The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mrs. Kemi Adeosun

  • FG has no funds to pay salary, promotion arrears, says Ngige

    FG has no funds to pay salary, promotion arrears, says Ngige

    The negotiation for new minimum wage may have been kept in the cooler until salary and promotion arrears owed civil servant are cleared, it was learnt Monday.

    This is coming as Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Director General, Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, met Monday with the leadership of the National Assembly to find ways to clear salary and promotion arrears of civil servant.

    Also on table for discussion at the closed door meeting chaired by Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was the issue of payment of transfer allowances of workers and death benefits.

    Ngige told reporters that they were at the National Assembly on the invitation of ledership of the National Assembly.

    He added that though some progress were made at the meeting, all sides were to go back and come back tomorrow with possible solution to the identified issues which is that “government does not have enough fund for now to tackle the issues.”

    Ngige said, “We are here on the invitation of the National Assembly, the joint committee on labour and employment and the meeting is chaired by the Senate President.

    “We are here to discuss issues relating to things that are meant for industrial disharmony in the public sector.

    “As you are aware the labour federations have said the governors have not been treating them well.

    “One of the cardinal issues of International Labour Organisation (ILO) is to give our workers decent jobs and we decided to discuss with them.

    Wabba on his own said, “We are here as usual to dialogue over a range of issues particularly the welfare and well-being of our members – the Nigerian workers. In particular, we have discussed issues bothering on arrears of allowances which have accumulated for some time and running into billions, which they have not paid.

    “Also, alongside is the issue of pension particularly the issue of bonds and the fact that some of the contributions by workers have not been remitted for time.

    “Those are some of the issues that we thought the National Assembly has led the process to bring all stakeholders on board and look at how these issues can be resolved in a win-win situation without allowing the industrial relation process to break up.

    “I think this is very healthy and commendable, and all of us are committed to a very peaceful process of resolving these issues.

    “As the minister said, we have adjourned to allow thorough reflection over some of those issues and to be able to come up with workable solutions that will address these issues.

    “Those are the totality of issues we are actually working on and it is a holistic process which you know that the processes require laws; they also require some budgetary provisions.

    “So, that is why we are here and the process is holistic, to look at how best those issues can be resolved amicably.”

    Asked why the issue of new minimum wage was not top on the agenda of the meeting, Wabba who was almost walking away said the process is holistic.

     

    On what labour is demanding, he said “Labour has spoken with one voice. We have made a formal demand which you are aware. It is N56, 000 there is no need repeating it.”

    Wabba categorized new laws and budgetary provision to clear the back log of the arrears.

    “It’s a tripartite negotiation. What we are doing here is tripartite plus because we have involved the National Assembly and when you do any such negotiations is plus.

    “We looked at the issues of salaries arrears, promotion arrears, death benefits, location expenses and transfer allowances, hotel allowance which overtime have accumulated and had ran into billions and this is what are owed to federal public servant and we started the meeting today to find a solution.

    “The labour leaders engage ourselves and we try to work out something that would help them and help us restore the confidence we have with them that is the employers and employees.

    “If we don’t have that confidence we may have break down of industrial harmony. So we made progress today and we have adjourned to reconvene tomorrow at 4pm, all sides are to go back and come back tomorrow with possible solution to the identified issues which is government doesn’t have enough fund for now to tackle the issues. So tomorrow we convey here and sort it”

     

  • We did not hire foreign PR consultants for N612 million – Ministry

    We did not hire foreign PR consultants for N612 million – Ministry

    The Federal Ministry of Finance said that it had not hired any Public Relations firm for 2 million dollars (N612 million) per month.

    The Director of Information, Ministry of Finance, Mr Salisu Dambatta, in a statement on Wednesday, said a PR consultant was hired by the Federal Government, as part of the Eurobond programme.

    “The Public Relations firm, Africa Practice, has been retained by the Federal Government on the approval of the Federal Executive Council to work with the Debt Management Office as part of the Eurobond programme for a three-year period alongside four other firms.

    “This followed a competitive tender that was advertised and due process was fully followed and  was publicly announced earlier this year.

    “The representative of Africa Practice was in Washington DC in continuation of the Eurobond programme and in support of the country’s outreach with international investors who showed great enthusiasm to do business with Nigeria.

    “However, the false reports have not dimmed the successful participation of the Nigerian delegation in the World Bank and IMF Spring meetings, nor questioned the obvious gains made by Nigeria in the course of the meetings,” he said. ‎‎

    ‎The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, was widely criticised for allegedly hiring an expensive British firm to do public relations for her at the monthly cost of ‎2 million dollars.

    At the just concluded IMF/World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC, the consultant was said to be constantly at her side, hindering Nigerian journalists’ access to the minister, except foreign press.‎

  • We won’t accept excuses for non-payment of pensions – Dogara

    We won’t accept excuses for non-payment of pensions – Dogara

    Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday urged the executive to ensure that backlog of pensions were paid promptly, warning that excuses would not be accepted.

    Dogara made this known while reacting to briefing by Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and her Budget and National Planning counterpart, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, on efforts to offset arrears owed Nigerian pensioners.

    He expressed confidence that the promise of President Muhammadu Buhari on the pensions would be kept.

    “When the president promised that he was going to release money for bailout to States so that they can pay backlog of salaries and pensions, he did.

    “We will not accept any excuse that leaves part of this pension funds hanging,” he said.

    According to him, I don’t know where you got the money to bail out the states from, but wherever you got the money from that is where we are going to get the money to solve this problem.

    “I want to believe this will be the last intervention we will be having with regards to the issue of pensions in this country. That is my charge.

    “The message the House will be sending to the President through the ministers is `when you meet him to brief him about this engagement, tell him that we have taken his words to the bank and we believe that we would cash it’.”

    Meanwhile, the spokesman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Abdulrazak Namdas, said the 2017 Appropriation Bill would be passed after the Easter break.

    Namdas told reporters after plenary on Thursday that all legislative work on the fiscal document would be concluded as soon as the Assembly resumed from the recess.

    He explained that the House intervened in the issue of arrears of pensioners’ entitlements to enable the ministers in charge of finances to address the matter.

    According to him, the explanation provided by the two ministers will go a long way to assuage the pains of the nation’s senior citizens.

     

  • FG extends tenure of 2016 budget capital elements

    FG extends tenure of 2016 budget capital elements

    The Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Idris Ahmed has issued a Circular extending the tenure of the Capital elements  of the 2016 Budget until May 5, 2017 or the passage of the 2017 Budget, whichever is the earliest, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has announced.
     
    Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been urged to take note of the content of the Circular.
  • FG unveils management, board members of DBN

    FG unveils management, board members of DBN

    The Federal government has released the list members of the board and management of the newly licensed Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

    The Management team is led by Mr. Tony Okpanachi, a banker and erstwhile Deputy Managing Director/Deputy CEO, Ecobank Nigeria Limited.

    Before his appointment as Managing Director/ CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria, he was the Deputy Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Limited. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director, Ecobank Kenya and Cluster Managing Director for East Africa (comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Ethiopia). He was also at various times Managing Director of Ecobank Malawi and Regional Coordinator for Lagos and South West of Ecobank Nigeria.

    Mr Okpanachi will be supported by the Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba and Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Olu Adegbola.

    The Board members include:  Chairman, Dr. Shehu Yahaya (who was the interim MD of DBN and former Executive Director, AfDB); Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Uche Orji and Mohammed  Kalif, of the African Development Bank.

    Independent Directors of the DBN are former Group Managing Director/CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Philips Oduoza; President and CEO, African  Finance Corporation,  Mr. Andrew Alli; Chairman, FBN Merchant Bank, Alhaji Bello Maccido; Founder/Managing Director, JNC International Limited, Mrs Clare Omatseye and the Managing Director, CEO Excel Professional Service Limited, Mr. Oladimeji Alo.

    The Finance Ministry had on Wednesday received notice from the regulator that it was free to commence operations of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) focused Development Bank of Nigeria.

    Speaking at a recent strategy retreat with the management team, board members, and other key stakeholders of DBN in attendance, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun reaffirmed the importance of the DBN’s mandate and assured them of the public sector support needed to ensure the DBN’s success.

    According to Adeosun, “despite limited access to financing, MSMEs contribute a significant 45% to the national economy.  If these institutions could have reliable access to working and investment capital at low cost, the multiplier effect on economic growth and job creation would be significant”.

     

  • Buhari orders CBN, Finance Ministry to pay states London-Paris Club refunds

    Buhari orders CBN, Finance Ministry to pay states London-Paris Club refunds

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to act appropriately and with dispatch in releasing the second tranche of the London-Paris Club refunds to the states in order to ease their financial hardships.

    He gave the directive while addressing the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) made up of State Governors and chaired by the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari, who met the governors behind closed doors, however, made a strong case for settlement of unpaid salaries and pension liabilities of workers in their states.

    The President in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “I will not rest until I address those issues that affect our people.  One of these basic things is the issue of salaries.

    “It is most important that workers are able to feed their families, pay rent and school fees, then other things can follow,” he said.

    President Buhari, who went round the Council Chambers to greet the governors one after another, praised the unity of the Forum of State Governors.

    He thanked them profusely for their display of “love and respect” to him.

    According to him, he was overwhelmed by his recent experience in which states, irrespective of political differences charged their citizens to pray in mosques and churches for his well-being and apologized to Governors for barring them from visiting him while he was in London.

    “I didn’t want government to move to London. I wanted it to remain here and I am glad it did,” he said.

    After narrating what he went through while on that vacation, President Buhari noted the suggestion by the Governors for him to add more rest, but insisted that he would remain relentless in the pursuit of the interest of the Nigerian people at all times.

    This, he said, was the only way to show his gratitude to the people who, he said, “had given so much to me.  I was overwhelmed by the celebration of my return all across the country.”

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdul-Aziz Yari of Zamfara State assured the President, on behalf of his colleagues, that they will continue to support his policies and actions which they had adjudged as being in the nation’s best interest.

    The governors of Imo, Akwa-Ibom, Osun and Abia States thanked President Buhari for saving the day for states through the first tranche of the London-Paris Club refunds while calling for the immediate release of the second one.

    They also commended the trust the President reposed in the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, whom they said did not disappoint when he acted as President.

     

  • Adeosun hosts U.S. ambassador, says Nigeria’s economy resilient

    Adeosun hosts U.S. ambassador, says Nigeria’s economy resilient

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on Friday, reaffirmed Federal Government’s commitment to return the economy to the path of sustainable growth.

    The minister’s Special Assistant, Festus Akanbi, said in a statement that Adeosun made this known when the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington, paid her a visit in Abuja.

    Akanbi stated that the minister explained that in spite of the oil price shock and drop in production volumes, Federal Government had succeeded in utilising the situation to reposition the Nigerian economy to the advantage of the nation.

    She said the lack of adequate investment in infrastructure had been the bane of the Nigerian economy in the past, noting that the present administration had begun to correct this anomaly.

    She added that over N1 trillion had been released for various infrastructure projects across the country  and emphasised the critical role of power on job and wealth creation.

    The minister further explained that investment in public infrastructure would begin to attract private sector funding which would enable diversification and growth in priority areas like agriculture and housing.

    The U.S. ambassador said finance was to growth and prosperity, what oxygen was to life.

    He, therefore, stressed the centrality of the Federal Ministry of Finance to the ongoing efforts to turn the Nigerian economy around and commended the efforts of the Buhari administration in that regards. (NAN)

  • Adeosun: Devt Bank ‘ll catalyse SMEs’ growth

    Adeosun: Devt Bank ‘ll catalyse SMEs’ growth

    he Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is being positioned to galvanise the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) sector for the overall development of the economy.

    According to her, the government is aware of the role of SMEs in national development, hence the resolve to position the DBN as a catalyst for the development of the SMEs. “The wide range of SMEs is a reflection of our economic diversity,” she said.

    Mrs Adeosun who spoke during a Board/Management/Development partners’ retreat of the DBN in Abuja, yesterday, also assured the Board that the government is ready to provide support for the institution.

    The DBN had convened its development partners and incoming management team and Board of Directors for an inaugural strategy retreat to prepare them for immediate operation upon the issuance of its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    She decried the present situation where SMEs account for 45 per cent of the  Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but just 10 per cent of bank credit.

    She pointed out that currently, Nigeria’s financing of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) lagged significantly behind other countries, including Brazil (63 per cent), Ghana (36 per cent), China (30 per cent), Kenya (24 per cent), and South Africa (21 per cent).

    However, the minister who disclosed that the operating licence for DBN is expected imminently also believes that through the activities of the DBN, some of the problems currently discouraging the growth of the SMEs sector would be effectively tackled.

    She stated that DBN would lend to microfinance banks, which will in turn develop specific products for specific markets at a lower interest rate than currently available to SMEs.

    She said the Finance Ministry is in discussion with the CBN on the need to use the development bank as a vehicle for any of its subsequent SMEs intervention.

     

  • Senate summons Adeosun over N2b planted in Housing Sector budget

    Senate summons Adeosun over N2b planted in Housing Sector budget

    The Senate Tuesday invited the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun to throw light on the vote of N2 billion discovered in the 2017 budget of the Housing Sector,

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola disowned the money saying he knew nothing about how the vote crept into the Housing Sector budget.

    Fashola told the Senate committee on Housing that the Ministry of Finance may have inserted the money in the 2017 budgetary profile of the Ministry of Housing as its own initiative tagged under “Regional Housing Scheme.”

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Barnabas Gemade had wanted to know how the regional housing scheme came about.

    Fashola said; “I know as much of it as you do because it is not our initiative”.

    Apparently not satisfied, Gemade ordered the committee clerk to write the Minister of Finance,  Adeosun to appear before the committee  to explain how the N2 billion was inserted into the budget.