The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal government

  • FG urges states to enact laws to ban open defecation

    The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu on Sunday called on states to enact bye-laws to ban open defecation in the country.

    Adamu, who made the call at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja, said the call became necessary following continuous practice of open defecation in parts of the country.

    He said that it was a matter for regret that Nigeria is the second largest country after India with over 66 million of its population defecating in the open.

    According to him, when this law becomes operational, it will check the practice, fine offenders and also encourage people to construct and use their toilets.

    He said that Nigeria had developed a Roadmap and Action Plan to reposition the water and sanitation sector, saying there was a pledge to end open defecation by 2025, before the end of the Sustainable Development Goals.

    “One of the key issues we are asking the states to do is to put up a legislation to ban open defecation, state governments must look at their building codes to enforce the need for people to build toilets, the appropriate kinds of toilets in their houses; there must be more public toilets, public buildings should be able to open up toilet facilities for people, this is what is happening all over the world.

    “We are lucky to have engaged the wife of the president on this because we need champions to help us campaign against open defecation and she has accepted to lead the campaigns along with wives of state governors.

    “I am sure very soon, you will begin to hear us making waves in all of our campaigns, our communication strategies has been in place, and they are trying to mobilise the country against open defecation.’’

    Adamu said that the campaign for ending open defecation could not be run under a ministerial department alone, calling for priority of attention to be given to it just like ending Polio and HIV and AIDS.

    He added that the ministry would encourage water and sanitation enterprises to encourage private sector investment in toilet business.
    He said that there was the need for all water supply component construction to have a sanitation component, adding that this would go a long way to promote hygiene and end open defecation.

    A projection of the Joint Monitoring Progress Report 2015 and MICS 2017 data revealed that Nigeria is unlikely to achieve the target of completely eradicating open defecation by 2025 and universal use of safe sanitation by 2030.

    According to a World Bank 2012 Report, about 122,000 Nigerians including 87,000 children under-five years die annually from diarrhea, nearly 90 per cent being directly attributed to water, sanitation and hygiene.(NAN)

  • FG, Abia State sign agreement on Enyimba Economic City 

    The Federal Government and Abia State Government have signed definitive agreements for the Enyimba Economic City, in Abia State.

    The agreements signed marked the commencement of work at the site of the Enyimba Economic City.

    The groundbreaking event of the city is expected to be done soon by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Read Also:South-East Governors want Second Niger Bridge ready in 24 months 

    Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu led a delegation of host communities of the Enyimba Economic City from Abia South in Abia State for the signing of definitive agreements between the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by the Nigeria Special Economic Zone Investment Company Limited and the Abia State Government represented by the Enyimba City Development Company Limited, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa Abuja on Friday.

    President Buhari and other top Federal Government functionaries witnessed the agreement signing ceremony at the Council chambers.

    Enyimba Economic City is an audacious and game changing project for Nigeria.

    It is a 9,803 Hectares of new economic city, spanning three (3) Local Government Areas of Abia State, Ukwa East, Ukwa West and Ugwunagbo.

    The land is at the center of the five (5) Southeast and four (4) Southsouth States and has the right characteristics and ingredients to drive massive economic expansion of the region and by extension Nigeria.

    It has major arterial, intercity roads connections. It is near existing sea ports (Onne and PortHacourt) and proposed Akwa Ibom Deep Sea Port.

    It has proximity to Airports (Owerri, PortHacourt and Uyo). It has functional gas pipelines and boarder Owaza gas fields. It is transversed by existing National Rail line, PortHacourt – Maiduguri etc.

    The key pillars of Enyimba Economic City is to create a global business hub that connects the nine (9) Southeast and Southsouth States, build first class infrastructure in the location, including dedicated power and attract economic activities that are mainly driven by manufacturing and supported by other uses e.g. Logistics, Medical, Entertainment, Education, Lifestyle Residential etc.

    The target is to attract proactively long term local and foreign investments, thereby integrating Nigerian businesses (manufacturing and services) into regional and global supply / value chains.

    This project is combining the clear focus of the private sector and the enabling powers of the Governments at all level. Hence, it is a Private Public Partnership (PPP) of Crown Realties Plc, the Host Communities, Abia State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria under project Made In Nigeria for Export (MINE) of Federal Government of Nigeria.

    On that basis, the Federal Government has designated Enyimba Economic City a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with Free Trade Zone Status and one of the three (3) pilots that include Kano and Lagos. It has also taken 20% equity in the project.

    The First Phase of the project is fully designed and the projection is that construction will commence in Q1, 2019 and various major anchor tenant discussions are progressing well for manufacturing transfers from China, Germany and other Countries to the new city.

    The positioning and master planning of the city was done by some of the bests in the business in the World, Surbana Jurong of Singapore and CBRE of India in collaboration with local firms. The positioning study indicate that Enyimba Economic City will at capacity, provide over 625,000 jobs, urban housing of over 300,000 units, urban population of more than 1.5 Million people. It is projected that the city will provide more than 2,000industrial/ business units, with estimated annual value output of more than $5 Billion.

  • Navy seizes 834 bags of foreign rice, arrests 19

    Men of the Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory in Calabar, Cross River State, have seized 834 bags of foreign parboiled rice as well as arrested 19 suspects.

    Acting Commander, Navy Captain Ajomabi Oride, told reporters at the NNS Victory jetty on Thursday that they were arrested in a vessel around Parrot Island on their way to Oron in Akwa Ibom State from Cameroon.

    Oride, who disclosed that three of the suspects were Cameroonians and the rest, Nigerians, said the seized rice was worth about N13 million.

    The seized items and Nigerian suspects were handed over to the Nigerian Customs Service, while the Cameroonians were handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service.

    “It is not is business as usual for the smugglers. You cannot smuggle foreign rice into the country, knowing that it is banned. We will keep arresting them. We should help the local production increase. They are saboteurs because the Federal Government policy is clear on that, to improve locally made rice, so that we can improve on our own economy and if you go out to smuggle rice into the country, you are killing the local industry. The media should help us inform the public that foreign produced rice is out of bounds and not allowed in the country,” Oride said.

    Read Also: Navy arrests 40 for alleged piracy

    Assistant Controller of Customs, Eastern Marine Command, Joshua Omachi, said the rice would be taken to government warehouse awaiting court directive, while the suspects would be taken to custody and prosecuted.

    “We have so many rice milling industries and rice is grown in virtually every part of the country. Our own rice is even sweeter. Information has to get to the nooks and crannies of this nation. Let everybody sit up, so we can arrest these things,” Omachi said

    Superintendent of Immigration, with the Marine Patrol Unit, Odu Nku Nku, who received the Cameroonians said they foreigners would be profiled and dealt with according to the law.

  • Again, FG, ASUU meeting deadlock

    One month after it embarked on an industrial action, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is not returning to the class room soon as the meeting between the leadership and Federal Government has again ended in a deadlock.

    The meeting which took place at the Ministry of Education failed to resolve the issue raised by the union which includes reconstruction of the committee to renegotiate the agreement between the union and government among others.

    Read Also:Education stakeholders call for dialogue to end ASUU strike

    The union embarked on the strike on November 4 over the poor funding of Nigerian universities and non-implementation of previous agreements by the government.

    National President of ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogumyemi told newsmen after the meeting that both sides were yet to arrive at a compromise.

    He said “For now, we have started to discuss, we are yet to reach any concrete decision. Once we have more information, we will make ourselves available to the press.”

    Ogumyemi said the meeting will reconvene very soon to continue negotiations, but was not definite.

    The government’s representative at the meeting included the education minister, Adamu Adamu; the permanent secretary of the education ministry, Sunny Echono; a representative of National Universities Commission and a representative from the National Income, Wages and Salaries Commission.

    The government had issued a no work no pay directive to Vice Chancellor’s but withdrew at the last minute.

  • FG to produce festivals compendium to boost tourism – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the ministry will soon produce a compendium of the festivals across the country to boost tourism and showcase the country’s diverse cultures.

    The minister disclosed this in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday while speaking at the ongoing 3rd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture, jointly organized by the two UN agencies.

    A statement on the minister’s address was made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja by Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the minister.

    The minister said with more than 365 festivals across Nigeria, the country could organise one festival per day all year round, thus boosting domestic
    and international tourism.

    Mohammed said Nigeria’s ethnic groups were rooted in their cultures, which they showcased through different festivals like Durbar, New Yam Festival, Eyo and Masquerades, just to mention a few.

    Read Also: Looters’ list: Court refuses to jail Lai Mohammed

    He said governments at all levels in Nigeria were striving hard to encourage the festivals in their domains, while the Federal Government was providing the enabling environment to showcase the various festivals.

    The minister said the Abuja Carnival was particularly designed to enable the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to showcase the country’s cultural diversity.

    He described the carnival as “a source of unity among the country’s more than 250 ethnic groups”. Mohammed said festivals were not just for entertainment but major contributors to job creation and economic development.

    The conference is aimed at exploring the interplay of tourism and culture with a view to enhancing sustainable tourism globally.

    More than 30 Ministers of Culture and Tourism from around the world are attending the three-day conference.

    (NAN)

  • FG set to increase recruitment quota of PWDs to 10%

    As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the International Day with Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), the Federal Government has assured of an increase in the recruitment quota of PWDs to 10 per cent.

    Dr Samuel Ankeli, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the official inauguration of the Baseline Survey of PWDs.

    The event was under the theme: `Empowering Persons with Disabilities and Ensuring their Inclusiveness and Equality.’

    Ankeli urged PWDs to come up with a memo, while assuring that relevant actions would be taken to improve the lives of the people.

    “ It has been observed that those who are educated enough for employment have not been given a fair share of the Federal Civil Service openings.

    “It is a normal government procedure to improve policies where need be.

    “It’s a policy decision and the Head of Service (HOS) with her team will prepare a document for the attention of the President to see how we can do things as urgently as possible.

    “This will help us to improve the recruitment quota of PWDs from the negligible two per cent to 10 per cent and provide an allowance to cushion the expenses and extra stresses of PWDs.

    “ I am sure that with the proper document, which is a memo to the President, the relevant actions will be taken on it to improve the lives of PWDs,’’ he said.

    Also, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF), said the theme was apt as it spelt out the objectives of the baseline survey of PWDs employed in the Federal Civil Service.

    Oyo-Ita noted that the survey would go a long way to reassure PWDs in the service that issues of their welfare are on the front burner.

    She said the survey was meant to position the officers to integrate PWDs for national development. The Head of Service added that the project, which is a pilot project, would be conducted in the office.

    Read Also: 2019: INEC assures PWDs of full participation

    According to her, the project will subsequently be extended to other Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the states.

    She said the time is ripe to begin effective planning for the future of PWDs in the service and the ultimate goal is the development of a comprehensive policy to address the challenges.

    “ The launch is expected to provide the aggregated data of PWDs in the civil service, in order to enable the service welfare to design a programme that tackles the challenges.

    “To create more opportunities for PWDs to get into job and full range effective service, sustainable change will be realised when all concerned are empowered.

    “The Federal Government is working to lessen inequality in the society, the office will also continue to provide PWDs with requirements to work effectively in a conducive environment,’’ she said.

    Oyo-Ita promised to work with international partners to leverage and support the efforts of the Federal Government to meet the needs of the PWDs.

    In her remark, Mrs Didi Walsom-Jack, Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, HOSF, stated that the office is set to promote a safe and convenient work environment and provide basic support for civil servants.

    She said the use of the survey would help to improve inclusiveness, thereby helping to impact PWDs in the public service.

    On his part, Mr Jake Epelle, President, Albino Foundation, commended the HOSF for conducting the survey, as it had been recognised on the floor of the European Union to scale up methods to effectively impact on the lives of PWDs.

    Epelle said the survey, targeted at all employees with disabilities in the federal civil service, would deploy both quantitative and qualitative processes, which would also be driven by technology.

    The United Nations General Assembly in 1992 proclaimed Dec. 3 as the annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons.

    The aim is to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development.

    The Day seeks to also increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

     

    (NAN)

  • FG begins no-work-no-pay in striking varsities

    Following the deadlocks that have trailed attempts to end the ongoing strike by lecturers across all Federal Government owned universities in the country, the FG has directed Vice Chancellors of the striking public varsities and inter-varsity centers to enforce no-work-no-pay rule on striking lecturers.

    This directive was said to have been communicated to the universities in a memo sent by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) through the University Vice Chancellors.

    The Memo which was signed by Director, Research, Information and Technology, NUC, Dr S.B Ramon-Yusuf stated that payment of salaries from any other sources will be viewed as violation of extant rules and Government directive.

    It reads in parts, “In view of the current Industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the federal government has directed that there shall be no payment of any form of salaries and allowances to the staff on strike in federal and inter-varsity centers

    “Consequently, I am to direct Vice-Chancellors to apply the ‘No-work-no-pay’ rule.

    “However, Universities and inter-varsity centers are to pay salaries and allowances to Non-teaching staff. All Vice Chancellors and Directors of centers should note that the salaries to staff on strike from whatever source of funds shall be viewed as violation of extant rules and directive of the federal government of Nigeria”

    Read Also: Ambode vows to contain ‘bad guys’ at Xmas



    Reacting to the Memo on no-work-no-pay, Chairman University of Ibadan Chapter of ASUU, Dr Deji Omole described the FG as shameless for owing lecturers seven years of unpaid earned academic allowances and still want them to continue to work for free while the Presidency and the National Assembly feed fat on the wealth of the nation.

    He said it is sad that “a government that prides itself as having integrity has shamefully shown it lacks integrity by failing to honour agreements reached with the union but resulted to harassment and intimidation of our members on a patriotic struggle to save public education in Nigeria”.

    Omole said that the directive will add fuel to  the struggle as academic staff have resolved to get proper education for the children of the masses.

    According to Omole, the Military government tried unsuccessfully to intimidate the collective will of Nigerian masses and that members of the union have resolved to fight for the future of the country.

    “We have passed this road before. It is a familiar terrain which we can navigate with our eyes closed. We shall triumph any attempt to destroy the common patrimony. The power of the people is stronger than the people in power”, the UI ASUU boss stated.

  • ASUU strike : Parents, students call for quick FG intervention

    Some parents and students in Abuja on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to speedily intervene and resolve the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU).

    The parents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, expressed worry over the constant strikes embarked upon by the university lecturers’ union.

    NAN reports that on Monday, the Federal Government and ASUU had a meeting to resolve their agreement in order to suspend the lecturers’ strike.

    However, the meeting that reportedly started at about 5 p.m. at the Federal Ministry of Education ended in another deadlock.

    A parent, Mrs Eunice John, said: “it is a pity what our government and ASUU is doing to this to our children who have been forced once again out of school.
    ‎
    “‎We know that many of the leaders have their children either studying in private universities or in other schools overseas, that is why they can always keep our children out of school.

    “Many parents are struggling to pay school fees of their wards to keep them in school and out of the streets, yet these children are forced to come home and some now engage in various vices.

    “That is not the only problem, when their studies are disrupted, it affects them; imagine those who were in the middle of writing examinations having that flow disrupted.’’

    ‎John pleaded with the FG and ASUU to reach an agreement that would end the strike and ultimately help improve the education sector.

    Mr David Onilede, another parent said the strike was worrisome adding that it would affect the productivity of the students.

    “I am worried at the sustained strike by ASUU. As a parent, the capacity of our children for productive interaction with their studies is being jeopardised.

    “I do not trust the FG ‘ s negotiating team; it seems that it is fixated on commercialising education at the tertiary level; ASUU should resist this. ‎

    “ASUU too, should be more flexible in their obsession with earned allowances; it portrays their struggles as selfish,’’ he said.

    Mrs Jumoke Yusuf, a Public Servant, said that the constant and protracted lecturers’ strikes had marred the country’s university system, as continuous breaks in the learning process had negatively affected the students.

    Read Also: APC Elders to Olanusi’s group: Retrace your steps

    “This strike is affecting the students and even we the parents because unexpectedly these children are coming home which they did not plan for.

    “That is not the main issue because you cannot stop your children from coming home no matter what.

    “The issue is that these incessant strikes are actually causing a lot of problems for these children in the sense that they just stay too long in school.
    ‎
    Esther Ajayi, a student ‎at the Nasarawa State University, who a spoke to reporters, said the strike had reduced her morale.

    ‎”I paid my fees for admission for a master’s degree programme and was excited and ready to go to school, however, this strike has dampened my hope of finishing within the stipulated time.

    “We want the federal government to dialogue with ASUU to end this continuous strike.
    ‎
    “It is not only sad that children of the masses try to be beat all odds to be the best they can be, but more worrisome is that the government of the day plays politics with the education system.

    ‎”Nigeria prides herself as the giant of Africa, but finds it difficult to resolve issues that are beneficial to the populace, we want the strike called off soonest.”
    ‎
    Emmanuel Onuoha, another student who spoke to NAN, accused the FG of failing the Nigerian student. ‎

    He said that government needed to do everything within its power to address the challenges in the sector as he called for the strike to be called of soonest.

    “Our parents said in their time the education system was good, there was nothing like strike and education was basically free.

    “Now some of them are in government and they are allowing us to suffer what they never did, because they can afford to send their children to schools abroad to get the best. ‎

    “We are pleading with government to solve this problem so we can go back to school.

    “Our ‎mates in private universities are way ahead of us; we‎ are just sitting at home doing nothing. It is not fair,”‎ he said.

  • Nigeria backs full chemical disarmament 

    The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed support for full chemical disarmament globally.

    This was contained in the statement delivered at the Fourth Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical Weapons Convention holding in The Hague, Netherlands between 21-30 November, 2018.

    It was delivered by Mr. Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, Permanent Secretary/Head, National Authority on Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions, Abuja.

    He said: “At this occasion of the Fourth Review Conference, I wish to reaffirm Nigeria’s full commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and our unflinching support to the OPCW in its mandate to implement fully, the provisions of the Convention, particularly the completion of global destruction of chemical weapons, prevention of their re-emergence, promotion of effective management and peaceful uses of chemistry, as well as promotion of economic and technological development of all states parties.

    “Nigeria attaches great importance to the efforts towards global disarmament, especially chemical disarmament. We reaffirm that full, global implementation of the CWC will contribute greatly to international peace and security.

    “The verified destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities, including old and abandoned chemical weapons, are core objectives of the Convention.

    “Nigeria therefore, calls on concerned states parties and the Secretariat to redouble efforts towards complete destruction of all chemical weapons within the shortest possible time.

    “In this regard, we commend the Russian Federation, Libya, Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic for the completion of destruction of their declared chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities, as announced by the Technical Secretariat since the Third Review Conference.

    “We urge good faith dialogue and cooperation between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Technical Secretariat, to clarify all outstanding issues related to the initial declaration of that State Party,” he said.

    According to him, Nigeria also congratulated the five (5) states that joined the Convention since

    the Third Review Conference – the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of Angola and the State of Palestine.

    “We believe that the object and purpose of the CWC cannot be fully realised until Universality is achieved. In that connection, Nigeria calls on the remaining states not party to the CWC to accede to the Convention without preconditions or delay.

    “We commend also, the Technical Secretariat for its efforts on Universality, within the framework of the CWC Action Plan. The goal can be better achieved with sustained efforts and cooperation of all stakeholders, thus, Nigeria urges all states parties to consider utilising their bilateral reach to influence the remaining four (4) states not yet party to the convention to quickly do so,” he added.

    Since acceding to the CWC in 1999, he said, that Nigeria has remained committed to full implementation of the Convention.

    “As we have never been a possessor state, our implementation efforts have focused on adequate monitoring, management and control of storage, trade, and transfer of scheduled chemicals. Since the Third Review Conference, Nigeria has greatly increased sensitisation of stakeholders in the chemical industry, many times via OPCW training programmes.

    “We have also, a comprehensive legislation currently in its final stages before parliament, awaiting passage into law, hopefully before the end of the legislative year 2018. In the pursuit of all these, Nigerian officials took part in the Influential Visitors Programme in 2017 at the OPCW headquarters. Nigerian National Authority are in partnership with the National Authority of the United Kingdom under the Mentorship Programme, which has seen two bilateral visits and is yielding positive results.

    “Nigeria recently partnered with the OPCW to host a “Pilot Workshop on Implementing Legislation on the Chemical Weapons Convention in Addressing Threats Arising from Non-State Actors” from 16 – 18 October 2018 in Abuja, the Federal Capital City of Nigeria, for the ECOWAS sub-Region. The 3 days’ workshop had twelve countries in attendance and it was adjudged a huge success by participants.

    “We commend the Technical Secretariat for the initiation of these programmes and urge continuous monitoring and evaluation to ensure their sustainable impact. We express also, our full support for the proposal of the Director General towards national implementation assessment support.”

    He also disclosed that Nigeria attaches high priority to Article X of the CWC, which provides for assistance and protection to victims of Chemical Weapons.

    “In this regard, we commend the Technical Secretariat for various initiatives, such as the Rapid Response and Assistance Mission (RRAM) aimed at developing a state of readiness, in response to a State Party which may require assistance for victims of chemical incident. We re-echo the call of the Director-General for voluntary contributions of funds and logistics for the effective functioning of this Mission.”

     

     

  • FG plans two additional Satellites to boost NIGCOMSAT-2

    …As telecom subscribers hit 162,05 million 

    The Federal Government is set to establish two additional satellites to support the Nigeria Communication Satellite  system (NIGCOMSAT) to complement the existing NIGCOMSAT- 2.

    Minister for Communication, Dr.  Adebayo Shittu, who disclosed this on Thursday at the 6th regular meeting of the National Council on Communication Technology (NCCT),  in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said this is to further  boost the Telecommunications industry.

    Shittu added that the Federal Government is committed to using Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) as a tool to diversify the nation’s economy.

    According to him, the economic recovery and massive employment generation for the teeming youths could be achieved faster using ICT

    Speaking on this year’s theme: “Leveraging ICT as a vehicle for economic recovery and growth, “the Minister revealed that the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased from $32 billion in 2015 to $40 billion in 2018.

    Shittu also disclosed that the telecommunications industry has improved with active telecom subscribers increasing from 148,70million in 2015 to 162,05 million as at September, 2018.

    Declaring open the meeting, Governor Ibikunle Amosun said the state is committed to sustaining an ICT driven environment, adding that he would  always accord it a significant role in his administration.

    Amosun said his government would continue to work to channel the energy of youths into technology, and harness it as weapon of mass development.

    Read Also: Nigeria to launch two satellites soon – NIGCOMSAT

    The Governor expressed worry over the unethical and unprofessional use of ICT to create falsehood and disseminate same on the social media, warning that if left unchecked, it could spell doom for a nation.

    He urged the government, experts in ICT and appropriate agencies to deliberate on measures to check the culture of using ICT and social media to cause disaffection, mislead  and unnecessarily heat up the polity.

    This, he said, would help the nation, especially now that the it is approaching the electioneering year.

    In his goodwill message, Post Master General of the Federation,  Bisi Adegbuyi, stressed the need for leveraging on technology and embracing its importance to solve human and national challenges.