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Tag: Fed Govt

  • Jega to Fed Govt, INEC on elections reorder: go to court

    Jega to Fed Govt, INEC on elections reorder: go to court

    Controversy over the reordering of next year’s general elections by the National Assembly was on the front-burner yesterday.

    Those opposed amendment by the upper and lower chambers should go to court, the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, counselled yesterday.

    Jega urged the Federal Government, INEC and other interested parties to challenge the action in a court of law.

    He corrected the notion that the National Assembly fixed a date for the elections; saying that the lawmakers merely reordered the sequence.

    Jega spoke in Abuja at an event organised by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Development.

    Speaking on the theme: “Is Nigeria’s democracy under threat?” the former INEC chair said it has become imperative for the parties to seek judicial interpretation on the matter.

    He said: “Both INEC and the interested parties have been reluctant to go to court for interpretation of constitutional provisions and this is significant because this has to do with the independence of electoral bodies.

    “Frankly, a lot of the arguments on this cannot be wished away and I think it is necessary for the independence of the electoral commission because that is key to the integrity of the electoral process because if we allow people to jettison and undermine that independence for whatever reason, then we are in serious problem. I think there is serious justification to test this matter in court.”

    He stated that the organisation and scheduling of elections remained INEC’s exclusive preserve.

    Jega said: “I am struggling to see where the National Assembly found the constitutional justification for what they have done. I will mention two specific provisions. First of all, in the Schedule of the Constitution, Part 15 Section 1 of the said schedule, INEC has the constitutional power to organise, undertake and supervise elections.

    “But that is not enough. In Section 76 (1), Section 111 (1) and Section 178 (1), it is categorically stated that elections shall be held on a date to be appointed by INEC. So, if elections are to be held on a date set by INEC, where does the National Assembly get the power?

    “As far as I am concerned, the dates and the sequence for elections are together.”

    The former INEC chief however argued that the action of the National Assembly would add to the cost of electoral process as it will now hold on three days instead of two.

    Arguing that politicians remained the biggest threat to democracy, he said politicians continued to undermine INEC’s independence, making the commission’s job more difficult.

    Also speaking on the alleged underage voting, especially in the last local government election in Kano State, Jega said he was hopeful that the committee set up by INEC to investigate the matter would answer many questions.

    He, however, said it was very difficult for the names of underage persons to be removed from the register because Nigeria lacked the technology and database of persons of voting age.

    Jega said: “I don’t think there are children on the INEC voter register but it is possible. The range of possibility is very wide. I can tell you that when INEC was finalising the register for the 2015 general elections, there was no software and there is still no electronic device that can distinguish a child from an adult once they are on the register.

    “So, the only thing I knew INEC did was to get a team of people to visually go through the register and if you do that, people who are below 12 can be identified visually as children but by the time you get to people who are 15, 16, 17 years old, it is very difficult.

    “The margin of error is significant in terms of visual identification of who is of age to be on the register. Also, in the National Assembly, there are people who have baby faces.

    “So, using visual method, people who have baby faces run the risk of being removed from the register. So, the challenge is to prevent children from being on the register. Once they get on the register, the possibility of continuing to be there will remain.”

    A former Labour Party (LP) Chairman Chief Dan Nwanywanwu, who spoke on the alleged underage voting said any register where underage voters were found should be purged completely while the process of registration be done anew.

    Nwanywanwu hailed the National Assembly for changing the sequence of the election.

    He, however, stated that the House of Assembly elections should come first instead of the National Assembly poll.

  • Fed Govt’s okays $6.7b for Ibadan-Kaduna rail line

    Fed Govt’s okays $6.7b for Ibadan-Kaduna rail line

    The construction of the $6.7 billion Ibadan – Kaduna rail line, reconstruction of the N1.9 billion Clinton Drive and N273 million water treatment chemicals, were some of the approvals given by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday.

    Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami told State House reporters after the weekly meeting that the Federal Government has saved over N4.5 trillion from high profile cases prosecuted by his ministry between 2015 and last year.

    The meeting was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.

    Malami briefed the reporters in the company of his colleagues Lai Mohammed (Information, Culture & Tourism); Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation); Ogbonnaya Onu (Science & Technology) and Mohammed Bello (Federal Capital Territory).

    According to Malami, his ministry presented its scorecard to Council in the last two and a half years.

    He said: “In respect of Federal Ministry of Justice what was presented to the Council today is the score card from 2015 to 2017

    “Fundamentally arising from the cases that were conducted by the Federal ministry of Justice, the Ministry has succeeded in saving the government around N4.5 trillion relating to the claims that were presented in respect of these cases which were indeed conducted and concluded.”

    He said a committee has been saddled to come up with policies and strategies to ease prisons’ congestion.

    “Over 70 per cent of the inmates are awaiting trials there are sizeable number that couldn’t afford to pay limited fine that have been imposed by them arriving from their convictions.”

    Amaechi disclosed that his ministry got approval for the construction of the Ibadan – Kaduna rail lines at the cost of $6.7 billion.

    The project, he said, is expected to be completed in three years.

    According to him, the contract for the Kaduna to Kano section of the rail line was awarded last year.

    Onu briefed on the progress made based on the recently approved executive order, the national strategy for competitiveness and the entire science and technology innovation roadmap.

    As part of the scorecard of his ministry in the past two and half years, Onu said he presented new biscuits being produced in conjunction with Nasco Food.

    He said: “High nutrient density products developed and proposed for inclusion in the current Nigerian School Feeding Programme will provide at least a third of the desired major macro and micro nutrients requirement stipulated by the World Health organisation, Food and Nutrition Board.

    “The pupils in the schools in Jos and Lagos where the sensory evaluation and consumer acceptability studies were done showed strong likeness for the products and are ready to consume the products if including in the school feeding program.”

    Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama listed the major projects undertaken by his ministry to include the citizens’ diplomacy programme, desk-to-desk review initiatives and the economic diplomacy innovation.

  • Fed Govt moves to improve ease for doing business

    The Federal Government  drive to improve the ease for doing business  has received a boost as investors and would-be-business owners now have a handbook on how to obtain licenses and permits when doing business in selected sectors in the country.

    Publishers of the handbook, A&E Law Partnership, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said it was part of their contribution to improving the environment for doing business in Nigeria.

    The foreword to the hand book written by Peter Ntephe said the guide is “a one-stop-shop handbook on the rules for entry into various sectors of the Nigerian economy. Key processes and procedures are outlined in as much a succinct way as possible, along with the fees for obtaining licences and registrations.

    This handbook which is a product of the knowledge gained by the law firm over the years in “its core competences” is a praiseworthy compendium and guide to the rules and regulations for doing business in the ‘commanding heights’ of the Nigerian economy.”

  • NCWS urges Fed Govt to end incessant killings

    NCWS urges Fed Govt to end incessant killings

    The National Council for Women Society (NCWS) has called on the Federal Government to  end incessant killings across the country.

    The president of NCWS, Mrs Gloria Laraba Shoda,  in a statement in Abuja, said the killings were too much and unbearable.

    Mrs. Shoda described the Benue massacre as unfortunate.

    She said: “We cannot continue to keep silent as women and mothers while our children, husbands and brothers are being killed by the minute.

    “The continuous killing of innocent citizens in cold blood across Nigeria has given us sleepless nights as women on issues concerning peace and security.

    ”There is hardly a day without an attack from the herdsmen or Boko Haram. In all these killings, women and children are mainly victims.

    ”We are profoundly disappointed with the inability of the government to protect lives and properties of her citizens.

    ”As women, we are the worst hit when we lost our husbands, children and brothers as more and more women are being turn to widows every day and this cannot continue.

    ”It is about time the Federal Government sees the killings as a matter of urgency and makes deliberate policy to end the ugly incident.”

  • Fed Govt eyes $25b investments from economic laboratories

    The Federal Government is eyeing $25 billion investments from the proposed economic laboratories in the country,  the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said yesterday.

    Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he said the labs will be launched in March,  adding that all the economic indices are positive following the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    He said: “All the indices in the economy since the ERGP was launched by Mr. President in April have been moving positive. But we are not satisfied even though it’s all positive because we feel that we can still do better.

    “And that is why we are organising the labs. The Focused labs will commence on March 5. We will be bringing in investors both domestic and international. We will be looking at three areas-agriculture and transportation, power and gas, manufacturing and processing.

    “It is going to involved many ministers in the federal executive council who are actually going to drive that process.

    “The targets for the labs alone is to generate $25 billion worth of new investments. Some of the investments will be in naira, some will be in dollars because we are expecting significant amount of domestic investments not just foreign investments.”

    He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu.

    Fashola said the FEC approved upward review of Tincan island trailer and truck park to N9.553 billion.

    He said: “The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing presented only one memo. A memorandum seeking the augmentation of the price due to the need for increased scope of work especially shoreline protection of the Tin Can Trailer and Truck Park, which is almost finished.

    “It is an ongoing project. We sought council’s approval to augment the price from N8.66 billion to N9.553 billion which was an augmentation of N897 million. We expect that that truck pack will now be completed this year and it will be one of the many multi-prong efforts being pursued to give relief to the Apapa area; to facilitate vehicular truck and trailer movement and also maritime and import and export business and general economic activity for Apapa in particular, Lagos at large and the country as a whole. The memorandum was approved.”

    Asked to explain if the project was not already being handled by the private sector, he said: “I think road development is clearly the mandate of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, especially the work sector by legislation.

    There is multi-agencies collaboration the Nigerian Port Authority, the Apapa Port, Tin Can Island that are critical to the economy are affected. So there is multi-agencies interaction and that is what we have been having really and truly.

     

     

  • States got N1.19tr from Fed Govt, says Osinbajo

    States got N1.19tr from Fed Govt, says Osinbajo

    Between 2015 and September 2017, states got N1.19 trillion support from the Federal Government, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

    The assistance came in form of the Excess Crude Account, the Paris Club refund and budget support loans, among others.

    Prof. Osinbajo said the funds were made available to the states for their programmes and do capital projects.

    The vice president spoke in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, at the inaugural Kogi State Economic/Investment summit.

    He said part of the funds were the legal entitlements of the states, which they had access to; some were repayable loans.

    The VP noted that the Buhari administration had committed the highest amount ever to capital expenditure, given what it had spent in the last two years.

    He said this was evident in the on-going railway lines, road construction and hydro power projects.

    Osinbajo said the summit was coming at the right time, with  the country trying to reduce dependence on oil and increase non-oil income,  promoting agriculture and solid mineral resources.

    He described Kogi State as strategically located with vast mineral resources that could make it a hub of commercial activities, adding that the summit was capable of reinvigorating and inspiring the people.

    Governor Yahaya Bello said the summit was packaged to change the identity of the 27-year old state, from that of a civil service state to an industrialised one.

    He said his administration in the last two years, prepared the ground for economic and industrial breakthroughs by solving the problems that hindered economic growth in the state.

    The governor said the problem of insecurity had been tackled, and the state is now safe for investors and investments.

    He said: “kogi State is now open for business; we want to be signing MoUs. I invite the private sector to collaborate with us in our bid to develop the state. Kogi State is for serious business”.

    Minister of Mines and Steel Dr Kayode Fayemi, said the bulk of Kogi’s revenue should be internally generated, based on the abundant mineral resources in the state.

  • Fed Govt to train 11,300 displaced persons in Northeast

    Fed Govt to train 11,300 displaced persons in Northeast

    The Federal Government plans to train 11,300 persons displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, says  Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige.

    Ngige spoke at the inauguration of the programme yesterday in Maiduguri.

    The minister was represented by Mr Ibrahim Jibiya, the Director, Skills.

    He said the beneficiaries would be trained under the Skill Acquisition Programmes of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).

    He said  the programme would help to fast track rehabilitation, resettlement and stabilisation in the war-ravaged region.

    Ngige said that the Federal Government accorded priority to youth and women empowerment through skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development programmes.

    “The president is determined to empower youths and women through articulated policies and programmes, to create job opportunities and enhance wealth creation in the society.

    “Employment is a key component of individual and national development. It provides platforms for supporting and fulfilling individual personal achievements and goals as well as contributing to the national economy.”

    The minister lauded the Borno State Government over its agriculture transformation programme designed to diversify the state’s economy.

    The NDE Director-General, Alhaji Nasiru Argungu, said the agency would train 4,000 persons in Borno, 3,100 in Yobe, 2,500 in Adamawa and 1,700 in Gombe.

    According to him, 70 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women and the vulnerable, adding that the beneficiaries will be exposed to various trades.

    He listed the trades to include the production of pomade, soap, jelly, perfumes, tie and dye and hair dressing, among others.

    “The male beneficiaries will be trained in carpentry, block moulding, auto-mechanic and GSM repairs,’’ the NDE boss said.

    He said that the agency had designated training centres in the participating states while monthly stipends would be paid to the trainees.

    Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State hailed the Federal Government for the gesture, saying that it would go a long way in improving the social and economic well-being of the displaced persons.

    Shettima called for the expansion of the training scheme to enhance participation in the programme.

  • Fed Govt trains 50 blind female enterpreneurs

    The National Centre for Women Development is training 50 blind female entrepreneurs in Information and Communication Technology.

    Its director-general, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta,  spoke with reporters in Abuja yesterday.

    She said the aim of the training was to expose participants to various ways ICT can help persons with visual impairments to become self-reliant and productive.

    ‘’It is expected that the participants will be empowered through this training,so as to contribute their quota to the economic growth and development of the country. Each of the participant will be given a laptop computer to enable them practise what they have been taught.”

    On his part,the Head of ICT Mr Johnson Morrison Udonbong said over the years, about 10 thousand women have been trained on various ICT courses and the effects of this training have been commendable.

    His words:’’It is a common knowledge that cultural practices tend to limit women,but knowledge gained using ICT is helping to overcome these challenges. This is made possible through increased connectivity, accessibility and investment in the ICT sector

    ‘’Information is power,so a well-informed mind is a catayst for growth and development’’

     

  • Fed Govt plans N100b bonds next week

    The Federal Government plans to issue two bonds valued at N100 billion next week, in a continuation of the government’s dual strategy of proactive debt management and development of the domestic debt market.

    A notice by the Debt Management Office (DMO)-which oversees Federal Government’s sovereign debt issues, indicated that the government will be offering by subscription N100 billion worth of bonds in its February 21, 2018 auction.

    The offer circular obtained yesterday indicated that government will sell a N50 billion three-year bond at a coupon of 14.50 per cent and maturity of July 2021. Government will also offer a N50 billion bond with maturity in February 2028.

    The July 2021 bond is a re-opening of previous issues while the February 2021 bond is a new 10-year issue.

     

  • Fed Govt not unmindful of unemployment, poverty situation, says minister

    Fed Govt not unmindful of unemployment, poverty situation, says minister

    THE Federal Government is not unmindful of the country’s unemployment and poverty situation, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said yesterday.

    He said such problems and other structural conditions, which he noted were responsible for violent extremism, were being addressed on daily basis by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    The minister spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

    Listing the achievements of the present administration, Mohammed mentioned the Anchors Borrowers Programmes, which has created over 6.3 million jobs for farmers through rice farming.

    The minister said the Federal Government had served no fewer than 246.4 million meals to primary school pupils across 20 states under the National Home Grown School feeding programmes.

    Mohammed said 10.27 million children have been enrolled in schools in the Northwest and Northcentral zones in the last one year.

    According to him, the N-Power programme, which has engaged and deployed about 200,000 Nigerians, would increase with about 300,000 this year following the steps of government to expand the programme.

    The Boko Haram terrorist group, the minister added, has been decimated and put on the run by the nation’s military due largely to Buhari’s leadership and political will which served as morale booster for the troops.

    He said: “Thanks to the leadership and political will demonstrated by the President, which has served as a morale booster for our gallant men and women in uniform, Boko Haram has been decimated and put on the run by our gallant military.

    “The record of success is there for all to see: At least, 30,000 hostages kidnapped by Boko Haram extremist group, including women and Children, have been rescued by the military. More than 100 Chibok girls have so far been rescued.

    “The government is committed to the safe return of the remaining Chibok girls while rehabilitating and reuniting them with their families and communities. Sambisa Forest has become too hot for Boko Haram and they are now escaping to neighbouring communities.

    “Boko Haram is no longer able to carry out organised attacks. They hold no territory and their flag, which they were flying in Bama and other territories they used to occupy, has become a shroud”.

    The minister assured that his ministry would partner with all critical stakeholders to ensure the smooth implementation of the policy framework and action plan against violent extremism in the country.

    He said as a soft approach towards tackling the country’s security, the administration would engage critical stakeholders in dialogue aimed at finding lasting solutions to the problems of herder/farmer conflicts, among others.

    He added that government is taking a bold step to recharge the Lake Chad Basin, which has shrunk by 90 per cent since 1963, stressing that the holistic approach of government on the Basin would make lives more bearable for people within the area whose economic activities have been affected negatively.

    National Security Adviser Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno said following Buhari’s directive on the implementation of the framework on August 24, 2017, it was, therefore, expedient to make a public presentation of the document to enable key stakeholders and principal actors key into its goals and objectives.

    He said the framework, which is in tandem with international laws and best practices, adopted a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach for maximum benefits.

    “Accordingly, it encourages the active participation of line ministries, departments and agencies as well as critical stakeholders from the different sectors of the civil society such as religious actors, youths, teachers, women and community based organisations.

    “It provides a National Plan of Action at Federal, states and local government levels to ensure the delivery of targeted intervention that are both relevant and PCVE-specific,” Monguno said.