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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • You are being economical with the truth, Labour tells Ngige

    Organised Labour has reacted to claims by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige that the tripartite committee on the new National minimum wage was yet to agree on a figure with Organised Labour, but was still negotiating with them.

    In a statement signed by Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Comrade Bala Bobboi Kaigama and Comrade Joe Ajaero, Organised Labour said the Minister was being economical with the truth, pointing out that the committee arrived at a figure which is to be presented to the President.

    He said the sub committee on figure chaired by the Minister presented four different figures which the committee deliberated on for several hours before agreeing on a figure.

    The statement said “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige claiming that no amount has been agreed by the Tripartite Committee recommendation to govemment. The report Further claimed that the Minister said that government was still negotiating with Labour.

    “It is rather unfortunate and sad if Indeed, the Honourable Minister made those statements. For the avoidance of doubt, organised labour representatives Wish to state unequivocally that the Tripartite Committee concluded is work, adopted a figure through a formal motion moved, seconded and adopted In the absence of any counter motion.

    “This was after a thorough debate of a report from the subcommittee figure, chaired by Senator Ngige himself which presented four scenarios for consideration.

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    “The subcommittee worked on the basis of a figure proposed by the Federal Government, figures proposed by a number of state government: as well as proposals submitted by the Organised Private Sector and Organised Labour.

    “The Committee formally adjourned its sitting with a decision that a date will be communicated to members for the signing of the report and submission of same to Mr President.

    Organised Labour, therefore frowns at the manipulation and bending of facts in an attempt to delay or derail the processes needed to promulgate a new National Minimum Wage. We call on the government to take immediate necessary steps to ensure the enactment of a new National Minimum Wage as we cannot guarantee Industrial peace and harmony.

  • Senators kick over pegging of elections expenses, others

    Senators on Wednesday took turns to criticize sections of a bill to amend provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

    The renewed attempt to amend the Electoral Act 2010 followed the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended Electoral Act transmitted to him for assent.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission, Senator Suleiman Nazif, on Wednesday presented a reviewed Electoral Act amendment bill for the consideration and passage.

    But new Electoral Act amendment bill aimed at accommodating the observations of President Buhari appeared to have created more controversies as identified by Senators.

    On election expenses (Section 91(1) the bill proposed that “Election expenses shall not exceed the sum stipulated in subsections (2)-(7) which stipulated that maximum amount candidates should spend in an election.

    It specifically proposed N5 billion for a presidential candidate; N1 billion for a governorship candidate; N100 million for senatorial candidate; N70 million for House of Representatives; N30 million for State Assembly and chairmanship candidate and N5 million for councillorship candidate.

    It also said that no individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N10 million.

    It goes on to stipulate that “A candidate who knowingly acts in contravention of this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of 1% of the amount permitted as the limit of campaign expenditure under this Act or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.”

    Most of the senators who spoke kicked against pegging of election expenses.

    For some other, election expense should be left open ended.

    Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central) warned that the proposal on election expenses was unimplementable.

    He said, “I don’t see the logic in pegging the amount to be contributed to a candidate. We all know that this won’t stand, because people are going to spend much more than that.

    “On N5 billion for a Presidential candidate as limit of expenses, Marafa wanted to know how many polling units the country has.

    “If you give each agent say N10, 000, the amount may get up the proposed amount. So, I don’t want us to do something that won’t stand.”

    On his own Senator James Manager (Delta South) said: “Some of the amendments raised are very technical and dangerous.

    “I advise that when this is referred to the committee, it should check all the views expressed here, including those not expressed, and come up with something that is acceptable.

    “For example, the issue raised by Marafa it is a very serious one.

    “Besides, who is going to enforce this? So, we should look at it holistically. What we have here is something that is completely unimplementable. We should be able to make laws that can be implemented.”

    Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) said: “On elections expenses limit, the provision here can’t be enforced. It is not enforceable.

    “Making this provision in the Electoral Act is like making anybody that wins election to be taken to court. We should look at how to strengthen the law against vote buying.

    “Monies spent by a candidate among his party members can never be ascertained by anybody. I suggest that this section should be expunged completely.”

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahme Lawan (Yobe North) was more concerned about when the issues raised by the President would be addressed while Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu expressed worry about item 7, on missing name of a candidate on the ballot paper.

    Ekwerenmadu noted that “This is very dangerous ‎ because somebody who knows he can’t win election will raise an alarm and make other candidates suffer for it.”

    The section states: “If at the point of display or distribution of ballot paper by the Commission, a candidate or his agent discovers that his name, the name of logo of his party is omitted, a candidate of his agent shall notify the Commission and the Commission shall:

    (a)  Postpone the election to rectify the omission and (b) Appoint another date to conduct the election, not later than 90 days.

    It further stated that “Where the election is postponed due to omission of a political party’s name or logo, the Commission’s officer responsible for such printing of party name or logo commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N2 million or imprisonment for two years or both.”

    Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) said that his was more of an observation.

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    “I want to add to what the Deputy Senate President said on the omission of logos. Prior to election day, a copy of the ballot papers should be made available to political parties to check their names and logos. If we allow it to go like this, there will be room for manipulation.

    “A sample of the ballot paper should be displayed two weeks to the election for all parties to see,” Ndume said.

    Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) said: “The issues raised by the president are vital, and the committee said they would look into them. I believe the committee should come up with all the areas for us to discuss.”

    Senator Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) on his own said: “I don’t know why we’re bringing INEC to meddle into the issue of candidates. INEC doesn’t have anything to do with what the parties decide since they are the only ones that can forward names of candidates for elections.”

    Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North) said: “I believe INEC should be allowed to confirm all that happens during the parties’ primaries,” while Senator George Akume (Benue North West) said: “I want to draw attention to section 87 on parties’ nomination. It is an undue interference in the affairs of political parties.”

    Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South) noted that on “section 87 (12) where which talks about primaries, in a state where you have parallel primaries and INEC officials attended both, how do you handle that? So, I think this section should be expunged.”

    Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) drew attention to the issue of parties’ primaries.

    “It is a serious recipe for danger. It can be used to witch-hunt political enemies. There is a subsisting judgment by the Supreme Court that the issue of nomination is the prerogative of the political parties. This is a very dangerous trend.”

    Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North) noted that “in addition to other observations made by colleagues, I want to talk on section 49 (3). I’m of the opinion that the proposal on card reader should be 72 hours. On primaries too, political parties should be allowed to nominate candidates without INEC interference.”

    Having gone through second reading, the bill referred to the committee on electoral matters to report back on Tuesday.

  • Nigerian traders in Ghana petition Buhari over locked shops

    Delegations of National Association of Nigerian Traders in Ghana (NANTS) and Nigerian Union of Traders Association, Ghana (NUTAG) has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the discrimination against Nigerian traders in Ghana. 

    The petition which was addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari was received by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora in Abuja.

    Presenting the petition, Barr. Ken Ukaoha, NANTS President-General, said that the discrimination against Nigerian traders in Ghana dated back to 2007 when they were subjected to paying exorbitant taxes geared towards ruining their business.

    According to him, the Ghanaian authorities passed a law which compels all foreigners to have a minimum of $300,000 USD in 2007 and later increased it to $1 million USD in 2018 as minimum capital to start a business in Ghana.

    He noted that Nigerian traders were specifically targeted as over 400 shops belonging to Nigerians were locked up since July 27, 2018 till date despite their various appeals to the appropriate authorities.

    Ukaoha said under ECOWAS protocol which Ghana was a signatory, Nigerians should not be branded as foreigners but a community citizen as long as they are carrying ECOWAS passport.

    Regrettably, he said a Nigerian, Mrs Stella Upaleke, had committed suicide, because of the huge bank debts the closure had caused her and still in the mortuary in Ghana.

    He said despite the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari who took up the matter with his Ghanaian counterpart, President Nana Akufo-Addo on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York, with a promise that the shops will be re-opened as Nigerians were not the target, the shops however, still remain closed. 

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    “The diplomatic relations between the two countries is being threatened with this Ghana behaviour as they are playing politics with means of livelihood of Nigerians in Ghana’’

    “We have over two million Ghanaians in Nigeria and Nigeria has been treating them well. We had petitioned the National Assembly and ECOWAS on this matter as law abiding citizen who didn’t want to take laws into our hands’’, he said.

    Corroborating, Chief Emeka Nnaji, President of NUTAG said that Nigerian goods worth billions of dollars are being locked up with sizeable number of it as perishable.

    “We are living in palpable fear in Ghana as they after our lives. We were beaten and tortured in Ashante region while incredible taxes imposed on us in order to cripple our businesses’’, he lamented.

    Responding,  Abike Dabiri-Erewa on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari commended them for the matured way the matter was handled and assured them of delivering the petition to the President.

    She was worried that despite the assurance of President Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana to President Muhammadu Buhari that the shops will be re-opened, and despite an instruction to reopen the shops on Sept 27, the shops still remain closed.

    ”Let me advise you to continue to be good ambassadors of Nigeria despite provocation. Don’t even think about retaliation as Ghanaians are our brothers.’’

    The Presidential aide, who commiserated with the family of the deceased Nigerian trader who committed suicide, led others to observe a-minute silence in honour of the deceased. .

  • Ogun 2019: Group hails Oshiomhole, NWC, others

    ..says emergence of Abiodun as APC flagbearer vindicates our Cause – Ijebu – Remo Forum

     

    Ijebu – Remo Forum on Wednesday declared that the emergence of Prince Dapo Abiodun a week ago as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State from the authentic primary of APC is a vindication of the clamour by the forum that it is the turn of Ijebu – Remo(Ogun East) to produce the next governor.

    The Forum, therefore, lauded the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, for standing firm on the authentic primary that produced the candidature of Dapo Abiodun, saying the “uncommon courage shown” by him, saved the outcome from turning into a different thing.

    This is contained in a statement by the Chairman of the group, Aare Olu Dawodu and Secretary, Prince Segun Aderigbigbe made available to reporters after the Forum’s meeting on Tuesday evening in Sagamu, Ogun State, to review the APC primary in the state.

    The group noted that efforts were made to hijack the process of the primary in the name of the party to foist a particular candidate from Ogun West on party members by conducting an unauthorized primary election which it had no power to do and which, regrettably, almost resulted to a descent to anarchy.

    They also hailed President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice -President Yemi Osinbajo for standing firm in support of due process and discipline over the party’s primary.

    According to the Ijebu – Remo forum, members of the National Working Committee Electoral panel to Ogun State led by Muhammad Indabawa (Chairman) and Senator Gbenga Aluko ( Secretary ) as well as their colleagues – Ali Magashi, Mathew Omeagara, Kabir Ahmed, Osita Okechukwu, Echeza Oshogwe and Alhaji Abdul Azeez Anuhi should also be commended for “their forthrightness and admirable courage and integrity in the face of serious intimidation and coercion.”

    They, however, assured that despite the intensity of contest that attended the race for the APC governorship ticket in the state,
    the Ijebu and Remo people are no enemies of the Yewa and Awori people, saying they (Ijebu and Remo) are a people with a deep sense of history, justice and fairness which they seek for themselves and for others.

    “We the leaders of Ijebu/Remo Forum are delighted by the triumph of an idea we have championed at all levels for nearly two years that it was the turn of Ijebu and Remo to produce the next governor of Ogun State which cause has now been vindicated.

    “We observe that an effort was made to hijack the process in the name of the party in Ogun State to foist a particular candidate from Ogun West on the APC by conducting an unauthorized primary election which it had no power under the party constitution to do and which, regrettably, nearly resulted into a descent to anarchy.

    “We observe that it took a very determined NWC appointed Committee to be able to carry out its mandate and to conduct the gubernatorial primary even in the face of serious security threat and intimidation.

    “We observe further that the security situation in a state which had, hitherto, enjoyed relative peace under the present administration, became extremely tense as some people attempted to unleash mayhem on the people of Ogun State generally and to harass party faithfuls to be able to impose their agenda.

    “This Forum has always believed that from the perspective of history, precedent, social contract, fairness and justice it was the turn of the Ijebu/Remo axis of the state to produce the next governor in support of which we had repeatedly appealed to all concerned that the effort to change the time hallowed process was ill-advised and was bound to fail or could cost the APC the gubernatorial election.

    “This Forum worked hard for the emergence of a consensus candidate from Ijebu and Remo and even though this was met with limited success, this did not remove the compass the Forum had established for this cause and the leadership it provided to our people to be able to actualize the cause.

    “We are pleased to note that in the end, Prince Adedapo Abiodun, MFR, an experienced political activist from Ogun East emerged as the winner of the authentic primary and therefore becomes the flag bearer of the APC in the Ogun State gubernatorial election in 2019.

    “We observe that a good number of his opponents from Ogun East, have congratulated Prince Adedapo Abiodun and pledged their support to him. This is as it should be and we trust that all the former contestants will join hands to support the candidate,” the statement reads in parts.

  • Minimum Wage: No agreement on N30,000, Says FG

    *FEC okays N5.2 billion for roads in Sokoto State

     

    The Federal Government on Wednesday disagreed with the report claiming that N30,000 minimum wage has been agreed upon for the new national minimum wage.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige at the end of Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Suleiman Hassan.

    According to Ngige, the Federal Government has not shifted ground on its N24,000 proposal.

    He said that the issue of National minimum wage is a law that is binding on all.

    State governments, the private sector and the organized labour, he said, proposed N20,000, N25,000 and N30,000 as national minimum wage, respectively.

    He said the federal government would continue to discuss with the organized labour and all other stakeholders informally to arrive at a figure.

    He said “If you can recollect we spoke on the 26 of September and I did inform you that I was going to meet with the organised labour to see what we can do to stop the impending strike which was slates for the 27th.

    “We met in my office and we agreed to reconvene the National minimum wage tripartite committee for the 4th and 5th of October, that was the issue in contention at the time and the idea was to enable them get back to their council and call off the strike.

    Read Also:Minimum Wage: No agreement on N30,000, Says FG

    “However, one thing led to the other and the strike took place and they called it off on the 30th.
    We reconvened for the minimum wage committee on the 4th and 5th, and we had adequate representation of all the three partners. Tri partite means the three groups that are negotiating; the first group is the organised labour, the second is the organised private sector and the third group is the government, which is called the authentic authority by the ILO.

    “So we met and if you could remember the contentious issue as per that meeting was for figures to be fixed and we had all proposed our figures, but throughout the negotiations figures were adjusted; the labour unions adjusted their figures and came down to 30,000 per month, organised private’s sectors also adjusted their figures from 25 which they had earlier proposed to N30,000.

    “Federal Government is carrying on its own team, the governors so its a bi-focal arrangement when it comes to the federal government.
    Governors had their own figure, which was different from the figure of the federal government; both the federal government figure and that of the state governors were also presented and we discussed because the cardinal principle of wage fixing mechanism under the ILO is the ability to pay because the issue of minimum wage under convention 131, the fixing mechanism takes that into account and also says that there must be a consensual agreement.” he said

    Ngige added “So we have a figure of the federal government and the state government have theirs. The state government figure at the last time was N20,000, the Federal government had a figure of N24,000 and that was where we all stood.

    “This negotiation took into account this irreducible offers on the different governments but we could not arrive at a consensus. Even though we adjourned our meeting and said we will put up a report that will reflect this position, we are still continuing to discuss informally to see if we can arrive at a common figure.

    “National Salaries and Incomes and Wages Commission have also done…for the government and presented to the economic management team, so discussions are still ongoing and that is where we are.

    “This information becomes very pertinent because I saw all your papers, the dailies yesterday awash with the news that we have all agreed on N30,000, that is not true, the federal government has not agreed on N30,000.

    “The federal government is also carrying the states along with them because a lot of the workers are in the states and its a very sensitive matter, we cannot..because the issue of minimum wage is item 34 and an exclusive legislation by the federal government through the National Assembly to go and fix an amount which the states will find difficult to pay resulting may be in retrenchment of workers in the states.

    “This government doesn’t want any retrenchment and Mr President has always reiterated it that no worker should retrenched for as long as this administration is on; no worker will be denied his promotion for as long as this administration is on and recruitment to replace people who have retired or people who are dead should continue to be done so that we face the issue of unemployment a d do what we can through such recruitment. So this is the situation.” he said

    Suleiman Hassan said that FEC approved N5.2 billion for roads in Sokoto State

    He said “This afternoon, we approved the award of contract for the construction of Kagigi, Jaro, Goraye, and Takwaco road in Sokoto state.

    “This is a 28.75 kilometer road joining Sokoto and Zamfara states. It is in a very good agricultural zone. It will able to ferry agricuktural goods and humna traffic between these two states and onto the neighbouring countries of Niger, and Benin Republic.

    “These contract is awarded to messrs Sky Technical and Construction company limited at the cost of N5.202 billion.” he added

     

  • Shittu attends FEC meeting

    The Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu was among cabinet members who attended the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.

    The meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari started around 11.08a.m at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    A fortnight ago, Shittu and the immediate past Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, were disqualified from participating in the Oyo and Taraba states governorship primary elections, respectively, under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    While Shittu was disqualified for not taking part in the compulsory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, Alhassan was disqualified over issues of loyalty to APC.

    Shittu also failed to present any NYSC exemption certificate to the APC screening committee.

    While disqualifying him, the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, had stated: “He (Shittu) admitted that he did not do the mandatory NYSC as provided for under the law and in his own judgment, his being a member of the House of Assembly in the state and now as a Minister of the Federal Republic, that these were enough sacrifices. But for us as a party we know that NYSC is a mandatory scheme.

    “It is not something you may elect to do or abstain from doing and my understanding of the NYSC Act is that no employer of labour is permitted to employ anyone who graduated under 30 years and who did not obtain an exemption for reasons as provided for in the NYSC Act.

    “So, for us, not participating in the NYSC raises very serious moral issue as well as legal issue.

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    “After interviewing him, we were convinced that….for our party, there are clear lessons we need to learn from our recent past when people…anyway, we were convinced that if he did not do NYSC, that for us, was enough to disqualify him and we had to find the courage to do so.

    While Alhassan had immediately resigned from the cabinet, Shittu arrived for the first FEC meeting after his disqualification around 10.56a.m.

    He exchanged pleasantries with his colleagues before taking his seat.

    President Buhari called for rendition of the opening National anthem at the FEC meeting around 11.08a.m

    Opening Muslims prayer was said by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed , while the Christian prayer was offered by the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu

    Recall that the immediate past Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had resigned from the cabinet due to fake NYSC exemption certificate presented to get the job.

    Her ignorance of the status of the certificate she had presented could not save her from losing her seat in the cabinet.

  • Buhari, governors, ministers, others for Fayemi’s inauguration

    President Muhammadu Buhari will lead other eminent Nigerians to the inauguration of Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday.

    Fayemi will be sworn in alongside the Deputy Governor-elect, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, by the state Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion.

    Buhari, who had promised to attend Fayemi’s inauguration shortly after the latter won the All Progresse Congress (APC) primary, will be the Special Guest of Honour.

    The Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Inauguration Ceremonies, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, disclosed this on Wednesday at a news conference to herald to mark week long activities to usher Fayemi into office.

    Oyebode revealed that others expected at the inauguration include governors, ministers, military and paramilitary top brass, traditional rulers, diplomats, clergymen, party leaders, civil society groups, artisans, market women and general public.

    Speaking on the significance of Buhari’s personal attendance of Fayemi’s inauguration, Oyebode described the President as a “lover of Ekiti and father of the nation.”

    He added that Fayemi served under Buhari as Minister and supervised the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, a sector that was dear to the heart of the President.

    The Chairman of the Security Committee, Brig. -Gen. Ebenezer Ogundana (retd), said the military will be part of the security arrangements adding that security operatives will be drafted from neighbouring states.

    Events to make the milestone, according to Oyebode, commence on October 15 Inauguration Lecture to be delivered by eminent poet and literary icon, Prof. Niyi Osundare and Book Presentation, Photo Exhibition and presentation of prizes to Essay Competition winners.

    Besides the swearing-in ceremony on October 16, reception will take place at the same venue, Ekiti Parapo Pavilion.

    Fayemi, after being inaugurated, will hold a Town Hall meeting at Ekiti North senatorial district at Odo Udo Primary School, Ido Ekiti in the morning of October 17 while that of Ekiti South will hold at Ereja Park, Ikere Ekiti in the afternoon.

    On October 18, an interfaith thanksgiving service holds in Ado Ekiti in the morning to be followed by Ekiti Central town hall meeting at Aramoko Motor Park, Aramoko-Ekiti.

    A Thanksgiving Jumat Service holds at Ado-Ekiti Central Mosque on October 19 while on October 20, Ekiti Arts, Culture and Talent Fair at Ekiti Parapo Pavilion.

    Inauguration activities will be rounded off on October 21 with a Thanksgiving service at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Old Garage.

    On the same day, a reception will hold at Fayemi’s personal residence, Eyiyato Lodge, Isan-Ekiti.

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    Oyebode added: “It would be a new dawn on October 16 as Dr. Fayemi will be back on track to take the government back to the people again for accountable government that will also make Ekiti people active participants in the way they are governed.

    “This knack for institutionalisation of participatory governance by Fayemi has reflected in the stakeholders forum commissioned by him where Ekiti people spoke I’m conference on their expectations from the government.

    “Now, the journey for the actualisation of Ekiti dreams starts on October 16, 2018; the date fate has chosen for Ekiti State to recover her destiny and turn around her fortune.

    “Suffice to say that this kind of historic and historical occasion held to celebrate the freedom of a people cannot go without pomp and drums with dignitaries in attendance to join the celebration.”

  • Education is antidote to extremism, terrorism – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja urged religious leaders in the country to assist government to overcome forces of destruction by enlightening their followers to guard against religious extremism and terrorism.

    He made the call while receiving the leadership of Qadiriyya Islamic Movement in Africa at the State House, Abuja.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, also noted that Muslim leaders have a duty to promote the principles and tenets of Islam as a religion of peace and justice.

    He said that those who indoctrinate children and plant explosives on them to harm innocent people do not belong to any religion but ‘‘terrorists who should be identified and fought until they give up their evil ways.’’

    The President, who commended the Qadiriyya movement for promoting education, interfaith dialogue and good moral conduct in the society, expressed support for the proposed Islamic Centre in Abuja by the movement.

    Speaking earlier in his remarks, the leader of the Qadiriyya in Africa, Sheikh Qaribullah Kabara had congratulated the President on his emergence as his party’s candidate for the 2019 election.

    He also commended the President on the achievements of his administration since coming into office, stressing the diversification of the economy, increased power supply and food sufficiency.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of meeting, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Gamduje said “First of all to congratulate Mr. President for picking the ticket to run for second term and he used the opportunity to thank Mr. President for the development in Nigeria especially in the economy which has improved especially electricity and also agriculture and also we used the opportunity to inform Mr. President the importance of the Qadiriyyah center which is being built here in Abuja.

    “It is basically for education especially for reducing extremism, radicalism in religion. This is the right time the centre will be able to control the minds of the followers.

    Read Also: Buhari, Amosun meet in Aso Rock

    “So the centre is under construction now. Mr. President appreciated the building of the centre and he promised to the help concern of the centre. We also prayed for Mr. President.

    “That is the first group that came to visit the President, the Qadiriyyah Movement of Africa. It is a very powerful organisation with so many followers and it is anti extremism and anti Boko Haram. It believes in the normal religious injunctions as professed by our holy Koran.
    Asked whether the meeting has anything to do with Buhari’s re-election bid, he said “Yes, in fact they prayed for his success in the forthcoming election.”

  • UNICEF, stakeholders call for collaboration to pass bill

    The United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) and stakeholders in the social service sector of the Nigerian economy have called for collaboration for the speedy passage of the Social Welfare Professionalisation Bill.

    The bill was declined assent by President Muhammadu Buhari after it was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.

    UNICEF, at a media dialogue on the bill in Enugu on Tuesday, disclosed that only 8,429 full time employees presently operated in the sector nationwide.

    The media dialogue was organised by the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF.

    UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist, Maryam Enyiazu who gave an overview of challenges bedeviling the system, noted that to address the huge gaps identified, stakeholders must come out clean to take an assessment to identify human resources gaps.

    She said Nigeria lost $8.9billion in 2014, representing 1.58% of the country’s gross domestic products (GDP) to violence against children.

    The UNICEF specialist said that Nigeria needed a strong, regulated and standardised workforce in the field of social welfare to thoroughly tackle social problems and prevent the huge loss to violence against children and the vulnerables.

    She said: “Nigeria is yet to understood the need for social welfare workers in the country, social welfare sector struggles to attract pay and retain qualified workforce.”

    She identified under funding, lack of regulation and lack of understanding as key factors militating against social welfare workforce.

    The UNICEF expert stressed that social welfare workforce was critical to achieving the 17 target areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Read Also: Over 35m Nigerian children, faceless -UNICEF

    “The services of Social welfare workers improve the lives of children and families by addressing, education, health, justice, migration and protection from violence,” she said.

    Enyiazu said that a major way to seek legitimacy and raise status of social work as a profession in Nigeria was through the establishment of regulatory mechanism to ensure licensure, certification and registration.

    She called on stakeholders to work together to improve protection, health and well-being outcomes for children, youth, families and communities as outlined in the sustainable development goals.

    “UNICEF has supported federal government to develop a national plan of action on Social welfare work force ” Enyiazu said.

    Also, the Director, Social Welfare Department, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Temitope Bamgboye, said the ministry was working with relevant stakeholders on the bill to iron out areas where there are issues.

    Mrs. Bamgboye, who was represented by Assistant Director, Social Security and Welfare Department, Ben Okwesa, said once this was done the bill will be represented to the president for assent.

    She assured that the bill will be assented to by the president once it is represented to him.

    She said: “The identified grey areas of the bill is receiving attention and with strong support from UNICEF and Nass we are optimistic that the bill be returned to mr president for his assent by the Nass before the next political dispensation.

    “The ministry also intends to ensure that the bill on professionalization of social workers in Nigeria is endorsed by Mr. President and the establishment and the equipping of the Nigerian Council for Social Work to regulate social work practice in Nigeria.

    “We are desirous in the ministry that Mr. President will sign the bill into law.”

    The Head of Child Rights Information Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information, Mr olumide Osanyipeju, at the dialogue said the profession was characterized with low pay and unsatisfactory work conditions.

    Osanyipeju, who was represented by Principal Information Officer in the ministry, Zira Nagga, said: “Social Workers in Nigeria have been given less attention. The Profession is characterized with low pay and unsatisfactory work conditions, including limited office space, and lack of transportation and telephones which have contributed to lack of commitment and a struggle for Professional identity.

    “However, one way to seek legitimacy and boost the Profession in Nigeria is through establishing a regulatory mechanism to ensure licensure, certification and registration.”

    In his remarks, UNICEF Chief of Enugu Office, Dr Ibrahim Conteh, explained that the bill seeks to establish a regulatory legal framework to improve the standard of practice for anyone wishing to practice social work.

    Represented by Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for UNICEF, Maureen Zubie-Okolo, Conteh said that there could not have been a better time to discuss the bill as “the country copes with some socio-economic challenges that continue to undermine sustainable development for vulnerable children and their families.”

    “Issues of high prevalence of violence against children, conflicts, terrorism, high number of out-of-school children, unemployment rate amongst other challenges, no doubt, highlight the importance of overhauling the social work profession in Nigeria to enable it play it’s critical role of supporting the vulnerable population more effectively in mitigating these vicissitudes which undermine access to quality life for children and their families.

    “UNICEF as the agency mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote the rights of the children is committed in supporting partnerships and initiatives to achieve the goal of having a legislation to professionalise the social work profession in Nigeria,” he added.

  • FG to assist ECOWAS in implementing policies

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said that the Federal Government has pledged to support the ECOWAS Commission in the implementation of its labour and employment programmes and policies in the Region.

    Speaking when he received the ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender Matters, Dr Siga Fatima Jagni in his office, the Minister said the Nigerian government will not shirk in its responsibility to the subregion, adding that the “government and people of Nigeria are an integral part of the ECOWAS, and we will not shirk our responsibilities in that direction”.

    While appreciating the efforts of the Commission in forging unity in the Region, Ngige pledged Nigeria’s continued support to the Commission in realizing its mandate. He assured that “Nigeria would support and adhere to all ECOWAS Labour Migration and Employment policies, and called for proper legalization of such policies, so that people would not be “short-changed and unduly harassed when they export their skills in the region”.

    On the election of President Muhammadu Buhari as the Chairman of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, the Minister said that the Region stood to gain immeasurably, stressing, “We have a President who has zero tolerance for corruption, with a lot of credibility. So, his appointment into the ECOWAS by his colleagues is a step in the right direction”.

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    Speaking earlier, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender Matters, Dr Siga Fatima Jagne, said her visit was necessitated by the need to seek the support of the Minister for the implementation of labour and employment programmes and policies in the region.

    She further stated that her visit was also to specifically request the Ministry’s collaboration in organizing the forthcoming 2018 General Assembly of the Social Dialogue Forum/Meeting of ECOWAS Ministers in charge of Labour and Employment, with the theme: “Strengthening Social Dialogue for the Promotion of Decent Work in the ECOWAS region”, scheduled to hold in Abuja in December, 2018.

    Speaking further, she congratulated Nigeria on the election of President Muhammadu Buhari as the current ECOWAS Chair of Authority of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.

    In his remarks, the Honourable Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Prof. Stephen Ocheni, said that Nigeria, as the centre of ECOWAS, would continue to play its leading role in the Region, particularly in economic development.