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Tag: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

  • Nasarawa signs MoU with Chinese coy to build fertiliser plants

    Nasarawa state government on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company, BEIDOU Automatic Equipment company for the procurement of equipment for four fertiliser blending plants.

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura, at the signing ceremony at Government House, Lafia, said the event was the fall out of the visit by Nigerian governors forum to china last month.

    Al-Makura said the Chinese company ranked high in the manufacturing of modular fertiliser blending equipment with different categories of the blending plants equipment.

    He said that the state government decided to procure equipment capable of producing 40 tonnes of fertiliser per hour in order to ensure that farmers access quality fertilisers at subsidised rate.

    He explained that the plants would be sited in each of the three senatorial zones of the state for easy accessibility to farmers across the state.

    The governor noted that the visit of the company would avail them opportunity to study the soil types and texture in the state to determine the suitable fertiliser for quality crop yield.

    He added that when the machines are fully installed, only 20 tonnes would be consumed daily in the state, while the remaining would be sold to generate revenue for the state.

    Al-Makura explained that apart from the plants, the company would also synergise with the state university toward the establishment of an agricultural institute in the state.

    Earlier, chairman of the company, Jin Chuang, expressed delight with Nasarawa state government for the partnership, saying the establishment of the plants would go a long way to boost agricultural production in the state.
    She assured the state government of the company’s readiness to assist farmers in other areas of quality and improved crop production.

     

  • NPA, BudgIT, sign MoU on budget implementation

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BudgIT Information Technology Network to open up its budget for the public.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs, Chief Michael Ajayi, in a statement on Monday in Lagos, said the MoU would promote transparency and accountability.

    The Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman, said the partnership became necessary for the development of an open budget system platform and implementation of a public data dissemination programme.

    She said that this would help the organisation in blocking revenue leakages.

    Usman said the MoU would provide Nigerians with all the necessary information during implementation of the NPA’s budget.
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    She said BudgIT had achieved feats in socio-technological advocacy toward opening up of public budgets for citizens’ comprehension.

    Usman said with the MoU, NPA would be able to deliver its mandate and create more wealth for Nigerians.

    She said that the MoU would also assist NPA as a critical organ in the economic artery of the nation to promote effective and efficient management of all its terminals across the country.

    The managing director said the partnership, apart from promoting transparency in public expenditure, would also instil a framework for transparent budget provisions for the authority.

    She said the MoU would allow stakeholders to add their inputs, “encourage participatory governance by way of feedback and creates an enabling environment to encourage foreign investment’’.

    “The collaboration will ensure that key research, industry policies and innovations are effectively communicated.

    “It will also ensure that critical data are generated and made accessible for policy makers, private sector actors, stakeholders and the general public,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Usman as saying.

    The Lead Partner of BudgIT, Mr Oluseun Onigbinde, said NPA was the first revenue generating government agency to make its budget public.

    He said the Management of the NPA would not regret keying into the programme.

    Onigbinde said the collaboration, apart from promoting probity, transparency and accountability, would also restore government and public confidence in the Management of NPA.

     

  • Nigeria, India sign MoU on trade, investment

    Nigeria, India sign MoU on trade, investment

    The Federal Government and India on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen trade and investments and exchanged letters of intent on bilateral relations.

    The event, which took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a bilateral meeting, was witnessed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his Indian counterpart, Mr Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

    Osinbajo in a remark called for urgent establishment of a joint technical commission to facilitate the partnership between Nigeria and India.

    He recalled that ties between Nigeria and India over the years had been very stable and called for strengthening of the relationships in regional and international affairs.

    According to him, Nigeria looks up to India in various ways as it has shown leadership in technology, agriculture and information technology.

    He described the meeting with the Indian delegation as very useful and expressed the hope that both countries would derive mutual benefits from the MoU.

    Earlier, Ansari had said he was impressed by Nigeria’s vision for bilateral relationship, feeling for India and its expectations for the partnership.

    According to the Indian VP, the friendship and faith of both countries is a source of great pride and strength for the partnership.

    He said that “listening to you has strengthened my conviction that our partnership is natural because our destinies are so inter-linked and our aspirations and challenges are similar.

    “I am confident that our deliberation today will make our partnership more effective.”

    Ansari added that India and Nigeria were strategic partners.

    He said it was important that both countries continued to engage in new ideas and concrete proposals to elevate them to the next high level.

    Ansari, who would be visiting the commercial city of Lagos during his tour, said he looked forward to the visit, where he would have the opportunity to address the students of University of Lagos.

    The visiting vice president expressed appreciation to the Federal Government “for the excellent preparations made for the visit of the Indian delegation.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that discussions at the bilateral meeting focused on economic relations, peace and security, consular matters, as well as regional and international issues.

    The MoU was signed by Nigeria’s Minster of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, and her Indian counterpart, Mr Gangaram Meghwal.

    The letter of intent was exchanged between the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria.

  • Nigeria, UK sign MoU on return of stolen assets

    Nigeria, UK sign MoU on return of stolen assets

    The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the British Government on the modalities for the return of Nigerian stolen assets.

    The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, signed on behalf of the Federal Government in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Malami said that the MoU reflected the desire and willingness of both countries to continue cooperation and mutual support.

    Malami said that this was in the responsible and transparent return of all recovered assets.

    He outlined the objectives of the MoU to include the fact that the processes of returning stolen assets was a partnership recognising the interest of both countries and based on mutual understanding, confidence and trust.

    “That both countries recognised that they have a mutual interest in ensuring that returned assets are not at risk of being misappropriated again.

    “And that both countries recognised they have obligations toward their own citizens for providing such assurances.

    “That both countries recognised the importance of ensuring that the highest possible standard of transparency and accountability are applied for the return of assets.”

    He gave the assurance to the international community that all funds recovered would be judiciously utilised for projects that would benefit the poorest segment of the Nigerian society.

    Earlier, leader of the UK delegation, British Minister of State for Immigration, Robert Goodwill, said that the MoU provided the mechanism by which monies could be returned.

    Goodwill, who is also a member of the British Parliament, noted that there was no safe place for stolen assets in the UK.

    “Our ability to recover and return stolen assets should send a clear message to all who may seek to habour such assets that there is no safe haven in the U.K,” he said.

    According to him, the British government is committed to the return of all funds looted from the Nigerian State.

    “We are keen to do this as soon as the necessary legal process allow.

    “As outlined at the summit, we will be taking steps to accelerate the procedures for identification and confiscation of illegally acquired assets.”

    He said that they were as committed as Nigeria in ensuring that beneficial ownership of assets was made available to relevant authorities so they know who the real owners of assets held in the UK are.

    “Forty jurisdictions, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies announced that they will automatically share beneficial ownership information relating to companies, trusts, foundations, Shell companies and other relevant entities and legal arrangements.

    “It is important that everyone can see how returned assets are used to benefit Nigerians. We have therefore agreed in this MoU to be fully transparent about this.”

    The signing of the MoU is a follow up to the agreement reached at the London anti-corruption summit in May.

  • ASUU threatens to embark on strike

    ASUU threatens to embark on strike

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike to press home its demands for the implementation of its 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.

    The ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Prof. Olusoji Sowande, said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Lagos.

    Sowande said that the union was planning to toe this part after several efforts to ensure that the government address the pending demands, proved abortive.

    He said that the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on funding of state universities, breaches of the conditions of service and re-negotiation of the agreement, were still pending.

    The coordinator also mentioned other demands like the exclusion of Nigerian universities from Pension Management Company and non-release of NEEDS Assessment Intervention Fund.

    He said that funding of state universities, earned academic allowance and renegotiation of the agreement were parts of the outstanding issues.

    Sowande recalled that the union had embarked on strike in 2012 and 2013 as part of the efforts to make the government implement the agreement, adding that the issues remained unresolved.

    He said that the 2009 agreement provided for a periodic review after every three years which had not been done.

    “The review of the agreement should have been undertaken in 2012 and 2015 but that did not happen.‎

    “The implication is that our union has shown enough patriotism and understanding on these matters in the last four years.

    “We are perplexed and disappointed that both the Federal and State Governments are not responding to our consistent appeals to bring about genuine transformation in the education sector, ‘’ he said.

    According to him, embarking on strike has never been a favourable choice as the Students and ASUU members have always suffered the pains more.

    “It is unfortunate that the only language government appears to respect and listens to is that of industrial action like strike,”he said.

    The don said that the National officers of the union had met with the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu on May 10 and tabled ten-point demand.

    He said that the minister had promised that the issues would be resolved within two weeks but nothing had been done till now.

    Sowande said that based on MOU signed in November 2013, “Nigerian universities requires N1.3 trillion to revitalise the system’’, adding that the government was already in arrears of N605 billion as at the third quarter of 2016.

    He said that the government had refused to release N128 billion and N250 billion respectively for the earned academic allowance of three years after the MoU was signed.‎

    “In order to forestall this avoidable crisis, we appeal to all genuinely progressive individuals and groups to prevail on both the Federal and State Governments to commence release of funds for the listed purposes.

    “This is to arrest the brewing and potentially combustible situation in the Nigerian university system before it degenerated into a serious conflagration,” he said.

  • Lagos: SURE-P workers protest non-payment of salary

    Staff of the Lagos State Subsidy Re-investment- Programme (SURE-P) Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) have once again appealed to the Chairman of the state Assembly committee on Health, Segun Olulade to urgently intervene over the refusal of the state government to pay their July, 2013 and 2016 allowances.

    The staff who protested to Lagos Assembly on Thursday in a release made available to newsmen explained that there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the federal government and Lagos state government since 2014 to absorb staff of SURE-P health workers in the state.

    The group however alleged that the PHC Board Director of finance administration simply identified as Mrs. Fatinikun refused to pay the allowances.

    It was alleged that Fatinikun had assured the workers their allowances would be paid on July 18th, 2016 but failed to fulfill the promise.

    It was learnt that the aggrieved midwives had earlier submitted a petition to the House but decided to come up with another petition since the previous one did not yield the desire effect.

    The statement read in part: “With reference to the MOU between the federal government and state government dated 13th May 2014 on absorption of the staff of CHEWs after the expiration of the program cycle, we have not seen any positive response on the agreement to that effect.

    “The 2013 allowances have been paid to our colleague midwives since 15 June, 2016 and have not been paid to the SURE-P -CHEWs who worked together with the midwives,” they alleged.

    In the letter sent by the ministry of Health to the Permanent Secretary, Primary Healthcare Board, Yaba which was attached to the petition, the commissioner requested for the views of the PS on the need to validate CHEWs’ midwives deployed to the state.

    The letter which was dated May 13, 2014 and signed by Dr Oludara F.F., also requested the PS to take action on the absorption of engaged staff after the expiration of the programme cycle.

    In his response, the chairman House committee on Health, Olulade who spoke on behalf of the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa stated that members would look into their grievances with a view to unravel the details and find amicable resolution.

    While expressing delight over the manner the protesters conducted themselves, Olulade said the Governor’s Special Assistant on Health would be contacted by the House, adding that all parties concerned would be invited.

  • Lagos signs historic city deal with Dubai

    Lagos signs historic city deal with Dubai

    The Lagos State Government and the City of Dubai on Monday entered into a historic partnership that will see Lagos emerge as the first Smart City in Africa.

    The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Lagos Smart City was signed at the Emirate Towers, Dubai by the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem and the Chief Executive Officer of Smart City Dubai LLC, Mr. Jabber Bin Hafez.

    The signing of the MOU, which would make Lagos the home of the very first Smart City in Africa, was witnessed by the Chairman of Dubai Holdings, His Excellency, Ahmad Bin Byat who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

    A Smart City is a growing concept that draws from the success of Dubai’s innovative knowledge-based industry clusters to empower business growth for companies and knowledge workers all over the world.

    Governor Ambode in a statement signed on Tuesday by the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said that the Smart City (Lagos) is expected to bring multibillion dollar investments to the State, create thousands of jobs and transform the Ibeju-Lekki axis in particular and the entire Lagos State in general.

    “This is a deliberate attempt by us to establish a strong convergence between technology, economic development and governance.

    “The MOU is between Lagos State Government and Dubai Holdings, LLC, owners of Smart City (Dubai) to develop a sustainable, smart and globally connected knowledge-based communities that drive knowledge economy,” Governor Ambode said.

    According to the Governor, the collaboration is part of the larger vision to make Lagos safer, cleaner and more prosperous.

    “A Smart-City Lagos will be the pride of all Lagosians just as we have Smart City Dubai, Smart-City Malta and Smart-City Kochi (India). We are encouraged by the fact that we do not, as a government, need to develop at a slow pace, but take full advantage of the digital age and fast track development of Lagos to a real megalopolis that we can all be proud of.

    “The future is ours to take. It also marks the first smart city in Africa when completed.” He said.

    The Governor added that apart from creating jobs for the people, the project would also become the world’s first carbon neutral city.

    Lagos, he said, “will become an important centre for innovation in smart technologies, wellness and destination for green tourism.”

    Earlier in his remarks, the Deputy Prime Minister, Bin Byat said the Dubai authorities were impressed with the conduct and readiness of Lagos State Government and were eager to proceed with the State Government and the Smart City Lagos project.

     

  • Lagos, investors sign N844bn MoU on 4th Mainland Bridge

    Lagos, investors sign N844bn MoU on 4th Mainland Bridge

    The Lagos State Government and a consortium of private investors Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to signal the commencement of the construction of the 38km 4th Mainland Bridge, expected to gulp about N844bn.

    The bridge is being constructed under the Build, Own and Transfer (BOT), concession of 40 years under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative of the State Government.

    The consortiums to handle different stages of the mega project are Visible Asset Limited, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Hi-tech Construction Limited, J.P. Morgan, Eldorado Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Westminster Dredging and Marine, Africa Finance Corporation, AFC and Access Bank.

    The Bridge, among others would accommodate cyclists and pedestrians and feature two service areas as well as additional pedestrian crossing.

    The Bridge would also accommodate three Toll Plazas which are still being tested from financial point of view and it would serve as a major boost to the actualisation of the Lekki Master Plan.

    State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode who spoke at the signing of the MoU held at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ikeja, said that the need for the bridge had become imperative following the phenomenal growth of the State with a population of over 21 million people, which has in turn increased commercial activities and traffic gridlock across the metropolis.

    “This has made it imperative for us to have a 4th Mainland Bridge that will serve as an alternative route to the Eastern axis and decongest traffic in the State.

    “More importantly this bridge will provide the required transportation compliment to the rapidly growing industrial activities on the Eti-Osa – Lekki – Epe corridor of the State,” he said.

    He said the proposed alignment of the Bridge will pass through Lekki, Langbasa and Baiyeiku towns along the shoreline of the Lagos Lagoon estuaries, further running through Igbogbo River Basin and crossing the Lagos Lagoon estuaries to Itamaga Area in Ikorodu.

    The governor said the alignment will also cross through the Itoikin road and the Ikorodu – Sagamu Road to connect Isawo inward Lagos Ibadan Expressway at Ojodu Berger axis.

    He said the Bridge would be made up of eight interchanges to facilitate effective inter-connectivity between different parts of the State.

    “This structure will be a four-lane dual carriageway with each comprising three lanes and two metres hard shoulder on each side. The bridge will be constructed to have a generous median to allow for both future carriageway expansion and light rail facility. There is no gainsaying the fact that huge benefits will be derived from this project but most importantly, make life more comfortable for Lagosians,” he said.

    According to the governor, the Bridge testifies to the confidence the partners in the project have in the State Government and the Nigerian economy.

    Expressing optimism that the project would be delivered on a Win-Win framework for all investors, the governor said for the first time in the history of the State, the Government was embarking on the construction of a long-span bridge and expressway without Federal funding as the project is to be solely funded by the private sector.

    “I am delighted that this project which has been on the drawing board for quite some time is now set to become a reality. This again, is the continuity with improvement which we promised Lagosians.

    “We have started the process with the signing of this MoU which is an expression of the commitment of major stakeholders including the government and the consortium of consultants and investors to the delivery of the project within the scheduled time frame,” the Governor said.

    The project is to be financed by Africa Finance Corporation, Access Bank and other private investors who have already signified intention to be part of the construction, while Visible Assets Limited would be the coordinating firm.

    In his remarks, Executive Chairman of Visible Assets Limited, Mr. Idowu Iluyomade, said the project would go a long way to reduce traffic gridlock in the State and would provide job opportunities for Lagosians.

    He said aside improving the quality of life of the people, the Bridge would also be a big asset that would be handed to the Lagos State Government at the end of the concession, assuring that it would be delivered on schedule.

    Earlier, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ganiyu Johnson said that the Bridge when completed would utilise state of the art tolling system that will ensure free flow of traffic.