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  • Minister: Fed Govt’s assets adequately insured

    Minister: Fed Govt’s assets adequately insured

    The Federal Government will consolidate on the progress it has made in the insurance sector by ensuring that all of its assets are adequately insured, Finance Minister Mrs Kemi Adeosun has said.

    She spoke yesterday at the ongoing National Insurance Conference in Abuja.

    The minister said foreign investors have shown great interest in the insurance sector by entering into the market and progress can be seen in the introduction of new insurance products in the mortgage and housing sector.

    She said there has also been a high level of ownership of insurable assets  despite the economic situation.

    Mrs Adeosun said: “We expect that industry reforms will continue to drive investments and new market entry.

    “Insurance plays a critical role in economic development by fostering economic growth and investment. It facilitates investment, by reducing the amount of capital that businesses and individuals need to keep at hand to protect themselves from uncertain events.

    “While the insurance industry has evolved with premiums growing from about N75 billion in 2005 to over N300billion today,it contributes approximately 0.7per cent to GDP.

    “There are currently about three million policyholders in Nigeria out of a population of 180 million people.This means that there is a lot more potential to increase the number of policyholders.

    “Through insurance, relatively small premiums from millions of policy holders, can create a pool to support long-term financing for our economic growth. We must be willing to expand the insurance market beyond the upper class and formally employed market, to the middle and lower income market.

    “The focus for insurance going forward, must integrate both corporate and individuals.

    The uptake of insurance products could facilitate asset formation and wealth creation over the longer-term.Many individuals take out insurance to cover life, education plans for their children, endowment, and investment savings.”

    In his welcome address, Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari said the theme: Nigeria Open for Business is a subject which has been used as a political statement of intent until the coming of the present administration which has turned it into a calculated strategy of governance that has made simplification of during business a reality.

    He stated that if the dream to make Nigeria easy for business is to be realised, then the way financial regulation is constituted in Nigeria need an urgent review.

    He pointed out that operators in most sectors are regulated by up to three and sometimes four financial regulators, with multiple requirements to each and in most cases similar and with either or options, which defeats the regulatory norm of specific oversight in financial regulation.

    He said most irritating is the multiple penalties that may arise from the same infraction noting that regulators now are even venturing into other sectors, usurping the role of other regulators without due regard to the established laws.

    Kari urge the Mrs Adeosun to challenge the Financial Services Regulatory Coordinating Committee (FSRCC) to revisit the Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020) and within a given time, come up with a proposal on the future of financial regulation in the country.

  • Minister spearheads ‘referendum’ for creative industry

    Minister spearheads ‘referendum’ for creative industry

    Stakeholders in the creative sector might have felt a special sense of belonging yesterday, as the Bank of Industry, its commercial counterparts, parastatals of Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, developmental institutions, and Non-Governmental Organisations, rose to their cause in what could be described as a referendum, bothering on the need to reposition the creative non-oil sector.

    Chaired by the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the event, tagged ‘Creative Industry Roundtable’, which held at the Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, was prelude to the main conference scheduled to take place on Monday, July 17 July, 2017 at the Eko Convention Center, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Bedeviled by dearth of enabling government policies, sectorial harmony, obsolete laws, conflicts of regulatory powers, finance, multiple taxations, and intellectual property theft among others glitches, the need to boost the creative sector as an alternative source of revenue made the front burner of the two-day conference that attracted filmmakers, music artists, fashion artists, leadership of collective management organisations (CMOs), film and music promoters, label owners, exhibitors, distributors, and several other entrepreneurs in the creative value chain.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Minister who had had several engagements with different groups in the sector since assumption of office appeared set to tie loose ends.

    “I have called this Roundtable for one reason only,” he said, “To fast-track our main objective of transforming the Creative Industry to a Creative Economy.”

    The long-yearning to firm-up the creative sector as a proper industry received impetus following President Muhammadu Buhari’s government reshuffle that placed the sector under the culture Ministry, with the appropriate constitutional capacity for showbiz development.

    This is in tandem with the administration’s agenda to develop sectors with alternative sources of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generation outside of oil.

    “This Administration has no doubt that the plan to transform the Creative Industry to a Creative Economy must be driven by the private sector. After all, it is self-evident that the modest growth that has been achieved in the Creative Industry so far, whether in films, music or fashion, has been achieved in spite of the government,” said Mohammed.

    The Minister who sought practical solutions to the problems earlier identified at many fora, made clear, his readiness to engage the Presidency and National Assembly to actualize resolutions made at the conference.

    “Let me be clear,” he said, “This Roundtable is not intended as another talk shop. Far from it. The stakeholders who are here are already aware of the problems mitigating against the seamless growth of the industry, hence I don’t expect us to spend quality time here today rehashing those problems.”

    Thus, the Roundtable provided stakeholders the opportunity to engage in business-focused discussions on access to finance, reviewing the roles of regulatory institutions, entertainment tax, private levy bill, infrastructure development, government incentives and import duty waivers, international treaties, production shoot permit, access to government facilities and locations for creative productions, capacity building, piracy way and menace of street urchins otherwise called ‘Area Boys’.

    Split into a group of six, a communiqué is expected from the anchors of each focus area before the July 17 conference.

    Mohammed seized the opportunity of the Roundtable to announce Federal Government’s partnership with UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and CNN in line with the set developmental goals.

    The tripartite partnership, according to the Minister, will use the film industry as a pivot, ‘as a lens through which we will project various aspects of the Nigerian Culture, Tourism and similar areas,’ he said.

    “As part of the project, we will also run a programme on CNN showcasing the 20 Nigerians to watch in the Industry. The Nigerians to be showcased will be selected by the industry players themselves to ensure authenticity,” the Minister said.

    He said the tripartite partnership, as well as the MoUs with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Bank of Industry and the British Council, were part of the efforts by the Federal Government to transform the creative industry to a creative economy.

    Some of the stakeholders at the conference include, Group Head, Creative Industry Group at BoI, Uche Nwuka; Managing Director, Film One Production, Kene Mkparu; Director General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Folorunso Coker; Chairman, Social Media Weekly, Lagos, Obi Asika; Director General, National Council for Arts & Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe; Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation, Chidia Maduekwe; Executive Director, National Film and Video Censors Board, Adedayo Thomas; and Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria, Tony Okoroji.

    Others are former chairman of Audio-Visual Right Society of Nigeria, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Founder Africa International Film Festival, Chioma Ude, Founder, Africa Movie Academy Award, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe; CEO Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters; CEO EbonyLife, Mo Abudu, CEO Biola Alabi Productions, Biola Alabi, Asst VP, Corporate Banking at FCMB, Chinyere Muda-Sanusi; Vice President (Africa), International Federation of Film Producers (FIAPF), Alex Enyengho; and filmmakers Greg Odutayo, Victor Okhai,  and Chris Ekejimbe among others.

     

  • Minister seeks support on land reform

    The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has urged residents to support the ongoing land reforms in the Federal Capital Territory. Bello said the reforms are meant to curb irregularities and ensure fairness and equity in land allocations.

    This position was made known by the Head, Public Enlightenment Team, Mrs Josie Mudasiru during a courtesy visit to the Etsu of Kwali, HRH, Alhaji Dr. Shaban Audu Nizazo.

    Mudasiru lauded the efforts of the FCT Minister in mobilising contractors back to site to complete previously abandoned projects in the FCT, his intervention in the educational sector, which has resulted in the takeoff of five new senior secondary schools in the next academic session and the completion of the Abuja University of Science And Technology.

    Mudasiru said the duo of the Minister, and his Permanent Secretary, Dr Babatope Ajakaiye runs an inclusive government, hence the need to reach out to the people at the grassroots.

    She urged the audience comprising of the representative of the Chairman, Kwali Area Council, Hon. Christopher Galadinma, The Market Women leader, Mrs Florence Ogidan, CAN chairman in Kwali, the Chief Imam of Kwali, District Heads, and Heads of Tribal Communities, to cooperate with the current reinvigorated immunisation campaign in the FCT  so as to stamp out Polio in FCT and Nigeria.

    She said, “We cannot achieve any meaningful development or progress without peace”.

    Responding, the Etsu Kwali commended the effort of the Minister concerning peace and security, while urging him to do more.

    The royal father said Nigerians need each other and any tribe asking another tribe to vacate their land is pure nonsense.

    According to him, anyone who witnessed the civil war in Nigeria will not wish for a repeat of devastation. “People do not know the implications of hate speeches as no part of the country will have it good in the event of another civil war”.

    He urged everyone, especially the youths to be their brother’s keeper, and thanked the administration for operating an open door policy.

    The team which had earlier been received at Kwali Area Council by the Head of Administration, went on a walk round the Market and shopping area to have a one on one interaction with the masses.

  • Nigeria has no plan for population growth, says Minister

    Nigeria has no plan for population growth, says Minister

    Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau yesterday lamented that there was no plan for the country’s population growth.

    Corruption, Gen. Dambazau said, has gone deep into the society and has also affected children.

    He spoke in Abuja at the launch of the assessment report on the situation of children in conflict with the law in Nigeria, organised by the Nigerian Prisons Service, (NPS).

    The minister said: “We have various experiences today; the world is changing fast, not the way we grew up as children. We have quite a number of our children, very reasonable percentage that lacks the parental care we enjoyed.

    “Today’s parents, most of them are out to work and they leave the care of the child to a so called nanny. Untrained, inexperienced and virtually does what he or she wants with the child. We also have a very serious issue of drug abuse in the society; these drugs are imported by adults and are shared by adults.”

    He added that there are contradictions in the Child Right Acts which, according to him, need urgent attention.

    His words: “We are all very much aware of the situation of the child in Nigeria today. I pose certain questions in relation to the subject matter. I want to know are children in conflict with the law or in conflict with the society? We have the issue of out of school children, I understand by the last count, I don’t know how long ago but we have well over 1million children out of school in this country. And the reasons vary from lack of incentive which we had when we were children, religious extremism , ignorance, the economic status of the parents, sometimes the parents wants to send the child to school but the don’t have the money. There is no grant, no scholarship.”

    The Controller-General (CG) of the NPS, Ja’Afaru Ahmed, said the document would provide better understanding of the complexities of juvenile offenders in custody.

    He said: “On our part we are committed to leveraging on all opportunities to further enhance the achievement of our core mandates. It is in line with this commitment that we have today. In the same vein, we have develop and also keyed into so many capacity building initiative to enable us catch up with international best practices.”

    Ja’Afaru assured that NPS would make good use of the recommendations proffered in the document with the collaboration of UNICEF, UNODC and the European Union through funding.

    Present at the event were the representative of the Inspector General of Police, the Comptroller General of Immigration, representatives of the UNICEF, UNODC and other top officers of the NPS and other government functionaries.

  • Minister inspects facilities at IDPs’ camps in Borno

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has visited some health facilities at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Borno State.

    The visit was aimed at ensuring that the health facilities at the camps were functional and that the ad-hoc workers providing the healthcare services are also exhibiting their best professionally.

    The minister, who interacted with the displaced persons at the camps, assured them that Federal Government would continue to provide healthcare services for them at the camps.

    Adewole, accompanied by the WHO Country Director, Alemu Wondi, the Commissioner for Health, Borno State, Dr. Haruna Mshelia, the National Co-ordinator, Health and Nutrition Emergency Response Programme, Dr. Ngozi Azodoh  and other top government functionaries, visited Teachers Village  IDP Camp in Maiduguri where a large number of the displaced persons  were receiving care.

    The minister had a discussion with some of the ad-hoc staff providing psycho-social health service at the IDP camp where he expressed satisfaction with the level of commitment shown by the ad-hoc staff in conducting their assignment.

    The minister had earlier visited the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital where patients with serious psycho-social problems were referred.  He urged the workers of the Psychiatric Hospital to be vigilant and watchful so that they could detect new challenges on different patients, especially children.

    Fielding questions from journalists after the visit, the minister said the Federal Ministry of Health remained committed to providing necessary healthcare services in the state.

    Adewole said: “Health and Nutrition Emergency Response actually started in February. I am highly impressed with what we are doing. We have come to review what we have done, access the progress and the impact and tinker with the plan so that we can become perfect.”

    Speaking on whether the programme would end within the six months initially designed,the minister said: “We know that the programme cannot end in six months, the drugs that we brought to Borno would last them for the next two years, we are quite confident that extending it would not be as costly as the initial flag-off. We don’t have to buy new ambulances, we are not buying new delivery trucks, we are not buying new drugs, what we need to do is just to keep the personnel and some money for logistics.”

    The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Alemu Wondi said he joined the Minister for the inspection to get first-hand information on what the 25 teams from the Federal Ministry of Health were doing in Borno State.

    Wondi said WHO also have other teams reaching out to communities that are far from health facilities in Borno State.

    Mshelia appreciated the commitment of Federal Ministry of Health for the Health and Nutrition Programme, adding that partners, such as UNICEF, WHO, IMO, are also in the state providing support on nutrition.

  • Internet’ll be made affordable for young people, says minister

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has charged the youth to leverage the Internet to boost their innovative and entrepreneurial skills.

    The minister spoke to a group of Internet enthusiasts at the yearly Nigerian Internet Business Conference (NIBC) organised by Lukmon Fasasi, a blogger and student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    The event held at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Shittu, represented by Mr Akeem Yussuf, his Special Assistant on Digital and Optimisation, said he was delighted by the courage of the participants to improve their entrepreneurial skills by learning about internet business.

    He said: “The Internet has offered young people opportunities to get themselves engaged in various legitimate businesses. There are thousands of internet businesses that young people can start today, with little capital. We will continue to make Internet affordable and create platform for the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), so that young people can leverage the Internet to harness their entrepreneurial potential.”

    The event was graced by notable ICT and Internet business experts, including Depanker Rustagi, Anyinoluwa Akinyemi, Aderonke Bamidele, Aisha Raufu, Ayeni Ekundayo, Nollywood actor Yomi Fabiyi, and many others.

    Rustagi, an Indian and Chief Executive Officer of Vconnect, spoke on how young people could build a business network online. He gave the participants tips for conducting successful businesses on the Internet and how they could engage new customers.

    The event featured interactive session, during which the participants had opportunity to engage the facilitators in discussions about creating sustainable employment through Internet businesses.

    According to the organiser, the aim of the event was to bring Internet enthusiasts across the country together, with the objective to create values and bring development to the country’s Internet business.

    Lukmon said: “This is the third edition and NIBC has come to stay. What matters in the 21st century is how young people should use the Internet to maneuver their life goals.”

    Uthman Samad, an OAU student, described the event as an “eye-opener”, saying: “I am fortunate to attend this conference, because I have learnt how to create job for myself through the Internet.”

    The Publicity Secretary for the conference, Kabir Adejumo, said: “Through our researches, we want to let the youth know that, no matter their level of education or social status, they can earn good income through legitimate Internet business. A recent statistics showed that, there are almost four billion people on the internet daily. This means that, if anyone has an Internet-enabled phone, he has all he needs to make ends meet at his fingertips.”

    The conference was attended by students from OAU, University of Ibadan (UI), University of Lagos (UNILAG), Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), Benue State, and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUETCH), among others.

  • Minister hails developers on lease-to-own plan

    Some developers have got the thumbs up for their plan which involves tenants graduating from leasers to owners of their accommodations.

    The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Muhammad Bello lauded developers of Court Estate for building structures that encourages FCT residents to rent and eventually own structures 15 years after occupying the building.

    Bello during the unveiling of the estate in Durumi said the population of FCT had been growing at a rate of 20 per cent annually, stressing that the project was in line with the mandate of the administration to provide housing for residents especially at an affordable rate.

    He lamented situations where estates are developed but remained unoccupied as a result of the high cost.

    He said, “Let me say that the FCT Administration sees this project as a gesture of good will and a demonstration of confidence in the present administration which is working round the clock to not only address the housing deficit in the country but also attract foreign direct investment into the sector.

    “I am particularly happy to see that the whole estate was conceived with the lower income earners in mind, with an innovative programme called Lease-To-Own, which I was told would allow your clients to own a house by leasing or renting the property over a 15 year period. This is a good idea which I must say is highly commendable and it is also in tune with the vision of the FCT Administration.”

    “When the accelerated mass housing development was initiated by previous Administrations in the FCT, it was intended to accommodate all strater of the society; low, medium and high income earners. Along the line however, a lot of things happened which derailed that vision and if you move round the estates in the city today, you will discover that most of them are empty because many of us cannot afford the very high cost being charged by the developers,” the minister added.

    Bello, who was represented by Engr. Umar Gambo noted that efforts are ongoing to ensure that such infractions do not occur in the future by ensuring strict adherence to laid down guidelines.

    In his remark, the Chief Executive, Crown Realties Plc, Mr. Darl Uzu described the estate as a place to live a good life.

    He said aside from the modern facilities and technology driven security system, the estate is built with a golf court and runs on 24-hour power system.

    According to him, the estate is reasonably affordable with flexible payment system terms which he also described as lease-to-own programme.

    “The estate is the first golf estate in Abuja, borrowing from my chairman, that I know, with a club house, garden, gym, wellness place and mini-mart for purchase of everyday items by residents. It has a programme that allows residents to pay rent and live up to 15 years and it becomes their own thereafter.”

  • Nigeria set to displace Ghana as top yam exporter, says minister

    Nigeria set to displace Ghana as top yam exporter, says minister

    The Federal Government is strategising to surpass Ghana in the export of yam to Europe and other continents, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh has said.

    He spoke when he received the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme in Abuja.

    Ogbeh said the programme, to be flagged off on June 29, would enable the country earn foreign exchange from agricultural produce to substitute the oil and gas sector.

    According to him, Ghana is exporting yams but we are not, yet we account for 61 per cent of the world yam production.

    “This programme has to succeed; we must sell whatever we produce to the world because we are buying too much. We allowed ourselves to be deceived.

    “I saw the figures of Ghana’s earning from yam export and their targets for the future and it was quite impressive.

    “If Ghana can aim at a few billion dollars a year from yams, there is no reason why Nigeria cannot quadruple that.

    “I want this committee to begin to engage team of engineers anywhere in the world. Can we design a plough that can make the yam heap?

    “We have to mechanise heap making otherwise, in the next five years, because of our aging farmers, you will find out that we do not have yams again and we will get into fresh troubles,’’ he said.

    According to him, the Federal Government is targeting about eight billion dollars as annual foreign exchange from the export of yams to other countries, if its yam export programme succeeds.

    Committee chairmanProf. Simon Irtwangesaid the committee was working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to train farmers and also improve some yam varieties.

    The chairman said the committee had prepared a four-year action plan for the yam value chain programme.

    He solicited for better funding for the committee, which was private sector-led, to start the programme.

    “We have standards that we are following and they have to do with pytho-sanitary requirements to meet international standards.

    “We have combined the standards of Ghana and Nigeria to make sure our yams are not rejected at the international markets,’’ he said.

    Mrs. Elizabeth Nwankwo, a yam exporter, representing Oklan Best Ltd, listed some challenges experienced by exporters to include inadequate transportation and lack of quality seedlings.

     

     

  • Minister can only find relevance under chaotic situations, says PDP

    Minister can only find relevance under chaotic situations, says PDP

    The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, can only find relevance under chaotic situations.

    Amaechi, the immediate Rivers governor, was also accused of using incitements as a strategy to win sympathy from Rivers people.

    Rivers PDP, yesterday in Port Harcourt, in an online statement by its Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, claimed to be reacting to Amaechi’s comments on the security situation in the Niger Delta state.

    The ruling PDP in Rivers said: “Amaechi has adopted as a strategy. The penchant to cause unnecessary stir whenever there is relative peace and stability in the state, aimed at deceiving impressionable minds into seeing him as a redeemer he has never been, is never and will never be.

    “Unfortunately for him (Transportation Minister), the Rivers people are now wiser and have seen the difference between a stir-crazy politician of Amaechi’s stock and a natural/people-driven leadership of Chief (Barr.) Nyesom Wike, whose landmark achievements in only two years in office have dwarfed the entire Amaechi’s eight years in office as wasted.

    “How can one who claims he has the interest of his people in mind and plans to direct the political future of the state, only finds joy in castigating people, including his superiors and causing disaffection, even among his own party members, each time he sneaks into the state.

    “Rather than attract development projects or telling the people what programmes he has to move the state forward and empower our numerous young school leavers looking for jobs, Amaechi is only interested in inciting the people and boasting over whom he will endorse for one political office or another and those whom he will pull down at all costs, in an election two solid years away from now.

    “This is the mark of a sadist and it is high time Amaechi knew that he has lost relevance in Rivers State and should honourably shut up.”

    Rivers PDP also enjoined Rivers people to remain steadfast in their support for a caring and welfarist administration of Wike and discountenance the alleged babbling of “drowning” Amaechi.

  • Ramadan: Minister advocates peaceful coexistence

    Ramadan: Minister advocates peaceful coexistence

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has enjoined adherents of the two major religions to imbibe the spirit of harmony and tolerance in order to strengthen the bond of unity across the country.

    He made the call in his hometown of Oro, Kwara State, yesterday at the 10th Lai Mohammed Ramadan Lecture Series.

    He said, “God has a purpose for making us (Nigeria) one and we shall remain united, despite our differences. We have been living together peacefully and we will continue to live together peacefully. We have a lot to gain by being united. Like people say, wars are not really started by bullets; they are started by words of mouth. If there is war today, none of us will escape whether you are young or old, whether you are Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa.”

    Mohammed cited example of Rwanda, where hate speeches fuelled the genocide that led to the loss of over 800,000 lives, with an unimaginable scale of destruction of property, in 1994.

    In his remarks, the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, urged the Muslim faithful to be pious and prayerful during the Ramadan fast. He warned those who are fanning the embers of discord through divisive and hate speeches, noting that war is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.

    The Guest Lecturer, Alhaji Ibrahim Gidado, underpinned his message on faithfulness and devotion in the month of Ramadan. “How do you become faithful? It’s by doing things in the way of Allah and not just doing things for show-off but for Allah to see and reward you,” he said. He advised the wealthy in the society to make it mandatory upon themselves to always assist the poor and the needy in order to cushion the effect of the recession in their social and economic lives.

    The highpoint of the occasion were prayer sessions for President Muhammadu Buhari, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians. Dignitaries from all walks of life, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, top government functionaries, women groups and students attended the 2017 Ramadan Lecture.