The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FG

  • RTEAN supports FG’s automotive policy

    RTEAN supports FG’s automotive policy

    The National Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) has expressed support for the automotive development plan of the Federal Government.

    National President of the association, Chief Musa Isewele, told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday that the policy would boost employment and the manufacturing sector of the economy.

    “We support the automotive policy because it will bring development and increase our revenue generation.

    “If you buy a new vehicle, you don’t need to buy spare parts often or visit the mechanics over little problems.

    “So, it is to our own advantage as a union and we encourage the government to ensure that the policy comes to life.”

    Isewele however urged government to consider some waivers to enable Nigerians to bring in vehicles with ease until the policy became effective.

    Commenting on some of his achievements since assuming office, the union boss said that RTEAN had created numerous job opportunities for graduate youths since he assumed office.

    He said that no fewer than 24 graduates were employed by the union at its National Secretariat.

    “When we came on board, we said we are coming to make a change; we said we will work hard to put food on the table for our members.”

    Isewele said the union was a peace loving group and not about “cutlasses and machetes”.

    “We embarked on an aggressive corporate image marketing of RTEAN and enforcement of discipline to give a new orientation to all our members nationwide.

    “Our parks are not about thuggery and that we have been able to prove.

    “Infact, any of our members who consume or even smell of alcohol will not be allowed to drive.

    “If such a driver’s vehicle is already being loaded with passengers, the passengers will be discharged to another vehicle and that is a very serious offence.

    “We have already launched the RTEAN Mass Transit Scheme and its really effective.”

    Isewele said that the union was setting up a drivers’ academy to train drivers and had concluded arrangements to begin construction of a 1,000 houses for its members in Abuja.

    He said that the union had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a foreign investor to provide high capacity buses nationwide.

    He added that investors would, however, have to set up a vehicle assembly plant in the country in line with Federal Government’s auto policy.

    He also said that the union had begun data capture of all its 16 million members across the federation.

    On the allegation of existing factions in the union, Isewele denied it.

    The RTEAN boss said that the case was already in court.

    He urged members of the union to remain law abiding and ignore any provocative statements from anyone.

     

  • FG, General Electric, Stanbic IBTC sign $350m MoU for power sector

    FG, General Electric, Stanbic IBTC sign $350m MoU for power sector

    The Federal Government yesterday signed a $350 million memorandum of understanding (MoU) with General Electric (GE) and StanbicIBTC Bank to finance the construction of mini power plants in some estates in the country.

    The signing ceremony was supervised by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Sambo commended the Global General Manager and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GE, Jeff Immelt and other global partners who were present at the event for supporting the Federal Government’s power sector reforms.

    He maintained that the Investment of $350m in the Nigeria power sector by General Electric is a further demonstration of the confidence of the company and its technical partners in Nigeria’s power sector reform programme.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the ceremony, the Minister of Power, Chnedu Nebo, said that the fund will be used to support the building and distribution of small power turbines to be deployed in areas that are not currently having power plants.

    He said: “We intend to build many of them, including 15, 20, and even 50 megawatts power plants that can be dedicated to industrial clusters, agric clusters and in areas where there are no power plants.”

    According to him, GE’s efforts will compliment the recently launched “Operation Light Up Rural Nigeria.”

    He stressed that the fund would be used to build gas to power plants of smaller nature, which could be mounted on trailers or trucks with the gas supply using liquified natural gas or compressed natural gas.

    “So, GE feels that it is not enough to manufacture, sell and maintain power facilities, but help to provide funding for private sector operators interested in getting finance to do such power plants,” he added

    The Minister of Trade and Investments, Olusegun Aganga, said the agreements would cover three major areas.

    “One of them is an agreement between GE and Stanbic Bank for the financing of the power sector. So they are making available the sum of $350m for the generation of mini power projects because that is going to be quicker to do and will help the economic activities in the country.

    “So, we are talking of mini power plants between one and twenty megawatts, where you need captive power in places like Kano for example, where you have a lot of people in the textile sector, where today, they rely on liquified petroleum fuel oil (LPFO),” he said.

  • Farmers task FG on N4.3 billion cassava bread fund

    Farmers task FG on N4.3 billion cassava bread fund

    Nigeria is said to produce more cassava than any other country in the world. It is the third most important source of calories in the tropics, after rice and maize. Millions of people depend on cassava in Nigeria and Africa in general.

    Cassava is grown by poor farmers, many of them women, often on marginal land. For those people and their families, cassava is vital for both food security and income generation.

    Following in the footsteps of past admin8istrations, especially that of President Olusegun Obasanjo, seeing that cassava not only meet the food security needs of the estimated farmers who grow it, but to provide a key to rural industrial development and higher incomes for producers, processors and traders, this administration came up with cassava transformation program.

    The cassava transformation project seeks to create a new generation of cassava farmers, oriented towards commercial production and farming as a business, and to link them up to reliable demand, either from processors or a guaranteed minimum price scheme of the government.

    The overreaching strategy of the cassava transformation is to turn the cassava sector in Nigeria into a major player in local and international starch, sweeteners, ethanol, HQCF, and dried chips industries by adopting improved production and processing technologies, and organizing producers and processors into efficient value-added chains.

    The cassava processing technology started in the late 50s from the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) with various products and equipment. It is clear that the mandate to process cassava and other crops was solely given to the institute, which they carried out judiciously without dabbling to crop production and other agencies mandates.

    The Federal Government as a way of stimulating increased domestic production and processing of cassava announced plans to cut wheat imports by introducing a new policy compelling cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour.

    Part of the government plan was to impose a levy of 15 % on wheat grain imports, which will increase the effective duty from 5 to 20 %. The gain from the levy was used to establish the Cassava Bread Development Fund.

    This led the Federal Government, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BoI) for the bank to manage the N4.3 billion cassava bread fund that would support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), master bakers and large industrial cassava flour mills.

  • All went well in Osun, but Aregbesola wants FG to activate emergency control centre

    All went well in Osun, but Aregbesola wants FG to activate emergency control centre

    Osun in the South West geo-political zone of the country remains a very peaceful and secured state. In 2013 there were no significant crime related events. However, there were a few cases of armed robbery, rape, arson and violent community clashes across the state.

    The state carved out of old Oyo State under the military administration of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida on August 27, 1991, is reputed to be among the most secured and peaceful states in the country. Over the years, Osun had not recorded calamitous event strong enough to be put it negatively on the national or world map.

    Early this year, the state government distributed 100 patrol pick vans to all the security agencies in the state, including the state Police Command, State Security Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, the Nigerian Immigration Service and Nigeria Customs Service to beef up security in the state. Before the distribution of these vans, the state government had procured about seven Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) and a helicopter for surveillance of the hide out of the criminals from the top. Possibly, all these provision could have reduced the criminal activities of the men of the underworld.

    The previous year, 2012, there were series of armed robbery attacks on banks in Osogbo, Ejigbo, Iwo, Ilesa, Ile-Ife and Ikirun as well as armed attack on a bureau de change at Sabo area of Osogbo, the state capital. There were also kidnappings of notable residents of the state, including a major beer distributor, Alhaji Raufu Olaiya, who spent about two weeks with his captors and later released after paying a huge ransom. So also was another major liquour distributor, Mr. Idowu Obembe, who was unlucky to have died even after his family had paid the ransom.

    During a robbery attack on a new generation bank at Osogbo,  a police man was killed when the robbers, who had earlier successfully robbed a bureau de change at Sabo area were charting a way out of town ran into a bullion van and staff of the bank doing a cash movement in front of the bank. The wife of the state House of Assembly Speaker, Muibat Salaam, in 2012 was kidnapped in Ejigbo, her husband home town while returning from her shop. She was found a week in the bush somewhere in a village in Ogun State when she was discovered in the midst of the kidnappers by a curious palm wine tapper.

    Also in 2012 there was an attack on bank at Gbongan, where the son of the Olufi of Gbongan narrowly escaped being killed by the robbers. But in 2013, all the robbery incidents recorded were mostly low profile. There were many incidents of reported and unreported burglaries, rape of minors, suicide, arsons and kidnaps. Prominent among these was the abduction of the 80 year old Ilesa-based industrialist, Chief Mrs. Yinka Obaleye, popularly known as Yinka Oba Foam. Her driver was killed while trying to beat the kidnappers. The industrialist spent about one week in the den of the kidnappers before she eventually regained freedom.

    In 2013, there were a number of communal clashes. There was one between Ido-Osun in Egbedore Local Government and Ede, where two persons reportedly lost their lives. The two communities were fighting over the land where the multi billion naira ultra modern proposed M.K.O. Abiola International Airport is being sited by the Rauf Arergbesola administration.

    Also, Oba Oke and Oba Ile are still fighting over boundary  matter. No fewer than five people have been reported killed while a chief in one of the communities is still missing. In Ilase Ijesa in Obokun Local Government Area, palace of Onilase, Oba Adesina Alobijuwon, was burnt and the 80 year old blind monarch strangled and left to die helplessly in the inferno.

    The paramount ruler of Ijesaland, Owa Adimula, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, at a point cried out about the security situation in his domain. He disclosed that no fewer than 70 motorcycles known as Okada are being snatched on a monthly and in some cases owners killed in the area.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola is crying to the Federal Government to activate an Emergency Control Centre it has built in the state. He said he had tried to no avail to make the FG do something positive about the centre  no avail, saying it has refused to activate it in of spite all the appeals by the state government. He stated that though, the state government has its own Security Code, but without the Federal Government Security Code (112) working, that of the state cannot be made to work. He said: “We have appealed to the Federal Government to let us work together to activate the short code 112, so that our people can easily contact us in time of need, but this has proved fruitless. We are ready to take over all the financial requirements to get the centre operational but the Federal Government should come to the aid of the people of Osun to guarantee full security of our people.  We have our own security code, but without the Federal Government’s functioning, we cannot get our own to work.”

  • FG declares public holidays for Christmas, New Year

    The Federal Government yesterday declared Wednesday, December 25 and Thursday, December 26 as public holidays to commemorate the Christmas and Boxing Day celebrations.

    Similarly, Wednesday, January 1, 2014 has been declared as public holiday to mark the New Year.

    Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, enjoined all Christians and Nigerians in general to extend the spiritual benefits of Christmas which are love, joy, peace and kindness to their daily living and reflect on the giant strides made by the present government in the development of the country, especially under the transformation leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan.

  • 3rd Arab Summit: FG to raise $100m diaspora fund

    3rd Arab Summit: FG to raise $100m diaspora fund

    THE Federal Government is set to raise about $100 million diaspora fund. This will enable Nigerians in diaspora to invest in the fund by developing special projects that would be of immense benefit to Nigeria. Vice President Namadi Sambo stated this at an interactive session with Nigerians at the recent 3rd Africa – Arab Summit in Kuwait, where he lauded the contributions of Nigerians in Kuwait for achieving heavy successes in their chosen fields of eandeavours. The Vice President, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan at the event, stated that the government has commenced plans to simplify the division of passports among Nigerians in diaspora, adding that it is an “exercise that has been going on in other countries and believes that soon with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this exercise will get to Kuwait and we will establish a key passport machine in our embassy in Kuwait”. He also promised to address the issue of the frequent medical testing undergone by Nigerians in Kuwait that poses a potential health risk. He stated that the Federal Government would be commissioning new power plants every month from this period till the first quarter of 2014. He also added that the government was in the advanced stages of transferring 80 percent of its shares of these power plants to the private sector and that the government is expecting to raise about $3.7 billion from the sales, which will be reinvested in the transmission of power. He said: “We are expending $3.7 billion from now till 2016, and by the end of 2014 we plan to be able to generate 10,000MW of electricity to Nigeria. As I speak to you, the contract for the construction of the new power plant that will add 700MW to our grid is already in progress; we have also completed the design and documentation for the awarding of the Mambilla Hydro Plant that will generate about 3050MW and will be the biggest hydro power plant in Africa.’’ On the issue of infrastructure, the Vice President said: “The Federal Government is connecting all zones and sections in the country through the construction of new roads, the building of the Second Niger Bridge across River Niger and the construction of a bridge across River Benue to reduce travel time by road between the South-South and South-East to the North by almost 53hrs”. The rehabilitation of the Nigerian Railway system, he stated, was another project which the Federal Government is seriously working on. He emphasised that the laydown from Lagos to Kano has been completed and that there is an ongoing rehabilitation of the railway from PortHarcourt to Maiduguri and it is expected within the 2nd to 3rd quarter of 2014 that trains will begin to move from PortHarcourt to Maiduguri. He added that the new Standard Gate Railline, which is another ongoing project, is one that will connect Kaduna and Abuja and on completion will connect it from Abuja to Ajaokuta, the Western line from Lagos to Kano, the Eastern line from PortHarcourt to Maiduguri and the Central line of the standard gate from Kaduna to Warri. Welcoming participants to the event earlier, His Highness, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait, stressed the importance of economic integration, noting that it provided the platform for nations to benefit commonly. He said the selection of the theme, ‘’Partners in Development & Investments’’ for the summit, reflected the need for genuine partnership. “It is neither acceptable nor is it an embodiment of the desired partnership that our countries provide support from their part, and not be met with interaction and reciprocity from the other side; therefore integration becomes imperative to embody genuine partnership. “The sustainable development we desire is the optimal exploitation of the resources and fortunes that Allah bestowed upon us without waste, through which we join forces to invest our resources in projects that consolidate our integration, ” the Amir stated. He emphasised Kuwait’s continued investment in Africa, saying that the Arab country would stop at nothing to ensure optimal utilisation of resources that seek to uplift the African nation. “The Almighty has bestowed upon us arable lands, skilled workforce, raw materials, and wealth that can be invested to achieve food security, which has become a dire need in view of unsustainable global conditions, and an economic crisis that has swept all economies of the world without exception, leaving many states suffering from a regression in their rates of growth and prosperity. “Kuwait has recognised the strategic importance of the Arab-African Group and had long sought to strengthen the partnership between them by deploying its diplomatic missions in all parts of the African continent, while the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development became active in projects that promote development in African countries. ‘’In this respect, I directed officials of the Fund to offer soft loans to African countries in the amount of one billion dollars during the next five years, not to mention investments by a number of Kuwaiti corporations in various sectors.’’ The Kuwaiti Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdulaziz Al-Sharrah, commended the vicepresident for his contributions and expressed appreciation to the delegates from Nigeria to the summit.

  • Fed Govt allocates N45bn to INEC in 2014 budget

    Fed Govt allocates N45bn to INEC in 2014 budget

    The Federal Government has allocated N45 billion to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepare for the 2015 general elections.

    The allocation to INEC was N13 billion higher than the 2013 budget of N32 billion.

    According to the budget, the National Assembly allocation is to be maintained at the 2013 level of N150 billion.

    It increased the provision for debt servicing from N591.8 billion in 2013 to N712 billion in 2014.

    Recurrent (non-debt) spending was slightly reviewed downwards to N2.43 trillion in the 2014 budget as against N2.80 trillion in 2013.

    Personnel cost was also increased slightly from the 2013 amendment budget provision of N1.72 trillion to N1.72 trillion for 2014.

    The proposed N1.1 trillion for capital expenditure while share of capital in total expenditure was also reviewed to 27.29 per cent down from 31.9 per cent in 2013.

    This reflected the increased allocation to pension as well as high wage bill.

    The share of recurrent in total spending was put at 72.71 per cent while the provision for SURE-P was N268.37 billion.

    It proposed N4.64 trillion as aggregate expenditure (Net of SURE-P) and N4.91 trillion aggregate expenditure (Inclusive of SURE-P) in the 2014 budget, Statutory Transfers were put at N399.7 billion.

    The budget put the projected gross federally collectible revenue at N10.88 trillion, while N7.16 trillion was projected as gross federally collectible oil and gas revenue.

    The total deductions, including cost of crude oil production, subsidy payments, and domestic gas development is N2.15 trillion which is the same in the 2013 budget.

    Subsidy payments were maintained at the 2013 level of N971.1 billion while N3.29 trillion was budgeted as gross federally collectible non-oil revenue.

  • FG to commence registration of Artisanal Fishing canoes, crafts

    FG to commence registration of Artisanal Fishing canoes, crafts

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina has initiated the process of registration of Artisanal fishing canoes and crafts in the country in a bid to ensure that the operators are better organised and duly recognised .

    The proposed national registration exercise is happening for the very first time in the country.

    It will give the operators an identity beyond the shores of Nigeria, especially when fishing in coastal waters shared with neighbouring countries ; accord them due recognition and ensure the fishing canoes of artisanal fishermen in the country are not used for Sea armed robbery or piracy.

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has therefore called on artisanal fishermen to ensure that their canoes are duly registered.

    Speaking recently in Lagos at a stakeholder’s awareness workshop on the “Registration of Artisanal Fishing Crafts and Canoes for the Coastal States of Nigeria”, the Director of Fisheries, Ms Foluke Areola said that proper and adequate registration of artisanal fishing canoes will enable for better planning and development of the fisheries sub –sector.

    The sensitization workshop was organised by the Ministry in collaboration with nine coastal States of Nigeria.

    “Efforts in the past for the registration of artisanal fishing crafts had not been effective enough and hence the need to carefully and properly design a means towards ensuring authentic and reliable figures.

    “This will also curb the security implication associated with the non-registration of these fishing crafts especially now that they are being used for sea armed robbery and piracy,” Areola said.

    She described the artisanal fishermen as those who use canoes with or without motorized engines with nets, twines and floats to fish in the remote rural coastal and inland fishing areas in Nigeria.

    According to her, the sensitization workshop for the more than 10 million people engaged in artisanal fish production is the first in the series of three workshops.

    The Director of Fisheries said that the other two workshops will be held in Lokoja, Kogi State and Bauchi State.

    She disclosed that under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Federal Government; various fishing inputs will be distributed at 50 per cent subsidy to artisanal fisher folks in the country.

    The flag off ceremony for the distribution of these inputs already took place in Kogi State under the Aquaculture value chain, inputs such as juveniles,fish feed, water test kits have already been distributed in 10 States of the country within the year.

    The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Ibukun Odusote in her keynote address, disclosed that artisanal fishing industry has contributed over 75 per cent of our domestic fish production, and in the last 25 years had been operating with fishing crafts that are not registered.

    She said there was a need to address this issue properly as it was impossible to say how many of such operators existed in the country.

    Odusote said that the Ministry was vigorously committed to data collection and had reactivated the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Statistics.

    “Members will be in each State, comprising State Directors of Fisheries, Fisheries subject matter specialists in the State office of the Ministry as well as enumerators.

    “This committee will be responsible for the registration of fishing canoes,” she said.

    She said that data collection should be a collective responsibility and all hands must be on deck adding that it was the desire of the Federal Government to ensure self-sufficiency in fish production and utilisation.

  • Pensioners urge FG to release 53.4% pension increase

    Pensioners urge FG to release 53.4% pension increase

    The National Union of Pensioners (NUP) has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the release of the circular for the payment of 53.4% pension increase for pensioners.

    The union expressed disappointment over the way in which government was delaying the payment of the increase.

    According to the National President, Dr. Abel Afolayan, who made this disclosure during the 2013 Pension Day ceremony in Abuja, “the union sees the delay as a calculated attention to deprive her member of their right.”

    He added that “we hereby call on the federal government to expedite action on the release of the circular for the payment as we have been made to understand that the payment will be captured in the 2014 budget.”

    The union stated that the arrears of 142% increase have not been paid by some states.

    Commenting on local government pensioners, Afolayan said that the federal and state governments are defaulting in the payment of local government retirees and primary school teachers, which is the responsibility of the three tiers of government.

    He, however, noted that “only the local governments are regular in their payments.”

    NUP said that it was worried over the controversies surrounding the appointment of a substantive National Pension Commission Director General, which seemed to have been politicised.

  • ASUU suspends strike next week – Fagge

    ASUU suspends strike next week – Fagge

    ... Union signs MoU with FG

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will suspend the five months strike next week after the union signed a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect with Federal Government on Wednesday

    ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, who signed the agreement on behalf of the union, confirmed to journalists that the strike would be called off next week following agreement signed by both parties.

    Fagge said the MoU contained all the demands presented by the union.