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Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt states, councils share N429.127b for Feb

    •Federation revenue dips by N36b

    A total of N429.127 billion was distributed at the end of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting yesterday for the month of February to the three tiers of government.

    A communiqué issued by the Technical sub-Committee of FAAC at the end of the meeting in Abuja, indicated that the gross statutory revenue received for the month was N290.163 billion, which is lower than the N324.990 billion received in the previous month.

    The funds shared comprised the month’s statutory distributable revenue of N258.692 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) of N69.207 billion, exchange gain of N40.329 billion and Excess Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) Account of N60.899 billion.

    There was also a N6.330 billion refund to the Federal Government by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Accordingly, from net statutory revenue, the Federal Government received  N117.581 billion representing (52.68 per cent); states received N59.639 billion (26.72 per cent); local government councils received N45.979 billion representing (20.60 per cent); while the oil producing states received N23.191  billion as 13 per cent Derivation Revenue.

    Furthermore, from the revenue available from VAT, the Federal Government received N9.966 billion (15 per cent); states received N33.220 billion (50per cent) while the local government councils received N23.254 billion (35 per cent).

    The communique further showed that there was a revenue increase of $4.06 million in federation export sales due to a rise  in crude oil export volume by 0.30 million barrels.

    There was however, a decrease in the average price of crude oil from $49.57 to $44.74 per barrel during the period under review. Production diminished during the period due largely to leakages in the pipelines arising from sabotage. Also, the force majeure declared at Forcados and Brass Terminals lingered.

    Significant decreases in revenue were noted from PPT, Company Income Tax (CIT), import and export duties and oil royalty. Consequently the total revenue distributable for February including VAT was N429.127 billion.

  • Fed Govt to revisit pipeline contracts in Niger Delta

    Fed Govt to revisit pipeline contracts in Niger Delta

    •Shell releases $10m for Ogoni clean up

    The Federal Government is set to revisit the pipeline protection contracts, the controversial programme in which many ex-militants were paid multi million naira by the Jonatha administration.
    A governmemt source said after a comprehensive review, the police will be part of the “feature in the new Niger Delta vision.”
    The source added: “The Presidency has directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to look at the protection contracts to ensure that host communities are also incorporated while ensuring a comprehensive review of existing ones.
    “Under the new arrangements, the Federal Government will likely renew some existing pipeline protection contracts while new contracts will be signed.”
    All is set for the commencement of the Ogoni clean-up with the release of $10billion by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). This is part of the initial $250million needed for the commencement of the project.
    Also, the Federal Government is in the process of setting up a project office as contractors move to site.
    About $1billion, which will be sourced from oil sector stakeholders, has been budgeted for the clean-up.
    The Federal Government on June 2, 2016 inaugurated the project at a ceremony presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
    A top source in the Presidency, who spoke in confidence, said work would soon start in Ogoniland.
    The Ogoni clean-up project falls under the environmental remediation programme of the new Niger Delta Development vision proposed by the Buhari Presidency.
    The Presidency source said: “A coordinator for the Ogoni clean-up project is now in place and is in the process of setting up a project office and recruitment of staff while the contractors have moved to site to demonstrate the appropriate technology for the project.
    “An initial $10m out of the initial $250m for the commencement of the project has been released by Shell while the project office has commenced the opening of accounts for funding of the project.’
    “The Ogoni clean-up project is to be funded with an initial $1 billion from the oil sector stakeholders comprising the NNPC, SPDC, Total and AGIP.”

  • Fed Govt ‘ll protect, reward whistleblowers, says minister

    Fed Govt ‘ll protect, reward whistleblowers, says minister

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has reiterated that the Federal Government will protect and reward whistleblowers, who provide information that lead to the recovery of stolen funds or assets.

    In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, the minister said the Federal Government would protect the identity of all whistleblowers, whether in the public or the private sector and also ensure that the information they provide is kept secret.

    “For those who may have suffered any backlash as a result of the information they provide, their cases will be reviewed and appropriate mitigating actions taken,” he said.

    Mohammed said the assurance followed the presentations made to the Presidential Assets Recovery Committee by concerned citizens and groups about the safety of whistleblowers.

    “Whistleblowers have nothing to fear, because the committee has put in place the necessary measures to safeguard those who give useful information. As a matter of fact, whistleblowers have everything to gain and nothing to lose,” he said.

    The minister said any whistleblower, whose information leads to the recovery of up to N1 billion would receive five per cent of the amount, adding that the reward for any amount between N1 billion and N5 billion  will be five per cent for the first N1 billion and four per cent of the remaining N4 billion.

    He added that any amount over N5 billion would attract 2.5 per  cent reward.

    “What we have done by making this information public is to reassure potential whistleblowers that the plan to reward is real. We are not just saying we will pay all whistleblowers, but we are letting them know in advance what they are entitled to, once the information they provide leads to the recovery of looted funds,” he said.

  • Fed Govt to punish perpetrators of Ife crisis

    •Blames crisis on thugs

    The Federal Government, at the weekend, said perpetrators of the crisis in Ile-Ife, Osun State, will be punished.

    The crisis, which ignited hostilities between Hausa and Yoruba communities, claimed many lives and destroyed property.

    Speaking with State House correspondents, Minister of Interior Abdulraman Danbazzau said the perpetrators would be prosecuted.

    He said: “I visited Ife upon my arrival from South Africa, where I went in company of  Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss with the South African government on the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.

    “The incident happened when we were away. The deputy governor received me and my entourage because the governor was away in Abuja.

    “We saw the extent of the damage and met the leadership of the community and we discussed with them.

    “We emphasised the need to remain in peace and that revenge and reprisal should not come to anybody’s mind because the government is handling the situation.

    “We made them understand that the government will ensure it protects lives and property,” he said.

    Stressing that the crisis was not caused by ethnicity,  the minister said the Hausa and Yoruba communities had lived peacefully in the last 200 years.

    According to him, some thugs took the law into their hands and killed innocent people and destroyed property.

    Danbazzau said: “It is very clear that this issue is not about crisis between Hausa and Yoruba.

    “The Hausa community has been living in Ife close to 200 years. I understand that the first settlers arrived in 1820 and this is about the fourth or fifth generation.

    “They have never experienced this kind of thing until now.

    “So it is not about ethnicity. It is about a bunch of people who decided to constitute themselves as nuisance to carry out this dastardly act. Quite a number of them escaped from the community.”

    The minister said he held another meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to advise the Hausa community to continue to live peacefully in the Southwest.

  • NLC to Fed Govt: expedite action on minimum wage

    NLC to Fed Govt: expedite action on minimum wage

    The President, Nigeria Labour Congres (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, has said Labour may be forced to take action on the issue of mnimum wage. He said this administration was dragging its feet in constituting a tripartite committee as is the practice to negotiate a new minimum wage.

    Wabba said with  the harsh economic realities and their impact on workers Labour could not wait indefinitely for the government to respond at its own time.

    “We have since submitted a request for an upward review of the National Minimum Wage which was signed into law in 2011 by President Goodluck Jonathan, by the administration. Despite that the minimum wage was due for renegotiation after five years, the current administration is dragging its feet in constituting a tripartite committee as is the practice to negotiate a new minimum wage.

    “Though we have been told by the administration that the panel will be constituted, we enjoin the government to urgently sort out whatever is the constraint it is facing and act on the matter before we are forced to take actions that may be unpleasant,” Wabba said.

    He said in the last 12 months, the inflation rate had gone over the roof, and the masses, the salaried and the teeming millions of the unemployed, were facing very difficult times.

    He said amid these difficulties, the union had contended with a number of state governments  that had misplaced priorities and regularly refused to pay workers  their salaries as and when due.

    “Similarly pension of retired public servants have gone for several months, and in some cases, years unpaid.  We have over the last 15 months fought these state governments to pay up these outstanding wages and pension liabilities they owe workers.  We will continue to do this till all salaries and pensions across the country are fully paid up,” he said.

    On women empowerment and gender equality, Wabba called for the full implementation of gender equity policy by organisations.

    He said almost 15 years after the adoption of the policy, it was appropriate to talk about consolidating its gains.

    He said the NLC gender equity policy had enabled the Congress and virtually all its affiliates to have increased women representation at the level of leadership in their structures.

    He said: “To ensure that these changes are sustainable, the NLC constitution and that of affiliate unions were amended to ensure the inclusion of women representations at leadership levels.’’

    “At the NLC level, not only is the Chairperson of the National Women Commission now automatically a vice president of the NLC, in the 2007 delegates Conference of the Congress, two ex-officio positions were created at the level of National Administrative Council (NAC) of NLC, to be occupied by women.”

  • Fed Govt to restructure BoA

    Fed Govt to restructure BoA

    The Federal Government is to restructure the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to support its diversification programme.

    The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, gave the hint at the launch of Capacity building and institutional strengthening of Bank of Agriculture in Kaduna.

    Ogbeh, represented by Mr. Godwin Obinna-Opara, said the restructuring was aimed at strengthening the bank for optimal service delivery to farmers.

    He said restructuring, re-capitalising and repositioning BoA was one of the programmes President Muhammadu Buhari had given approval.

    He said the bank remained a key instrument for funding agricultural activities to help diversify the economy and move away from over reliance on oil.

    “At no other time in the history of Nigeria that government had taken such interest and time to assess the operations of BoA to explore these potentials by adopting appropriate financing measures needed. Our country needs a financing mechanism that will help small holder farmers, agro-prenurials and SMEs access credit facilities at affordable cost. As a matter of fact, we’re looking at a single digit interest rate, that is what we believe in the ministry,” Ogbeh said.

    Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor on Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Mr Paul Eluhaiwe, said the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) “is sick and needs restructuring”.

    He said BoA had the needed resources to turn its fortunes for the better.

    “Posterity will not forgive us if we fail to turn it around because the bank has all the resources in this world to be turned around for the good of Nigerian farmers.

    Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Director-General Dr Vincent Akpotaire said BoA would be restructured to meet a model that would assist in doing agro- business, particularly with rural populace who are mostly farmers.

    Akpotaire said: “Specifically, policy and regulation of the bank would undergo the needed restructuring, staff capacity and financial base. “Its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will also be restructured to meet international standard in agro-allied enterprises. I wonder why BoA will not succeed in Nigeria, if others have succeeded somewhere else in the world; there must be checks and balances in loan being given out. BoA should not just be a conduit for giving out loan, it should also be a conduit to recovering the loan being given out.”

    Meanwhile, AfDB Chief Country Programme Officer Mr Andoh Mensah said the economic downturn had weakened BoA in bridging the gap between rural and urban populace in terms of accessing loans.

    He pledged the support of the AfDB to BoA, saying: “We remain committed to working with BoA.’’

    Earlier, BoA’s Acting Managing Director Mr Babatunde Igun said the bank was financially weak in addition to other challenges militating against its optimal performance.

    He said the bank was working to improve its staff skills to enhance their capacity for effective service delivery.

    Igun assured that the bank would brace for modern agricultural activities that would attract competitiveness and deliver its core mandate to farmers.

    The AfDB recently approved a grant of $1.1 million for the Bank of Agriculture for its restructuring  aimed at staff training to strengthen service delivery.

  • Fed Govt okays skills centre

    Fed Govt okays skills centre

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has  said the Multi-Disciplinary Skills and Entrepreneurship Centre in Umuobiakwa in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State will be used  for training under the Federal Government E-Empowerment Programme.

    Ngige spoke at Umuobiakwa when he inspected  facilities at the centre.

    “I am impressed with what I have seen in the centre which is in line with our focal point for the E-Empowerment. This will be used for the programme,”said Ngige.

    Raymond Aliga, the chief executive of Multi-Disciplinary Skills and Entrepreneurship Centre,  said the centre was partnering the Abia State government under a PPP arrangement.

    Aliga said aside training of students in various skills, the centre had enough machines and equipment for fabrication of metal products that could compete with foreign ones.

    He said some of the products that could be produced at the centre  included streetlight poles, solar energy poles, office furniture and upholstery chairs. It is also equipped to impart brick molding, block laying, mason, plumbing and tile-laying skills.

    He urged government agencies to patronise the centre’s products, saying the centre has equipment and manpower to meet orders.

    Endi Ezengwa, the chief executive of Kiara-De luxe Academy, the centre’s training partners, said the centre would train about 600 students in the first year and, thereafter, the number of intakes would increase.

    He said the focus of the centre was in tandem with the requirements of National Board for Technical Education.

     

  • ‘Fed Govt to allow helicopters fly to Abuja’ 

    ‘Fed Govt to allow helicopters fly to Abuja’ 

    THE Federal Government is set to allow helicopters fly to Abuja as repair works are on-going at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    With the closure of the airport for six weeks, Kaduna International Airport is expected to serve aircraft flights heading to Abuja.

    Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika, while speaking with State House correspondents, said the government was expected to take the final decision on the helicopters before the end of yseterday.

    He said: “On the helicopter issue, the National Security Adviser has the constitutional responsibility to advise the President on national security matters. Within his wisdom, he had earlier on sent out letters banning helicopters operation into the airport.

    “But the National Security Adviser has earlier this morning said helicopters will of course continue to fly to Abuja airport from wherever.

    “Then the procedure that they will use to approach the airport and the landing spot will be advised accordingly before the end of today (yesterday), which means that helicopters can come into Abuja and out, bearing in mind that within the metropolitan city of Abuja, there are no-fly zones and this is very normal in every country.”

    He added that the operations in Kaduna were going on smoothly.

    He said: “We are able to do what we said we would do. We are actually working our talk. We thank Nigerians for understanding with us in time of this period of emergency. We have deployed enough personnel to handle and process passengers in Kaduna.”

  • Fed Govt to arraign six Boko Haram leaders today

    Fed Govt to arraign six Boko Haram leaders today

    Six suspected Boko Haram leaders, who were allegedly involved in the kidnap and murder of 11 expatriates between 2011 and 2013 in the North, will be arraigned today.
    A nine-count charge has been filed against them by the Ministry of Justice. They will be arraigned before Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
    The suspects are Mohammed Usman (aka Khalid Albarnawi), described as the leader of a Boko Haram splinter group, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (a.k.a ANSARU); Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Bello (aka Abu Azzan); Mohammed Salisu (Datti); Yakubu Nuhu (aka Bello Maishayi) and Usman Abubakar (Mugiratu).
    The suspects, who are said to be leaders of Boko Haram before establishing their own faction, are charged with conspiracy, hostage taking, supporting a terrorist group, membership of a terrorist group, illegal possession of firearms and concealing information on terrorism.
    They are charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, contrary to Section 17 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, as amended in 2013, and punishable under same.
    The suspects are accused of murdering “Internationally Protected Persons (IPPs)”, contrary to Section (3) (a) of Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 as amended in 2013 and punishable under same.
    They, on February 2013 at Ikirima Boko Haram Camp in Sambisa Forest, allegedly “murdered seven internationally protected persons – Carlos Bou Azziz, Brendan Vaughan, Silvano Trevisan, Konstantinos Karras, Ghaida Yaser Sa’ad (F), Julio Ibrahim El-Khouli and Imad El-Andari – and buried the bodies in a shallow grave.
    They are, in count four, charged with hostage-taking, contrary to Section 15(c) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, as amended in 2013, and punishable under same.
    They were alleged to have, on  February 18, 2013, at Life Camp Yard of SETRACO Construction Company in Jama’are, Bauchi State, “did knowingly seize and continue to detain” the seven expatriates”.
    The deceased were allegedly detained “at Ikirima Boko Haram camp in Sambisa Forest for about 10 days before their eventual murder.”
    They are, in count five, accused of knowingly giving “an explicit condition for the release of the seven expatriates”.
    The defendants are accused of being  members of a “Boko Haram splinter group known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan a.k.a ANSARU being a proscribed terrorist group in Nigeria, contrary to Section 16 (1) of Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 as amended in 2013 and punishable under the same section of the Act.”
    They were also accused of being in possession of firearms without licence, punishable under Section 27 (1) (a) (1) of the firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004.
    The prosecution said firearms were recovered from Usman’s house at Rafin Guza, NDC layout, Kaduna State, sometime last year.
    The arms included five AK-47 rifles (serial numbers 75582, 439106, 4483, 53964 and 3792); an unserviceable AK-47 rifle (serial number destroyed); nine detached bullets of assault rifles; one locally-made revolver; two locally-made single barrel pistols; two locally-made double barrel pistols; one locally-made incomplete short gun and three working parts of assault rifles.
    The state alleged Usman “used the firearms, with other members of the proscribed ANSARU sect, to unleash terror against unsuspecting Nigerians, foreigners and the Nigerian state, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1) (a) (i) of the firearms Act, Cap F 28 LFN 2004.”

  • Fed Govt removes NTDC D-G

    Fed Govt removes NTDC D-G

    •15 senior officials demoted after irregular promotion 

    The Federal Government has removed the Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Mariel Rae-Omoh.

    It has appointed Dr. Paul Adalikwu as the new acting D-G pending the appointment of a new helmsmen.

    Also, 15 senior officials, who were arbitrarily promoted in defiance of civil service rules, were demoted.

    The measures were in line with the restructuring of the corporation, which has been involved in crisis in the past few months.

    Following the receipt of a petition, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed asked a committee to look into the crisis of confidence in NTDC.

    A top source said: “Based on the findings of the committee, the NTDC Acting Director-General, Mrs. Mariel Rae-Omoh, was directed to revert to her former status. Dr. Paul Adalikwu was appointed as the new Acting DG pending either his confirmation or appointment of a substantive holder by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

    Adalikwu is the third Acting D-G after the removal of the immediate past Director General of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Sally Mbanefo.

    Mrs. Mbanefo was removed on November 27, 2016 through a letter by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, an engineer. Boniface Ebuka was appointed as Acting DG but replaced barely a month in office.

    The source added: “Also, the promotion of 15 senior staff has been reversed by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation because their elevation was not in line with the civil service rules.

    “These actions are just the first in the series of overhaul of the NTDC. The corporation is always involved in one crisis or the other. But the Minister of Information and Culture will address the challenges in the agency.”

    Besides arbitrary promotion of workers, some of the problems in NTDC include recruitment of about 50 personnel without due process, certificate scandal, curious spending of over N600 million in the last two years, disappearance of N38.3 million financial assistance from some banks  and conflict between the management of the corporation and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Service (AUPCTRE).

    Others are alleged mismanagement of N12 million for the launch of “Fascinating Nigeria”, blowing of N81.7 million on empowerment programme in 2013 and N38.5million in 2014.

    Others listed include alleged misuse of N52,014, 821 released to NTDC as  capital budget from March to July 2014, the whereabouts of N342, 654,807 overhead budget from February-September 2014, curious withdrawal of N35million after SURE-P had organised and sponsored Tour Guide Training Programme and alleged spending of N14,720,000 on Notting Hill Carnival in 2013.