The Nation Newspaper

Tag: minister

  • Minister urges CAC workers to resume today

    The industrial action by the Corporate Affairs Commission’s (CAC) workers is on the part of being settled.

    It followed the intervention of Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige.

    Hence, the commission’s workers are to report for work today by 8am.

    A statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director (Press), Samuel Olowookere, said the minister waded into the matter in exercise of powers conferred on him by the Trade Union Dispute Act of the Federation (LNF 2004).

    A meeting between the union leadership in the CAC, the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the minister will hold today by 4p.m at the Conference Hall of the minister.

     

     

     

  • Minister, others mourn Faleti

    Minister, others mourn Faleti

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has expressed his condolences to the family of renowned author, poet, broadcaster and actor, Pa Adebayo Faleti.

    Faleti, a pioneer of the first television station in Africa, Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Ibadan, wrote and acted in many films such as Thunderbolt: Magun (2001), Afonja (1 & 2) (2002), Basorun Gaa (2004), and Sawo-Segeri (2005). He was born on December 26, 1930 and died on Saturday morning, aged 86.

    Describing his death as a huge loss to the country’s creative sector in particular and to the entire nation, the Minister, in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, said that Pa Faleti was a trailblazer and a colossus across many genres who left an indelible footprint in the Nigerian landscape.

    Alhaji Mohammed commiserated the family and friends of the departed, as well as all practitioners in the sector, and prayed that God will comfort them and grant repose to the soul of the departed.

    He said generations of authors, poets, broadcasters and actors owe Pa Faleti a debt of gratitude for his dedication, hard work and love of country.

    Also, a delegation of the Ibadan Film Circle (IFC) led by Prof Duro Adeleke, renowned scholar of Yoruba theatre and film, and comprising Ropo Ewenla and Lanre Ladoyinbo, paid a condolence visit to the home of late Faleti Adebayo on Sunday.

    A renowned actor and close friend of Faleti, Tubosun Odunsi, said Faleti’s death was sad to him even though it was expected.

    “You know, he’s been down for sometime and he’s been looking forward to hhis passing away.”

    Odunsi however, said burial plans are ongoing in consultation with Faleti’s family and will be released very soon.

    “We are holding the meetings concerning the burials. We’re making arrangements, we’re consulting with some people on what to do. But very soon, we’ll come out with something that is concrete.”

    Another actor, Yinka Akanbu eulogised the late Faleti.

    “Baba Faleti!!!,” he started.

    “Our paths crossed twice in my professional life. First in1990 when I played Obe in his Bashorun Gaa which he directed and when He played Baba Opalaba in Saworoide in 1999. You never encounter an elder like Baba Faleti and go empty handed. He was so loaded he would rub off on you no matter how brief the encounter. Baba was a walking library of Yoruba history and culture. Baba sustained my interest in my culture and taught me a trick or two in acting. He lives in those of us who encountered and experienced him. Baba once told me, ‘Obe, never hesitate to exploit all your God given talents, Oloun lo fun o, kii se eniyan.’”

    “Thank you Baba for your numerous talents. Thank you for being such a giving elder. Thank you for living in us even as you soar on to that summit fit for the CHOICEST OF EAGLES.”

    Faleti was a Yoruba translator and translated Nigeria’s National Anthem from English to Yoruba. He also translated speeches of former military president Ibrahim Babangida and Head of National Interim Government Chief Ernest Shonekan from English to Yoruba.

     

  • Fed Govt plans ICT varsity, says minister

    The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, has said the Federal Government has concluded plans to establish an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) university. The proposed ICT school, he said, is informed by the low-ranking of Nigeria in terms of development when compared to other African countries’growths.

    At the yearly lecture of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the minister urged the academy to partner with the ministry to set up the ICT school, which, he assured, would be “run as a public-private partnership”.

    Shittu said since ICT had become an enabler of growth in modern time, it was time Nigeria filled the gap in the ICT industry by equipping its youths with requisite knowledge.

    He said: “I want to invite your academy to partner with the Ministry of Communications in setting up of the ICT University. If your academy is favourably  disposed towards that, we are prepared to cede one of the six campuses to you, so we can jointly run it to ensure that our youths get the best ICT training.”

    He said he would play an intermediary role between the academy and the Federal Government for whatever contact the academy might need to make the partnership successful.

    The guest lecturer, Prof Michael Adewumi, who spoke on: Training engineers for the global century, said he believed Nigeria needed to train globally-competitive and locally-relevant engineers.

    To achieve this, he said engineering training must surmount the problems of one-dimensional training, ignorance of local context and the expectation of employment in multinationals upon graduation.

    The lecturer at Pennsylvania State University in the United States (U.S.) maintained that local knowledge must be fully harnessed.

    “To train a successful engineer, we must have a seamless integration between what they already experience and what they need to know. For example, while teaching gaming theory or probability, why not focus on the game of ayo instead of baseball,” he said.

    Adewunmi also said three-dimensional education, which involves diversifying the curriculum, as well as creativ1e application of solutions from the local to global stage is essential if Nigeria is to have locally-relevant engineers.

    The event featured induction of new fellows and presentation of life achievement awards to selected professionals.

    Former Minister of Works and Housing Senator Barnabas Germade, who was inducted, lauded the selection process of the award, saying: “It is the application of engineering laws that qualifies anyone to become a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.”

  • Minister urges firms to partner research institutes

    The Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has urged firms to partner with research institutes to promote economic development and generate employment.

    This was the thrust of his visits to the head offices of Fidson Pharmaceuticals and Unilever PLC in Lagos.

    Onu was accompanied by the Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Prof Gloria Elemo.

    At Unilever, Onu said the firm should consider localising its research by giving contract researches to research institutes under his ministry to conduct.  He also said that the firm could set up a research facility for such purpose to be manned by qualified academics.  That way, the Minister said the firm would generate employment and expand local capacity to develop new products.

    “There is no reason why there should be no research facility in Nigeria.  You need to domesticate your Research and Development facilty in Nigeria.  When you do, you will employ Nigerian PhD holders. I want to see you make use of Nigerian technology.  You should also get involved with contract research.  You can involve FIIRO when you do,” he said.

    Onu also urged the company to partner the institutes to commercialise their research works.  He mentioned that FIIRO, for example, had 250 products of research waiting for commercialization.

    “There are 17 agencies under the ministry and all are involved in one form of research or the other.  We want a situation where you show interest in our research.  We want the research we do to be market-driven.  FIIRO has a long list that will be of interest to you.  They have 250 research work that can be commercialised,” he said.

    At FIDSON Pharmaceuticals, Onu said the Federal Government was working to diversify Nigeria’s economy.  He said one way was to work towards self-reliance such that many goods are produced locally.

    He also spoke of the Federal Government’s plans to encourage local industries, especially fully indigenous organizations like FIDSON.

    Onu praised FIDSON for running a fully Nigerian outfit.

    On her part, Prof Elemo said FIIRO had the wherewithal that industries could use in building their raw materials base with her over 250 research findings.

  • Minister: media must avoid divisive contents

    Minister: media must avoid divisive contents

    Minister for Information and Culture Lai Muhammed has expressed fears of the media being used as a vehicle for disintegration rather than unity.

    The minister was worried that the items of disunity, disintegration and hate speeches has continued to dominate broadcast contents.

    According to him, there has been a steady loss of focus in the broadcast industry, from its primary responsibility of fostering unity among citizenry and creating peaceful co-existence, to focusing on programs that promote mutual hatred among citizens.

    The minister spoke yesterday at a one-day summit organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), themed: “Broadcast Content Development and Peaceful Coexistence”, held at Silk Suite, Rayfield Jos, the Plateau State capital.

    Muhammed, who was represented by State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Bulus Dabit, said: “Broadcast content in our radios and television is like food we take daily, they are good for nourishing the body, but not all foods are good for the body and soul.

    “If we must eat broadcast items like food, we must eat the healthy ones that nourish the body and soul, not the ones that put us in critical conditions of health.

    “Again, Nigerians crave for information like they crave for love, and there is need to feed them with news contents that will promote love. But unfortunately, the news contents from our radios and televisions in recent times are not healthy for citizens because they are not healthy for our unity and peaceful co-existence as people of one nation and one destiny.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Minister suspends NHIS top officials

    Minister suspends NHIS top officials

    •Heavy police presence at agency’s office

    Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole has approved the suspension of more officials of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to pave the way for thorough investigation.

    NHIS Acting Executive Secretary Attahiru Ibrahim has been directed to ensure the immediate implementation of the suspension order.

    Director, Media and Public Relations of the ministry Boade Akinola announced the action in a statement yesterday.

    The minister had earlier suspended the Executive Secretary of NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf, for three months.

    According to the statement, the suspension is in furtherance of the desire of government to have an uninterrupted and robust investigation into petitions at the NHIS.

    The officials suspended yesterday are Mr. Olufemi Akingbade, General Manager, Zonal Coordinator, (South-South Zone) and Mr. John Okon, General Manager (Finance Account).

    Others are Mr. Yusuf Fatik, General Manager (Human Resources and Administration); Mr. Shehu Adamu, Assistant General Manager (Audit); Mr. Vincent Mamdam, Assistant General Manager/Head (Insurance) and Mr. Safiyanu Attah, Senior Assistant Officer (Marketing); Mr. Owen Udo Udoma, Senior Manager (Contribution Management) and Mr. Innocent Abbah, Senior Assistant Officer (Planning Research and Monitoring).

    Akinola quoted the minister as urging the 13-member investigative panel of inquiry into reports on maladministration and mismanagement by officials of the agency to remain focused, fair and transparent in the discharge of its task despite the sensation the development had generated.

    But, NHIS workers were yesterday morning welcomed to the Abuja headquarters office by heavy police presence.

    The presence of the police personnel may not be unconnected with the vow of the suspended  NHIS Executive Secretary to resume work.

    Yusuf last week rejected his suspension, saying that it was only the president that can remove him from office.

    He promised to report for work yesterday.

    He, however, failed to turn up.

     

  • CIF conference will take creative industry to golden era —Minister

    CIF conference will take creative industry to golden era —Minister

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said the Creative Industry Financing Conference (CIFC), scheduled to hold from July 17 to 18, will launch the creative sector into a golden era of smooth access to short and long term financing, world class management, local and international distribution.

    Speaking in Lagos on Thursday, Mohammed disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is organizing the event in conjunction with Think Tank Media and Advertising ‘’because of our realization that lack of access to financing is stunting the growth of the creative industry.’’

    He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is organizing the event in conjunction with Think Tank Media and Advertising.

    Mohammed recalled that the CIFC is the latest in a series of events that have been held by the ministry to support the creative sector. Other such measures, he said, includes the National Summit on Culture and Tourism held last year, the roundtable on the creative industry held in Lagos last Monday and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BOI), Tony Elumelu Foundation and the British Council.

    ‘’As you are aware, this administration attaches importance to the creative industry. This is in line with its cardinal programme of diversifying the economy away from oil. There is no better demonstration of the high priority given to the creative industry than the fact that the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will declare open, the Creative Industry Financing Conference.’’

  • Why Fed Govt must honour aviation concession agreements, by minister, Babalakin

    Why Fed Govt must honour aviation concession agreements, by minister, Babalakin

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed and Chairman of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd (BASL) Dr. Wale Babalakin said yesterday that the Federal Government must honour existing concession agreements with players in the aviation industry to attract investors.

    Failure to honour such agreements, they said, will act as a disincentive to foreign and local investors as well as portray a wrong signal to the global community.

    They spoke at the breakfast meeting of industry think tank group, Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative (ASRTI), in Lagos.

    Mohammed said instead of   lamenting, aviation operators should engage government on how to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the sector.

    The minister said in the last 20 months as minister, he found out that institutional resistance constitute the greatest challenge any goal-driven official has to grapple with, if he must deliver on projects and policies.

    He said the official must struggle to extricate himself or herself from such stranglehold to deliver.

    He said if government must fast-track the growth of the sector, there should be a legislative and legal framework to address issues bordering on agreements.

    Mohammed said: “There are lots of challenges in the area of regulatory framework and policy-making decisions.

    “If you don’t obey your own agreements, you will be sending wrong signals not only to your local community but also to the international community. People come here to invest because they want returns on their investment.”

    Mohammed assured operators that the Federal Government had embarked on reforms on the ease of doing business at the airports, adding that no government can do without growing its infrastructure.

    “If every government does the basic things and refused to be distracted, it will be able to lay a solid foundation, which nobody can rubbish,” he said.

    Babalakin criticised the Federal Government for not providing a template for the aviation industry for over 40 years.

    Speaking on the topic: “Investment operations and profitable earnings for economic growth” at the breakfast meeting, Babalakin said for more than 40 years, the authorities have been making promises without fulfilling them.

    “I am not sure there is any component of an aircraft that is manufactured in Nigeria and certified. We import everything, including the aviation fuel and we are exporting crude oil,” he said.

    Babalakin said aviation can be a catalyst for economic growth, but doubted if the authorities are keen to make it happen.

    “If we are, I’m concerned whether we have the skill internally. Many airlines have some and gone, some were celebrated and some were not. Have we researched thoroughly the reasons for their demise? I used to hear a blanket reason that it was the military governments that contributed to their death. But the civilians were the engine room of the military regimes. They were the aviators, who did not do the right thing.

    “The military, in active collaboration with the civilians and active collaborators in the aviation industry, destroyed the industry.

    “I have seen 11 ministers of aviation with various ideas swinging from left to middle to right and subjecting the participants to the vagaries of their thoughts. I look forward to a big aviation industry in Nigerian, but I don’t see the template anywhere,” he said.

    Babalakin said BASL successfully operated the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2  for 11 years. He blamed the government for not honouring agreements.

    “We have run MMA2 for 11 years without experiencing any blackout but we have collected only five per cent of revenue of an international airport. If such things were promoted, we would have solved a lot of problems.

    “In every public-private partnership project, it is 75 per cent thinking and 25 per cent implementation. But a government that does not honour its own agreement cannot be taken seriously by an outsider. We have to find a way at negotiation stages the best minds of government and agreements must be obeyed,” he added.

    Chairman, Air Peace, Allen Onyema said many airlines will die if government does not address the challenge of multiple taxes and charges.

    Onyema said if airlines have to pay 34 charges, it will be difficult for them to keep their operations afloat in an environment where they grapple with poor  airport infrastructure, high insurance premium and other prohibitive charges.

  • Fed Govt ‘ll continue to borrow, says finance minister

    Fed Govt ‘ll continue to borrow, says finance minister

    Nigeria will continue to borrow to fund its budget, Minister of Finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said yesterday.

    “Nigeria will continue to borrow. Nothing has changed,” the minister said in a statement to debunk reports that the Federal Government had stopped borrowing.

    She said “the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan provides for an increase in spending over a three-year period, which is reflected in the 2017 budget”.

    She added that “in 2017, the government is committed to spending N7.44 trillion, with a projected fiscal deficit of N2.356 trillion, which will be funded by a combination of domestic and international borrowing.”

    Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio, the finance ministry noted, “is low when compared to our contemporaries in Africa, and across most of the developed world. We have headroom to borrow and are doing so aggressively in the short to medium term in order to address our infrastructure deficit and to stimulate growth.”

    However, the minister added that “it is vital that Nigeria diversifies its revenue base and builds its revenue profile, as is projected in the ERGP, to ensure that we do not continue to overly rely on debt to fund our budget spending over the long term.”

    To build a sustainable economy, Mrs. Adeosun said Nigeria “must replace the debt that we are incurring in the short to medium term, with strong revenue sources”.

    The Ministry of Finance, she said, remains “focused on expanding our tax base, which we are doing with a range of initiatives which include the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) and recruitment of Community Tax Liaison Officers (CTLOS) to improve tax compliance in the long-term, and we are heavily focused on making government spending more productive and efficient.

    “Nigeria cannot rely on debt indefinitely. We must be focused on a future where we can earn enough internal revenue to spend on the projects that will grow our economy. In the short term, through increased spending, funded by debt, will act as the stimulus we need to grow.”

    Also yesterday, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara queried the non-disclosure of interests accruing to Nigeria’s foreign reserve accounts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).Speaking when a delegation from the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) visited him in Abuja, he said that agencies, such as the commission, should be in custody of such figures for dissemination to the public when necessary.

    The House on Dec.15, 2015 passed a resolution calling on the CBN to declare interests accruing on the foreign reserves accounts of the federation.

    “We earn interest on foreign reserves, like Botswana. They don’t have oil but the interest on reserve is their second highest revenue source after natural resources.

    “You will see it as a budget item, interest earned from foreign reserves.

    “In Nigeria, we have been asking the question, `are we earning or are we just running charity with it or just leave people to manage it?

    “Are we capitalising the interest and what is the interest? Nobody has ever told us,’’ Dogara said.

    He said that CBN was the custodian of foreign reserves.

    But, he pointed out that if they are not forthcoming with regards to what had been happening with the interest earned on foreign reserves, there should be an agency of government to handle it.

    The speaker also sought to know why the ceiling on borrowing as stated in the FRC Act was not adhered to, adding: “Do we continue borrowing until we have borrowed billions?

    “The Fiscal Responsibility Act speaks to those things; so, why is it that it is not being done?’’ he asked.

    Dogara spoke of an urgent need for the government to properly fund the commission to enable it deliver on its mandate and strengthen its powers.

    According to Dogara, the commission has the capacity to reduce corruption by over 80 per cent.

    In his view, the approach adopted by the government to fight corruption through the EFCC to punish offenders after the crime has been committed should be redirected to checking the root of the problem.

    He said the reason for the establishment of FRC was for Nigeria to have an agency that would ensure that it had efficient allocation of resources.

  • Minister urges FUTA to research into flooding, others

    The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, has urged the Federal University of Technology at Akure (FUTA) to lead the search for solutions to debilitating flooding and other effects of climatic change ravaging parts of the country.

    The minister spoke on Monday during his visit to West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) domiciled at the university.

    He noted that with the equipment and quality of manpower at the centre, FUTA has what it takes to solve the nation’s environmental challenges.

    The director of the centre, Prof Kehinde Ogunjobi, briefed the minister and his entourage, including the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Dr. Shehu Ahmed, the Executive Director of Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Dr. Adepoju Adeshola, on its operations.

    Ogunjobi said the centre, with support from the German Government, trains competent weather and climate scientists who can proffer viable solutions to weather and climate-related problems in agriculture, water resources and allied sectors for enhanced and sustainable agricultural production, food security and sustainable environment in West Africa.

    He said WASCAL develops climate hazard and vulnerability maps for climate change adaptation and water resources management system for the sub-region.

    According to him, the centre is ready to collaborate with the ministry to tackle the nation’s environmental challenges.

    Ogunjobi noted that to achieve its mandate and proffer solutions to increasing weather and climate change challenges, the Centre has succeeded in training students from across the West Africa sub region.