The Nation Newspaper

Tag: minister

  • Minister to council chiefs: steal and face the music

    The newly elected chairmen of the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) have been warned to shun corruption or face the consequence.

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello gave the warning while declaring open an induction course for the new Area Council chairmen, Vice chairmen and councilors at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

    The newly elected chairmen of the Area Councils are Abdul_Rahman Ajiya-Abaji; Abdullahi Adamu Candido-AMAC; Musa Dikko-Bwari; Adamu Mustapha Denze-Gwagwalada; Abdullahi Galadima- Kuje and Joseph Shazin-Kwali.

    Bello who was represented at the event by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye insisted that the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration is serious because it has gone beyond lip-service.

    The minister said that Buhari has taken a holistic approach to confront corruption in all its ramifications in order to save Nigeria’s image and economy.

    While recalling President Buhari’s inaugural speech that says, “people have nothing to fear, but the consequence of their actions,” he said this is a clear indication that the present administration would ensure that no action or inaction that negates the current war against corruption goes unpunished.

    Bello urged the new councils’ officials to imbibe the tenets of Mr. President’s Change Agenda anchored on prudent management of public resources, transparency and accountability as well as diversification of sources of revenue and efficient service delivery to the residents within their domain.

    According to him, the FCT administration organised the induction course in order to properly acquaint them with knowledge and skills that are necessary to lead their councils in this era of dwindling revenue from the Federal Government and the ideals of Change Agenda of the present Administration under President Muhammadu Buahri.

    Bello enjoined them to build synergy in the FCT Administration’s efforts to meet the infrastructural and public utilities need of the residents.

    He explained that the workshop is aimed at assisting the new councils’ officials to effectively drive the goals of the FCT Administration especially environmental sanitation.

    The minister noted that as council officials, their primary responsibility is to ensure that they clean their environment and properly dispose of refuse in their respective councils.

    While addressing the participants, the lead resource person, Dr. Abdul-Hamidu Abdullahi of the Department of Local Government & Development Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said the induction course will prepare them for people oriented leadership.

     

  • Minister lists benefits of Buhari’s travels

    Minister lists benefits of Buhari’s travels

    •Says no plan to close embassies

    MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visits abroad have had positive effects on “three priority areas” – security, anti-corruption and economy.

    He said the federal government does not plan to reduce the number of embassies and high commissions abroad despite cash crunch.

    According to him, the 119 embassies will continue to exist but efforts will be made to reduce the cost of running them.

    The minister spoke with newsmen in Lagos when he inspected the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), a parastatal under his ministry.

    He vowed to help restore NIIA to one of Africa’s leading think-tanks, saying: “We need to give you the wherewithal to succeed.” He urged the institute to help articulate Nigeria’s foreign policies through informed analysis and publications.

    NIIA Director-General, Prof Bukar Bukarambe, said the minister had demonstrated willingness to revamp the institute by approving funds to clear all its debts.

    He took the minister on a tour of the institute including its ICT centre and library, where the minister learned that only 55 volumes were added in over a year due to lack of resources.

    On benefits of Buhari’s travels, Onyema said: “There are three immediate, concrete dividends from his trips. One is security. He was able to galvanise neighbouring countries after election to joining the multinational joint task force, and they were able to tame the tide of terrorism posed by Boko Haram. That was one concrete benefit.

    “Also, some countries had lost faith and confidence in Nigeria and had stopped supporting us. Through his visits to those countries, the President was able to convince them about the credibility and bona fides of his administration. Many of them are now sharing equipment and intelligence with us, which they weren’t doing before.

    “On the governance side, he just attended a summit in London. He managed the put the issue of corruption at the top of international agenda.

    “So, a lot of countries that have been benefitting from corrupt practices are now coming together, behind our President, to trace those funds stashed away illegally in other countries and to help us with their recovery.

    “On the economy, he has been able to mobilise, through his visits, countries like Qatar, China and others to commit to more investments in the country. We need foreign direct investment (FDI). Every country in the world is looking for FDI, even the United States. So we have to fight for a piece of the action.”

    On whether embassies will be reduced, he said: “We’re looking more at rationalisation. We still believe that we can cut cost through all kinds of ways and do much more targeted manning of those embassies. But, if there are one or two or three that are totally useless, then we might close those ones.”

    Onyeama said his ministry has created a database, one-stop shop through which Nigerian businesses can sell to the 119 countries where Nigeria has embassies and missions.

    He said the government was also working with a few other African countries to boost the economy through free movement, as, according to him, “the level of intra-Africa trade is really low.”

     

  • House probe stalls talks on MTN’s N1.04tr fine, says minister

    The Federal Government asked telecoms service provider,  MTN Nigeria to pay N50billion not as part payment of the N1.04trillion fine but as a demonstration of the telcos commitment to its out-of-court settlement of the matter, Communications Technology Minister, Adebayo Shittu has said.

    He said the telco was sanctioned for violating the  Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card registration laws.

    MTN was fined N1.04 trillion by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for having improperly registered active SIM cards running millions on its network.

    The downward review of the fine by 25 per cent as well as payment of N50billion by the telco later led to the investigation of the issue by the House of Representatives.

    Making presentation on the floor of the House on diversification of the Nigerian economy, Shitu said the Ministry asked the telco to pay N50billion in respect of the fine, adding however that the money was not part of the fine.

    According to him,  MTN took the matter to court but later offered to settle it out of court which was why it was asked to pay N50billion as a sign of commitment to the new deal.

    He also told the lawmakers that negotiation for review of the fine has been stalled due to ongoing  investigation of the matter by the House.

    Shitu however assured the House that, as soon as it concludes its investigation, negotiation of the fine would commence.

    Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Saheed Fijabi (APC, Oyo) took on the minister that his comment on the floor was contrary to what he told the Investigative Committee.

    According to Fijabi, the minister denied being involved in the downward review of the fine as well as the payment of N50billion.

    Further on his presentation, the minister, who said the government is set to turn the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector into a cash cow for the country disclosed that plans are at advanced stage to reposition the Nigerian Postal Services  (NIPOST).

    He said with over 2,500 locations around the country, the government is set to go into public private partnership  (PPP) whereby post offices can perform financial services, especially in the rural areas.

    He also said the PPP model would turn most post offices into skyscrapers that would generate income for the government.

    According to Shittu, governments is considering sourcing the Chief Executive of the organisation, Post Master General from outside the system through open advertisement.

    He said that was a better option to ensure that the required expertise is got for the new NIPOST.

    He also regrtteed non patronage of indigenous ICT companies which has resulted in 70 per cent of the personal computer market going to foreign manufacturers.

    He however assured that given an enabling environment which the ministry is set to provide, the sector can drive the national economy

     

  • Education minister’s action killing sector, says group

    A non-governmental organisation, Concerned Citizens for Educational Development (CCED), has accused Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu of initiating policies that impact negatively on the sector.

    The group said unless urgent steps are taken to reverse them, the nation’s educational sector will be heading for an implosion.

    In an April 26 letter to the minister signed by the group’s National Convener, Comrade Solomon Adodo, the CCED expressed concerns that since the former vice-chancellors of 13 new federal universities were wrongfully sacked by the minister, many of the succeeding vice-chancellors have borrowed a leaf from the minister by continuing to flout the relevant universities rules. They have been sidelining the governing councils in most academic appointments, the letter alleged

    The unfortunate implications of this, according to the group, is that merit is unwittingly being replaced by mediocrity, while ineptitude and intimidation prevails, even as academic excellence and scholarship continues to take the back seat in our institutions of higher learning.

    Using the case of the Federal University of Lokoja as a case, the group alleged that the new Vice-Chancellor, being a product of the unilateral appointment by the education minister, has continued to make other appointments in the school, including the Deputy Vice Chancellor without recourse to the institution’s governing council as provided by the act setting up the school.

    The group also listed the appointment by the minister of the new Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Oye Ekiti, who is a retiree professor, noting that the extant laws setting up the federal universities does not permit such an appointment.

    It further cited the case of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) with a unique establishment act, where the newly appointed vice chancellor of the institution has set in motion, a plan to reduce the academic standard of the school by attempting to scrap some study centres of the institution, meant to cater for the academically unreached persons in Nigeria.

    It also criticised the new VC of NOUN for contravening due process and the statute setting up the school by appointing the Director of Media and Protocol for the university without placing any form of advertorial or conferring with any other relevant organ within the university system.

    The group regretted that, “The flagrant attitude of the newly appointed VCs are bolstered by the fact that they are not answerable to any other body within or outside the universities, since their appointments were friendly compensation from the Minister of Education.”

  • Food importation ends soon, says minister

    Food importation ends soon, says minister

    Nigeria will soon stop all forms of food importation, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has assured.

    Onu, who spoke in Bayelsa State at the weekend when he paid a familiarisation visit to the Biotechnology and Resource Development Centre (BIODEC), Odi, said the president strongly believes that Nigeria has the capacity to attain self-sufficiency in food production.

    According to him: “One legacy President Muhammadu Buhari wants to be remembered for is to ensure that the Nigerian state produces enough food resources to feed herself without depending on other nations for food security.

    “President Buhari strongly believes that if a country like China with a population of over 1.4 billion can provide food security for her citizens through mechanised farming, Nigeria with less than 200 million people could do same.”

    Onu toured the centre with the Director-General of the Biotechnology Development Agency (BDA), Prof. Lucy Ogbadu and Director of BIODEC, Odi who is also the Coordinating Director, NABDA, Josiah Habu

    Onu said with science and technology, Nigeria has the capacity to produce enough food for consumption and export.

    Describing science and technology as key to economic diversification, Onu argued: “No nation has ever been great without science and technology and Nigeria can never be an exception.”

  • Minister seeks synergy among stakeholders in Niger Delta

    The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs , Usani Uguru Usani, has called on all stakeholders to work together in promoting development in the region and its environs.

    Usani made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He urged stakeholders to be more concerned about what would accrue to the region rather than the financial benefits accruing to them.

    Usani added that stakeholders should also focus on performance and structural reforms in the region.

    He said that to ensure a progressively stable management by streamlining the administrative structure, a development policy must be evolved and adopted by all stakeholders.

    “Such a policy will act as a complementary guide to the Niger Delta Regional Master Plan and help configure a sound planning, operational and quality management track for the commission,” he said

    He said that the development policy should itemise and prioritise the goals of the region within a specific time frame.

    “For instance, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) policy can define conditions for intervention in an infrastructural development or expansion project.

    “It can set five –year targets in agriculture and aquaculture using community based cooperatives as a vehicle.

    “It can also foster partnerships with international agencies and local partners for potential development initiatives in health, education and the environment,” the minister said.

    He, however, called for a Sustainable Development Partnership as a mechanism for greater relevance in the region which would also include a representative of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

    The minister said the progressive drop in revenue should be the concern of the Federal Government.

    He added that it was important for NDDC to have an interface with National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) to develop the region.

    “That’s the only way the region can compute, derive and pursue what rightly should accrue to its coffers from the producing companies.

    “Economically, the NDDC plays a very important role in the economy of the Niger Delta, but the companies only remit what they decide to after their autonomous computation of what the three per cent means to them, “ he added.

    The minister said it would sustain over 50,000 permanent and temporary jobs across the region.

    “But it also offers a window for the implementation of crucial reforms which must be founded on a realistic development policy,” he said .

    He said that the small management team was an opportunity to design a transformational framework for the NDDC.

    “It is an opportunity to engage the very competent skill set within the region,“ he said.

    The minister said that key stakeholders had commenced the design of a development policy for the organisation that would drive subsequent intervention efforts.

     

  • Mining sector contributes N400b to GDP, says minister

    Mining sector contributes N400b to GDP, says minister

    Minister of Solid Minerals Development  Kayode Fayemi yesterday said mining and related services contribute only N400 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and should be boosted with new investments.

    The minister, who spoke at the 2016 Stanbic IBTC Bank Iron Ore and Steel Business Session, held in Lagos, said mining should strive to match contributions of other key sectors like agribusiness at 22 per cent, and manufacturing 6.8 per cent, to the GDP.

    He said the ministry is working with banks to create low-cost funds for the mining sector, adding that banks are already working hard to establish mining desks.

    The minister described steel as the world’s most important engineering material crucial to any country’s industrialisation objectives, adding that Nigeria imports an estimated $3.3 billion of processed steel and associated derivatives, representing 80 per cent of the $4.2 billion total metal products imported per year.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria is of the view that the steel industry can be attractive to investors due to the large untapped demand potential similar to cement in 1990s. The current market size of $3.3 billion per annum has potential to grow to $15.1 billion/annum with increased industriali-sation,” he said.

    He said that to fund the infrastructure needs of its growing economy over the next 30 years, Nigeria would need about $3 trillion. “This investment would allow Nigeria to close its current infrastructure gap and sustain an ideal infrastructure stock level of 70 per cent of GDP as it builds and maintains infrastructure assets across all its seven key sectors,” he said.

    Head of Mining at Standard Bank, South Africa, Anders Alfredson, said Nigeria market has potential to develop domestic iron ore and other steel raw material resources and as an emerging mining jurisdiction, opportunity to create stable legal framework.

    He said that Standard Bank, which is the parent company of Stanbic IBTC Bank, plays big in the mining industry, adding that there is relationship between steel production and GDP growth. “We have significant experience in funding infrastructure in Nigeria,” he said.

    Alfredson said Nigeria is not starting mining funding from the scratch, adding that Nigeria should develop a legal framework in place to get mining working.

    He said that Standard Bank provided $150 million to Kansanshi Mining Plc, and 80 per cent held subsidiary of Toronto listed First Quantum Minerals Limited as part of the $350 million five-year term loan.

    Kansanshi Mining owns and operates the Kansanshi mine, the largest copper mine in Africa and First Quantum Minerals Limited’s largest operation.

     

  • FTAN commends information minister

    The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) has commended the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for convening the national culture and tourism summit billed for next week to fashion out a way for the Nigerian tourism industry.

    Speaking on the summit scheduled to commence on Wednesday next week, FTAN President, Chief. Tomi Akingbogun, said the tourism industry in Nigeria is on a back foot and the industry would totally be extinct, if efforts are not made to go back to the drawing board and fashion a way forward.

    Speaking on the summit, Akingbogun said: “FTAN is very much involved in the stakeholders’ summit by the minister. We are happy he is a listening minister because we have been communicating with him. He is kicking off with everybody sitting at the same table to look at the challenges and proffer solutions.

    “In the past, the ministry would come up with policies that were strange to the private sector. That is the reason for the summit, to carry everybody along. We are happy he has taken the right step. We also want to thank the ministry officials for their inputs.”

  • Minister advises industries on quality

    The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aishat Abubakar, has advised industries to look inward to achieve the made-in-Nigeria products vision.

    She minister gave the advice during an assessment visit to Lucky Fibres Limited, makers of Nobel rugs and carpets in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

    Inspecting the company’s production facilities, Hajia Abubakar expressed satisfaction that the carpets and rugs are produced in Nigeria and exported to  neighbouring  countries, such as Ghana, Republic of Benin and Ethiopia, among others.

    The minister assured the company of the government’s commitment to ensuring that all textile products are of good quality to meet international standards, urging the company to devise means of working with local manufacturers to achieve the plan in governmet’s vision.

    “You need to exercise more patience because we don’t want to address a part of the problem, but we are putting a holistic approach in place. It is not just this sector, but for all the sectors.

    “You, manufacturers should also be watchdogs for one another because government might not see all the lapses. But when you identify any challenge that threatens your work, approach us and let us see what we can do to help,” Abubakar noted.

    Speaking on the company’s challenges in meeting international standards, the Senior Human Resources Manager for Lucky Fibres Limited, Mrs. Kemi Ajibade, lamented the impact of activities of smugglers who take advantage of Nigeria’s illegal borders to import sub-quality carpets and rugs into the country.

    According to Ajibade, an average Nigerian cannot identify quality products, but will rather buy what is affordable in the market even if it does not serve for a long time. She, therefore, urged the government to address the activities of smugglers.

    “If you visit Alaba Market, you will see different kinds of sub-standard carpets and rugs for sale,” she lamented, noting that the company imports some of its production materials like polypropylene (PP). “This is because local manufacturers could not meet the quality that our machine can work with. The machine is the latest in the industry and only works with high quality fibres,” she added.

    The General Manager of Lucky Fibres, Mr. Jitesh Pamnani, thanked the minister for the inspection, promising that the company will continue to introduce the best machine, technology and manpower to keep the industry flourishing.

  • Minister: no going back on FCT’s growth

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration will strive to achieve all its  development goals.

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello gave the assurance while receiving the participants of Course 38 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru-Jos, who were in Abuja for a study tour.

    The minister reiterated that a lot has been achieved, adding that a lot more needs to be done to fast-track the development of the entire Federal Capital Territory as envisaged by its founding fathers.

    Bello noted that his administration would do everything possible to scale up the infrastructural development of the city and its environs including the provision of services in the Territory.

    His words: “I assure you that this Administration will continue to strive very hard to achieve all the goals set for us in all aspects so that we will continue to advance the society”.

    The Minister remarked that the Administration is quite aware that there is still a lot to be done in respect of poverty alleviation as well as development of our rural communities; adding that the present government will not rest on its oars until it improves the living standard of the residents.

    According to him, “When you talk about Abuja, the initial impression is that the city is beautiful with roads, streetlights and beautiful buildings but the reality of Abuja is much more than the beautiful things you have seen”.

    The Minister urged the participants to feel free to come out with a realistic assessment of the city so as to help government in taking critical decisions.

    During the interactive session, the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr.  Babatope Ajakaiye stated that the FCT Administration’s policy on poverty reduction and inclusive development is targeted at people in the rural communities.

    Ajakaiye  explained that the FCT Administration operates with what we call Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) just like the MDAs in the Federal Government.

    He further explained that the Secretariats and departments operate more as policy-making organs, while the agencies implement these policies as formulated.

    Ajakaiye enumerated that the FCT Administration has seven Mandate Secretariats and they include Education, Transportation, Health & Human Services, Social Development, Agriculture & Rural Development, Area Council Services and Legal Services Secretariats as well as the

    Abuja Metropolitan Management Council that takes care of the municipal services.

    Earlier, leader of the NIPSS delegation, Professor Abu Galadima advised the FCT Administration to send officials to the Institute during the participants’ presentation of its study report.