The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GOVT

  • Oyo Govt donates one million naira towards Jossy Lad burial

    Oyo Govt donates one million naira towards Jossy Lad burial

    Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Adedapo Lam Adesina has presented a cash of N1m (One Million Naira) to the family of Late Joseph Ladipo for the successful burial of the late soccer icon slated for June 13-14 in Ibadan.

    Lam-Adesina gave the money to the deceased family at his office yesterday to fulfill government’s promise of giving the former 3SC captain a befitting burial.

    The commissioner said it was high time we stopped celebrating our heroes when they have gone. He explained that Oyo State Government presented the cash to forestall unnecessary delay in cashing a cheque because of the closeness of the date of the burial.

    In his response, a member of the burial committee, Dr. Steve Olarinoye, who is also the Zonal Coordinator of the National Sports Commission, South West Zone One thanked the State Government for the support while promising that the National Sports Commission will take a cue from the State Government to also support the family.

    Son of the deceased, Mr. Tunji Ladipo while speaking on behalf of the family thanked the State Government for all the support received from the period his father was sick and his eventual demise saying the family will forever be grateful.

    Late Ladipo’s final journey home will begin on Thursday with a football match between 3SC and Talented FC and a lying-in-state at Obafemi Awolowo Stadium.

    A church service would be held the following day, at Christ Church Mapo after which interment will follow at the cemetery of the church. Guests would be entertained after the interment inside the indoor gymnasium hall of Obafemi Awolowo Stadium.

  • Fed Govt urged to compensate Abiola’s family

    Fed Govt urged to compensate Abiola’s family

    Fifteen years after the death of Chief MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, his physician, Dr. Ore Falomo, has urged the Federal Government to compensate the politician’s family because he died in government custody.

    Abiola was arrested and detained by the military government of the late General Sani Abacha shortly after he declared himself President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Epetedo, Lagos, on June 11, 1994.

    Abiola died in detention four years later.

    Speaking with The Nation, Falomo said: “The Federal Government is morally bound to compensate Abiola’s family for letting him die in custody without trial.

    “The government deprived the family of his patrimonial care and attention for more than four years and he eventually died in mysterious circumstances.”

    He said former Military Head of State Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, during whose tenure Abiola died, promised to compensate the family when he paid them a condolence visit.

    Falomo said the promise has not been fulfilled.

    He urged the Federal Government to make public how much it owed the family and when it would pay the compensation.

    He said should the government fail to disclose its “state of indebtedness to the late Abiola, the family would not hesitate to release the facts and figures to the public”.

    Falomo said: “President Goodluck Jonathan has recognised the late Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election but he should tell us how much the government owed Abiola before his death. When will the government pay the family? We have the facts and figures which we shall release to the public at the right time.”

    He said the best way to honour Abiola was to implement his campaign promises as enshrined in his blue print- Hope ‘93’.

    The late Abiola promised to stamp out hunger and poverty, revolutionise agriculture, create jobs and an enabling environment for investors.

    Falomo said: “What prompted Abiola to venture into politics was to restore confidence in the common people and improve their standard of living.

    “These problems are still staring us in the face 20 years after Abiola promised to tackle them .

    “The living condition of the common people is worse than it was 20 years back, considering the abysmal level of poverty in the country.”

    He urged the Jonathan administration to execute the late Abiola’s programmes, saying they were intended to improve the life of every Nigerian.

    “That is the best way to honour Abiola, “ Falomo added.

     

  • Fed Govt cuts back on overdrawing from account, says Okonjo-Iweala

    •Identifies 46,821 ghost workers

    The Federal Government has reduced the rate at which it overdraws on its accounts from N102billion in 2011 to N19 billion in 2012.

    The government is able to do this through the introduction of the Treasury Single Account “which is a unified structure of government bank accounts that gives a consolidated view of the cash position.”

    The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, broke the news yesterday in Abuja when she made her presentation at the 2013 ministerial platform.

    She said the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has helped to reduce how government account is being overdrawn.

    Said she: “Ninety-three MDAs are on TSA. Government’s overdrawn position has dropped from N102bn in 2011 to N19bn in 2012.”

    The Minister of Finance disclosed that the Federal Government has discovered a total of 46,821 ghost workers in 215 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Government (MDAs).

    According to her, the discoveries were made after they introduced the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

    Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said: “The Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System enhances efficient personnel cost planning and budgeting as personnel cost will be based on actual verified numbers and not estimates. Two hundred and fifteen MDAs (153,019 staff) are on IPPIS as at Jan 2013 and work is ongoing to bring in other 321 MDAs not yet on IPPIS. About 46,821 ghost workers have also been identified.”

    The discovery of the ghost workers, she said, “is part of government’s reform measures aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of its resources.”

    With the introduction of the Government Integrated Financial Management and Information System (GIFMIS) in April 2012, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said 58 per cent of the nation’s budget are executed through the GIFMIS platform and this “has helped to boost the speedy execution of the government budget.”

    She said: “GIFMIS is aimed at improving the acquisition, allocation, utilisation and conservation of public financial resources, using automated and integrated, effective, efficient and economic information systems. Budget execution is expected to rise to 79 per cent by the end of third quarter in 2013.”

    To increase non-oil revenues, the minister said “through tax enforcement mechanism, the government has recovered over N10.65billion as outstanding tax liabilities.”

    Dr. Okonjo-Iweala added that “the modernisation of tax administration and operation helped the government register 227,140 new tax payers in 2012 alone.”

    With regards to the country’s debt, the Finance Minister said the country’s total debt stands at N7.5trillion made up of foreign borrowing of $6.6 billion (N1.04 trillion). Domestic debt stands at N6.46 trillion.

    She denied claims that Nigeria was becoming a highly indebted nation and insisted that the country’s national debt was still low.

     

    She said the government, in trying to reduce domestic borrowing, was taking advantage of interest free loans from international financial organisations.

     

  • David-West slams Fed Govt over Boko Haram

    David-West slams Fed Govt over Boko Haram

    Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Prof. Tam David-West yesterday berated the Federal Government for hailing the decision of the United States of America (USA) to place $7 million reward on the suspected Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau and others.

    The university don, who spoke to our reporter on the telephone in Ibadan, said the joy over the bounty was an admission of the government’s failure to protect the citizens and ensure their welfare as enshrined in the Constitution.

    The U.S. on Monday said it would give anybody, who could offer useful information on how to track down the leaders of the groups allegedly spreading terrorism in West Africa, $23 million.

    Presidential spokesman Dr. Reuben Abati was quoted by the media as describing the action as a welcome development.

    “We welcome any effort by the international community to support Nigeria’s effort at waging a war against terrorism and its perpetrators. What this proves is that terrorism is a global phenomenon that requires global effort at combating. Nigeria believes that the international community needs to come together to combat terrorism,” Abati said.

    But David-West faulted the government’s position, saying: “Much as I will appreciate the concern of the US government and other world powers for their thinking on the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria, I am shocked to my marrow that the Federal Government welcomed the bounty.

    “I am shocked because the Federal Government does not realise the implication of this gesture by the US government on the integrity of Nigeria.

    “I am ashamed because a foreign government is putting a bounty on a Nigerian, who is aberrant because of his activities. Whether he is a terrorist or not, he is a Nigerian. So, there is nothing to jubilate about. We can’t deny him his right of citizenship.

    “While we condemn their acts of terrorism in the country and give them the necessary punishment, we should also protect their rights as Nigerians. Putting a bounty on them by a foreign country should not bring joy to the Federal Government. They should be ashamed of themselves.

    “The Constitution has security and welfare as one of its fundamental provisions. The Federal Government has failed to provide these.”

  • Fashola not doing anything in Lagos, says Fed Govt

    The Federal Government yesterday came hard on Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, saying there was nothing significant in what the governor is doing in the state.

    Minister of Information Labaran Maku, who spoke in Abuja at the 2013 ministerial platform, said most of the revenue generating projects in the state, were federal projects.

    Maku said: “Most of the projects in Lagos State where taxes are being collected are federal projects.

    “Lagos State does no significant thing other than environmental sanitation.”

    He added that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was running on federal roads, saying the government was collecting taxes on federal infrastructure.

    The minister said the aim of initiating the ministerial platform was to avail Nigerians of the progress being made in various sectors of governance.

    Maku said the ongoing National Good Governance Tour was in furtherance to the ministerial platform which began last year.

    He said with the tour, Nigerians could match action with what the ministers say they have done.

    The minister added that the tour has been revealing as various projects embarked upon by the Federal Government have been unearthed.

    Presenting his ministry’s scorecard, Minister of Works Mike Onolememen said his ministry has made significant strides in road development, since the inception of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Onolememen added that on May 29, 2011, Nigerian roads were described as death traps and many road projects were abandoned.

    “Today, travel times between origins and destinations on most of these arterial routes have been drastically reduced.

    “Also, maintenance costs of vehicles have been reduced as a result of improved driving surfaces, devoid of potholes that hitherto put “holes” in the pockets of vehicle owners.

  • Govt’s actions ‘ll conform with rule of law, says Jonathan

    Govt’s actions ‘ll conform with rule of law, says Jonathan

    •’Armed Forces should respect human rights’ 

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said everything would be done by his administration to ensure that government’s actions conformed to the rule of law.

    He spoke in Abuja when he declared open the Centenary Law Summit.

    President Jonathan noted that law is an instrument for social engineering and political transformation and should be adhered to by organs of government.

    Stressing that the government would ensure that human rights norms are observed in the ongoing fight against terrorism, he said armed forces and other security agencies have been directed to observe the rules of engagement in the states under state of emergency.

    He said: “Let me take this opportunity to reiterate government’s resolve to ensure that human rights norms are observed and the freedom and liberty of the people are not abridged in our war against terror.

    “The armed forces and other security agencies dealing with insurgencies and other security challenges in the areas where state of emergency has been declared have been ordered to ensure that they discharge their duties with conformity to the rule of engagements.”

    President Jonathan urged the managers of Nigeria’s judiciary to review the country’s laws, as it remains an institution that holds the key of sustaining the confidence of the people in the rule of law.

    Expressing happiness about the efforts by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar, to sanitise the judicial system, he urged the judiciary to give credible and well reasoned judgments to enhance social justice and fairness.

    “We welcome the efforts made by the National Judicial Council under the able leadership of Justice Aloma-Mukhtar. We believe you can sanitise the judicial system,” President Jonathan said.

    The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Bello Adoke, said the relevant bodies in the legal profession are intensifying efforts towards early completion of the ongoing legal reforms.

    President Jonathan presented to the public a publication, entitled: ‘Nigeria: A Century of Constitutional Evolution 1914-2014.’

    It was written by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

    The three days summit will witness paper presentations, which include Legislations and Transformative Governance; Rule of Law and Transformation Agenda; Power and Transformation Philosophy of Government and State Governors as partners in Transformation Agenda.

    Others topics slated for discussion are: Law, Good Governance and Security; Police and Enforcement of Law and Order; Law and Terrorism and International Security and Human Rights Concerns

     

  • Fed Govt urged to educate youths

    THE Federaal Governmnt has been advised to provide quality education for its young people that would help them thrive and contribute to societal growth.

    In an interview with reporters, Shantanu Prakash, an Indian and Chief Executive Officer, Educomp, a firm that provides ICT solutions for teaching and learning, said failure to do so would spell disaster for the nation.

    He said: “I think that the challenges facing both countries (Nigeria and Indian) are similar. They both have young population. Countries that have young population have opportunities but there is also a danger. The opportunity is that if you train these young people and give them the right education, they can become globally productive citizens. But the danger is that, if you do not provide them the right education, they can become a demographic disaster.”

    From the experience Educomp has gathered running the Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School, Eleme, for the Rivers State government, Prakash said many youths are also bright but lack quality teachers to harness their potential. He said this is so because teaching does not attract the best of brains, a problem that is not unique to Nigeria.

    Continuing, he said: “For some reasons across the world, teachers’ salaries are not very high. Which means that it is difficult to attract the best talents to become teachers. If you go to the class and ask the students, how many of you want to become teachers, very few will raise their hands. They want to become sportsmen, football players, politicians, pilot and others. Because the sector is not able to attract the best quality, the delivery of education is not so good, even though the students are very hard working. I was at Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School, Eleme, and was really pleasantly surprised to see how disciplined the students are, how bright they are and I asked some of the Indian teachers we brought to teach Maths and Science, ‘How do you find the students compared to the Indian students?’ and they gave me a very frank answer. They said many of the students are even better than the students in India.”

    To help teachers perform better, Prakash said ICT tools produced by the company called Edumate can make teaching and learning more interesting.

    He said: “So, when you have teachers who are, unfortunately, not the best given that the society can’t pool the best teachers and the students are very bright, to bridge the gap we have to use some support and Edumate is that kind of support.

    “In the past 18 years, Educomp has been working tirelessly trying to find the best and the most technologically advanced method of making the student more efficient and productive; improving the curriculum interaction so that we have a better human capital base and we have been very well known across the world for a very large number of innovations. One of our products is Smart Class. Smart Class brings the power of digital content right inside the classroom. Almost every part of our world has been impacted with ICT or Information and Communication Technology.”

    Rather than just sell products to schools that they may not use effectively, Prakash said Educomp provides training support

    “As you said, they have bought the computers and they are there lying in the cartons. That is a very sad situation because we are playing with the lives of the children and that is something we should not do. We don’t sell these products without training. Even if it is a slow process, when we partner with the schools, we make them use them effectively, so that they will not be paying for buying it but paying for using it,” he said.

     

  • Fed Govt to establish national children’s resource centre

    THE Federal Government will establish a National Children Resource Centre next year for the development and welfare of children, Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio has said.

    The governor broke the news yesterday in Uyo, the state capital, at this year’s Children’s Day celebration.

    He said the government has also provided funds for the establishment of a National Modern Child Development Centre in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to provide vocational skills for street, school and out-of-school children.

    Advising governments at all levels to invest adequately in children to guarantee their future, Akpabio said he was happy that of the 22 states that have passed the Child Rights Act, Akwa Ibom is among the first to have achieved the feat.

    Represented by his deputy, Mrs. Valerie Ebe, the governor said his administration would constantly mobilise resources to address the educational, psychological, social and morals needs of children.

    He said: “Our actions should be guided and motivated in the best interest of the child. Children play a cardinal role in the development of every society. They are the backbone of our today, our hope for tomorrow and faith in the future.”

  • Govt to set up 774 skills’ centres

    The Federal Government is planning to establish a model Skills’ Acquisition Centre in all the 774 local government areas in the country to encourage self-reliance among the unemployed youths.

    The Minister for Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukuwuemeka Wogu, made this known during the inauguration of a skill centre in Rimaye in Kankia Local Government Area, Katsina State.

    He said the centre would help to arrest the rural-urban drift and reduce poverty among grassroots people.

    Wogu expressed the optimism that the products of such centres would be able to compete favourably in the available markets worldwide.

    He said job creation was one of the cardinal principles of the administration, adding that job creation should not be left to the government .

    According to the minister, the establishment of the centre at Rimaye is an invitation to other stakeholders to contribute their quotas in job creation.

    Wogu said the administration had put in place policies and programmes to tackle unemployment.

    He noted that more than three million jobs had been created over the years by the NDE alone.

    Wogu praised the efforts of the state and local governments to support the new centre.

  • Fed Govt’s securities rose by N700b in four months

    The securities issued by the Federal Government increased by about N700 billion from January to April this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said.

    Speaking at the yearly risk management conference in Lagos, Sanusi said when combined with drawdowns on deposits at the CBN and commercial banks, the implication is that government had spent N2 trillion from January to April this year.

    He said the apex bank would refinance and restructure N3.6 trillion Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) bonds in its custody maturing by December this year.

    He said the CBN does not want AMCON to offer the bonds at the international market, so as to avoid currency risks and reduce concerns for rising foreign debt.

    He said the AMCON has been advised to pay off all other bond holders by December except the CBN.