The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt okays $40m 20mw power project in Escravos

    The Federal Government’s approval of a 20-megawatts $40million gas power station in Escravos, Warri, Delta State, has lit up hope for peace in the areas.

    It was gathered that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo gave the go-ahead for the project, which has been in the pipeline since 2012, during a meeting with representatives of the Delta State government and management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja, last weekend.

    The gas-powered plant will light up riverside communities, including those in Gbaramatu clan, hometown of Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), and Ugborodo, site of Chevron’s multibillion-dollar Escravos Gas-to-Liquid Project and tank farm and dozens others.

    The Nation learnt that Delta State Acting Governor Kingsley Otuaro led the team, which include Mr Daniel Reyenieju,  representing Warri Federal Constituency, to the Presidential villa on Friday.

    Sources from the benefiting riverside communities said the project was a key component of their condition for peace with oil firms operating in the area.

    Reyenieju, who confirmed the development in a post on Facebook, said: “A struggle for the past 4-5 years has finally gotten a presidential directives.”

    He commended Osinbajo, whom he said: “Comprehended the emerging complexities of our dire situation.”

    The federal lawmaker described Prof Osinbajo as a “wonderful listener,” stressing that his handling of the situation showed great empathy and understanding of the dire situation of people in the riverside communities.

    Recalling the moment before the directive was given, Reyenieju said Osinbajo  ”directed a question to the other team members, requesting thus: “Any response?”

    “Response to the Acting President’s enquiry was this seeming unanimous exclamation: “Nothing! Except that they have presented a solid case”.

     

  • School feeding programme to keep 24m in schools, says Fed Govt

    School feeding programme to keep 24m in schools, says Fed Govt

    The Home-Grown School Feeding programme will keep 24 million children in schools when fully implemented, the Federal Government has said.

    Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu said this yesterday in Abuja at the third edition of Nigeria Education Innovation Summit (NEDIS) organised by The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre.

    He said the programme would increase enrolment of children in basic education and boost their cognitive performance and effective learning outcomes.

    Adamu, who was represented by Executive Director, Research and Innovation, National Universities Commission (NUC) Audu Mohammed, added that the Federal Government had developed strategic plan to address challenges of out-of-school children.

    He said: “It is in recognition of the critical role education plays in the realisation of sustainable development that the present administration has placed it among its key priorities.

    “To drive this home, the Federal Ministry of Education developed a strategic plan based on 10 pillars of core measureable goals. These include addressing the challenges of out-of-school children, strengthening basic and secondary education, teacher education, capacity-building and professional development, adult literacy and special needs education.

    “The Federal Government had embarked on innovative programmes like the Home-Grown School Feeding programme geared towards retaining at least 24 million children in schools upon full implementation. It would increase enrolment of the children in basic education and boost their cognitive performance and effective learning outcomes.”

  • ‘Fed Govt can’t fund tertiary institutions’

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello has said there is need for more alumni of tertiary institutions to join in funding universities in the country in order to improve the overall standard of the schools.

    The minister who disclosed this while receiving the Alumni Association of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria led by the President, Prof. Ahmed Tijani Mora, that paid him a courtesy visit, said reliance on Federal Government funding alone for tertiary institutions is no longer sustainable as there are too many issues competing for the lean resources of government.

    Bello said Alumni associations have to take a lot of initiatives and drive as is the case in other intentionally renowned universities around the world, to ensure that universities in the country continue to function and play their roles in the society.

    According to the Minister: “We do know that many of the internationally renowned universities in the world basically, are now being run by funds from investments and more importantly also, funds from their Alumni associations. Usually, it is these funds that were used to provide the initial investments that keep the universities running. Any country, especially in the western world that you speak of, you will be able to identify one or two universities where the alumni associations are very strong.”

    In a statement issued by his Special Assistant (Media), Abubakar Sani, the minister stated that the country could benefit from the huge remittances that Nigerians make to Alumni associations of foreign universities, stressing that it would not be out of place if Nigerians also showed concern for the welfare of schools in this country as government is no longer able to fund these schools the way it did in the past due to dwindling resources.

    Bello, however, praised the resourcefulness of the current ABU Alumni Association for the numerous capital intensive projects it has embarked upon to improve the overall welfare of the school, saying this would not have been possible without a strong leadership and highly motivated administrative officials at its secretariat.

    The minister while acknowledging the huge challenge in accomplishing these tasks said the most important thing is not really the amount raised, but the ability to sustain it on a long term basis, no matter how little it is.

    “That sustainability will not be possible if we don’t have an Executive Council (EXCO) that is very strong like your own and probably also, in addition to the exco, having a crop of full time highly paid, highly dedicated staff to run the administration of the secretariat. There is no doubt that the current exco of the Alumni association will be able to build on the great work done by the previous exco as well as the other previous leadership of the Alumni association,” the Minister stressed.

    Bello who stated that the ABU has the advantage of having most of its alumni in various institutions of the Federal Government in the FCT, most notably the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), advised the current exco to reach out to these individuals, including those that are now retired to encourage them to participate in its activities.

    He assured that the FCT Administration will provide the association with all the needed support through the FCT branch, especially on some of the requests it has made to the FCT Minister.

    The President, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Alumni Association, Prof. Ahmed Tijani Mora, said the ABU is the largest University in Nigeria, West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and by extension, the Alumni Association is the largest with over 800,000 students having graduated from the university.

    He listed four major projects that the current NEC of the association is carrying out, including an overhead pedestrian bridge at the North Gate, ABU, across the busy Zaria-Sokoto Highway, which would cost N80 million.

    Other projects he said include a laptop computer loan scheme for students, post graduate students’ hostel as well as the intra-city-bus shuttle service for students to begin initially with five number, 33-seater buses.

    Prof. Mora said the members of the Association in the FCT and anywhere in Nigeria and the Diaspora were ready and would be willing to bring their skills, expertise and competences in the services of the FCT to make it great and most beautiful and safe place to live.

     

  • Fed Govt needs N3tr annually to bridge infrastructure gap, say quantity surveyors

    The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors has said the Federal Government needs N3 trillion annually to cover up the huge infrastructure deficit in the country.

    The position of the Institute is contained in a communiqué signed by its President, Mrs. Mercy Iyortyer, at the end of a two- day workshop on Finance and Development of capital projects held in Lagos.

    Iyortyer noted that while the demand for construction is high, the money to fund the demand is dwindling because of the fall in oil prices and other macro economic factors, stressing that the ability of the country to deal with this challenge will no doubt define her future economic trajectory.

    According to her, it is imperative to turn the attention of the Federal Government to Project Finance Options as a way to develop Nigeria’s Infrastructure Projects.

    “The National Executive Council of the NIQS, in keeping with our Institutes constitutional mandate to organize continuing education and professional development and with the quest to continuously develop capacities of our members in emerging competencies felt compelled to organize this specialized workshop” the communiqué said in part.

    She said the traditional approach where governments at all levels finance the construction of infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, power plants, airports, railways,  ports and the like from their fiscal budgets, with little or no support from the private sector was unsustainable.

    “This approach of project financing is unsustainable given the present economic pressures (i.e. falling oil prices, high exchange rate, double digit inflation rate, unstable foreign exchange rate, low budget performance and liquidity constraints) on the fiscal

    budget,” she said.

    The communiqué said there was the need for professionals to consider Emerging Solutions to these challenges and to benchmark other countries, such as China and Dubai who have had success stories in this area.

    She explained that there is the need for the private sector to become increasingly involved in the creation of financing solutions to develop Nigeria’s frail infrastructure.

    The communiqué noted that with the understanding of the measurement of cost and value among others, quantity surveyors would lead the way in the quest to ensure private sector financing of capital projects.

  • Fed Govt urged to respect agitators’ rights

    The legitimacy of the ongoing agitation for the creation of Biafra came to the fore at the recently-concluded conference organised by University of Benin (UNIBEN) chapter of Human Right Society of Nigeria (HRSC).

    Speakers at the event agreed that any Biafran group, including the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), had the right to agitate for any cause they believe in, but such must be done within the ambit of the law.

    Prof Edoba Omoregie, the lead speaker, criticised the manner in which the Biafran agitation was being pursued by Igbo groups. He called on the government to respect human rights in the handling of the matter, stressing that comments by the elite should not be ignored as the agitation become intensified.

    He said: “Our rights are the integral part of our existence and without such rights, we are either living in self-imposed prison or completely ostracised out of the constitutional society that we rightly belong to. In pushing for whatever cause we believe in, we must respect the law and respect the rights of others who did not believe in our cause.

    “There is nothing wrong with anyone creating groups, such as IPOB and MASSOB, provided there is no violation of the constitution. Simply because the groups are agitating for secession does not grant the government the right to treat their members the way they have been treated.”

    The Assistant Dean, Faculty of Law, Dr S. O. Ogbodo, said the successive governments’ failure to promote equity and justice in all parts of the country was the reason why the Biafran agitation became more pronounced.

    Citing South African as an example of countries that had similar experience, Ogbodo said dialogue and honest deliberation remained the key to solving the matter. Without full implementation of federal character policies, he said no genuine progress would be achieved.

    He said: “Restructuring and application of true federalism is the way forward out of this logjam. Agitations for secession and the call confederation are not the solution to the problem facing the country.”

    Other speakers included a human right crusader, Mr Darracotte Osawe.

    Some participants, who made their contributions to the discussion, advocated for a roundtable talks where all grievances would be addressed.

    Wilson-Okereke Clinton, a 400-Law student, said: “We have become agitated, because none of the sections of this country has felt it truly belongs here, irrespective of who is ruling. Every Nigerian feels marginalised and oppressed. We must return to the discussion table to re-negotiate our unity and progress.”

  • Fed Govt urged to implement 2017 budget, restructure country

    A non-profit interest group, the Young Progressives Nigerian Initiatives (YPNI), has urged the Federal Government to implement this year’s Appropriation Act recently signed into law by Acting President ‘Yemi Osinbajo.

    The group said the government should compel the Ministries and Departmental Agencies (MDAs) to implement the budget.

    In a statement in Lagos by its Convener/National Coordinator, Mr. Adekunle Osibogun, YPNI called for the devolution of more powers to the 36 states.

    It said: “Restructuring the socio-political and economic powers currently concentrated in the Federal Government will solve most of the economic and political quagmires currently militating against our development and existence.”

    According to the group, Nigeria’s prevailing political and economic structure breeds disunity, underdevelopment, starvation, insecurity, bad governance and expansion of monopolistic tendencies against equilibrium distribution of the nation’s wealth.

    The statement reads: “Firstly, we wish to appeal to the Federal Government on behalf of the young men and women of Nigeria to ensure that the 2017 Budget, recently signed into law by the amiable Acting President, Prof ‘Yemi Osinbajo, is implemented for the betterment of the citizens.

    “We don’t want the impact of the 2017 Appropriation Act to be restricted to theoretical appraisals, like it has always been; we want the 2017 budget implemented with proper monitoring and supervisions of relevant MDAs by the National Assembly and the vigilance of law enforcement agencies, especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to ensure that funds earmarked for infrastructural development are not diverted into private pockets.”

  • Fed Govt to inaugurate yam export to Europe, U.S., China

    The Federal Government will today inaugurate export of yams to Europe, United States of America and China, Minister of Agriculture Chef Audu Ogbeh said yesterday.

    He said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave its approval at yesterday’s meeting.

    The minister explained that yam exportation would not increase hunger in the land.

    Rather than seeing yam export as a problem, he said Nigerians should see it as an economic opportunity.

    The minister said: “We informed council that last week we completed arrangements for the first formal export of Nigerian yams to the United Kingdom. Some people have asked whether by exporting yams, we are not going to subject Nigerians to hunger and I had to inform Council today that will certainly not arise.

    “You will remember about February or March this year some of you asked the same question, is Nigeria going to face famine? And I said it cannot happen. Apart from the crisis in the Northeast, we definitely are not short of food, although prices are high in some areas.

    “Tomorrow, we shall flag off this export in three container loads

    containing 72tonnes of Nigerian yams. Two containers went out in

    February; one arrived in New York on the 16th of this month. This is

    important because for those of you, who travel and many Nigerians out there, you go to shops where they sell African foods and you never see anything from Nigeria, it is mostly called Ghana yams.

    “Now, we account for 61 per cent of the total output of yams in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The rest is shared between some countries in the West Africa and the West Indies.”

    He added; “For us to go abroad and not find Nigerian yams in the market, it is an embarrassment. Because Ghana is targeting $4 billion of yams in the next three years and if they can do that, we who are the masters of yam production have no business lagging behind.

    “Essentially, we are making this point because we are diversifying the economy. We are talking about economic recovery and growth and we will have to export whatever is needed from Nigeria by other countries so that we can earn more foreign exchange rather than expend everything we have on importation.

    “If they want yams, we will sell yams. If they want pepper, we will sell pepper. If they want ginger, we will sell ginger. Just like we buy so much from them, it is time for them to buy from us. I assure you this is how the economy of Nigeria we are dreaming of is going to recover.”

    He noted that the only challenges that may be faced will be the question of labour as the young men, who make yam heaps are reducing in number because they are moving to the cities for greener pastures.

    He added:”To solve that problem, we are mechanising the production of yams. We have designed a new plough that will be attached to the tractor to make the yam heap. The current ploughs we have cannot make a heap.

    “In Ilorin the Nigerian Centre for Agric Mechanisation is producing a new plough that can make the yam heaps and once that is in operation, we will mechanise the production.”

    Stressing that food exports have gone up in Nigeria in the last one year by 82 per cent, he said the government will ensure it meets the finest standard in the market.

    On other crops, he said:”But the other good news is cashew nuts. These things look small. We are in conversations with Walmart, the biggest supermarket chain in the U.S. They came here and asked us to roast cashew nuts for them. Their demand is a 130,000tonnes of cashew nuts per annum.

    “The total value is $7 billion, but what we are doing now is shipping raw cashew to Vietnam. They are the ones roasting and selling to the U.S. This year, we are going to create six cashew processing factories in Nigeria. One to be sited in Enugu,Imo,Benue,Kogi, Kwara and Oyo states. These are the cashew belt for now.

    “These things are coming because at last, Nigeria is beginning to focus on non-oil export. Once you can diversify your economy,if something goes wrong in one sector, you can hang on to the other.”

    “The Indians are asking us for beans; all categories of it in the market in India is worth $100 billion dollars. When the Indian Vice President came here, he asked me to visit so we could talk. So, the market in agric is huge, the prospects are large. It’s about improving on our strategies at home and getting all our states to get involved. Not all of them are doing what they ought to be doing now,” he said.

  • Fed Govt to address agitation, says Osinbajo

    Fed Govt to address agitation, says Osinbajo

    There is a ray of hope for agitators as the federal government assured Nigerians last night that it would immediately address their grievances.

    But it will be within the confines of the constitution, which the government swore to uphold.

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo engaged in a series of consultations between June 13 and 22 with leaders of thought, traditional rulers and political leaders in the North and the Southeast. He also met with governors.

    This followed the continuous agitation for secession by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the East and the October 1 quit order given to Igbo resident in the North by a coalition of youth groups.

    A statement yesterday by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Laolu Akande on the highlights of the meetings, emphasised the affirmation of “the necessity of confronting all grievances and frustrations head-on, however uncomfortable that might seem now; instead of ignoring issues and allowing them to fester.”

    The acting president urged that such grievances be expressed with grace. He condemned hate speeches.

    The meeting “affirmed the need to draw a line between the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution and the degeneration of such expression into hateful rhetoric, prejudice and hatred.

    “Under no circumstances will Government condone or tolerate hate speech in any way or form.”

    There was also the affirmation on “the need for all leaders and elders, regardless of political or ideological persuasion, to speak out more forcefully to counter divisive and hate speech and any form of warmongering”.

    The meetings were convened “to provide a platform for frank and open discussions between the concerned stakeholders and by extension the Nigerian public on issues relating to the unity, peace and security of country.”

    The Presidency said it would continue to actively engage with various segments of the population.

    Other common grounds established at the meetings according to the statement are:  • condemnnation of hateful and divisive rhetoric by the concerned groups of Northern and Southeastern youths; and

    • affirmation of the primacy of the Constitution, the ultimate basis for the unity of Nigeria. That Constitution guarantees freedom of residence and of movement for all Nigerians anywhere in the country, without fear of discrimination or prejudice.
    • The Acting President thanked all the leaders for their time and commitment to the unity, peace and progress of Nigeria. He also assured the people of the resolve of the Buhari administration to ensure their well-being and security at all times.

     

  • Fed Govt urged to adopt national conference report

    The Anglican Church has said adopting the report of the Sovereign National Conference is panacea to the nation’s myriad of socio-economic and political upheavals.

    The church said the Federal Government is free to convoke another conference if it is not comfortable with the recommendations made by the National Conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The church also said true federalism is ideal for the ‘growth and development’ of the country, adding that states should be allowed to develop at their own pace.

    This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 5th Synod of the Diocese of Badagry held at the Cathedral Church of St Thomas, Badagry Lagos State.

    Anglican Communion also lamented the perennial lack of power supply under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. To address this national challenge, the Synod advised the Federal Government to decentralise Power, Housing and Works ministries under Babatunde Fashola with the aim of splitting them for optimal performance.

    “The comatose position of the power sector after two years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration negates the promised change,” the communique said.

    The document signed by the Diocesan Bishop and Secretary Rt Rev Babatunde Adeyemi and Olubunmi Ajimo Akindiba respectively, urged the Federal Government to also look into alternative sources of power such as solar, coal and wind so as to reduce the total dependence on the national grid for electricity supply.

    While commending government in its fight against corruption, Synod advises government to set up special courts to try corrupt officials.

    “Innovative measures should be taken in the fight against corruption such as the establishment of special courts to try corrupt persons. A blueprint for students should equally be developed to sensitise them to dangers inherent in corrupt practices.

    “The Synod is also saddened at the increasing state of crime such as kidnapping, cultism, terrorism, and herdsmen’s attacks which still remain recurring menace. The Synod therefore urges government to provide adequate structures to arrest this trend,” the statement added.

    Adeyemi, who sought special status for Badagry in Lagos State, explained that though Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration is trying, more of government’s presence is still needed in Badagry.

    While acknowledging various efforts of the government in sustaining the economy, it also recommended that further efforts be made in pursuing other sources of revenue such as agriculture, solids minerals and tourism and others.

  • Group praises Fed Govt over vaccine production

    The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group (PMG-MAN) has commended Federal Government’s efforts in supporting local manufacturing, especially to access high quality and affordable drugs.

    A statement made available to Southwest Report by the Executive Secretary of PMG-MAN, Dr Obi Peter Adigwe, said their commendation was based on the fact that local production of vaccines will ameliorate some health challenges the citizens go through which is one of the ultimate goals of any nation.

    He said the partnership with May and Baker will revitalise the production of local vaccines. This, he said, will guarantee the most sustainable and effective approach to national security and self-sufficiency in this critical area.

    He said: “Manufacturers of local medicines in Nigeria have long been associated with the production of high quality, affordable medicines. It is on record that Nigeria still has the biggest cluster of World Health Organisation (WHO) certified companies in Africa, and incidentally, May and Baker is one of those companies.

    “Manufacturers of local medicines are also at the forefront of innovative and contextual solutions to local health care issues, such as this commendable partnership that you have initiated. This is evidenced by our robust and comprehensive engagement with a wide range of policy-makers and stakeholders.”

    Adigwe further canvassed the Expedited Medicines’ Access Programme (E-MAP), a proposed collaborative contractual partnership between Ministry of Health and local manufacturers.

    The PMG-MAN, Executive Secretary said the E-MAP is in line with the vision and aspirations of the current administration that aim at providing affordable, high quality medicines for the public in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner.

    Explaining further, he said the programme design involves combining innovative manufacturing practices with contextual logistics and supply chain management that will, in turn, achieve effective, cost-efficient and timely provision of high quality medicines across the country.

    Calling the attention of Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole to the Acting President, Prof. ‘Yemi Osinbajo’s Executive Order on Local Content in Public Procurement mandates to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to grant procurement preference to local manufacturers, he stressed that Osinbajo expressly specified locally manufactured medicines in Section 4F and the need to patronise them extensively as against imported ones.

    He reiterated his association’s appeal to the Ministry of Health to begin the relevant processes for the implementation of the E-MAP. He added that the implementation of the policy guideline will not only grow the capacities of local manufacturers but will also help in jobs creation.

    Recall that the proposed vaccine production has been on hold since 1991 but was re-activated and upgraded to establish a company called Bio-vaccines Limited which will be jointly owned by the Federal Government and May and Baker Plc.

    At the signing ceremony between the Federal Government and May and Baker Plc, last month the minister said it would further secure the lives of Nigerians since the production of vaccines is now considered a security issue.

    He said:  “We have considered vaccines as a security issue. It is not only health but we need to consider the security of all Nigerians, particularly our children. So, with this agreement, we will be able to produce those command vaccines. Beginning from 2021, every other vaccine that is necessary will also be out on board for administration to Nigerians.”