The Nation Newspaper

Tag: frustrating

  • Fed Govt accuses private school owners of frustrating personnel audit

    The Federal Government has accused private school owners of frustrating its nationwide personnel audit.

    The government said some private school owners attacked their enumerators and also refused to present their teachers and pupils for the audit exercise in their schools.

    Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Babboyi, stated these in Abuja when he led  management team and the Chairman Governing Board of the Commission, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, to monitor the exercise in some schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Tuesday.

    He stated that reports by its field enumerators showed that some private school teachers in the FCT had refused to turn up for enumeration, and in some cases threatened the UBEC officials with arrest and lock out.

    Dr. Bobboyi, assured that the ongoing nationwide personnel audit of primary and junior secondary school was aimed at generating reliable data for the repositioning of basic education in Nigeria,

    He denied claims that the audit exercise was for taxation purpose.

    “We are very happy with the progress that has been made. We have to understand that this is the first time in the history of the personnel audit where private schools have been included in the entire process.

    “Initially, in the last two decades it has always been for the public schools. But we felt that without getting data from the private sector and putting all these together to see the kind of education our children are receiving; the number of schools, understand the teachers, and enrollment, we cannot get it right.

    “Generally, we need this information and I think it is something we should be very happy about including the private schools in the exercise,” he said.

    The UBEC boss said data from the personnel audit would allow the federal government plan for the basic education sector which was facing severe challenges.

    The Chairman of the Board, Dr Abubakar, in his remark said the exercise was a huge success in public schools but met resistance in some of the private schools its officials visited.

  • PDP crisis: Sheriff frustrating peace process, says Makarfi

    PDP crisis: Sheriff frustrating peace process, says Makarfi

    Chairman of the caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi has accused national chairman Ali Modu Sheriff of frustrating the peace process.

    Makarfi, who made the accusation in Abuja yesterday while meeting some Northern leaders of the PDP, said Sheriff reneged on a proposal by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He told the gathering that Sheriff refused to abide by an arrangement where both of them would resign their positions. He also blamed the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson for presenting a convention report to Sheriff without consultation.

    “When Dickson came to meet me on his committee’s report, I told him, you are one of the governors that met with former President Goodluck Jonathan and he spelt out the proposal of peace plan which he communicated to the National Assembly caucus, communicated to us (caretaker committee) and other organs of the party.

    “And I asked him, are you now removing yourself from that? Why didn’t you table what you have before your colleagues? I also asked him whether he had taken pains to read the Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgment and he said no.

    “That judgement is based on two premises which we did not accept. The first premise, which we did not accept in our appeal to the Supreme Court, that the tenure of three members of the NWC will expire in august this year and 18 will expire in July 2018.

    “If you now propose to hold convention in June, what are you going to achieve? How will the June convention is different from last year’s in Portharcourt and he said he didn’t think about that.

    “The proposal on the way forward is to revert to the status quo as pronounced by the court of appeal. This is what I told Dickson, that he should go back to his colleague governors and other organs of the party to clear the issue. As far as we are concerned, the caretaker committee has no position other than what the organs of the party.

    “Again, having reverted to the status quo, everybody will now formally resign. If everybody will resign, then the solicitors of the organs of the party will now sit down and look at all the legal issues involved and then draw up an MoU that will serve as settlement of parties. This will be deposited at the Supreme Court as the settlement of the crisis.

    “Even if this is not provided in the constitution of the party, INEC is going to accept it and no one is going to rubbish PDP on that.

    “In response, I told the former president that the caretaker committee has nothing against his proposal but that it will be presented before the organs and if accepted, the caretaker committee will stand by it.

    “Former President Jonathan said he told Sheriff to go and consult and after his reply, he will get back to him. Uptill now he has not gotten back to him. What it means is that perhaps, he did not get positive response from Sheriff.”

    Some of those present at the meeting were chairman former minister of police affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri; former minister of information, Prof Jerry gana; Aminu Wali; former PDP youth leader, Abdullahi Maibasira; Sen Saidu Kumo; Sen Aruwa; chairman of former ministers, Kabiru Turaki; former governor of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed; former governor of Adamawa Boni Haruna.

    Former governor of Kano State Ibrahim Shekarau; Hon Tukur; Gen. David Jeribewon; former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru   Bafarawa; former governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu; former deputy national publicity secretary of PDP, Abdullahi Jalo; former deputy governor of Sokoto, Murtahr Shagari; former women minister, Hajiya Inua Ciroma; former governor of Plateau, Sen Jonah Jang; Sen Abubakar Gada; Sen. Solomon Ewuga among others.

    Dickson meets IBB in Minna

    Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

    Bayelsa State Gobvernor Seriake Dickson yesterday met with former Military President Ibrahim Babangida in Minna, the capital of Niger State.

    Dickson declined comments after the hour-long meeting at the former president’s Private Study inside his Hilltop mansion in the Niger State capital.

    It was learnt that the meeting was part of Dickson’s efforts to find a lasting solution to the crisis rocking the party.

    Dickson, who heads the PDP reconciliation committee, has been making frantic efforts to resolve the imbroglio in the party.

    Though the governor’s recent actions including submitting the report of his committee to National Chairman Ali Modu Sheriff, drew the ire of some party leaders, Dickson insisted that his template was designed to end the crisis.

  • DisCos are frustrating availability of meters

    DisCos are frustrating availability of meters

    One issue that has pitched power distribution companies (DisCos) against their customers is meter. In this interview, the Chief Executive officer, MEMCOL Nigeria Limited, a meter manufacturing company, Mr Kola Balogun, said metering problems remained unresolved because of the deliberate action of the DisCos to continue milking consumers through estimated billing regime. Balogun spoke with AKINOLA AJIBADE on this and other issues. 

    What is the state of the metering industry in Nigeria?

    The situation in the industry could be likened to happenings in the country. The industry is a reflection of the inconsistencies that has characterised the polity called ‘Nigeria’. These inconsistencies have helped in slowing down the growth of the nation’s economy. In order to contribute to the industrial growth of the country, MOMAS Nigeria Limited started investment in metering business about 20 years ago. The idea has paid off as the firm has manufactured and deployed a lot of meters to consumers, prior to 2013 when the power sector was privatised. Not done yet, the firm wants to increase its production in order to deepen the growth of the sector. To achieve this, the company has invested in meter facility in the West Africa sub- region.

    What is the capacity of the metering industry, vis-a-vis the number of meters, which local manufacturers can produce?

    The industry has capacity to absorb several millions of meters. In fact, it would be difficult for the country to exhaust the volume of meters produced locally in view of the fact that many new houses are springing up annually. Presently, five meter manufacturing firms are operating in the country, albeit at lower capacity. They are MEMCOL, MOJEK, UNISTAR, EMCON and SWEDEN Nigeria Limited. MEMCOL has the capacity to produce 50,000 meters monthly, while each of the remaining four companies can produce between 20,000 to 30,000 meters.

    What is the major threat to the growth of local meter manufacturers?

    Lack of patronage is the major threat to the growth of local manufacturers of meters in Nigeria. The power distribution companies (DisCos), which by law are required to buy meters for onward distribution to their customers, hardly buy from local manufacturers. Usually, the DisCos buy meters from manufacturers abroad.  They go outside the country to open credit facility, buy meters there and bring them to Nigeria.  Whenever the DisCos buy meters from local producers, they do so on credit. This has made it difficult for local manufacturers to survive. However, Ibadan power distribution company (IBEDC), its counterparts in Abuja and Port Harcourt are buying meters regularly from MEMCOL Nigeria Limited. It is sad that meters that are manufactured by local companies are not well patronised.

    Beyond this, what are the other problems facing manufacturers of meters in Nigeria?

    Electricity is another factor inhibiting the growth of the manufacturers. The worsening power situation and its attendant poor supply in the country is taking its toll on manufacturers of meters, and other products. In MEMCOL Nigeria Limited, access to power from the grid has not been encouraging. The reason is because power is not readily available in Mowe-Ibafo business corridor where the company is located. Many industries would have sprung up in that corridor, but for the poor electricity supply in the country. And to stay in business, we decide to run our factory on generator, albeit with pains. It is difficult for a business that is run on generators to be cost-effective. That is why I said earlier that the development of industries is a function of a nation, and not an individual. It is the nation that is expected to protect industries from collapsing.

    What is the level of capacity utilisation in the industry?

    The capacity utilisation is dropping fast. The reason is because the metering companies are operating at optimal capacity. The firms are keeping huge stocks in their factories, due to lack of patronage. Our company has a large quantity of meters in store. Since we are not producing optimally due to problems such as poor patronage, electricity and others, we decided to cut down our workforce, pending the time when situation improves. We cannot afford to keep the human resources (personnel) that would help in producing meters, when it is obvious that the micro and macroeconomic environment in which we operate is not favourable. We cannot continue to keep, having realised that they would be idle because it would be difficult paying their salaries. So this has made capacity utilisation to drop drastically. In the event that the five companies approved by the government to manufacture meters are well financed, they would not only produce a lot of meters monthly, but would assist in bridging the supply and demand gap in the industry.

    The low patronage of your meters by electricity distribution firms, may be due to their low quality?

    To the best of my knowledge, meters that are produced in the country are of good quality. The meters can compete favourably in terms of quality, with those meters that are being imported from countries like China, South Africa, among others.

    For instance, at MELCOM, we produce intelligent meters- meters that provide more than ‘two-way communication. We are designing meters that have higher integrity and standards. We manufacture meters that allow users or owners to communicate with them easily.From a distance, owners can communicate with their meters by knowing what is happening to them.We produce both pre-paid meters and smart pre-paid meters. The former can be easily by-passed by criminals, while the latter cannot be by-passed.

    What efforts are you making to convince DisCos of the quality of your meters?

    What other convictions do the power distribution companies need from us again? We have been producing meters that are not only of good quality, but can compare with the ones produced abroad. The DisCos are aware of this. They know that our meters are good. However, the issue of poor patronage suffered by indigenous manufacturers of meters is beyond quality. Two reasons suffice in this regard. First, the craze for products produced in foreign countries by Nigerians has affected the sales of meters manufactured in the country.

    Secondly, the decision by the DisCos to continue to charge consumers estimated bills make them to buy meters abroad. The DisCos know that local manufacturers have capacity to meet their metering needs, and that once they fully patronise indigenous manufacturers, they would not have any excuse of not providing meters to customers under their jurisdictions. When this happens, it would be difficult for the DisCos to charge estimated bills.

    Can you substantiate the claims that DisCos refused to buy meters from local manufacturers because they want to continue to collect estimated bills?

    It is not an allegation. It is a fact. We have found out that estimated bills are the easiest ways of generating revenue by the DisCos. The power firms are hiding their love to make money through estimated billings. The investors, who bought the assets of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), borrowed money to acquire these assets. They need to refinance the loans they got from banks. And the safer and easier way to do this is to make money, by collecting outrageous or crazy bills from customers overtly or covertly.

    What is the solution to problems such as low patronage, and poor funding facing local manufacturers of meters?

    The solution lies in the ability of the Federal Government to support local meters manufacturers with funds. The government should try and provide intervention funds for manufacturers of meters, the same way it provided funds for the power generation companies (GenCos) DisCos in order to subsidise their operation. If the government can provide funds for power generation companies, it should also provide funds for companies servicing them.

    The government should intervene in order to prevent metering industry from collapsing. Also, the government should compel DisCos to buy meters from local manufacturers since they are producing quality meters. Doing this means that the government is killing two birds with one stone. By this, the government is promoting local content initiatives, introduced to promote the growth of indigenous business operators, while at the same time, helping in conserving foreign exchange. This means that monies that are spent on importation of raw materials and finished goods, would be domiciled in the country. When we make do with what we have, we are saving the country from brain drain. The multiplier effects are industrial growth, technological advancement, unemployment generations and others.

    How will provision of intervention funds, by the government, solve the problems of meter’ manufacturers?

    Yes, the funds would improve the conditions of the manufacturers. Once the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) makes the funds available to manufacturers at a single-digit interest rate, the pressures on firms that produce meters locally would reduce. The loan portfolio of local manufacturers is too bad, because they are borrowing money at commercial rate of about 25 per cent. This is against a situation, where foreign companies are getting loans at less than five per cent. How do we compete with our foreign counterparts? The government needs to intervene urgently in the metering industry, by supporting it with funds.

  • A frustrating fair

    A frustrating fair

    The exhibitors are few, patronage insignificant, items too costly. This year’s Abuja International Trade Fair is leaving a sour taste in the mouth, reports GRACE OBIKE  

    It hurts to admit, but the 10th Abuja International Trade Fair is falling short in several respects. There is none of the trademark hustle and bustle. Nor that feast atmosphere. The sellers are few, and those who display their articles are grumbling about low patronage. Even the few buyers are just as frustrated, lamenting prices they consider out of reach.

    People believe that new and uncommon products can be bought at cheaper rates at trade fairs. Indeed, that used to be the case in Abuja when patrons trooped to trade fairs especially those held at the old parade ground right in the middle of town.

    Things seem to be changing.

    Some residents of Abuja who visited this year’s fair at the J. T. Useni International Trade Fair complex along Airport Road with the hopes of a fair that can be compared to others left disappointed.

    •Scanty crowd at the fair
    •Scanty crowd at the fair

    The reason for this poor outing at the fair is not quite clear. Is it the poor economic situation in the country? Is it because the fair is being held during the Sallah celebrations or that the distance to the venue is far? What is beyond doubt is that fewer people visited the fair last week even though it was public holiday marking the Eid el-Kabir celebrations.

    Guests familiar with other trade fairs were mostly disappointed after they were forced to pay the compulsory N100 gate fee to enter the complex, with few stalls and even fewer buyers showing up.

    Although the few participants at the fair actually came from a few different countries like Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, etc, others came from Lagos and other states.

    The fair, which was opened on Friday September 18 and ends on October 2, has given many participants reason to worry as most of them complained of low patronage and poor turnout of buyers.

    Ghanaian jewel seller who gave his name as Mensah complained of lack of sales.

    He said, “This was not what I expected, to be honest. Last year’s fair was better that this one. I have barely recovered my transport to Abuja, talk more of other things. The few people that come price the products so low and complain that they are expensive but it is not our fault.”  ?

    For some visitors, the fair was some sort of family excursion, with their active children turning the place into a playground, while the parents went from one shop to the other trying to bargain their way through the market.

    “I am honestly not impressed,” said a man who came with his wife and three children. “Will you believe they counted all of us in the car and made us pay for each person? It is crazy; usually, when you drive into trade fair grounds with your car, you are just required to pay for the car and not everyone else in it.”?

    Complaining further, he said, “We are in an electronic age and you will expect that there will be an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) mounted in the complex to make it easier to shop but none; the traders do not even have a Point of Sales (POS) machine to make shopping easier. One will have to leave the complex and go all the way to Area 1 to withdraw more money since Lugbe Federal Housing that happens to be the? area around here with a bank can only boast of one bank and there is no money in it with the Sallah break.”

    The theme of the fair is “Entrepreneurship as a panacea for economic growth”.

    Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Mr Abdulkadir Musa said that the trade fair seeks to lay a foundation for inclusive growth, wealth creation, food security and reduction of the cost of doing business in Nigeria.

    He added that the fair was one of the best platforms for international and domestic exhibitors to create new product lines, access new markets, build new business relationships and showcase new products.?

     

  • Siasia confesses: Clubs frustrating my plans

    Siasia confesses: Clubs frustrating my plans

    Head Coach of the U-23 National Team, Dream Team, Samson Siasia has cried out to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to come to his aid by talking to clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to release their players for preparation for next month’s All -Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.

    Siasia expressed this frustration during Tuesday evening’s training session at the FIFA Goal Project when he had only eight of the invited players, as the others were not released by their clubs after he permitted them to play last weekend games.

    “How can I prepare well for a competition as important as the All Africa Games (AAG) when clubs in the local scene have refused to release their players for the camping exercise? We have barely two weeks to our first game and up till now I have only eight players to work with.

    “Most of the club managers called to appeal that we allow their players play last weekend games, a request I approved, with an appeal to them that they should release the players on Monday. This is Tuesday and I still have not seen the players as most of them have called to say their clubs are holding on to them for mid-week games. This is not fair.”

    To make matters worse, some of the invited players who arrived camp earlier, had to leave camp to report to the Super Eagles camp to which they have also been invited by coach Sunday Oliseh.

    According to  Siasia, he had to make this appeal to the NFF who are his employers to intervene on the issue because as things stand now, he cannot submit a list of players for the AAG, as some of his players have gone abroad to sign for clubs.

    Appealing to the clubs to help him out, the U-23 coach said they should give him all the assistance and cooperation they gave him in the early stages of his preparations for the qualifiers as that is the only way he can make the nation proud.

    As at Tuesday’s training only eight players – Segun Oduduwa, Sincere Seth, Ikechukwu Okorie,  Oliseh Ndah, Etebong Elisha, Oladapo Augustine, Mohammed Yusuf and Abiodun  Akande  -trained, while Tonbara Tiongoli, Semiu Laidi and Ndifreke Effiong sat out due to various injury concerns.

    Meanwhile, Siasia has invited three more players to beef up the team. The invited players are Stephen Eze (Sunshine Stars), Lawal Shittu (Giwa FC) and Christian Pyagbara (Sharks FC).

    Siasia said he expects all the invited players to report to camp by Thursday after their mid week games.

  • How government is frustrating subscribers’ telecoms experience

    How government is frustrating subscribers’ telecoms experience

    Whenever you pick your mobile phone and try to make calls or insert your modem in your laptop or personal computers (PCs) to connect to the internet and you are not getting the desired result, you may place the blame at the doorsteps of your mobile network operator (MNO). Many of these problems are, however, not entirely that of the MNOs as the government and its agencies too are responsible for most of the hiccups, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    Madam Tito has had a very busy day in the office. As a banker with one of the first generation banks in the country with office located on the island, she had been so busy attending to customers that  thronged the bank to collect their monthly salary.

    A mother of three, she got a call from her husband at about 4.30 pm who wanted to know if she had heard from the kids. He had obviously tried fruitlessly to speak with them. According to him, each time he called their phone number, he would be told that the number is not assigned to a customer. So, he called their mother if she would be lucky. “After my husband ended the call, I started what became my greatest ordeal. I called my son’s phone number and was politely told: ‘The number you have dialed is incorrect, please check the number and dialed again’. After several attempts, I called my neighbour. Luckily, her phone number went through and was able to speak with the kids who told me the phone was never switched off. It was the network devil,” she said.

    A  spare parts dealer at Iyana Ipaja, a Lagos suburb, who identified himself simply as Chibike, recalled how ‘network devil’ nearly destroyed his marriage. He had called his wife only for him to have heard a male voice. Exasperated, he snapped the call. When they got home, he asked his wife where she has been and who the hell was the man that picked her call. The woman was completely shocked and denied any wrongdoing. It took the intervention of family friends who had experienced similar embarrassing situation to calm frayed nerves.

    The situation is no different when it comes to data services. Customers subscribe to data bundle plans for which they hardly get the value. The MNOs so often hoodwink their subscribers to sign onto data plans which they say ride on 3G technology, while they offer lesser technologies.

    Many subscribers blame their MNOs for dropped calls, poor reception, cross-talking and slow internet speeds, but unknown to them, the government is partly responsible for many of these evils.

    Mobile telephone users have grown phenomenally over the past one decade after the liberalisation of the telecoms sector. With this growth has come affordable smartphones for mobile internet. This, along with dwindling revenue from voice calls have made data a new frontier to be explored to shore up revenue. Faced by these realities, operators have no choice but to expand their capacities.

    Expanding capacity could only happen in one or two ways. One is to make spectrum available. The other is an increase in the number of base transmission stations (BTS) across the country. In providing any of these two, the government has a huge role to play.

    For some time now, the MNOs have stressed the need for the government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) to make spectrum available to boost their operation.

    MTN Customer Service Executive, Akinwale Goodluck said spectrum is the oxygen of the telecoms industry, adding that its availability will boost service delivery and decrease the noise about low service quality.

    The NCC which auctioned the 2.3gigahertz (GHz) spectrum early last year, has continued to procrastinate over the auctioning of 2.6GHz spectrum which it said would allow licensees to offer retail broadband services to complement the 2.3GHz wholesale services. The 2.3GHz spectrum was won by Bitflux, an indigenous firm.

    Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr, Eugene Juwah first blamed the delay in the auctioning of the spectrum on the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country. After the virus had been contained, new timeline was set only for it to be postponed again. This, sector analyst say portends grave dangers to the realisation of the ambitious targets of the National Broadband Plan unveiled by the Federal Government.

    Juwah said: “(The) 2.6GHz auction had to be suspended because we wanted to make sure that we will be able to deliver the licence (and) actually the frequency slot to their winners. We were not sure we will be able to do that at the time of transition. Now we have done that and we are sure that going forward, we will be able to deliver the slot. So very soon, very soon, you will see a new advert for the 2.6GHz auction.”

    The processes to hand out spectrum are tied up in bureaucracy and government’s incompetence, which is costing Nigerian consumers and the country dearly.

    With the lack of additional spectrum, mobile operators are forced to use the more costly option of rolling out additional BTS. Even then, the government is keeping progress back through failure to grant approval to MNOs.

    According to sources, there are about 25,000 BTS across the country which is said to be a far cry from what is needed in a country with over 170 million population.

    Then the elusive 700megahertz (MHz) digital dividend spectrum which would have come to the telecom sector had the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the agency charged with leading the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in line with the directive of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the government of former President Jonathan Goodluck done the needful. Nigeria has missed June 17 timeline already.

    NBC Director-General, Emeka Mba who had assured Nigerians that the date remained ‘sacrosanct,’ has pushed for an extension of the timeline. On the sideline of a stakeholders’ forum at Eko Hotel, Mba had dismissed fears about the adverse effects of failing to transit in line with ITU’s timeline, saying “the heavens will not fall if we fail to meet the deadline.”

    NCC blames states, local governments

    The NCC has blamed states and local governments in the country for hindering the development of telecoms infrastructures thereby compounding poor service quality issues in the country.

    It lamented that only Lagos State has, over the years, developed and implemented policies that accelerated the growth and the development of the telecoms sector.

    NCC said the state has slashed the cost of right of way (RoW) and the cost of setting up base stations by telecoms service providers, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has refused to grant approvals to the service providers.

    Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr Okechukwu Itanyi spoke during a meeting with  Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) organised by the regulator in  Abuja. He said poor quality of services (QoS) could be linked to developments such as erratic power supply, vandalism, multiple taxation, access to RoW and stealing of generators at BTS.

    He lamented that it takes an average of six months to get approvals for the establishment of base stations while approvals do not come at all in some states on the excuse that it distorts the master plans of the cities.

    Itanyi however said the NCC is working round the clock with other critical stakeholders in the industry to address the issue, stressing that once they are taken care of, the telecoms industry would assume its rightful position in the development of the economy.

    It is hoped that this blame game will stop soon so that Nigerians can have superior cellular experience.

  • Injury is frustrating me -Babatunde Michael

    Injury is frustrating me -Babatunde Michael

    Super Eagles midfielder Babatunde  Michael has been out of his club’s recent games.

    The 22-year-old has suffered several injuries since breaking his wrist at the last FIFA World Cup, and continues to suffer more setbacks. In this exclusive interview, the Volyn Lutsk midfielder spoke to SL10.ng of his injury woes.

    He also speaks on reports linking him to several other clubs outside Ukraine, and he also talks about the Super Eagles.

     

    SL10: Hello Michael, thank you for giving us your time. How are you doing?

    Babatunde: I’m good. I thank God for the gift of life, but just been battling injuries.

     

     I was going to ask you that. How has it been struggling with the injuries?

    It has not been funny I must tell you. I am a professional footballer and all I want is to be on the pitch doing what I know best, but the injuries won’t allow. It has been a difficult period for me obviously, but I am really hoping and praying that I recover fully soon.

     

    You seem to suffer these setbacks when you’re on your way to full recovery. What’s the problem?

    It is quite unfortunate to be honest. The other time I recovered and returned to training, only for me to get injured again a day before a match. The doctors are doing their best but I just don’t want to rush it again. They have advised that I take my time for it to heal properly and that is what I’m doing. I will be back soon though.

     

    A lot of people believe Nigeria would have been successful at the Africa Cup of Nations if they had qualified, do you agree with that?

    Yeah, sure. The teams have given their best, but we would have done better had we qualified. I think it would have been a big opportunity to retain the title if we had qualified. But it’s unfortunate that we did not, so we have to look forward now, and focus on the next edition. The qualifiers will start soon, so that should be the focus for now.

     

     What do you make of reports linking you with clubs outside of Ukraine?

    I heard about them. But I just have to focus on my team for now. If a bigger club comes in with a bigger offer and if they agree terms with Volyn, then I’ll move. But for now, my concentration is on helping my team do well and hopefully things will get better.

     

    Thank you so much for your time.

    You’re welcome.

     

  • Nigeria is frustrating, says Fayemi

    Nigeria is frustrating, says Fayemi

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the turn of events in the country are frustrating Nigerians.

    He spoke at the maiden Lecture/Award Dinner organised by the Senate Press Corps in Abuja.

    The governor came to the lecture to honour one of the awardees, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, who represents Ekiti North Senatorial District.

    He said commitment to service and sterling performance are no longer the yard stick to measure success.

    Fayemi said genuine politicians have had cause to ask themselves whether the sacrifice they make is worth the while.

    The Senate and the House of Representatives, he said, may well be the last hope of democracy if they did not chicken out in speaking the truth.

    He said: “There is so much about our country that is very frustrating. There are times that you have to ask yourself, if you are a politician, whether it is worth all the trouble at all. I am here primarily, singularly to pay homage to service, intellect and activism.

    “Although I came for my friend but looking at the array of people being honoured this evening, I happen to know many of them and they are people I respect a lot beyond partisanship, they have demonstrated what it is to be committed to humanity.

    “I know that intellect is not supposed to be popular in our country right now. What counts to be popularity is what I hear is grassroots. If you are an intellectual, you are an elite and an elite is what should be thrown to be thrown into the dustbin not to be associated with.

    “Even as a very keen and detached interested observer of the Senate, I always stand very tall every time I listen to my own senator, my own representative in the Senate speak, and I also, always notice that the Senate is always, really silent, every time Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi is on his feet because he never speaks from the partisan point of view.

     

  • ‘Fed Govt frustrating new revenue sharing formula’

    ‘Fed Govt frustrating new revenue sharing formula’

    The Federal Government has been accused of frustrating the early release of the new revenue allocation formula.

    Investigations by The Nation at the Presidency and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) indicated that the government is wary that the proposed new revenue formula will significantly slash its portion of expected revenue thereby denying it the much- needed cash to execute capital projects and run its beaurocracy.

    A source in the Presidency, who asked that his identity be veiled, said the thinking within The Presidency is that, “if the current sharing formula is tampered with, any shocks in the global economic system, like loss of revenue from crude oil exports, will adversely affect federal government’s spending with its widespread attendant consequencies”.

    The source admitted that the government may not come out openly to speak against the proposed new revenue formula, but suggested that the Federal Government could starve the RMAFC of funds to carry out the exercise on schedule.

    Investigations by our correspondent revealed that although it had initially given a tacit endorsement to the on-going review exercise, its latest stance appears to be lukewarm, thereby leaving the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) at the crossroads on the exercise.

    The Presidency source noted that the government was in a dilemma on the issue because, “it has been contending with deficit financing for many years along with the need to finance capital projects,” adding that “allowing the new revenue formula would mean more money being given to the states and local governments.”

    He said the bickering among the states,particularly the squabble over oil wells by oil producing states, boundary issues and the distrust between the North and South, have further reinforced the Federal Government’s position of the need for a strong centre backed with adequate financial muscle.

    At the centre of the controversy is the RMAFC which has spoken very little about the new revenue formula and has changed to advising State Governors on the need to explore Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), depend less on the monthly allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) by diversifying and exploring the economic potential in their states.

    The RMAFC’s  diversification campaign for increased IGR, which had taken the body to two geo-political zones, is being relaxed for lack of funds.

    When contacted, an official of the RMAFC said the commission was being starved of funds, but that since the Federal Government did not enlarge the commission’s purse in 2013 fiscal year, the commission was prepared to fight for more funding in 2014.

    According to the RMAFC official, the commission, “will ask for more recurrent vote in 2014 fiscal year. We are not happy with the current situation where capital votes are higher than recurrent votes even for agencies like our own with little capital projects to execute in the current fiscal year,” he stated.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja last week, Chairman of RMAFC, Elias Mbam, said the success of the review of the new revenue formula would depend on funding.

    He expressed optimism that the 2013 budget will address the funding challenges to allow RMAFC go to the zones and carry out workshops and receive inputs from stakeholders on the proposed new revenue formula.