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  • Farmers/herders killings reducing, says minister

    There has been decline in farmers-herders killings across the country, Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed has said.

    He attributed the reduction to the measures and actions of the government in tackling the crisis.

    Speaking at the 6th Special Town Hall meeting on farmer-herders clashes, held in Gusau, Zamfara State yesterday, the minister said the clashes were not caused by religion or ethnicity, but an act of banditry.

    He urged Nigerians to reject those trying to introduce religious and ethnic colouration.

    Declaring the meeting open, Mohammed told the gathering that the government efforts at taming the situation were yielding result.

    He said: “Let me say straight away that the killings, resulting from farmers-herders clashes, cattle rustling, trans-border crimes and banditry, among others, have reduced drastically. Unfortunately, this has not received the kind of media coverage given to the killings. I appeal to the media to correct this.

    “The drastic fall in the killings resulted from concerted and committed actions by the Federal Government. Measures taken to curtail farmers-herders clashes, cattle rustling and other acts of banditry include: deployment of a Joint Military Intervention Force (JMIF), comprising regular and special forces personnel from the Army, Air Force and Navy, and working in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), establishment of the Army’s 2 Battalion Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Kanfanin Doka Village, Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State.

    “Establishment of a new Area Command and two additional Divisional Police Headquarters in Birnin Gwari Local Government of Kaduna State. Establishment by Nigeria Air Force of Quick Response Wings (QRW) in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states, and deployment of special forces to these Quick Response Wings. The inauguration, by the Nigeria Police Force, of a new Mobile Squadron in Takum, Taraba State, and Operation ‘Whirl Stroke’, operating in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states, to tackle the menace of armed herdsmen, cattle rustlers, communal militias, kidnappers and other bandits.

    “I have no doubt that the good people of Zamfara can testify to the drastic reduction in the activities of cattle rustlers and other bandits in the state since the Federal Government assembled a 1000-strong military force, comprising the Army, Air Force, Police and the Civil Defence, to launch attacks on the bandits terrorising the villages and towns of Zamfara State. The situation will continue to improve until the violence has stopped.

    “Your Excellency, honourable ministers, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by repeating what I have always said: The killings we have witnessed have nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. As I have always cited, those rustling cattle in Zamfara are largely Hausa/Fulani and Muslims. Those whose cattle are rustled are largely Hausa/Fulani and Muslims. Where is ethnicity? Where is religion in this? And in Kebbi, more than 70 per cent of inmates in the prison are there because of farmers-herders clash. Yet, the farmers are mostly Hausa/Fulani and Muslims, and the herders are mostly Hausa/Fulani and Muslims. Ethnicity and religion play no role!

    “Those bent on exploiting our national fault lines have distorted the narrative to give the killings ethnic and religious colouration, and this has aggravated the killings. We must repudiate them, even as the Federal Government continues to consolidate on the successful efforts to end the killings.”

  • Minister to media: criticise, don’t denigrate Buhari

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said the media is free to criticise President Muhammadu Buhari, but not to denigrate him or his office.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja when he visited the Peoples Daily Newspapers, in continuation of the advocacy for the National Campaign Against Fake News, which was launched in July.

    Mohammed said in the rush to de-market the President and his administration, some mainstream media organisations have resorted to the use of uncouth language to denigrate the person and office of President Buhari.

    “In fact, fake news has taken another dimension. Now, it is not uncommon for otherwise respectable media organisations to accuse the President without backing up their accusation with evidence. The latest of such occurred two days ago, when a newspaper wrote an editorial in which it resorted to the use of uncouth language to denigrate President Buhari on the farmers-herders clashes and other issues.

    ”In their eagerness to de-market the President, they forget that he is the living symbol of the nation, and that by denigrating him, they are denigrating the country, including themselves,” he said.

    The minister said because of the impressive performance of the present administration, the critics knew they could not take on the government on issues pertaining to performance, hence their resort to fake news.

    “They are unrelenting, because fake news is the only weapon they have against a performing administration like ours. They know they cannot take on us on the issue of infrastructure, economy, fight against corruption, agricultural development, etc. They have, therefore, resorted to using fake news to de-market our administration. Thankfully, they are failing,” he said.

    Mohammed said although the National Campaign Against Fake News has not discouraged its purveyors, it has brought the phenomenon to the front burner and heightened public discourse on the dangers of fake news, which, he said, has the capacity to instigate religious and ethnic crisis.

    The minister, who described fake news as a global menace, said although countries had been evolving ways to deal with the issue, Nigeria’s approach was to appeal to the sense of responsibility of media practitioners, bloggers and social media influencers.

     

     

     

     

  • Minister: Nigeria spends $22b yearly on food import 

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, has lamented the huge funds spent on importation of food. Efforts were ongoing to reverse the trend, he said.

    Ogbeh, who spoke at the 19th  Catholic Brothers United in Lagos, said Nigeria’s yearly food import stood at $22 billion. He lamented that the situation was unsustainable as it poses danger to the nation’s economy.

    His words: “Nigeria spends almost $22 billion every year on food importation. If we don’t fix agricultural problems in the country where families can feed on less than 15 per cent of their budget, then the country is in trouble.”

    Speaking on the topic “Technology and agricultural revolution: A tool for economic growth,” Ogbeh said efforts were ongoing to close Nigeria’s borders against rice importation.

    He projected that “In two years from now, we should put an end to rice importation.”

    Catholic Brothers United President, Emmanuel Okoro, said the country can attain self sufficiency in food production if she strengthens her entire agricultural sector.

    He identified the current challenges facing the sector to include poor infrastructure, dormant research facilities, and limited food processing and inconsistent government policies, among others.

     

  • Minister: Fed Govt encouraged by non-oil sector growth

    The Federal Government was encouraged by the continuous growth in the non-oil sector which rose by  2.05 per cent in the second quarter, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma has said.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday released second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics, which showed that economic growth slowed.

    This, Udoma noted, was evidence that the implementation of the targeted policies and programmes of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) is yielding positive results.

    The minister, who was reacting to the NBS report, said that he was happy to see that the economy has continued to register positive growth in the first and second quarters of the year in spite of the security and other challenges faced by the country.

    He emphasised that the focus of the ERGP is on diversifying the economy away from dependence on the oil and gas sector and was encouraged that efforts are yielding fruits by the continuing growth in the non-oil sector.

    The minister noted that this 2.05 per cent growth in the non-oil sector represents the strongest growth in the non-oil GDP since the fourth quarter of 2015.

    The NBS report indicated that the non-oil growth was driven by Transportation (road, rail water and air) which grew by 21.76 per cent, supported by Construction 7.66 per cent and Electricity 7.59 per cent. These three are priority areas of the ERGP.

    Other non-oil sectors that drove growth in the second quarter include telecommunications which grew by 11.51 per cent, water supply and Sewage 11.98 per cent and Broadcasting by 21.92 per cent.

    The minister regretted that there was a slight drop in real GDP growth rate for the second quarter principally as a result of the contraction in the oil sector.

    The oil and gas sector contracted by -3.95 per cent in the second quarter of 2018 compared to a growth rate of 14.77 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2018 and 3.53 per cent in the corresponding period in 2017.  However, the Minister noted that the contraction in the crude oil and gas sectors is attributable to some production issues which are being addressed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

  • Minister: why we’re committed to transport sector’s growth

    The Federal Government remains committed to enhancing the transportation sector’s capacity because of its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Transpor-tation Minister Rotimi Amaechi has said.

    The Minister spoke at a workshop organised by the Science, Energy and Technology Committee of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Lagos.

    The workshop was themed: “Capacity Building in the transportation industry vis-a-via the maritime, railway and aviation sub-sectors”.

    Amaechi said the government would continue to provide the needed support in the areas of investment, training and policies that would boost the growth of the sector.

    Represented by the Executive Director, Maritime and Operations, Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr. Sokonte Davies, Amaechi said the transport sector was key to the sustenance of the nation’s socio-economic development.

    He said: “In this regard, this administration places a huge premium on the revival of the transport sector in its entirety through the rehabilitation of existing transport infrastructure and the provision of new ones.

    “We are also committed to ensuring capacity building while finding ways to improve the financial capabilities of the citizenry.”

    According to the Minister, the contribution of the transport sector to the GDP, which is only 1.41 per cent, was low and unacceptable.

    He said there was an urgent need to exploit untapped opportunities that abound within the sector towards improving its contribution to the national economy.

    Amaechi said: “This administration is determined to fully exploit the potential of the transportation sector and would pursue the enactment of laws that would open up the sector to new investments and economic prosperity.”

    He said the government was determined to revamp the railway sector with a view to enhancing national integration by encouraging mass transit of passengers and goods across the geographical regions of the country.

    The Minister, therefore, urged the private sector to deepen its partnership with government towards improving infrastructure and capacity in the nation’s transportation sector.

    The Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation, Mr. Fidel Okhira, said the Corporation has adequate capacity and manpower to lift the sector.

    According to him, the railway transports over 18000 passengers daily. He advised that if the tempo of investment was sustained with adequate funding on a long term basis in the next 25 years, the sector will attract huge investment from the private sector.

    Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) Managing Director, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, said the sector contributes $8.2 billion to the GDP.

    He said in 10 years, the passenger traffic would grow by seven per cent. He, however, called for a systematic overhaul of the system with modern navigational infrastructure.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Ladi Lawanson, said the state would proffer the required solutions to the perennial traffic challenges, improve connectivity of bus and better waterways transport.

    He, however, regretted that the state has no control over tank farms that constitute the transportation challenge in the state.

    Speaking on the Apapa articulated trucks-induced traffic gridlock, the Commissioner said  efforts with other stakeholders, especially the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority, was the solution.

    Lawanson called for innovation in the sector, noting that it remained the way forward. He  stressed that the state was poised to take advantage of its natural resources to boost the sector.

    He said the state was working on building a truck Terminal Park at Ijora that would take between 5000- 10,000 trailers and work with relevant agencies to ensure the success of the call-up system.

    The President of LCCI, Babatunde Ruwase, said the theme of the workshop was germane at this critical stage of the economy, and with the role of transportation to promote economic development.

    Ruwase said: “When the sector is vibrant, it provides economic and social opportunities with benefits that result in positive multiplier effects on the entire economy.”

    He said that it was necessary to provide an enabling environment with appropriate policy and legal frameworks, institutional and human resources development to increase the efficiency and social impact of transport sector.

    LCCI Science, Energy and Technology Committee Chairperson, Dr Joan Maduka, said the transport sector is the backbone of any economy, especially as economic opportunities had been related to mobility of people, goods and information.

    Maduka said: “The development of this sector through capacity building is critical and essential for the nation to enhance quality of life, stimulate wealth or assert its competitive edge in the global arena.”

     

  • Fed Govt didn’t pay ransom to free Dapchi girls, says minister

    The Federal Government insisted last night that it did not pay any ransom to secure the release of the Dapchi girls.

    In a statement in Ilorin, Kwara State,  Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed challenged anyone with any evidence of payment to publish such.

    ”It is not enough to say that Nigeria paid a ransom, little or huge. There must be a conclusive evidence to support such claim. Without that, the claim remains what it is: a mere conjecture.”

    a report by the United Nations (UN) has claimed that the federal government paid “huge ransom” for the release of the kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirls in February.

    The report also identified the predominance of cash economy as a major factor fuelling the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin region

    Titled “Letter dated 16 July 2018 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and  2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant  (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups,  undertakings and entities addressed to the President of the

    Security Council,” was obtained from the UN’s official website yesterday.

    Signed by the Coordinator, Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, Edmund Fitton-Brown, and the Chair, Security Council Committee, it stated that Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have had similar impact in their areas of control, including the Lake Chad basin.

     

     

  • Fight violence against children, says Minister

    THE three tiers of government have been tasked to advocate on violence against children as well as promote the Child Rights Acts.

    These among others were the communiqué at the end of the 18th regular meeting of the National Council of Women Affairs and Social Development (NCWASD) presided over by the Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan.

    The meeting ended last week in Lagos.

    According to Alhassan, all hands must be on deck to fight the menace because children deserve a life where they can thrive and reach their full potential.

    The Minister, who spoke on the theme “Peace, security, and social inclusion: Key building blocks for achieving economic growth and sustainable development”, pointed out it has obviously served as a torch light in the quest for creative ideas and strategic thinking to evolve a nation that we all can be proud of, from the perspectives of women and social development.

    The meeting, according to Lagos Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Lola Akande, is a work in progress since is a follow-up to the previous ones hosted by other states with remarkable outcomes.

    The results, she said, have helped in strengthening the institutional frameworks, administrative structures as well as political will at various levels of government towards better management of the affairs of women.

    The 5-day council meeting also advocated support for more women to participate in politics at all levels at the forth coming democratic electoral process; creation of gender desks in all MDAs at all levels and mainstream gender issues in budgeting.

    It also recommended establishment of National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) Nodal Desk in the 36 States of the Federation and FCT, involvement of State Ministries of Women Affairs (SMWA) and State Ministries of Education (SMoE) as critical stakeholders in tracking the impact of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in the promotion of the rights of the Child to Education, among others.

  • Minister: opposition using fake news to de-market Buhari

    MINISTER of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has accused the opposition of using fake news to de-market the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    He said the opposition has resorted to the use of religious and ethnic disharmony to taint the Buhari administration’s achievements.

    The minister spoke in Abuja yesterday when he visited Authority Newspapers’ Corporate Headquarters to kick-start the media tour in furtherance of the campaign against fake news, which the Federal Government launched.

    He said: “With the Buhari Administration delivering on its promises to fight corruption, build the nation’s economy and tackle insecurity, the opposition has realised it will not make any impact if it takes on the administration on that turf. So, it has decided to take the easy route, which is to use fake news and hate speech to de-market the administration, pitch Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against another.”

    Mohammed also accused the opposition of throwing caution to the wind in its attempt to divide the country.

    The minister stressed that in its bid, the opposition is using fake news to blame the killings in a certain part of the country on herdsmen and ignoring the bands of deadly militia groups that were being sponsored by unscrupulous people to kill innocent people and put the nation on edge.

    He cited the example of how the opposition is distorting the fact that the clashes between the farmers and herders were being aggravated by climate change, which has heightened the contest for scarce natural resources like water and land – as well as demographic pressure.

    The minister said the morbid fear the opposition harbours that when he is re-elected in 2019, Buhari will consolidate on the fight against corruption, has thrown the opposition camp into confusion.

    Mohammed added that this has led to the frenzy with which they fabricate and publish fake news to cast the government in bad light.

    “Many politicians know that the  only way to distract this government is to spread fake news and they are being very selfish and they have amassed so much wealth that they can continue to sponsor fake news at a very dangerous level for as long as they want.

    “Many of them have this morbid fear of the President being re-elected because they know that in his second term, the war against corruption will start yielding fruits. There are so many cases in court today and they are just praying and doing everything to distract the government so that their cases will be scuttled,” he stated.

    Mohammed added that for the first time in the history of Nigeria, there was a re-distribution of the nation’s wealth from a few to the generality of the public

    The administration’s Social Investment Programme, he said, is providing one meal a day for 8.5 million pupils across 23 states; the Conditional Cash Transfer is empowering 400,000 families with N5,000 every month, the Government Enterprises and Empowerment Programme is making available loans to artisans and craftsmen as well as market women.

    The N-Power Programme has provided employment for over 200,000 unemployed graduates, he said.

    The minister hailed the Authority Newspapers for being the first media outlet to write an editorial in support of the campaign against fake news, saying he chose to kick-start the media tour with the newspaper in appreciation of its efforts.

     

     

     

  • Abuja metro rail, first of its kind in Africa, says minister

    •Mohammed: Buhari has delivered in three key areas

    THE Abuja Metro Rail inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari is the first of its kind in Africa, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said.

    Mohammed, who spoke yesterday after a tour of the rail line, said the project was the first integrated rail system in Africa.

    According to him, it is aimed at achieving seamless transfer of passengers from air to train, air to land and then connect to regional rail (Abuja-Kaduna national rail) with metro system.

    The minister noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has delivered in the three key priority areas – security, economy and fight against corruption.

    The achievements of the administration, he said, has left the opposition parties in the lurch since they have nothing to hold against the government.

    He said the opposition parties have resorted in fanning the ember of disunity.

    The tour, which was the continuation of the nationwide inspection of Federal Government’s projects across the country, is aimed at showcasing the infrastructural development feat of the Buhari administration in the last three years.

    He said: “The truth is that in the three key priority areas of this administration, that is security, economy and the fight against corruption, we are delivering.

    “This has left the opposition in the lurch, hence their resort to fake news and hate speeches. They fan the embers of disunity and violence. They believe they could use this as a weapon against the administration. But Nigerians are too smart to be conned.”

    He noted that the administration is not looking for quick fix like the past administration, which has not worked.

    “This administration is not looking for quick fixes. Because quick fixes don’t work. We are laying the foundation for an enduring infrastructural development.

    “We are painstaking, we are very transparent, but we remain focused and committed. Despite what people say every day, we remain focused and committed. Despite what people say every day, we remain focus on delivery to the people.”

    On the light rail project, he said, it is the first of its kind in the continent, which, according to him, it’s a thing of pride.

    “There is nowhere in Africa that you have what we have here today. The kind of integrated rail system that we have here today. This is the first and I am very proud.”

    The light rail project, he added, “is actually designed to alleviate the challenges of transportation for the metropolis”.

    Mohammed said: “It is a project that no one single administration can start and finish. Every administration must take off from where the other administrations stopped.

    “My pride is that when we came in, this project was only 53 per cent completed and we took 18 months only to get to where we are now.  So, in eight years’, 12 years’, 20 years’ time, if we continue to sustain this, every part of the metropolis will be covered by rail and 20 years is such a short time in the life of a country or a city.”

    The minister was convinced that the coming generations would appreciate the project.

    The rail’s Chief Resident Engineer, Mr. Anthony Agbakoba, while briefing the minister, announced the signing of agreement for the beginning of the project’s second phase by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Ltd.

    He noted that when the project is fully operated, it would directly or indirectly employ about 10,000 Nigerians.

    Agbakoba said that in addition, 68 highly-skilled personnel have been trained in Malaysia and China on Railway Operations and Management to build the required technical capacity needed to run such a modern rail system.

    Conducting the minister and his team round the train stations, the Secretary of Transportation in the FCTA, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, said the project is the first integrated mode of transportation in Africa that connects the railways and the airport to ensure seamless movement of passengers.

     

  • 26% budgetary allocation to education low, says minister

    MINISTER of State for Education Prof. Anthony Anwukah said yesterday that the 26 per cent provision from the national budget to the education sector is too low.

    He said the sector was underfunded as previous governments over the years had continuously allocated 26 per cent of the budget to the education.

    The minister spoke at the ongoing 63rd National Council on Education (NCE) in Abuja.

    He said the provision of adequate funding for the sector was key for government to achieve its Education 2030 Agenda.

    The minister said adequate funding was a pivotal tool for rapid socio-economic growth and actualisation for the sustainable development goal (SDG4) on education.

    Anwukah said: “It is no longer news that the task of funding education is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders, corporate and private organisations in order to meet the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) global benchmark.

    “Recent literature reveals that Nigeria’s education sector has received much lower than 26 percent of the National Budget, which has been the trend over the years. For example, in 2017 Appropriation Act, N448.01 billion was allocated to education representing about 6.0 percent of the N7.30 trillion naira budget.

    “In 2016, about N369.6 billion was appropriated, N492.34 billion naira in 2015, N493 billion in 2014 and N426.53 billion in 2013 respectively, all of which is still less than adequate for the essential development of the education sector characterised with increased enrolment, low perception of the value of education, early marriages, lack of infrastructural facilities and instructional materials among others.”

    Minister of Education Adamu Adamu said it was the Federal Government’s firm belief that there was an urgent need to overhaul the sector.

    He said education was key for Nigeria to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

    The minister said this could not be achieved without funding, which he said, was central to efficient and effective education.