The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, has said there is no plan by the Federal Government to retrench civil servants.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Mr Charles Dafe, Director of Information in the Ministry.
The statement quoted Ahmed to have said this when Mr Makhtar Diop, Vice President African Region, World Bank, visited the minister in Abuja.
It, however, stated that the present administration was committed to removing ghost workers from the public system.
The statement also said that the Federal Government was making a thorough scrutiny on public expenditure to guarantee better returns on expenditure.
“This is to ensure that Nigerians receive better returns on their expenditure, especially, in the productive sector of the economy,’’ it said.
According to the statement, the minister requested the assistance of the World Bank to address the challenges confronting the country’s agricultural and economic sectors.
“We shall send some of our specific requests to your bank, like assistance in agriculture and public expenditure review.
“Empowering our National Bureau to perform household, inflation and poverty measurement surveys, including approaching other development partners to provide more grants support to Nigeria,’’ the statement said.
The statement also quoted the Vice-President of the World Bank to have said that said the bank understood the present plight of Nigeria, the challenges of security and present fall in oil price resulting in dwindling revenue.
He, in the statement, promised that the bank would provide helpful economic advice and better financial services to help Nigeria’s economy as well as support the country to grow its agricultural sector. (NAN)
Tag: jobs
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No plan to retrench civil servants –FG
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Fed Govt to create 3 million jobs, says VP
The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said the Federal Government is planning to create about three million jobs in the next three years.
The three-year job plan, he said, is expected to come from the technology, wholesale and retail, construction and agro-allied sectors of the economy, while the 700,000 jobs which would be private sector driven, would come from the agro-allied sector.
A statement endorsed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Vice President, Laolu Akande, explained that the job projections was contained in the report of an implementation of job plan titled “Strategic Framework & Implementation Plan for Job Creation & Youth Employment in Nigeria, submitted to Prof Osinabjo by the Job Creation Unit (JCU) of the Presidency and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Receiving the report, the Vice President said: “We are in a situation now when the only way is up.” He thanked the NESG “for working so hard on this project.”
Osinbajo who expressed excitement and hope recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had set job creation as the central focus of government policy when he instructed that policy planning must address the question of “how many jobs would the policy create.”
Stressing that job creation might be “painfully slow,” Osinbajo assured Nigerians that President Buhari was addressing the constraints that businesses face including regulatory and institutional delays.
He said government and the private sector needed to work together to produce positive results.
“I am extremely excited at all that is available. We really have everything we need, we just need to get it right,” he said
Speaking earlier at the meeting, NESG Chairman, Mr. Kyari A. Bukar said: “NESG is honored to be part of the Committee, and we commit to collaborate with the JCU whilst leveraging our vast private sector network to collectively solve the unemployment challenges Nigeria faces.
“We have had the opportunity to review the Strategic Framework & Implementation Plan for Job Creation developed by the JCU, with the support of Dahlberg, and understand the urgency in addressing unemployment in Nigeria.”
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Jobs foundation launched in Anambra
A foundation to help youths find jobs has been launched in Anambra State.
The platform named SAB Miller Hero’s Foundation, will train youths and help them acquire entrepreneurial skills, according to Mr Lukas Van Deventer, General Manager, SAB Miller, owners of Intafact Beverages Limited, which launched the foundation.
Deventer who briefed reporters at the company’s office at Bridge-Head, Onitsha, the state’s commercial city, said the foundation aimed at empowering youths in the Southeast as well as Southsouth, adding that it has already taken off in Ilesa, Osun State.
“The kick-start programme is aimed at creating and developing a culture of entrepreneurship among our young people by promoting business skills, managerial awareness and material support,” he said.
“The major objective of this programme is to ensure that the teeming youth in the Southeast realise their entrepreneurial dreams and help the region further reduce undergraduate unemployment, by engaging them meaningfully through this entrepreneurship programme that will help nurture and encourage them to bring their dream and business aspirations to life.
“To this end, we have established a foundation, the SAB Miller Hero’s Foundation, to pursue this singular objective. More than any other initiative, we are investing in the future of our region by helping to build a prosperous young society, and this programme is the hallmark of our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) objectives to the areas in which we operate.”
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Oil reform will provide jobs, says Kachikwu
The Federal Government will end corruption and improve the economy to create jobs, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has said. The minister said efforts were being made by the government to ensure that the refineries are working.
He spoke at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) penultimate Thursday while delivering the institution’s 45th convocation lecture titled: The petroleum industry and the future of Nigerian nation.
He said the refineries would be revamped to make petroleum products surplus, noting that efforts were being made to repair damaged pipelines supplying crude oil to the refineries.
The objective of President Muhmmadu Buhari’s reforms in the oil and gas industry, he said, was centred on having the right people at the helm of affairs.
Kachikwu said: “With the right people in petroleum sector, there will be increase in revenue for the country through sales of crude oil and petroleum products. The products will be at affordable price and government will ensure lowest prices. The reforms will provide employment opportunities for Nigerians.”
The minister said there was no accountability and openness in the management of the petroleum industry in the past 25 years, a situation, Kachikwu said, led to the declining capacity of the refinery. He said President Buhari had ensured transparency and openness by his directive to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to publish its monthly report.
He urged people to support Buhari in his fight against corruption in all sector of the economy, saying the effort would restore sanity back to the government.
Kachikwu, a UNN alumnus, hailed management for maintaining the academic tradition of the institution, noting that the school contributed to his career as a professional.
The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Benjamin Ozumba, described Kachikwu as “thoroughbred expert”, noting that his choice as lecturer was informed by his track record in oil and gas industry.
The highpoint of the event was presentation of gift to Kachikwu in appreciation of his contributions in the university and his commitment to reform the oil sector.
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Maritime contractors risk arrest for abandoning jobs, say Reps
The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration has threatened to arrest some contractors working on some projects in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, for abandoning their jobs.
Committee Chairman Mr. Mohammed Bago, who led others on an inspection tour of the academy, decried the state of infrastructure in the institution.
Bago, who condemned their attitude, said the management of the institution should stop awarding new contracts but complete pending projects.
He also said his committee would not tolerate fragmentation of contracts while advising the management to see the committee as partners in progress.
“Let us apply conscience to what we are doing. We are all Nigerians. I am touched by the level of uncompleted projects here. There is no road network here. Some buildings have been completed while some are still at the foundation level. We cannot continue to sink billions of naira here and everything is half done.
“We are not going to tolerate corruption. This committee will meet with the contractors. We can bring the contractors to book. Nobody is above the law. We will summon them, if they fail to come, we will declare them wanted. We need to change in this academy. Contractors need to be cautioned. We will not allow a situation where contractors will receive money and just abscond.
“On the official aspect of our oversight, you have been found wanting, not necessarily directly but indirectly. You are thinking of transforming to a university and you are given huge land and you went to sink a lot of money. We have seen where you have sunk this money. But do we have value for the money? No, we don’t.
“Coming to the main bowl of the institution, we saw a lot of old and abandoned projects. My heart bleeds. Seriously, it bleeds. It is our mission as a committee that by the grace of
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Erisco’s N300m tomato puree plant to create jobs
Erisco Foods Limited, a member of the Erisco Bonpet Group, has concluded plans to employ over 50,000 workers when its multi-million naira tomato paste company begins production in a few months time.
The company, said to be the largest in Africa and the fourth largest in the world, was inaugurated last Friday. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Erisco Group, Chief Eric Umeofia, said tomato paste production would stop the annual wastages of over 75 per cent of fresh tomatoes across Nigeria.
“If we continue with the good policies of the present administration, there will be nothing like a tomato glut anywhere in Nigeria in the next two years. “We as off-taker will produce and process to meet our local demands and export to earn foreign exchange, provided government continues to support manufacturing,” he stated.
He noted that for the company to fast-track its backward integration programme, it has developed a technology that synchronises its existing machines to produce tomato paste and ketchup from fresh tomatoes.
“Our backward integration programmes planned for Jigawa, Sokoto and Katsina will generate employment and prosperity for 50, 000 Nigerians within three years,” he stated.
Umeofia said his Lagos company had an installed capacity of 450,000 metric tonnes per annum, making it the biggest in Africa and fourth largest in the world. He, however, urged the government to direct heads of government agencies in the industrial sector to prioritise local manufacturers over their foreign counterparts.
While urging Federal Government to sustain the formulation of policies that enhance the production capacity of manufacturers, he pleaded with government to stop giving undue advantage to those he called ‘briefcase’ foreign investors. These, he said, are investors who camouflage as industrialists but whose primary interest is to import finished goods as raw materials without paying taxes or the relevant customs duties.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, said government would continue to support the growth of indigenous businesses, especially in this period of economic downturn. Lawal, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Economic Affairs Office, Mr. Williams Alo, said the current economic reality calls for a decisive policy thrust to address issues which must be pragmatic enough to leverage on.
He said:”The major concern of government in this present circumstance is to continue to make policies and reforms as well as restore confidence to stabilise the economic fundamentals and also provide the necessary infrastructural platforms for industries to thrive on.
“Government will continue to intervene in policy formulation towards protecting our national interest and in the process providing a conducive atmosphere that will make production in Nigeria profitable, attractive and worth engaging,” he assured.
In his remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said 150 million metric tonnes at the cost of N170 million of tomato concentrates is imported into the country annually.
Represented by a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Aminu Bisala, Enelamah noted that local production of tomato paste would save Nigeria foreign exchange and create employment.
Nigerian first lady, Hajia Aishat Buhari, who performed the commissioning, called on local manufactures to emulate Umeofia. She said: “Erisco has contributed to the growth of the local farmers in most states in the North where tomato farmers are located. I call on Nigerians to patronize Erisco Foods.”
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‘IOCs, indigenous oil firms may cut more jobs’
Local and International Oil Companies (IOCs) may sack more of their outsourced workers, if the uncertainties in the global oil market continue, President, Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), Austin Nweze has said.
Nweze told The Nation that the global oil market climate compared to the Nigerian economy is not conducive. He said people were not ready to risk their resources and investments in Nigeria.
According to him, operators in the upstream segment of oil and gas have lost many of their workers to market recession, adding that the sector would continue to downsize or right-size, going by the prevailing atmosphere in the industry.
The sector, he said, has lost thousands of jobs across board, stressing that more workers are expected to join the labour market. “There is a general lull in activities in the industry. Aside the attendant loss of business in the upstream sector that led to sales of assets by Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other oil majors, the downstream sector is battling problems. There are virtually no new exploration activities in the industry. This is affecting the capacity of the sector to perform optimally,” he said.
Nweze said according to a research carried out by the association, multinational and local oil companies have lost much to crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other untoward practices, adding that they are not ready to incur more losses. The firms, according to him, are opposed to the idea of keeping certain workers as part of efforts at mitigating losses.
Engineers, clerical workers and others, he said, will be mostly affected because they do not contribute much to their employers.
He said: “From the research, oil and gas firms are ready to keep security and maintenance officers, who supervise and watch over their equipment. These are contract staff, which the oil companies outsourced. To oil and gas firms, their services are much needed in view of the unstable socio-economic environment in Nigeria.
“It is expensive to maintain expatriate workers. Their salaries are in foreign currencies, and it would affect the operational costs of the companies if such workers are kept for long. Now, the industry’s problems have rendered them redundant.
“Maintenance of security officials is important to the oil and gas servicing firms. The firms spend a lot of money in providing pipelines, building tanks, deploying exploration equipments to oil wells, and they would not be happy losing those things. Though the Joint Task Force set up by the Federal Government to patrol and safeguard oil wells are trying their best, oil firms believe in providing their security to compliment whatever the government has done.”
According to him, if contract staff such as securities and drivers, among others in the lower cadre lose their jobs, they would get new ones. Nweze said companies provide security and other contract staff for local and international oil companies, adding that their jobs are always needed in the industry. This category of workers collect small salaries, compared to the engineers, geologists, and other senior workers.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) also alleged that the oil majors have sacked many workers in view of the problems in the industry.
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‘MSMEs can create jobs, wealth’
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can propel the growth of the nation’s economy through jobs and wealth creation to alleviate poverty, the Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Bature Umar Masari, has said.
Bature, who was represented by Monday Ewans, stated this at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) in Lagos. He said SMEDAN policy priorities are to raise a broad-based awareness and appreciation for entrepreneurship, enable a regulatory environment that will support the sector and improve financial support for SMEs.
The outgoing president and chairman of NASME, Alhaji Garba Ibrahim, urged incoming council executive to address the challenges facing the sector, among which is inadequate power supply.
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Agric to create three million jobs – Minister
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, Thursday said that the Agricultural sub-sector will create three million sustainable jobs this year.
Ogbe also said that government has concluded arrangements to focus on Agriculture as one of the key sectors for economic diversification as well as the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Minister spoke at his ministry’s 2016 budget defence session in the Senate.
He noted that the key initiative for the fiscal year, 2016 in the Agricultural sub=sector is to increase the national food supply to address national food security, to add 20 million metric tons of food annually and to create three million sustainable jobs annually.
The ministry, he said, will continue with the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme as a platform to deliver inputs like fertilizer, seeds and agro-chemicals to small holder farmers.
On critical projects and programmes, he said that the ministry in the budget 2016 will concentrate on import substitution commodity value chains; export substitution commodity value chains; labour intensive family enterprise (Life) programmes; agricultural mechanization and grazing reserves/ stock routes development.
The minister who gave summary of 2015 budget performance said that N2,755,369,984 representing 50% of capital appropriation was released and N488,133,883 representing 18% of release was utilized, leaving a balance of N2,266,417,876.
The balance, he said, will be utilized before March 31, 2016.
He said that the ministry projects Internally Generated Revenue of N904, 739,098.69 for 2016 fiscal year.
The IGR, he said, will be made up of N664, 998,569.88 as taxes and N239, 740,528.81 as Independent Revenue.
The 2016 budget proposal for the ministry is N40, 918,856,927
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Care, jobs, facilities in Abia
The weak have been strengthened, some deficiencies addressed in Arochukwu-Ohafia area of Abia State, reports UGOCHUKWU UGOJI-EKE
For people in need, the gesture was unforgetable. Basic necessities are few. The only primary school in one of the communities is almost a write-off. The youths need jobs while their parents pine away at unprofittable farms or menial jobs. Worse, many of the residents do not enjoy good health. That was why Hon Uko Nkole’s gesture will remain with residents of Arochukwu/Ohafia in Abia State for a long time.
Nkole, who represents the area at the House of Representatives, provided health care for over 1000 patients from the locality. He paid for their treatment and gave them money for drugs. Nkole also took up the responsibility to re-roof Ndi Aku Ohafia Primary School, the one and only such institution in that community. In the language of the state, the lawmaker has ‘adopted’ the school.
Most of the beneficiaries were residents of Ohafia, though some others came in from neighbouring communities. The great thing, though, is that the gesture will go round the district, Nkole said.
The free medical treatment which was conducted at the premises of the Ebem Ohafia Primary School in Ohafia Local Government Area was in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, Challenge Aids & Malaria in Africa (CHAMA).
Speaking during a visit to some of the patients who are recovering after surgery at Uzondu hospital and Polyclinic Amaekpu Ohafia Nkole said that he would offset their medical bills as well as provide money to buy more drugs to meet the growing need of patients that kept coming for treatment.
Nkole said that he will also pay the bill for the roofing of the Ndi Aku Ohafia primary school, the first and only primary school in the area since its existence which is in a dilapidated condition.
He said, “In line with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s policy of adopting a school, I am adopting the Ndi Aku Ohafia primary school to reroof the classroom block which has been in a very bad shape for years.”
The federal lawmaker said he will help single mothers at Amangwu Ohafia get a job by providing 25 of them with sewing machines and promised to pay for their shops.
Nkole also promised that in next phase of the free medical scheme those with hearing impairment would be included even as he assured that he would draw the attention of the state government to the scheme for sustainability.
Speaking at the event the Executive Director, CHAMA Mission, Dr Olugu Ukpai, said that for about 10 years the NGO has borne the burden of funding the free medical scheme alone and lauded Nkole’s response to their distress call.
Dr Ukpai explained that the material and financial commitment of the Rep member has helped the organization to reach more people in need and urged individuals, governments and organization to emulate him.
He lamented the level of poverty and ignorance in the area which he said were responsible for most of the health challenges, stressing that he was drawn into the vision by the death of his 16month twin daughter, Goodness, who died as a result of malaria.
Reacting Rev Alfred Ogbonna Olugu a beneficiary, who was treated of malaria and eye problem, thanked God for raising people with the vision to assist the less privileged in society.