The National Teachers Institute, Kaduna, is organizing training program for teachers on digital literacy and academic leadership.
218 participants will be trained by the institute.
Director General, NTI, Dr. Garba Azare, disclosed this during the flag-off ceremony of the maiden edition of academic leadership workshop organised for head teachers and school principals on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said the workshop will hold in states of the six geo-political zones from the 17th – 19th of this month.
The centers are in Abuja, Akure, Bauchi, Benin City, Enugu, and Kano.
He said: “In my address during the flag-Off ceremony of the 2017 edition of the SDGs workshops, I informed those in attendance that the Institute proposed to expand the scope of the retraining programs to cover other critical areas of teaching profession.
“The new areas we are exploring include digital literacy and academic leadership.
“The training is aimed at equipping head teachers and school administrators with effective classroom process techniques (classroom observation and feedback, benchmarking, note keeping, etc).
“It will also help in developing head teachers and school administrators’ management skills on how to promote school and community relationship (stakeholders) to achieve improved students’ performance; equipping head teachers and school administrators With management process (Planning, Organizing, Directing, Controlling and Delegating); and acquainting head teachers and school administrators with the roles and responsibilities of school managers and administrator with emphasis on team building, effective communication, mentoring, coaching and counseling.”
He explained that the academic leadership training programme is a special component under the NTI Kaduna and funded by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Primary and Junior secondary school teacher across the six (6) geo-political zones of the federation.
“The need to strengthen Educators and equip them with the requisite knowledge to deliver in their roles as academic leaders cannot be over emphasized and it is against this backdrop that the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs and NTI decided to include the special component in the SDGs capacity building for teachers,” he added.
National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), on Monday said it has concluded plans to launch the Nigerian Insurance Industry Development Plan (NIIDP) in order to boost financial inclusion.
The commission said it had already concluded work on the NIIDP, with KPMG, a consulting firm monitoring its implementation to ensure each segment of the market kept to date with their assigned responsibilities.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer, NAICOM, Mohammed Kari, said this at the National Insurance Conference, in Abuja.
The conference had ‘Insurance Industry and Financial Inclusion’ as its theme.
He said: “The timing of this Conference could not have been more significant especially as we prepare to launch the Nigerian Insurance Industry Development Plan (NIIDP) which has Financial Inclusion as one of its major components. Work on the NIIDP has already been concluded with inputs from KPMG, consulting firms who will also independently monitor its implementation to ensure each segment of the market keep to date with their assigned responsibilities.
“It may interest you to know that the plan has been presented to the Insurers Committee, a body comprising management of NAICOM, CEOs of insurance companies and heads of insurance trade associations and the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) to ensure every player in the industry is on the same page with us. I commend the market committee and KPMG for the good job on the NIIDP.
“How the insurance sector in Nigeria could effectively and efficiently navigate this turn to increase the number of policyholders while reducing the figure of the financially excluded, is part of what the NIIDP contain.
“The strategic initiatives and implementation plans of the NIIDP notwithstanding, we have dedicated this forum to financial inclusion for an opportunity to listen to speakers and discussants with divergent views and opinions so as to improve on what we already have.”
NAICOM also linked high rate of poverty in Nigeria and the rest of the world to financial exclusion.
Kari said the insurance sector plays a vital role in any economy by helping to reduce the poverty line.
He said: “The general consensus seems to be that financial exclusion is one of the main causes of poverty in the world.
“The insurance sector plays a vital role in all of these because it helps to reduce the poverty line, it helps entities and individuals manage their risks and protects them from negative adverse effects of unforeseeable events.
“Commission recognizes financial inclusion as a tool for financial development and inclusive growth agenda and will therefore, continue to support the development of products that will improve the standard of living of the people and increase the role of insurance in the development and growth of the average Nigerian’s standard of living.
He added that Nigeria launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) in 2012 to reduce the percentage of adults that are excluded from financial services from 46.3 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent by 2020.
“The strategic goals are driven by a broad range of coordinated interventions, including simplified Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, Agent banking, Micro insurance and Consumer Protection principles,” he added.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is assisting the Uganda Deposit Protection Fund (DPFU) to develop capacity to implement the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in the East African country.
In a statement by Mohammed Kudu Ibrahim, NDIC’s Head of Communications and Public Affairs, the Corporation recently hosted a five-member delegation from DPFU who arrived the country to understudy the activities of the Corporation.
He said: “The NDIC has been the destination of choice for several sister agencies and Central Banks from across the African continent eager to understudy the activities of the Corporation and learn from its rich experience in Deposit Insurance – a subject on which it is recognized as a leader in Africa.
“The Ugandan team was only the latest delegation from several Africa countries to visit the Corporation for capacity building.”
He further added that, “The NDIC previously hosted delegations from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Reserve Bank of Lesotho, Deposit Protection Fund Board of Kenya, Deposit Insurance Board of Tanzania, Commission Bancairedel’Afrique Centrale (COBAC) of Cameroun, Delegates from Banque Centrale Des Etats De L’ Afrique De L’ Ouest (BCEAO) in Senegal all of whom the NDIC assisted build the capacity for the implementation of the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in their various jurisdictions.
“Others include teams from the Central Bank of The Gambia, Bank of Tanzania, the Deposit Protection Corporation of Zimbabwe, and the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation (GDPC). In September, 2018, the NDIC will also host the African Regional Conference of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI).”
The Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) Nigeria, has assured foreign investors of the safety of their investments in the Nigerian capital Market.
Disclosing this when representatives of JP Morgan and Stanbic IBTC visited the Commission in Abuja weekend, Ag. Director General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk said all necessary controls are in place to ensure that the market is dynamic, free, fair and transparent for participants.
Uduk said the Commission has embarked on several initiatives in a bid to ensure that investors in the market derive the benefits therein.
She said the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan has led to significant changes in the market. Some of these implemented initiatives are dematerialization of share certificates, recapitalization of capital market operators, establishment of the National Investors Protection Fund and inauguration of its board, as well as launch of the Corporate Governance Scorecard.
Others are implementation of the e-Dividend Mandate Management System, establishment of Complaint Management Framework, transaction cost reduction, implementation of the direct cash settlement and the introduction of non-interest capital market products.
The Ag. DG disclosed that the Commission has put in place a robust investor protection machinery with severe sanctions on infractions of securities laws.
“The implementation of this regime has led to the closure of various Ponzi schemes as well as the recovery of millions of naira belonging to innocent investors.
“SEC champions zero tolerance on infractions and we have a range of sanctions depending on the level of infraction and how egregious the breach is, ranging from warnings, fines, suspensions, withdrawal of registrations and jail terms.
“The idea is to improve transparency in the market and ensure that investors are safe”.
On surveillance, Uduk said the Commission has surveillance mechanisms in place to detect possible suspicious trading/market manipulation activities.
In his remarks, Nick Long, Representative of JP Morgan, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Nigerian capital market adding that it is one of the reasons why it continues to attract international investors.
The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC ) has commended the Federal Government on the approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) to enable it undertake a review of all Production Sharing Contracts ( PSCs ) between it and its various partners to reflect the current realities in the industry.
In a press statement signed by Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, RMAFC’s Spokesperson, the Commission recalled that it had earlier thrown its weight behind the proposed review of the PSCs approved by the Federal Executive Council ( FEC ) at its meeting held on Wednesday, 13th December, 2017.
The statement quoted the RMAFC Acting Chairman, Shettima Umar Abba Gana stressing that “the Commission viewed the move by the FG as a welcome development and commendable as the Commission, that has the constitutional responsibility of monitoring revenue accruals into and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account had been consistently calling for the review of these contracts for the past seven (7) years adding that these contracts had not been reviewed nine (9) years after both conditions stipulated in the relevant provision of the Act have elapsed, thereby leading to the huge revenue loss of about $21 billion by the Country in the last 20 years”.
It would be recalled that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, recently announced that the government had approved steps to amend Section 17 of the Deep Offshore and Inland basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, 1999 which specifically provides that the 1993 PSCs should be reviewed once the price of crude oil exceeds $20 a barrel or fifteen (15) years after the contracts i.e. 2008. To this end, the Commission advised that Government should take appropriate steps to ensure the review of these agreements with due diligence.
Read also:No new revenue formula, no new minimum wages, says RMAFC
Similarly, RMAFC recalls that in April, 2016, it drew the attention of Government to the fact that three (3) main contract types namely Joint Venture, Production Sharing and Service Contracts were in use in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. Having carefully examined the fiscal terms of each contract and the associated revenue inflow into the Federation Account therefrom, the Commission lamented that the PSCs as represented by the 1993 PSC’s which should have been renegotiated as far back as 2008 has yet to be done, thus causing the Federation Revenue losses due to the unfavourable terms of the contracts.
RMAFC further advised the Federal Government to restore production in Joint Venture Contract to previous level of approximately 108 million barrel per day and also requested OPEC to increase Nigeria’s quota because of the country’s population.
“It should be noted that the JVC makes the highest contribution to the Federation Account compared to other revenue streams,” the statement said.
Staff of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC ), have warned that the proposed new minimum wage may not materialize if the revenue formula is not addressed first.
In the early hours of Wednesday in Abuja staff of the RMAFC picketed the commission over poor funding and remuneration.
According to the Chairman of the Nigerian Civil Service Union ( NCSU ), unit of RMAFC, Comrade Josiah Amanabo, who addressed journalists in Abuja said “there is a clamour from states to review the revenue formula. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, wants to hide under the guise that the revenue allocation formula is not ready, to delay the new minimum wage.
“If there is no revenue allocation formula, there cannot be new minimum wage in September. RMAFC is the commission to carry out the revenue formula review. We don’t even have the funds to do this assignment.
“Nigerians might be thinking that the commission is not competent to carry out these functions, not knowing that it is a result of paucity of funds.
“This is an urgent call to the President; if truly his government wants the commission to carry out its function within a short period of time, then, the provision of adequate funding is imperative.”
“The RMAFC is not an appendage to the ministry of finance, but an independent and autonomous body; for that singular reason, it is expected of us to do our job. We have chartered accountants and other professionals from every field of endeavour in this institution, why giving our job to consultants to do?
According to him, “we are being frustrated in the dispensing of our jobs due to poor funding and sometimes no funding at all.”
Workers, Unions protesting in RMAFC office, AbujaEmpty office of the RMAFC during the protest/shut down
The protest and total shut down of the commission he said is a cry for the nation to see that the change mantra of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration comes to fruition and that corruption is nipped in the bud.
According to him, “consultancy has taken away our jobs. Also, the board has not been constituted. The union complained about how dilapidated its building is due to paucity of funds to carry out maintenance.”
He lamented that the Ministry of Finance, was starving the institution of necessary funding, and has indirectly taken over the statutory responsibility of the institution, which is to monitor the accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the federation and to review from time to time the revenue formulae and principles in operation to ensure conformity with changing realities.
According to him, “how can you monitor people who are more than you financially?; poor funding is at the heart of our cry. How can you monitor agencies such as DPR, FIRS, Customs, NNPC etc., who enjoy percentages and cost of collection every month of release? What we want is cost of monitoring. How can I dress in a tattered way to monitor people whose suits are finer? I need a dress code to do my job,” he said.
Also, the chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria ( ASCSN ), unit of RMAFC, Mr. Martins Adeoye said: “Every revenue that goes into the federation account for distribution is shared by the three tiers of government.
“However, it is only the federal government that is funding the commission through its budgetary provision. How about funding from states and local governments? They are also beneficiaries of the federation accounts.
“We believe that they (states and LGs) should also assist the federal government in funding the commission. In so doing, we will have enough funds to carry out our operations.”
He also explained that the lacuna in funding is what the workers unions aim to address by picketing and protesting.
Commenting on the cry of the staff to get substantive Chairman and Secretary of the commission, Mr. Martins said: “for our operations here, every state of the federation including the FCT is being represented by a commissioner and a chairman. There ideally should be 37 commissioners and a chairman. Over the last two years, the number of commissioners have dropped from 37 to about six (6) as we speak. How do you expect six commissioners to carry out the functions and activities of 37 states?”
“The commission has an acting chairman after the tenure of the former chairman elapsed in 2015. We need a substantive chairman to take charge of the activities of the commission. We also want more commissioners to be appointed in the board,” he said.
Also, Dr Rosetta Adiotomre, secretary ASCSN, said: “we are also calling on the state governors to expedite action to fund us because the ministry of finance is starving us of funds. We do not only work for the FG, but also for states and LGs.
“We need the states to wake up to their responsibilities and fund the commission.”
The overall demonstration and protest by the staff of RMAFC was peaceful; even the police unit deployed to the premises acceded to the fact that it was a peaceful demonstration.
The workers and its union representatives later matched to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to table its demands in a document.
The workers, in the document to the SGF declared their intents and implored the SGF to address issues of poor funding, constitution of the Board of the commission, filling of the vacant office of the Chairman and Secretary to the commission, appointment of more commissioners amongst others.
The letter was signed by the Chairmen of the Nigerian Civil Service Union (NCSU) and Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) – Comrade Josiah Amanabo and Comrade Martins Adeoye respectively.
The protest which is slated for two days (today and tomorrow) maybe called off once their demands are met.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the RMAFC, Mr. Ibrahim Muhammed, in responding to the protest in the commission said he had “no comment” to make regarding the protest and demands of the staff of the RMAFC.
As a follow up to the allegation leveled against the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, concerning his alleged involvement with the criminals who wrought mayhem on the people of Offa, Kwara state, the Nigerian Police Force in a letter to Saraki said he is no longer required to appear at any station, but to respond to the sundry allegations in writing within 48 hours.
It can be recalled that the Police through its spokesman – Jimoh Moshood, yesterday said that Saraki was to report to the Force Intelligence Response Team office in Guzape, Abuja, to clear the air on the allegations against him.
However, in a recent development, Saraki has informed the Nigerian public that he is no longer required to appear in person at the police station, but to respond to the allegations in writing within 48 hours.
He made this known via his twitter handle a few hours ago:
Following my earlier tweet, I have received the letter from @PoliceNG. They are no longer asking me to appear at any station, but to respond in writing to the allegations within 48 hours — which I plan to do.
Whether his response will vindicate him and clear the air or become part of the undulating saga, is one that Nigerians, especially the people of Kwara state earnestly anticipate.
The Federal Government at the weekend said it had developed policies and programmes that would help reduce the impact of climate change.
Director in charge of Climate Change department, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Yerimah Tarfa, stated this at a roundtable series put together by the Institute for Public Policy Analysis and Management ( IPPAM ).
Dr. Tarfa, who spoke on the theme: “Climate Change, Livelihoods and Public Policy Responses in Nigeria,” said that his department had put in place policies, measures and activities that are all inclusive and geared towards implementing policies on climate change.
He said the focal points and approaches of the government in tackling climate change was hinged on adaptation and mitigation.
He said: “We have put in place a national policy on climate change which is available in our website.
“The structure of the department is such that there is a greenhouse gas inventory division, vulnerability and adaptation division, mitigation division and the education awareness and outreach.
“These divisions are supposed to be the entities that will touch on each of the activities that relates to climate change.”
He also said Nigeria was the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases through gas flaring.
Dr. Tarfa therefore said there was need for an urgent action to be taken by government which would enable the country tackle these challenges.
He also stressed the need to engage climate-smart agriculture and focus more on renewable energy.
Participants at the IPPAM roundtable series
Member of the Governing Council, IPPAM, Prof. Eric Eboh, said the roundtable series was to foster cross-fertilization of critical thinking, innovative ideas and interactions between researchers, policy practitioners and non-state actors towards canvassing evidence-informed public policy options for sustainable social and economic development in Nigeria and Africa.
He also added that proceedings and recommendations of the roundtable which featured presentations from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders drawn from the community would be developed and transmitted to relevant government institutions and public policy agencies.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba said it was sad that Nigeria does not have a thorough and comprehensive policy document on climate change.
Prof. Nwajiuba, who was the keynote speaker said: “The focus on agriculture with respect to the roundtable discussion on climate change is very obvious due to its contributions to the GDP, employment and its vulnerability to climate change.
“When Nigerians talk about policy, they most times get a few friends to write up a certain document that they will never come around to implement because it never really passed through much rigour, and we call that policy.”
The assurance of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the “Not Too Young To Run” bill comes as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Nigerian youths who have been seared in the flames of political marginalization.
It is a healthy weather and a joyous daybreak for our nascent democracy, and a momentous breakthrough for the vibrant youths of our nation as it seems like in few days our constant clamour for inclusion in the elective and political superstructure of our great nation is about to receive a constitutional approbation.
The political stratosphere is about to become more interesting as we will see young, experienced and brilliant minds share campaign soapboxes and political portfolios with the older generations come 2019.
The bill, which is part of the process to amend the 1999 Constitution, seeks to reduce the minimum age requirements and entry for elective offices in the country.
It will ensure that any individual who is a citizen of Nigeria, and has attained at least the ages of twenty-five and thirty years respectively, will have the statutory right to contest elective positions.
Some of the positions up for grabs are as follows: membership of the National Assembly, membership of the House of Assembly, Governor and President.
Below is the full details of the “Not Too Young To Run” Bill:
Qualifications for Membership of National Assembly
Section 65 (1)(a) and (b) is amended by substituting the provisions with a new
provision as follows:
A person shall be qualified for election as a member of –
(a) the Senate, if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of thirty years;
and
(b) the House of Representatives, if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age
of twenty-five years.
Section 65 (2)(b) is amended by substituting the provision with a provision as
follows:
A person shall be qualified for election under subsection (1) of this section if –
(c) He is member of a political party and is sponsored by that party or he is an independent candidate
Qualifications for Membership of House of Assembly
Section 106 (b) and (d) is amended by substituting the provisions with new provision as follows:
A person shall be qualified for election as a member of a House of Assembly if –
(b) he has attained the age of twenty-five years;
(d) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party or he is an independent candidate
Qualifications for election as President
Section 131 (b) and (c) is amended by substituting the provisions with new provisions as follows:
A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if –
(b) he has attained the age of thirty;
(c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party or he is an independent candidate
Qualifications for election as Governor
Section 177 (b) and (c) is amended by substituting the provisions with new provisions as follows:
A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the Governor of a State if –
(b) he has attained the age of thirty;
(c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party or he is an independent candidate
This Bill may be cited as Constitution (Alteration) Bill, 2016
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
This Bill seeks to alter the Section 65, 106, 131, 177 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) to reduce the age qualification for the office of the President and Governor and membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the State House of Assembly. The Bill also seeks to allow independent candidacy in Nigeria’s electoral process.
President Buhari is perceived to be a man of integrity who keeps to his words and promises; the days to come will validate such conjectures. Let’s see if he would transform his promises from thin paper to thick action.
Great Nigerian Youths….our time has come.
We are the leaders of NOW.
Moses Emorinken is a reporter with The Nation Newspaper from the business desk.
