The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal government

  • FG appeals to states to pay teachers

    FG appeals to states to pay teachers

    The Federal Government on Tuesday urged state governments who are owing teachers’ salaries to pay them.

    Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu made the appeal at a briefing to mark this year’s World Teachers Day, in Abuja

    The Minister, said teachers, despite their contributions to the society and nation building, had continued to be neglected.

    He said the federal government directed state governors to use the bailout it released twice to them to settle salaries including that of teachers.

    Adamu said: “I think it is very necessary that we pay our teachers right here on earth and celebrating this day just underscores the issues and their basic needs.

    “Teachers deserve to be appreciated for their great role in nation building.

    “The federal government has given out largest bailout twice to the states to settle salaries. We are doing the best we can.”

    Earlier in his remarks, National President, Nigeria Union Teachers, Michael Alogba-Olukoya, there was need for teachers to be treated well in the society.

    Alogba-Olukoya, who was represented by Acting Secretary General of the union Dr. Mike Ikeme, commended the teachers for their dedication and resilience in carrying out their professional tasks.

    “The annual observance of this important day has helped reawaken the consciousness of nations and citizenry to the important role of teachers and the need for teachers to be accorded a status commensurate with the role they play in society.

    “I salute them for their passion in their chosen profession and their sacrifice and courage in keeping the flag flying despite obvious odds against their calling.

    “I urge them to continue to be patriotic and contribute their best to the growth and development of our dear nation,” he said.

  • FG grants tax reliefs to TStv Africa

    FG grants tax reliefs to TStv Africa

    The Federal Government has granted a 3-year tax relief to the newly inaugurated Pay TV operator in the country, TStv Africa, as well as tax free dividends to all investors in the company.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced this on Sunday night in Abuja at a dinner to mark the official unveiling of the new company.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports TStv Africa is a wholly owned Nigerian Pay TV operator with refined offerings of novel Unclassified Pay Per View subscription and complimentary internet services.

    Mohammed, who performed the official unveiling of the new company and its products, said the tax reliefs were in line with the Pioneer Status recently granted to the Creative Industry by the federal government.

    The minister congratulated the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Dr Bright Echefu, and his team for liberalising and breaking the monopoly of Pay TV in the country.

    “The important thing about what Echefu has done today is that he has redefined the pay per view television industry and from today that industry will never remain the same again.

    “What he has done is to democratise the media and entertainment industry and make it possible for even a peasant farmer to have access to the best entertainment and news in the world.

    “It is a great opportunity for me to be the one to unveil TStv because just like a Nigerian made history by crashing the cost of telephony in Nigeria, I am glad that another Nigerian is now coming forward to crash the cost of Pay TV,” he said.

    The minister commended the courage of the investor for coming from the Diaspora to invest in his country and for believing in the government’s seriousness about diversifying the economy.

    He said the company had also demonstrated that government alone could not do all things but needed the participation and synergy of the private sector.

    “I want to assure that this administration will continue to assist you and other investors in creating the enabling environment for businesses to grow,” he said.

    The minister said that the government was aware of the huge contributions of the creative industry to the nation’s economy and would continue to support the sector.

    However, he identified contents and the lack of objective audience measurement as major challenges that had retarded the growth of TV and advertising industries in the country.

    “With the liberalisation of the industry, content has become very key because content determines which channels are being watched and which are not.

    “Another major challenge is how to get an accurate measurement of which channel is being watched and which is not.

    “Kenya and South Africa are about one third of our population but they do much better in TV and radio advertisement than us because of their robust audience measurement,” he said.

    The minister announced that the National Broadcasting Commission and his ministry would organise a workshop on Nov. 28 to address the challenge of audience measurement.

    Earlier, Echefu said that TStv Africa, which had gone through a lot of challenges, was birth to liberalise PayTV in the country, make it affordable to every Nigerian with added values.

    He said for the first time, Nigerians could now enjoy Pay Per View because with TStv, “subscription runs as you watch and it has the facility to pause your subscription when you travel”.

    Echefu said that TStv for a start has 70 premium channels model with the cheapest pay-TV in Africa with maximum subscription fee of N3,000 only.

    He said as a fully Nigerian brand with consideration for the masses, TStv is not classified and it has a model that accommodate subscription as low as N200 as N500 for a period of time.

    The CEO said TStv came with PVR (Personal Video Recorder) Decoder which allowed viewers greater control over their viewing experience with functions like pause, rewind, forward, save and record of programmes of interest.

    Echefu said that once you subscribe to TStv, you will also get complimentary internet service, enabled Wi-Fi, as well as video calls and video conferencing services.

    “It has an array of amazing TV channels with premium entertainment, educative programmes that cut across all genres.

    “The genres included news, music, general entertainment, documentary, movies, religious, sports, health, kids, fashion and lifestyle that better define the uniqueness of Nigeria’s diverse culture and traditional values,” he said.

    The CEO said TStv which was modelled for Nigerians had come to stay, assuring that it would not fail and they would deliver on their promises.

    NAN reports that the guests at the ceremony were entertained with live performances by musicians and comedians.

    Among the dignitaries at the event were Gov. Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos represented by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Fola Adeyemi, and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, MS Grace Gekpe.

    Others were the Director-General of National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; Nollywood actors including Emeka Ike. Adigwe Okafor, Zack Amata, Dr Opa Williams and Afeez Oyetoro aka Saka. (NAN)

  • 2nd Niger Bridge will be a reality — Osinbajo

    2nd Niger Bridge will be a reality — Osinbajo

    The Federal Government has re-stated its resolve to complete work on the  second Niger Bridge as well as other federal projects in the South-East zone.

    The Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo gave the assurance during a funeral mass for late Mrs Roseline Akabueze, the mother of Mr Ben Akabueze, the Director-General, Budget Office, Abuja at St Gabriel Catholic Church, Ifitedunu, Anambra State.

    Osinbajo explained that the FG under President Mohammadu Buhari was committed to completing every federal project in the South East especially the second Niger Bridge.

    According to him, “President Buhari went to China to negotiate with them about the second Niger Bridge and East-West road.

    He said that everything have also been put in place to ensure the completion of Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

    Osinbajo urged the National Assembly to consider and accommodate all the federal projects during their deliberations.

    He re-stated that one of the cardinal principles of Buhari administration was fairness, which according to him has offered every political zone the opportunity to benefit from  his government.

    Also speaking, Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra recalled that Ifitedunu Community had benefited immensely from his administration, especially in the area of appointments.

    Obiano urged the people to apply for the second phase of his N20 million community “Choose your Project” initiative, which is  geared toward developing every community simultaneously as well as empowering the youths.

    Dignitaries present include the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Minister for Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udo Udoma.

  • FG evacuates Nigerians  in Caribbean Islands devastated by hurricane

    FG evacuates Nigerians  in Caribbean Islands devastated by hurricane

    The Federal Government has ordered the  evacuation of Nigerians in some countries in the Caribbean Islands especially in the Commonwealth of Dominica following  the devastating effects of the recent hurricane in the area.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that efforts were on to “ensure that all Nigerians are safe in their various locations and where necessary, they should be evacuated, especially as it is in the case of Nigerians in the Commonwealth of Dominica.”

    There has been no reported death of any Nigerian so far in the disaster,spokesman for the ministry, Tope Elias-Fatile, said in a statement.

    He said:“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been following the situation of Nigerians in the Commonwealth of Dominica that experienced the most severe impact of Hurricane Maria.

    “There are approximately 500 Nigerians living in Roseau, the capital of that country, most of whom are medical students at the All Saints University.”

    He said the ministry’s permanent secretary, Olukunle Bamgbose, also directed the Nigerian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago to effect the evacuation of Nigerians in the area.

    Mr. Bamgbose said the mission would work closely with the International Organisation for Migration, and other relevant authorities in that country to evacuate them.

    Mr. Fatile said Nigerian Mission in Trinidad and Tobago had been working to verify these Nigerians and issue relevant travelling documents to them to facilitate their relocation.

    He said 236 Nigerians, who are students of All Saint University, were evacuated on September 27 with a ferry named “L-Express” to the neighbouring St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

    “It is expected that the last batch of these students would be evacuated today implying that all Nigerian students in that country would have been evacuated by the end of the day,” he said.

    Mr. Fatile said that prior to their relocation the Mission was in constant touch with the President of All Saint University, Joshua Yusuf.

    He said that Mr. Yusuf had consistently confirmed that logistics and other arrangements had been put in place for the students in the temporary accommodation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

    He noted that Hurricane Maria destroyed 90 per cent of the Island country of Dominica, which is a popular destination for International Medical students.

    “Subsequently, the country was cut off from the outside world, the international airport has been closed for commercial flight and the people have no basic food items, portable water or means of identification.

    “Meanwhile, the government of that country is canvassing for foreign aid to address these problems,” he said.

  • Nigeria targets $30b non-oil revenue

    Nigeria targets $30b non-oil revenue

    To restructure the economy, the Federal Government is targeting at least $30 billion revenue from non-oil sources.

    This will be an increase of $25billion from the current $5 billion.

    Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Director – General Segun Awolowo announced this plan yesterday after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice – President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

    With him at the briefing were Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi, Kwara State Governor Ahmed Abdulfattah and Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu.

    Awolowo said Nigeria was going through the sharpest fall of export revenue in her history, losing over $100 billion (N30 trillion) between 2015 and 2017 due to the crashing oil prices, which resulted in recession.

    He said: “The NEPC made a presentation to the NEC on a plan to restructure the Nigerian economy to survive without crude oil. The plan is called ‘the zero oil plan’.

    “Council was informed that there was urgent need to rapidly ramp up non-oil exports as our future earnings from crude oil face significant headwinds.

    “The zero oil plan aims at earning at least $30 billion from non-oil sources in the near to medium term as against the current earnings of about $5 billion.”

    Awolowo said the objectives of zero oil plan is to add $150 billion to Nigeria foreign reserves in the next 10 years, create 500,000 jobs, lift 10 million Nigerians out of poverty and integrate each state of the federation into the export value chain.

    He said that the focus of the plan is on the export of the following crops: rice, wheat, corn, palm oil, rubber, hides and skin, sugar, soya beans and automotive parts among others.

    Awolowo listed the destination countries for Nigeria’s exports to include Netherlands, China, Iran, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, among others.

    He said Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) briefed the Council on the “States Export Development Initiative” which is being pursued as a medium to long term strategic plan aimed at stimulating and increasing deliberate funding intervention to SMEs in the non-oil sector for attainment of its objectives.

    He added that Council was informed that one of the major objectives of the initiative is contributing to the implementation of economic policies of the country, like the ERGP and Agricultural Promotion Policy, among others.

    He added that the initiative is built on schematic transaction dynamics with key features like provision of a dedicated funding of a minimum of N5 billion as a pilot phase with window for other facilities and partnership for transactional support.

    The Council also constituted a committee towards improving Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

    The committee is made up of Governors Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa) Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Ministers from Industry, Trade & Investment, Agriculture & Rural Development, Power, Works & Housing, Transportation and Finance.

    Other members are  the (NEPC), NEPZA, NEXIM Bank, and the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Governor Abubakar is the Chairman while and Industry, Trade & Investment Minister Okechkwu Enelamah is Co-Chair.

    The Committee is expected to submit an initial report by November. It will deliver a concise action plan on how to drive non-oil exports based on the presentations and discussions at today’s Council meeting.

  • FG seeks FRA amendment to off-set N2.7 trillion obligations

    FG seeks FRA amendment to off-set N2.7 trillion obligations

    The Federal Government (FG) is seeking a legal framework for the issuance of promissory note and bond to settle some financial obligations amounting to N2.7 trillion.

    This is contained in a letter to the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki written by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

    The letter dated August 4, 2017 and addressed to the Senate President was written when Osinbajo was Acting President.

    Saraki read the letter on the floor of the upper chamber on Tuesday a copy of which was obtained by our reporter yesterday.

    Entitled “Request for the amendment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act by the National Assembly to give effect to the proposed promissory note and bond issuance programme,” Osinbajo sought expedited treatment of the request by the Senate.

    The letter read in part: “I forward herewith, for your kind consideration and passage into law, the Fiscal Responsibility (Amendment) Bill, 2017.

    “The proposed amendment is necessitated by the need to commence the programme of promissory note and bond issuance to provide a final solution to the long standing issue of outstanding obligations of the Government that have been quantified at a gross amount of N2.7 trillion.

    “This programme has become imperative in view of the seriousness of the accumulation of these obligations, which are inimical to Government plans to revive the economy through the provision of improved and modernised infrastructure; and, at a human capital level, the issue of pension and promotional arrears, which go back as far as 2012, is causing untold hardship among those who have served. It also adversely affects the morale of those currently in service, and on whom we depend to implement Government programmes.

    “However, as you are no doubt aware, pension and salary arrears are recurrent expenditure and the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 (FRA) clearly stipulate in section 41(1)(a) and 44(2)(b) that the proceeds of borrowing by Government shall be applied solely towards capital expenditure.

    “In this regard, I request that the National Assembly approves the proposed amendment to FRA to provide legal backing for the use of the use of the mentioned instrument in the satisfaction of the accumulated obligations.”

  • FG justifies IPOB’s proscription

    FG justifies IPOB’s proscription

    …Ohaneze: It’s extremely unfair

     

     

    The Federal Government Wednesday justified the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed said IPOB’s leader Nnamdu Kanu’s utterances and actions led to the group’s proscription.

    But, President-General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, described IPOB’s proscription as “extremely unfair”.

    They spoke on a BBC World Service Focus on Africa programme.

    Asked why IPOB was categorised as a terrorist organisation, Mohammed said: “The acts and utterances of IPOB were acts and utterances of terrorists.

    “For instance, Nnamdi Kanu was caught on tape saying that he wants Biafra, and not peacefully, but by force, and that if they don’t get Biafra, Somalia would be a paradise with the kind of mayhem…”

    When the anchor said Kanu was “a man who was talking without any weapons whatsoever,” the minister said it was also Kanu who openly sought for arms and set up a parallel security organisation.

    He said: “This is also the same man who openly solicited for arms, the same man who set up his own Biafran National Guard, his own Biafra Secret Service, and the same man who actually attacked army formations.”

    Asked what he made of the fact that the United States does not categorise IPOB as a terrorist group, Mohammed said America’s position was “very unfortunate”.

    “That’s very unfortunate, because if countries decide to pick and choose which organisations are terrorists and which are not, bearing in mind that terrorism has no boundary… I think every country should work together to ensure that terrorism does not thrive,” he said.

    Asked by the anchor why other armed groups in Nigeria were not declared terrorist organisations, yet IPOB that did not “raise so much as a single cutlass against the Nigerian state” was so categorised, Mohammed said acts of criminality were different of acts of terrorism.

    “I think acts of criminality should not be confused with terrorist acts. When an organisation decides to not just attack the army, but sets up its own parallel government, openly solicits for arms all over the world, issuing its own passports and its own currency, does not recognise your government, then it becomes a different thing,” he said.

    Asked if he was he worried about IPOB being driven underground and becoming a militant group, the minister responded: “Nigeria is so fragile that if we allow this kind of thing to go on, and there are reprisal attacks in other parts of the country, the whole country will be endangered.”

    But, Nwodo said the Federal Government’s classification of IPOB as a terrorist organisation was “one-sided”.

    He said the Federal Government has not declared Fulani herdsmen as a terrorist organisation despite it being ranked the fourth deadliest known terrorist group, according to the Global Terrorism Index.

    Nwodo said: “The declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organisation is extremely unfair and one-sided.

    “In Nigeria, we have Fulani herdsmen, otherwise referred to as Fulani militants. They have been ranked the third or fourth deadliest organisation in the world.

    “That kind of organisation, which has ravaged farmlands in Nigeria and killed quite a number of people, has not been classified as a terrorist organisation.”

    The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN) on September 20 obtained an order from the Federal High Court in Abuja proscribing IPOB and declaring its activities as acts of terrorism.

    The group is challenging the proscription.

  • Govt released N336bn capital funds to MDAs

    Govt released N336bn capital funds to MDAs

    The Federal Government has, to date, released N336 billion from this year’s Budget to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for of capital projects in the first quarter.

    A statement from the Ministry of Finance said “the balance of N14 billion is being processed, pending resolution of some formalities within the agencies concerned.”

    According to the statement signed by Patricia Deworitshe, Deputy Director (Press) of the ministry, Power, Works and Housing received the largest allocation of N90 billion; followed by Defence and Security, which got N71 billion. Transport got N30 billion. Agriculture received N30 billion and Water Resources N12 billion. Other sectors received N103 billion.

    Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said the prioritisation of the release of funds was made in accordance with the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    She said: “In 2017, the Federal Government will continue to focus on capital expenditure spending on priority sectors to stimulate economic activities and job creation.”

    “Despite fiscal constraints, the Federal Government was able to fully cash-back the budgeted capital releases so far made, which is a reflection of the current administration’s commitment to economic development,” the Minister said.

     

  • FG to begin 60 days action plan on ease of doing business

    FG to begin 60 days action plan on ease of doing business

    The Federal Government will begin another 60 days action plan in the 2nd of October towards ease of doing business in the country.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of AN expanded Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.  

    Enelamah said “We have had a very success enabling business environment council meeting. It was an expanded meeting where the Chief Justice of Nigeria was there, representative of senate president, Lagos and Kano government and all the key ministers and heads of agencies there.

    “The meeting was a stock taking meeting. We have taken stock what we have achieved already, the journey so far with a plan on the way forward the idea being that we want to have a second round of the national action plan which is is even more ambitious than the first one. We really want to make it easy for people to do business in Nigeria.” he said

    The Secretary of PEBEC, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole said that the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria is collaborating with the council on the subnational project.

    According to her, the council is working with all the states and the FCT in order to make sure that the states are involved.

    She said “We are taking ease of doing business state wise. And we are collaborating widely with the private sector, all state governments, the National Assembly.

    “Again of course. We are going to have an omnibus bill that will wrap up all the irritant but most importantly, we are launching a new 60 day action plan starting from 2nd of October running to the 30th of November and we are going to have the press pack that will contain all the reforms that all the MDAs are going to be working on.

    “It’s going to be a very exciting time and we are looking forward to tangible deliverables for the Nigerian people.

    “We are targeting SMEs. We want the business climate to be simpler; you don’t need to know anybody to do business effectively in Nigeria. Larger companies ally of the time have different kinds of problems, we want systemic change for small and medium size enterprises. We had the acting DG of NAfDEC, DG of SON, we had heads of police, immigration, customs, ports authority, the airport, the judiciary.

    “We had the Chief Justice of the federation attend the PEBEC meeting for the first time. These are all the ingredients plus a strong representation from the private sector that makes sure that the collaborative exercise works very powerfully to deliver impactful reforms for the Nigerian people.” she added

    Senator Bala Ibin Na’allah, who represented the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said that the National Assembly will not fail to support moves to ease doing business In Nigeria.

    He said ‘In interim report of PEBEC, the National Assembly got green for compliance with all the commitment we have made as our contribution on to the ease of doing business.

    ‘We the only arm of government that got full green for full implementation of whatever commitment we gave as a National Assembly facilitating the project for enabling business environment in Nigeria.” he added

    Chika Emodi, MD/CEO of National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria described the meeting as very productive.

    “A lot do work has been done and is beginning to show. There is no doubt that we have a commitment on the part of government and we are very optimistic about how this will translate to a better business environment for the country.”

  • FG releases N336bn capital funds to MDAs in Q1

    FG releases N336bn capital funds to MDAs in Q1

    The Federal Government says it has so far released N336 billion to its Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the execution of capital projects in the first quarter of 2017.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, in a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Information, Mrs Patricia Deworitshe, said this was however less than the N350 billion she had hopped to release for the quarter.

    Given that N2.18 trillion was earmarked for capital expenditure for the year 2017, it’s third quarter of the year and the Federal Government has a pending balance of N1.84 trillion to release.

    “The Federal Government has, to date, released a total of N336 billion from the 2017 Budget to Federal MDAs for funding of capital projects in the first quarter of 2017.

    “The balance of N14 billion is being processed, pending resolution of some formalities within the agencies concerned.

    “Power, Works and Housing received the largest allocation of N90 billion, followed by Defence and Security which got N71 billion; transport got N30 billion.

    Furthermore, agriculture received N30 billion and water resources got N12 billion.

    Other sectors combined, received a total of N103 billion, she said.

    Adeosun said the priority on the release of available funds was made in accordance with the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    She said in 2017, the Federal Government would continue to focus on capital expenditure spending on priority sectors to stimulate economic activities and job creation.

    “Despite fiscal constraints, the Federal Government was able to fully cash-back the budgeted capital releases so far made, which is a reflection of the current administration’s commitment to economic development,” the minister said,” she said.

    The 2017 budget is N7.44 trillion with statutory transfer projections of N434. 41 billion, N1.84 trillion for Debt Servicing and N177.46 billion for Sinking Fund from maturing bonds.

    Recurrent expenditure was projected at N2.99 trillion; capital expenditure, N2.18 trillion, and provision of N2.36 trillion was made for fiscal deficit, with deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) put at 2.18 per cent. (NAN)