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Tag: FG

  • FG now serious with Lassa Fever – ex-VC

    FG now serious with Lassa Fever – ex-VC

    A former Vice Chancellor of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma and Professor of Microbiology, Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, has said that the Federal Government of Nigeria now appeared serious and willing to listen and provide necessary support at controlling the scrounge of Lassa fever.

    Prof. Agbonlahor who described the inauguration of the National Committee on the Control of Lassa Fever as a step in the right direction said the menace of Lassa fever was an “annual recurrent budget of death for the poor people in Nigeria.”

    He spoke at the weekend while delivering the distinguished Lecture of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), with the title, “Combating Lassa Fever: a National Health Challenge.”

    Agbonlahor noted that for the past 47 years, Nigeria made noise in the name of creating awareness during Lassa fever outbreaks but goes to sleep at the end of each episode.

    He said government of developed countries showed little or no interest to providing financial contribution to Lassa fever eradication because “they look at the disease as a regional problem which is mainly endemic in West Africa”

    According to him, “Despite the thousands of deaths from the fever, Nigeria is still unprepared to contain the disease, waking up every year an outbreak is reported, running like a decapitated chicken in any direction and forgetting about the disease till another year of another outbreak,” he said.

    “There should be accurate epidemiological data on the distribution, rodent typing and rodents’ Lassa viral carriage according to geopolitical zones and states in Nigeria.”
    “We must therefore use infection control measures, such as complete equipment sterilization in hospitals and medical laboratories.

    “Trapping of rodents in and around homes and occasional fumigation can help reduce rodent populations.”

    Earlier in his opening remarks, Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, said the institution has set up a committee to sensitize the university community on ways to prevent the disease and to ‎collaborate with the government, the NGOs on ways to eradicate Lassa fever.

  • FG establishes IDP centre in Lagos

    FG establishes IDP centre in Lagos

    The Federal Government has established migrants and  internally displaced persons re-integration centre in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State.

    The centre which was commissioned last week by Hajiya Hadiza Sani Kangiwa,the Honourable Federal Commissioner , National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, was established in conjunction with Web of Hearts, a non-governmental organization based in Lagos State.

    Highlighting the importance of the centre, Hajiya Kangiwa said: “This centre is to serve as a component of the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme. We have set it up in collaboration with Web of Hearts with whom we have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to serve as a transit centre where returnee migrants would be provided with counselling  services, mentorship, family reunification, skill acquisition, training, temporary accommodation and much more.”

    The executive director of Web Heart, Bose Aggrey expressed optimism that the centre would encourage a lot of Nigerians stranded abroad to return home.

  • Ambode seeks FG partnership to relocate Ikoyi Prisons

    Ambode seeks FG partnership to relocate Ikoyi Prisons

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday sought the support of the Federal Government to facilitate the relocation of the Ikoyi Prisons.

    The Governor who spoke when the Minister of Interior, Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd.) paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja, urged the minister to revisit the agreement on the relocation of Ikoyi Prisons, assuring that the State Government was willing to provide land for construction of a modern day structure for the facility.

    He also urged the minister to revisit the partnership between the Federal Government and Lagos State especially in combating the frequent fire disasters in the state and reducing the influx of illegal immigrants in the state.

    According to the governor, the incessant fire disasters witnessed in the state in recent times has necessitated a need for the Federal Fire Service to collaborate with the State Fire Service to jointly combat fire disasters.

    Governor Ambode, who said the partnership between the State Government and Federal Government was more about development of the country because Lagos mirrors Nigeria, further sought collaboration of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as well as the Nigerian Legion in protecting public utilities in the state.

    He said, “We believe strongly that if we have a secured state, we will be able to create a platform for job opportunities for the people and where we are able to do that, we are inviting local and foreign investors to the state. We will also be able to use the taxes we get on those jobs to improve on the infrastructure in the state. So, that is the tripod that the administration is built upon.

    “I want to say that the real cornerstone is more about the internal safety and security of lives and property in the state and we have not minced any word in sending that message across on a daily basis. We are committed to the security of lives and property in the state and we will do everything to ensure that we support all the agencies that are under your ministry because that is what is going to assist us in developing the state and actually create jobs for our people,” Governor Ambode said.

    On his part, Dambazau lauded the state government for the equipment purchased for the Police last year to the tune of N4.7billion, saying such gesture was unprecedented in the history of Nigeria and a sign of seriousness about the security of lives and property of residents.

    Dambazau, said with his years of experience as a military officer, he had never seen that kind of massive investment in security by a State Government, and as such the present administration deserves to be commended for taking the bold initiative to give priority to the safety of the people.

    The Minister, who is in Lagos on a three-day tour of facilities and infrastructure of security agencies in the state, said Lagos State is the vanguard of support for the Ministry of Interior, adding that the gesture of the State Government was very well noted and appreciated.

    He said: “I’m here with all my service heads. We are here on tour of the facilities of the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry, as you know, is the hub of public safety and security in this country. Everything that has to do with public internal security and public safety is our responsibility.

    “We know that Lagos State is the vanguard in support of the Ministry of Interior. I was here few months back when the State Government donated security equipment to the police. I have never seen that done before and so we really want to urge the government and the good people of Lagos State to continue to support us and we assure that we would carry out our mandate in a way that the people will be happy,” Dambazau said.

  • Minister queries FG’s implementation of 500,000 teachers’ recruitment

    Minister queries FG’s implementation of 500,000 teachers’ recruitment

    The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, Wednesday queried how the Federal Government planned to identify graduates and National Certificate of Education teachers for the proposed 500,000 teaching jobs to boost basic education in the country.

    He also queried how the proposed recruits by the government would be distributed across the country.

    Prof. Anwukah expressed these observations on Tuesday in Abuja at the inauguration of a committee to work out how the proposed recruitment would be done.

    The minister, who walked out journalists from the meeting after refusing to answer questions on the numbers of committee members, duration of their assignment as well as the chairman of the committee, urged the committee to come up with collective efforts that would reposition the country’s education.

    He said: “How will we identify this 500, 000 potential teachers? Is it position to source the 500,000 teachers out of the already trained NCE and graduate education candidates? Is it possible to source this number of teachers from the pool of already trained but unemployed NCE and graduate education teachers?

    “How will they be distributed to the states when they are recruited? Is it on a quality of states? Or will it be based on justified needs of the states? What will be the role of the states in funding and supervision of the projects? How sustainable will the project be? Is it going to be a one shut affair? Or is it going to be annual and continuous? What is the name of this project? Is it basic education cost? What are we going to call it? We must give it a name. Who owns the project?

    “In fact your mandate, our mandate is to reposition education for the better in our country. And that is a very serious responsibility. The first leg in this very serious dance is the responsibility placed on us to recruit, train and deploy 500, 000 teachers, NCE and graduate teachers for our basic education sector.

    “To kick start the effort, the ministry relied very much on the 2016 (2015) budget speech of Mr. President on the shortage of teachers in public schools across the country promised to recruit, train and deploy 500,000 unemployed graduates and NCE holders and deploy them to our primary school.

    “It is the feeling that this measure will no doubt help to reducing the level of unemployment in the country and greatly aide in producing teachers and enhancing teacher quality.”

    He said that the committee has the responsibility to examine and recommend the methodology to adopt in the recruitment, training and deployment of such teachers.

    The committee in its terms of reference also has the responsibility to calculate the cost of the recruitment project.

    The committee is also expected to take other measures that would aid in the achievement of the recruitment objectives.

    He said: “To determine in addition the pedagogical communication and other skills critical to such teachers that will be recruited and trained. To spell out the nature on the ratio of the remedial and other refresher courses the selected trainee teachers will need to go through. And to determine the viability, feasibility of the proposal in the first instance.

    “These were the very broad terms of reference given to us. As I said it is a very big order. It’s a tall order of the federal government to actualize the provision of teachers in our basic education sector and at the same token scratch on the unemployment problem in the country by such recruitment.”

     

  • We won’t relent in battle against corruption—FG

    We won’t relent in battle against corruption—FG

    We would not relent in our battle against corruption, the Federal Government has said.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the remark yesterday in Lagos during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation Newspaper.

    Debunking allegations that the Buhari administration does not have respect for the rule of law, the minister said: “In this Administration’s battle against corruption, we have also been accused of not respecting the rule of law. I make bold to say that this is not true. The mere fact that those who have been accused of corruption are having their day in court is a reflection of our respect for the rule of law. We will continue to ensure a strict adherence to the rule of law in our anti-corruption effort and, indeed in all aspects of governance.

    “But make no mistake about it, this government will not relent in its battle against corruption, and within the confines of the law, irrespective of what anyone may say. This is because for our nation, it is a war of survival. Today, in our country, corruption is on first line charge. That’s how serious it is. The good news is that Nigeria is so fortunate to have at the helm of affairs, at this time, a leader of impeccable character, proven integrity, courage, dedication and love of country. We intend to leverage this in our fight against corruption.

    “ We need the support of the media to ensure the success of this fight. As I have said at different fora, we consider the media as our partners. When we launched the National Security Awareness Campaign Against Terrorism, the media were at the vanguard and, thanks to them, we are achieving our objectives of rallying the support of the citizenry for the war. In fact, I can say that Nigerians are now taking ownership of the war, and I must commend the media for partnering with us in this campaign.

    “Some have said that we are dwelling only on corruption to the detriment of other sectors. Our response is that if corruption is not tamed, nothing else we do will work. Imagine fetching buckets and buckets of water and pouring them into a basket. Not a drop of the water will be retained. But the moment the basket is replaced with, say a basin, even one bucket of water will amount to something. Seeking to uplift the economy without fighting corruption is akin to pouring water into a basket. That is why we will not stop talking about corruption.”

    Calling on the media to partner with the Federal Government in executing its the National Sensitization Campaign Against Corruption programme, he said: “Those who have looted our common wealth are powerful. They own newspapers, whether online or offline, they own radio and television stations. They are awash with cash and they have a huge army of supporters. But they are not more than the 170 million Nigerians who have been bearing the brunt of the looting of the treasury in terms of the absence of the dividends of democracy, especially upgraded infrastructure, good education, as well as good and affordable health care.

    “ Our strategy in sensitising our people is to dwell on the cost of corruption, rather than talking about it in the abstract. When we release figures of the huge sums of money that have been looted, we did not do that to vilify anyone. Rather, our intention is to give Nigerians a different perspective to the anti-graft battle. That’s why we did not mention names, even though we have all the names.”

    He added: “Recall that at the launch of the National Sensitization Campaign against Corruption, I did disclose that 55 Nigerians allegedly stole a total of 1.34 trillion Naira between 2006 and 2013. I also said if only we could recover just one third of the looted funds, we will be able to construct 635 kilometres of dual-carriage way; build 183 schools; educate 3,974 children from primary to tertiary level at the cost of 25.24 million per child, build 20,062 units of 2-bedroom housing units and build one ultra modern hospital in each of the 36 states of the Federation. Now, because that money was looted and had not been returned to the government coffers, we could not do any of those things enumerated above. That is the cost of corruption.”

  • FG to upgrade cancer control programme

    FG to upgrade cancer control programme

    The Federal Government on Thursday said it will upgrade the Cancer Control Programme to National Agency for the Control of Cancer to enhance early detection and proper management of the disease in the country.

    Rep. Mohammed Usman, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Health, made this known during a news conference organised by Federal Ministry of Health to commemorate the 2016 World Cancer Day in Abuja.

    Usman said the House of Representatives had approved his prayers in the motion urging to transform the Cancer Control Programme under the Federal Ministry of Health into an agency.

    “I am also working on the Bill for the establishment of this Agency and the minister has agreed to give me his input.

    “Immediately after our budget sessions, I will present the bill for the establishment of the National Cancer Control Agency to the House of Representatives.

    “I believe that bill will receive the attention it required, given the interest of the members in addressing the menace of cancer in Nigeria,’’ he said.

    Dr Ramatu Hassan, National Coordinator, Cancer Control Programme, Federal Ministry of Health, said government would upgrade seven of the cancer treatment centres to centres of excellence.

    “The government will also go into Public Private Partnership (PPP) with some companies to increase the number of treatment centres to 14 within the next two years.

    “We will continue to increase more of the centres as the time goes-by, we will maintain training of medical personnel to ensure that the centres function well,’’ she said.

    According to her, the ultimate goal of this administration is to put 200 cancer treatment machines across the country for effective cancer control.

    “The journey has started, we have some machines, and we are aspiring to acquire more within the next two years.

    “As at today, we have just one cancer treatment machine that is working at Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto, Sokoto State.

    “Efforts are going-on to repair one of the machines at the National Hospital, Abuja, because their machine had recently broken down.

    “The cancer treatment machine at Benin had also stopped working recently; we are also going to repair it soon,’’ said the coordinator.

    Mr Runcie Chidebe, Executive Director, Pink and Blue; Young People against Cancer, an NGO, said we have been commemorating world cancer day in collaboration with the federal ministry of health.

    He lamented the acute shortage of facilities for the management of cancer, adding that there is a lot deficit in cancer control, diagnosis and treatment.

    Chidebe said the NGO’s collaboration with the federal ministry of health and other partners would commence a navigation programme aimed at referring people appropriately.

    “The great challenge for people suffering from cancer in Nigeria is that many people who have cancer do not know the right place to go to access treatment,’’ he said.

  • FG gives FIRS marching orders to meet N4.9tr target

    FG gives FIRS marching orders to meet N4.9tr target

    The Federal government has turned on the heat on the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS) to meet the N4.957 trillion tax target for 2016.

    A statement from the FIRS signed by Wahab Gbadamosi, Head, Communication and Servicom Department said the minister of finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, handed out the marching order Wednesday in Abuja at the second day of the 2016 Annual Corporate Strategy Retreat of the FIRS.

    The finance minister was said to have categorically warned the FIRS that “there is no room for failure over FIRS’s attainment of its 2016 target of N4.97 trillion to the Federal Government.”

    According to the finance minister, “there is really no room for failure. Please ensure you deliver. The nation will depend on FIRS to fund the budget. We need the money to stabilise the economy.”

    She told staff of the FIRS that “this is not a joke. We need everybody to do his/her beat to ensure that everybody contributes to the achievement of the target. I look forward to the excellent ideas that will improve revenue generation as you proceed in this retreat.”

    Adeosun further told the FIRS staff that “in addition to your professional pride, and the satisfaction you may derive from working for FIRS as a professional, please note that you are also building the nation by realising the target and by being professional, honest and dedicated in the way you do your work. This is what the nation needs now.”

    She acknowledged the strides the FIRS has made in the past and the successes it had attained since its new Chairman, Tunde Fowler resumed. “I know your chairman as an achiever. He did very well in Lagos. Work with him. He will do well here. He is one person who has the welfare of staff on his mind.”

    In his address, the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Mr Tunde Fowler said, the Service is collaborating with State Governments, tax consultants, major audit firms, stakeholders in the federal system, including the National Assembly.

    He said the tax agency is undertaking a nationwide Value Added Tax and Witholding Tax Monitoring exercise and nationwide taxpayer registration exercise anchored by the FIRS Federal Engagement and Enlightenment Tax Teams, (FEETT).

  • FG to save N12bn annually through Efficiency Unit discounts 

    FG to save N12bn annually through Efficiency Unit discounts 

    The federal government plans to save N12 billion annually from the discounts it will get from the large purchase of overhead items for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    One area government will be saving money is in the area of vehicle purchase. Beyond buying vehicles from local vehicle assembly companies and dealers, government will aggressively negotiate for discount, “since government will be purchasing large numbers of vehicles from them, we will get longer after sales service and maintenance from the auto companies than those who buy one or few vehicles from the auto companies.”

    These savings would be made possible because from now on government plans to eliminate or at worst reduce cash payments for items purchased.

    Addressing journalists on the activities of the newly created Efficiency Unit of government in Abuja Tuesday, the Head, Efficiency Unit Ms. Patience Oniha disclosed that by make electronic payments for overhead items instead of cash payments, government want to enhance audit trails and be more transparent in its transactions.”

    According to her, “an ongoing reform in the federal ministry of finance is the overhaul of the internal controls within the MDAs. MDAs have auditors who are supposed to validate these items before payment is made to contractors there have been significant weaknesses so that is being overhauled entirely to make sure that what we are gaining from one side we don’t lose it on the other side. So those that will implement this have to be empowered so that they don’t lose sight. Infringements on procurement will not go free.”

    Ms Oniha also stated that government “will now negotiate with suppliers of goods and services under its overhead expenditure programmes so that it can buy supplies at reduced prices and in large quantities for MDAs.”

    One of the strategies to be adopted by the Efficiency Unit Oniha said “is to get the factories to give us their quotations for prices so that the MDAs can patronize them. This is on the table. There is provision in the law for foreign versus local suppliers, if one is going to import and the other is going to produce locally, the procurement act will make an allowance to recognize the domestic supplier or domestically manufactured, so made in Nigeria will be prioritized.”

    To give legal backing to these initiatives, Oniha said government was looking at introducing price guidelines which all MDAs are expected to adhere to.

     

  • Alleged bribe: FG reopens Farouk Lawan’s trial Tuesday

    Alleged bribe: FG reopens Farouk Lawan’s trial Tuesday

    The Federal Government will Tuesday reopen the trial of a former Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, , and its ex-Secretary, Boniface Emenalo for allegedly obtaining $620,000 bribe money from Femi Otedola, chairman of Forte Oil.

    Lawan and Emenalo were first arraigned on a seven-count charge before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama, Abuja on February 2, 2013.

    They were, in the charge filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (ICPC) accused of receiving the $620, 000 as bribe from Otedola, ostensibly to exclude the names of Otedola’s companies – Zenon Petroleum and Gas as well as Synopsis Enterprises Limited – from the list of companies found to have allegedly defrauded the Federal Government of billions of naira in the petroleum subsidy scam, which their committee was created to investigate.

    Before the prosecution could proceed to trial, Lawan and Emenalo appealed the decision of a High Court, to the effect that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them

    On May 12, 2014 the Court of Appeal, Abuja dismissed their appeal on the ground that was without merit. But before proceedings could resume again at the trial court, Justice Oniyangi was elevated to the Court of Appeal, prompting the court’s Chief Judge to reassign the case to another judge, Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Gudu division of the High Court of the FCT.

    Lawan and Emenalo later compelled Justice Banjoko to withdraw from the case when they wrote a petition against her, alleging that she was likely to be bias in handling the case.

    Lawan had in a petition addressed to the court’s Chief Judge,  sought the  re-assignment of the case to another judge on the ground  that Justice Banjoko was close to Otedola, who was the accuser and a proposed prosecution witness in the case.

    Shortly after the petition, Lawan’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) filed a motion and requested Justice Banjoko to disqualify herself from further handling the case on the same grounds of likelihood of bias.

    Justice Banjoko subsequently withdrew from the case on November 2014 and returned the case file to court’s Chief Judge.

    The Nation learnt Monday that the case has since been reassigned to Justice Angela Otaluka of the High Court of the FCT in Lugbe, Abuja, before who the case is to start afresh today.

  • Lagos partners FG on job creation

    Lagos State government yesterday disclosed plans by the Federal Government to assist in provision of jobs for unemployed youths in the state.

    The decision followed an official visit by the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Princess Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, to Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalong, in Abuja.

    Speaking on Thursday in Lagos, Princess Akinbile-Yussuff, disclosed that all plans have been concluded by the Federal Government towards assisting the state in the area of job creation youths who are not gainfully employed in Lagos State.

    She said: “The meeting has just begun to yield positive results. The minister has promised to work in tandem with Lagos State government in alleviating poverty and more importantly, providing jobs for teeming Lagos youths through creation of more job opportunities and empowerment programmes.

    “In addition to the efforts by our amiable governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode in job creation, we also need to solicit for support of the federal government for lasting solutions to unemployment in our society.