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Tag: guidelines

  • NAICOM to release revised RBS guidelines

    NAICOM to release revised RBS guidelines

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) may release a revised priority guidelines on Risk Based Supervision (RBS) for insurance operators this week.

    Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari made this known to reporters at the just-concluded African Insurance Organisation (AIO) Conference in Kampala, Uganda.

    Kari said the Commission had commenced migration of the insurance sector into the RBS regime when it introduced Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Code of Corporate Governance guidelines, among others.

    He said the Commission was set to conduct one of the principal programmes in the RBS regime which is the mandatory training for directors of insurance firms. According to him, the training is billed to commence this Thursday.

    He said: “We have since commenced migrating the sector into a RBS regime by the guideline we gave by the ERM and code of corporate governance. These are risk based. The only thing we have not come out with before is one of the principal programmes in the risk based, which is the mandatory directors’ training. This will hold on June 1 and 2.

    ‘’These are programmes for risk based and the training is to show that it has already started. Priorities guidelines have been reviewed and copies will be released to the operators on Monday (today).

    By the guidelines rolled out by NAICOM, the model will require the classification of assets of the insurance companies to ascertain their capabilities to underwrite various risk portfolios in the industry.

    Earlier, the commission launched the sensitisation to educate operators on the need for a switch from rule-based regime to risk-based supervision for insurance to play effective role in the economy.

    The Commissioner explained that consolidation does not mean just an additional capital, it may be redefined as the type of insurance business the companies want to operate.

    “Today, we have capital as the only basis for operation and if you meet the minimum capital, you can operate. For instance, underwriting any cover without consideration to the obligation to stakeholders and that is why we have infractions in the industry, explaining why we have many players in the industry that do not add value to the services they provide both in the intermediary and insurance sectors.’’

    “For companies to underwrite risk, they must have enough assets to cover the risks being underwritten. So, risk-based is being able to identify what is your financial capability. If your financial capability does not guarantee you to insure oil because of the huge capital layout involved in terms of obligations, you will not be allowed to insure the risks.”

  • Super-Highway: Cross River hasn’t met guidelines, says NCF

    |The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has faulted the claim of the Cross River State Government on its proposed Super-Highway adding that the state is yet to meet guidelines set by agencies and so can’t get approvals.
    In a statement signed by NCF’s Director General, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi, there have been reported threats by some cabinet members of the Cross River State Government to resume work on the Cross River Super-Highway.
    The Foundation allergies that if the project goes on without proper EIA and BAP in place, it will have both environmental and social impact of a scale better imagined than experienced. It advised the Cross State Government to adhere strictly to the provisions of the EIA Act and suspend any plan to commence the construction of the proposed Super-Highway without the approval of the Federal Government.
    According to reports, the State’s Commissioner of Information, Mrs. Rosemary Archibong, alluded to the process by the Federal Ministry of Environment to ensure that due process is followed as “thwarting the State’s effort”. She said though it has strived to meet all the agencies demand to ensure that these projects took off smoothly, government is still battling with approvals one year after.
    NCF claims that work was already being carried out at the site before any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was submitted, which is a gross violation of the EIA Act No. 86 of 1992.
    It reads: “Contrary to the claim that the CRSG has met all guidelines, the belated EIA report was full of errors and inconsistencies, which the EIA Review Panel constituted by the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME) observed. It was then sent back to the CRSG to effect the observations and concerns raised.
    “A revised EIA and a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) from the CRSG was submitted last January to the FME, which was passed to relevant stakeholders, including NCF, for further review. It was observed that the revised EIA and BAP were fraught with a lot of inconsistencies, misrepresentations, falsification and errors. The stakeholders’ observations were recently conveyed to the FME.
    “The threat by the CRSG to go ahead with the construction without an approved EIA goes to show the level at which the CRSG is unwilling to abide by the laws governing major developmental projects. It should be stated here that all such projects all over the country are obliged to follow the EIA Act.
    “No mention was made of over 185 Communities that will be totally displaced from their ancestral lands and the vast acreage of forest land that will be destroyed. Based on the foregoing, NCF wishes to state that for the CRSG to threaten to go ahead with the work despite the FME’s efforts to see that the process is followed according to the laws of the land.

  • JAMB releases guidelines for varsity admission

    JAMB releases guidelines for varsity admission

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday announced its guidelines for admission process.

    Its announcement through its website followed a week long meeting with universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.

    According to the board, the modalities would be based on point system.

    The board, which explained   how the admission process would work for JAMB candidates and direct-entry applicants, also stated that varsities would collect screening fees from candidates at the end of admission process.

    According to the board, the new method uses a point system, which is divided into other processes, that is easy to understand.

    “Before a candidate can be considered for screening, he/she must have been given provisional admission by JAMB. The JAMB admission checker portal is going to be opened soon for this process, so praying is all you can do now,” the statement on JAMB’s website said.

    The second process, the board said, was the point system where admission would depend on the point tally of the candidate.

    It said: “JAMB’s provisional admission no longer makes much sense this year, your points tally will decide your faith.

    “The points are evenly spread out between your O’level and JAMB results to provide a level playing field for all.

    “In the first case, any candidate who submits only one result which contains his/her relevant subjects already has 10 points, the exam could be NECO, WAEC, GCE etc, but any candidate who has two sittings only gets two points. So, this means that aspirants with only one result are at an advantage but only just.”

    The board explained that the next point grades fell into the O’level grades where each grade has it’s equivalent point;  A6 marks, B4 marks, C3 marks. So, the better the candidate’s grades, the better his/her  chances of securing admission this year.

    The next point is the UTME scores where each score range has its equivalent point which can be summarised thus: 180 – 200 (or 20 – 23 marks); 200 – 250 (or 24 – 33 points); 251 – 300 (or 34 – 43); 300 – 400 (or 44 – 60 points).

    Giving a breakdown, JAMB explained that each categories contains five JAMB results per point added.

    For instance, a candidate with 180 – 185 gets 20 points, a candidate with 186 – 190 gets 21 points, adding that the point system for direct entry will be released soon.

    The board stated that fees would still be charged for screening which has replaced the Post UTME.

    “It then comes down to the fact that fees will still be charged for screening, it depends on the school as well,” the statement said.

    It also disclosed that catchment and ELDS will still be used!

    “Merit contains 45 per cent of the total candidates for a particular course, catchment contains 35 per cent and ELDS and staff lists contains the rest.

    “Cut off marks will be released by schools this year in the form of points and not marks. If a school declares it’s cut-off mark for Medicine as 90 points and JAMB grants a candidate with 250 a provisional admission but his/her total points falls short of the 90 points, then he/she will lose the admission. So, the provisional admission is just a means to an end, not the end in itself,” the statement added.

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  • NEXIM MD unveils guidelines for N500b export facility

    NEXIM MD unveils guidelines for N500b export facility

    The Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Bashir M. Wali yesterday unveiled the implementation modalities of the N500 billion Export Stimulation Facility and the N50 billion enhancement on the Rediscounting and Refinancing Facility.

    Speaking at the non-oil export stakeholders’ engagement session in Lagos, he said over the past few months, the NEXIM Bank has been working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to review existing policies and strategies towards increasing funding support and stimulating additional investments in the non-oil export sector.

    He explained that during the course of this review, the bank has also met with various stakeholders, including exporters, commodity associations, bankers, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other relevant government agencies to obtain strategic inputs and share perspectives towards achieving our common objective of diversifying the Nigerian economy.

    He said the approval of the two intervention funding schemes and release of the operating guidelines by the CBN represent the result of NEXIM Bank’s collective efforts.

    He said with the release of the guidelines and commencement of the schemes, Nigerian exporters and export oriented businesses will now seize the opportunity to expand and upscale their operations towards boosting the current low contribution of non-oil exports, which has remained at about five per cent over the years.

    “Let me also add that besides the issues of availability and access to funds, we have also intensified our collaborations and engagements with relevant institutions and stakeholders towards addressing other challenges affecting the export sector such as the problems of infrastructure, issues of packaging and labeling as well as improving access to market,” he said.

    He said the event was meant to create a forum for discussion of the implementation modalities, the role of all participants and the expected outcomes from the successful implementation of these schemes.

  • Marketers worried over forex guidelines’ delay

    Marketers are worried  over the failure of the Federal Government to release the guidelines on the “flexible foreign exchange (Forex) regime” which provides them with multiple windows of accessing forex for fuel importation.

    They said they were yet to benefitt from the provision weeks after the guidlines were issued. Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), National President Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, said his members were waiting for directives on  how to source for forex.

    His members, he said, had been importing fuel before  flexible forex was introduced, adding that they hoped the initiative would boost their operation.

    Okoronkwo said “Already, marketers have been placing orders for fuel abroad, and do bring fuel into the country. We have not stopped importing petroleum products. However, we are waiting to know the full details of the new scheme tagged: “Flexible forex regime” as contained in the guidelines.  We would like to have indepth knowledge of the scheme before we let the public know how our members intend to key into it.”

    The Chief Executive Officer, Petrocam Trading Nigeria Limited, a downstream operator, Mr. Patrick Ilo, said marketers are anxious to know what the  guidelines on ‘flexible forex regime’ looked like in view of the fact that it was expected to impact positively on their activities

    He said his firm, like others in the sector, are banking on the guidelines to improve growth.

    Ilo in a chat with The Nation during the opening of Petrocam solar powered mega station in Ajah, Lagos, said the guidelines would favour marketers who would import fuel into the country.

    He said with the guidelines in place, marketers are sure of accessing forex for fuel importation, thereby improving supply. Ilo said: “Though Petrocam started operation before acute shortage of forex began a few months ago, the firm has managed to survive.  Amid this, the Federal Government brought the idea of flexible forex regime.  We at Petrocam are waiting for the guidelines on the regime. I’m confident that the period of waiting for the guidelines would be over soon. When this happens, marketers would source forex at relatively cheaper rates and import more fuel into the country.’’

    The Federal Government introduced ‘flexible forex’ in order to enable marketers source forex independently.  The idea replaced the old and cumbersome method of sourcing forex from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) window by marketers.

    “Flexible forex is said to be a less cumbersome and varied means of sourcing for forex by importers of fuel and other consumables into Nigeria. But we are waiting to see the guidelines that would provide clarity on the issue, he added,” he said.

    The flexible forex was introduced following the increase in price of fuel from N86.50 per litre to N145 per litre and high exchange rate of dollar to naira.

  • New transaction guidelines on e-payment out

    New transaction guidelines on e-payment out

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued   new switching guidelines to enable the industry achieve an effective and seamless settlement system.

    In a circular at the weekend, the regulator said the guidelines are backed by the powers conferred on it by Sections 2 (d) and 47 (2) of the CBN Act, 2007, to promote and facilitate the development of efficient and effective systems for the settlement of transactions, including the development of electronic payment systems.

    It said the guidelines supercede the previous one on transaction switching services and the operational rules and regulations for the Nigeria Central Switch (NCS).

    The guidelines also set out the procedures for the operation of switching services in Nigeria, including the rights and obligations of the parties to the switching contract. It compels the switching companies to meet with minimum standards for switching, as approved by the CBN.

    For a switching company to operate in Nigeria, it shall obtain a Switching license from the CBN while parties to transaction switching include, but not limited to Nigeria central switch; switching companies; card issuers and merchant acquirers.

    It said acquirers, whose transactions are switched, shall maintain databases that can handle information relating to cardholders, merchants and their transactions for a minimum period of seven years.

    Also, information on usage, volume and value of transactions and other relevant information shall be forwarded to the CBN as and when due and in the format required by the CBN.

    Each member institution shall settle fees charged for the services provided by the switching company in relation to the operation of the switching network, in accordance with the agreed tariff while the issuer shall be held liable (where proven) for frauds with the card arising from card skimming or other compromises of the issuer’s security system.

    The CBN said an acquirer shall be responsible for ensuring that merchants put in place reasonable processes and systems for confirming payee’s identity and detecting suspicious or unauthorised usage of electronic payment instruments, both where customer/card is physically present at point of sale or in cases where customer/card is not physically present, like in Internet/web and telephone payment systems/portals.

  • New recruitment guidelines for MDAs coming

    A new policy on recruitments in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) is in the offing, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr  Joe Abah, has said.

    Speaking in Abuja, he said the agency would work with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to implement the policy, aimed at preventing MDAs from employing beyond their budget.

    “We are, similarly, working with the office of the Head of Service to put a manpower budget defence, which means you cannot recruit unless you have the manpower provided for in your budget. So, people will have to come to the office of the head of service to defend their manpower budgets before they are allowed to recruit,” he explained.

    According to Abah, the guidelines will help tackle improper recruitment in agencies, such as employment racketeering, bloated work force and ghost workers.

    He said a committee had also been set up to look into the implementation of the Oronsaye Report.

    The BPSR chief stated that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) recently approved the re-constitution of the implementation committee that would start work later this month. “You will be aware that the Oronsaye Report includes a management and staff audit recruitment of some parastatals and agencies.

    “The BPSR recently published a guide on how to properly manage agencies and parastatals. And that includes the performance improvement tool that agencies can use to make sure that their performance meet the needs of Nigerians going forward,’’ Abah added.

    He said the implementation of the Oronsaye Report would address most of the issues faced in MDAs.

  • NBA to release guidelines for judges

    NBA to release guidelines for judges

    The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) will, next month, launch guidelines for judges in the exercise of their discretion in sentencing and bail matters, the President of the association, Augustine Alegeh, has said.

    Alegeh told The Nation that the guidelines were inspired, among other things, by the exercise of discretion by Justice Abubakar Talba of an Abuja High Court in the 2013 case of the police pension fund offender, John Yakubu Yusuf.

    Yusuf pleaded guilty to conspiring with six others to steal about N23 billion from the Police Pension Fund and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with an option of N250,000 as fine on each of the three counts, by Justice Talba.

    He later paid N750,000 and walked home free

    The NBA chief said the guidelines would help judges in deciding what an accused person deserves in cases where the law gives them wide latitude in sentencing.

    “What we have done at the NBA is that we have prepared documents which we call ‘Sentencing guidelines’”, the NBA chief said. “We have also prepared another document called ‘Bail Guidelines’.

    “We have these documents and sometime in October they will be released as the NBA’s position on how to deal with those matters.”

    The NBA chief made reference to the practice in America where there are several criteria for determining the applicable punishment for different grades of the same offences

    “In other countries, what they have done with judicial discretion is that they have restricted that discretion by having what is called Judges’ Guidelines,” Alegeh said.

    “In the Florida Gun Laws for example, the punishment for owning a gun without a licence is different from the punishment for shooting that gun. And if you shoot the gun and the man is injured, the punishment to be applied by the judge is different than if the man is dead.”

    He added that the NBA guidelines would toe similar lines.

    “Our guidelines divide offences into different categories, such that even if the law says give a man a minimum jail term of six months, for offences between so and so you can give six months; for this gravity you can give 12 months. Guidelines on how the judge is to exercise that discretion.

    “But if a judge can give you six months and six years, it is so wide. So, for us there are things we can do with our law.”

    On the Police Pension Fund case, Alegeh said the NBA’s position remained the same, that the judge did not break any law.

    “The judge in Abuja, with respect, we disagree with the exercise of his discretion, but there’s nothing in our law books that says what he did is wrong,” he said, “The only thing we need to do is to guide the exercise of that discretion.”

    He continued: “And we have looked since that time and nothing has been done, so, we are going to release in October, the NBA’s position on sentencing guidelines and bail guidelines.”

    Alegeh added that Nigerian courts of superior jurisdiction have since amended their prosecution guidelines.

    He said: “You must also understand that the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court have both amended their rules of practice in respect of prosecution in cases of fraud, terrorism, kidnapping and the like. But we are not feeling the impact now because the cases that we hear of are the cases that were brought under the old rules.”

  • Absence of guidelines delays full TSA compliance

    The absence of the implementation guidelines to guide Ministries, Departments and Agencies is delaying the full and final take off of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), The Nation has learnt.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had given a September 15, 2015 deadline to all Ministries Agencies and Departments (MDAs) for the full compliance with his directive for all government revenues to be domiciled in the TSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    However, investigations by The Nation have revealed that the MDAs are waiting for the implementation guideline from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHSF) and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to guide them on how to make making the remittances.

    An official of the federal ministry of finance who spoke to The Nation confirmed that they were waiting for the guidelines from the Head of Service. The finance ministry official said there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered by the Head of Service like how long it will take revenue generating agencies that deal directly with the public to remit their revenues to the TSA and if such revenues that come directly from the public should first go to the banks or if the public should now take cash to such agencies and departments thus by-passing the banks.

    The Finance ministry official said they were ready to comply with the President’s directive, but that the delay in the release of the guideline was holding MDAs back.

    It would be recalled that shortly after the order by the Presidency for all MDAs to remit all revenues to the TSA, the Head of Service of the Federation Mr. Danladi Kifasi had instructed all MDAs to  carry out the order and await further instructions (guidelines) concerning the TSA.

    The spokesman of the Head of Service Haruna Rasheed Imrana, said they have already released the guidelines and that all accountants in all the MDAs know how to go about remitting their revenues to the and any MDA still in doubt should get in touch with the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).

    Haruna Rasheed Imrana noted that “some MDAs have started complying with the directive meaning that the guideline has been released.”

    Accountant-General of Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris said: “Implementation Guidelines have been developed and will soon be made available to all interested parties and the general public.”

    The Office of the AGF in a statement also reassured “all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as the public that the September 15, 2015 deadline for the closure of all accounts of Federal Government MDAs with the commercials banks is realistic, achievable and will not be shifted forward.”

    Spokesperson for the Office of the AGF Mrs Kene Offie in the statement noted: “The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, in line with its statutory mandate and directives by Mr. President on the TSA, will continue to provide all necessary information and technical support to all MDAs, Banks and the general public to ensure a smooth, seamless and transparent implementation of the TSA/e-Collection policy.”

    An official of the OAGF disclosed to The Nation that over 700 MDAs have keyed into the TSA initiative and are ready to make the final migration to the TSA but we’re waiting for the implementation guidelines.

     

  • UN-Habitat releases guidelines on urban planning

    The United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), has predicted that by 2050, seven out of 10 people will be living in cities, leading to a rapid urbanisation.

    According to the body, this trend has been fueled by inappropriate policies, plans and designs of towns, which has led to inadequate spatial distribution of people and activities, and resulting in proliferation of slums, congestion, poor access to basic services, environmental degradation, and social inequity and segregation.

    To this end, the UN-Habitat has released guidelines to provide governments, local authorities, civil society organisations and planning professionals with a global reference framework that promotes more compact, socially inclusive, better integrated and connected cities and territories that foster sustainable urban development and are resilient to climate change.

    The guideline, known as the International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning, serves as a compass for policy makers and urban professionals when reviewing urban and territorial planning systems.provide national governments, local authorities, civil society organisations and planning professionals with a global reference framework that promotes more compact, socially inclusive, better integrated and connected cities and territories that foster sustainable urban development and are resilient to climate change.

    It also comes in handy when reviewing, developing and implementing urban and territorial planning frameworks, and will be available in seven other languages of Arabic, Chinese, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

    The drafting of the guidelines, which spanned over two years, was supported by 35 experts, through a broad-based consultative and participatory process and based on evidence, good practices and lessons learnt from various contexts and at various planning scale.

    The United Nations (UN) agencies and members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives at UN-Habitat were also consulted and briefed throughout the development of the Guidelines.

    The process was supported by financial and technical contributions from the government of France through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the government of Japan through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism the Prefectural Government of Fukuoka, the Municipal Government of Fukuoka and Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka.