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Tag: guidelines

  • Bauchi enacts new land policy, guidelines

    To put in place a robust land administration and boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), the Bauchi State Government has introduced a new guideline for land acquisition in the state.

    The initiative, introduced by the Bauchi Geographic Information Service (BAGIS), an agency of the state Ministry of Land in the Department of Land Administration, was, among others, meant to redefine land administration in the state.

    BAGIS Director-General Abubakar Katagum explained that the new system, contained in a 28-page document titled: “General Land Services Operational Guide Manual,” laid out procedures for owning and use of land in the state.

    According to him, BAGIS is planning a land registration system and campaigning to increase or encourage registration which will also contribute to the alleviation of poverty. Katagum assured that land registration would give the owners guaranteed protection and rights as a source of personal wealth which would provide opportunities for economic independence. He also made it known that the state government would re-enact the “Land Instruments Registration Law of Bauchi State” which required the registration of land documents with the Ministry of Lands.

    The new measure, he further explained, would encourage business development as proper registration would provide land proprietors guaranteed titles, which could be used as collateral in banks to access loans.

    “We have actually produced a simple and easy-to-read registration procedure which will be printed as a booklet that explains all our registration procedure and informs applicants of the requirements for our various processes. The booklet can be obtained free of charge at BAGIS’ Deeds Registry and is a viable method of disseminating information to the public,” Katagum said.

     

  • CBN issues guidelines for Payment Service Banks

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday unveiled operational guidelines for Payment Service Banks (PSBs). The move is in furtherance of the CBN’s mandate of promoting a sound financial system and  enhancing access to financial services for low income earners and unbanked segments of the society.

    The PSBs are to operate mostly in the rural areas and unbanked locations, targeting financially excluded persons, with not less than 25 per cent  financial service touch points in such rural areas as defined by the CBN from time to time, the guidelines said.

    According to the CBN,  the key objective of setting up PSBs is to enhance financial inclusion by increasing access to deposit products and payment/remittance services to small businesses, low-income households and other financially excluded entities through high-volume low-value transactions in a secured technology-driven environment.

    The new banks are to also enter into direct partnership with card scheme operators but such cards shall not be eligible for foreign currency transactions.

    They are to deploy ATMs in some of these areas; deploy Point of Sale devices and be at liberty to operate through banking agents (in line with the CBN’s Guidelines for the Regulation of Agent Banking and Agent Banking Relationships in Nigeria).

    The National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), which supports PSBs, seeks to ensure that over 80 per cent of the bankable adults in Nigeria have access to financial services by 2020.

    The CBN, in collaboration with stakeholders, launched the NFIS on October 23, 2012 with a view to reducing the exclusion rate to 20 per cent by 2020.

    Despite several initiatives, including the Introduction of Microfinance banking, Agent Banking, Tiered Know-Your-Customer Requirements and Mobile Money Operation (MMO) in pursuit of this objective, the inclusion rate remains below expectation.

    The CBN, in the circumstance and in collaboration with critical stakeholders in the digital financial ecosystem, such as the Nigerian Communication Commission, commercial banks, mobile money operators and telecommunication companies have conducted several study tours of other jurisdictions that have made significant progress in driving financial inclusion.

    In view of the challenges to effective outreach to rural communities as well as the need to complement the services provided by other licensed entities, the CBN issues this regulation to provide for the licensing and operations of Payment Service Banks (PSBs) in Nigeria. It said PSBs are expected to leverage on mobile and digital channels to enhance financial inclusion and stimulate economic activities at the grassroots through the provision of financial services.

    Accordingly, PSBs are envisioned to facilitate high-volume low-value transactions in remittance services, micro-savings and withdrawal services in a secured technology-driven environment to further deepen financial inclusion and help in attaining the policy objective of 20 per cent exclusion rate by 2020.

    The guideline is issued pursuant to powers conferred on the CBN Governor by the CBN Act 2007 and BOFIA 1991 (as amended). It covers the definition; objectives; eligible promoters; licensing requirements; corporate governance; business conduct; and permissible activities. The requirements for prudential regulation; supervision; Know Your Customer (KYC), consumer protection as well as Risk Management of the proposed Payment Service Banks in Nigeria are also covered.

     

  • Pharmacists challenge government on drug policy, guidelines

    TO ensure food and drug safety, the government should implement the National Drug Policy,  promote local drug production,  reduce dependence on imported food and medicines, and implement, without further delay, the National Drug Distribution Guideline.

    This is the  stand of pharmacists across the country under their umbrella of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).

    Its President, Alhaji Ahmed Yakasai, said it had become important to address significant threats posed byinadequate implementation of the National Drug Policy in general, and the national Drug  Distribution  Guideline, as evidenced  in the recent classified document being spread through the social media.

    Yakasai said the document identified drug products containing human remains from ‘fetuses, infants and flesh’, heavily contaminated with viruses (bio-hazards), which were smuggled into South Korea, via mail by Chinese nationals or local use. “As a matter of urgency, the government must implement the National Drug Policy”.

    To assist its members, the society has launched a Phama IT for online National Drug Distribution, based on (National Drug Distribution Guidelines) NDDG and PSNpay.

    Yakasai explained that Pharma IT NDDG platform is an online platform, which provides a distribution channel that is in consonance with the  National  Drug Distribution Guidelines.

    “The platform provides checks and balances  of  medicines from the manufacturers, thereby improving the distribution channel and enhancing the safety and efficacy of medicines,’ explained Yakasai, adding: “It is open to all pharmacists, and pharmaceutical outlets in the health-delivering value chain of the country.”

    He assured that the Phama IT NDDG platform will contribute immensely in the fight against fake, substandard, and falsified drugs in the county because every batch o medicines in the county can be traced. “It has been launched along PSNpay at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja. The Pharma IT NDDG platform and PSNpay are powered by Chams Plc.,” said Yakasai.

    Shedding light on PSNpay, he said the collection process is manual, rigorous and prone to error, which needs to be disrupted. “PSNpay is an end-to-end automated payment/collection platform that will ultimately improve operational efficiency of PSN and its technical groups.”

    Among others, Yakasai said PSNpay promises to “improve on the current manual process of collections made by PSN members, reduce stress of capitation payment  by pharmacists, enhance transparency and accountability, avoid reconciliation issues, enhance reporting system, and improve efficiency”.

    The PSN President assured that as pharmacists, they are ready for promoting collaborative and responsive inter-professionalism in the health sector. “We sincerely believe that as healthcare practitioners, we must work together in the interest of the patients, in order to improve the quality of health of the nation, because together we are stronger. The leadership of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr Francis Faduyile has led a delegation to pay a courtesy visit to PSN secretariat in Lagos. This clearly shows the new improved relationship between NAM and PSN, and in extension, among healthcare practitioners in the country,” said Yakasai.

    The society holds its conference in Ibadan, Oyo State from October 29  to November 3. Its theme is: “Innovative disruption in pharmacy in emerging economies; a roadmap for Nigeria”.

     

     

  • New police operations guidelines coming soon

    Governors, IG on NEC reforms panel

    States owe N41b VAT, others

    Governors seek legal advice on EFCC’s probe of security vote

    THE PANEL MEMBERS

    • Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris
    • Zamfara State Governor AndulAziz Yari
    • Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
    • Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong
    • Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi,
    • Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari
    • Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki
    • Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima

    A major  step towards decentralising the police was taken yesterday.

    The National Economic Council (NEC) set up a committee, which will work out the modalities for the implementation of the policy.

    The popular thinking is that decentralising the police will bring down the rising crime rate by improving efficiency.

    National Security Adviser (NSA) Babagana Monguno broke the news at the end of the NEC meeting chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    With him were Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru and Benue State Deputy Governor Benson Abuonu.

    Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris will head the committee, with representatives from the six geopolitical zones.

    Monguno pointed out that Nigeria is facing abnormal security challenges, which he said cannot be tackled within a short a time.

    While waiting for the constitution amendment, the Federal Government and governors resolved to explore how the police operations could be decentralised for effective delivery and to improve the level of policing and security in the country.

    In the NEC committee are Zamfara State Governor AndulAziz Yari, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umagi, Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima as members.

    Monguno said that the improvement in the security situation has nothing to do with the forthcoming general elections.

    Said the NSA: “I briefed on behalf of the security agencies both operational and intelligence.  I gave a general overview of the security situation in the country, the current situation and the trends and also the challenges that we are confronted with.

    “These threats are increasingly asymmetric in nature and I stressed the need to deal with these problems in a more collective manner.

    “It is true that it is the responsibility of the security agencies to deal with these threats, but the complexities of insecurity in the 21st Century are such that you need a whole of government and a whole of society approach in dealing with there issues.”

    “I emphasised to the Council the need for the state to collaborate with and support the Federal Government in dealing with each individual threats, and these threats differ from one  zone to another, and find a way of linking with security agencies so that we can find a lasting solution,” he said

    To the NSA, the problems cannot be overcome “within a short period”. “That is the hard truth.  What we have decided to do is to work on certain methods,” he said, adding:

    “For example, the Council decided that a committee would be set up with representation from each of the geo-political zones to be chaired the IGP so that we find ways of decentralising police operations so that there will be greater access to information and handling this situation will be easier rather than a centralised and cumbersome approach.”

    Monguno said that the Council also reviewed the resolutions and recommendations of the 2017 Security Summit.

    After the review, he said, governors agreed to work with the security agencies on all the issues that were raised and to revisit all the recommendations.

    According to him, the Federal Government is also looking at other issues in dealing with problems coming from outside Nigeria.

    “These problems are being collated by the security agencies and a team would be set up under the supervision of the ONSA to deal with these threats,” Monguno said.

    On whether the improvement in security situation is linked to the coming elections, he said: “Not really. What happened is that there has been continuous review of the activities of the various security agencies, successes and failures and so on and so forth.

    “There has been deliberate attempt to try and take care of those areas that are most difficult. The fact that we have started making a breakthrough is just coincidental with the fact that elections are approaching.

    “Several new operations have been launched. These operations are being reviewed in a more coordinated manner with other agencies that are not directly within the military component but with other MDAs and that have resulted in improvement and it has nothing to do with elections approaching.”

    Asked why there was no coordination among the security agencies over the invasion of Benue State by policemen and the invasion of National Assembly by DSS, he said: “On lack of coordination, it is not easy to coordinate. Yes, all security agencies are supposed to be centrally coordinated but sometimes we have issues.

    “But these issues are being addressed right now and that is probably why we are beginning to see some improvements. The truth is that we are dealing with a situation that is asymmetric, that is not normal, not conventional.

    “In dealing with these problems there will be issues, inter-service issues, inter-agencies issues, my office has been trying to address in the last couple of weeks, hopefully we should be able to see some improvements.”

    On the Red Cross’ report that 17,000 Nigerians were missing, Monguno said: “17,000 Nigerians missing. That report is being looked at by different agencies of government and we are awaiting their report before we can comment on that.”

    On EFCC’s investigation of security votes of some governors, Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru said  it was discussed at the Nigerian  Governors Forum and that the position is that their lawyers will look at the legality of doing that.

    “After giving us the report, then we will see the next line of action to take,” he said.

    According to him, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, briefed the Council on strategies for optimising the contribution of MSMEs to the country’s tax revenue profile.

    On the presentation, he said: “The presentation centred on the contribution of MSMEs to GDP, National Export and to Tax collection for 2015 – 2018.

    “It also highlighted the challenges impeding the optimisation of MSMEs contribution to Tax Revenue.

    “When adequately harnessed, MSMEs can have much impact on the profile tax revenue for the country – especially considering their direct correlation with personal Income Tax, VAT and Withholding Taxes.”

    “Government at all levels should endeavour to provide infrastructural facilities and enabling business environment to allow MSMEs Business to thrive.” he said

    Benue State Deputy Governor Benson Abuonu had earlier disclosed that the NSA, on behalf of the security chiefs, briefed Council on security challenges across the country, particularly in the Northwest, Northeast, Middle Belt, Southeast and Southsouth.

    “He informed Council on efforts being made by the Federal Government and urged the state governments to support Federal Government efforts in dealing with the challenges in their respective States, particularly those with local perspectives.

    “The NSA assured that the intelligence community and security agencies will continue to sustain current efforts to mitigate the security challenges across the country.”

    On the Council’s decision, he said: “Cases of bandits should be prosecuted and adequately publicised by the States and Attorney-General encouraged to personally lead the prosecution.

    “Council recommended that a Committee of NEC  with representatives from the geopolitical zones, including Zamfara, Ondo, Plateau, Ebonyi, Katsina, Edo and Borno states, be set up to meet with the IG of Police to determine how to ensure the decentralisation of police operations as quickly as possible.

    “Council also thanked the NSA and the Service Chiefs for their efforts,” he said

    Asked to speak on the security situation in Benue State, Abuonu said that there is improvement compared to the frequent killings in the past.

    “We now have relative peace in in the state and that does not mean that there are no more killings in the state.”

    “The security situation in Benue has improved as compared to the previous military exercise operation, now many Internally Displaced Persons have returned home, the State is relatively calmed”, he said.

    He urged the Federal Government not to withdraw Operation Well-Stroke from the state soon.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President, Laolu Akande, said Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun briefed the Council on various accounts balances.

    He said: “Honourable Minister of Finance reported to the Council that the balances in the under listed Accounts as at August 14, 2018 are as follows:

    “Excess Crude Account (ECA) – $ 2, 250, 434, 918.00, Stabilization Fund Account – N21, 591, 091, 564.37, Natural Resources Development Fund – N 143, 479, 688,711.25”

  • DPR sets new guidelines for LPG operations

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is to engage stakeholders in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to fashion out new guidelines on high risk and life threatening practices being taken for granted by operators in the industry.

    Zonal Controller, DPR, Lagos, Oluwole Akinyosoye, disclosed this in his presentation on safety in LPG operations at NIPCO Safety week celebration to commemorate World Day for Safety & Health at Work at the company’s premises on Dockyard Road, Lagos.

    The Controller, who gave a pat on the back to NIPCO management for the high level of safety consciousness and excellent housekeeping exhibited by the company, said the feat has given credence to the receipt of best compliant HSE terminal NPA awards consecutively in the past six years.

    Akinyosoye said: “We are today talking to NIPCO, we are going to engage other players in the industry as well. We have started engaging NNPC as well to ensure we don’t just load the products but ensure that those trucks are fit for purpose.

    “’If you load trucks that is not fit for purpose and there is an explosion in your facility, God forbids, on the way to the plants or at the plants, it will be on record that the truck loaded from your company, that is why we are looking at the LPG guidelines once again.”

    He said correspondence will soon go to all operators on how to be up to speed with regards to loading and ancillary issues stressing “you know better than us because you do it every day and we may be theoretical in ways we do things but we relate to all sectors of the industry and we know where the shoes are pinching and those guidelines we are fashioning out.”

    According to him, the guidelines would spell out what need to be in place before truck loads ,ensuring that they have the right shut out valves and correctly installed as well trucks being fit for purpose.

    Recalling the sad experience of January 15, 2018 when one of the bottling plants operator lost huge investment, the DPR Controller enjoins both the investor and customers alike to adhere strictly to safety rules to avert such incident in future.

    He said NIPCO has exhibited exemplary behaviour in the area of safety and their operations generally noting that “I have not received any negative report on the company, and am saying that with all sense of responsibility.”

    The Controller also commendable the management for the investment they have put in place in terms of infrastructure for commercial gas in Nigeria.

    He launched the NIPCO safety pamphlet designed to guide users of LPG as domestic cooking fuel in a safe manner as a corporate social responsibility initiative and enjoined all stakeholders to keep safe at all times.

    NIPCO Managing Director, Sanjay Teotia, while declaring open the Safety Week events, said  good Health Safety and Environment (HSE) performance is an integral part of efficiency in the downstream sector of the nation’s oil industry. He reiterated the commitment to sustain its safety culture which has manifested in zero incidents and fatality in the entire 14 years of its operations adding that the HSE policy of company is hinged on prevention of injury to employees, assets, and environment.

  • Fed Govt implements revised import, export guidelines next month

    The Federal Government is to begin the implementation of the 2017 Revised Import and Export Guidelines in January, 2018, as part of its policy of enhancing the ease of doing business in the country.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who stated this at a sensitisation workshop on 2017 Revised Import and Export Guidelines in Lagos at the weekend, said  it is mandatory for both imports and exports to be palletised in containers as is the pratice globally.

    She said the take-off date was fixed after due consultations with relevant stakeholders, saying that imports already prepared for shipment into the country will not be affected by the new policy.

    In a speech delivered on her behalf by the Director, Home Finance Department in the ministry, Mrs. Olubunmi Siyanbola, Mrs. Adeosun said the Federal Government has considered all the concerns raised by the trading public regarding the palletisation policy.

    The review of the Nigerian Export and Import Guidelines was motivated by the desire of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to deepen ease of doing business in line with the Executive Order 1, she explained.

    Mrs Adeosun said attention has been focused principally on measures to ensure drastic reduction in time spent on processing of exports, ensure a 24-hour clearance of imported cargoes and block leakages of government revenue.

    The minister said Nigeria has moved to the 145th position out of the 190 countries in the World Bank’s ease of Doing Business Index for 2018.

    She said the Federal Government has adopted a number of measures to improve trading across the country’s border. The measures include reduction of documentation requirements from 10 to seven days for exports; and from 14 to eight days for imports. She said additional responsibilities have also been given to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and sanctions have been introduced to enforce compliance.

    Mrs Adeosun said the workshop was, “an auspicious start to interacting with (the) trading public and is tailored to enlighten the relevant stakeholders on the major provisions of the 2017 revised Import and Export Guidelines”.

    Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse said until the review, the Export and Import Guidelines had become obsolete and had constituted a huge administrative impediment to smooth export and import operations in Nigeria. He said the Export Guidelines came into effect in 2007, while the Import Guidelines had been in existence since 2013.

    Represented by the Director of Information in the Ministry, Salisu Na’inna Dambatta (who endorsed a statement from the forum), the permanent secretary expressed optimism that the revised guidelines will eliminate the bottlenecks that have militated against efficient conduct of trade across the country’s borders, which had contributed to the declining ranking of the country in this regard.

    The one-day sensitisation workshop featured presentation of papers, panel discussions, and questions and answers session.

    A communiqué was issued at the end of the workshop, which recommended that there should be a Ministerial Directive to all agencies to be integrated into the Single Window Platform in order to have seamless transaction, adding that government should ensure that Scanners at the ports are functional.

    The communique further recommended the use plastic pallets; that Ministry of Mines and Steel Development should be made to own its guidelines in line with the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) structure.

    Shipping lines should not be sanctioned or penalised for vessels not palletised but the importers should bear the risk while there is need to automate the NXP Form by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the communique added.

     

  • Minister to SEC: set guidelines for SMEs rating

    The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar has urged the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to coordinate and set guidelines for licensing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) rating of companies. He said the rating will help the nation know how SMEs are faring.

    The Minister disclosed this at the stakeholders roundtable on the proposed SMEs rating agency in Abuja, adding that this is the most trying period in Nigeria’s economic management history.

    She said: “Though we are out of recession, we all know that the MSMEs sub sector holds the key to hastening the economic recovery process. This government is interested in creating the appropriate environment that will turn Nigeria into investors’ preferred destination. All the capital requirements to achieve this are in abundance in this country.

    “What this government is doing is to connect all the broken lines. This may take time but it is achievable. A rating agency should design scoring solutions for SMEs, it should express its riskiness, by subjecting thm to the ratig criteria. Financial institutions will use this rating to decide the kind of relationship they will develop with the SME in granting loans such as the amount to be granted.”

  • PwC launches guidelines for SDG reporting

    PwC launches guidelines for SDG reporting

    PwC Nigeria on Monday launched a new report – Business Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): An Analysis of the Goals and Target.

    On September 21, at the 2017 UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit, during the UN General Assembly in New York, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), with the support of PwC, launched the new report.

    The report, which is the first step towards a harmonised set of indicators and methodologies for businesses to report on, provides an inventory of possible disclosures per SDG at target level.

    PwC Nigeria said up until this launch, there was no single methodology for businesses to measure and report their business progress and impacts on the SDGs, and thousands of companies have been using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting standards in their sustainability reporting.

    The firms said this was despite the fact that these standards predate the ambitious SDGs agreed by over 150 world leaders at the UN Summit in 2015.

    “As more and more businesses work toward their SDG objectives, reporting on their impacts and contributions to SDGs is set to become less complex. They can now use only one common standard for reporting on their performance on the SDGs, in line with the ten (10) Principles of the UN Global Compact,” PwC said.

    It added that with the increasing interests of investors in directing funds towards businesses that are leading the way on responsible business practices, the need for businesses to be more transparent and effective in their corporate reporting has become very paramount.

    The firm in a statement made available to The Nation, explained that as technical partners and knowledge drivers to the Private Sector Advisory Group on SDGs as well as its dedication to the achievement of the UN SDGs in Nigeria, “We  are excited to bring the latest development on (SDGs) reporting to you.”

    “This gives PwC Nigeria the opportunity to finalise the localised version being prepared by the sustainability team for the private sector in Nigeria as we prepare to launch both in the next couple of months,” it added.

    The firm said undoubtedly, this ground-breaking initiative will help businesses in Nigeria to better engage and communicate their contributions to the SDGs with governments and inform their sustainability reporting at a national level.

    “We at PwC are at the centre of this and are best positioned to support your business move from sustainability to include SDG reporting,” the statement said.

  • Guidelines for raw sugar allocation out

    To boost its Backward Integration Programme (BIP), the Federal Government has released new guidelines and benchmarks for raw sugar allocation to operators in the sector.

    National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) Executive Secretary Dr. Latif Busari  said under the guidelines, operators would be required to submit their requests for sugar in December.

    Busari, who made this known in Abuja, through the Council’s Senior Information Officer, Mr. Yunusa Abdullahi, said this year’s allocation would be the last based on the old criteria, including market and share refinery capacity.

    He said from next year, allocation would be based on quantitatively- verified improvement in performance.

    Busari, however, added that the Sugar Roadmap Implementation Committee (SURMIC) and Sugar Industry Monitoring Group (SIMG) were expected to monitor all BIP projects quaterly.

    According to him, the outcome of each monitoring will be forwarded to all operators with copies sent to the Council and to the Office of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

    Busari explained that the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for assessing and scoring BIP’s performance shall be the size of the land developed and target for the year.

    Other indicators include mill development and factory operation, sugar produced in tons and jobs created for the year.

    The NSDC boss said that to ensure compliance, government would put in place sanctions for poor BIP performance.

    “Any operator that fails to achieve performance target for the year, based on BIP commitments as released by the Joint Harmonisation meeting, shall be penalised for poor performance, with reduction in quota commensurate with performance scores,” Busari said.

    He added that scores by operators shall be in percentages and an operator shall be allocated the percentage of its score in the year’s projected allocation.

    Busari also said there would be sanctions for quota infringement by any of the BIP operators.

    He explained that any operator who abused allocated quota through excess importation would pay for the excess sugar imported, calculated on the extant tariff indicated in the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).

    Busari said: “Erring operator must pay the duty penalty for excess importation before it can be allowed by the Nigerian Customs Service to discharge its raw sugar cargo.

    “The Council reserves the right to recommend additional sanction if the above appears not effective in ensuring compliance.

    “It is hoped that these measures, if adopted and strictly implemented, shall bring some sanity to the implementation of the sugar BIP programme and enhance the performance of operators.’’

    According to him, the Federal Government had, following the official take-off of the NSMP in January 2013, began the implementation of the Sugar Backward Integration Programme.

    He said three refineries were approved as BIP operators and were made to sign formal commitments detailing a number of indicators by which their performance would be measured.

    Busari explained: “As part of the arrangement, raw sugar quotas at the concessionary tariff of five per cent duty and five per cent levy, was to be allocated to operators on the basis of performance of their BIP projects.

    “It will also act as incentive to encourage operators to plough back profits to their BIP projects.’’

    He added that the concessionary tariff would last for three years in the first instance, and that operators’ performance would be assessed by two special committees – SURMIC and SIMOG – set up by the NSMP.

  • LP decries LASIEC guidelines

    LP decries LASIEC guidelines

    The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of Labour Party (LP), Pastor Biodun Popoola, has faulted the guidelines of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) on the council election scheduled to hold on July 22, saying it will infringe the democratic rights of the people.

    At a conference in Lagos, Popoola explained that the guidelines would disenfranchise Nigerians who were desirous of serving the people, because the conditions stipulated by the umpire were unfair.

    He said many political parties have been boxed to a corner and may not not field candidates for the election, because of the stringent guidelines. The LP Chairman said LASIEC was doing the bidding of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said: “The guidelines release by LASIEC on April 7 for the forthcoming local government elections, by Justice Ayotunde Phillips, which spelt out the administrative charges to be paid by political parties on behalf of their candidates, is to limit participation of other political parties.

    “It is in furtherance of their premeditated caveat to disenfranchise the poor by instructing that candidates must attach tax clearance certificates for three years among other requirements.”

    Popoola said that the decision of the commission not to use Card Reader machine for the conduct of the council election, because the law setting the commission had no provision for the use of the machine, is to conduct a dubious election.

    He added: “This is totally at variance with democratic process; it is atrocious, intolerable, condemnable and unacceptable. The Lagos State Labour Party has gone to court to seek relief on the outright cancellation of the primitive, impervious administrative fees slammed by LASIEC.”

    The party chieftain said the party would participate in the election, adding that it would continue to struggle against the annihilation of the people’s fundamental political rights. He added: “We have therefore embarked on state-wide consultations in the last few weeks, to solicit for support in the 57 councils in order to thwart the ploy to keep Lagos State under one party perpetually.”

    He maintained that the LP had all it takes to win the council polls in the areas that it would field candidates.

    Popoola called on LASIEC to play by the rule of the game, noting that the composition its board was already making most of the political parties uncomfortable.

    He said: “Some card-carrying members of the APC are on the board of LASIEC. Some of them had contested elections in the past, for the House of Representatives and the House of Assembly.

    “They are now serving in the board as umpires to supervise the election in which their party will participate. There is no way they would discharge their duty without discrimination or bias.”