Tag: FG

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, has appealed to students, parents and lecturers in public tertiary institutions to shun acts capable of disrupting the academic session as schools get set for resumption.

Sununu made the appeal in Abuja on Wednesday when the leadership of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) paid him a courtesy visit.

Speaking ahead of the resumption of academic activities in tertiary institutions, the minister said the show of restraint would be in the best interest of all stakeholders as well as the stability of the system.

He noted that his ministry is having constructive dialogue and consultation with stakeholders over the welfare of students, staff as well as the provision of infrastructure in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

While acknowledging that strikes and non-use of facilities could lead to rapid decay, Sununu promised President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to avoid any situation that could lead to further industrial actions.

Read Also: Tuition hike: Northern students threaten shutdown of varsities

Earlier speaking, the President of CONUA,  Niyi Sunmonu, said there could be likelihood of unrest occasioned by the new increase in school fees, which he said had the potential of disrupting academic activities and the school calendar.

Sunmonu also appealed to government to look into ways of improving the condition of service of academic and non-academic staff of universities, which he said had deteriorated due to the petroleum subsidy removal.

He added that there was need to revisit the issue of the 8-month salary arrears that arose from the last strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), arguing that members of CONUA did not go on strike.

(NAN)

The Federal Government has again invited the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) for another meeting over its planned indefinite strike.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lalong had on Sept. 4, invited NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for a meeting to avert the earlier two-day nationwide warning strike.

NAN also reports that only the TUC showed up for the meeting.

Lalong said that he had directed the Department of Trade Unions Services and Industrial Relations to convene the meeting with the leadership of the NLC  on Monday.

He said it was important for the unions to sit with government to resolve all pending matters to avert further disruption to the economy.

“The administration of President Bola Tinubu will always engage the organised labour and respond to its concerns after due consultation and negotiations.

“This is in order to guarantee industrial harmony which is critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Lalong said.

Also, the NLC National Executive Council had on Sept. 1, in a communique threatened to embark on an indefinite strike within 21 days of the issueance of the communique.

NAN reports that the among other demands, the NLC and the TUC are asking for wage awards, implementation of palliatives, tax exemptions and allowances to the public sector workers and a review of the minimum wage.

Though the FG made a commitment to restructure the framework for engagement with organised Labour on palliatives, the eight-week timeframe set for the conclusion of the process expired in August with no action whatsoever.

Read Also: Fed Govt, NLC meet over planned strike

The committees were given eight weeks to conclude their assignment and hasten the implementation of the framework in cushioning the effect of petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians but weeks after the timeframe expired, the sub-committees had yet to meet or actualise their mandates.

President Tinubu had since June 19 set up the Presidential Steering Committee and various sub-committees to discuss the framework to be adopted on the palliatives.

The sub-committees had been created to implement FG’s palliative package in areas such as Cash Transfers, Social Investment Programme, Cost of Governance, Energy, and Mass Transit and Housing.

This was a fall-out of the President’s closed-door session with the leadership of the NLC and the TUC during a nationwide protest by the organised labour.

(NAN)

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake said the federal government is shifting its attention from hydrocarbon to renewable energy.

He said the the solid minerals underground is a perfect alternative.

Alake also said since Nigeria has been a mono-cultural economy for several decades, there is the imperative to look for other viable sources of revenue to shore up the GDP of the country.

The minister said this is being done by looking at the country’s vastly untapped and unregulated solid minerals sector that is available.

Alaba Balogun, the Deputy Director Information for the Ministry who stated this in a press release added that Alake made the statement during an interview with the African news medium CNBC.

He stated: “Alake stated that his recent advocacy visit to the Australian Perth conference on mining was to market  Nigeria as a destination for mining in Africa and globally.

“He said he canvassed the Nigerian government’s deliberate policies and plans to attract local and foreign investors to the sector by establishing, amongst others,  the Nigerian Mining Corporation as a particular-purpose vehicle to engage in joint ventures with multinationals.

“To bolster the shift to mining, the Minister said, Nigeria is shifting attention from hydrocarbon to renewable energy and the solid minerals underground is a perfect alternative.

“Secondly, since we have been a mono-cultural economy for several decades, there is the imperative to look for other very viable sources of revenue to shore up the GDP of the country, and where also could we look but the vastly untapped and unregulated solid minerals sector that is available to us’.

“Elaborating further, the Minister said he seized the opportunity to assure investors that the Tinubu administration will promote public-private partnerships to finance essential infrastructures and consistent capacity building.

Dr. Alake said a critical roadmap component is generating adequate geophysical data that would be marketed globally.

Alake further stated: “We have planned many regulatory reforms, security, artisanal miners structure and then, of course, the role data plays in solid minerals. We intend to go into this very comprehensively to generate enough geophysical data and all other data that would be marketed to the investing global market to attract this critical investment into Nigeria and shore up that sector and make it contribute significantly to the GDP.

“He said the mining corporation  will enable the government to harness the mineral resources substantially, unlike the present situation where it is an all-comers game with the government being shortchanged. He emphasized the proposed corporation will sanitise the sector in line with global best practices.”

Read Also: FG will collaborate with governors to harness minerals sector, says Alake

According to Balogun, Alake added: ”An SPV like the Nigerian Mining Corporation( NMC) will go a long way to entirely regulate and sanitize the sector, and act as a government face with multinationals engage in a joint venture arrangements: so that Nigerians will have a stake in all of the ventures that go in that sector. That is the role the corporation is going to play, and it is going to be seriously sanitized with efficient governance structures.

”So that all past mistakes would be corrected. As we advance with the Nigerian Mining Corporation, it would be like in other developed societies where you have SPVs interfacing on behalf of the government. That is what this NMC is going to do.

“On the issue of illegal miners, the Minister stated that the 30-day ultimatum given to them was to make them join cooperatives and become formalized for them to continue in their trade. This, he noted, will enhance regulation of the sector coupled with the proposed inter-agency security force that would become operational to sanitize the industry after the expiration of the 30-day ultimatum.”

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake has said that the federal government would be collaborating with State Governors to harness the Solid Minerals sector, saying collaboration would be made to the maximum socio-economic development of the country.

Alake stated this on Friday, September 15, in Abuja when the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule paid him courtesy.

He said that the ministry is determined and committed to harnessing the nation’s mineral resources, emphasizing that Nasarawa state and other endowed states across the country would soon witness swell and rapid development that would enhance the living standards of the citizenry under the renewed hope agenda of this administration.

The deputy director of information of the ministry, Alaba Balogun stated this in a press statement.

He stated: “Mr Alaka said Nasarawa State is very significant in terms of the development of the mineral sector and we are putting the mechanisms together, we are crossing the t’s and dotting the I’s to make sure that the nation derives maximum benefits from this God-given gift of minerals that are in abundance in Nigeria.

”We are going to harness and utilize efficiently effectively and proficiently to ensure that Nigeria really expends the resources also judiciously from solid minerals. That is the next petroleum of Nigeria”

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“While acknowledging the importance and significance of Nasarawa State as sitting on the next petroleum of Nigeria; Mr Alake affirmed that it is imperative to cooperate and synergize and coordinate all the dynamics surrounding minerals exploration-exploitation and judicious spending of the resources. 

“To this end, the Minister expressed gratitude to the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State for the visit, stressing that it epitomizes the synergy that is expected between the Federal and State Governments to develop the critical solid mineral sector.

Speaking earlier, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule said he was very pleased that Alake is the Minister of a Ministry that means more than anything to the state.

He said: “Engr. Sule further enthused that he regarded Alake’s appointment as a win-win situation for the entire nation.”

The federal government has decided to review financial management policies such as the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) among others.

It has also resolved to provide a timely and consistent flow of funds to the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as the three levels of government (federal, state, and local) in order to prevent any hindrance to development efforts.

This was made known by the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, September 15, and signed by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press in the OAGF.

Speaking of the planned financial management reforms, the AGF said: “will take necessary steps to permanently resolve observed and potential threats to the efficient and continuous implementation of all the financial management reforms initiative of the federal government.”

Madein said that since she assumed office as AGF, she “has undertaken an in-depth review of the financial reforms and will leverage on the outcome of the review to inject new ideas and strategies into the projects so that the gains so far recorded will be sustained.

“Recently, the OAGF had meticulous engagements with IPPIS Service providers, I can assure you that there has been great improvement in the operations of the payment platform. The review of other financial management policies is underway.

“The objective is to give the necessary revitalization to these policies to make them function optimally”, she explained.

Recall that regarding the release of funds to MDAs and other tiers of government, previous administrations were known for denying MDAs funds, claiming that there were no sufficient funds available.

The current administration under Bola Ahmed Tinubu aims to rectify this situation by ensuring that funds are released promptly and continuously, thereby preventing any delays or obstacles in the development projects and initiatives of the MDAs and government entities.

According to Madein, “the federal government has said it will ensure prompt and continuous release of funds to the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the three tiers of government so that development effort will not be hampered.”

To show good faith on the part of the federal government, the AGF disclosed that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) “will sustain the practice of publishing the details of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue distribution to the three tiers of government”.

She noted that “publication of the revenue distribution will keep Nigerians abreast with the revenue generation and distribution effort of the Federal Government and also help them balance government performance with revenue inflows at all levels.

According to her, “a government can only thrive if the citizens are carried along in the management of public funds. Nigerians need to be aware of the inflows and expenditures. With this, they can compare revenue collected with the developments on grounds to ascertain whether the government is performing or not”.

She revealed that “the 2022 revenue distribution figures were ready for publication, adding that this will be followed by the publication of the details of the revenue distribution so far made in 2023”.

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Madein explained that “the seeming delay in publishing the 2022 figures was due to a number of factors including the overriding determination to institute appropriate and permanent mechanisms that will guarantee continuous publication of the revenue distribution”.

The AGF equally acknowledged and “appreciated the high level of interest shown by Nigerians in the revenue generation and distribution effort of the Government, assured that effort is in top gear to ensure that the revenue distribution figures are published monthly”.

On revenue generation, the AGF was happy that “there has been a remarkable increase in government revenue” and expressed optimism that the trend will be sustained.

The federal government (FG) on Friday, September 15, expressed its readiness to work at improving dairy production in the country for economic development in line with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of emergency in the agriculture sector.

The Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, made the disclosure at the opening of a two-day Strategic Interest Research Group Meeting on Livestock Genetic Improvement (SIRGM 4.0).

The meeting, themed: “Accelerating Genetic Improvement for Advances in Livestock Agriculture”, was held at the Conference Center of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State.

Mustapha, who was a special guest of honour at the event, said Nigeria did not need to import dairy products because the country had the number of cattle, the capacity to feed them and the scientists that could transform Nigerian cattle to produce more than what it is producing presently.

He said: “At the moment the Nigerian cattle are producing less than 2 litres per cow, per day, which is not something that is supposed to be. We have to work hard to meet the commitment of the government. We are now aiming at producing around 10-15 liters per cow, per day.” 

The DG explained that the meeting was to bring stakeholders together to enlighten them and brainstorm on the way forward, as NABDA had started working towards transforming the Nigerian cattle using the F1 (first generation), a method of sequencing and inseminating the cattle breed to find out exactly what they had taken from their parents.

He added: “We have commenced the insemination of Nigerian cattle where we took Bunaji and then we took the semen from Brazil, which is Girolando, and this semen that we used to artificially inseminate our cattle is with the aim of transforming these cattle into a productive one instead of the less than 2 litres of milk being produced.”

He observed that many countries across the globe had transformed their cattle and were producing more of the quantity and quality of milk needed at the same time, instead of low quantity and low-quality milk, disclosing that the agency is working towards taking the lead in Nigeria and Africa by ensuring it produced something that Nigerians would appreciate.

Mustapha expressed the need for Nigeria to improve her dairy production to boost the immunity and nutritional value of children in the country, as he said the country, with a population of about 200 million, was not getting up to 10 percent of the quantity of milk needed; and also for economic value, asserting that Nigeria is a big market which extends to West Africa and many countries across Central Africa.

He stated: “So, if we get it right, for sure, we are going to get lots of market for the product and lots of income for the country and we are going to sell not less than $1.5b that is expended for the importation of dairy yearly by our country.”

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Similarly, the Research Director, Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics, NABDA, Prof. Oyekanmi Nash said Nigerians should look forward to new cows being born to replace old cows, which were expected to be sold off, saying the new varieties of cows would be making at least 5-10 litres of milk and would progress without losing the adaptation of the Nigerian species.

Nash revealed that the agency had 21 registered farms across Nigeria where more than 600 cows had been inseminated and carving had already started, as the first offspring (F1), as a result of the insemination from the crossation of Nigerian cattle with a variety of Brazilian cattle, were on the ground already.

On his part, the Head of Dairy Development Operations, Friesland Campina WAMCO, John Adekunle, said the company is working with different partners like the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, NABDA, dairy farmers, pastoralists, young graduates, and research institutes, to improve dairy production by setting up milk collection centres and extension activities across different states in the country.

President Bola Tinubu has disclosed plans to build resettlement cities for people who have been displaced by insecurity across Niger state while efforts are ongoing to bring banditry and terrorism in the country to an end.

This is as the Niger state government disclosed that there are 29,774 internally displaced persons in Niger state.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu disclosed the president’s plans at the flag-off and distribution of empowerment equipment to IDPs in Niger state at the Gwada IDP camp in Niger state.

She emphasized that the President finds the current state, where banditry and terrorism have forced the closure of more than 400 schools, resulting in 11,113 out-of-school children, unacceptable. The President is committed to addressing this situation.

Edu said: “The President said I should tell you all that hope has come and that he will provide durable solutions to all the things that are bothering us. We have seen a couple of things, especially regarding the living conditions, and how poor they are and it is no fault of anyone.

“The banditry has led to displacement of Nigerians with over 400 schools shut down which has resulted in 11, 000 children out of school, and this situation is completely unacceptable.

“That is why the President has sent us to come and see the situation of things on the ground and after seeing that situation, we would ensure that we intervene to change things.

“We are discussing that it would be better to resettle the IDPs here because of the insecurity in their various places so resettling them in Shiroro would be better for now.

“We will provide a resettlement city where everyone who is displaced can be resettled so that you can be safe and you can leave this place for our children to come back to school. Having out-of-school children is not okay for Nigeria. Education is foundational and if we must fight poverty, we must return our children to school because that is the key and the beginning of ending the circle of poverty.

She further stated: “We will also find more sustainable plans to ensure that security is back to every community across the state so that we can overcome banditry. We will see how we can bring back peace in these areas and have the people go back to their places.

“The President has your concern at heart and we will work to ensure that quick and immediate interventions come to the people of Niger. Niger state people would be resettled and they will smile again. It is time for renewed hope and we will fulfill all our promises. Work to end banditry and insecurity.”

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The minister said that 435 IDPs have been trained for the N-Skill programme adding that starter packs would be given to them alongside some foodstuff as palliatives from the president.

Edu disclosed that the federal government would expand its social register to accommodate the IDPs and include them in the various intervention schemes including the petty traders’ scheme, the farmers’ scheme, the market money scheme, small loans, and conditional cash transfers.

The Niger state commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Ahmed Baba Suleiman said that the state currently has 28,774 IDPs comprising 7,650 women, 3,200 men, 11,113 children, and 108 people with special needs.

 According to him, the state which has over 90 percent of its people as farmers is now unable to farm as the incessant kidnapping and senseless killings, cow rustling, and other insecurity menace has forced the people in 11 out of the 25 local government areas as they have become displaced.

The Federal government has given a 48-hour ultimatum to the contractor handling the Amansea and Umunya axis of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway to ensure all deplorable portions of the road were motorable or have the contract revoked.

The minister of works, Dave Umahi, gave the order at the Amawbia axis of the road while inspecting ongoing reconstruction work on the road.

He expressed disappointment over the waste of time by the contractor without tangible results, warning that contractors handling federal roads must prove their worth to ensure the government’s objectives were achieved.

He said: “It’s very unfortunate that the contractor handling this project has wasted a lot of time on the road without tangible results.

Read Also: FG explores new approaches to tackling challenges in Niger Delta

“If the road is not motorable within 48 hours, the contractor will be sacked and the contract revoked.

“We can no longer condone a situation where Ndi Igbo are subjected to hardship and pains due to the deplorable state of the road. It will no longer be business as usual.

“Contractors given a contract on federal roads must prove their mettle if the government’s objectives would be achieved.”

The Comptroller, Federal Ministry of Works, Chukwudi Okpukpara, the commissioner for works, Ifeanyi Okoma, Chief of Staff to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Ernest Ezeajughi, Permanent Secretary Anambra State Ministry of Works, Stephanie Kelly-Uzor and other directors in the ministry were part of the visit.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to improve budgtet meant for education by 25 per cent with the right policies in place.

Mamman said this while declaring open the 2021 and 2022 Nigeria Annual Education Conference (NAEC) in Abuja on Monday.

The theme of the conference is tagged: “Implementation of Education 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”.

The minister also pledged his commitment to bridge the gaps between education policy statements and its actualisation outcomes.

He noted that the country had a lot of good policies on what was required to do in the best interest of the nation but that those policies were not bringing values to the sector.

”President Tinubu has directed the return of the 10.5million out-of-school children to school at the expiration of his tenure.

”We still have a long way to go. We are not matching the children in the country with the desired education and this is because our policies are not producing the values we need.

“What we need is the action on ground and not the policy declaration. This is where I can tell you we intend to come in.

“We want to bridge the gaps between policy statements and actualisation of outcomes.

“This is to give them future training that will enable them to live their lives and make them employers of labour. Everybody deserves to live a life of dignity for the well-being of their family,” he said.

He said that the responsibilities of government was to provide opportunities for Nigerians to be empowered adding that now is the time to make the policies reality.

He also said that the basic and secondary schools must be equipped by developing appropriate skills template for creativity and research.

“We know that society that had benefitted from education are known for nurturing of creativity and research which starts from the lower levels,” he said.

He said there was need for implementation strategies to provide mechanisms for constant monitoring and evaluation of policies, to ensure the SDG goals were achieved.

The minister expressed concern over the state of insecurity in the schools and nation at large, lamenting the recent killing of one Miss Deborah Atanda, a nursing student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti few days ago.

He, however, directed Vice-Chancellor of the institution, in concerted efforts with the security, to uncover the perpetrators of the killing

He charged stakeholders to work with the Federal Ministry of Education and agencies as well as State Ministries of education to identify innovative approaches for improved funding and ensuring inclusive equitable, quality education and life-long opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretaryof the Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo explained that the 2021 and 2022 edition of the conference could not hold because of COVID-19 recovery which informed its delay till now.

Adejo, represented by the Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the ministry, Abubakar Isah, charged stakeholders to deliberate on ways of collaborating and partnership towards actualising the 2030 education agenda.

Also, the Education Adviser, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), James O’Donoghue, pledged UK’s commitment to support Nigeria in actualising the 2030 SDG agenda and to ensure every child receive quality education.

O’Donoghue called on the Nigerian government to ensure increased funding for education while also that the money was utilise for the overall education purpose.

NAN reports that the UN suggested to the federal Government to increase its current budgetary allocation to the education sector from seven to 20 per cent in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4—universal, inclusive and equitable basic education for all school-age children by 2030.

For years, Nigeria’s allocation to the education sector has been below the recommended benchmark for developing nations.

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In the 2023 budget, the sector got N1.79 trillion — representing 8.2 per cent of the appropriation bill — according to Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget, and national planning.

Giving a further breakdown, former minister said N103.29 billion was allocated for Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) while transfers to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions is N248.27 billion.

Ahmed added that N470 billion was allocated for tertiary education revitalisation and salary enhancement.

For context, the education sector got the second largest allocation in the budget after defence and security sectors which account for N2.98 trillion — representing 13.4 per cent of the budget.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) recommended that member nations should earmark four to six per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or 15 to 20 of public expenditure (annual budget) to fund education.

However, UNESCO said “the majority of countries have not yet reached this threshold”.

The 2023 allocation to the sector was an increase from that of last year’s budget which gave education N923.79 billion representing 5.4 per cent of the N17.23trillion budget.  (NAN)