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Tag: Ministry

  • Ministry grants night shift for women at APM Terminals

    The Federal Government has issued an order allowing APM Terminals Apapa to hire female employees to work night shift.

    This is in tandem with APM Terminal’s management’s efforts to promote gender diversity and inclusion within the organisation.

    The Director, Trade Union Services & Industrial Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Akpan O.U.  signed the Grant of Permit Order on January 21, 2019, citing sufficient physical provisions and the company’s robust maternity policy.

    The ministry order also requires APM Terminals Apapa, to comply with the provisions of Convention 171, or the Night Work Convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a United Nations (UN) specialised agency aimed at promoting rights at work, encouraging decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.

    APM Terminals Apapa Head, Human Resources, Aniemeka Umeonyido, said: “APM Terminals is deeply committed to advance diversity and inclusion across the organisation and we are delighted to have the support of the government in cultivating this culture.

    “Securing this permit is an important first step in building an inclusive workplace where all talents have the same opportunity to grow and achieve their full potential,”

    Umeonyido said APM Terminals Apapa, filed the permit application in April last year, expressing that many qualified female employees over the years have indicated interest and willingness to work the graveyard shift. However, a provision in the Labour Act in Nigeria prohibits night work for women in industrial setting.

    With the permit, he said they anticipate an increase in the number of female candidates for posted vacancies, saying a female candidate has been considered as the top choice in a pool of applicants for the role of Reach Stacker and Empty Handler Operator, who operates yard handling equipment for moving containers between vessels and yard operations.

  • Ministry, ICAN partner on SMEs growth

    The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), have partnered to support the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    ICAN President, Razak, Jaiyeola said the body is interested in capacity building,  support for SMEs and accountability for the various deliverables. The collaboration is expected to promote initiatives to grow the SMEs.

    He said: “Specifically, we would like to engage with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to support and assist accountants in small and medium practices. We believe that if these small business practitioners are encouraged to expand their businesses, the quality of financial reporting will improve, more employment opportunities would be created, more people will be economically empowered and there will be a great diminution in the army of idle hands and societal deviants.”

    On financial reporting, he recalled that when FRCN shared the Draft 2018 Code, the Institute reviewed and submitted recommendations and observations for consideration and inclusion.

     

  • Council, ministry, FRSC join hands to fight traffic

    Lagos State Ministry of Transportation; the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Ikoyi-Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA) have struck a deal on how to ease traffic in Ikoyi and Obalende.

    Under the pact, 20 officials of the LCDA will join the police, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) officials to ensure free traffic flow daily.

    Council Chairman Fuad Atanda-Lawal lamented that traffic gridlock was affecting socio-economic activities.

    Many, he said, endured traffic for hours for a less than 15 minutes journey.

    “It has become imperative to find a solution to the traffic jam. We have to look for a way out, hence this meeting,” Atanda-Lawal said.

    He thanked Transport Commissioner Mr. Ladi Lawanson for facilitating the meeting.

    The traffic team, Atanda-Lawal said, would begin work immediately.

    He implored motorists to cooperate with them to ensure sanity on the road.

     

  • Ministry demands improved funding

    The Ministry of Labour and Employment has requested for more funds and improved budgetary allocation to fund its programmes and activities, which are very vital to economic development and growth of the country.

    The ministry made the request as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Prof. Stephen Ocheni, declared that the Federal Government was poised to get many youths out of unemployment.

    Ocheni, who spoke during an oversight visit of the House of Representatives Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity to the ministry, said the ministry required additional funds to carry out its activities and programmes.

    He said the ministry’s activities were necessary for efficient economic growth of the country as they affect the most important factors of production, which are human resources. He added that the ministry needed to play greater roles in the development of skills for the teeming workforce.

    Ocheni pointed out that to effectively carry out its mandate, the ministry requires improved funding of its programmes and activities through improved budgetary appropriation.

    “I would like to use this opportunity to advocate for improved budgetary allocation when the time comes. The main focus of this ministry in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (GRGP) of the present administration was to get as many people as possible out of unemployment.

    We are also focused on creating a conducive environment for the promotion of enterprise and decent work for citizens, while maintaining harmonious working relationship between the workers, unions and employers in workplaces nationwide,” he said.

     

     

    In his address, the Chairman, House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, Hon. Francis Ezenwa, stated that the committee was in the ministry for oversight visit and to see what the ministry has done so far on appropriation, and the progress made on its mandate.

     

  • No plan to hike tuition fees in varsities, says ministry

    The Federal Ministry of Education on Wednesday debunked the news trending on social media that the Federal Government had approved the hike in tuition fees of Nigerian universities to N350,000.

    Mr Sonny Echono, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry made the clarification at a symposium in Abuja.

    Echono, who said the Federal Government was not planning to increase the tuition fees, urged Nigerians to remain calm on the issue.

    The symposium has its theme: “The Right to Education means the Right to a Qualified Teacher’’.

    “The Federal Government did not and has no intention of introducing new tuition fees in our public universities not to mention the figure to N350, 000.

    “What is true is that the present administration is committed to guarantee quality of education.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the ministry of education along with the ministry of finance to jointly organise a workshop that will inform on a very sustainable and workable recommendation of funding education in Nigeria.

    “And to this end, we have been engaging various stakeholders including ASUU who can come up with a very useful contribution that will bring all these recommendations achievable.

    Echono added that the ministry was working toward re-establishing the education bank to address the role of education funding as the government cannot do it alone.

    He said the role of the education bank would be to give loan at a low interest rate, saying this would not be limited to students alone but also parents.

    On the right to education, Echono said every child has the fundamental right to quality education, adding that the ministry had developed strategies to ensure pupils and students with special needs were carried along.

    Echono said that the National Teachers Institute (NTI) had also concluded plans to train and develop the capacity of primary and secondary school teachers in the 36 states and FCT.

    He said that the right to education was sine qua non to national development, saying the Ministerial Strategic Plan (2016 to 2019) had been designed to guarantee expanded access to all levels of education.

    Echono said that the plan was geared toward providing adequately the necessary infrastructure and facilities to ensure that the right to the basic level and standards were maintained.

    He, therefore, called on teachers to upgrade themselves as effective from January 2020, any teacher who did not present the prerequisite qualifications would be pushed out of the system.

    Echono urged the teachers to take advantage of the professional examinations made available in 35 states and online resource materials to guide them as a teacher.

    He, however, called on states governments owing teachers’ salaries to take a step in ensuring that teachers were paid as when due and as well motivate teachers adequately for optimal performance.

    Earlier, Mrs Justina Ibe, the Director, Education Support Service of the ministry, said the Federal Government had not relented in its efforts to ensure that the teaching profession was provided with qualified personnel.

    Ibe said that this informed the Ministerial Strategic Plan which were now being implemented gradually with positive results.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the symposium was part of activities to commemorate the World Teachers Day to hold on Oct. 5, to celebrate the contributions of teachers to nation building.

  • Ministry defends Kachikwu

    The Ministry of Petroleum Resources yesterday exonerated Minister of State for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu of any wrong doing.

    In a statement in Abuja,  it countered a report that the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission  (EFCC ), Ibrahim Magu  was protecting the minister from trial.

    The ministry said “We wish to state, most categorically, that no one is shielding the Minister from prosecution because there is simply no cause for anyone or institution to shield him from anything for he has done no wrong deserving of prosecution. We also wish to let the public know that the issue of false allegations against Ibe Kachikwu and the individuals and companies mentioned by PAL is, actually, not a new one.”

    In the report, a group called Patriots of Anti-corruption League (PAL) claimed that the EFCC is covering up corruption allegations against Kachikwu.

    The ministry said:  “Invidious effort to impugn Kachikwu’s integrity first started in 2016 when a shadowy group of people came out with a claim that Kachikwu, in collaboration with some individuals and some oil and gas companies, had a case to answer in relation to oil subsidy fraud, a claim the EFCC thoroughly investigated and discarded because there was no substance to it.

    “The recent claim by PAL is, therefore, an attempt to rehash and repackage an old plot with a view to either blackmail Ibe Kachikwu into conceding some unnamed and unknowable favour or tarnish his good name. Whatever may be the motive of his traducers, just as that initial action failed to achieve the sinister purpose of its sponsors, this one by PAL will similarly fail as there is nothing that Ibe Kachikwu has done in the dispatch of his remit to warrant prosecution.

    “We once again wish to invite the discerning members of the public to note that in the current round of crusade to bring Ibe Kachikwu down, the sponsored news plant by PAL first appeared on an online publication on Monday, September 3.

    ” When its sponsors observed that it did not gain enough traction, they chose a more credible medium in ThisDay by causing the plant to come out a week later.

    “Ibe Kachikwu is a well-known individual and public official who has no stain on his character and every effort by mischievous and wicked individuals to prove otherwise shall fail woefully. It is key to note that the HMSPR has been the forerunner of the very successful reforms ongoing in the Nigerian “Petroleum sector of which Transparency and Accountability are critical reforms ongoing in the sector. The publishing of the monthly NNPC financial report, resolution of the cash call bottleneck, the Gas revolution and many others are few examples of these reforms.

    “He remains focused on ensuring that the sector is investor friendly and profitable.”

  • Why local rice is scarce in markets, by ministry

    The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday blamed the scarcity of local rice in the markets to disconnect between integrated rice millers and the supply chain.

    The ministry’s Deputy Director, Rice Value Chain, Mrs Fatimah Aliyu spoke at the 2nd National Congress, Policy Dialogue and Inauguration of the Board of Trustees of Rice Assured Advocacy Forum (RAAF), facilitated by John A. Kufuor Foundation (JAKF).

    She said though there was huge market for the local rice, integrated millers were reluctant to push out their products for fear of price competition with imported rice.

    Aliyu was responding to complaints by representatives of some rice millers, who claimed that most Nigerians preferred imported rice to local rice because of its cheap price.

    The millers blamed the high price of local rice on production cost, resulting from poor power supply, high transport fare and smuggling of foreign rice.

    “There is market for Nigerian rice. There are people willing to pay the high price for it because of its high nutritional value, but they cannot get it to buy. There is that market disconnect that has to be looked into,’’ Aliyu said.

    She urged stakeholders in the rice value chain under the RAAF’s platform to brainstorm on the issue and come out with suggestions on how to tackle the problem.

    “We are open to all those suggestions because it is part of policy advocacy. Once you, the stakeholders, give us those suggestions, government is going to look at them because the situation is also a problem to government.

    “Integrated millers have invested so much in the business, and even government has also invested so much in it. So, it is of importance that integrated millers succeed,’’ she said.

    RAAF National Deputy President Alhaji Rafau Lawal, called for a policy to encourage consumption of local rice as is done in Tanzania and other countries.

    Lawal said one of the policy measures being looked at was the branding of Nigerian shops for local rice.

  • UNODC, ministry, others to hold campaign against drug abuse

    THE United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health, law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will today hold a campaign against drug abuse.

    The event, billed for Victoria Crown Plaza, 292b Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos by 10am, is designed to commemorate the World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

    Two representatives of the UNODC – its Project Officer, William Wu Shiyin and Project Officer, Outreach and Communications Sylvester Tunde Atere, dropped the hint when they visited The Nation‘s Corporate Office in Lagos yesterday.

    According to Shiyin, the project is part of UNODC’s ongoing campaign tagged: “Response to drug and related organised crimes in Nigeria”.

    Shiyin said the campaign, which is being sponsored by the European Union (EU), has  three major components – policy formulation, institution and capacity-building, and coordination.

    Shiyin said: “It started in December 2013 and will extend to 2019. It is likely to be extended beyond 2019. Tomorrow is the international day against drug abuse and we are partnering with NGOs to commemorate the day.

    “We are organising a campaign to this effect. The campaign is part of the organisation’s ongoing: “Response to drug and related organised crimes in Nigeria. 26 selected schools across have been invited for the programme.”

    Atere said 80 per cent of the Nigerian population below 45 are within the age bracket of drug abusers.

    “Hence, the issue of drug abuse is not a moral issue but evidence-based and health-based issues.

    “There is need for treatment and professional counselling, especially for drug abusers. Thus, there is need to build the capacity of drug and law enforcement agencies such as National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Police, Custom and Immigration officers, among others, to know how to tackle and enforce national and international laws to tackle drug abuse,” he said.

    Atere added that the UN agency has introduced human right component into drug law enforcement campaign by building the technical capacity of drug law enforcement agencies to deal with people with drug related problems and respect travellers as well as those they come in contact with at the airport.

    They added that it’s rather worrisome that drug addicts are mostly youth and that it should be a source of great concern to everyone.

    According to them, given the enormity of the damage of drug addiction to mankind, no effort should be spared to curb its menace.

  • Ministry takes battle against child labour to Southsouth

    The Federal Government’s efforts at eliminating child labour has received a boost. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has taken the campaign on National Reporting Template on Child Labour to the Southsouth geo-political zone.

    Declaring open a two-day capacity building workshop on the National Reporting Template on Child Labour for stakeholders in Port-Harcourt, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bolaji Adebiyi, said child labour posed a great threat to global peace.

    He said: “As you are aware, child labour presents a serious challenge at global and national levels and requires concerted efforts by all stakeholders to overcome. That is why the Ministry of Labour and Employment over the years worked assiduously in collaboration with Developmental Partners and other Stakeholders to develop robust National Policies on Child Labour with a view to combat the menace.”

    Adebiyi, represented by his Technical Adviser, Mr. Emmanuel Igbinosun, emphasised that until recent times there was no national reporting template for proper monitoring, evaluation and data collation on child labour in Nigeria.

    “Today, we are at the threshold of history as I present to you a National Reporting Template on Child Labour in Nigeria as validated by all stakeholders,” he said.

    He said the template would not only facilitate the generation of data but serve as a valuation mechanism to facilitate the identification of gaps in the implementation of multi-sectoral strategies and processes as well as provide the basis for proactive and remedial actions aimed at reducing or eliminating child labour.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ministry warns communities against erecting bumps on highways

    Ministry warns communities against erecting bumps on highways

    The Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing on Tuesday warned communities located near federal highways in Nasarawa State against erecting bumps without approval.

    The Federal Controller, Ministry of Works, Power and Housing in Nasarawa State, Mr Wasiu Adetayo, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.

    “Normally, for you to fix bumps on a federal highway, you need to take permission. We always reject such request because it is not done.

    “They will come with various excuses such as vehicles killed their people and so on, but by the time you fix such bumps, it is no more express.

    “That is not to say I am exonerating drivers who speed recklessly but the fact remains that we don’t allow speed bumps.

    Read Also: Ministry strengthens fight against child labour

    “So, what they do is to wake up one morning and fix bumps without permission and the bumps they fix cause more accidents which they are trying to prevent,’’ Adetayo said.

    He said it was strange that most of the communities were erecting bumps without the knowledge or approval of their traditional rulers and preventing their demolition aggressively.

    “It got to a stage that the controller cannot just go out and say he wants to demolish illegal bumps. They will attack him.

    “So, we now propose to the headquarters that we have to use uniformed men to assist us because eventually it will get to a stage where we will go out and demolish these bumps.

    “We also discovered that to approach this issue, we need to carry the traditional rulers along,” the federal controller said.

    NAN