The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal government

  • Muslim group to Fed Govt: find solution to restructuring calls

    The Muslims Association of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to find a quick political solution to agitation for restructuring and secession.

    The association’s second vice president, Dr. Dhikru-llah Yagboyaju, gave MAN’s position at the end of the second national quarterly meeting in Lagos and inauguration of triennial conference slated for December 1 to 3, 2017.

    It said the agitation should be seen as Nigerians expressing their fundamental rights.

    MAN noted that the constitution is very explicit on what should be on Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual List.

    It emphasised that the constitution is also explicit on how to amend the 1999 Constitution.

    The association, however, said it was against any attempt to tamper with the country’s present territorial entity.

    The group, he said, deliberated and reviewed the 2017 National Ramadan Lecture, which discussed the Nigeria Leadership question.

    “We are here to deliberate on a number of issues, prominent among which is the 2017 Ramadan lecture of the association held in June at Oke-Iho, Oyo State.

    “It is to do an analysis on how best we are able to achieve the national Ramadan lecture, which is titled “ Leadership in Nigeria; using Nigeria as a case study to look into world history. What leadership looked like in the past and what benefit Nigeria can draw from that.

    “In addition, it is an opportunity to discuss national issues, and number one is to commend the Federal Government in its effort to ensure security is guaranteed.

    “But beyond that, we also urged the government not to rest on its oars, particularly in terms of kidnappings here and there.

    “The current economic realities in Nigeria, which to a very large extent, indicates  that there is a lot to be done in the economic sector. We are charging the government to do more to sustain peace and security in the country and resuscitate the national economy.”

    On restructuring, he said: “The position of MAN on restructuring or reconfiguring or repackaging Nigeria is that one, it is a democratic dispensation, where various opinions and interests should be accommodated. It is not out of place for people to express their opinions and desires and government should be ready to look into the merits of such opinions.”

    The Chairman of National Triennial National Conference, Alhaji Taoheed A.Tyson, who is also Chairman, MAN Lagos State Branch, said the members were saddled with finding out what will be required to fund and hold the event as well as how to source for funds.

  • N’Delta: youths knock Ijaw elders for withdrawing ultimatum

    N’Delta: youths knock Ijaw elders for withdrawing ultimatum

    …Warn militants against resumption of hostilities

     

    Ijaw youths, Saturday, faulted their elders and members of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) for their decision to withdraw an ultimatum they earlier have to the Federal Government to resume dialogue with them.

    The youths under the auspices of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide also warned militants groups against resuming hostilities in the region.

    The Eric Omare-led IYC, in a statement, insisted that dialogue and not hostilities remained the best approach to resolving knotty issues of development in the region.

    “We call on militant groups in the Niger Delta region threatening renewed hostilities to exercise restraint to still give room for peaceful resolution of the Niger Delta question.

    “It is the inconsistent posture and lack of sincerity on the part of the Federal Government towards resolving the issues that has led to agitators running out of patience and threatening to resume hostilities. However, we strongly believe that dialogue remains the best option towards resolving the issues”.

    Omare, however, said it was hasty for members of PANDEF led by the King Alfred Diete-Spiff to have withdrawn their ultimatum after meeting with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.

    He said the IYC believed that mere promise of dialogue and briefing on progress made with PANDEF’s 16-point demand by the government was not enough for the elders to call off their ultimatum.

    He said the only dialogue that would solve the problems of the region permanently must be centered around restructuring to allow the region control its resources.

    He said: “As far as the IYC is concerned the key issue that the federal government needs to dialogue with the Niger Delta people is the question of restructuring with a view to achieving fiscal federalism and resource control.

    “The other issues on the PANDEF 16 points demand does not require a dialogue team between the federal government and the Niger Delta people because they are routine government responsibilities.

    “Our demand for dialogue with the federal government is to primarily address the resource ownership and control question which underpins the Niger Delta struggle over the years.

    “It is only a resolution of the resource ownership question which gives the communities a stake in the natural resources found in their land that would lead to permanent peace in the Niger Delta region.

    “The other issues on the PANDEF 16 point agenda such as take-off of academic activities at the Martime University, construction of East West Road, funding of NDDC, Amnesty programme, Ogoni clean up, etc are only palliatives but not the root cause of the Niger Delta agitation.

    “Therefore, any dialogue between the federal government and the Niger Delta people must be geared toward resolving the resource ownership and control question.

    “We make bold to say that no amount of meeting between federal government and Niger Delta leaders would bring permanent peace to the region without addressing restructuring and the resource ownership question”.

     

  • NUC warn VCs against activities of fraudsters

    NUC warn VCs against activities of fraudsters

    The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, on Thursday warned Vice-chancellors of Nigeria Universities to avoid making any payment into any account not recognized by the Federal Government.

    The NUC boss said some persons were using the name of the commission to defraud some vice chancellors for the accreditation of programmes in their universities.

    He gave the warning at a workshop organized for Directors of Academic Planning of Nigerian Universities, at the headquarters of the commission yesterday in Abuja.

    Prof. Rasheed said a vice chancellor in one of Nigeria’s university recently made payment of N7 million into the account of fraudsters using the name of the commission.

    He added that the NUC would not request for payment into any personal account except the one operated by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the TSA-Remita account.

    “Any form of request from anybody purported to be from NUC asking you to make any payment in cash or through transfer to anybody for any function of NUC, it is 419 don’t do it. If it is not a remita-CBN account and ask exactly for what.

    “It baffles me how many universities get swindled. Anytime a vice chancellor calls me to say somebody called him from NUC and say somebody asked him to make payment here and there, I say why don’t you ask director of academic planning?

    “NUC does not compel any university in Nigeria, public or private, to make any payment for any purpose in any account order than the CBN, TSA remita account.

    “A vice chancellor recently called and say he paid 7 million into a consultant account. I said you are the biggest fool. Is it CBN account? Is it TSA Remita account?

    The executive secretary also said the commission would soon embark on a comprehensive review of curricula programmes in universities.

    “The NUC this year will start a comprehensive review of curricula of our programmes. You are all aware of the few changes we have brought in the Minimum Academic standards into new documents to be called Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS).

    “The commission has increased the numbers of academic disciplines in Nigeria universities through the splitting of medicine or medical discipline into basic medical sciences and clinical sciences,” he added.

     

  • FG warns Security Agencies against flouting Executive Order

    FG warns Security Agencies against flouting Executive Order

    The Federal Government Thursday warned all security agencies in the country against flouting its Executive Order which directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government (MDAs) to give priority to local industries in their procurement.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Ambassador Danjuma Sheni, sounded the warning at the first army seminar on procurement with the theme,”Enhancing Nigerian Operations Through Effective Procurement System”.

    Sheni who spoke at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Mambilla Barracks, Abuja, said the federal government had recently prohibited officers of other cadres from the procurement functions, noting that the seminar was quite timely for the Nigerian Army and the services in building the capacity of its procurement cadre.

    The Permanent Secretary, represented by Director Procurement in the ministry, Engr. Michael Chukuma, said before the current government took over office in May, 2015, defence procurement process were ad-hoc and unpredictable which led to the setting up of the presidential committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007-2015.

    He said :”I will like to place on record that with the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the procurement procedures in the ministry and indeed the services are now re-organised and designed to follow due process in line with the provision of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and other government directives,”

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai who was represented by Chief of Policy and Plans, Maj Gen Chris Jemitola said when they were appointed in July, 2015 that there were serious allegations against the Nigerian Army in its procurement of its platforms and logistics.

    Buratai noted that they had to streamline the procurement process in line with the public procurement Act, 2007 to international best practices and other sundry government policies relating to procurement.

    According to him the army’s equipment profile has tremendously improved and as can be noticed in our recorded successes in various operations especially in operation Lafiya Dole.

    “This is to keep up with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in the Nigerian public service and other areas.

    “Our approach to procurement in army headquarters has made a real difference to our operations across the nation and peace support operations outside the country,” he said.

  • Restructuring: IYC attacks Senate over rejection  

    Restructuring: IYC attacks Senate over rejection  

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has grossly lashed out at the Nigerian Senate over its recent refusal to amend the constitution to actualize the need to decentralize or devolve powers from the Federal Government to the State Governments.

    In a press release made available to the press and signed by the National Spokesman of Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Barr. Henry Iyalla, the apex Ijaw youth body condemned the move, saying it has exposed the level of indifference and lack of interest by majority of the Senators.

    The group noted that it was regrettable that this issue is happening at the time when majority of the people are strongly resolved towards restructuring the country.

    The statement further noted that it would be in the best interest of the Senate to reconsider their position on the issue of devolution of powers to the State as their refusal to accept it does not serve the general purpose or interest of the Niger Delta people and Nigerians.

    The statement reads in part: “It’s quite unfortunate that the Senate who has the Opportunity to restructure this country in line with the tenets and principles of True Fiscal Federalism has failed to do so.

    “We must however continue to agitate for the decentralization of powers as against the quasi- military or unitary system of Government we operate; anything to the contrary would be against our age-long agitation for Resource Control and Self-Determination. We emphasize that states should be given the powers to manage and control their own resources”.

    The Ijaw Youth Council in its statement has therefore challenged the Senate to convoke a Constituent Assembly were all ethnic groups would sit to determine the veracity of rejecting the operation of true federalism in Nigeria.

    “Let it be said unequivocally, that the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and the Niger Delta people as a whole would reject any move aimed at perpetually subjecting our people to a life of penury in plenty.

    “We call on the President of the Senate and all distinguished Senators to review their stand in other to help a country that is in dire need of mental and physical restructuring.”

     

  • FG releases N470bn for outstanding pension

    FG releases N470bn for outstanding pension

    The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has commended the Federal Government for the release of about of he sum of N740 billion for the settlement of outstanding pension liabilities and promotion arrears of federal workers across the country.

    The union also asked its members nationwide to take advantage of of the current voter registration exercise and equip themselves with voters card to enable them vote out politicians who have displayed anti-worker and anti pensioners tendencies during the 2019 elections.

    In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Actor Zal and made available to newsmen in Abuja, the union said the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD)) has also assured that  all pension arrears will soon be liquidated by the government and appealed to its members nationwide to exercise a little more patience, as the government is ready to facilitate the payment of all entitlements in due course through the treasury bills and bonds.

    According to the statement, payments of the arrears of 33% pension increase, (18 months for civilian pensioners and 39 months for police pensioners) as well as the backlog of arrears of gratuities that were owed pensioners since 2001 shall also be liquidated.

    The statement added that “PTAD will equally commence the verification of pensioners from the South West and North Central zones within few weeks from now. The dates and venues of the exercise will be announced as soon as funds are released through print and electronic media by PTAD accordingly.”

    It said that the union was appreciative “of the efforts of the Chairman House Committee on Pension, Hon. Hassan Shekarau and the Executive Secretary of PTAD, Bar. (Mrs) Sharon Ikeazor for their frantic and unshakeable efforts in this regard. We call on them and all other well-meaning Nigerians, to join hands with the federal government to ensure that this payment is done without further delay so as to assuage the pains and sufferings of our senior citizens who had worked selflessly for a greater and indivisible Nigeria.

    “May we equally use this medium to direct all our members from the States, LGAs and parastatals across the country to take advantage of the on-going voters registration exercise towards equipping themselves with voters cards in readiness for the 2019 general election so as to cast their votes for and against those who have been treating them fairly and those who have been treating them with disdain and levity respectively.”

  • FG orders immediate separation of CRK, IRK in new curriculum  

    FG orders immediate separation of CRK, IRK in new curriculum  

    The Federal Government on Thursday bowed to pressure and directed the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to separate the Christian Religious Knowledge and Islamic Religious Knowledge subjects in the basic education curriculum.

    The grouping of IRK and CRK under the Civil Education in the new curriculum by the NERDC had generated controversy in the last few months with religious leaders calling for their separate teaching.

    Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, gave the directive at a meeting of Ministers of Education with education stakeholders from six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja on Thursday.

    The meeting, which was attended by Commissioners for Education from various States of the Federation, was part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the partnership within the three tiers of government in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals 4 (SDG4).

    Adamu, who was represented by Minister of State for Education, Anthony Anwukah, said the directive to separate the subjects became necessary because of the various complaints by Nigerians, especially the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that has been vociferous about the issue.

    He explained that the collapse of the two subjects was done by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to reduce the number of subjects offered by pupils and students in schools.

    The minister said: “There is this controversy over the merger of CRK and IRK in the school curriculum. There were complaints by parents that children were overloaded with so many subjects and the recommendation then was to merge one or two subjects. Unfortunately, water and oil were merged together and it is not working.

    “So, to save ourselves the agony, the two subjects should be separated. We push that to the NERDC,”

    Adamu, in his address, reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to revamping the education sector and appealed to state governments as well as relevant stakeholders to support the federal government effort.

    He also expressed the commitment of the government towards achieving the SDG4 by 2030 in line with the global timeline.

    The minister said Nigeria has selected the Goal 4 of the SDGs, which emphasizes inclusive and quality education for all and promotion of lifelong learning, for implementation in view of the importance of education as a fulcrum to national development.

    He said the federal government was aware that in the journey towards achieving the Education 2030 Agenda, key issues including the phenomenon of out-of-school children, insecurity in and around the schools and infrastructure decay must be addressed.

    The minister said there was also the need to have credible and reliable data, and how to address the challenge of poor teacher quality as well as teacher gaps, low carrying capacity in tertiary institutions, and poor learning outcomes.

    “We recognize that the task of revamping the education sector is challenging, the ministry of education cannot do it alone. Our task is to coordinate national efforts to meet our national goals and objectives.

    “It is our believe that with good planning, appropriate investment of resources, transparency, due process, effective collaboration and coordination of inputs and activities of government and that of all stakeholders, we will realize our vision of providing quality education to build and sustain adequate human capital for national development,” the minister added.

     

  • Our plan against youth migration, by govt

    The Federal Government has said its investment in education and infrastructure will stem the tide of youth restiveness and emigration. The government said its efforts towards improvement of infrastructure in schools and capacity building for teachers were aimed at improving the quality of education and equipping students with lucrative entrepreneurial skills.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known during the handing over of  a four kilometre road constructed in the Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu in Enugu State. The road was delivered through The Flood Control Project of the Presidency.

    Onyeama said Nigeria would not develop unless efforts were made to education the youth and equip them with vocational skills. He said education and skill acquisition remained the key priorities of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    He said: “For Nigeria to eradicate poverty and develop, we have to train and educate our people. We have a huge population of young below 35; this is why it is important that we provide education and create access for skill acquisition. If we fail to act, we would face serious challenges that can lead to social problems.

    “Majority of young people are living in rural areas, where poverty takes its root. Many youths are crossing the Sahara desert to Europe in search of the proverbial greener pastures. Some of them end up at the base of the Mediterranean Sea. We are prepared to reverse this ugly trend by increasing access to education and skill acquisition.”

    The minister hailed the college’s Provost, Prof Benjamin Mbah, for tackling flooding and erosion in the school, saying the government would play its part in solving the environmental challenges.

    Mr Felix Okeke, who represented the Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Habiba Lawal, said the project was initiated at  the instance of the school which sought President Buhari’s intervention to curtail erosion and flooding on the campus.

    Prof Mbah thanked Presidency for the gesture. He appealed to the government to build two underground water storage facilities to harvest the flood water that passes through the college.

  • FG to improve MSMEs’ access to business support

    FG to improve MSMEs’ access to business support

     

    The Federal Government says it is committed to addressing the challenges faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

    It said it would do that through interaction with entrepreneurs with relevant business regulations in form of clinic sessions.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at the two-day Nationwide MSMEs Clinic for the FCT, with theme “Nationwide MSME Clinics for Viable Enterprises’’.

    Dipeolu said the clinic was to address the challenges of MSMEs doing businesses in Nigeria, adding that similar clinics had been held in seven states.

    He advised the participants to take the advantage of the clinic to discuss with government agencies in charge of business issues.

    Dipeolu said that the clinic was to understand the challenges faced by MSMEs and also to create awareness on the standards of producing goods both for local consumption and exportation.

    According to him, the MSMEs clinics is an initiative of the Presidency, aimed at addressing problems of enterprises across Nigeria.

    The Managing Director, Abuja Enterprise Agency, Muhammed Arabi, said the clinic was not only bold but timely in view of the myriads of bottlenecks that MSMEs were encountering while starting up or growing.

    Arabi said until the government started seeing itself as agent for the growth of the MSME sector, it could not realise the expected potentialities of providing the needed result of jobs creation and  poverty reduction.

    He said that the universal belief was that small and medium enterprise sector was a major driver of the economy.

    Arabi said the convergence of all relevant ministries, departments and agencies to give solutions to the problem, respond to inquiries and provide the needed information would definitely lead to the success of the initiative.

    He said the country was lagging behind in spite of the MSME sector holding 96 per cent of the business sector in Nigeria compared to 53 per cent in the U.S. and 65 per cent in Europe.

    Arabi added that with the employment capacity of about 33 million people, it only contributed 48 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria, compared to nations on the same status in Asia.

    “We therefore owe this nation a duty and the MSME sector in particular, as stakeholders, to move from this poor status to catch up with the fast moving would.’’

    At the interactive session, participants complained of lack of finance and that most banks asked for impossible collateral.

    He also complained of lack of patronage from Nigerians who preferred to buy imported products.

    The Deputy Director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Osita Nwanisobi, advised entrepreneurs to always pay back loans collected from banks.

    Nwanisobi said most banks faced the challenges of people not returning the loans they borrowed to give other customers.

    He said that CBN always sanctioned banks that failed to do the right things concerning loans for MSMEs.

    “We monitor the commercial banks because there are guidelines for the interventions,’’ he said.

    According to him, CBN is ready to provide avenues for upcoming entrepreneurs to easily access funds to either set up or expand their various enterprises.

    “CBN is focused on enhancing capacity utilisation, increasing output of goods and services, boosting job creation and increasing foreign exchange earnings,” he said.