The Nation Newspaper

Tag: implementation

  • Fed Govt assures on IPSAS’ implementation

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun at the weekend, said the Federal Government was committed to the adoption and implementation of international Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the country.

    She stated this in a message to a one-day workshop on “Making Change Happen  in the Public Sector’ jointly organised by the Association of National Accountants  of Nigeria (ANAN), International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Office of the Accountant- General of the Federation in Lagos.

    The minister, who was represented by Omoniyi Fagbemi, said IPSAS would enable the government to reap the benefits of transparency, accountability, probity and better decision making.

    She urged participants to ensure the success of IPSAS, adding that she expected deliberations to cover capacity gap, ICT infrastructure, inventory and valuation of assets and others which were germane to effective implementation of IPSAS.

    Adeosun praised the initiative of the organisers of the workshop designed to enhance ongoing national efforts to entrench transparency, prudence and accountability in governance.  “The workshop is also designed to ensure that the method of reporting the public sector follows global best practice.

    “The government has intensified efforts at introducing and strengthening reforms in Public Financial Management. This can be seen in the implementation of Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS); the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS); the Treasury Single Account (TSA); and the international Public Sector Accounting standards (IPSAS), the minister said.

    According to Adeosun, arrangements are in top gear for the commencement of IPSAS Accrual Accounting by January 2016.

    “Prior to this, the nation had commenced the implementation of IPSAS Cash Basis of Accounting in 2014, the minister said.

    The ANAN President, Anthony Nzom, said the association would support the Federal Government in its crusade of Change. According to Nzom, people resist change out of ignorance and stick to the old order.

    “We know that this country is endowed with human and material resources with Nigerians in different parts of the world. ‘ANAN would not be claiming one of the foremost in Africa and in public sector without playing important roles in the change,’’ the ANAN chief said. He described the collaboration between ANAN and IFAC a strategic.

    Prof Stephen Ocheni of Kogi State University, spoke on Treasury Single Account (TSA), and said the TSA was designed to achieve a consolidated view of government’s accounts.

    Ocheni said the TSA was also meant to undertake optimum utilisation of available funds, ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability in the budgetary process. “The budget performance of government can be ascertained from one point and this is TSA,’’ he said.

    Director, Consolidated Accounts, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Prof.  S. A. Zubairu, spoke on IPSAS, saying that the office had prepared all tiers of government for the scheme.

    He said the office had issued literature and IPSAS Accrual Accounting manuals. According to him, the manual is applicable to Federal, states and local governments.

    The Chief Operating Officer of IFAC, Ms Alta Prinsloo, said Public Financial Management reform was the ultimate public interest issues for the accounting  profession.

    Speaking on “Accountability now,” Prinsloo said there “is need for a global campaign to raise awareness, facilitate partnerships and support capacity building’’.  She talked about challenges, saying that public sector finance personnel were often not qualified accountants and not members of professional organisations. Prinsloo, however, said it “takes an average of three years to transit to Accrual-Based recording of transactions’’.

     

  • Rig owners to Water Resources Minister: pursue implementation of National bill

    The Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners & Practitioners (Borehole Drillers Association) has tasked the Minister for Water Resources, Adamu Suleiman, to pursue with vigour, a quick implementation of the bill to enhance sanity in the industry.

    The President of the association, Michael Ale said the bill, Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management, NIWRMC is poised to create a framework that will guide the conducts of practitioners in water industry and make the sector more organised.

    Reacting to some of the anomalies in the sector, Ale said: “Nobody is licensed to drill borehole anywhere in the country due to lack of regulation. Because there is no law of water regulation and standardisation, some Asians have come into the country and are drilling illegally everywhere and it is very risky to the lives of the masses.”

    He said when a driller is not licensed, there is risk of exposing the drilled water to danger of unsafety for consumption which has resulted to high mortality rate in the country due to water related sicknesses.

    He noted that water sector is more profitable and can compete with oil and gas and telecom sectors if it is well coordinated saying that unorganized state of water sector is an indictment on Federal government and Ministry of Water resources.

    He also noted that water can become business if it is made pure and save for consumption saying though it is a natural resources but must be paid for to promote profitability and save water infrastructure from moribund.

    The president thanked President Mohammadu Buhari for granting their two requests of not merging the Ministry of Water Resources with others and to choose an expert in the field as minister.

    While congratulating the minister, Ale said the minister has been in the system for over 30 year as an expert and he still remains one saying that the minister need to seek advise from the stakeholders to get ideas that can move the sector forward despite he is an expert.

  • Lagos MDAs, state government agree on PRA 2014 implementation

    Lagos MDAs, state government agree on PRA 2014 implementation

    Lagos ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) last week reached an agreement with the state government on how to implement the Pension Reform Act 2014, especially the pension contribution increase, Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports.

    In what can be described as a public hearing between an employer and employee, Lagos State government last week met with public servants on workable ways to implement the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) guided by the new pension law, the PRA 2014.

    The meeting, a one-day seminar on the Provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014 for the State Chief Executive Officers, Directors, Administration and Human Resources and Pension Desk Officers in MDAs also threw light on grey areas of the CPS in relation to the Civil Service Rules of the State Public Service. Representatives of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) were also present at the meeting.

    It would be recalled that Lagos State began the implementation of the CPS in March 2007 guided by the PRA 2004. However, the PRA 2014 has introduced some new provisions that is expected to be absorbed in the operation of the Scheme.

    According to the Director-General, Lagos State Pension Board (LASPEB), Mrs Folashade Onanuga, the state wants to consolidate on the strides already made in implementation of the CPS and wants to ensure it retains the position it has occupied.

    She stated that the State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode however, wants an all-inclusive agreement from parastatals and agencies to avoid partial or faulty implementation of the PRA 2014 especially pension contribution increase .

    The PRA 2014 increased pension contribution rate from 7.5 per cent employee rate and 7.5 per cent employer rate to eight per cent employee rate and 10 per cent employer rate.

    Section 4 sub section 1 of the PRA 2014 states the rate of contribution under the CPS shall be a minimum of 10 per cent by the employer and a minimum of eight per cent by the employee’s monthly emoluments.

    Sub section 2 of the Act further states that the rates of contribution may upon agreement between any employer and employee be revised upwards, from time to time and the PenCom shall be notified.

    Sub section 4 also states that notwithstanding any of the provisions of the bill, an employer may agree on the payment of additional benefits to the employee upon retirement or bear the full responsibility of the scheme provided that in such case, the employer’s contribution shall not be less than 20 per cent of the monthly emoluments of the employee.

    Onanuga further disclosed that the state has made a recommendation to government to increase the funding rate of accrued rights from five per cent to 12.41 per cent recommended by our actuaries, Alexander Forbes.

    She added that the interactive session is to further instil, better understanding of CPS, how it works and the technicalities involved.

    She said: “In as much as we know that PRA 2014 is now operational in the private sector and at the Federal level with effect from July 1, 2014, it is important for us to come together and look at it closely in order to understand it better, how it will affect public servants and how to resolve the issues inherent in it.

    “The purpose of this forum is to ensure efficient management of our pension system, which in essence called for this seminar, which its main objective is to give indepth analysis of what the PRA 2014 entails. The purpose of this is to enable decision makers in MDAs have clearer and better understanding of the provision of the new law and the implications for pension administration in the state public service, most especially on the issues relating to pension contribution increase.”

    She noted that the current administration has from inauguration, emphasised a commitment to the welfare of the people of Lagos State.

    She pointed out that before the state will domesticate the provisions of the new Act into the Lagos State Pension Law, critical stakeholders will look at the increase in financial obligation arising from the 2014 Act.

    “We will look at whether we can go into it taking into consideration the happenings in the economy.

    Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson Oke representd by the Permanent Secretary, Civil Service Pensions Office, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola stated that the government remains committed to consolidating on policies that would help in promoting its performance on the CPS administration.

    Meanwhile, a representative of the Lagos State Lottery Board Micheal Folarin said the agency is already contributing 23 per cent rate, which represents eight per contribution by employee and 15 per cent contribution by employer.

    He also believes that it is necessary for other government agencies to increase the rate from the present 15 per cent to minimum 18 per cent.

    Another representative from the Lagos State University, Mrs Oyele on her part said they support the pension contribution increase of 18 per cent.

    According to her, the CPS stands for the sustainability of employees after retirement and the increase is justified based on their recent standard of living.

    She added that the state is buoyant enough and can pay the increase.

    Adewale Shoyele from the Lagos State Public Service staff Development Centre, believes that the state can pay the increase if it puts proper planning in place.

    “We need to plan effectively with the pension fund. Lagos is number one state in Nigeria and in Africa.”

     

  • UNEP report: why implementation is stalled, by Shell

    UNEP report: why implementation is stalled, by Shell

    Three years on,  the report of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) on assessment of the environment and public health impact of oil contamination in Ogoniland in Rivers State and the options for remediation, is yet to be implemented.

    This followed stakeholders’ non-compliance with the project.

    The independent assessment by UNEP was conducted at the request of the Federal Government to create a sustainable remediation of the polluted area and stem militancy in the region. But since release of the report in August 2011, much has not been done to implement its recommendations.

    But the General Manager, External Relations, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Igo Weli, told reporters in Lagos that the UNEP report implementation was paramount to the company.

    He regretted that other stakeholders were not working on the responsibilities assigned to them.

    The Report recommended  76 actions, with the Federal Government getting 50, Shell 22 and the community four.

    Weli noted that the most important of all the actions are those assigned to the community, including the taking of a proactive stand against oil theft and illegal refining to stop spills and environment degradation and allowing access to clean-up spills.

    There had been no progress on the actions, he said, adding that the implementation of the recommendations would make no sense or achieve any result with continued spills and illegal refining.

    Weli said: “Oil production in Ogoni by SPDC was stopped abruptly in 1993, due to access denial. Facilities were vandalised, accompanied by fires and oil spills. Oil theft and illegal oil refining have, in addition, led to significant environmental impact. But SPDC is committed to remediating the environment, if only the community will cooperate. It makes no sense to clean up while fresh spills and illegal refining continue unabated.”

    He said 22 actions were recommended in the report for the operators to carry out.

    These include reviewing the procedures for clean-up and remediation, developing asset integrity management and decommissioning plans for Ogoniland and contributing to an Ogoni clean-up fund established by government.

    Weli said 16 actions had been completed, five were ongoing, such as relocation of right of way (RoW) encroachers, among others.

  • Fed Govt begins gas network code implementation

    The Federal Government has begun the implementation of the Nigeria Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC), it was learnt.

    The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Dr Mordecai  Ladan, stated this on the sideline of the just concluded 2015 conference and exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) held in Lagos.

    The code   NGTNC is a contractual framework between transporter (or network operator) and network users (known as shippers) that provides open competitive access to existing and future gas transportation infrastructure. The code stipulates that every gas meant for domestic use be it power, petrochemical or industrial, will have a single entry and exit point to eliminate sharp practices that exist in the current supply and distribution system.

    Ladan said stakeholders in the sector had earlier met in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, to discuss the way forward to ensure smooth implementation of the code. He said part of the implementation exercise of the NGTNC is the training of 20 personnel outside the country under the guidance of foreign partners.

    The steps taken by the government, according to him, is to help eradicate the bottlenecks and problems in the system, adding that the approach may help in ending gas flaring in the country from the end of 2020, but noted that adequate funding is required to achieve it.

    To further reduce or eliminate gas flaring, the Nigerian Gas Company  (NGC) said gas supply to power plants will increase by additional 800 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) by the end of next year. The increase in supply will be created by market forces where there will be a willing-buyer, willing-seller situation.

    According to NGC, although the willing-buyer, willing-seller situation is currently in place, the government needs to implement the $2.50 per 1000 standard cubic feet pricing regime for gas in order to help gas suppliers boost supplies to the market. The successes of increase in gas supply to power plants, also depends on adequate regulatory framework on the commercial side of the sector.

    Its immediate past Managing Director, Dafe Sejebor, said: “Regulation has a major role to play for effective gas supply. Regulation should be looked at more on a commercial basis and we don’t want to forget that time is of essence. Government should implement regulations on time.’’

    Sejebor noted that the reluctance of upstream oil and gas companies to invest in domestic gas production is as a result of low pricing while uneconomical gas-to-power price framework is stalling growth of the gas industry. He said the inadequate funds for infrastructure development and limited appetite of Nigerian banks to invest in long to mid-term projects as well as host community issues, work against gas industry’s growth.

  • Clean-up of Ogoniland: PDP, South-South APC, MOSOP hail Buhari’s approval of implementation of UNEP report

    Clean-up of Ogoniland: PDP, South-South APC, MOSOP hail Buhari’s approval of implementation of UNEP report

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rivers State chapter, and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), have described as a welcome development, President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Ogoniland’s environmental assessment.

    The Rivers PDP, through its Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, noted that President Buhari’s action on UNEP and Ogoniland was in tandem with Governor Nyesom Wike’s restoration programme in the state.

    MOSOP, through its President, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, congratulated the President Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria for also approving the setting up of the governing structures to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the UNEP report on Ogoniland.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people said: “Coming at a time of growing skepticism, driven by experiences of untoward politicisation of implementation of the report by the immediate past administration (of President Goodluck Jonathan), the approval demonstrates a comforting shift from rhetoric to matching words with action, which expresses commitment. The action will rebuild and strengthen the confidence of our (Ogoni) people in the government.

    “In reciprocation of the Federal Government’s response to our outcries, MOSOP pledges to cooperate with the administration (of President Buhari) and other stakeholders to ensure a successful implementation of the recommendations of the report.

    “While we applaud the approach on UNEP report, we will plead with the Federal Government not to delay the constitution of the approved governance structures, to enable urgent commencement of the Ogoni environmental remediation and restoration exercise. We will implore Mr. President to, as a matter of urgency, call for nominations from the defined stakeholders to enhance composition of the Governing Council and the Board of Trustees of the intervention agency.”

    The PDP, while urging President Buhari to match words with actions on the UNEP report, stated that the decision would fast-track the clean-up of Ogoniland.

    The party lauded the President for not discontinuing a process started by previous administrations, which led to the commissioning of UNEP activities in Ogoni and the setting up of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), particularly by the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, all of which were being gazetted.

    The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-South also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the recommendations of the report.

    The National Vice Chairman of the party in the zone, Prince Hilliard Eta, said in a statement signed by his media aide, Bassey Ita, that the President’s action was an indication that the President Buhari was fully ready to ensure the welfare of all Nigerians as contained in his campaign promises.

    The APC chieftain, who expressed confidence that the government will turn around the economy of the region, also urged the electorate in Bayelsa State to embrace change in the coming governorship election.

    Eta assured that the undue harassment of APC members in the state will soon become history, as the party was reaching out to relevant authorities to put a stop to the menace of the PDP-led authorities.

     

  • NCS urges Buhari on CPN Act implementation

    •Laments exclusion from INEC, others

    The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to implement the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) Act (4a) in the appointment of IT experts into various boards and parastatals. Besides all boards of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), especially those that depend on IT to  fulfill their mandates, must have at least one IT expert as executive member, the society said.

    The group also lamented the exclusion of its members form government agencies, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adding that it was not good enough for professionalism.

    Its President, Prof David Adewumi, who spoke in Lagos ahead of the group’s 12th International Conference scheduled for Akure, the Ondo State capital, lamented that successive administrations shuned  the CPN Act  in the appointment of key officials into ICT- related fields, project design and implementation.

    He wondered why, for instance, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has members who are commissioners in INEC while the NCS has none. He argued that the appointment of NCS member into INEC should not be anything less than that of a commissioner.

    He said NCS believes that in addition to the Cybercrime Act, legislation should be enacted to foster the development of IT and IT-enabled activities and growth of the industry and the profession.

    Adewumi said:  ”The usage of IT in governance and security needs to be improved through more widespread adoption of IT professionalism in the private and public sectors. NCS and its members can play a major role in improving the state of security nationwide, combating terrorism, enhancing public service delivery and accountability and boosting job creation.

    “There should be preferential usage of Nigerian professionals in major and strategic national IT projects and initiatives instead of always importing people, products and solutions and creating jobs in other countries.”

    According to him, local engineers have the expertise to do the job as has been demonstrated over the years, as jobs contracted to the so-called expatriate experts are usually contracted to indigenous engineers who have often acquainted themselves well by doing the job.

    Speaking on the NCS 12th International Conference 2015 which has Information Technology for inclusive development as its theme, Prof. Adewumi said it will provide policy makers, public and private sector, IT practitioners and the academia opportunity to keep up-to-date with technology trends in the global space.

    He said participants will also discover opportunities for the private sector in the process of inclusive development and avenues for public-private partnerships towards realizing the IT objectives within the context of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    The conference, according him, “will provide opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas, establish business or research relations, and find global partners for future collaborations”.

  • Ondo begins implementation of smart cards

    Ondo begins implementation of smart cards

    The Ondo State government has said the implementation of its residency card, otherwise known as Kaadi Igbeayo, will take off with four key sectors.

    Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade said the utilisation of the smart card will begin with the health, education, agric and the micro-credit areas of the economy.

    The commissioner said from tomorrow pupils who enjoy government’s school shuttle scheme would have to present their parent’s smart card to access the facility.

    He also mentioned that those who want to benefit from the government’s subsidised agricultural input as well as those who want to draw from government’s micro- finance scheme would need to present their smart card before their application could be considered.

    He added that though the smart card has been operational in the health sector, especially with patrons of the Mother and Child hospitals, the commissioner informed that its utilisation would now be extended to those who will be seeking to use the government facilities at the medical village and other government health facilities.

     

  • Legislators push for Pension Reform Act’s implementation

    Legislators push for Pension Reform Act’s implementation

     The National Assembly is pushing for the full implementation of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 to ensure that retirees under the Defined Benefits Scheme enjoy the same comfort in retirement with that of their counterparts under the  Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), writes Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

    Workers across the world are taking more than a passing interest in what befalls them when they retire.

    In Nigeria, the story is not different. Though the country has crossed a milestone in reforming its pension system, much more still needs to be done in terms of implementating the new pension law, the Pension Reform Act 2014.

    The National Assembly says consolidating the gains of pension reform in the country will require full implementation of the enabling law, urging its action to ensure that retirees under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) and the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) enjoy comfort in retirement.

    They also believe that the implementation of the law will ensure that never again will retirees, who have served their fatherland meritoriously, roam the streets begging for alms.

    The ongoing pension reform in Nigeria started with the enactment  Act which established the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the CPS.  That became necessary because the DBS was not fully funded by governments across the country.  Relief came the way of retirees under the old scheme in 2013 when the Federal Government reformed the DBS with the establishment of the Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate (PTAD).

    One year after PTAD was established, the Pension Reform Act, 2014 was enacted to repeal and replace the 2004 Act.  The new law gave PenCom regulatory roles over PTAD and further strengthened the latter to deliver on its mandate of ensuring that pensioners under the DBS get their pensions as at when due.

     

    In the beginning

    Before the establishment of PTAD, the Federal Government had set up the Pension Reform Task Force, headed by Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, to reform the DBS.  Members of the task force were later alleged to have helped themselves from the money meant to pay pensioners to the tune of billions of naira while many of retirees died in poverty.

    The allegations led to the sack of the task force and their job became a subject of investigation by the Seventh National Assembly.  Revelations of massive fraud perpetrated by the members of the team were unearthed even as Maina was said to have shunned invitation by the legislators to come and clear his name.

    Just lately, Maina and some members of his team, now answering fraud charges at various law courts, began sponsoring intensive media campaigns to disparage the revelations made by the National Assembly and showcase some unconfirmed achievements recorded by the team in an attempt to convince the President Muhammad Buhari to reinstate them.

    However, giving vivid details of the discoveries of the Senate Committee on States and Local Governments in the Seventh National Assembly, its Chairman, Senator Kabiru Gaya, observed that prior to pension reform in the country, government found it extremely difficult to address the issue of pensioners roaming the streets of major cities begging for alms as a result of non-payment of their pension or negligence on the part of those coordinating the pension system.

    Addressing participants at the just-concluded Stakeholders Sensitisation Conference on the Pension Reform Act  in Abuja, Senator Gaya recalled that under the DBS, many retirees died because of delay or refusal of government to pay their pension while negligence on the part of those who managed pension fund contributed to the plight of retirees under the old scheme.

    “The Defined Benefits Scheme caused death of retirees because their pension were either delayed or not paid at all for a long period as a result of corruption.  The introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme will reduce corruption to the barest minimum if not erase it and stiffer laws and penalties should be looked into,” he said.

    Reflecting on “Consolidating the Gains of Pension Reform in Nigeria,” Gaya painted a gloomy picture of the DBS prior to the establishment of PTAD in 2013. According to him, the scheme was plagued by “lack of funding, insufficient budgetary provisions, mismanagement, maladministration, inadequate legal framework and constant death of retirees while awaiting their entitlements and high corruption” among other things.

    Also, giving an insight into the findings of the National Assembly Investigative Panel on Pension, he said pensioners found it difficult to get their entitlements.

    “Some of our members cried when they saw the pains these pensioners were going through.  Some of them have gone mental because they were asking for the claims and they could not get them and some of the people handling pension fund were having good time and good foods on their tables.  I personally assisted one of them financially because he was telling us several things as if we were the civil servants that failed to pay their pension.

    “During our investigations, we found that money was kept in banks for years and pensioners were not being paid.  One organisation paid N5 billion while it had N21 billion in its purse kept in banks generating interest while it refused to pay pensioners,” he said.

    He also stated some of the challenges the National Assembly surmounted in the course of making the pension laws saying “during our pension probe we had situations where some members of the Task Force became forces that we cannot fight.When we collated the report for the Chairman of the task force and members of his team to account for N195 billion, we invited him but he refused to appear.”

     

    Legislators’ effort

    Members of the National Assembly observed that with the establishment of PTAD, the gory tales they inundated with is now a thing of the past.  The Directorate is working very hard to bring back smiles to the faces of pensioners under the DBS.  The law makers also noted that to sustain the successes so far recorded with the old scheme, there is need to further strengthen PTAD by fully implementing the new pension law.

    Assuring PenCom of the support of the National Assembly in implementing the Pension Reform Act 2014 fully to meet the expectation of workers and retirees in the country,  Gaya recalled that the lawmakers had in the past made useful recommendations towards the successful reform of the pension industry and would support PenCom and other pension stakeholders to continue delivering on its mandates.

    “That is why we made about 122 recommendations to the Senate which include that funds should be in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not in commercial banks and that those already in commercial banks should be returned to CBN. I want to assure you that the National Assembly is ever supportive of  strengthening of this Act to alleviate the sufferings of our elder statesmen,” Gaya said.

    He also encouraged stakeholders in the pension industry to uphold best practice in the administration of retirement benefit fund in the country saying “PenCom, PTAD and all others should be diligent, prompt, transparent, honest and sincere in their days of service because they are also close to the net.

    “For us to move forward in this country, we have to fight corruption.  We have to be sincere in our jobs and for those who steal so much, once you cross a certain level all the money you accumulate is a waste.”

    The Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Pension, Hon. Samson Okwu in the Seventh Assembly also supported Gaya on the need to fully implement the new pension law.  Speaking during a Stakeholders Sensitisation Conference in Abuja, he encouraged pension stakeholders to fashion out ways to fully implement the new pension law to ensure that self-employed people and workers in the informal sector are brought under the CPS.

    He said: “I charge professionals to look into the law and system such that we can give guarantees to contributors.  Your contributions will pave the way for us to learn how all Nigerians can key into the system such that we will have a guaranty of savings for all Nigerians such that even the welder by the road side can be part of the scheme.

    “The Eighth National Assembly will partner the industry and we will work together to make the pension system better.”

    Justifying their push for full implementation of the law, the legislators observed the CPS is working perfectly and according to plans.  The scheme, is fully funded and retirees under it are getting their pension as at when due. There has not been any case of fraud or corruption in the system from inception, they said.

    The legislators however, noted that the only way to ensure that the gains so far made with the DBS will not be reverse is to fully implement the Pension Reform Act, 2014.  This will also ensure that situations where fund managers under the old scheme come in contact with pensioners’ money and may be tempted to divert or mismanage will be completely avoided.  The era where managers of the scheme deposit pensioners’ money to earn interest while pensioners wallow in abject poverty will be gone for good with the full implementation of the new pension law, they maintained.

    According to the law makers, for the DBS to succeed, it is important to further strengthen PTAD and ensure that the CBN continue to keep custody of all the money meant for pensioners under the DBS and pensioners’ entitlements continue to be transferred directly to their bank accounts from the apex bank after verification.  They want retirees under the old scheme to enjoy good life in retirement as much as their colleagues under the CPS, insisting that it is only the full implementation of the new pension law that will make all these possible.

     

    PTAD

    Established August 2013 in line with provision of Section 30(2) (a) of the Pension Reform Act, 2004 and now Section 42(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, the PTAD took over the management of the Defined Benefits pension schemes of federal parastatals and agencies and has been implementing a new structure, which is a clear departure from the old system and also introduced a new orientation to service delivery to meet the needs of pensioners.

    The pension law directed directors of the Civil Service Pension Department, Police Pension Department and Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department to report to the Executive Secretary of the Directorate.  Also, all the Boards of Trustees of pension schemes being operated by FGN parastatals report to PTAD.

    PTAD Director-General, Nellie Mayshack, said the agency however prides itself as “progressively working hard” to sanitise the pension administration system and restore public confidence through effective management, accountability and transparency and alleviating the sufferings of pensioners through regular and prompt payments, constant communication and easily accessible to by retirees.

    The directorate also said it is improving service delivery to pensioners, ensuring effective planning and management of pension under the DBS and ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of pension funds while restoring confidence and trust in the system.

  • World Bank begins Implementation Support Mission

    World Bank begins Implementation Support Mission

    World Bank has begun the Seventh Implementation Support Mission for West Africa Agriculture Productivity Project (WAAPP) to assess the success of WAAPP activities in some selected states and areas for subsequent collaboration.

    The mission, conducted between May 4 and  15, this year reviewed progress of restructuring of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) and also assessed operational status of the dry mango projects and progress of implementation of action plans developed during the implementation mission of November, last year.

    Its Agricultural Economist and Co-Task team Leader, Dr. Sheu Salau, who is on one of the teams, said the dry mango technology at the Longa-Ewa Lakes, Sabo Wuse, Niger State, is a regional project adopted from Burkina Faso which is one of the aims of WAAPP of exchanging technology within the West African sub-region aimed at reducing poverty and ensuring growth.

    At the Longa-Ewa Lakes, some few kilometres off Sabon Wuse, along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, the dry mango project was commissioned by Dr. Sheu Salau.

    The proprietor of the project, Alhaji Njidda Ahmed, said one of its objectives  is to reduce post-harvest losses of mango, guava and oranges.

    He said the dry mango technology is a process whereby the Tommy mango that is grown on the farm is collected, peeled and dried through a WAAPP-sourced machine that dries the fruit from 100 per cent  moisture to 12 per cent  before it is packaged in 5kg polythene bags.

    At the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Kubwa, Abuja, WAAPP assessed the production of breeder, foundation and certified seeds of improved cassava varieties, production and dissemination of breeder and production of high quality seed yams.

    The mission also visited the National Cereals Research Institute, Badeggi, Niger State Agricultural and Mechanisation Development Authority (NAMDA), Minna, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Federal University of Agriculture, and Fish Shoal, both in Abeokuta.

    The team’s first stop in Niger State was in Ndagbachi village where a biogas digester that produces cooking gas from cow dung mixed with water was commissioned. Dr. Salau, who addressed the community, urged them to maintain the project.

    The National Project Coordinator, WAAPP Nigeria, Prof. Damian O. Chikwendu, said WAAPP aims at increasing agricultural productivity through improved crop varieties and improved fingerlings noting that these will enhance household productivity.

    He said the aim of the biogas project is to teach the community the dangers of cutting trees for firewood and provide them with alternative, adding that WAAPP will continue to monitor the project in order to see how it is impacting on the community.

    The biogas digester project was also commissioned at the University of Abuja which was adopted as a village.

    In Badeggi, the Managing Director of Niger State Agricultural and Mechanisation Development Authority, Baba Kutugi Madugu, briefed the team on the community-based seed multiplication activities especially rice with a visit to the rice paddies in the area.