The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Federal Govt

  • Federal Govt spends N250b on social investment programme

    The Federal Government has spent N250 billion on the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP) in the last three years, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Social Welfare Programme Maryam Uwais has said.

    She said the funds were meant to improve the living conditions of millions of Nigerians from its inception in 2016 till date.

    Mrs. Uwais spoke yesterday in Abuja during a visit by delegates from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on a study tour to learn and replicate the Social Safety Net programme in their country.

    She said  only 23.63 per cent of the entire three-year budgets appropriated for N-SIPS has been released out of N1.5trillion.

    She added that the programme has received only 18 per cent of the appropriated budget this year.

    Mrs Uwais said:  “In the last three years, we have heard thousands of testimonials of people’s lives being changed for the better. We have seen evident improvement in the lives of our beneficiaries as the testimonies.

    “Our poverty indices are very poor and we need to be more strategic and methodical about how we identify the poorest people in our communities.

    “We had to depart from the idea of collecting lists from different people and various levels of government in selecting who we will pay cash to.

    “We set up a tripartite method looking at the poverty mapping of each state. Selecting the poorest communities and local governments first, and then training our civil servants at state and local government level to be able to enumerate and engage with people at the community level.

    “Data capturing helps us to understand the dynamics and what the needs of our people are.

    “Part of the problem is that we don’t have data in the country. Data about the number of people living in an household, the number of women, children, what the age groups are, provision of water, provision of power (if any), assets they have, etc.

    “Once our enumerators capture the data on their devices, we have a Proxy Means Testing (PMT) formula that automatically ranks them from the poorest to the least poor.

    “In designing the social safety net, we work with the budget, labour market factors within the locality, and the living condition of the people; this determines the amount allocated beneficiaries of the programme.”

    She explained that the SIP has four components which include: The Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (which comprises the MarketMoni, the FarmerMoni and the TraderMoni), and the the N-Power programme.

    “In majority of these schemes, there are no third parties engaged to pay monies to beneficiaries. All monies are paid directly through their bank accounts, having been verified by their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) through a close collaboration with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

    “Where there are challenges to payments as in the remote areas where there is no banking infrastructure, our beneficiaries are paid by agents in their locations. The agents have been selected in an open and transparent process.

    “The Nigerian Social Safety Net intervention is anchored on the development of the Social Register. This strategy of anchoring interventions from the Social Register and not from multi beneficiary registers has generated interest in other countries within the social protection space,” she added.

    Chief of Staff for the Ministry of Social Inclusion, DRC and Head of the Delegation, Prof. John Mugabushaka, hailed Nigeria’s progress in data collection on poverty.

    “Nigeria is doing very well on data collection on poverty, and the results are very outstanding because they reach out to the poorest people as recommended by the United Nation.

    “We have come because we want to learn how Nigeria is running its SIP; we are therefore preparing for a programme that will do the same. It is a transfer of cash to the poorest people,” he said.

     

  • Save our businesses, CEOs beg Federal Govt

    The Young CEO Initiative, a group of Nigerian young entrepreneurs, has called on the Federal Government to save their businesses as majority of its members are closing down and relocating outside the country.

    Intercontinental Paint Limited, Managing Director, who is also the founder of YCEOI, Aigbe Omoregie, made this call at the association’s press briefing over the weekend.

    He regretted that the organisation of over 30,000 memberships has lost some of its promising members due to the inability to fund their businesses, lamenting that their inability to meet loans requirements has forced them to close shops.

    Omoregie said MSMEs with over 37 million players contribute about 54 per cent to the share of Nigeria Gross Domestic Product (GDP), stressing that the sector, which employed over 59 million Nigerian labour force, should not be allowed to collapse.

    He said: “We find it difficult accessing credit facilities from banks, which leaves us at the mercy of smaller financial homes who give us facilities at a very ridiculous interest rates that eventually eliminate the purpose of growth. Only 11 per cent of firms have access to commercial bank loans. Not only is access to credit facilities limited, but the terms and conditions attached to it is often impossible and interest rate is usually unreasonable.

    “We, therefore, appeal to the government as a matter of urgency to come to our aid before the businesses of the youths, who serve as role model collapses, by introducing programmes and initiatives where loans are easily accessible to entrepreneurs at low interest rates within the shortest period of time. Development Banks such as Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) amongst others should try as much as possible to simplify the process of getting credit facilities, so that young entrepreneurs will not go through untold stress before accessing such facilities.”

    Also speaking, Group CEO, Shoespeed, Abiodun Folawiyo, lamented that funding was the major challenge confronting the players in the sector, saying he survived the 15 years of his company’s operation through soft loans from family and friends.

    Folawiyo urged the government to improve the ease of doing business, adding that majority of foreign investors are skeptical in coming to invest in Nigeria.

    He said: “Some of our member have been forced by the recent happenings in the economy to cut-down on the number of employees, saying that some who closed shop have left the country for Canada, USA and other places for greener pasture.”

  • Federal Govt, Labour head for showdown over Minimum Wage

    The Federal Government and organised Labour are heading on a collision course over the minimum wage.

    Labour went on a warning strike last month t press the government to revive the tripartite meeting on the new wage proposal.

    The strike was called off after an Ocotber 4 date was picked by the government for the resumption of talks.

    Yesterday, Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige told reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Villa that the government cannot afford to pay more than N24,000 up from the current N18,000, as minimum wage.

    But Labour reiterated its resolve not to agree with anything less than N30,000.

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba said:  “We as organsied labour will be meeting tomorrow (today) in Lagos after which we will brief newsmen on the outcome of our decision.”

    United Labour Congress (ULC) President Joe Ajaero said organised labour had been taken for granted by Ngige.

    Ajaero said with the way things are going on the new minimum wage, it might lead to an indefinite industrial strike.

    “We as members of the ULC, we are not happy, initially we were asking for N90, 000 as the new National Minimum Wage for workers.

    “But due to the Organised Private Sector’s appeal to the organised labour, we decided to fix it at N30, 000 for affordability.

    “Right now if you look at what economy is talking about, you will find out the N30, 000 is nothing to write home about.

    “Are these not agencies of government that are charging such, why would the Federal Government says that they cannot pay N30, 000.

    He called on the Federal Government to have a rethink by ensuring that the agreement reached by the Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage was approved and implemented to avoid industrial action in the country.

    President, Trade Union Congress (TUC) Bobbio Kaigama, said the organised labour was waiting to be called by the Chairman, Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage for the signing of the agreement.

    He added: “Who said we have not concluded our meeting. Who said that the Federal Government cannot pay the agreed figure.”

    Ngige added: “Minimum Wage may be understood to mean the minimum sum payable to a worker for work performed or services rendered, within a given period, whether calculated on the basis of time or output, which may not be reduced either by individual or collective agreement, which is guaranteed by law and which may be fixed in such a way as to cover the minimum needs of the worker and his or her family, in the light of national economic and social considerations that should be taken into account in determining their rates.

    “In practice, National Minimum Wage in Nigeria is a conglomeration of total remuneration due to a worker and does not refer to only the basic wage.

    “In other words, National Minimum Wage is inclusive of the basic pay and any other allowance due to a worker, and is hence, his or her remuneration.

    “Employers, whether in Private or Public Sector, can pay more than the National Minimum Wage based on “ability to pay”.

  • Federal govt eyes more revenue from tax

  • Federal Govt owes road contractors N2.7trn, says Fashola

    Federal Govt owes road contractors N2.7trn, says Fashola

    The Federal Government owes road contractors over N2.7 trillion,  Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has said.

    Fashola spoke yesterday during an oversight assessment visit of the 2017 budget by members of the Toby Okechukwu-headed House Committee on Works to the Federal Ministry of Works.

    According to the minister, a major portion of the debt was inherited from previous administrations and that poor budgetary allocation made it impossible to settle.

    The debts, he said, are made up of completed projects, inherited claims of previous years and ongoing projects across the country.

    “N2.792tn is the total contractual liability,” he said.

    Fashola also revealed that N265.5bn worth of certificates had been generated for completed projects for the 2017 capital implementation.

    “We have not paid this money, but we have continued to work.There is no state in the country that one federal road project or another is not going on. We are present in every state and the Federal Capital Territory.

    “The difference may be that the projects are not located in places where each of us may want them to be. So, the fact that payment has not been made does not mean that work is not being done,” he added.

    He said the generated certificates indicates that 2017 budget performance on roads is 73 per cent and that efforts are ongoing to pay part of the liability.

    N120 billion, he said, was released in December 2017 for second quarter, adding that the difficult procurement process as contained in the Public Procurement Act had stunted the take off of many road contracts earlier awarded.

    But Okechukwu and other members like chairman of Committee on Finance, Babangida Ibrahim, Pat Asadu, Solomon Bulus-Maren, Abubakar Kannike and Emmanuel Ekon expressed displeasure on why the government’s new 25 road projects were yet to take off.

    To the observations of the members, Fashola said:”At both the informal and formal interactions with our parliamentarians, I have raised this issue of the lengthy procurement processes.It is an area that we all have to look into to see what can be done to fast-track the work before us.

    “We have challenges with the award processes. Most of the time, the procurement process is very difficult. You have to do a lot of things. If you can come to our aid and amend the process, that will be helpful.”

    He added that any state that wishes to repair federal roads will be given the chance by the Federal Government the federal government . He gave examples of Lagos and Kaduna States, that have done such in their states with much success.

  • High hope as Federal Govt is set to kick-start Ibom Port

    The Federal and the Akwa Ibom State governments are
    set to execute the Ibom Deep Seaport (IDSP) project, an official has said.

    The project, it was gathered, is one of the most promising Public- Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure initiatives in the country because of the unique investment opportunities it will offer international seaport developers and operators.

    A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMoT), who craved for anonymity, told The Nation at the weekend that the port could drive inclusive economic growth in Nigeria and the West and Central African sub-region.

    The procurement process for the port, the official said,  is scheduled to take off this month, with the advertisement of the Request for Qualification (RFQ) from reputable private sector port operators for developing the deep seaport in partnership with the Akwa Ibom State and the Federal governments.

    The official said: “ The port strategically located in the Southeast of Akwa Ibom State, the approximate coordinates of the port scaled from the British Admiralty Chart No. 1387 are Latitude 4° 32’ 35’’ N; Longitude 8° 14’ 7’’ E and UTM coordinates 415168 m E; 502,199 m N (UTM Zone 32N). The 2,565 hectares Greenfield port area is designed for New Panamax Class vessels with 18.24mchannel; turning basin and berth depth (16.72m) and quay length of about 7.5 km. When fully developed, the container terminals will accommodate up to 13 New Panamax Class container vessels and two very large feeder vessels.

    “The IDSP is positioned to offer a value proposition superior to other seaports in the region.Available data indicate that the various seaports serving the West and Central African sub-region are reaching saturation and the need for viable alternatives has become critical for major shipping lines sailing these routes.

    “Due to its proximity to target markets in West and Central Africa, neighbouring hinterland countries and major shipping lines calling West and Central Africa, large gateway market size to attract direct vessel services and sizeable transshipment cargo hinterland for feeder shipping network connection. The transshipment container market for the port is estimated to grow from about 1.2 million TEUs in 2021 to about 4 million TEUs in 2040.’’

    The official continued: “Another defining feature of the port is its location within the Ibom Industrial City – a designated Free Trade Zone replete with fiscal incentives. The Free Trade Zone status ensures that operations and investors in the deep seaport enjoy special regulatoryand fiscal incentive regimes  that will enhance competitiveness and allow for cost saving.

    “The project will optimise the synergies of the other businesses to be situated within the industrial city that is being developed in parallel (such as agriculture, oil and gas, petrochemicals, marine-related industries, auto assembly plants, power plants, as well as real estate developments), and power plant and the industrial development at Ikot Abasi.

    “With the prevailing gap in functional seaports in West Africa coupled with the demonstrated commitment of both the Federal and the Akwa Ibom State governments to create an enabling environment for private sector investors to exploit the opportunities in the industry, the Ibom Deep Seaport presents a compelling investment case that cannot be ignored by investors.

    “The procurement process for the IDSP Project is scheduled to commence this month with the advertisement of the Request for Qualification (RFQ) from reputable private sector port developer/operators for the development of the Deep Seaport in partnership with the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Federal Government,” the official said.

    Global Maritime and Port Services Pte Ltd (GMAPS) of Singapore, the civil servant said,  is the Transaction Advisor while the PwC, Nigeria, is the Project Manager for the project.

     

  • Facts about $1b security vote distorted, says Federal Govt

    Facts about $1b security vote distorted, says Federal Govt

    Information and Culture Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed has shed light on the approval of $1 billion by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) to fight insecurity nationwide.

    He said the money was approved to assist the military in tackling serious security challenges, including the Boko Haram insurgency, illegal oil bunkering, kidnaping and cattle rustling.

    Mohammed took exception to the criticisms of the approval by the opposition, saying that they were unnecessary, uninformed and in bad faith.

    To the minister, $1 billion is not too much for the military to fight insecurity. Security of lives and property is at the core of the government’s existence, he said.

    He said while Boko Haram had been largely degraded, as claimed by the critics, fighting such an asymmetric war is costlier than fighting a conventional war.

    The minister reminded the critics that the war against terror had never been fought with budgetary provisions.

    Mohammed spoke with reporters in Lagos on the motivation for approving the cash and its anticipated impact on the capacity of the military to frontally confront the multi-dimensional security challenges.

    Justifying the financial assistance to the military, the minister said it had played a dominant role in in resolving the various security problems across the federation.

    Mohammed said: “The annual budgetary allocation to the military is not commensurate with the internal security challenges we face, for which we have had to continuously rely on the military to assist the police and the Civil Defence Corps. When insurgents take over a chunk of our nation’s territory, we turn to the military. When the farmers/herders clash escalates, we turn to the military.

    “When kidnappers up their game, we turn to the military; when illegal bunkerers and pipeline vandals are seeking to overwhelm our oil production and export, we turn to the military; when ethno-religious clashes occur, we turn to the military. But when it is time to give the military the resources it needs to function, we say it is a waste of scarce resources; we come up with spurious reasons to deny the military its due.”

    “The scriptures say to whom much is given, much is expected. That also presupposes that to whom much is expected, much is given. The Nigeria Governors Forum acted wisely in approving the withdrawal of 1 billion dollars from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fight Boko Haram and other security challenges in the country.”

    Mohammed said: “The aircraft being used for the war, including fighter jets and helicopters, altogether, consume 64,021.08 litres of fuel per day. With the aircraft flying a total of about 30 sorties a day, and at N275 per litre, it costs a total of N15,153,428.25 daily to fuel the aircraft.

    “The spares for the aircraft from January to November 2017 cost N20,019,513,739.88, while consumables for the aircraft, and here I am talking of engine oil, and plugs amounted to N3,863,600 monthly and N46,363,200.00 yearly. What about the cost of ammunition? Just for 42 days, from 5th November to 17 December, the cost of ammunition was over 5 million dollars.

    “Since we are using the Air Force as a reference point here, what about the cost of acquiring Air Force platforms? For example, the 12 Super Tuscano aircraft recently approved for sale to Nigeria by the US Government costs a whopping 490 million dollars, yet this is government to government contract, and the costs of spares, munitions and other consumables are not included.

    “The costs stated above are for the air force alone and restricted to operations in the Northeast alone. We have not even talked of the army or the navy, which are also fully involved in tackling internal security challenges. Nor have we included the operating cost of the Nigerian Air Force in the Niger Delta to curb pipeline vandalism, in the Northwest to contain cattle rustlers, in the Northcentral to curtail herdsmen and farmers clashes or kidnapping, armed robberies and separatism in other parts of the country.”

    Noting that the opposition has the right to offer constructive criticism, Mohammed said that such a right was not a liberty to distort facts, engage in crass sensationalism and play politics with national security.

    He chided those viewing the security fund from the prism of partisanship for wrong perception, pointing out that the military, as a national institution, serves all Nigerians, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity or political party.

    Mohammed said if the military had been better equipped to tackle Boko Haram in the early days of the insurgency, thousands of lives, including service men’s, could have been saved and the war would have ended long time ago.

    He added: “If the funds meant to equip the military have not been diverted into private pockets, there may be no need today to withdraw any money from the ECA for that purpose.”

    The minister praised the NGF for approving the withdrawal of the money, describing its action as an act of patriotism.

    He added: “Their action, which is not unprecedented, is right. Those who have imputed ulterior motives to the NGF’s action are wrong. Their action amounts to a disservice to our service men and women. Just because some people, under a different political dispensation, squirrelled away money meant to equip the military in the past does not mean the military should be left to its own devices, or that every allocation to the military will suffer the same fate.

    “Ours is a disciplined government that does not allow allocated funds to end up in private pockets or spent on prayers. We will always empower the military and other security agencies to be better able to carry out their tough tasks. The controversy over the approval of 1billion dollars by the NGF is absolutely unnecessary and unhelpful.”

  • ‘Ajaokuta Steel Complex belongs to Federal Govt’

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Muhammed Abbas has said there is no contention on Federal Government’s ownership of Ajaokuta Steel Company.

    Abbas, in a statement yesterday, added that any claim stating otherwise contradicts the position of the minister who reaffirmed the government’s ownership.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been drawn to recent media reports, where  Dr S.O. Nwanbuokei, a director of Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), was quoted as saying that the protracted litigation surrounding the ownership of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex had not been resolved.

    “His claims contradict the position of the Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who reaffirmed the Federal Government’s ownership of  the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, during the just concluded Nigerian Mining Week, as he has done in similar fora.

    “The Ministry’s position, as stated by the  minister, is that Ajaokuta Steel Complex belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and there is no contention about this fact.

    “The Federal Government does not need any mediation to determine its ownership of Ajaokuta Steel Complex as the integrated steel complex has always been the property of FGN.”

  • Fed Govt files charges against Senator Misau

    Fed Govt files charges against Senator Misau

    •AGF accuses lawmaker of making ‘injurious falsehood’ against IG, Okiro, Police  

    The Federal Government has filed charges against Senator Isah Hamman Misau (APC Bauchi Central).

    Misau has been at loggerheads  with Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, who he accused among others, of engaging in corrupt practices.

    The IG has also described him as a deserter, who is wanted by the Police.

    In the charge filed yesterday before the Federal High Court, Abuja, the senator is accused, among others, of making and uttering false documents, which he allegedly  submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2011 and 2015.

    In a another five-count charge, Senator Misau was accused of making “injurious falsehood” against the IG and the chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Mike Okiro and the Nigeria Police  in various newspaper publications.

    The said false documents Misau allegedly made and uttered are: “personal particulars of persons seeking election to the office/membership of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (INEC Form C. F. 001/2011),” and a similar document for 2015 election (INEC Form C. F. 2015).

    Others are: “A statutory declaration of age, deposed to at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in December 2014” and “Bauchi State Health Management Board Birth Certificate Registration No: 28799.”

    Misau, in the seven-count charge filed by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, is said to have, by his alleged conduct, committed offences punishable under Section 1(2)(C) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap 17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act.

    The charge reads as follows:

    • That you lsah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about 28th january 2011 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did make a false document to wit: Affidavit in support of personal particulars of persons seeking election to the office/membership of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [INEC FORM C.F. 001/2011) which you submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission knowing it to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act;
    • That you lsah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about 28’h january 2011 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did utter a false document to wit: Affidavit in Support of Personal Particulars of Persons seeking election to the Office/Membership of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (INEC FORM C.F. 001/2011) which you submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission knowing it to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act;
    • That you lsah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about 16th December 2014 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did make a false document to wit: Affidavit in Support of Personal Particulars of Persons seeking election to the Office/Membership of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria {INEC FORM C.F. 001/2015) which you submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission knowing it to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act;
    • That you Isah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about 16th December 2014 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did utter a false document to wit: Affidavit in Support of Personal Particulars of Persons seeking election to the office/membership of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (INEC FORM C.F. 001/2015) which you submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission knowing it to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act; among other charges.

    Cap M17 Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same Act.

     

     

  • Federal Govt to issue more international bonds

    Federal Govt to issue more international bonds

    The Federal Government plans to get out of recession by boosting revenue and cracking down on corruption, Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said yesterday. The government will also issue more international debt to pay for infrasturcture projects.

    The country is in its second year of recession, brought on by lower oil prices, which have slashed government revenues, weakened the currency and caused dollar shortages frustrating business and households.

    Adeosun said the aim was to get the non-oil sector of the economy which accounts for around 90 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to contribute to government revenues significantly.

    “Improving non-oil revenues is something we are working hard on. We are rolling out measures to get more people into the tax net.

    “We are getting out of recession because we are following the right type of policies. We are improving our revenues; we are improving our efficiencies in how we spend money.

    “We are investing in the infrastructure that is needed, power, rail, road, the big enablers of growing sustainable economies,” Adeosun told CNBC Television.

    She said liquidity on currency markets has been improving as the central bank has boosted dollar supply, thanks to recently rising oil prices. She added that government was harmonising fiscal, monetary and trade policies to get the economy growing again.

    However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), worried about the currency effects on inflation, has so far resisted calls to lower interest rates to enable the government borrow cheaply to spend its way out of recession.

    Adeosun said the Federal Government plans to issue long-term debt on the international markets more regularly for infrastructure projects, taking advantage of the country’s debt to GDP ratio of 13 per cent. But the interest burden is rising due to low revenues.