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Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt rejects 165 foreigners’ citizenship applications

    Fed Govt rejects 165 foreigners’ citizenship applications

     The Federal Government has rejected 165 citizenship applications submitted by foreigners.

    Minister of Interior  Abdulraman Danbazzau spoke to State House correspondents at the end of Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He was with the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, and Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

    Danbazau said of 500 applications, 335 were recommended for citizenship, and were approved by FEC yesterday.

    The 335 citizenship applications, he said, included 245 citizenship by naturalisation and 90 citizenship by registration.

    He said: “The Ministry of Interior memo is granting of citizenship to non Nigerians who applied. This is a procedure that takes a number of steps. The last time this was done was in 2013. We have some backlog of these applications.

    “Over 500 applications that we considered, out of these, 335 were recommended for citizenship and this memo was brought to council to that effect. Citizenship is either by naturalisation or by registration.

    “There are 245 that applied for citizenship by naturalisation and the requirements to be met are clearly stated in Section 26 of the constitution.

    “Then there is citizenship by registration and that is what is popularly known as Niger-wives which is for women in foreign countries who married to Nigerian citizens. That is also clearly spelt out in section 27 of the constitution.

    “So, the requirements are there and we considered them. Those who met the requirement, the advisory council recommended and sent to council for approval.

    “So, today, FEC approved the recommendations of those who applied, 335 of them. 245 by naturalisation and 90 by registration.”

    He explained that some of the applications were disqualified based on preliminary investigation.

    He said: “This is because, there is representation of all the agencies where these applications are taken. So, it is not just the issue of criminality, there are requirement laid down in the constitution and each of these requirements must be met by every applicant.

    “The moment any applicant doesn’t meet any of the requirement, check section 26 and 27 of the constitution, they are clearly stated there. If there are security issues, the security agencies will bring them out to say that a person belongs to a given group in-terms of security risk. But apart from that, we followed the rules and regulations, those constitutional requirements must be met.”

  • Fed Govt seeks $400m loan for Northeast rehabilitation

    Fed Govt seeks $400m loan for Northeast rehabilitation

    •Navy, Air Force pledge machinery and manpower

    The Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiative (PCNI) is seeking a loan of $400million from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (ADB) to rebuild infrastructure in the region devastated by the Boko Haram insurgency.
    The PCNI was inaugurated in October 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari as the apex coordinating body for interventions in the region.
    The Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Musa Tunsa, spoke when he led members of the committee to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar at the Nigerian Air Force, (NAF) Headquarters in Abuja.
    The committee also visited the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, at the naval headquarters where it praised the Navy for securing the Lake Chad basin region and contributing to the war on insurgency.
    Tunsa, who represented the chairman of the committee, Gen.Theophilous Danjuma, also hailed the NAF for exhibiting extraordinary gallantry in the fight against insurgency in the northeast. He said the Nigerian military is a key stakeholder in the rebuilding of the northeast following the insurgency.
    “We are here on behalf of the chairman of the PCNI, Gen. Theophilous Danjuma (rtd) to thank you for your contributions to the war on insurgency. The PCNI is seeking a loan of $400 million from the World Bank and the African Development Bank for the reconstruction of the Northeast and we are here to solicit your help in rebuilding the region,” he said.
    Air Marshall Abubakar said: “We have treated at least 165 patients in our hospital in Bama, we have also upgraded two hospitals in Maiduguri to cater for the IDPs and a surgical theater is being opened in our hospital in Bama. We promise to support the reconstruction of the North east and we are willing to help with construction materials and engineers as well as put our C-130 aircraft at your committee’s disposal to move any material in any part of Nigeria free of charge,” Abubakar said.
    In his comments to the Chief of Naval Staff, Tunda said: “We are in no illusion about the contributions of the Nigerian Navy towards securing the Lake Chad region which is a very important source of livelihood not only for the people of Nigeria but also surrounding countries.
    “ We want to collaborate with the Nigerian Navy in rebuilding the Northeast, countering violence, demobilizing especially the civilian Joint Task Force, rebuilding of schools etc.”
    Vice Admiral Ekwe-Ibas promised that all of the Navy’s machineries will be put at the disposal of the committee in order to ensure the prompt reconstruction of the region.
    “ We are consolidating the establishment of the Navy outpost in the Lake Chad basin and when that is properly done, normalcy will return to enable those who depend on the Lake Chad for their livelihood to return,” he said.
    The Navy Chief also promised to deploy Navy engineers to supply Compressed Earth Bricks which has proved effective in the construction of Navy housing estates to the Northeast..

  • Fed Govt urged to build Nollywood City

    Group Managing Director, NANET Hotels and Suite, Mr. Ini Akpabio, has advised the Federal Government to build a Nollywood City to boost entertainment industry in 2017.
    Akpabio told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday that the gesture would reposition the Nollywood image of the country.
    He decried a situation where Nigeria could not boast of one Nollywood village or city, where practitioners could assemble or meet to exhibit and showcase their talents to the world.
    “The National Theatre is a no go area for Nollywood practitioners as the money to access the facility is on the high side.
    “It is unfair for a nation like Nigeria not to have a Nollywood city in spite of the great talented practitioners/experts we are blessed with in this country.
    “Nigerian movies are widely recognised all over the world; therefore, government should provide the basic needs to boost the industry, “he said.
    According to him, it does not mean that the government will be the one to do everything; the government can go into partnership with other private investors.
    Akpabio said that as some Nigerian movies had won international awards and recognitions, government needed to encourage them to do more.
    He explained that the only way government could encourage the actors was to provide incentives, create enabling environment and provide necessary infrastructure.
    Akpabio said that the Nollywood city would accommodate entertainers, actors and actresses, performers, comedians and creativity in general.
    “It will serve as an avenue for them to exhibit and showcase their talents.
    “It will also be a platform where their foreign counterparts will meet them to chart the course on the latest trend in entertainment industry, “he said.
    He expressed confidence that the industry would boost government revenues and create employment opportunity to millions of Nigeria.

  • Fed Govt resumes payments to ex-Niger Delta militants

    Fed Govt resumes payments to ex-Niger Delta militants

    The Federal Government has resumed payments to former Niger Delta militants, as agreed under a 2009 amnesty deal, a government official confirmed yesterday.

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been holding talks with militants to end attacks on crude pipelines, which cut Nigeria’s output by 700,000 barrels in 2016.

    The budget for cash payments to militants has originally been cut, but had to continue to halt the pipeline attacks.

    “Two months of the ex-militants’ stipends were paid yesterday. The rest of their stipends will be paid later in batches by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” Piriye Kiyaramo of the government’s Amnesty Office, said.

    He said the paid stipends covered August and September.

    Each former militant is entitled to N65,000  monthly, plus job training.

  • Fed Govt redeploys three perm secs

    Fed Govt redeploys three perm secs

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday  approved the  redeployment of three  Federal Permanent Secretaries.

    A statement by the Director of  Communications, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Haruna  Imrana, said the circular conveying the deployment was signed by the HCSF, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita.

    The affected permanent secretaries are  Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, who has been moved from the Ministry of Education  to the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation; Dr Jamila Shu’ara, who has been moved from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to the Ministry of Education; and Mr Christian Chineyekka Ohaa of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, now deployed to Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

    According to the statement, the handing over of the affected permanent secretaries  should be completed on or before Tuesday.

  • Fed Govt to overhaul 50 bridges at N270b

    Fed Govt to overhaul 50 bridges at N270b

    THE Federal Government is planning to overhaul about 50 bridges across the country in three years, at the cost of N270 billion, Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola said yesterday.
    Fashola spoke while inspecting the rehabilitation of Lagos Ring Road Bridge Abutment and Approach to the Third Mainland Bridge project in Lagos.
    He told reporters that some columns and beams of the Third Mainland bridge were threatened because of human activities, sand filling and ecological factors, which resulted in erosion.
    “The work we have come to inspect was awarded some years back when there was an indication of some mis-alignments here on the Lagos Outer Ring Road, which is the beginning of what leads on to the Third Mainland Bridge itself -which is just about here.
    “And it is being caused by erosion, sand filling and other activities.
    “This road has moved as a result of some sub-soil displacement,’’ the News  Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Fashola as saying.
    He said the project, which was slowed down by funding, would be completed in November.
    The minister added that many of the bridges in Lagos and across the country had suffered neglect and had not been undergoing routine maintenance.
    Fashola said the present administration was determined to correct the trend and had begun the process for maintenance of about 50 bridges across the country, “if it receives the support of the legislature’’.
    “Many of the bridges we built in the country over the last four, five decades have not been under any form of maintenance.
    “We now have a three-year plan affecting over 50 bridges across the country for maintenance, repairs and restoration.
    “And it is going to cost about N270 billion over three years.
    “Our plan is to start with about N70 to N100 billion in year one; starting with the very critical ones so that they do not collapse and then we move to the less critical ones,’’ he said.
    The minister said the government had done the survey and assessments to unravel the problems of the bridges, adding that it was waiting for appropriation and approval of funds to execute the projects.
    He decried indiscriminate parking and trading activities in some parts of Ebute Ero toward the Third Mainland Bridge.
    Fashola warned that government would take action soon.
    “I want to appeal to those people who use those areas as car parks and trading to start moving voluntarily in their own best interest.
    “We intend to repose our right of way while work is going on the Outer Marina to free traffic,’’ he said.
    While receiving a brief from the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos Mr. Godwin Eke on status of other bridges, the minister directed engineers to begin work to realign the Apongbon bridge.
    Mr. Gianfranco Albertazzi, the Joint Managing Director, Boroni Prono and Co Nig. Ltd- contractors of the project, told reporters that some piers, alignment and decks and piles of the bridge were affected.
    “I have pictures of the affected columns here. They were enlarged but we have strengthened them by another layer of steel and concrete,’’ Albertazzi said.
    He said a new kind of cement that dealt with the problem of salinity of both air and water was being used to reduce degeneration of the bridge.
    The project was awarded in December 2012 at a cost of N967.3 million.

  • Fed Govt condemns killing of Nigerian in South Africa

    Fed Govt condemns killing of Nigerian in South Africa

    The Federal Government has condemned the killing of another Nigerian Tochukwu Nnadi in South Africa.
    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, described the latest extra-judicial killing as “worrying and condemnable”.
    Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said the gruesome killing of Nnadi by Police in South Africa, was unacceptable to the people and government of Nigeria.
    The statement was signed by her media aide, Mr. Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
    She reiterated President Muhammadu Buhari’s calls to Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug peddling, which attracts stiff penalties, sometimes death.
    The presidential aide noted that the killing of Nnadi had brought to 20 the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means in 2016 alone.
    Appealing to Nigerians to avoid crimes, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said the killing of Nigerians is unacceptable.
    “The barbaric behaviour of the perpetrators is not only unacceptable, but also calls for urgent attention by diplomatic authorities in Nigeria and South Africa,” she said.
    Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa urged the South African Government to ensure that justice prevails by carrying out investigation and bring the culprit to book.
    She reiterated her calls to Nigerians living abroad to always respect the laws of their host countries and be good ambassadors of Nigeria.
    She recalled that a Nigerian based in South Africa, Tochukwu Nnadi, was allegedly choked to death by the Police in South Africa on Thursday, after he was arrested for allegedly selling drugs.
    According to eyewitnesses, the man, popularly known as King Kingsley, was not struggling after he was arrested and handcuffed, but one of the officers held onto his neck and squeezed tightly until blood started gushing out.
    “My heart goes out to the families of the deceased and pray God to grant the departed soul eternal rest,” the SSA prayed.
    The Nigeria Union in Pretoria had confirmed the latest killing.
    Its secretary, Mr. Adetola Olubajo, told reporters in Pretoria that “Nigeria Union is calling on the Nigerian Mission to demand results of investigations of all murder cases involving Nigerian victims from the South African authority’’.
    Olubajo said the union was not happy that all murder cases involving Nigerians in South Africa were never resolved.
    In the year 2016 alone, it has brought to 20, the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa under such cruel circumstances.
    Among such victims were Ikejiaku Chinedu,  Monday  Okorie, Gideon Ogalaonye, Nnamdi Michael, Adeniyi Olumoko, Christian Onwukaike and Nnadi.
    Nigerians are perennial victims of the xenophobia in South Africa, with Nigerians losing more than 4.6 million Rand or N90 million during the last attacks.
    No fewer than 150 South African business organisations are operating in Nigeria, despite the former’s allegedly restrictive policies, which have made it difficult for Nigerians to invest in that country.

  • Fed Govt begins payment of N5,000 monthly stipend in nine states

    Fed Govt begins payment of N5,000 monthly stipend in nine states

    The Federal Government has began payment of N5,000 monthly stipends to poor Nigerians in nine states.
    The Programme is part of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s Social Investment Programmes (SIP) for which N500 billion was appropriated in the 2016 Budget.
    Many beneficiaries were reported to have started receiving their first payments last week Friday in the nine states making up the first batch.
    The nine states, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande,are Borno, Kwara, Bauchi, Cross Rivers, Niger, Kogi, Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti.
    Of the nine states, he said that Borno, Kwara and Bauchi have started receiving the money while the rest of the states would commence the CCT payments soon.
    He said: “Funds for the commencement of the payments in four states were released last week to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) – the platform that hosts and validates payments for all government’s social intervention programmes. Funds for another set of five states to complete the first batch of nine states would follow soon.
    “The sequence for the payment of the money would be operationally managed by NIBSS.
    “The nine pilot states were chosen because they have an existing Social Register that successfully identified the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians through a tried and tested community based targeting (CBT) method working with the World Bank.
    “However other states have already begun developing their Social Registers and would be included in subsequent phases of the CCT implementation.” He added
    According to him, more beneficiaries of the CCT would be captured by the social registers already existing in 8 states.
    He said that the process was both transparent and credible.
    He said: “Beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer of the Federal Government would be mined from the Social Register, initially developed by 8 States through a direct engagement with the World Bank. Those states are featured in the first batch, with the added inclusion of Borno States where a validated list of IDPS were compiled in addition to the Social Register which is expected to go round the country.
    “Working with the World Bank, the CBT process has now been adopted for developing the Social Register in the other States around the country, for transparency, objectivity and credibility in the selection of the poorest and most vulnerable beneficiaries for the programme.
    “The Federal Government will actually commence community mobilization for the creation of the Register in more States soon, to expand the scope and reach of the CCT across the country”. He said
    He said states such as Plateau, Jigawa, Adamawa, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, Katsina and Taraba “have so far complied with the stipulated framework provided, and are set for the community based targeting method for the development of their Social Register within their jurisdictions.”
    The States, he said, are to be followed by Delta, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Imo and Ogun States.
    “Once the community mobilization, identification and selection processes are completed, the information garnered from the poorest households would be entered onto the Social Register in the states and the National Register at NIBSS, after which the cash transfers would be disbursed to the beneficiaries.
    “All the funds approved for the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes, SIP, are domiciled with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. In addition, the payment information and processes for all beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s SIP are hosted at NIBSS, as the Consolidated Beneficiary Register, to ensure and fortify efforts at authentication and verification, as well as for effective and efficient programme management.” He said
    He recalled that the administration has also kicked off the N-Power programme where graduates numbering 200,000 were engaged and paid N30, 000 per month, National Homegrown School Feeding Programme and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, (GEEP).
    He said that payment had already begun in States like Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Delta, Imo, Kwara, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Kogi States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
    He said that the payment stopped temporary during the Yuletide but would be resumed soon.
    He said that the government is committed to touching more lives and get many homes out of poverty through the packages.
    He said: “Besides the CCT, the N-Power Volunteer Corps designed to hire half a million unemployed graduates which has now engaged 200,000, and the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme now running in three states, the Buhari administration has also kicked-off the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, (GEEP).”

    “Under GEEP, soft loans ranging from N10,000 to 100,000 have been designed for artisans, traders, market women among others.
    “Already, thousands of cooperatives, market women associations, farmers and enterprising youths, have been identified and registered for the purpose, on an ongoing basis, and the disbursement of the soft loans through the Bank of Industry have started since Nov 25, 2016.
    “At the last count, for the first phase, beneficiaries have been drawn from the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Delta, Imo, Kwara, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Kogi States.
    “However, disbursements were halted and deferred until after the festive season. Vetting and approval of beneficiaries are now being continued through the month, with the expectation and plan that by month-end disbursements would have been made to 33,000 beneficiaries.
    “Regarding the 200,000 beneficiaries of the N-Power programme, close to 50% of the graduates, have now been physically verified, and started receiving their monthly stipends of N30,000 last week. A second batch of 300,000 unemployed graduates are expected to be selected early this year to make up the half a million target set by the Buhari administration.
    “The verified graduates are now being deployed to work as assistant teachers in schools, as community health aides and as agricultural extension workers, in more than 20 States of the Federation. These States include; Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Anambra, Benue, Cross Rivers, Borno, Gombe, Edo, Jigawa, Katsina, Plateau, Kogi, Osun, Rivers, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto, Ogun and Taraba.
    “Government has also started the implementation of the National Home-grown School Feeding programme designed to feed 5.5 million school children for 200 school days in the first phase of the programme.
    “Although the initial design was to feed pupils in 18 States, funding challenges had affected an earlier take-off. But the programme has now commenced in Osun, Kaduna and Anambra States. More states are expected to join this new year.
    “In the new year, it is the plan of the Federal Government to scale up the implementation of the SIP to touch the lives of millions of Nigerians in fulfillment of it’s promises and in furtherance of its Change agenda” he stated.

  • TUC: Fed Govt using security agencies against opposition

    TUC: Fed Govt using security agencies against opposition

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has accused the government of using security against opposition politicians.

    It also criticised the government for failing to honour its agreement with labour unions in 2016.

    TUC President Bobboi Kaigama said the labour movement decided not to take drastic action against government last year because it expected it to take the opportunity to settle down and hit the ground running.

    Kaigama, who said anti-labour practices were the order of the day in 2016, said labour would  not close its eyes to job losses, non-payment of salaries and allowance among others this year.

    “On the labour front, we commend the movement for showing unusual understanding in managing industrial issues in the last one year. When you critically evaluate our activities, you would agree with us that we had more industrial disputes in 2015 than last year.

    “That is not to say there were no issues. But our silence was rather deliberate and we had expected the new government to take the opportunity to settle down and hit the ground running. The truth is our economic and infrastructural challenges are so serious that they require every concentration to handle. This administration has really enjoyed the co-operation of Nigerians.

    “In the health and education sector, government has failed to honour agreements it voluntarily entered into with the unions. The public servants are still being owed and even when money was disbursed by the federal government, the state governors diverted it.

    “Technocrats are now undermined while wives of some governors now manage four, five and six ministries. This is unconstitutional. Additionally, there was unprecedented termination of appointment of workers without engaging the unions. Anti-labour practices were the order of the day. Yet, we did not draw out our sword because we did not want to be seen as enemies of the new government.

    “For our patriotism, we have been labeled as weak and cowards but there is no problem about that. Now, what we expect from government at all levels is to put its acts together to avoid industrial crisis this year.

    “Truth is, we are not going to close our eyes to job losses, non-payment of salaries and allowance, etc. Our position is any governor who cannot pay salaries as at when due should not earn his, let alone pay his aides. We are going to work tirelessly in conjunction with our state councils to actualise that.

    “A case in point is the killings in Southern Kaduna recently. The state security apparatus are daily used to intimidate the opposition.

    “Suffice to say here that the insurgencies we have today – be it Niger Delta militancy, Boko Haram, Biafra, and election violence as we have in Rivers are all the consequences of the misrule of the leadership.

    “We commend the government for the effort so far made at curbing these crises but it needs to do more by way of job creation and infrastructural development. It pays to avoid crisis than to try to subdue it.

    “There is no doubt the once known giant of Africa’s economy is now gasping for breath in all ramifications: there is gross inconsistency in lending rates. The cost of doing business has become very unreasonable with the hugely devaluation of the naira.

    “The price of crude oil is almost on its knee when you compare to what it used to be. It is bad enough that we are a consuming nation but worse when government is doing nothing to address the situation.

    “It hurts and breaks the heart that as the 6th oil producing country in the world, the unemployment figures remain incongruously high; crime rates has astronomically increased, unbridled poverty, alarming inflation rate of 18.3, paucity of power and its attendant crazy tariffs, among others have become our plight.

    “On diversification of the economy, successive governments have paid lips service to alternative sources of revenue to the country. No nation survives on the vagaries of a mono-cultural economy. Individuals believe that multiple streams of income is the way to go but our leaders don’t think such for the country. Too bad.

    “In light of the prevailing realities and how it has affected workers take home, we call for an upward review of wages of workers. The devaluation of the naira and other unfriendly economic measures are taking tolls on the workers and Nigerians generally.

    “The usual excuse of no money because of the activities of the Niger Delta militants and fall in the price of oil does not subsist here. Our suggestion is; see to the demands of the Niger Delta militants, pass the petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, diversify the economy, reduce cost of running government, jail looters of our treasury and there would be money to do much more than Nigerians are yearning for. We hope governments at all levels listen to the voice of reason.”

     

  • Muslims group to Fed Govt: tackle economic recession

    The Muslims Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to lead other tiers of government to initiate programmes that will take the country out of economic recession and hardship.

    It spoke through a communique issued by its National President Alhaji Sulaimon Alabi Yusuf and Publicity Secretary Alhaja Nurat Adebayo after the association’s National Executive Council meeting held in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The association advised the Federal Government to increase efforts to provide storage for excess agricultural products from the country’s envisaged bumper harvest, stressing that “obviously, this will serve as a buffer stock”.

    MAN implored the National Assembly to carefully and urgently consider the 2017 budget proposal , which, it said, the Federal Government should consciously implement as soon as it is passed and approved by the legislature.

    It reminded the government of the urgency to implement the planned social security scheme for the country’s poor population.

    The group hailed the government for its concerted efforts in addressing the menace of Boko Haram group, particularly in the Northeast.

    “The Federal Government must address other threats to national security such as abduction for ransom, kidnapping, ritual killings, armed robbery and brigandage, among others, with the deserved seriousness,” MAN said.