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Tag: MDAs

  • Reps committee threatens to invoke power of arrest against MDAs

    Reps committee threatens to invoke power of arrest against MDAs

    • We won’t allow anyone to frustrate our assignment

    The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating alleged job racketeering and mismanagement of IPPIS by Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) has threatened to invoke the provisions of the Constitution to compel heads of MDAs to appear before it.

    In a statement yesterday, the Chairman of the Committee, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi accused the heads of MDAs of trying to frustrate the work of the committee aimed at correcting imbalances in the public service of the Federation.

    Gagdi said that the committee would not accept deliberate attempts by the affected MDAs to frustrate the noble assignment of the panel, describing the refusal to appear as deliberate.

    Gagdi said the House of Representatives would not hesitate to invoke its legislative powers to ensure the affected MDAs comply with the invitations of the committee.

    He said: “Recall, the newspapers publications in This Day Newspaper, Leadership Newspaper, Nigerian Tribune Newspaper, and Daily Trust Newspaper respectively on Monday, 24th July 2023, and Thursday, July 27th, July 2023, and the invitation/hearing notices sent to your offices to cause appearance where the Committee requested that you avail it with relevant information relating to the above-referenced subject.

    “However, to the Committee’s utmost dismay, its request was disregarded. This action is considered contempt of the Legislature.

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    “Consequently and pursuant to Sections 62, 88 and 89 (1){a}{b}{c} of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), as well as the House Standing Order 18A, Rule 9, the following MDA’s  are required to comply with the publication and forward the information listed (i – x) below in a Flash Drive One (1) soft copy (Excel Format) and Forty (40) hard copies typed double spaced, and addressed to the Chairman should be submitted to Suite 0.01 or Conference Room – 034 Ground Floor New Building, House of Representatives, National Assembly Complex, Abuja and cause appearance as scheduled below.”

    He said the affected ministries whose details have already been published in the national dailies are to unfailingly appear before the committee within the stipulated scheduled dates.

    According to the statement, the affected MDAs are to appear before the committee between Thursday, August 24, 2023, and Thursday, August 31, 2023, and must be represented by the Chief Executive Officers.

    Gagdi said the affected Heads of MDAs are to appear before the committee at Conference Room 0.34, New Building, House of Representatives Wing, National Assembly Complex, Abuja by 10 am each day.

    “Please note that failure to comply with the above request/invitation, the Committee will invoke the provisions of Section 89(1, d)(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), and Section 4 of the Legislative Houses (Powers & Privileges) Act, to compel compliance”, he said.

  • House of Reps committee vows to order arrest of erring MDAs, slams NIS, others

    House of Reps committee vows to order arrest of erring MDAs, slams NIS, others

    The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating alleged job racketeering and mismanagement of IPPIS by federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) has threatened to invoke the provisions of the constitution to compel heads of MDAs to appear before it. 

    In a statement issued on Saturday, August 26, the chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi accused the heads of MDAs of frustrating the work of the committee aimed at correcting imbalances in the public service of the federation. 

    Gagdi said that the committee would not accept deliberate attempt by the affected MDAs to frustrate the noble assignment of the panel, describing the refusal to appear as deliberate. 

    Gagdi said the House of Representatives would not hesitate to invoke its legislative powers to ensure the affected MDAs comply with the invitations of the committee.

    He said: “Recall, the newspapers publications in This Day Newspaper, Leadership Newspaper, Nigerian Tribune Newspaper and Daily Trust Newspaper respectively on Monday, 24th July 2023 and Thursday, July 27th, July 2023, and the invitation/hearing notices sent to your offices to cause appearance where the Committee requested that you avail it with relevant information relating to the above referenced subject. 

    “However, to the committee’s utmost dismay its request was disregarded. This action is considered as contempt of the Legislature. 

    “Consequently and pursuant to Sections 62, 88 and 89 (1){a}{b}{c} of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), as well as the House Standing Order 18A,Rule 9, the following MDA’s  are required to comply with the publication and forward the information listed (i – x) below in a Flash Drive One (1) soft copy (Excel Format) and Forty (40) hard copies typed double spaced, and addressed to the Chairman should be submitted to Suite 0.01 or Conference Room – 034 Ground Floor New Building, House of Representatives, National Assembly Complex, Abuja and cause appearance as scheduled below.”

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    He said the affected ministries which details have already been published in the national dailies are to unfailingly appear before the committee within the stipulated scheduled dates.

    According to the statement, the affected MDAs are to appear before the committee between Thursday, August 24, 2023 and Thursday, August 31, 2023 and must be represented by the Chief Executive Officers.

    Gagdi said the affected Heads of MDAs are to appear before the committee at Conference Room 0.34, New Building, House of Representatives Wing, National Assembly Complex, Abuja by 10am each day.

    He said: “Please note that failure to comply with the above request/invitation, the Committee will invoke the provisions of Section 89(1, d)(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), and Section 4 of the Legislative Houses (Powers & Privileges) Act, to compel compliance.”

    Meanwhile, the committee also accused the management of the National Institute for Sports (NIS) and the National Office for Technology Innovation and Aquisition of lopsided appointment of personnel to the disadvantage of other states. 

    Gagdi said at the resume hearing of the committee that the recruitment carried out by the two agencies did not reflect federal character. 

    The director general of NIS, Prof. Olawale Moronkola had told the committee that they waivered to employ 22 staff during their last recruitment exercise. 

    But the Gagdi questioned why six of the 22 staff employed were from his home state of Oyo, when the positions was supposed to have been spread to the 36 states and the FCT, or shared to the six geopolitical zones. 

    The committee, however, asked the institute to provide a detailed analysis of the state representation of workers in the institute and how it plan to address the imbalance in employment. 

     However, the sirector general of the National Institute of Technology Acquisition and Innovation, Dr. Danazunmi Ibrahim told the committee that the institute has already put in place, plans to address the imbalance in its employment. 

    He said the Federal Character Commission has already drawn its attention to the imbalance in its staff representation and ask them to correct it. 

    He said: “we are aware that some states like Bayelsa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Yobe and a few others have no representation in the agency. We already plan on how to address that.”

    He said the institute required more than 30 senior staff to be employed, but got approval for only 23, adding that between 2015 till date, the institute have employed only 45 staff.

    While nothing that the challenges are  documented, he pleaded for the committee’s assistance as the institute have an establishment position of close to 300 staff members of staff. 

    He said: “And in 2020 we were able to get financial provision to employ, when we started the process covid came, then a circular was issued that we had to hold on and at the end of the year the whole money left. It tool us almost 3 years to be able to get this fund to start the employment process, so we had to come back to ‘square one’.

    “And up till now, staff are going the younger ones are not coming up, the older ones are going. So there is a serious issue of succession challenge in the office, we feel the committee may be able to assist us. But currently we have an approved establishment from the Head of Service to employ 90 staff and we are in the process to see how we get the waivers and necessary funding”.

  • Fed Govt orders metering of MDAs over rising debt

    The Federal Government has directed Meter Assets Providers (MAPs) to provide meters  to Ministries, Deparments and Agencies (MDAs), to give them access to electricity, The Nation has learnt.

    Currently, the monthly debt profiles of these agencies is estimated at over N5billion.

    It was gathered that the directive follows the usual bickering over electricity debts between military formations/barracks and the power distribution companies (DisCos), coupled with the fact that the MDAs appear not ready to settle their debts in time.

    A source in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who craved anonymity said the MDAs debt is a  subject of contention between the Federal Government and the DisCos, adding that the directive was given  in order to resolve the problem once and for all.

    The source said:  “The government does not want anything to hinder the metering procees, as contained in the new metering programme introduced on April 2018.  That is why the government wants everybody to be metered.

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    “Sequel to this, NERC has advised the MAPs to stick to the rules and regulations that are guiding the new metering programmes

    “One of the rules is that the MAPs must provide meters to both the customers  that are indebted to the DisCos and those not indebted. “The aim is to nip in bud the crises that surround metering problems in the country.”

    He said the debt profile of the MDAs is now N5billion monthly, as evident by the recent financial audits carried out by the 11 DisCos.

    In a related development, the Chief Executive Officer,New Hampshire Capital, Mr Odion Omongoman, said MAPs would not renege on its decision to meter every consumer.

    In an interview with The Nation at the weekend, he said arrangements have been put in place to minimise the electricity to the barest minimum level.

    “To reduce the mounting debts profile of consumers,  we (MAPs) are directed to meter everybody first; thereafter debtors  would find a way of paying money owed the power firms. It is our right to meter you, whether you are owning electricity bills or not.,” he said.

  • Second term: Fed Govt orders MDAs to submit handover notes

    A head of the second term of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, ministers have ordered agencies and corporations under them to turn in their handover notes on or before April 23.

    A circular issued to heads of 14 agencies and corporations under the Federal ministry of Finance said the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, ordered the agencies and corporations to prepare their handover notes in soft copies and hard copies.

    She also asked them to list all the files in their custody and submit them to the Permanent Secretary for Special Duties, Dr Mohammed Dikwa, on or before April 23.

    The circular reads: “Following the recently concluded presidential elections, preparations are in place to successfully conclude the current administration on May 29. As part of the process of transition, all agencies and departments under the Federal Ministry of Finance are directed to prepare their handover notes.”

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    The circular, dated April 8, was sent to the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Debt Management Office (DMO), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Investment and Security Tribunal (IST), Nigeria Customs Service, National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Nigeria Import Export Bank (NEXIM), Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

    The circular urged the heads of these agencies to use a template designed for the purpose to “prepare the handover notes of your department and all the divisions/units under you.” The circular also advised the aforementioned agencies to contact Dr. Isreal Igwe and Dr. Essien Akparawa for further enquiry.

    From the circular which was delivered to the Nigeria Customs Service, on the 9th of April, 2019, all Deputy Comptrollers General (DCGs) and Assistant Comptroller Generals (ACGs) were ordered to turn in their notes on the 15th of April, 2019 and to treat the circular as very urgent.

  • Govt counts TSA gains despite boycott by MDAs

    Under the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are to deposit their accruable funds in a single bank account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Four years after its implementation began, it has changed the face of public finance management, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    The handling of the government’s receipts and payments is complex in many developing countries.

    In such countries, the ministries of finance/treasury lack a unified view and centralised control over the government’s cash and resources.

    This meant that the cash that could have been re-injected into system lie idle for months in numerous accounts kept with Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

    Worst still, the revenue-generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government constantly borrow from banks (same funds they saved in the lenders) at exorbitant interest rates to fund government budgets.

    That was the case with Nigeria until September 2015 when the Federal Government began the full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy driven by the Remita, payment software developed and deployed by SystemSpecs to drive the scheme.

    Launched in 2006, Remita is an electronic platform that helps the government, corporate organisations, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and individuals to make and receive payments without stress. It aggregates multiple bank accounts, giving customers the ability to perform complete e-Transactions.

    The impact of the TSA in public finance management in the last four years depends on who is telling the story.

    For the Federal Government of Nigeria which records about N24.7 billion monthly from the TSA proceeds, the policy is a masterstroke against corruption and misapplication of public funds.

    But for commercial banks, which hitherto relied on funds from MDAs to post huge profits, and turning round to loan same funds to the government at high-interest rates, the policy has been a drainpipe on their revenue.

    In all, the TSA is seen as one of the most significant initiatives undertaken by any government in Nigeria to promote accountability, transparency and fight corruption in the management of public funds.

    It has given government greater control over its finances, tracking its inflow and outflow in an unprecedented manner.

    Analysts explained that apart from lowering the level of corruption, TSA exposes the emerging potential of Nigeria’s financial technology industry. As global competition rises and technology advances, the need to leverage IT for co-creation of value is a major factor for development.

    But the turnaround for TSA implementation was only achieved after SystemSpecs deployed Remita, a local technology software, to drive the project.

    Despite the huge progress made since TSA, grey areas still exist in its implementation. The partial compliance or outright boycott of the policy by certain MDAs such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and some Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) cast aspersions on the commitment of the government to abating corruption in Nigeria.

    Surprisingly, these MDAs renowned for being cesspits of corrupt practices are the institutions actively subverting the policy, which raises the question as to why they are not fully compliant to the policy.

    Furthermore, the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee chaired by Hon. Danburam Nuhu concluded its investigations into the running of the TSA but has failed to make public its findings from the enquiries. This act is in contravention of the 2011 Nigeria Freedom of Information Act which mandates free access to public information and records by the government.

     

    CBN steps in on transaction charge

     

    Of equal importance is the issue of transaction charge since the commencement of the current pricing regime, which has transferred the transaction cost of TSA from the government to the payer, in November 2018. According to a circular released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operators of the policy, non-card payers are required to pay a service fee of N150 plus Value Added Tax (VAT) per transaction with the government.

    This rate of N157.50 applies to every transaction irrespective of the amount being paid. On the other hand, card payers are required to pay a flat fee of N150 plus 0.75 per cent of the amount being paid, subject to a maximum of N1,200 per transaction.

    Financial pundits insist that SystemSpecs, the company powering the policy through Remita, deserves more recognition by the government and payment for service rendered over the years.

    “Without a doubt, the government must acknowledge the nationalism of the company in ensuring successful operation of the policy regardless of the initial issues it encountered at the National Assembly, and most importantly, when foreign companies and software failed,” they said.

    The TSA has been able to consolidate all inflows from government agencies using a single account-Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) at the CBN. The effectiveness of the TSA since its introduction four years ago has proven that a level of sanity can be achieved in the use of public funds.

    Analysts believe that the TSA has helped the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption fight by flushing out ghost workers and saving the economy from imminent collapse.

    “Remita processes over $30 billion worth of transactions every year, and that’s just within Nigeria,” SystemSpecs’ Executive Director Deremi Atanda said at the yearly Gulf International Technology Exhibition (GITEX) in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE).

    He continued: “There’s also a roadmap to take Remita to Africa. So, if you have the vision to be part of revolutionising payments in Africa at whatever level, driving financial inclusion at the national level, savings, micro-savings and micro-transactions, Remita is best placed to help you achieve that.”

    The Economist says: “TSA may be the biggest coup of all. It replaced a labyrinth of government piggy banks, giving Nigeria more control of its earnings.”

     

    The TSA in brief

     

    The TSA is a bank account or a set of linked bank accounts through which the government transacts all its receipts and payments and gets a consolidated view of its financial status at any given time.

    The TSA policy – initiated by former President Goodluck Jonathan administration but implemented by his successor, the Buhari’s administration – stipulates that all government taxes, levies and tariffs should be deposited with the CBN.

    The funds would subsequently be disbursed to MDAs based on approved rules to ensure accountability in the management of government resources. Several attempts to adopt the TSA in the past were unsuccessful.

    Reason: the CBN lacked the technological know-how to manage the retail aspect of the policy. An e-technology platform, Real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS), initially expected to drive the payment leg of TSA policy was unsuitable for retail payments.

    Prior to this development, every organisation that collects money for the Federal Government stacked cash in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) where it is left to yield interest over the years for faceless individuals and groups while the government was starved of the funds meant for developmental projects.

    However, one major development that has contributed immensely to the robustness and efficiency of TSA is its integration with financial technology (FinTech). FinTech is an economic industry composed of companies that are trying to provide new financial solutions, which was previously the prerogative of banks. These companies are active in various domains, but they have one common attribute, which is: building and implementing technology, which is used to make financial markets and systems more efficient.

    Besides, payers are able to easily generate invoices for transactions online and make payment to the government through various channels including branches of all commercial banks, select Microfinance banks, Internet banking portals, Point of Sale terminal, cards on Web, Mobile Wallets, and collection agents.

    A payer can easily go to the website of any MDA to identify the item to be paid for and generate an electronic invoice or visit the concerned MDA to obtain an invoice which clearly indicates the amount to be paid for the relevant item/ service.

    TSA payment is evidenced by an automatically generated electronic receipt provided to the payer at the point of the transaction by the bank or sent to the payer’s registered email address.

     

    TSA boosts FinTech sector

     

    According to technology reports, financial technology is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. It has grown into a N22.3 billion industry with a 75 per cent growth rate recorded in 2015. Global investment in FinTech ventures in the first quarter of last year reached $5.3 billion, a 67 per cent increase over the same period in 2015, and the percentage of investments going to FinTech firms in Europe and Asia-Pacific nearly doubled to 62 per cent, as reported by Accenture.

    In a more recent development, The Bank of England has opened up the UK’s payments systems – the “plumbing”, which facilitates same day money transfers between banks – to organisations that are not banks, giving FinTech startups another step up in their challenge to traditional banks. It’s the latest move by the UK’s financial authorities to foster technology innovation and “level the playing field” between the established institutions and newer ones. Nigeria can hopefully take a cue from this.

    The TSA journey has been a remarkable one. However, huge bottlenecks created by self-serving interests still militate against the full implementation of the policy. Despite its huge gains, the government is not treating the policy as a prized national asset that is helping to drive accountability and stock-taking. There are still some pockets of revenue leakages and financial impropriety all around. TSA is not primed to handle forex for now and this is a major excuse for universities requesting for exemption since their grants are mainly in foreign currencies.

    SystemSpecs’s Chief Executive Officer, John Obaro, said the deployment of Remita has reduced the government’s debt servicing costs, lowered liquidity reserve needs and boosted effective use of surplus cash.

    Obaro said his firm would continue to deliver on the TSA service terms of contract with the CBN despite being owed its earned fees on e-collections. He disclosed that some bank branches have started to turn down the collection of government deposits due to the non-payment of these agreed fees.

    Obaro said: “From our end, we have continued to provide and support the Remita platform, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, for use by citizens for all their payments to the Federal Government. Our continued support for the TSA is fueled by our belief in the enormous benefits the Remita software brings to the implementation of TSA to the average citizen.

    “We must admit though that we are excited and further driven by the fact that our indigenous Remita software has succeeded in powering the technological backbone for such a successful and strategic national initiative, along with other well-meaning Nigerians, we do not want this to fail.”

    Presenting a paper at a workshop organised in Abuja by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the World Bank, Prof. Stephen Ocheni said achieving an efficient allocation of resources and the stabilisation of the business cycle remained great challenges facing most parts of the world, particularly developing countries, such as Nigeria.

    In the paper titled: “Treasury Single Account: A catalyst for public financial management in Nigeria”, Ocheni of Public Sector Accounting, Kogi State University, Anyigba, said: “An important factor for efficient management and control of government’s cash resources is a unified structure of government banking.

    “Such unified banking arrangements should be designed to minimise the cost of government borrowing and maximise the opportunity cost of cash resources. This requires that cash received is made available for carrying out government’s expenditure programmes and making payments in a timely manner.”

    The Buhari administration has initiated and implemented the TSA and other economic policies for better management of national resources and the fight against corruption.  Besides the TSA, the government also introduced the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Automated Accounting Transaction Recording and Reporting System (ATRRS), Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS), among others to promote public financial management systems.

    The government began TSA implementation with the e-Payment component in April 2012 and its e-collections components followed in January, last year. On September 15, 2015, the government set a deadline for full compliance with the policy by all MDAs.

    According to Ocheni, the policy facilitates better fiscal and monetary policy coordination as well as better reconciliation of fiscal and banking data, which in turn improves the quality of fiscal information. The TSA also cuts the debt servicing costs and eradicates financial misappropriation in the public sector.

     

    TSA gains reverberate

     

    With TSA, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have also been constrained to diversify their sources of deposit mobilisation rather than rely on these idle funds which yielded interest for faceless individuals and groups, even as the government groaned under paucity of funds.

    Analysts believe that the TSA has helped Buhari administration’s anti-corruption fight by flushing out ghost workers and saving the economy from imminent collapse.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo once corroborated Atanda’s assertion from the cost-saving perspective. He disclosed that 40,000 ghost workers had been flushed out of the public service, due to the adoption of the TSA which is powered by Remita. The translates to a monthly saving of N720 million and N8.64 billion yearly at the prevailing N18,000 minimum wage.

    Remita has instilled the fiscal discipline that allows the government to have control over budget allocations while providing multiple entry points for collections.

    The implementation of the TSA policy has significantly reduced the government’s debt servicing costs, lowered liquidity reserve needs, and fostered effective use of surplus cash.

    Going forward, SystemSpecs is poised to tap into McKinsey’s projection that payments and financial services delivered via mobile phones and the Internet could transform individuals’ lives and economic prospects businesses and governments across the world.

     

    TSA’s impact on banks

     

    The CBN agreed that the policy regime triggered some unintended consequences, affecting the operations of banks, especially regarding deposit depletion, asset quality, a decrease in revenues and liquidity stress.

    The loss impacted banks differently in line with the proportion of their balance sheet that was sustained with the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) deposits.

    “Due to its large size and low cost, Federal Government of Nigeria deposits were a huge source of revenue for banks. Although specific data on revenue attributable to FGN deposits are not available, a good proxy is a yield on Treasury Bills, which is currently around 12 per cent.”

    The CBN said the TSA regime impacted the liquidity level in the banking system due to the attendant remittance of cash, which constitutes a major portion of banks’ liquid assets to the apex bank.

    “Furthermore, as part of risk management, banks with large government deposits mitigated their positions by investing the liability in T-bills and FGN bonds. These banks had to liquidate these investments in order to comply with the TSA regime, thereby further reducing their stock of liquid assets,” it said.

  • Lagos NIOB seeks inclusion in MDAs, others

    There is need for the government to involve more builders in its Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ (MDAs) projects, Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), the Lagos State chapter, has said.

    It stated this at the end of a workshop, with the theme, ‘’Enhancing the performance of builders in Lagos State Civil Service on Code of Practice and Ethics.’’

    In a communiqué by its Chairman, Mr Adelaja Adekanmbi, the body said the need for builders to be involved in construction is legal.

    He regretted that the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) was not well represented in the management of agencies, such as the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), which it accused of not enforcing the law that builders should manage the construction of buildings.

    He argued that except there is a change of attitude, there will never be effective building control in the state.

    The NIOB chief frowned at the various versions of Form C in circulation, saying that the original version still exists.

    Adekanmbi called for the restoration of the original Form C.

    He said the form carries the government and LASBCA’s colour logo with unique identity number. Underscoring the importance of Form C, he explained that the document was signed by professionals.

    On how to ensure that sanity in the sector, he maintained that quality building production management in MDAs, building production management documents should be listed among the requirements for building control and certification as contained in the relevant section of the National Building Code (NBC).

    The communiqué read in part: “It should be noted that the National Building Code provides minimum requirements. States and sub-national entities can go beyond these minimum requirements where they so desire. Lagos State with its development potential and challenges cannot afford to operate below minimum. For efficient successions, there should be regular recruitment and deployment of builders to various MDAs to fill positions of builders at various cadres.

    The nomenclature of a ‘building officer’ cadre should be changed to ‘builder’ cadre to reflect positions of Builder II, Builder I, Senior Builder, Principal Builder, Assistant Chief Builder and Chief Builder accordingly to portray the professional builders’ status as against the present nomenclature of “Building Officer”, he added.

  • Fashola to implement national infrastructure maintenance programme

    The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has concluded plans to implement a uniform standard of building and facilities maintenance under the National Infrastructure Maintenance Programme.

    This was announced in a communique at the end of the sixth top management retreat of the federal ministry in Owerri from March 22 to 23.

    Presenting the communique at the end of the retreat, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Louis Edozien, said the ministry had received approval for the project from the Federal Executive Council.

    The communique stated that the project would be coordinated by the Public Building and Housing Department of the ministry.

    The department will also help other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to prepare and procure for their building maintenance works.

    The communique further disclosed that the management staff of the ministry, at the end of the retreat, came up with 29 resolutions to improve upon the services of the organization.

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    Among other resolutions, they advocated the review of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission’s extant licences and regulations governing the operations of generating and distribution companies.

    The advocacy was made to accommodate new entrants to increase competition and performance in the Nigerian Electric Supply Industry.

    It also advocated the review of the Procurement Act of 20l7 to further promote competition and inclusiveness of small businesses and openness in public procurement.

    They also encouraged technical departments in the MDAs to develop a programme to engage interns, to give them practical work experience with stipends without contravening the provisions of the public service rules.

    They further resolved to strengthen the systems, processes and structures within the Ministry to fight corruption by strengthening the anti corruption and transparency units and encourage whistle blowing and code of ethics.

    The group also resolved to continue to liaise with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission to conduct corruption risk assessment aimed at identifying corruption vulnerabilities and mitigating same through integrity planning.

  • House suspends plenary to April 2

    The House of Representatives has suspended plenary to April 2 to enable members engage Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at committee level on the defense of 2019 budget proposal.

    This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by the Majority Leader of the House, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos) at the plenary on Tuesday.

    In his ruling, the Deputy Speaker of House, Rep. Yussuf Lassun (APC-Osun), urged all the standing committees to work and conclude budget defense before May.

    He said that the 2019 Appropriation Bill should be ready for passage upon resumption of the House in May.

    NAN

  • MDAs urged to deposit copies of published documents in library

    The Federal Government at the weekend urged its ministries, departments and agencies to deposit copies of documents they publish in library for public use.

    Minister of Education Adamu Adamu explained that government documents, such as policy documents, statistical studies, reports of commissions of inquiries, hearing on government policies and studies of past policy decisions produced yearly are not in public view.

    The minister spoke at a sensitisation workshop on international standards for publishing and legal deposit compliance in Nigeria organised by the National Library of Nigeria (NLN).

    Adamu, who was represented by Director Tertiary Education, Joel OJo, said such documents are limited only to the MDAs themselves, adding that the decision to limit the documents to the MDAs does not project the image of the MDAs to the public.

    The minister said: “I am particularly happy that this crucial workshop is meant for MDAs, who are the major sources of government information. Their publications are germane to the governance in the development of our society.

    “Government documents, such as policy documents, statistical studies, reports of commissions of inquiries, hearing on government policies and studies of past policy decisions etc are produced on yearly basis and are not on public view, but however limited only to the MDAs themselves. This action does not project the image of the MDAs to the public.

    “In view of the above, let me be quick to conclude that when government publications are not deposited in the library, the inherit benefits from public access to them are being denied. Whereas, access to the document is needed for effective implementation and monitoring of government programmes and activities.”

  • Under-remittance by MDAs affects salary payment-Dogara

    * CBN: we’ve no such records

    Speaker Yakubu Dogara on Tuesday said non -remittance of revenue generated by agencies into the federation account affects payment of salaries by Federal and state governments.

    He made the remark during the opening of a four-day investigative hearing into alleged under-remittances of revenue to the
    Federation Account.

    The investigation was conducted by the Hon. James Abiodun Faleke-led ad-hoc committee.

    But Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told lawmakers at the hearing it does not have records of unremitted monies into the Federation Account.

    Dogara who was represented by Hon. Jerry Alagboso, PDP, Imo frowned at the constant clashes between Federal Ministry of Finance and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with respect to revenue remittances and figures.

    He said: “When government is making efforts toward diversifying the economy to reduce the country’s over-reliance on the oil sector, it is disheartening to hear repeated allegations of non-remittances of huge amounts of revenue by agencies required to generate and manage our revenue.”You may recall that the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting in July was stalemated, two or three times, due to controversies over unremitted revenue.

    “This led to delays in the payment of salaries by the Federal and State Governments and other budgetary expenditures in most federal government agencies and establishments.”

    He said the continuous bickering with respect to revenue remittances and figures between the Ministry of Finance and NNPC on one hand and as State Governments and revenue generating organs of the Federal Government on the other hand shows some of the many instances of unending issues of revenue leakages in our economy.

    “With the dwindling oil fortunes and the spirited efforts being made in the country to diversify our economy base, there is no gain saying the fact that closing up leakages in our economy has become imperative if we must grow our economy and accelerate the development of the country at this period of economic downturn,” he said.

    But CBN’s Director of Banking Services, Dipo Fatokun represented by Jack Okituetu, an acting director, said the Apex Bank has no records of under remittances.

    He said: “We don’t have any record of under remittances as CBN is simply a government bank.

    “We’ve never falsified reports as all the revenue agencies have access to their various accounts and we are not also a revenue collecting agency of government, he added.

    But Faleke, chairman of the Ad-hoc committee,  expressed hope outcomes of the ongoing investigation will help to reposition the revenue generating system at all levels of government towards adequately achieving the goals and mandate of the committee.