The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GOVT

  • ‘Govt, intellectual property owners lose huge revenue to piracy’

    The Chairman, Lagos State Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA),  Dotun Alabi, has said piracy is depriving both intellectual property owners and government huge revenue yearly.

    Alabi, a Lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday.

    According to him, piracy has been detrimental to music, film and visual arts industries.

    He said the music and film sectors were more affected due to audio-visual.

    “Contemporary music in Nigeria have strong roots now than before with a little flavour of culture and this development attracted pirates to tap into such music to make money,’’ Alabi said.

    “The new ideas, values lifestyles from the West and urban centres, which were incorporated into the music genre, made contemporary music to thrive.

    “These include Juju, Afrobeat, Fuji, Gospel and Hip-hop and others. The new generation took Hip Hop to another level with the likes of P-Square, 2Face; 9ice, Ruggedman and others, ’’ he said.

    Alabi noted that the visual arts industry was suffering because most of the works were pirated by those printing them as catalogue, on T-shirts and other materials without the consent of the copyright holder.

  • Govt urged to fight corruption by entrenching transparency

     

    The Federal government has been advised to expand and entrench transparency and rule of law in its fight against corruption.

    Prof Rotimi Suberu of the Department of Political Science, Bennington College, Vermont, USA gave the charge at a lecture organised by the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP).

    He spoke on ‘Constitutional Foundations of Political Corruption in Nigeria and a Reform Strategy.”

    The seminar was chaired by Prof Ayo Olukotun of the Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State.

    Suberu, in a statement by ISGPP yesterday, said political institutions as drivers of corruption were the most decisive and most amenable to formal constitutional reform.

    He regretted that these institutions are often neglected in scholarly and policy discussions regarding anti-corruption reform.

    Suberu suggested that policy measures be put in place to effectively depoliticise, deepen and strengthen the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    He explained that a constitutional amendment or legislation to grant public access to official assets declarations will build upon the initial enthusiasm generated by government’s whistle blower policy; alleviate some of the burdens on the bureau charged with verifying disclosures; and give the public a direct stake in fighting corruption.

    He also said that there should be a transfer of responsibility for oversight of the FOI Act to a depoliticised and autonomous office of Attorney-General, which should be delinked from the political office of Minister of Justice.

    Suberu stated that National Assembly has not passed enabling laws to make public officers’ assets declarations “available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria” as required under the 1999 Constitution, adding that, perhaps, the right of inspection should have been directly and fully guaranteed under the Constitution, rather than subjected to statutory codification.

    He said: “Code of Conduct Bureau has discouraged publications of assets declarations in the absence of relevant enabling law.

    “Challenges also plague the NEITI framework, where a presidentially appointed, rather than civil society-directed, National Stakeholder Working Group, has focused on disclosures of revenue payments by oil companies to the government, while giving relatively limited attention to transparency in critical areas like licensing, contracting, revenue management, and planning, and budgeting.

    “Consequently, the governance of the Nigerian oil sector remains opaque.”

    In a remark, the Executive Vice Chairman of ISGPP, Dr. Tunji Olaopa stated that corruption in Nigeria’s context was mostly viewed with fiscal lens, adding that: “there is a need to deepen the view by interrogating the issue of political corruption especially as it manifest through the manipulation and exploitation of political institutions.”

    He said the aim of the day’s seminar was to look at the aforementioned issue as well as how political corruption plays out in the deliberate weakening and violation of the value foundation of political institutions “in a nation where the essence of everything including the meaning of eternity where we would all be at the end of time is politicised.”

     

  • Govt arrests 50 ‘gangsters’ in Kaduna

    The Kaduna State government yesterday said it arrested 50 suspected gangsters, locally called “Yan Sarasuka” or “Yan Shara”.

    It said the suspects would be arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court after security agencies conclude their investigations.

    The suspects were arrested in different parts of Kaduna town.

    Also, security agencies have said they had started investigation into last weekend’s outrage by hoodlums in Kaduna town.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said Governor Nasir El-Rufai directed security agencies to deal decisively with urban hoodlums.

    The statement said: “The Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has received briefings from security agencies on the outrage perpetrated by urban gangsters, notoriously known as ‘Yan Shara’ or ‘Sarasuka’.

    “The governor has also visited Abakpa community where he interacted with some residents and condemned the criminal actions of the gangsters.

    “Security agencies have informed the governor of the arrest updates on the arrest of over 50 suspects. The governor requested that the police and the Ministry of Justice should ensure prompt investigations and diligent prosecution of whoever is indicted. He urged the police to ensure that fleeing suspects do not escape justice, declaring that all government agencies must work to collectively end the menace.”

  • Govt to check movement of foreign herdsmen, says Osinbajo

    •Customs collections hit N100.1b in February
    •Rice importation reduced to two per cent

    VICE President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday announced plans by the Federal Government to check movement of herdsmen migrating into Nigeria with livestock.

    He said the move would soon take effect despite the treaties of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that Nigeria is a signatory to.

    According to him, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Immigration Service are collaborating to review the approach of the movement of herders and livestock from adjoining countries.

    He said: “We are also working with Customs and Immigration to take a second look at our approach to the movement of livestock and herders from our neighbours, under the ECOWAS free movement of goods and services.”

    He noted that although international protocols permit the movement of goods and services, but Nigeria ignores the required checks and certification.

    The vice president spoke as the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony of Senior Division Course 1/2018 of the Nigeria Customs and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja.

    He insisted that the herders need identification and processes, which were never kept in the treaty.

    Osinbajo said Nigeria would take action when international treaties pose threats to its territorial integrity, security and peace.

    His words: “This free movement of goods allows the movement of herders and livestock, but the checks and certification required are not yet done. So, this free movement of herders will not be overlooked.

    “It is important for us to ensure that while we respect international treaties, where those treaties threaten our territorial integrity, peace and security, we take very stringent actions.”

    He noted that there was now tremendous capacity for border surveillance technology with the use of drones and scanners.

    The vice president acknowledged that the NCS collected its highest revenue of over N1 trillion when the country was just exiting recession, stressing that the next few years will be more interesting.

    With active collaborations, Osinbajo said the Federal Government has reduced processes and documentation required for import and export.

    Osinbajo added that the government was “in the threshold of launching the national trade platform, with the integration of all ports and customs processes and documentation through a single window”.

    The government, he added, is taking a serious approach to its anti-smuggling stance, which has resulted in the reduction of rice importation to two per cent.

    He promised that the Federal Government will enhance the remuneration of customs officers and men to better position the operatives for higher service delivery.

    Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service Col. Hameed Ali (retd) announced that the service in the month of February collected N1.1 billion, representing so far the highest in the year.

    He appealed to Osinbajo that the government should increase the salaries of the operatives to position them for better service delivery.

     

  • Agents to govt: promote ship repairs

    The Federal Government has been urged to promote indigenous ship repairs and dry docking.

    Nigeria, it was learnt, needs ship repairs and dry docking facilities to boost maritime, create employment and generate more revenue

    Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) immediate past president Prince Olayiwola Shittu, who made the call, said it was regrettable that Nigeria had no functional ship repairs and dry docking firms.

    Shittu said Nigeria accounted for over 70 per cent of the ships coming to Africa, adding that no fewer than 5,000 vessels called at the seaports yearly.

    He said with modern repairs’ facilities, the sector could rake in billions of naira and also create jobs. Most of the vessels on Nigeria’s territorial waters, he said, go to the neighbouring countries for dry-docking and other routine maintenance, adding that this is at a huge loss to the country.

    Shittu bemoaned the rate of pollution in the nation’s territorial waters and commended the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for addressing the issue of illegal fishing and dumping of hazardous wastes in the waters.

    He said the dumping of toxic wastes  and the increasing crimes on the coastline require the collaboration and commitment of the Federal Government and NIMASA, with foreign partners to build a safe maritime sector.

    The ANLCA chief pointed out that security experts in Africa have developed theories to check the increasing dumping of hazardous wastes and the menacing piracy, adding that Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have set the stage for cooperation between states, both in information exchange and mobilisation of resources.

    He observed that the insecurity on Africa’s waterways forced insurers to hike rates for ships passing through the region.

    Shittu said: “This significant maritime presence requires that ship repairs with dry docks of varying capacities be established to cope with the maintenance requirement of these vessels. Classification society rules and the good maintenance of ships require that ships be dry docked every 30 months on the average for routine surveys.

    “Special surveys are required at every alternative docking that is once in three years. As the age of a vessel increases, so does the amount of repair work needed. Aside from routine docking, vessels need to come to propeller and ship hull, or damages caused by ropes or debris, and also mechanical breakdown.

    “Sadly, the ship repairs industry in Nigeria is under-developed and its potential untapped. This is largely because the government has not paid meaningful attention to this sector of the economy.

    “As a result of the shortage of adequate ship repair facilities, most of the vessels in Nigerian waters proceed to neighbouring countries for scheduled dry docking and other routine maintenance works. This is at huge financial loss to the country, while at the same time denying employment opportunities for Nigerians,’’ he said.

  • We’ll stop drug abuse among youths, says govt

    There is no room for drug abuse among Lagos State youths, Commissioner for Youth and Social Development Agboola Dabiri said yesterday.

    At the 2018 ministerial briefing in commemoration of Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s third year in office, Dabiri said the government would intensify the war against drug abuse .

    He said : “We have a lot of programmes lined up to tackle the menace and we will fight it to a standstill. Drug abuse has gone beyond the conventional use of marijuana and cigarette smoking,” he said.

    The commissioner  described as unfortunate the intake of codeine, tramadol, mixture of soda drinks and bleach by youths.

    The use of toothpaste, LSD tablets and venom of black mamba snake was becoming rampant among young people, he noted.

    According to him, to address the concept of drug abuse, the ministry sat down with representatives of the youths, who suggested ways to handle it.

    “We need to work with the youths because they understand the techniques as we can only build on the advice they give us,” the commissioner said.

    On the measures taken to curtail drug abuse among the youths, Dabiri said the government organised sensitisation programmes for them.

    He said: “We have been to schools, motor parks and non-governmental organisations to educate them on the menace. We are now moving 100 steps ahead to tackle drug abuse.

    “We are coming up with something that will get the message down to the youths, which we will soon be launching. We are going to be using what the youths like, to draw the information across to them, be it music, sports, social media or role models who did not make it through drugs, but through hard work, prayers and dedication.”

  • ‘Govt should institutionalise moral values’

    The Senior Pastor of Praise Arena, Kingdom Light Christian Centre, Jummy Adetoyese-Olagunju, has urged the Federal Government to ensure institutional mechanism to enforce moral ethics and selfless service in the public and private sector.

    Adetoyese-Olagunju spoke ahead of the church’s special praise night on Friday to mark Easter.

    The cleric noted that the right value system will always produce good society, and an awful value system will breed unsustainable society.

    He bemoaned the spate of inequality, corruption, nepotism and inequity, and criminality that has eaten deep into the moral fabrics of Nigeria, and reiterated that these can be addressed when we promote and institutionalise the right value system that everyone can key into.

    “It is sad that many public office holders, entrusted with public funds, enrich themselves and families with the fund and they leave the people in penury, abject poverty and untold frustration.”

    Adetoyese-Olagunju asserted that the Easter celebration will continue to be a mere ritual and jamboree, and lessons from Jesus’ selfless sacrifice will be lost if we do not exemplify sacrifice, love and honesty that Jesus truly represent.

    He added: “Jesus Christ, though sinless, gave up himself and his position to save mankind from doom and eternal debt.

    “Jesus is the essence of Easter because he paid the price so that the mankind would experience salvation which comes with peace, unconditional love, forbearance in the heart.”

  • Govt to combat kidnappings, others

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Security Committee rose from its quarterly meeting, with a resolution to stem the rising tide of kidnappings in the outskirts of the Territory.

    Others include heightened surveillance against insurgency and determination to fight minor crimes.

    Briefing reporters at the end of the meeting, which took place at the conference chambers of the FCT Minister’s residence, FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello disclosed that the FCT security agencies had been mandated to strengthen joint patrols and to undertake other measures designed to curb these negative developments.

    The minister assured that all areas identified to be harbouring criminal elements especially around the Mogadishu Cantonment in Asokoro, Kugbo and other flash points in the Territory, would be evacuated.

    He, however, promised that the Administration would precede all evacuations efforts with enough notices, publicity and stakeholder engagements as well as to adopt the multi-stakeholder approach to checking these menaces.

    According to a statement issued by the minister’s Chief Press Secretary, Cosmas Uzodinma, the committee noted that even though FCT has remained largely peaceful, the increase in small crimes have remained a source of worry. The Ministry however assured that the Administration is working hard to eliminate them.

    The minister expressed the gratitude of the Administration to all the security agencies as well as the FCT residents for their support and contributions to the maintenance of peace in the FCT.

    He urged the residents to cooperate with the administration in its efforts to ensure the security of life and property in the Territory.

     

  • ‘N130b loot’: Govt may release more evidence against Jonathan

    More evidence of corrupt practices by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration may be tendered following a challenge by the former leader, it was learnt yesterday.

    Federal Government sources said although there was no immediate plan to arrest or quiz the former President, the government had not ruled out the option.

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo last week said N150 billion was withdrawn by the Jonathan administration two weeks before the 2015 election.

    A fact-sheet by the Presidency revealed how some funds were illegally transported from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the private residence of the former President.

    A former National Security Adviser (NSA) personally supervised the physical transfer of the money from the CBN vaults to the private residence of the former President.

    The document said: “In one particular instance, over N70 billion was released in parts from the national treasury between January 8 and February 25, 2015. The over $289m, which was also referenced last week by the Vice-President, is said to be included in this particular series of illegal transactions.

    “Besides that, in another illegal disbursement, the minutes of the Central Bank board meeting of 25th August 2014 indicated the board endorsed another N60billion requested by the former President and released by the apex bank.

    “The sum which was okayed by the CBN board, was not tied to any project or procurement, and was meant and disbursed purely for campaign purposes, through the office of the then NSA and the DSS leadership at the time.

    “Specifically that N60billion that was okayed by the CBN on August 25, 2014 was said to have been shared between the two security agencies thus: N40billion went to the NSA while N20 billion was released to the State Security Services (SSS).”

    A top government source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The Federal Government will release more evidence of looted funds either approved or traced to ex-President Jonathan if he continues to play to the gallery. The government is not out to persecute Jonathan  but it may be compelled to lay the facts bare before the public.

    “We have more evidence of approvals, withdrawal of funds, diversion of cash and other financial misdemeanors committed during Jonathan’s administration. The N130billion or N150billion in the public domain is a child’s play. And some past government officials did not even waste much time in returning looted funds to the treasury through plea bargain in court.

    “There will soon be more revelations and more trials in the next few months. The official records are there for Nigerians to judge.

    “Jonathan has been accorded enough respect due to his status as a former President but if he wants this administration to prove beyond reasonable doubt, he might have to face the consequences.

    “While there is no clear plan to either arrest or quiz him, we cannot say that the option is not off- the-table completely. Some of the suspects on trial for $2.1billion arms deal have confessed that they acted on Jonathan’s instructions.”

    The source added: “The disclosure by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on looted funds during Jonathan administration were only to point out the fact that this President Muhammadu  Buhari’s administration is different.

    “It is incontrovertible that Jonathan administration made more money and wasted a lot. But the Buhari government has earned less but it is doing much more.”

    Dr. Jonathan alleged a plot to tarnish his reputation.

    In a post on his Facebook page, he said:

    “It has been brought to my attention that while I am away promoting democracy in Sierra Leone, a campaign will be unleashed against me to falsely impugn my name, using both faceless and identified persons.

    “When I was in power, I said my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. Even out of power, I continue to hold that belief.

    “What I will say, however, is that no matter how far and fast falsehood has travelled, it must eventually be overtaken by truth.”

    The source also clarified that while Jonathan was busy defending himself, his wife, Dame Patience had reached out to the government for “amicable resolution of all suspicious transactions and funds traced to her”. “We may be forced to release this evidence of rapprochement,” he said.

    “In fact, the wife of the ex-President at a stage opted for an out-of-court settlement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC). This is incontrovertible because her lawyer wrote the anti-graft agency. About 31 individuals and companies paid  over $11,489,069.03 into her two domiciliary accounts.

    “Besides the cash, the EFCC traced 12 choice properties and a plot of land under construction to Mrs. Jonathan.

    “This government has been modest in managing issues relating to looted funds identified with the former First Family. If Mrs. Jonathan had not gone to court to challenge the freezing of her accounts, she would have concluded the out-of-court settlement by now.”

  • Govt trains ex-militants on fish farming

    The Federal Government under its Amnesty Programme yesterday trained ex-militants, drawn from the nine oil producing states in the country on fish farming.

    Nolia Consult Limited Managing Director Mr Charles Odemwingie, said during the training held in Benin that it was part of the federal government’s programme to re-integrate the ex-militants into the society.

    Odemwingie, also the programme facilitator said the training would be in three phases adding that, the first phase was to train them on fish farming.

    He noted that the second phase would be to empower them with all the equipment and tools needed for the business and open an account for them.

    Odemwingie said that the third phase will be to monitor and mentor them for three months to ascertain their challenges and ensure that they achieve success.

    The training, he said, was in line with the presidential directive to integrate restive youths in the Niger-Delta region into the society through the presidential Amnesty Programme.

    According to Odemwingie, to ensure success of the programme, the federal government allowed the trainees to choose what business they want to go into.

    He enjoined the participants to take the training seriously as government cannot employ everybody, adding that, they will be empowered to start the business.