The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Minister of Industry

  • FEC okays N192.9 billion for roads, bridges 

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday approved N192.9 billion for roads and bridges in the country.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri, at the end of FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Shehuri was with the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu.

    He said that FEC approved N5.9 billion for the construction of 16.7 kilometers Suleja-Chaaza-Banguru road and spur to Rafinsayin in Niger State.

    “It also provided for 15 meters of bridge construction,” he added.

    He went on “Another memo approved is the dualization of Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Bokani road in Kwara and Niger states to CGC at the cost of N130 billion. The contract’s life span is 36 months.

    “The Council also approved construction of Ibi Bridge across River Benue connecting Taraba and Plateau states at the cost of N57 billion.” he stated

    Enelamah said that FEC also approved memo for effective implementation of project ‘Made in Nigeria’ for export.

    He said that it was aimed at developing world class export oriented special economic zones in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

    “The plan is to begin the development of those economic zones across the six geopolitical zones as follows: Lagos, Katsina, Abia, Calabar, Kano.

    “In addition, the Council also approved pre-development work in develop of Green Field Special Economic Zone in Akwa  Ibom, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Kwara, and Sokoto states with further roll out to other states in phase two.” he said

    He said that FEC approved payments to consultations totalling N2.655 billion for various projects that will be undertaken by different consultations that will lead to implementation of these zones.

    He added “This is for one set of consultants. The aggregate amount which includes another set is N3.172 billion for all the special economic zones

    “The total budget for developing these zones will be in excess N250 billion and it will include partners.This is going to be done through something called The Nigerian Special Economic Zones Company Limited, which is a public private partnership.

    “The Federal Government is going to own 20 percent of that company and AFRIEXIM bank is going to be a shareholder and other investors like the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and other international investors. It is going to be developed in such a way that it will be world class. We are going to see rapid implementation now that council approval has been obtained,” he said.

    He said that his Ministry also got approvals for two specific things including strict compliance with the provisions of Executive Order 001 and that all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to respond to complains within 72 hours timeline on government portal.

    On the Brookings report that Nigeria has already overtaken India as the country with the largest number of extreme poor in early 2018, Enelamah said “I think first, we need to understand when we get these reports that there are reports that are lagging in indicators which means, people are reporting on history. There are reports that are leading indicators which means that they are forward looking and of course, there reports that capture generally what you do which is current. They are actually dealing with what is current. So, when you get reports from Brooking institutes or all sorts of people, you need to look at the context.

    “Somebody may have written a report when we were in recession. Remember that if you are in a recession, what it means is that even though, your population is growing, people don’t stop procreating, your growth fact, which means that in theory depending on how they run those numbers, you will be going the other way.

    “There is absolutely no question that there an urgency to create employment in Nigeria. And it has to be a collective responsibility. What I can tell you, with certainty based on ones background in business and economics, is that if we complete the things on infrastructure and you implement these reports we are doing, that is what I mean by a leading indicator, poverty will go down.

    “There is no magic to it. But you have to do it first, you have put in the infrastructure, you have to implement the economic programme which is what will create the opportunities, they don’t drop from the sky. So, I think we should roll up our sleeves as a people and do the work because, if we don’t do it, our people continue to bear children obviously, they would get poorer.

    “So, I don’t think we should kill ourselves that poverty is something just happen. I think comes out of the urgent need we have as a country which is why we are focusing as a government to make sure that we create the enabling environment, the infrastructure that and the things that are required to create opportunities for our people and I believe that will happen in the process of time,” he said.

    Sirika said that Council approved N993 million to build simulator house for the point 373 simulator already procured in Zaria.

    According to him, the Council also noted the seasonal rain prediction report by NIMET towards giving accurate rainfall across the country.

    Garba Shehu disclosed that the Minister of Education got one approval for JAMB.

    He said “JAMB had run computer-based tests for people who seek admissions into universities in order to stop leakages and all that. They have started to set up their infrastructures for conducting those examinations.

    “Today, they requested for government to buy one of the Computer Based Test (CBT) organizations at N133 million including infrastructure and equipment.

    “The effort is that JAMB wants to take total control of all these examinations in order to avoid leakages,” he stated.

    He also disclosed that the Council approved N353 million for the procurement of 32 meter turntable ladder to fight fire up-to 12 floors in the FCT

     

  • Nigeria needs committed generation of people — Minister

    Nigeria needs committed generation of people — Minister

    Dr Okechukwu Enelemah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, on Monday said that a committed generation was needed to build the Nigeria of our dream.
    Enelemah said this while delivering a keynote speech entitled “Wanted: A New Tribe to Build the Nigeria of our Dream’’ at the “Platform,’’ organised by the Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Platform 2017 had as its theme: “Putting Together the Jigsaw Pieces that Form Nigeria’’.
    The minister said that every Nigerian held the key to solving the nation’s challenges.
    Enelemah said investments made in unearthing the challenges facing the nation and the philosophy of holding the right value propositions were geared towards creating a better nation.
    The medical doctor turned financial expert noted that creating an enabling environment for all Nigerians and inspiring in a generation of Nigerians a committed cause would lead to a greater prosperity for all.
    The minister said that Nigerians have the “audacity of faith’’ that propels them to excel in any part of the world.
    He explained that there was nothing wrong with Nigerians as a people, adding that the country’s system and environment could pose obstacles to the achievement of set goals.
    Enelemah explained that the vision of the present administration was to make Nigeria one of the easiest, safest and best places to be in the world.
    “The Buhari government is systematically laying a new foundation for a new Nigeria by creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive,’’ Enelamah said.
    The minister, however, noted that the government could not do it alone, adding that public/private partnership was adopted internationally for the success of governments.
    NAN reports that the platform is a media event that discusses topical issues that promote corporate governance and inspiring the younger generation for excellence.

  • FG to begin 60 days action plan on ease of doing business

    FG to begin 60 days action plan on ease of doing business

    The Federal Government will begin another 60 days action plan in the 2nd of October towards ease of doing business in the country.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of AN expanded Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.  

    Enelamah said “We have had a very success enabling business environment council meeting. It was an expanded meeting where the Chief Justice of Nigeria was there, representative of senate president, Lagos and Kano government and all the key ministers and heads of agencies there.

    “The meeting was a stock taking meeting. We have taken stock what we have achieved already, the journey so far with a plan on the way forward the idea being that we want to have a second round of the national action plan which is is even more ambitious than the first one. We really want to make it easy for people to do business in Nigeria.” he said

    The Secretary of PEBEC, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole said that the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria is collaborating with the council on the subnational project.

    According to her, the council is working with all the states and the FCT in order to make sure that the states are involved.

    She said “We are taking ease of doing business state wise. And we are collaborating widely with the private sector, all state governments, the National Assembly.

    “Again of course. We are going to have an omnibus bill that will wrap up all the irritant but most importantly, we are launching a new 60 day action plan starting from 2nd of October running to the 30th of November and we are going to have the press pack that will contain all the reforms that all the MDAs are going to be working on.

    “It’s going to be a very exciting time and we are looking forward to tangible deliverables for the Nigerian people.

    “We are targeting SMEs. We want the business climate to be simpler; you don’t need to know anybody to do business effectively in Nigeria. Larger companies ally of the time have different kinds of problems, we want systemic change for small and medium size enterprises. We had the acting DG of NAfDEC, DG of SON, we had heads of police, immigration, customs, ports authority, the airport, the judiciary.

    “We had the Chief Justice of the federation attend the PEBEC meeting for the first time. These are all the ingredients plus a strong representation from the private sector that makes sure that the collaborative exercise works very powerfully to deliver impactful reforms for the Nigerian people.” she added

    Senator Bala Ibin Na’allah, who represented the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said that the National Assembly will not fail to support moves to ease doing business In Nigeria.

    He said ‘In interim report of PEBEC, the National Assembly got green for compliance with all the commitment we have made as our contribution on to the ease of doing business.

    ‘We the only arm of government that got full green for full implementation of whatever commitment we gave as a National Assembly facilitating the project for enabling business environment in Nigeria.” he added

    Chika Emodi, MD/CEO of National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria described the meeting as very productive.

    “A lot do work has been done and is beginning to show. There is no doubt that we have a commitment on the part of government and we are very optimistic about how this will translate to a better business environment for the country.”

  • Lagos true model for growing businesses in Nigeria – FG

    Lagos true model for growing businesses in Nigeria – FG

    The Federal Government on Thursday described Lagos State as a true model of the vision of improving on the ease of doing business and turning Nigeria into one of the easiest and most attractive places for investors in the world.

    Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, who stated this in Lagos after a meeting with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, said the State, as the commercial capital of the country, stands in a vantage position to drive the goal of government to improve World Bank ranking of Nigeria on the ease of doing business.

    Speaking with Government House correspondents after the meeting, Enelemah said both the Federal Government and the State Government were willing to collaborate on strategic areas to achieve the overall goal of growing the economy.

    He said: “We basically have been talking about creating enabling environment for investments and ease of doing business and the area where we have strong convergence between Lagos State and the Federal Government.

    “Governor Ambode and I have been discussing how to collaborate very strongly to make Lagos State a true role model in line with our vision of making Nigeria one of the easiest and most attractive places to do business and you will agree with me that there is no better place to start than Lagos State, particularly when you have a Governor who is committed to it and as he puts it to us, it is like preaching to the converted.

    “So, what we have done today is to agree on modalities on working together to achieve the targets that we have set for ourselves both in ease of doing business ranking of the World Bank, in terms of some of the areas where we know that we should improve upon like tourism for instance, by making sure that people who want to visit Nigeria come in seamlessly; in terms of making it easy for people in Lagos State who are, as the Governor puts it, paying the taxes by making life easier and better for them.”

    Giving details, the Minister said his office would be collaborating with the Office of Transformation under the Governor’s office, as well as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, to achieve the overall objectives.

    He also assured that the Federal Government would not hesitate to impose import restrictions where necessary to avoid Nigeria from being a dumping ground, while concerted efforts would be put in place to check negative trade practices, especially for the benefit of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    Also speaking, Governor Ambode recalled that in the last few months, the State Government had been engaging the business community on ease of doing business, saying that the meeting with officials of the Federal Government was in sync with the vision of his administration to achieve the very best in driving investment.

    “What has been happening in the last two years is that on our part, we have tried as much as possible to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in Lagos but again the indices that indicate that we are improving on ease of doing business is not really looking too good and we believe strongly that if 70 per cent of businesses or these indicators are actually coming from Lagos State, there is a need for us to quickly create a convergence between the efforts of the Federal Government and the State Government to make sure that we improve the business environment and that is what we have been discussing in the last few weeks as well as today.

    “Moving forward, we have also engaged the office of the Vice President to see that there is a convergence in all our efforts to make sure that if possible, people should come to Lagos and start their business the same day.

    “We want a situation whereby construction permit is given to people within the shortest possible time; we want to ensure that people who pay their taxes actually have the benefit of what they are paying for and in doing that, if we get in right in Lagos, it is very clear that Nigeria has gotten it right and that is why we are meeting,” Governor Ambode said.

    The Governor expressed optimism that the current efforts would bring about major improvements on the business environment, adding that such would go a long way in growing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria.

     

  • FG okays advisory council on industrialisation

    FG okays advisory council on industrialisation

    …Approves draft bill for C‎DC

     

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the establishment of the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council towards boosting industrialization in the country.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He was accompanied by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and the Minister of Health Isaac Adewole.

    According to him, the new council will engage the private sector to develop a viable policy for the nation’s industrial sector.

    He said that the industrial council‎ will be chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and will have two vice presidents from both the government and the private sector, while membership will be drawn from private sector and relevant ministries.

    The Health Minister disclosed that the Council approved Draft Bill for National Centre for Disease Control.

    Adewole said that Council approved draft bill to give legal backing for the establishment of the National Centre for Disease Control.

    He said that a legal backing will now be given to the agency to have its own board, recruit it’s personnel and a CEO appointed.

    He said there is a budget line for National Center for Disease Control already, adding that the federal government is not going to incur any additional expenses.

    Apart from being operational since 2012, he said that it has been instrumental in combating the deadly Ebola virus and Lassa fever.

    The agenda, he said, is to strengthen the public health intervention to ensure proactiveness against future epidemic.

    He said, “To move the agenda of public health intervention forward, what is known internationally is that they will always be another epidemic‎ or another disease outbreak but what we do not know is when and where it will happen. What we need to do is to get ourselves prepared for the next epidemic.

    “The National Council of Health in its meeting in Lagos in 2007‎, took a decision to establish a Nigerian center for disease control. The center became operational in 2012 and actually constituted a major force in combating Ebola ‎and has been very operational in handling lessa fever in different parts of the country. So what we have done today is to provide legal framework for this agency so that it can validly perform the role that is expected of such role that is expected of such frontline agency. It is patterned after the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention which was established in 1946. The whole concept is not new what is new is that we decided to move ahead with it in Nigeria.

    “There is also a European ‎Centre for Disease Control established in 2004 and in 2013 following a resolution in Abuja, African Union also decided to establish a center for disease control.

    “Our center for disease control is a frontline agency that has been recognised internationally, it has been designated as the regional center for disease control in West Africa, it has also been designated as the regional center for the African center for disease and prevention.

    “So with this approval we can then move on working with National Assembly to put in place the necessary legislative action so that it can formally become an Act of Parliament.” he said

    Stressing that the agency has not been operating illegally, he said: “It can be liken to a baby you have been carrying on your back ‎and after sometimes you say this baby is big enough to walk and you say walk I will hold you by the hand. So, under the new dispensation we will give a legal framework to the establishment of the board for the agency, defined recruitment, how the director or the CEO of the agency will be appointed.

    “These are things that have now been formalized. It has a budget line and so it’s actually not going incur any additional expenses. There is a budget line for National Center for Disease Control already,” he said.

     

  • Osinbajo inaugurates task force to reduce food prices

    Osinbajo inaugurates task force to reduce food prices

    Moved by the need to enhance affordability of food prices across country, the Buhari administration has constituted a Presidential Task Force to urgently consider measures that would ensure a steady flow of produce to the market and reverse recent price increases.

    Giving the directive Wednesday at the Federal Executive Council meeting, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, expressed concern at some of the inflationary rates of food prices, noting that the Task Force will explore options to promote availability and affordability of food items to Nigerians.

    According to him, the Task Force, which has seven days from Wednesday to report back to the Council, will consider how to remove some of the cost-raising factors that come into play between the farms and the markets and therefore “bring relief to our people.”

    While there have been reports of bumper harvests in parts of the country, the prices of food stuff still end up rather high, while some of the produce even end up wasted due to a number of reasons preventing effective transportation delivery to the markets.

    One of the focus areas of the Task Force, the Ag. President noted, would be to review the transportation and preservation processes, and see how government can intervene in those aspects to bring down food prices.

    The Task Force, which would be meeting with the Ag. President in the discharge of its urgent assignment, will therefore draw out a practical plan and present same to the Council next week.

    Members of the Task Force include the following:

    Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh

    Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun

    Minister of Industry, Trade & Development, Dr. Okey Enelamah

    Minister of Transportation, Honorable Rotimi Amaechi

    Minister for Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu

    Minister of Labour & Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige

    The Offices of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, would also be on the Task Force.