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Tag: Lai Mohammed

  • FG to BBOG: Stick to your advocacy role

    FG to BBOG: Stick to your advocacy role

    The Federal Government on Monday advised the Bring Back Our Girls Group to stick to its advocacy role.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also urged the group to see the government as a partner rather than an adversary in its quest to secure the release of the Chibok girls.

    The minister in a statement signed by one of his aides, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, said the incessant attack of the current government is counter- productive.

    He said, “The BBOG’s continued portrayal of the government as an adversary and the needless firing of darts at the President, who is doing his utmost best to bring the girls back home safely, could be ultimately counter-productive.

    ”The Federal Government has bent over backwards to carry the BBOG along and to show transparency in the conduct of the search for the girls.

    “The recent invitation extended to the group to witness first-hand the search for the girls by the Nigerian Air Force is a clear indication of this.

    ”However, it came to us as a surprise that despite its initial positive report on the tour, the BBOG has too quickly reverted to its adversarial role.

    “BBOG should stick to its role as an advocacy group rather than pretending to be an opposition party. The synonyms of the word ‘advocacy’ do not include ‘antagonism’, ‘opposition’ or ‘attack.

    “In fact, those words are the antonyms of advocacy.”

     

  • ALL SET FOR DIGITAL SWITCH OVER IN ABUJA –LAI MOHAMMED

    ALL SET FOR DIGITAL SWITCH OVER IN ABUJA –LAI MOHAMMED

    THE minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said all is now set for the launch of the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting.

    The minister announced this in Abuja on Monday during the tour of key facilities of Pinnacle Communication Limited, the signal distribution for the Abuja DSO.

    “We are impressed by the speed, commitment and passion of Pinnacle to this project,” he said.

    Alhaji Mohammed also said 30 free channels will be available for Abuja residents upon the switch over on Thursday and that over 450,000 Set-Top Boxes have been provided for the flag-off.

    “It’s a revolution in the broadcasting ecosystem as far as Nigeria is concerned because not only are we going to have better clarity and audio but the average resident of FCT who is in possession of our Set-Top Box will have 30 free channels from news, entertainment, music….This is going to open a new vista for content,” he said.

    The minister expressed confidence that within three years of the digital transition, one million jobs will be created in the development of television content, technical services, software development, as well as the installation and repair of Set-Top Boxes for over 24 million TV households, among others.

    The minister said even though the Digital Switch Over will not take place in one fell swoop across the country, the federal government remains resolute in its commitment to meeting the 2017 deadline for the DSO.

    Also speaking at the call centre of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), he said the government is equally concerned about customers’ satisfaction, which informed the setting up of the Call Centre where subscribers can call to make inquiries or complaints for prompt response.

    Alhaji Mohammed, who was accompanied by the NBC Director General, Mallam Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, and the Chairman of DIGITEAM Nigeria, Mr. Edward Amana, inspected facilities at the Monitoring Room, Transmission Station and the Call Centre.

    The Pilot Scheme of the DSO was launched in Jos, Plateau State, on 30 April 2016.

  • Lai Mohammed unveils information app

    Lai Mohammed unveils information app

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has unveiled the Federal Government of Nigeria Information App (FGN IAPP) in Abuja. He said the government would not allow the media space to be dominated by those working to discredit it.
    “We realised that in order to get undiluted and factual information directly to the people, we will have to do things differently. This is because those who are opposed to this administration’s change agenda, including the corrupt elements in our society who have chosen to fight the government with their ill-gotten wealth, have taken it upon themselves to distort our messages and obfuscate our activities to give the impression that the government is not doing anything.”
    In addition to using the conventional and the social media, he said, the government has introduced town hall meeting where ministers interact directly with a cross-section of Nigerians in a no-holds-barred session. He noted that the app would ensure that authentic and real-time information is delivered directly to them, irrespective of their location.
    Mohammed said: “Our latest effort in the quest to provide authentic and timely information to Nigerians is the App we are launching today. Irrespective of where you are in the world, from today all you need to do is to download the FGN IAPP, and you will have access to factual and real time information on the activities of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
    The services contained in the app include the Tender Journal that is published twice a month to announce available government contracts, the ‘’BE INSPIRED’’ section which makes it possible for any Nigerian, irrespective of his status, age or academic background, to meet top political, business, religious and other leaders and the access to genuine government job vacancies. The minister added that the app also has a feedback section that allows anyone so interested to make his or her feelings known about any government policy or programmes.
    “It is our sincere hope that Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, and indeed all those who are interested in authentic news about the activities of FGN, will take advantage of the app. We will be fine-tuning it as we progress in order to make it more responsive and to better serve the people. The government will never succumb to the antics of Internet trolls, hack writers and pseudo analysts/experts who work daily to fool unsuspecting Nigerians,’’ he said.
    The App Developer, Mr Olawale Wale-Falope, said the App is a one-stop shop where Nigerians can get authentic information on all the three arms of government in real-time. He said there is too much falsehood about Nigeria and that it’s time for the country to speak out so that the world does not judge it based on a one-sided story.
    Other dignitaries at the unveiling are the Minister of Niger Delta, Pastor Usani Uguru; Minister of State for Environment, Malam Ibrahim Usman Jibril, and his counterpart in the Health Ministry, Osagie Ehanire.

  • FEC wades into Falcon’s allowances’ palaver

    FEC wades into Falcon’s allowances’ palaver

    …Mohammed: Default in payment caused by recession

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday started deliberation on the crisis surrounding the payment of outstanding allowances and bonuses to the victorious Super Falcons.

    The team, which won the African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) trophy last Saturday, seized the trophy until the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) settles all their outstanding bonuses and allowances in tune of $25,000 for each player.

    They also vowed to remain at their Agora hotel in Abuja until their money is paid.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said that FEC is looking into the matter.

    “The Minister of Youth and Sports raised the issue today at the council and it is being looked into,” he said.

    According to him, the economic recession in the country is partly responsible for inability to meet up with the outstanding payments.

    “Over time, it has become tradition to reward victorious athletes of sports persons but I think this is caused by the biting economic situation.

    “The Minister of Youths and Sports is handling the matter. It was reported under other matters today at the council,” he stated.

  • FEC okays transaction parties for $1 billion Eurobond

    FEC okays transaction parties for $1 billion Eurobond

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the appointment of transaction parties for one billion dollars Eurobond issue.

    The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun briefed State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    She was in the company of Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed.

    The transaction parties, she said, included Citigroup, Standard Charted bank, Standbic IBTC, Whiten case, Banwo and Igodalo and Africa Practices communications advisers.

    She said: “The one billion Eurobond program is part of the funding for 2016 budget and we hope to be able to commence the process in January. We obtained certificate of no objection from Bpp for the appointment of those parties having undertaken fully competitive open tender process.

    “We are confident that we will be able to complete the transaction expediently with significant interest. The oil price stability obviously is helping us, currently there is quite a bit of demand for emerging markets papers,” She said.

    According to her, Nigeria’s paper is currently trading around 7 to 8 percent mark.

    The minister added: “Angola came out in November with bench UAD I.56 and Gabon in June  did 8.25 plus Ghana in September did 9.25. We are expecting to get quite a competitive pricing on the issuance program which I said is to be used for the purpose of funding capital projects in the 2016 budget within the month of January.

    “The other thing to note is that these parties that have been appointed would run any Eurobond issuance program that we do for the next three years so that we don’t have to keep on re tendering unless there is a major problem with any of them they will be our parties for the next three years,” She stated.

    The Minister of Environment said that the Council considered finalizing the amendment of the gazette for the establishment of the hydrocarbon pollution restoration process/purchase.

    The gazette, she said, is the vehicle that is supposed to have all the government structures to will allow clean up in the Niger Delta starting with Ogoni land and the implementation  of the UNEP report.

    “Why is this so important, well what we have said in the past the past gazette did not put in place some of the government structures we need such as the government board, like the board of trustees or a structure that would be held accountable for the enormous amount of money that is already available to be spend and additional monies that we can leverage from the money that we have that is being offered by different partners.

    “This now will enable us to put more structure to the board of trustees who require a legal entity to put the resources in and then we hope that in the new year we will begin to roll out, to begin with the building of the centre of excellence, the integrated soil treatment centre will also go up and then we begin training, but in this case we start training many of the women on the livelihood side in the many of the contaminated areas.

    “Of recent, you would have heard that in Ogoni land itself we have pipelines …. I’ve visited there…those that are most affected there are the women farmers. So we have to find better ways of speaking with communities but also ensuring that livelihoods of women are not affected.

    “We are also speaking to many of the young people there, we have a good feedback from those who are interested in being a part of the rollout of the clean-up Ogoni land in the new year,” She said.

  • Creative Industry: Lai Mohammed okays bills for National Assembly

    Creative Industry: Lai Mohammed okays bills for National Assembly

    In its bid to re-position the creative sector for auditable structure and optimal returns, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture has made ready, three Bills, which it will be presenting to the National Assembly.
    The Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, when he received officials of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) in his office.
    Mohammed said: “We are putting three Bills before the National Assembly. The first is the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); the second is Motion Picture Council of Nigeria (MOPICON), because we believe that we must create that enabling environment for the creative industry, and the third is the Bill for the Establishment of the Tourism Development Fund.”
    According to Minister, who spent the better part of last week meeting with stakeholders in the art and entertainment industry at the National Theatre, Lagos, noted the current situation under which artists access funds at high interest rates for their production is not encouraging. To stem this, he assured that the enactment of the NEA will open new vista of opportunity for players in the industry to access funds that will enhance their performance.
    He emphasized that MOPICON, on the other hand, will provide a self-regulatory framework to guide and standardise the activities of the nation’s movie industry, while the Tourism Development Fund will held in providing funds for training and project development, among others.
    The Minister identified piracy as the biggest challenge facing the creative industry and advised COSON to partner with other stakeholders in the industry to form a Task Force that will work along with the government to check the menace of pirates.
    On the issue of payment of royalty on music being played by government-owned broadcast stations, the Minister insisted that the existing agreement between COSON and the broadcasters should be respected for the mutual benefit of both parties.
    Touching on the issue of Private Copy Levy which Collective Management Organisations are clamouring for, the Minister, while acknowledging that the Levy will guard against the infringement of intellectual property right, insisted the law has to be reviewed to conform to current realities.
    “Yes, it is correct that Section 28 of the Law provides for it. You are also right to say that in Year 2012, the Attorney General actually signed the document but unfortunately there are issues that we all need to sit down together to resolve before the Private Copy Levy Law can even be implemented. One which we all agreed is that when this law was signed, the level of technology is not what it is today. If you want to implement that law, you are going to run into a lot of challenges.
    “My advice is that we should look at that law and see whether we are going to amend it to take care of the challenges of technology, otherwise we will not be able to implement it,” he said.
    Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji expressed confidence in the present administration’s political will to implement policies that will protect the intellectual property of the artists.
    Also at the meeting were the Directors General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Kawu Modibbo; his counterpart at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mallam Yakub Ibn Mohammed and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Mr. Mansur Liman.

  • Governorship poll: Buhari in Ondo for APC rally

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday arrived Akure, Ondo State, for the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship campaign rally in the state.

    The Ondo State governorship election takes place on November 26.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Buhari arrived the airport at 10:09 a.m. and was received by the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

    Also at the airport to receive the President were Minister of Solid Mineral Development; Dr. Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and a Senator representing Ondo Central at the upper legislative chamber,  Tayo Alasoadura.

    Others were former Ondo deputy governor of Ondo State; Alhaji Alli Olanusi and a former chairman of APC in the state, Isaac Kekemeke.

    In the President’s entourage were the Minister of Information and Culture; Lai Mohammed, Governor Umar Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State and his Kano State counterpart; Abdullahi Ganduje.

  • FG to represent $29.9 bn loan request with detailed information, says Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed on Wednesday said that President Muhammadu Buhari would reapply for the approval of $29.9 billion loan.

    The first request for external borrowing to fund critical infrastructural projects in the country between 2016 to 2018 was rejected by the Senate on Tuesday.

    But briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, (FEC) meeting, Mohammed said that lack of detailed information frustrated the approval of the first request sent to National Assembly.

    According to him, the government would provide the necessary information which the Senate needed for the approval.

    The minister also maintained that the disagreement between the legislative and executive arms of government were not unusual and that it was in the interest of Nigerians.

    “It is not unusual for the government and the Senate to have some disagreements, they want more information.

    “We will give them all the information they need and we are sure that by the time we finish they (lawmakers) will approve the request.” He said

  • Buhari determined to address Niger Delta crisis, says Lai Mohammed

    Buhari determined to address Niger Delta crisis, says Lai Mohammed

    Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has assured of the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to address the Niger-Delta crisis that has affected crude oil production.

    The minister spoke yesterday in Asaba on the sidelines of the 46th National Council on Information meeting.

     Mohammed said that government’s initiative towards alleviating poverty include job creation, ease of doing business to improve the economy and make food available to Nigerians.

     He said that the government was also taking steps to urgently address the Niger Delta crisis which has severely affected crude oil production, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

     He predicted hard times during the forthcoming Christmas as result of the present hardship occasioned by economic recession, noting that the Federal Government will ensure an improved production of crude oil to kick-start the ailing economy.

     “Every day the government is recording success. Only recently, both the IMF and World Bank released a quite encouraging report that the measure government is taking is definitely leading to a lot of progress.

     “I can assure you that before Christmas, we will be able to resolve a lot of the challenges, especially in the Niger Delta area. And once the production improves, there will be more money in the system.

     “There was this seven big wins that was launched by the president in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, which are the steps Nigeria is taking to ensure that even if we are diversifying the economy, oil and gas still remain a major pillar of our economy and these are things we are doing to revive it.

     “I want to assure Nigerians on behalf of the Federal Government that we are working day and night to ensure that the hardship of Nigerians is reduced.”

     In a paper, titled, ”Leveraging on Information and Digital Technology to Sustain the Change Agenda of Government” the minister advised information officers to key into the information and digital revolution for better service delivery.

     He implored managers of government information to be factual into drowning “out those who are bent on misinforming our people and making it impossible for them to be a part of the change agenda” through various platforms in the social media.

    “We must always stay ahead of the pack. We must be proactive rather than be reactive. We must never let down our guard because, for information managers, there should be no down time, because while you are fast asleep, those who will make your task impossible are fully awake.

     “We must understand and harness the enormous powers of the traditional and the new tools of information dissemination to communicate the activities of government and also get feedbacks,” he added.

    Also speaking, Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa said the current scenario that allows for citizen participation in information dissemination and management through social media platforms calls for a paradigm shift in the interface between government and the public.

    Okowa remarked that information officers must be more scientific in approach and go beyond the realm of dissemination to embrace the more strategic function of communication.

  • 2016 Budget: FG achieves fifty percent capital expenditure implementation

    2016 Budget: FG achieves fifty percent capital expenditure implementation

    …FG releases N25 billion for social intervention investment

    The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed on Wednesday placed the implementation of capital expenditure in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget at fifty percent.

    She briefed State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    She was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

    The Minister of State also said that the Ministry presented a memo to council for notation and implementation on the progress of national roll out of the social investment Programme.

    The programmes, she said, are in four parts.

    She said: “First is the homegrown school feeding Programme which is targeting 5.5 million primary school people in all the states of the federation from primary 1-3.

    As at today, 11 states are fully ready to start and first phase will feed 3.5 million school children.

    “The second Programme is a job creation Programme which is aimed at preparing 500,000 university graduates; they will be equipped with devices contained information to train them as teachers, agricultural workers and also as health support workers. They will be deployed to work in their local community. They will be receiving a monthly stipend of N30, 000 monthly for a period of two years.

    “The third is the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), where one million care givers will be given N5000 monthly for a period of two years. Focus has been given to the extremely poor and vulnerable in our society and special emphasis is being place to providing as many as possible the northern eastern part of the country where a lot of internally displaced persons.

    “The fourth is the Enterprise promotion Programme which is essentially the loan scheme which will be handled by the Bank of Industry. 1.6 million People made up of market women, traders, artisans, small businesses, youths will be given loan from N10, 000 to N100, 000 with a repayment period of three to six months and administration cost of five per cent.

    “N500 billion was budgeted for the social investment Programme in the 2016 budget. We are rolling out with this first four programmes and it will continue till 2017.” She added

    According to her, there is approval from the steering committee in sum of N150 billion, but so far only N25 billion has been released into the account while another N40 billion is in the process of being released into the account.

    She also pointed out that implementation will be done in stages as the states ready for each of the Programme will be added into each of the schemes.

    The school feeding Programme, she said, has started in some states like Kaduna and Osun while the federal government is only adding its resources to it.

    “The federal government will handle from primary 1-3 while the states will handle from 4-6.

    “The cooks have been selected, banks are in place. The only thing that needs to be done including training the persons as well as taking data of the school children have been done in those nine states.

    “There is no spending yet on the national social investment Programme, we are just kicking off, the funds will be released to the Bank of Industry this week for the EIP Programme and for the school feeding Programme is only after the cooks have performed that they will get their first payment.”

    For the job creation Programme, she said that money will only be released when the graduates have resumed and have worked for the first month.

    The 2017 budget preparation, she said, is at an advanced stage.

    According to her, the Economic Management Team has reviewed it extensively, while it will soon be presented to the federal executive council for approval, before going to the National Assembly.

    On the borrowing plan, she said that Mr. President has sent to the National Assembly the borrowing plan for the amount required for both local and foreign borrowing to fund the 2016 budget deficit.

    “The budget implementation itself is on course, the 2016 budget is fully performed to date in terms of personnel, that is to say we do not owe,” She stated.

    Fashola said that the Council approved two memos including 215 megawatt Kaduna power plant and construction of sub-station to evacuate 40 megawatt of power from the Gurara hydro electric power plant phase one.

    On the first project, he said: “The memo sought procurement and implementation defects and lack of budget support for the project which was started 2009 and should have been completed in 2012.

    “But we are now in the position that we can complete this project by next year to add 215 megawatt of power to the national grid. And in particular dedicate some of the power to Kudana dam in Kaduna to support industrial complex there.”

    On the second project, he said, it will enable interconnectivity to Mamdo transmission substation and strengthening the transmission grid.

    He said: “What these two approvals will do is to complete ongoing projects which is a commitment of this administration, create work because contractors will return to site and also increase our power by 215 megawatt, from Kaduna and we will get 40 megawatt extra into the grid from Gurara phase 1 and we are also expanding the transmission across the country.”