The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GOVT

  • Govt to recapitalise BoI

    The Federal Government is considering re-capitalising the Bank of Industry (BoI) to make it more responsive, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, has said.

    Speaking during a visit to Omatek Computers Plc’s factory in Ikeja, Lagos, Aganga said: “The Bank of Industry has been helping the country to drive its economic development through the disbursement of special fund for key sectors of the economy to thrive, especially manufacturing sector.

    “We hope to take this further by looking for how we can recapitalise the BoI to deliver more for the various sectors of the economy,” he said.

    Expressing the commitment of the government to support manufacturing firms, including those in the Information and Communication Technology Industry, Aganga promised to support Omatek to manufacture indigenous computers for educational institutions.

    He said the partnership was in line with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and the Local Patronage Initiative of the Ministry of Trade and Investment.

    “We will be able to achieve the much-needed linkage between our abundant natural resources and the application of appropriate technology and production processes through the application of ICT in our Schools and Industries,” he said.

    “We are, therefore, designing a strategy for a workable partnership between government, Omatek and the banks to make available your Made-in-Nigeria computers to all our Schools and Colleges.”

    Omatek Managing Director, Mrs. Florence Seriki said her company was ready to promote local contents, reduce unemployment, boost technology transfer through various ICT innovations Omatek is embarking, saying that achieving all these required government supports in terms of patronage and favourable policies.

    “We are positioned as a company to deliver quality ICT products for Nigerians. This we have been doing for almost two decades.

    “Favourable policy in monetary policy is needed to drive our business. Currently we source for funds outside the shore of Nigeria as sourcing fund at double-digit rate is not going to encourage the growth of manufacturing industry,” she said.

  • UNIBEN sues Edo Govt

    The management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has sued the Edo State Government over the ownership of 18 landed property in the Government Reservation Area.

    The court has fixed March 5 to hear the interlocutory injunction filed by UNIBEN to restrain the government from evicting its staff from the property, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

    The university spokesman, Harris Osarenren, said the government, under the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, has threatened to dispossess the institution of the property.

    Osarenren said the property were given to the institution under the administration of Brigadier-General Samuel Ogbemudia, who was then Military Governor of Midwestern State.

    He said the property were residential apartments for staff of the university.

    The spokesman said :“The government is bent to taking possession of the said property.”

     

  • Fed Govt okays N1.7b for NIPOST pensioners

    Fed Govt okays N1.7b for NIPOST pensioners

    Protesting pensioners of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) may soon enjoy the benefits of their labour. This is because the Federal Government has promoised to pay them their entitlements.

    The Postmaster-General of the Federation, Alhaji Mori Baba, who made this known, said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is working on the payment.

    He lamented that NIPOST pensioners last month shut the organisation’s offices nationwide to protest the non-payment of their pensions.

    He said: “We eventually signed an agreement on January 27 on the payment of their claims. The figure is about N1.7 billion and the Office of the Accountant-General is working towards paying them as soon as possible.”

    Baba said the Federal Government had accepted to clear the backlog of arrears, saying the problem of non-payment of regular pension was not restricted to NIPOST.

    “This is because the Federal Government is responsible for the payment of pensions and not NIPOST,” he said.

    Speaking on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s newly introduced Financial Inclusion Strategy, he urged NIPOST staff to ensure its successful implementation billed for Borno State.

    Baba said NIPOST is expected to serve as the scheme’s major agent.

    According to him, the scheme is aimed at providing access to financial services for the less-privileged.

    He stressed the need for the staff of NIPOST to work hard to justify the government’s investment in the scheme.

    Baba said the management was working on plans to train the staff on the scheme.

    “We will also try as much as possible to update our equipment subject to availability of funds,”he said.

    He added that the management was looking at possibilities of introducing some incentives to the staff to motivate them.

     

     

  • Govt, World Bank to tackle erosion in Edo

    THE Federal Government may have found a way round the lingering problem of gully erosion in Edo State.

    In collaboration with Edo State and the World Bank, it has initiated the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) to tackle the problem.

    Officials of the World Bank, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Federal Ministry of Environment and international and national consultants are in Edo State for Joint Technical Mission geared towards NEWMAP’s implementation.

    The World Bank team has visited some gully sites to determine the scope of work in each site in line with the engineering designs.

    The sites are in Queen Ede, Ekehuan in Benin City; Ewu in Esan Central Local Government Area and Auchi in Etsako West Local Government Area. The Auchi site is said to be one of the most devastating.

    The team was taken round the sites, by NEWMAP’s Edo State Project Coordinator, John Adisa.

    Declaring the mission open in Benin City, the Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, Major Lawrence Loye (rtd) said Governor Adams Oshiomhole was desirous of finding a lasting solution to gully erosion, which has destroyed lives and properties in Queen Ede, Ekehuan, Ewu, Ibore and Auchi.

    Loye, represented by the Director of Administration and Supplies, Mrs Patience Otoighile, expressed hope that the tripartite arrangement would restore life to the affected communities.

    World Bank representative and Task Team Leader for NEWMAP Dr Amos Abu said having gone round the gully sites, the team was touched by the people’s suffering.

    Abu said the mandate of the project was to ensure that residents of gully sites received intervention to enable them to live in comfort and safety, adding that the World Bank endorsed the project in May last year while the National Assembly approved it last December.

    According to him, the workshop was to finalise the Project Implementation Manual which would provide a guide to stakeholders and also finalise the engineering designs and convert same to bidding documents.

    The NEWMAP National Coordinator, Mr Chikelo Nwune, enjoined the participants to work assiduously to ensure a timely take-off of the project.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt, Indonesia sign MoU on SMEs

    Fed Govt, Indonesia sign MoU on SMEs

    The Federal government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indonesia government on technical cooperation for the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria.

    The Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMEDAN) Alhaji Muhammad Umar Nadada,  signed on behalf of Nigeria while, Director-General, Small and Medium Industries (SMI) Directorate of Indonesia, Mrs. Euis Sedah, signed on behalf of Indonesia.

    “This MOU will enable Indonesia exchange technical know-how with Nigeria on all dark areas, especially on cassava processing and training. This partnership is very historic, as it will open a new vista in the bilateral relationship of the two countries,” Alhaji Nadada, said.

    “We expect Indonesia to invest in textile manufacturing,” he said, adding that this would help in the actualisation of the federal government’s goals in job creation.

    He said the MoU between SMEDAN and the Directorate of SMI of Indonesia, offers tremendous business opportunities, especially for Nigerian Entrepreneurs.

    The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Sudriman Haseng, in his remarks, said the cooperation would strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

    We are both regional leaders, the cooperation would increase the benefit of the two nations in their relationship with other nations, he added.

    He noted that small and medium entrepreneur development is key to economic development of any country, the envoy called on the Nigerian government to focus more on strengthening the SME’s sector in the country.

    Speaking, Mrs Euis Sedah said the two countries are blessed with both human and natural resources, which she described as factors that will help in facilitating the goal of partnership.

    The director general believed that government alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment but if it could put more efforts in strengthening the SMEs sector it will gradually tackle the problem with short period of time.

     

  • Fed Govt urged to support SMEs

    Fed Govt urged to support SMEs

    A FORMER President of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Mr Hyke Ochia, has urged the Federal Government to develop the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to reduce unemployment in the country.

    Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, he said the government should initiate programmes that would promote private-public partnership for the benefit of Nigerians.

    ‘’Everything lies on the government, even though the government is not supposed to provide jobs, it is supposed to provide the enabling environment for jobs to be created.

    ‘’When they do that, they create room for businesses to spring up because in most developed economies, the majority of the employers are the medium and small scale industries.

    ‘’The large scale industries are limited. They can employ, may be one million people and it stops there, they cannot go beyond that. But when you look at the medium and small scale industries, they could multiply themselves in various fields and when these ones are not thriving, obviously, you will have that gap of unemployment.’’

     

  • ‘Govt should listen to us’

    ‘Govt should listen to us’

    Rabi’u Tijjani, 400-Level Accounting, is president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK). In this interview with KAMALUDDEEN ABUBAKAR (200-Level Geography), he speaks on how he will solve students’ challenges.

    Since the inauguration of the SUG executive led by you, what has been your major challenge?

    We have been trying to put on ground the needed machinery for us to succeed in our various offices. We have to start everything from the scratch. What we met on ground was nothing to write home about. The SUG was drifting with no bearing and direction. There was no secretariat bequeathed to us. We had to secure a good secretariat and furnish it accordingly. We have also set up some committees that will help us look into various problems affecting the students and proffer ways to solve the problems.

    There are expectations from the students regarding high cost of accommodation, tuition and transportations. What has your administration been doing about these challenges?

    In the first place, there is no hike in school fee whatsoever. Though, there were plans to increase the fee initially, considering the fact that we, in Nasarawa State University, pay the least fee among state universities but we kicked against that. The payable fee is now included in all associations’ dues. Note that after this, there is no other due to be paid to faculty, clubs, society etc. On accommodation, the union has set up staff-student welfare committee, which has written to landlords not to increase their house rent unduly. We directed that students should not pay to anybody because we are still discussing. On transportation, we have plans to acquire buses and Keke NAPEP through arrangement with private organisations. This will help to crash the cost of transportation.

    What are the challenges facing the SUG?

    Lack of fund is our major challenge. Sometimes, we have to run the office with our personal money but we are happy the school is now coming to our help. It must be said that the Nasarawa State Government is showing no concern to the plight of students in the area of scholarship, accommodation and transportation. We have written two letters on our planned visit to the governor, but there has been no response till this moment. Inadequate hostel accommodation, exorbitant house rent and cultism are some of the major challengeS we are facing. The government should help us to solve these challenges.

    You are an Accounting student and not Political Science, what motivated you to participate in politics?

    Performance in office goes beyond discipline; its about one’s desire and ability to serve the people. Aristotle said human being are by nature political animal. An Accountant is naturally a manager. Presidents Barak Obama and Goodluck Jonathan are not political scientists, yet they are elected today by the people to lead them.

    What should students expect from you as the session progresses?

    They should expect better days. We will address numerous problems facing us as students one after the other. We will give students a cause to laugh despite the challenges. Shortage and irregular supply of water will be a thing of the past as boreholes are being drilled in the school.

     

  • Govt assures Nigerians of social protection

    Chairman, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Dr. Juliet Ngozi Olejeme, has assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s social protection that would boost essential health care benefits and reduce poverty and inequality.

    She said the Social Protection Floor is a foundation for sustainable and inclusive economic growth that has proved to be a powerful anti-crisis measure that protects and empowers people, and contributes to boosting economic demand and accelerating recovery.

    Dr. Olejeme, who is also Chairman, Trustfund Pensions, told The Nation that despite global economic crisis, the government’s social protection floors would still empower people in the informal and formal economy.

    She said: “We assure Nigerians of Federal Government‘s social protection floors that would boost essential health care and benefits, as well as reduce poverty and inequality in the country

    “Despite the global economic crisis, the government’s social protection floors will empower people by creating employment in both the formal and informal sectors.

    She stressed that social protection has proved to be an anti-crisis measure that contributes to boosting economic demand and accelerating recovery.

    She explained that “achieving the social protection schemes would complement the transformation agenda of President Jonathan through improving and promoting social equity and sustainable growth at human development index necessary to stimulate more employment in all sectors of the economy.”

    She said the waves of global economic shocks had underscored the need for countries to reinvent the mechanisms and phenomena for social protection, equitable development and balanced growth.

    “Government social protection policies and programmes referred to initiatives that deliberately sought to protect people and groups against risk and vulnerability, mitigate the impacts of shocks on livelihoods and support people who suffer from chronic incapacities to secure basic livelihood,” she said

    She said the social protection policies are aimed at zero-tolerance on workplace accidents, injuries and fatalities, adding that the government is determined to collaborate with the social strata and other stakeholders to guarantee a cleaner, safer and healther work environment for all workers.

    The principle of social protection has been ingrained as part of the government’s resolve to implement the system, she added.

  • Fed Govt to spend N12b on micro-teaching laboratories

    Fed Govt to spend N12b on micro-teaching laboratories

    Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, has said the Federal Government will spend N12 billion to build micro-teaching laboratories to improve the quality of teaching in schools.

    Prof Rufa’i announced this in Abuja when she received a delegation from the UK-based-GEMS Education Solutions, a family-owned organisation that offers global basic educational needs.

    She said N6.6 billion had also been earmarked for the development of technical and vocational education, which had been identified as critical to the technological advancement of the country.

    The Minister said despite the frequent training of teachers, there was still a long way to go in getting quality teachers critical to driving the education sector.

    She said the ministry would continue to partner with organisations such as GEMS to identify and develop various approaches to solving the country’s educational problems.

    The minister who commended GEMS for offering solutions to educational problems, said government was ready to partner with the organisation in teacher training, leadership development as well as in data management.

    She said: “I am sure you will agree with me that if the quality of teachers is improved, half of the problems in the education sector would have been solved.”

    The minister said data management is important for the assessment of progress being made and areas that needed to be improved upon.

    Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEMS, Mr Chris Kirk, said the organisation had a network of about 100,000 students and 10,000 teachers around the world.

    Kirk said his organisation was in the country to explore ways to support Nigeria in solving its educational problems.

    He explained that the organisation was a support institution that “focuses basically on ways of supporting children with special educational needs, teacher and leadership development, data management, among others.’’

    He said: “GEMS believe that a blessing can be a burden if children are not getting the education they need. GEMS also ensure sustainability of the support services it embarks upon because young people need adaptability.’’

    Kirk said GEMS had more than 200 teacher-development programmes to give children the skills they need for creativity and learning.

     

  • Local govt tackles poverty

    The Eti-Osa Local Government Area in Lagos State last week distributed various items to some residents of the council as part of its efforts to eradicate poverty.

    The programme which is held quarterly, took place at the council secretariat, Igbo Efon in Lekki. Lucky residents were given items such as deep freezers, microwave ovens, hair dryers, sewing machines and digital cameras.

    Delivering the keynote address, the chairman, Hon. Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegushi said the beneficiaries went through a screening process before the finial list was realised. He said further that the process of selection was devoid of any political or ethnic consideration.

    “The gesture behind this initiative is to distribute materials to fish rather than giving people the fish itself. Though the event is not flamboyant, its motive is to assist those that are in need within the community.

    “We have come up with a list of most needy and deserving people for this first batch of beneficiaries. This implies that other batches will follow at the appropriate time,” he said.

    Elegushi advised participants to make proper use of the materials especially those who received cash assistance. He also encouraged participants to carry out their duties as citizens by paying their taxes.