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Tag: Nigeria Governors forum

  • NGF ranks Edo highest in reforms

    NGF ranks Edo highest in reforms

     

    …as Edo First Lady empowers 18,000 women

     

    Edo State Government has been ranked the best reform-driven state in Nigeria by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, a representative of the World Bank, Mr. Umar Hamza, has said.

     

    Hamza, who is Team Leader on the Women Initiative for Socio-economic Empowerment (WISE) programme, a proposed five-year project by the World Bank, said that the ranking informed the selection of Edo State as a beneficiary of the WISE project.

     

    Specifically, he stressed that the successes recorded with past projects and reforms in the state gave Edo the slot.

     

    He disclosed this during a meeting of the Assessment Team of the project at the Government House, Benin City, with the Edo First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki.

     

    Hamza said Edo was shortlisted as one of the states “where the project will be done going by the recommendations made by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum that the state ranks the highest in terms of reform-driven states in the country.”

     

    The wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs Besty Obaseki said plans are underway to empower 18,000 widows and vulnerable women across the state’s 18 local government areas on agricultural production.

     

    She said her office is keying into the 200,000 jobs initiative of the State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, by empowering women, who would take to agricultural production and entrepreneurship.

     

    “We are targeting 1000 women from each of the 18 local government areas to train them on poultry production. We started the pilot phase under the Edo Women for Agriculture and Enterprise Initiative (EWEAI) in March this year and the outcome was successful.  

     

    “We are also setting up women cooperatives and getting partners to help us create smallholder women farmers across the state in vegetable production with the intention to export the vegetables,” she said.

     

    Noting that her office is pursuing these wide-ranging initiatives to discourage human trafficking, she said, “We want to put the necessary structures in place to ensure that Edo will compete with Lagos in supporting women empowerment.”

     

    Mrs Obaseki said part of the plans include building an academy where successful Edo female entrepreneurs will train young girls on entrepreneurial skills, adding, “We have identified the Lady Mechanic Initiative and women cobbler to train returnees and young female school dropouts to give them skills for sustainable livelihoods.

     

    “The Lady Mechanic Initiative is training young girls on vehicle refurbishment and has refurbished many vehicles for the state government.”

     

    The first lady also noted that her office is working to link market women to financial institutions and create opportunities for women in other business ventures to access funds.

  • NGF appoints new health coordinator

    NGF appoints new health coordinator

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has engaged a new Health Coordinator to run its programs in the health sector.

    He is Ahmad Abdulwahab, a medical doctor and experienced public health/health systems expert with over 20 years’ experience in the health sector within and outside the country.

    A statement issued by the Head of Media and Public Affairs at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Abulrazque B. Barkindo, said Dr. Abdulwahab would function as an embedded consultant at the Forum’s health sector.

    He said: “Ahmad has worked with both government and international organizations. He was a Director of Public Health in the Yobe State Ministry of Health; a State Team Manager, Deputy National Programme Manager and subsequently the National Programme Manager of the 65-million Pounds DFID-funded PRRINN-MNCH programme.

    “His last assignment before joining the NGF secretariat was the Deputy Country Director / Programme Director Essential Medicines, with the Clinton Health Initiatives (CHAI) in Nigeria. He is also a consultant to Health Information Systems project, based in South Africa on the Global Health Security Health Agenda. He also worked with several other programmes managed/funded by WHO, UNICEF, USAID, DFID, NORAD, CIDA, NORAD, BMGF, Netherland Leprosy Relief, World Bank and Global Fund.

    “Ahmad possesses robust project leadership abilities, management, organizational skills, coupled with a strong analytical and innovative mind with an ability to think both strategically and laterally. Ahmad led the team that saw the achievement of the WHO Leprosy Elimination target and the take-off of the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course Strategy for TB in Yobe State.

    “He also developed the innovative funding mechanism for financing PHC services in Zamfara State, called the Basket fund, which has now been adopted nationally; He is also one of the initiators of the PHCUOR concept in Nigeria and he directly facilitated the establishment of the State Primary Health Care Boards in Zamfara and Yobe States. He was also the catalyst for the introduction of DHIS2 Software for the management of HMIS data in Nigeria.

    “He has shared his extensive experience and knowledge of public health, health policy, and health systems reform, through presentations at a number of international fora. He is married with children.”

  • Governor Yari, NGF and outstanding leadership

    Governor Yari, NGF and outstanding leadership

    Recently, I read an article titled, “Governor Yari and his billionaire boys’ club”, written by a columnist, Niran Adedokun. This article is specifically authored to address the cursory observations, unfair assessments, subjective expressions, misleading accounts, ignorant remarks and the preposterous conclusion that have been noted therein.

    It is a matter of public records that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was sharply divided into two factions before the emergence of Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State as the Chairman of NGF. The inauguration of new chairman did not automatically translate to a united NGF. What happened was that Governor Yari engineered and coordinated a reconciliatory process that has cemented the bond of unity among the 36 governors, beyond the barriers of political affiliations, religious beliefs and ethnic differences. It was that intervention that saved Nigerians from the tension that used to stem out weekly from the activities of NGF. Under the leadership of Governor Yari, the Forum has played remarkable roles in ensuring the sustainability of democracy as its unity has in turn led to stability in the polity and unity of the Nation.

    Under the leadership of Governor Yari, the idea of the NGF Leadership Academy, with the responsibility of building capacity of Governors and other public office holders, has received boost. In the drive aimed at diversification and job creation, the NGF has made agriculture a priority. The gains of its efforts on Agricultural Machinery Development with the China-Africa Machinery Company clearly confirmed the NGF has taken agriculture seriously. Nothing showed clearer that Niran Adedokun has paltry insight about the activities of the NGF than the fact that he tried to suggest the actual priorities of the NGF for the NGF.

    Does it not betray common sense for anyone to say the chairmanship of a man who is steadily navigating NGF on the path of progress is one of the most unfortunate contradictions of our current political experience? Niran Adedokun can choose to be ignorant by choice but, he cannot write away the achievements of Governor Yari, both as governor and chairman of NGF.

    Whereas, it is okay to compare the National Governors Association (NGA) in United States of America to the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). Such comparison should be fair enough to reflect that while the NGA is 109 years old, the NGF is just 18 years old. As a Forum of just 18 years old, the NGF is doing pretty well.

    Due to his own interpretation of what Governor Yari said during the outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis in Nigeria, coupled with the governor’s statement that he will recruit more qualified doctors and nurses because the Zamfara State needed their services, the writer concluded that the governor’s concept of development is pedestrian.

    Perhaps, the writer is unaware that one of the reasons why the governor has embarked on the recruitment of doctors and nurses is because the governor has built more hospitals in the past few years. Even if the governor will not be commended for recruiting staff for newly-built hospitals, there is no justifiable cause to label him as pedestrian governor.

    On the issue of the meningitis outbreak, Governor Yari did not say God was punishing Nigerians with the virus. Though, he alluded to God’s power to inflict afflictions on sinners. It should be noted that the governor made his comment in Hausa which gave room for divergent and wide interpretations.

    Meanwhile, records showed that the virus affect 226 local government areas in 24 states. The Federal Government said the outbreak took the Nation by surprise and confirmed that there were limited stock of the vaccines around the world.

    When suspected cases of the disease were reported in Zamfara State, the governor did not fold his arms or wait unto Allah to halt the outbreak. The governor understood his responsibility and immediately took practical steps to curtail the outbreak. The Zamfara State Government worked in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to control and curtail the outbreak.

    Without delay, a committee-led by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi was designated to create massive awareness on the disease. The committee did a fantastic job. 1,344 persons were immediately trained as vaccinators and deployed to the nooks and crannies of the State. I strongly believe that if the Type C meningitis vaccines were readily available around the world, even at exorbitant cost, the efforts of the Governor Yari-led administration would have saved more lives. Thus, the governor did what any responsible governor in Nigeria would have done.

    When few hours of downpour sacked residents of some communities in Lagos State and destroyed properties recently, would anyone have been reasonable to describe Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as a pedestrian governor?  Similarly, would it have been justifiable for anyone to label Governor Nasir El-rufai as pedestrian governor because thousands of persons have been reportedly killed in Southern Kaduna in the past few months? That article showed beyond any iota of doubt that the writer has a skewed mindset.

    Furthermore, to reecho an allegation that the governor built a hotel in Lagos while deliberately ignoring the published reaction that the governor has neither a plot nor hotel in Lagos, suggests a malleable writer on a commissioned mission.

    In the past six years, the people of Zamfara State can attest to improved socio-economic activities. The State has witnessed commendable progress in the sectors of healthcare, roads, education and agriculture and transformation of rural communities. People from within and outside the State have commended the governor for executing people-oriented projects.

    Last year, President Muhammadu Buhari visited the state to launch new special military formation that was established to address security challenges. He also commissioned road projects in Wanke, Zamfara State. Also, Senate President Bukola Saraki was in Zamfara State in January to flag-off the construction of the Dauran-Birnin, Tsaba Birnin and Magaji Kauran Namoda roads.

    Recently, Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde paid a working visit to Zamfara State to commission electrification projects at Adarawa, Garguwa, Rakuma, Rafin Dankure and Tsamiya. The minister also inaugurated water works at Garbadu and Mure areas of the State.

    It is also on record that the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun recently inaugurated Semi-Urban Water Scheme Projects in Dauran and Kanwa communities in Zurmi Local Government Areas of the State. The inaugurated projects are parts of the 84 of such water projects the governor has constructed in the past six years. The APC chairman also commissioned hospital in Moriki community.

    The collaboration between the Zamfara State Government, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Presidential Committee on Malaria Illumination has recorded huge success in the fight against malaria. Also, the governor launched a special dry season rice production programme in Gummi Town on 28th of February. Under the scheme, 2150 hectares were allocated to 2150 beneficiaries for farming.

    Additionally, the governor has regularly organised trainings and workshops for teachers in the State. He also embarked on the recruitment of 1,000 teachers for primary education. The massive road construction ongoing in Zamfara has provided employment opportunities to over 1,000 citizens while the improved road network in the State has enhanced the capacity of the State in the area of food production.

    Finally, the governor that has these achievements to his credit cannot be labelled pedestrian governor by any standard. Adjectives like outstanding and exceptional are apt and appropriate. It is noteworthy that NGF is not a mere club of governors but forum for public policy discussions that is guided by the core mandate of promoting inclusive governance.

    The outstanding governor that leads the forum has exhibited the needed intellectual fecundity and unimpeachable capacity to lead the NGF on the path of steady progress.

    Written by Bayo Adekunle

    bayoadekunle04@gmail.com

  • Governors to pay workers’ salaries with Paris Club refunds

    Governors to pay workers’ salaries with Paris Club refunds

    Governors of the 36 states in the country have resolved to pay outstanding salaries and pensions of workers in their states with the next tranche of the Paris-London Club loan refunds.

    The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

    The statement issued by Head of Media and Public Affairs at the NGF Secretariat, Abulrazque Barkindo, said the governors took the decision at the end of their meeting held in Abuja on Thursday night.

    The governors, according to the statement, met in anticipation of the release of the money, which had been approved for payment by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Out of the N522.74 billion owed the states, N388.304 was paid to them in December last year.

    Yari said the governors were not oblivious of the workers’ plights over the non-payment of their salaries and pensions.

    He said the governors deliberated on the matter and concluded that something immediate must be done to ameliorate the workers’ plight by paying their outstanding salaries and emoluments.

    “We all agreed that a substantial amount from the next tranche of the Paris-London refunds be used in the settlement of workers’ salary and pension arrears,” Yari said.

    NAN

  • Governors, Customs to collaborate on rice production

    Governors, Customs to collaborate on rice production

    Governors under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in the early hours of Thursday backed the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in its anti-smuggling drive to boost local production of rice in the country.

    Reading the communique’ at the end of the meeting held at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, the NGF Chairman, Abdulaziz Yari, said the governors’ collaboration with Customs is to ensure self-sufficiency in rice production by 2018.

    The Zamfara governor said: “Members commended Customs for the renewed effort in strengthening anti-smuggling activities and pledged to collaborate with the Customs to ensure that the country achieves its target of self-sufficiency in rice production by 2018.”

    Apart from the prohibition of rice importation through Nigeria’s land borders, Yari also said the governors received update from the Acting Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Dangaladima Aminu Alhaji, who represented the Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali (retd).

    He said the World Bank Country Director, Rachid Benmessaoud, also briefed the Forum on the implementation of the Bank’s portfolio partnerships with states.

    In this direction, he said members pledged to strengthen coordination mechanism and consensus on replicating and exchanging reviews across the states, to resolve implementation challenges and achieve project development objectives.

    The Forum, the governor added, also received a presentation from Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, Executive Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), on the challenges and prospects of the hajj pilgrimage.

    “Members pledged to collaborate with the Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that existing agreements of air carriers are renegotiated with the involvement of states as key stakeholders,” Yari stated.

  • Era of using governors for cheap political points over – NGF

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Thursday said the era of using governors as “punching bags’’ to score cheap political points in the country was over.

    The Head, Media and Public Affairs at NGF Secretariat, Mr. Abulrazque Barkindo, stated this in a statement in Abuja.

    He said the governors were signatories to an initiative, Open Governance Partnership (OGP), aimed at improving governance and promote transparency in governance.

    Barkindo decried the “incessant attacks on state governors’’ by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, saying they were heating up the polity and raising concerns.

    He recalled that Dogara recently tackled the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, where he challenged the governor to make public his salary and security votes “to which the governor obliged.”

    “The governor had earlier demanded that the Speaker should come clean on the expenditures of the National Assembly but instead Dogara published N346.57 as his January take-home,’’ he added.

    Barkindo said that it was obvious that the published amount was barely enough to fuel Dogara’s official motorcade for the period.

    He cited another instance where the speaker also attacked the Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Ibrahim, claiming that the state had no developmental projects to show for the governor’s two years of governance.

    He said the governors wondered if Dogara was aware of the giant steps being taken by the current set of governors to improve the quality of governance and by implication the quality of life in Nigeria.

    “Of course, governors are human and can therefore not be adjudged to be all perfect, but the governorship institution is an integral part of this democracy, just as the House of Representatives

    “If the speaker continues in this path of disparaging governors, he may ultimately endanger this same democratic process that brought him national prominence.

    “It may interest the speaker to note that at the last Governors’ Forum meeting of April 17, governors agreed to sign into the Open Governance Partnership (OGP).’’

    “The key indices of the agreement include fiscal transparency, anti-corruption, access to information and citizen engagement,’’ Barkindo added.

    NAN

     

     

  • We have no problem with EFCC over Paris Club refund – Yari

    We have no problem with EFCC over Paris Club refund – Yari

    The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulaziz Yari, on Tuesday insisted that the NGF has no problem with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the Paris Club refund.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari alongside the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, the Zamfara governor said the refund has gone a long way to ease the problems of state governments.

    He said, “There is no issue with the refund, the issue is with consultancy which I think the Minister of Finance made clear that the consultancy which we decided to domicile in the NGF account was asked to work together on who to be paid or who not to be paid.

    “Some people wrote a petition that they have not been paid and mind you we have not even started paying fully because we have to ascertain who worked for who. As I am talking to you, we have a lot of litigations, someone says he worked for so and so years for this state and that state. We are taking a decision on that

    “I will not make any comment on it yet. Let me tell you the truth, the London/ Paris Club refund has helped this economy, those in the state knows about it. We were able to pay salaries during the Christmas and New Year and we were able to do so many things.”

    Yari also said he was in the Villa with the minister to brief the President on support coming from the Chinese government.

    He added: “Following the visit of Mr. President sometime last year, we engaged the Chinese government and they showed some willingness to support Nigeria in this discussion.

    “Chinese Government Organisation Company in cooperation with the People’s Bank of China and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture under the leadership of the honourable minister are giving us a credit line of $4.5 billion which will cover the machineries and infrastructure, which is rural earth dams and irrigation and the loan has a 20 years repayment term with five years moratorium.

    “Initially, we started negotiations to drop a counterpart funding of 25 per cent, but understanding the economy of Nigeria, we negotiated to give a counterpart funding of 10 percent which we believe Nigeria can do and we are targeting the natural resources fund from the counterpart funding.”

     

     

  • We did nothing wrong on Paris Club refund- Governors Forum

    We did nothing wrong on Paris Club refund- Governors Forum

    The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has dismissed reports of illegal dealings regarding the release of the first batch of the Paris Club refund to state governments.

    It however confirmed that it hired consultants to facilitate the disbursement of her funds to the various state governments.

    In a statement signed by the Head of Media, Abulrazque B. Barkindo, the forum said it was not within its purview to determine how the consultants spend the money.

    The Forum said that the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to release the second batch of the money was a confirmation of the confidence the President has on the governors.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to publications in the media which are believed to have emanated from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about a purported report the anti-graft agency submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari, on March 10, 2016.

    “The report is said to have indicted the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and imputed illegal dealings in the disbursement of the Paris Club refund payment to states of the federation as handled by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

    “While the NGF will not want to repeatedly join issues with the EFCC on the disbursement of the first tranche of the Paris Club refund, particularly after its officials have been interrogated by the anti-corruption agency and we provided all necessary and required details and documents regarding disbursement to states, including harmonizing the number of consultants and payment made to them, we are constrained to once again state the following for the benefit of members of the public:

    “It is true that Melrose General Services Limited was one of the consultants that was duly engaged and documented to facilitate the disbursement of the Paris Club Refund. The consultant was also paid an amount commensurate to the services it provided, among other numerous consultants that were involved in the process.

    “It is not in the NGF’s purview to determine how Melrose or other consultants disburse or utilize the consultancy fee paid to them. The NGF should therefore not be dragged into how its suppliers, lawyers, contractors and consultants spend their legitimate incomes and revenues.

    “It may interest the public to know that the NGF is still being inundated with claims from many other consultants from all over the country who had earlier been engaged and promised commission by the respective states.

    “The NGF maintains its earlier position that it has done nothing illegal as far as the disbursement of the Paris Club Refund to states and the consultants are concerned. The Forum has all necessary approvals to act in the manner it did. Therefore, the misinformation in the media about the disbursement and insinuations being made concerning some Governors that are being mentioned is outright mischief.

    “We will like to state that the approval for the release of the second tranche of the Paris Club refund by President Muhammadu Buhari is indicative of his Confidence in the NGF for the manner it handled the disbursement of the first tranche of the fund.

    “The NGF would like to once again place it on record that it played an altruistic and patriotic role in ensuring that it aided, as directed, approved and authorized by the Presidency, Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Debt Management Office (DMO) and all other necessary agencies of government, the disbursement of the funds to entities and individuals lawfully entitled to it. All approvals, authorization, terms of engagements and disbursement were properly documented and are verifiable by anyone, including the general public.”

     

  • Osinbajo, governors meet over revenue shortfall

    Osinbajo, governors meet over revenue shortfall

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) representatives on Tuesday met behind closed doors to discuss modalities for making up the over N250 billion shortfall in the monthly income from the Federation Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC).

    A reliable source at the meeting, who does not want his name in prints, disclosed this after the meeting.

    He said the governors wanted to correct the erroneous believe that they receive huge allocations and divert these to private pockets, while their citizens at home suffer.

    But he said the reverse is the case‎ as huge revenue is no longer coming in.

    The governors had at their extra-ordinary meeting held last Friday, set up a three-man committee comprising governors Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Muhammad Abubakar (Bauchi) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) to meet with the Federal Government to discuss the dwindling allocation to states.

    But only Emmanuel and Abubakar attended the meeting, while Aregbesola was said to be out of the country.

     

  • Bello attends first NGF meeting in Abuja

    The newly inaugurated governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday night attended his first Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) meeting in Abuja.

    He arrived the old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, venue of the meeting at 9:20pm.

    The  governor, who was sworn in on Wednesday, arrived with his retinue of aides and acknowledged cheers from journalists, who had gathered at the venue of the meeting.

    The meeting presided over by the Forum Chairman, Abdulaziz Yari, started at about 9:00pm.

    It is still in progress at the time of filing this report.