of the beneficiaries were owners of ultra-small microenterprises, those known in the local parlance as petty traders. They were also mostly women, some with babies strapped to their backs.

    “They were called because of a renewed focus of the government, to tackle hunger, reduce poverty and improve standard of living of those who are often left out of the conversation on micro finance and credit schemes,” the organisers said.

    The government, through TraderMoni, seeks to offer interest-free micro loans to people like Ikhiapa, the food sellers, Mai Shais, petty craftsmen, shoe repairers, and other street traders. The scheme is an addition, to an existing one called MarketMoni, which already caters for market women, artisans, farmers and enterprising youths.

    Another TraderMoni beneficiary, Benedicta Imanogbe, expressed gratitude to the government for the loan.

    Mrs. Imanogbe, who is into soap making said: “I am going straight to the market to buy materials, more than the quantity I have always bought. I know people will be asking me where I got money, so, I will just be shouting that the government gave it to me. We do not believe money will get to people on the streets but this one is real.”

    Daniel Martins, who ekes out a living as a plumber, said: “I have a little caravan where I sell small plumbing materials. Once I finish paying back this small loan, which will help buy few things, I will apply for a bigger loan to expand my business some more.

    According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, TraderMoni is for petty traders with trading capital not more than N5, 000 and N10, 000.

    Prof Osinbajo said: “We want to give those types of people some credit as well, and once they pay back, we will give them more money. We want to make sure that the very poor trader, no matter how poor you are, so long as you are trading or working, the Federal Government will support you by giving you some extra money to do whatever you are doing.

    “So, every Nigerian who wants to work, who wants to do something, can get the opportunity to do some work.”

    Explaining the TraderMoni scheme, the Chief Operating Officer of GEEP, Uzoma Nwagba, said since the scheme commenced 18 months ago, the government has been focusing on higher end of the micro-enterprises, disbursing N50, 000 to N300, 000 loans.

    “However, TraderMoni is focused on ultra-micro-enterprises who are literally people on the streets, involved in commercial activities.

    “We created a new category driven by extensive demand for much thinner, smaller loans that do not have much stringent requirements like Bank Verification Number (BVN) or belonging to a market association.

    “These people do not have BVN or bank accounts. They just have their mobile phones. Our agents go to them and capture their data, and we can disburse to them by creating a mobile profile for them automatically.” Explaining further, once the target recipient’s data is captured, and verified, his/her details will be put in a system that the operators monitor extensively.

    Nwagba said: “Subsequently, we will disburse a loan to you immediately that will come to your phone as a mobile money transfer and with that, you can go to withdraw the money at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). You don’t need a card at the ATM, you just need the code that was sent to you then you can withdraw at any ATM in the country.”

    He added that the idea is to provide loans to those with no hopes of accessing credit, and in time onboard them into the mainstream financial service sector, which is a good way to drive financial inclusion.

    Nwagba said: “Think about it as the government taking interventionist approach of saying we have a category of Nigerians at the very base of the pyramid who are not even in our conversation because they are very difficult to track, hard to understand, they don’t have collateral, they are not educated, they do not have BVN, they do not have all the buzz and whistles and security that gives traditional lenders comfort.

    “So, we are willing to take a risk to be able to absorb the critical needs of every Nigerians, and we are hoping to scale this programme to two million Nigerians over the next few months.”

    He restated that the Buhari administration’s commitment every class of Nigerians.

    “These are people who are underrepresented and underserved, especially when it comes to finance, he said, adding: “We work very closely with Vice President, Osinbajo and he is quite obsessive about making sure that the right people get these loans.

    “That is why we can tell you that everybody who has gotten MarketMoni till this day, we can give you the name of the person, where they live, what they do, we can also track them and verify.

    “We do not have money in bulk to a state government, party steward or government official, the money goes directly into the account of the beneficiaries. There is no intermediary and there are no exceptions. I think by doing that, we are ensuring the integrity of the process.”

     

    GEEP Marketmoni enters Kano

     

    During one of his visits to Kano to assess the scheme’s impact, Osinbajo met with a section of the over 11,000 beneficiaries of the GEEP MarketMoni in the state. According to the Executive Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Toyin Adeniji, the programme is aimed at reinvigorating the economy at the base of the pyramid, the hotbed of Nigeria’s financially vulnerable.

    Adeniji said: “GEEP MarketMoni is unprecedented in Nigeria’s history, granting interest-free credit facilities to existing microenterprises of market women and traders, artisans, enterprising youth and agricultural workers. It is critical to the Federal Government’s objective of inclusive growth.”

    All that applicants need to benefit from the scheme is apply through their registered market associations and cooperative societies; have a BVN and a mobile phone. The loans range from N10, 000 to N300, 000, tied to applicants’ BVNs. Beneficiaries are expected to paid back within a six month period without interest.

    According to the Group Head (Microenterprise) of BOI, Uloma Ike, over 11,861 people have benefited from the GEEP MarketMoni loan scheme and over 583 million naira has been disbursed so far in Kano State alone.

    Ike said: “The beneficiaries and representatives of various market associations whose members have received loans will be able to interact with the vice president, talk about the scheme and the impact of the loans on their businesses. It will also be an opportunity for the vice president to experience first-hand, the impact of the programme which today has touched the lives of thousands of beneficiaries nationwide.”

     

    States taking turns

     

    The GEEP MarketMoni interactive sessions had been held in several states across the country. Two of such sessions were in Onitsha, Anambra State, on April 11 and Akure, Ondo State, on May 3.

    In Anambra, over 2,000 traders and artisans met with the vice president, the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, and the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah. Top-performing GEEP beneficiaries in Anambra were selected to display their products at the exhibition grounds and to interact with the vice president.

    In Ondo State, the vice president interacted with several trade associations including market women.

    Speaking on the SIPs, Budget and National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma restated government’s commitment to extend the scheme to everybody.

    Senator Udoma said:  “And that is why we have the social investment programme in which we have committed N500 billion every year in the budget, the school feeding programme, the GEEP. So, we have a number of programmes to make sure nobody is left behind”.

    Udoma who spoke during the World Bank Spring Meetings in the United States (U.S.), added: “I am very encouraged by the fact that the positives development in Nigeria are being recognised. The positive developments about economic recovery and growth plan, the things that we are doing to encourage investment, make Nigeria more investment friendly, I’m happy that all those are being recognised.

    “And the fact that the economy is out of recession and is growing again is also being recognized and the fact that growth is not dependent solely on oil. That there is growth in agriculture and other areas, so it has been a positive meeting for me.”

    Mrs. Uwais said the GEEP was designed to offer zero interest rate on loans to over 1.2 million artisans, traders, market men and women, as well as women cooperatives.

    She told reporters in Lagos that 70 per cent of MSMEs in Nigeria cannot access loans and financial support for business growth.

    Mrs. Uwais said: “GEEP works with cooperatives to assist MSMEs and the Bank of Industry (BoI), manages it by verifying the membership of the cooperatives through BVN. Those who default in repaying the loans get blacklisted and prevented from further access. GEEP targets 1.66 million MSMEs.”

    Speaking further, she said THE Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) has been designed to support one million of the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians.

    The special adviser identefied  economic overdependence on crude oil, absence of critical policies driving inclusive growth and changing demographic profile as challenges that could not be left unaddressed, hence President Buhari’s decision to act.

    According to her, the programmes have taken off in 14 states.

     

    A partnerships that works

     

    The BoI and Unity Bank Plc are partnering for the implementation of the GEEP. Under the partnership, Unity Bank will provide account opening services to qualified beneficiaries of GEEP nationwide. These individual bank accounts will serve as channels for beneficiaries to receive loans disbursed by BoI. Beneficiaries will also make loan repayments through these bank accounts. Unity Bank will also provide BVN registration services for beneficiaries who require such, thereby increasing the financial inclusion in Nigeria.

    The bank’s participation in the laudable scheme stems from the strategic business objective of supporting MSMEs to access affordable funding.

    The bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, stated that the success of the partnership with BoI is testament to the fact that despite the difficulties of accessing credits by this segment of the market.

    She said the good knowledge and understanding of different players in the market segments and ability to harness inherent opportunities for their benefit has continued to differentiate the Bank in line with its strategic business focus on agriculture, retail/SME and rural economy.

    According to BoI’s Managing Director Kayode Pitan, the partnership with Unity Bank on GEEP will further enhance access to financial services to qualified beneficiaries and support BoI’s mandate for GEEP loans to reach 1.6 million beneficiaries nationwide.