The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Funding

  • Fed Govt urged to raise funding on education

    The Federal Government has been urged to increase the funding on education, to enable the country attain technological development.

    The Chairman of Omotayo College (Junior and Senior School)), Ogijo, Ogun State, Sir Tayo Opanubi, who spoke at the weekend at the 4th Graduation/Valedictory Ceremony of the institution, said without a vibrant educational sector, no nation could attain greatness.

    Opanubi, an engineer, said if government increases funding on education , incessant strikes by the academic and non-academic workers of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education would stop.

    He enjoined individuals and corporate bodies to support government in funding education.

    The chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Ayuba Bolaji, the Project Manager/Chief Executive, Ogun State Forestry Plantation Project, urged the graduating pupils to choose a career they have a flair for, so that they would contribute to the country’s development.

    “Parents and guardians should not force their children and wards to choose a career. They should allow them to go into the professions they have a passion for,” he added.

    The Vice-Chairman of the college, Lady Sarah Opanubi, said: “Our goal is to provide high quality education in a conducive environment. We have a passion for excellence and zero tolerance for exam malpractices and indiscipline.”

    The Head Teacher, Mr. Mike Odubote, said: “Excellence is a by-product of determination, perseverance, discipline, diligence and courtesy; the core values upon which Omotayo College was built.

    “We teach our pupils in moral values, academic excellence and leadership prowess to become total children, who are poised not only to become leaders, but also to revolutionalise the world.”

    The Best Graduating Pupil Award for the 2013/2014 academic session was won by Nwaduba Uzochikwai. The Best Graduating Pupil, Science and Maths dept, is Ojo Oluwatobi. The Best Graduating Pupil, Business dept, is Okeowo Omolola. The Best Graduating Pupil, Humanities dept, is Isaac Janobest; while the Best Behaved Graduating Pupil is Okeowo Omolola.

  • Former First Lady seeks more funding for education

    The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice FatiAbubakar, has called on the three tiers of government to increase funding of the education sector.

    She also charged students to put their footprint on the sands of time.

    Speaking yesterday at the 7th Graduation, Speech, Prize and Award giving ceremony of Kowa Schools in Minna, the former First Lady said that education is the best legacy to future generations.

    She said that students and parents should make efforts to complement government in the education sector.

    She also lauded the effort of the proprietor in his quest to eradicate illiteracy in the state by providing education at an affordable and qualitative rate.

    Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, said his administration has expended a lot of resources in ensuring quality education.

    He said that the state would soon start deploying teachers to the rural areas to address shortage of adequate teachers in the affected communities.

    The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Alhaji DanladiAbdulhamid, said most teachers in the urban areas would be moved to the rural areas to make this work out.

    He added that any teacher not ready to move should retire.

  • Brokers mull funding options for housing, energy sectors

    Brokers mull funding options for housing, energy sectors

    Stockbrokers are considering suitable financing products to align the capital market with the huge financing requirements of the housing and energy sectors.

    President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Ariyo Olusekun, who spoke on the preparations for the forthcoming capital market workshop, said the capital market has huge capacity to fund large capital intensive projects in the housing and energy sectors.

    He said stockbrokers would use the forthcoming gathering to brainstorm on financing products that meet the requirements of the sectors.

    “We all know the position of our power sector today and this is an avenue for us as brokers to bring experts in this industry together and create products that will suite needs. We want to come up with a product that will enable developers to raise funds to develop more housing unit so that everybody can solve their housing problems,” Ariyo said.

    According to him, stockbrokers would work to develop products and services that would help to unlock the potential in the power and housing sectors.

    He noted that the Nigeria capital market is big enough to provide funds for housing and energy sectors pointing out that people did not believe that Nigerian banks can fund the kind of projects they are funding now, the same situation that applied to the capital market.

    “I want to assure you that this market is big enough to finance any project, we have been clamouring for high-intensive sectors of the economy to come and list in the market and we are assuring that when they come they would be able to raise the money needed,” Ariyo said.

    Citing the pension funds of about N3.4 trillion, he said the challenge for capital market operators is to come up with investment instruments through which these funds can be invested and used to generate growth in the economy.

    Also, Chairman, CIS’s Sub-committee on the National Workshops, Mr Bisi Oni, said brokers were focusing on the power and housing sectors because they are the two areas of pressing needs for most Nigerians.

    “The stock market has ability to solve the funding problems in the sectors. At the end of the workshop, we believe we will be able to create products that will be tradable on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),” Oni said.

    The workshop is slated for July 2, in Abuja. Expected dignitaries include President, Dangote Group, Ahaji Aliko Dangote; Dr. Oba Otudeko, Mr Tony Elumelu, Ministers of Finance, Housing & Urban Development, Environment, Petroleum, Trade & Investment and Power and other key players in economy.

     

  • BoA, Sokoto partner on agric funding

    The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and the Sokoto State government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the bank disbursing N1 billion loans to farmers in the state.

    Under the collaboration, BoA will provide N250,000 to each individual across the 23 local governments of the state.

    The bank, in a statement, said 5000 farmers were expected to benefit from the initiative.

    BoA Managing Director Dr. Mohammed K. Santuraki, praised the state government for the transformation in the state, especially in infrastructural development. Santuraki said Sokoto was blessed with immense water resources and dams which could be harnessed for the good of the masses.

    He thanked the government for giving agriculture the highest priority, adding that both parties would benefit from the collaboration. He said the loan would be repaid within two years,

    Also, the Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, said the collaboration marked his administration’s first direct relationship with the bank. He was represented at the signing of the agreement by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Tureta. Wamako promised to work with the bank to provide more money for farmers. He said the government would leverage the bank’s growth to improve the lot of farmers.

    He reiterated the commitment of the government to reducing poverty and unemployment rates.

    “Food security is paramount and we are determined to take all the necessary measures for the people in the state to have food on their tables,” he said.

     

  • Govt to assist telcos with green power funding

    The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) will give prefrential treatment to telcos that opt for green power solutions in addressing their energy challenge, its secretary Alhaji abdullahi Maikano, has said.

    According to a document entitled: “Guiding Principles: Universal Service Provision Fund Strategic Management Plan 2013-2017”, prepared by the management of USPF last September, one of the cardinal principles of the fund is that it will not be skewed in favour of any particular technology.

    “Technology Neutrality: USPF programmes and projects will be guided by the principle of technology neutrality and allow the market place to define the best technology solutions,” the document noted.

    Maikano, said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would give preference to companies proposing green power when it opens bidding for broadband penetration into underserved and un-served communities or locations in the country.

    “During the bidding for the clusters, companies proposing Green power would be given preference and the most subsidies. This is because aside from the need to protect the planet, the use of traditional power will make deployment in these areas uneconomic as the operational cost will outstrip the revenues that may be generated from these areas. The low operational cost of green power such as solar or wind power makes it viable to deploy in these areas over the long term,” Maikano said at a GSM/International Finance Corporation (IFC) Green Mobile Forum organised in Lagos.

    USPF is a special fund set up by the Federal Government under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, designed to bring Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services to unserved, underserved and deprived groups as well as communities in the country. It is funded through one per cent of the total revenue of all licensed telecommunications firms in the country.

    Maiko, who represented the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, on the occasion pledged the commitment of the Commission to helping operators develop green power as solutions to the energy challenges in the industry.

    Airtel Nigeria, which co-hosted the forum, called for increased investment in green power generation initiatives as a way out of the nation’s energy supply deficit.

    Airtel’s Chief Technical Officer, Awadhesh Kalia, said an aggressive approach will be required by GSM operators in Nigeria to improve the current level of energy efficiency if the dream of realising the long-term gains of green power supply would be achieved.

    “Significant investment in green initiative is vital to maximising business in a responsible manner. There must be field competence, OEM support; institutionalisation of the curriculum on telecom power technologies and development of local competence by upgrading skills-set through training and development,” he said, adding that the telco has taken various initiatives to tackle the energy its energy problem.

    Such measures, according to him, include varying combination of solar-powered solutions, hybrid, grid and co-location, all of which have been effectively deployed to reduce energy consumption, burning of fossil fuel and carbon footprint. Airtel presently has an eco-system that powers its base stations across the nation.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Banks mull funding strategy for power projects

    Banks mull funding strategy for power projects

    Nigerian banks have started a collaboration to develop amenable financing framework that would serve as financial industry’s master template for lending and funding of the power sector.

    The strategic funding plan is being developed under the auspices of the Bankers’ Committee with active participation of top management of banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other key stakeholders.

    The funding strategy is a linchpin in the Bankers’ Committee’s programme for the year, which largely focused on aligning the Nigerian banking system to provide adequate financing to meet the peculiarities of the power sector.

    Banks’ chief executives, Governor and top officials of the CBN and several experts had brainstormed extensively on the power sector at the recently concluded 4th annual retreat of the Bankers’ Committee.

    Sources in the know said the development of an industry-wide funding strategy was part of the outcomes of the discussions at the retreat.

    It was gathered that the funding strategy will provide the banking industry with a master agreement or template that would foster best practices, remove inconsistency, ease access to funding and encourage regulator-operator understanding as banks move into the still-evolving power sector.

    A bank may adapt the funding strategy to suit its internal structure and terms, but the template would provide guidelines, structures, terms and concepts, among others for the industry.

    The CBN would sign on the banking industry funding strategy for power sector, which would give the template a quasi-regulatory status.

    Banks are also expected to consider input of key non-bank stakeholders such as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ministry of Power, Energy Commission of Nigeria (Encon) and NBET among others in the overall draft of the funding strategy to give the plan a higher level of general acceptance beyond the banking industry.

    The funding strategy will enable banks to provide well-structured finances to support investments in gas transmission pipelines, upstream gas developments, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants, gas processing facilities, key infrastructure, port, real estate, pipe milling and fabrication yards and gas supply and gas transportation infrastructure among other.

    Besides, banks are required to reinforce their energy desk to build capacity for power project financing while the Bankers’ Committee would continuously provide supports for advocacy and programmes that centre on the power sector transformation.

    Chairman, Economic Development and Sustainability of the Bankers’ Committee/Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said banks are aware that the growth, prosperity and national security of Nigeria depend on the success of the power sector transformation.

    According to him, the Bankers’ Committee would continue to collaborate with the government and other stakeholders to create and sustain enabling environment for private sector funding of the required investments in the power sector.

    He noted the potential impact of stable and adequate power supply on the national economy pointing out inadequate power supply has been the bane of the underdevelopment and non-competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

    He reiterated the commitments of banks to continuously explore ways of providing adequate and suitable finances to the three key sectors of power, agriculture and transportation adding that the Bankers’ Committee’s focus on these sectors was borne out of the deep appreciation of the critical importance of the sectors as catalysts for the growth and development of the economy.

     

  • ‘Leasing key to SMEs’ funding’

    Leasing assets are key in supporting Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), the Chairman of Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN), Mr Kehinde Lawanson, has said.

    He spoke at a business forum on the “implications of tax regime on equipment leasing business in Nigeria”, according to a statement.

    He said the subsector has continued to grow despite difficulties being faced by operators in acquisition of productive assets.

    Lawanson said the leasing industry was engaged in providing access to finance to the SMEs, increasing domestic capital base, financial product innovation and development of secondary market.

    He, however, noted that the continuous growth and development of the industry depends on strong infrastructure including conducive tax and legal frameworks, which are part of the major pillars that drive the industry.

    He said the association had over the years focused on ensuring favourable tax regime and appropriate leasing laws for the leasing industry.

    He lamented that the regulatory environment is not supportive enough to drive and sustain development in the leasing industry.

     

  • Agbakoba sues Fed Govt over funding of Judiciary

    The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has sued the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), the National Judicial Council (NJC) and National Assembly to the Federal High Court over poor funding of courts.

    In the Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1531/2012, filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, Agbakoba is asking for full implementation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which granted the Judiciary’s expenditures the status of “first line charge”.

    Agbakoba argued that besides independent budgeting, the funds belonging to the judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund ought to be released to the NJC in full for disbursement for the needs of the courts.

    In a- 22-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit, Agbakoba said the executive arm of the government has placed a ceiling on Judiciary’s budget, which he alleged has declined from N90billion and N75billion in the previous two years’ budgets to N65 billion in the current budget.

    He attributed the poor state of court rooms, poor motivation of judges, frequent strikes by judiciary workers, uncertain pension for judges and corruption in the Judiciary to the failure of defendants in suits to comply with the provisions of the constitution on the independence and funding of the judiciary.

    In an originating summons filed by his counsel, the Litigation Partner in Olisa Agbakoba and Associates, Mr. Chijioke Emeka, Agbakoba raised five issues for determination by the court. The issues, which centre on appropriate interpretation of Section 81 (1) (2) (3) , Section 84 (2) (3) (7) and 162 (9) of the 1999 Constitution invite the court to determine that judiciary’s budget ought to be taken by the NJC to the National Assembly for appropriation as against the current practice of taking it to the Budget Office under the Presidency.

    No date has been fixed for hearing of the case.

  • Look for other means of funding, Jonathan tells varsities

    Look for other means of funding, Jonathan tells varsities

    resident Goodluck Jonathan has challenged universities across the country to begin to look inward for alternative sources of funding to meet the challenges confronting them since the government alone cannot adequately fund them.

    Speaking through Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo at the 50th anniversary special convocation ceremony of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the President said that the time has come when all stakeholders in the education sector should join hands with the government to build world-class institutions across the country.

    He noted that education is a serious and important endeavour which require the collective support of all, adding that as a nation, “we must acknowledge that education is a serious and important endeavour that require collective efforts.

    “Universities, organized private sector, individuals, communities and Alumni associations must play a more proactive role in our effort to invest in the future of our country through the creation of world class institutions.”

    He said further, “I am fully aware of the daunting challenges facing our universities, particularly in the area of funding and infrastructural development. We must brace up to these challenges and remain firm in our commitment to the progress of our institutions of higher learning.

    “Recognising that government alone cannot fund our universities is a good starting point for a prompt collective action. Our universities should develop functional means of generating revenue internally as complementary funding to meet their developmental needs.

    “We must leave the efforts of development and its linkages outside the government in order to attract resources. Private organisations should join hands with the federal government in developing partnership with universities especially in funding research and scholarship.

    “On our part, we will continue to enhance funding and support infrastructural development through the Tertiary Education Tax Fund (TETFUND)”.

    While commending the institution for its achievement in the last 50 years, President Jonathan said, “by nurturing the growth of Bayero University, Kano and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, ABU supported the growth of higher education in the country.

    “There is no doubt that ABU has cut a niche for itself as a centre of excellence with great academic research, teaching and social inclusiveness. The founding fathers will be proud that their dreams have been fulfilled.

    “Our obligation today as stakeholders in the ABU enterprise is to ensure that the original vision is sustained and consolidated. Bearing in mind the correlation between higher education and ABU’s continued contribution to national development, the institution must be supported and strengthened in its achievement.

    “I commend the Vice Chancellor, Academic and non-academic staff and students of the university on this special occasion. You have kept the good works of your predecessor alive. You have done well, but the challenges of the future will require you to work harder”.

    Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida who was one of those conferred with a honorary doctorate degrees by the university, lamented that universities, and other institutions across the country are faced with difficult times.

    Babangida, who spoke on behalf of other recipients said, “The University and other institutions in Nigeria are, undoubtedly going through some difficult times. Beside dwindling finance and grant from government, the entire revenue system of the citizenry has been turned upside down.

    “Knowledge has no value, while money and power has more value. Scholars are forced to abandon books in exchange for wealth and basic livelihood. Despite these obstacles, there is still a ray of hope in our youths who are not yet tinted by the array of wealth and glamour. With proper training in our universities, we can be rest assured that they will help to salvage the future.

     

     

  • Kuku denies funding Ondo poll

    The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, has denied the allegation that he spent N249 million to fund the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the Ondo State governorship election.

    Kuku, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), challenged the Niger Delta Amnesty Watch to show evidence of such expenditure during the poll.

    A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Kuku, Daniel Alabrah and made available to reporters in Benin City, said: “Not a dime of the strictly budgeted funds of the amnesty programme was spent on the election.”

    Kuku also denied promising N100 million to some ex-militants in the third phase of the amnesty programme to work for the candidate of the PDP in the election.

    He said: “The PAP is not surprised about this development as it in September alerted the nation to a plot by some politicians and disgruntled individuals, who never wanted the amnesty programme to succeed and had become jittery over the rising profile of the chairman, to cause mayhem in the Niger Delta.

    “It is obvious that the intention of the sponsors is not only to distract Kuku, but to pull him down to derail this laudable but delicate Federal Government programme that has been widely acclaimed as being properly managed.”