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Tag: Memorandum of Understanding

  • FUNAAB, Greenwich varsity sign MoU

    The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and the Greenwich University, United Kingdom (UK) have taken their collaboration of over two decades a step further with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that promises more benefits for both institutions.

    FUNAAB Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Prof Lateef Sanni said the seven-point MOU would expand and strengthen existing collaboration, especially in staff exchange, fund raising, joint supervision of students, among others.

    “It goes beyond collaboration in the existing research and teaching, it comes with numerous opportunities for staff of both universities in mobility and capacity development,” said Sanni, who did his Benchwork PhD at the Greenwich University.

    He added that the FUNAAB Vice-Chancellor, Prof Kolawole Salako and his counterpart at the Greenwich University, Prof David Maguire signed the document in the UK.

    Apart from Greenwich University, FUNAAB is preparing to sign another MoU with the University of Copenhagen, Denmark that cuts across teaching, research and extension.

    This followed a recent visit by FUNAAB ‘s Principal Officers to the University where Prof Salako, the Dean of Sciences and Agriculture, Copenhagen University, Denmark, Prof John Hanser, and Dr Camilla Rump of Department of Science Education discussed the partnership, which would cover research, training, students/staff exchange, joint supervision of students, joint organisation of conferences, sourcing for fund, among others.

  • BEDC signs MoU to boost electricity in rural communities

    The Benin Electricity and Distribution Company (BEDC) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mountain Institute (RMI), Colorado, U.S.A and Rubitec Nigeria Limited to boost electricity supply to rural communities.

    The MoU signed in Benin would ensure deployment of mini-grid electricity in its franchise area as a bold step to connect rural communities without electricity supply.

    NAN reports that the tripartite MoU was signed by the Managing Director, BEDC, Mrs Funke Osibodu, Rubitec boss, Mr Bolade Soremekun and RMI Manager, Mr James Sherwood.

    Osibodu said it was part of the move by BEDC to boost power availability to customers in rural communities within its franchise area of Edo, Delta Ekiti and Ondo.

    She said based on this, BEDC was expected to facilitate the choosing of locations for mini-grid solar power.

    The BEDC boss said while Rubitec would construct solar mini-grid facilities, RMI would provide expertise in developing renewable electrical solutions and advise implementation of a pilot mini-grid in the chosen location.

    Osibodu said the initiative was aimed at bridging the service gaps for areas within the company’s network with an existing but poorly supplied or non-functional distribution system or those without an existing distribution system.

    While expressing delight at the partners based on their pedigree, she said the mini-grid initiative was also necessitated by the need to reduce dependency for power supply to customers through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    Osibodu said one community in Edo would be used as a pilot for the project before it would be extended to other locations.

    According to her, the project will entail an interconnected mini-grid, using BEDC distribution lines in the selected locations to distribute solar power to the residents in the communities “who are also expected to sign contract agreement with the suppliers.

    “The agreement will be completed after the joint visitation by a combined team of BEDC staff and officials of the partnering firms to assess the situation on ground at the locations and determine the feasibility and commencement date of the project’’.

    On his part, the Rubitec boss, Soremekun, said, “collectively, Rubitec and our partners are proud to execute the pilot project to provide more knowledge and insight to the interconnected mini-grid space so as to enable more rapid scaling of the concept and model all over Nigeria’’.

    Similarly, RMI’s Sherwood said it was an opportunity to test a new model for delivering clean, reliable, and affordable power to customers.

    He said that this would build on the mini-grid implementation work already being done by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and others across Nigeria.

    Sherwood further said this could directly support developments of local economies and also provide an insight that would benefit the entire industry.

  • ASUU rejects Fed Govt’s N20b

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is not impressed by N20 billion released by the Federal Government to fund the university system on Monday.

    Its members say the money should have been released last October and by now the union and the government ought to be renegotiating the FGN-ASUU 2009 agreement.

    The Lagos Zone of the Union on Tuesday described the release of the funds as blackmail.

    At a press briefing at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Tuesday, Zonal Coordinator, Prof Olusiji Sowande, also called on the government to disband the Dr Wale Babalakin-led renegotiation committee with a less ‘fixated’ leader.

    Sowande said the money was part of the N1.3 trillion both parties agreed should be invested in upgrading facilities in public universities within six years.  He however expressed disappointment that the amount disbursed was not up to N220 billion since 2013.

    “Let me make it clear that government has never released any money to our union. The manner in which the announcement was made was intended to blackmail ASUU.

    “Government releases are usually made to the benefiting universities. The purported release of N20 billion is coming after one year as against one month agreed in the MoA of 2017. Our expectation is that by now, government should have offset more than N220 billion to the Nigerian public Universities as contained in the 2013 MoU for upgrade of facilities and infrastructural development,” he said.

    Sowande also expressed disappointment that the government led the union on after suspending its strike last September with the impression that it would renegotiate the agreement immediately.

    Read Also: Unilorin ASUU chairman faces plagiarism crisis

    He said: “Over a long period of 14 months that we participated in the renegotiation, there has been no meaningful progress made, and this was principally due to the disposition of the leader of the government team, Dr. Wale Babalakin. His autocratic habit of imposing his views on the renegotiation committee was a serious clog in the wheel of progress of the renegotiation process.

    “With this attitude, which is against the principle of collective bargaining, it was impossible to build on the gains of previous agreements, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and MoA with Nigerian government, in order to arrive at a mutually agreed path of repositioning the Nigerian university system for global reckoning and competitiveness.”

    Sowande warned that the Union’s patience was wearing thin and called on well-meaning Nigerians to urge the government to fulfill its promises or else the union would down tools.

    “Our union should not be held responsible for any avoidable disruption of academic and other activities in the Nigerian public universities if government fails to honour its words,” he said.

     

  • FG seeks less than $15/barrel cost

    …to base project approval on cost of production

     

    The Federal Government, on Tuesday, said that it was seeking to reduce cost of crude oil production to less than $15 per barrel.

    It has also planned that henceforth, approval for projects in the petroleum industry would be based on the cost of producing oil and gas from the project.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu revealed this  at the on-going Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Abuja.

    He noted that the Federal Government is keen on ensuring that the country’s refineries work.

    Kachikwu stated that efforts had been made to reduce the cost of production of crude oil from about $32per barrel to $23 per barrel, noting however, that efforts are on to further ensure the cost are brought down to below $15 per barrel.

    He further noted that efforts to bring down cost of production should not be by the government or through policies, but should be driven by the private sector.

    He said, “The ministry is going to be coming up with a bench mark to analyse and compare companies who do business on Nigeria and what cost of production they are running. This is because any unbelievable cost of production, basically impacts on the revenue stream of the country.

    “We need to start finding out what companies who were awarded recognition are doing and why are the others not going in that direction. However, the excuses of the environment been different or absent infrastructures can no longer hold water, because there are a lots of countries with peculiar situation as ours that are producing oil at relatively lower level.

    Read Also: Oil boom for Nigeria as prices hit $73.79 a barrel

    “One of the mandates that I am giving the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, is that as we begin to look at new projects, the cost at which we are going to produce that oil is going to become critical to our ability to approve those projects for you. So it is becoming a major front burner item.”

    Kachikwu further stated that henceforth, oil companies must take the initiative to ensure stability in their area of operations.

    He said, “Yes, government needs to provide securities, policies. But it is absolutely important that you cannot continue to drill for oil when there is a host community’s crisis. We have seen that in Ogoni land. It is important that for every area that you are active, you must begin to ask yourself what more can you do more than what the law said you should do.

    “It is not an issue of meeting compliance as it doesn’t take away crisis but an issue of what is seen in an operating environment. And I do understand that the burden imposed on oil companies can be huge, but it is what it is.

    “Also, we need to over the next few months begin to work together to set up what are globally enforceable Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, that we can see around oil producing areas and what more can we do, and if government needs to be part of it, so be it. But we cannot get into the circle of coming out and then after one year going back into the hole.”

  • Sokoto gets water treatment chemicals

    Sokoto State Water Board has said it has concluded arrangements for the procurement of 3,650 metric tonnes of water treatment chemicals at the cost of N657 million.

    The board’s General Manager, Mr. Ahmed Moyi Tambuwal, an engineer, told The Nation that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with a local company for the purchase of the chemicals.

    “The essence is to provide clean water for domestic and public consumption in the state,” he said.

    Moyi noted that there is a shortfall in the supply of water, adding that the board has started receiving stocks from the supplying firm for the treatment and pumping of raw water from Bakolori and Goronyo River Basins.

    Moyi said the current water shortage being experienced in the metropolis would soon be over as water is being pumped to the affected areas.

  • BoI, Finance Ministry plan NERFUND’s N17.5b loan recovery

    The Bank of Industry (BOI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Finance on recovery of N17.5 billion loans owed by customers of the Nigeria Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND).

    The MoU was signed on behalf of ministry of finance by the Permanent Secretary, Mahmud Dutse, while the Managing Director, Olukayode Pitan signed on behalf of BOI.

    Pitan said, “The bank will adopt all legal means available to recover the bad loans for the government. Part of what we signed today is that BoI will continue to manage NERFUND. BOI will put in all its efforts to ensure the loans are recovered.

    “This is to let people know, especially those owing NERFUND to begin to come to the Bank of Industry for repayment. People took the money and refused to pay back, some had good reason but many did not. We will use all legal means to get the money back.

    “He decried the inability of people who borrowed money from government agencies to repay, adding that such practice was denying others who needed funds for their business the opportunity to raise the needed financing.

    “For us from BoI, we have to learn from NERFUND what not to do so that we do not also end up like NERFUND. The idea many Nigerians have is that when you have a government institution like NERFUND, BoI, Nigeria Export-Import Bank, Bank of Agriculture that is giving out loans, they think that it’s a part of their national cake that is not meant to be repaid”.

    “It is when those who have taken that money repay that the banks can be in business and lend to more Nigerians. It’s even sad when you know that most of these loans were given at interest rates that are below market rate.”

  • Business School partners Goldtracts on entrepreneurship devt

    The Rome Business School Nigeria and Goldtracks Business Place Limited, Lagos,have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Small Medium Enterprise (SME) development programme in Nigeria.

    At the signing on the school’s premises in Yaba, Lagos, its Country Manager, Dr Humphrey Akanazu, said: “We believe that as a result of this MOU, more Nigerians would be positively engaged, get jobs, venture into their own businesses, gain innovative ideas and gain expanded entrepreneurial expertise.”

    Akanazu said the partnership was to enhance SME entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.

    He explained that Rome Business School operates as an extended campus for Rome Business School in Italy, adding that it is an international managerial training and research institute with the aim of providing managerial training courses for entrepreneurs, managers, and professional, multinationals companies and organisations.

    Explaining the key features of the MOU, Akanazu said: “Rome Business School Nigeria designed the contents of the training with special attention to Finance Management, Business Plan, Marketing, Buiness Registration and Taxation Laws, and other managerial courses for the enhancement of the participants’ understanding of entrepreneurship while Goldtracks would expose the participants to various SME skills acquisition Module (SAM) on various opportunities available in the economy.”

    According to him, Goldtracks will be responsible for Ofada rice production and packaging, smoked fish production, nylon production, plantain and potato chips production, cassava flour/garri packaging and laundry soap production.

    Others includetoilet cleanser production., palm kernel oil production and packaging, fruit Juice production and packaging, green house production, broiler chickens  and eggs production.

    He added that Goldtracts will also render free Business Advisory Service to participants.

  • ABUAD seeks to end medical tourism

    • Signs MoU with Dubai hospital

    Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aster Group of Hospitals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to halt medical tourism by Nigerians abroad.

    ABUAD Founder, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), said the partnership will see the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital (ABUADTH) and Aster collaborating in the areas of training, consultancy, and technical expertise and in medical administration.

    The MoU was signed on Tuesday, where it was agreed that Aster will offer short and long terms as well as permanent partnership for smooth take off of ABUADTH.

    Speaking after the signing, Dr. Navin Pascal, who spoke on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aster, said Aster had subsidiaries in nine countries and had been receiving patients from over 90 countries across the world.

    He said it was sad that Nigeria loses over 35,000 doctors to advanced countries due to poor remuneration, saying the trend has been affecting healthcare service in the country.

    “Aster has become a referral centre in the middle East. Our partnership with ABUAD will be in the areas of training, technical and administration.

    “What we will do is to train the doctors here so that ABUAD can be self sufficient in having experts that can perform critical operations that can make the rich and middle class Nigerians to see the hospitals as a better alternative.

    “We appreciate the fact that ABUAD is working hard for humanity and Aster partnering with it will bring a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s health sector”, he said.

    ABUAD Founder disclosed that a delegation will leave for Dubai in January 26 to perfect the MoU for enforcement.

    Babalola said: “In this partnership, ABUADTH and Aster are equal partners. Though, we agreed for long and short terms, but the memorandum may be forever depending on its workability.

    “Nigerians can’t afford to be spending so much on medical tourism and I have faith that this partnership will make the country a leading nation in healthcare services”.

    He said the breakdown of medical equipment in critical areas like dialysis, oncology and cardiology was becoming embarrassing,  urging Aster to bring in experts in biomedical engineering to train the experts in ABUADTH to prevent such from occurring in the hospital.

     

  • Fed Govt, Switzerland sign MOU stopping illegal dumping

    The Federal Government in partnership with Switzerland’s King and Spalding, a leading Law firm in Geneva, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to stop using the Nigerian market as a dumping ground.

    The agreement was signed in Geneva by Chief Negotiator and Director-General,  Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN), Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe for Nigeria and Mr. Daniel Crosby for King and Spalding

    In a statement, yesterday,  NOIN, said King and Spalding are expected to support the drafting of Nigeria’s trade remedy laws, as well as prepare a legal brief on the rationale and requirements for the legislation, which will effectively stop dumping on the Nigerian market, adding that The company’s services are on a pro bono basis

    According to the statement, “Nigeria has been grappling unsuccessfully with increased cases of dumping and other injurious imports in the economy. This is undermining serious efforts of the Federal Government to support local manufacturers and service providers to competitively grow the economy through integration to global value chains, in a rules-based global economy.

    It said dumping in the Nigerian market was illegal and anti-development, saying the legal services and technical support to be provided by King and Spalding, was a major step forward to decisively stop, what it referred to as “this illegal practice and alarming increase of dumping in the Nigerian economy.”

    Nigeria commended King and Spalding for its pro bono support, and said it is  looking forward to a technically solid partnership to establish a rules-based trade remedy infrastructure for Nigeria in 2018.

    Crosby said Nigeria was one of Africa’s most ambitious and exciting economies, saying the Nigerian government’s commitment to economic and social development, while nurturing local businesses and industries, was an important one.

    “We’re extremely pleased to be able to collaborate on a pro bono basis with the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) to help establish a WTO-consistent trade remedy system, that will promote free and fair trade, while protecting local entrepreneurs and keeping the country competitive as it integrates further into global markets,” he said.

  • Ondo Varsity, firm sign MoU on energy

    A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) and Dantata Solar Limited that would guarantee uninterrupted electricity to the institution in the next six months has been signed.

    The deal was facilitated by the Ondo State Government as one of the benefits of the Nigerian-German Energy Partnership.

    It is one of the moves of the Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration to provide regular power supply to towns and rural communities across the state.

    Akeredolu lauded the cooperation between Nigeria and Germany through which the university would begin to enjoy a new lease of life, having lacked electricity supply from the national grid for years.

    Akeredolu said the MoU would spur other institutions to emulate the university in their drive to deliver welfare, impart knowledge and turn out quality graduates for the overall development of the nation.

    The governor, however, pleaded with the Consul-General of Germany, Ingo Herbert, who led the team, to further help the state government by extending the similar gesture of providing power supply to communities in the riverine areas.

    Earlier, the Consular-General had said the Sunshine State,  should leverage on its solar potentials to generate enough solar energy for its people.

    The Coordinator of the Nigerian-Germany Energy Partnership, Dr Jeremy Gaines, said the project would stop the use of environmentally-unfriendly diesel generators at the university.

    AAUA Vice-Chancellor, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, expressed gratitude to the government for the gesture.

    He said by the time the project was delivered, the university would be relieved of the huge sums of money being spent on fuelling and maintaining the numerous generators servicing the sprawling university campus.

    The university administrator added that the development would ensure that the laboratories, electronic and electrical facilities as well as other units and components of the university work optimally.

    Ajibefun signed the MoU on behalf of the university while the Project Manager of Dantata, Mr Oyeneye Babajide, signed for the solar energy company.

    Other dignitaries at the ceremony were the Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi; Secretary to the State Governor(SSG) Ifedayo Abegunde; Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Pastor Femi Agagu, his counterpart in the Ministry of Information), Yemi Olowolabi; the Chief of Staff(CoS) to the Governor, Olugbenga Ale; Special Adviser on Development and Investment, Mr Boye Oyewunmi; as well as the Special Adviser on Education, Dr. Olawumi Ilawole.