The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • How Nigeria can survive, by Akande

    Former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, on Thursday shocked guests at a book presentation in his honour when he declared that Nigeria may never celebrate 100 years of independence.

    The guests, who were earlier mesmerised by speeches from the Osun State Governor, Adeboyega Oyetola; his Ondo State counterpart,  Rotimi Akeredolu and the University of Lagos Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, were left dumbstruck.

    But Akande suggested ways to avoid doom.

    The mild drama played out at the public presentation of the book entitled: “The Bisi Akande Phenomenon: Governance, Economics and Politics,” held at the University of Lagos, Akoka.

    Akande identified three factors sabotaging the progress of the nation. These are education, military decree-based laws and religion.

    According to him, until all these three are looked into and addressed, Nigeria may not live to celebrate her centenary independence anniversary.

    He recalled how Nigeria was the place to be over five decades ago.

    The former governor of Osun State said: “Fifty years ago, Nigeria was most enjoyable; we had freedom of what a true democracy was supposed to be, at least individually. I don’t know about the government then. But today, it appears everybody lives in fear.

    Read Also: How Nigeria can survive, by group

    “I think the phenomenon of the country must be examined around three things. First, our education – It seems to me that Nigeria’s education is colonial. It ended only literacy without numeracy.

    “Education of a community that is not science-based can never be technologically based. And a community without technology cannot be industrial and when you are not industrial, you may end up in poverty.

    “Secondly, I think our laws are military decree-based and military decree-based laws cannot be used to sustain democracy. As long as we remain or we use these military decree based laws, our democracy will never prosper.

    “Thirdly, our religions are mostly imported and because of that, we seem neither to be good Christians, nor good Muslims or good atheists. We merely live in fear and when there are problems, we have no laboratories to go, we all retire to churches and mosques for vigils.

    “A country that remains like this may celebrate 60th anniversary of Independence, but may never celebrate 100th anniversary. I think until all these three are looked into and addressed, or let me use the word; restructured. All these ethnic restructuring, political restructuring and so on, I believe in them, but they are not difficult to restructure like the three I told you.”

    The Chairman on the occasion, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the political class had a lot to learn from the elder statesman, noting that Akande’s canny insight was remarkable for to the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre.

    Boss, who was represented by the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, said Akande and his political ally, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, fought hard to ensure that APC, an opposition party, won the 2015 elections and went ahead to retain power in 2019.

    He said: “I saw very closely strength in these two men and how their impact took us to where we are today. For the first time, an opposition party became the ruling party in the country. Imagine Nigeria having Bisi Akande in every single state, this country would have gone far and it would have been a different country.

    “This book is a testimony that is unprecedented and will be explored many years to come. Your courage particularly, and how you withstood the 46 years jail sentence passed on you on corruption charges, which could not stand. You came out undaunted, and inspired the enthronement of democracy.

    “Your political stewardship remain a remarkable one. We are happy you are alive today. The political class has a lot to learn from your wisdom. He is very firm, fair and one that loves justice; his contribution to the cohesion of our party is quite great.”

    Oyetola described Akande, as an encyclopaedia of governance and statesmanship, whose virtues are worthy of emulation.

    He said Osun was proud to donate his politics, economics and governance dynamics to a nation striving to emplace visionary and dynamic leadership, adding that it was Akande who birthed the legacy of prudent and transparent management of men and resources in the state.

    He hailed Akande for his immense contributions to nation building and national integration.

    Describing the book as a collection of the illustrious contributions of Akande to the building of the political edifice called Nigeria, Governor Oyetola described Akande as a model for contemporary politicians, youths, and school children, who the nation looks up to as its hope.

    The governor added: “His life, politics, philosophy, leadership dynamics and lifestyle accurately exemplify him as an outstanding Omoluabi and a phenomenon in the nation’s budding democracy.

    “Akande represents everything Osun stands for, and radiates the honour and statesmanship our nation exudes. Baba Awon Omo Kekeke (father of small children), as he is fondly called, is a metaphor for the future of Osun and Nigeria.

    “He radiates vision, discipline, dynamism, industry and honour, which we require to overcome the raging rot to become a great player in the competitive world. This Octogenarian was a compendium of wisdom during the opposition days of the progressives and even now, a formidable guide while in power.

    Oyetola added: “Since his tutelage under the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Akande has remained a potent voice in politics, governance and the economy. He is also widely known as a bridge between the North and the South in a nation immersed in ethnic and rotational politics.

    “These rare attributes make him a phenomenon, a quintessential politician and a unifying force in a country where centrifugal forces are always gnawing at its political and economic soul. A visionary and dynamic leader, Chief Akande remains the architect of our beloved state, having laid a solid foundation, which his successors have built on in all the sectors to announce the state to the world.

    ”Chief Akande birthed the legacy of prudent and transparent management of men and resources. Despite Osun’s status as one of the resource-challenged states in the country, Chief Akande employed his skills as a creative manager to build structures and institutions in a manner that dwarfed the achievements of resource-studded states in the nation.

    ”As students of Chief Akande’s politico-economics, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the author of the book for codifying the activities and milestones of our principal into a compendium for us and the generations yet unborn to appropriately build bricks on the foundation that will take our fatherland to the Promised Land.”

    The chief presenter of the book and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said Akande took hard decisions as long as they were in public interest. He noted that such decisions were not only worthwhile but advanced performance, prudence in public spending and eliminated wastage.

    Akeredolu added that most politicians were not courageous, urging them to follow the examples of Akande.

    He said some of the decisions taken were exemplified at Abere, where the Osun State Secretariat is located.

    The host, University of Lagos Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, described Akande as an upright man and a personality that could be trusted.

    Among the dignitaries who graced the event were the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; former Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi; Ogun State Deputy Governor, Muinat Salako-Oyedele; Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi; Lagos APC Chairman, Babatunde Balogun; Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye; Gen Alani Akinrinade (retd); Prof Lai Olurode, Dhikrullah Yagboyaju, Dr. Adebisi Obawale, Chief Lanre Rasaq, Chief Ayo Afolabi, Prof. Olu Aina; former Ogun State deputy governor, Prince Segun Adesegun; Prof. Tunde Babawale, lawmakers, traditional rulers, students and others.

  • House halts CBN’s charges on deposit plan

    THE House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pull the brake on the implementation of the cashless policy on deposits and withdrawals by the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

    This followed the adoption of the prayers of a motion by Benjamin Okezie Kalu, by the House.

    According to the lawmaker, the extra charges policy on deposits and withdrawals must be suspended.

    The Green Chamber also mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency “to interface with the CBN to ascertain the propriety, relevance and the actual need for the implementation of that aspect of the cashless policy at this time considering the prevailing economic situation of the country.”

    The committee has a mandate to report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative input.

    The motion was titled: “Need to suspend the implementation of the cashless policy on deposits by the CBN.

    Moving the notion, Kalu said:  “We are aware that the CBN introduced a policy on cash-based transactions which imposes a cash handling charge on daily cash withdrawals for individuals and corporate bodies.

    “We are further aware that the policy on cash-based transactions (withdrawals) in bank, was aimed at reducing and not eliminating the amount of physical cash (coins and notes) circulating in the economy, and encouraging more electronic-based transactions (payments for goods, services, transfers, etc);

    “Note that the cash policy was introduced for a number of key reasons, including the need to drive development and modernisation of our payment system in line with Nigeria’s Vision 2020 goal of being amongst the top 20 economies by the year 2020, to reduce the cost of banking services (including cost of credit) and drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach.

    “Note also that that a variety of benefits are expected to be derived by various stakeholders from an increased utilisation of e-payment systems which include: increased convenience, more service options, reduced risk of cash-related crimes, cheaper access to (out-of-branch) banking services, access to credit and financial inclusion for consumers; faster access to capital, reduced revenue leakage and reduced cash handling costs for corporations and increased tax collections, greater financial inclusion, increased economic development for government;

    Read Also: CBN to sanction banks for e-payment breach

    “We are aware that the CBN has signaled the implementation of a policy which would signal the imposition of charges on deposits in addition to already existing charges on withdrawals.

    “We are informed that the charges, which took effect from Wednesday, September 18, 2019, will attract three per cent processing fees for withdrawals and two per cent processing fees for lodgments for individual accounts; five per cent processing for corporate accounts;

    “We are informed again that the charge on deposits would apply in Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra and Rivers states as well as the Federal Capital Territory; and that the nationwide implementation would take effect from March 31, 2020.”

    He expressed worry that the implementation of the policy so far, has led to significant decrease in deposit mobilisation and credit extension by the DMBs

    Kalu said: “We are deeply worried that the implementation of cashless policy on withdrawals has negative impacts on micro, mini, small, and medium enterprises which are clearly the engine room for growth of the economy and employment generation, thereby throwing many of them out of business and sending more Nigerians into poverty and forcing more traders and micro investors to carry cash about with its attendant security challenges.

    “While the impact of the cashless policy on withdrawals is still starring us all in the face as well as other numerous charges by banks on businesses, the CBN deemed it necessary to impose the implementation of cashless policy on deposits and withdrawals without due consultations with all shades of stakeholders who will be impacted by the policy.”

    The lawmaker said he was deeply concerned that the apex “did not consider the people as the prime, important and in deed the centrepiece of policy-makmg, even as Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Altered) provides for the security  and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government.”

    The House urged “the CBN to suspend the implementation of the cashless policy on deposits which has taken effect from September 18, until appropriate and extensive consultation is concluded.”

  • Insecurity: Experts urge tech-based policing for Nigeria

    Inspector General of India Police Service, Roopa Moudgil, on Thurday said the use of technology is the most efficient way for effective modern policing in the face of emerging global threats and mounting criminalities.

    The Indian police boss said Nigeria and India have similar security challenges.

    She noted that the evolution from manual policing to technology-based policing in India, which included the use of modern gadgets in crime fighting and prevention, helped the country to effectively fight crime.

    Moudgil, the keynote speaker at a conference with the theme: Effective Policing Strategies for Nigeria, organised by the Gusau Institute in Abuja, said the police could do much better if motivated with the right tools.

    “We have gadgets, like facial recognition software, tracking devices and street cameras. These have helped a great deal in proactive policing. Why Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has not been able to use mobile phones to track criminals is what I can’t understand, because mobile phones are the same everywhere,” Moudgil said.

    The Indian police chief noted that the NPF needed public approval to succeed.

    She said the police are regarded as oppressive and not on the right side of public judgment.

    “Nigeria and India have many commonalities. Both countries have great youth population and great economy and both inherited European police formation. For the police to succeed, they need public approval and the right atmosphere. The police are regarded as oppressive and are never on the right side of judgement and this is the luggage we have to carry. Police are for the people.”

    Read Also: Adopt multi-level policing to address insecurity in Nigeria, Educationist urges FG

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, who was represented by Karma Hosea Hassan, an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), identified sentiments and political interests as some of the challenges mitigating against effective policing in the country.

    He said: “Policing is as old as mankind. Societies, from traditional to modern times, have always adopted measures in ensuring adequate security of lives and property and these measures have evolved over time. But today, we believe that self-policing remains a panacea for crime fighting.”

    “Today, I still believe that the Nigeria Police Force, as presently structured, remains the best option for our dear country. Crimes have become more daring and we need to shift from reactive policing to proactive policing.”

    Highlighting the importance of technology-based policing, former Vice-President Namadi Sambo said conscious efforts should be made to digitalise the NPF to meet modern challenges in crime fighting and prevention.

    Prof. Kemi Rotimi of the Department of History of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, presented a paper, titled: Towards Effective Policing Strategies for Nigeria.

    The expert noted that there is substantial ignorance among Nigerians of the history of policing in Nigeria.

    He said: “What the ignorance leads to is the assumption that many of the challenges inhibiting the provision of desired service by officers of the NPF are of recent origin. They are not. The long years of military rule, 1966-1999 (minus the four isolated years of the Second Republic from 1979 to 1983) and the appropriation of policing duties (and consequently, resources) witnessed severe neglect of the NPF.

    “The two main challenges are: under-resourcing, in quantum of personnel and equipment; and the inadequate welfare provisions for the personnel. It needs be stressed that there is a huge, chronic disparity in the welfare provisions for the officer class and the con-commissioned ranks.

    “I dare say that until the gulf is substantially bridged between these two groups, not much may be achieved in desired service delivery, especially bearing in mind that the policing that touches the lives of the generality of citizens is done by members of the non-commissioned ranks.

    “On deregulating ownership of the police, Nigerians who clamour for allowing states to own police organisations know that effecting the necessary amendments to the Constitution to bring their wish to reality would be a challenge.

    “There is also the added problem of the ability of most states to pay personnel and equip the forces. There is also the worry about the high probability of the governing elite in the states to restrain themselves from misusing the police.

    “Nigerians who favour the retention of the one police organisation, the NPF, would want a substantial increase in the number of personnel to reflect the population size, and they advocate a more meaningful devolution of administrative control from the force headquarters using the zonal command structures.

    “There are impediments to implementing ‘Community Policing’ with the current NPF structure. They include, staff disposition from the IGP to the station officer. The rapid turn-over of staff since 1999 makes it difficult to watch any Community Policing programme mature in any location…”

  • Osinbajo to speak today at LCCI policy forum

    Vice-President Professor Yemi Osinbajo will on Friday deliver a keynote address at the 2019 edition of the Presidential Policy Dialogue organised by the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    The event, which will hold at Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, will be chaired by LCCI President Babatunde Runwase.

    The dialogue was initiated by LCCI to create a platform for the organised private sector and the Federal Government to deliberate on the state of the nation, public policy initiatives of government and their effects on the economy.

    The forum brings together key government officials and major players in the organised private sector spanning across various sectors of the economy as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

    Read Also: Risk of infectious diseases on increase, says Osinbajo

    It would also explore collaboration possibilities between the private sector and the government.

    LCCI’s Director General Muda Yusuf said the initiative was in furtherance of its public policy advocacy.

    “The Chamber believes that through engagements, such as this, the government and the organised private sector can identify and address issues affecting the growth of our economy with a view to proffering long-lasting solutions to them,” he said.

    Muda added that the way out of the present economic and prevailing social crises for Nigeria was through collaborative engagements.

  • RTEAN crisis: Musa urges zonal leaders, others to embrace peace

    The leadership rift in the top echelon of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) worsened on Thursday.

    Its acting National President Mohammed Musa formally assumed office.

    Musa, who was accompanied by the newly appointed Acting National Secretary Henry Ejiofor and 27 of the 31 National Executive Council (NEC) members, said he accepted the assignment given to him by the NEC with the utmost sense of responsibility.

    The union leader promised to be guided by RTEAN’s constitution in the discharge of his responsibility.

    He urged RTEAN members and leaders to cooperate with him to reposition the union.

    Musa said he would work assiduously towards returning honesty and transparency, which the union was well known for, and return the union to members, who he called its rightful owners.

    Musa directed zonal officers across the states to return to work and continue to promote peace in their domains.

    The Acting RTEAN National President also said the Lagos State government, at a meeting with the faction against his leadership on Tuesday, affirmed that his tenure subsists till October 31.

    Read Also: Alleged corruption: RTEAN sacks President, Secretary

    “At the meeting, chaired by Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat, were both factions as well as the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Oluwatoyin Fasanya and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Olawale Musa. Dr Hamzat, having gone through his Certificate of Return, asked me to continue in office till October.

    “The union’s constitution is very clear: the position I presently occupy at the national office is in acting capacity, while the state office was validly won, for which there is a statutory term,” Musa said.

    The acting National President explained that contrary to his predecessor   Osakpanwan Eriyo’s assertions, the union’s constitution states that the NEC could sit in any state of the country.

    Also, Eriyo urged the union members in Lagos State to remain calm.

    He said the crisis rocking the state chapter had been handed over to law enforcement agents to handle.

    Eriyo, who addressed reporters at the national secretariat of the association in Abuja, alleged that Musa forced himself back into office after his tenure had expired and his executive council declared dissolved.

    The embattled National Secretary said he refused to ratify what he called an illegality.

    He described as illegal the announcement by a group of members of the association, including the embattled former chairman of the Lagos State chapter, claiming that the National President and General Secretary of the association had been expelled.

    According to him, the group lacks the authority to make such decision or pronouncement.

    Explaining the sequence of events that led to the faceoff, Eriyo said Musa’s executive council, which was inaugurated in June 2014, had exhausted its five-year tenure.

    Then embattled National President added that the Musa-led executive council was dissolved in Abuja at a NEC meeting with Musa himself.

    “The Lagos executive council was dissolved because their tenure has expired. Outside that, there are series of petitions from members of the association in Lagos; some of them alleging that the former state chairman, Alhaji Mohammad Musa, forged their signatures as well as trying to force them to support him for his second tenure. They wrote petitions on those allegations to this office as well as to the Ministry of Transportation.

    “The former Lagos State chairman also invited me to Lagos to swear him in, based on the signatures he claimed his members had signed for his continuity. My own was to go ascertain if what he claimed was true; that the members were indeed the real owners of those signatures.”

    “I went to Lagos and found out there were serious issues on ground and I told him that there was no way I would swear him in because those he claimed to have given their signatures were the same people who said they were not in his support.

    “I called a NEC meeting to which I invited everybody to the Abuja office. He as well as his executive members were here. At the NEC meeting, we decided to dissolve the Lagos State chapter of RTEAN, to which Alhaji Musa was chairman, and set up a 23-man committee to run the Lagos affairs…”

  • Xenophobia: Let’s fix economy now, Senate tells Nigerians

    The Senate on Thursday urged Nigerians to repair the damage that has been done to the nation’s economy over the years.

    The lawmakers said the condition of the economy was not beyond redemption.

    Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Bulkachuwa, who spoke in Abuja, advised that the country should learn from the Ghanaian experience of economic downturn in the 1980s and how the country reinvigorated its economy.

    Bulkachuwa expressed confidence that the Nigerian economy would bounce back with the commitment of the citizens.

    The senator spoke at an interactive session with top officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    His concern came as the second batch of Nigerians returned from South Africa in the wake of xenophobic attacks on them and other Africans in the former Apartheid enclave.

    Bulkachuwa said: “If Ghana, whose economy was in shambles in the 1980s with over 100 Cedis exchanging for one U.S dollar can positively turn around its situation to what it is today with 4.2 Cedis exchanging for a dollar, Nigeria can also do same if the government and the governed can put their acts together in that respect.”

    Condemning the attack on Nigerians in South Africa, the senator said it is normal for people to move from their countries of origin to other lands in search of economic opportunities.

    Read Also: Senators, Reps may donate salaries to Air Peace crew, returnees

    “Not even developed or great countries of the world, like the United States of America (U.S.A), the Republic of China, among others, have all their citizens domiciled at home. But what must be addressed by us is to put things in proper shape so that those who will be traveling out will largely be for excursion or tourism reasons and not to seek greener pastures, as it is now.”

    In his submissions before the committee, the Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mustapha Suleiman, said a wide range of issues would be tabled at the upcoming Nigeria-South Africa summit.

    “Specifically, during the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and other key agreements between the two countries would be signed on means of preventing and mitigating such attacks in the future.”

    “Besides that, composite wise, during the visit, the required mechanisms will be put in place for the Nigerian Commission there to have information on Nigerians resident in South Africa.

    “As at Wednesday, about 821 Nigerians affected by the recent xenophobic attacks have either been evacuated back home or have indicated interest for that purpose,” Suleiman said.

    Also, the next session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) will hold in Pretoria in October to evolve documented solutions to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in that country.

    Suleiman stated this yesterday when he interfaced with the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs in Abuja.

    The permanent secretary noted that the BNC, which will be attended by Nigerian and South African officials, was part of government’s efforts at ending attacks of Nigerian nationals in South Africa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) was established in 1999 to promote trade and investment as well as enhance people-to-people cooperation and institution building between the two countries.

    According to its statute, the BNC, which was being headed by Vice-Presidents of both countries, was “borne out of a commitment by Nigeria and South Africa to effectively structure bilateral relations through the establishment of a Bi-National Commission”.

    The annual meeting of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission, which was being hosted by rotation between both countries, was last held in 2009.

    “Essentially, now we are trying to make sure that we have subsisting agreements that will address these issues now and in the future.

    “We are looking at other issues we feel should be part of the definition of the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa.

    “The essence of this is that it will help to determine our actions, if such issue happens, which I think in the last few years we had not had such agreements.

    “Because xenophobic attacks had been happening over time but, this is the climax and it has come to fore that South African government must protect Nigerian citizens.

    “And it requires some kind of documentation, some kind of understanding between the two countries as to how it can be remedied,” he said.

    The permanent secretary said President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the ministry to use the conference to bring up all the issues that are challenging and irritating Nigeria’s relationship with South Africa.

    He said the Minster of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyema, had also convened an inter-ministerial meeting with various ministries in Nigeria to get inputs on other issues to be brought for discussion at the conference.

  • Senators, Reps may donate salaries to Air Peace crew, returnees

    If all goes well, members of the National Assembly may reciprocate the good gesture of Air Peace by donating from N100,000 upwards to crew members of the airline who partook in conveying Nigerians back from South Africa in the wake of the xenophobic attacks.

    The returnees may also benefit from the lawmakers’ good heartedness.

    This was the suggestion of Ajibola Muraina (PDP, Oyo) as he urged the National Assembly to do more in leading by example.

    The lawmaker, who represents Ibarapa Central/ North Federal Constituency of Oyo State, spoke on Thursday at a media briefing.

    The Air Peace Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Chief Allen Onyema, who appeared before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, said his crew members declined their allowances for the South African assignment.

    Muraino, who read from a prepared text, said: “I am moved to address this press conference to remind us as Nigerians that the events of the last few days, culminating in the evacuation of Nigerians from South African by Chief Onyema (through his Air Peace) with the full and active diplomatic support of the Federal Government, should re-kindle the milk of kindness, selflessness and the spirit of being our brother’s keepers, which were inherent in us as black men but which we have appeared to have lost.

    Read Also: Xenophobia: Nigeria, South Africa to hold conference next month

    “We all know that before this singular self-less act of Chief Onyeama in evacuating our compatriots back to Nigeria free of charge via his Air Peace, Nigerians all over the world hardly offered selfless assistance and help to their compatriots.

    “With his conduct, help, selflessness, willingness to be our brother’s keepers, as enshrined in various customs and traditions of our people, are back with us in Nigeria.

    “Let us see his conduct as a clarion call on all Nigerians of financial and other capacities all over the world to be selfless and be willing and ready at all times to assist our fellow countrymen and women on whatever is happening to them anywhere in the world.

    “As a people, from this moment onwards, let us erase from our minds the idea that whatever problems are facing Nigerians all over the world should be left for the government alone to solve.

    “Again, whenever problems arise as regards Nigerians anywhere in this world, Nigerians of means should rise up to the occasion and give full support to our fellow countrymen and not leave the problems to only the government to solve.

    “I am also using this occasion to congratulate and appreciate my noble colleagues in parliament (senators, House of Representatives and House of Assembly members and local government parliamentarians) for their exemplary demonstration of patriotism which culminated in the invitation of Chief Onyema to parliament to appreciate him at plenary.

    “They know what to do and they did it so well that they have even recommended Chief Onyema for a national award.

    “Since the National Assembly has given the lead in appreciating the return of the spirit of selfishness, being our brother’s keepers and exhibiting milk of kindness, I humbly suggest that the National Assembly should demonstrate a further lead by example.”

    “I suggest most humbly that my noble colleagues from the National Assembly should consider making token donations from their salaries (whatever amount they deem, starting from N100,000 upwards) for the cabin crew of Air Peace who worked and continue to work without taking any allowance, the Nigerians who have been evacuated back to Nigeria and those who may still further be evacuated.

    “This token may be useful for the evacuated Nigerians in whatever form. The cabin crew would also have been appreciated somehow.

    “This may signpost a new beginning of Nigerians demonstrating milk of kindness towards each other.

    “If my colleagues can further lead in this respect, most other Nigerians of means all over the world may join the trail and within the twinkle of an eye, what appears to be a very big problem may turn out as blessing not only for the evacuated Nigerians but for all Nigerians all over the world.

    “Of course, some well-meaning and well-to-do Nigerians all over the world may even offer more than money. They may offer employment and other opportunities to these our compatriots.”

  • Needed! More toilets

    Open defecation is a challenge that Nigeria has been unable to overcome. In this report, FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI examines the problem, which can only be fixed by 2025 if the country provides provide an average of 100 household latrines annually in all the 774 local government areas

     

    MRS Eno Etukudoh, 54, and her children have lived at the bank of Calabar River for many years, where open defecation is rampant due to lack of toilets.

    According to her, her business, including fishing and other water-related ventures depend on the water from the river, unaware of the health implications of her lifestyle.

    “We carry out our daily activities around Calabar River which we drink, bathe with it, wash our kitchen wares and all that anybody can imagine of using water to do.

    “The water from the river has been my only source of livelihood as fishing is the hallmark of my career.

    “I gave birth to all my children at the bank of the river, we do not have a toilet here and what we do is that after we defecate, we use a shovel to pack the excreta and pour it inside the river,’’ she says.

    Similarly, a primary three pupil of Idang Primary School in the community says that her school does not have toilet facilities and pupils often go to the nearby bush to defecate.

    In both communities, there have been complaints of sicknesses arising from the practice of open defecation.

    The residents confirm outbreaks of typhoid, malaria, diarrhoea and other diseases caused by intake of water from unclean sources.

    The residents, therefore, plead with the relevant authorities to look into their plight by providing toilet facilities within the school and also constructing mobile toilets around the community.

    The situation in the communities on River Calabar is worrisome to the extent that Samuel Nsaben, a 16-year-old boy says that he has never used the toilet all his life.

    According to him, he grows up to using the water as a source through which he evacuates his waste.

    Available statistics indicate that Nigeria loses about 1.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually due to poor sanitation and one-third of that cost is as a result of open defecation.

    Pundits have then noted that more than 100,000 children less than five years of age die each year due to diarrhoea; of which 90 per cent is directly attributed to unsafe water and sanitation.

    They noted that it is also worrisome that most schools in the country from primary to tertiary institutions do not have good sanitation facilities.

    Worried by the trend, in November 2018, the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.

    The declaration re-affirmed Nigeria’s commitment to eliminating open defecation in the country by which the government inaugurated a national campaign to jump-start the country’s journey towards becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2025.

    In a media dialogue on “Clean Nigeria campaign: Use the Toilets’’, Mr Eyo Offiong, Acting Programme Manager, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), says that 15.7 per cent of schools in Nigeria had basic water and sanitation services.

    Offiong said that the percentage signified low WASH facilities in the educational sector, calling for an increase in the number of WASH facilities across the educational sector in the country.

    According to him, there is a need for adequate water and sanitation facilities in schools to aid teaching.

    “It is for government to ensure the political will and commitment to the provision of water in schools as well as basic sanitation facilities to expand beyond the communities or local government where the donor partners are involved in.

    “It is for the government to commit funds into ensuring that this happens. The good thing about the statistics is that it brings clearly what needs to be done and how it can be done.

    “The government has gone further to drill over 200 solar-powered boreholes in the past six months and the process of completion is ongoing,’’ he said.

    Offiong said that Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River had also committed three million dollars annually for the next five years to make the state Open Defecation Free.

    “Going by the statements of the governor, the state is ready and willing to move ahead to ensure it becomes open defecation free state and to drive the state in education and health,’’ he said.

    The acting manager also noted that to drive the initiative, six local government areas of the states had been declared Open Defecation Free which is the highest in the country.

    He said that the local governments included Obanliku, Bekwara, Yala, Ikom, Boki and Yakurr.

    He said that the state had provided 20,367 new household latrines under the Water Supply and Sanitation Council Programme, while 4,088 volunteer hygiene promoters were trained on hygiene practices.

    Mr Bioye Ogunjobi, WASH Specialist, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), observed that Nigeria “has 13 local governments certified open defecation areas.

    He added that Jigawa and Bauchi State had more than 3,000 communities certified Open Defecation Free.

    He explained that in terms of the geopolitical zone, North Central had the highest percentage of 53.9 per cent of its population still practising open defecation.

    He said that the North East has 21.8 per cent of the population also practising open defecation, while North West has 10.3 per cent, Southeast; 22.4 per cent, Southsouth; 17.9 per cent and Southwest; 28.0 per cent.

    Ogunjobi said that one in four Nigerians defecate in the open and 16 million of those who practise open defecation live in the North Central part of the country.  He also said that 35 million Nigerians practised unimproved sanitation, while 30 million practised limited sanitation.

    “There are 43 million people who practise basic sanitation and 37 million practise safely managed sanitation,’’ he observed.  The WASH specialist also said that UNICEF was working hard towards making

    Nigeria Open Defecation Free and urged the media to redouble the effort by raising awareness on hygiene.

    Mrs Yemisi Akpa, the Chief Scientific Officer, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said that the achievement of the 13 Open Defecation Free local government areas in the country was not enough as more efforts would be needed to ensure good hygiene practice by 2025.

    Akpa said that to achieve Open Defecation Free by 2025, there would be the need to provide an average of 100 household latrines annually in all the 774 local government areas.

    She urged Federal Government to constitute a technical working group to operationalise the National Roadmap toward Open Defecation Free.

    She also called on the Cross River government to be more committed through funding to deliver the remaining 12 local government areas that have yet to be Open Defecation Free.

     

    • Adeyemi is of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

  • N614b bailout: Governors reject repayment plan

    GOVERNORS have rejected the Federal Government’s template to refund the N614 billion bailout cash to states during the 2015-2017 economic crisis.

    They have offered to refund N70 million per state, per month over a 20-year period instead of the N225 million monthly payback per state, which the Federal Government proposed, sources said yesterday.

    According to the governors, paying back N225 million each would cut deeply into the finances of states.

    The governors stated their position at Thursday’s meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    As a result of the disagreement, the commencement date of the deduction has not been fixed.

    The governors, who said  they were ready to commence repayment, insisted, however, that it should not start until a proper reconciliation is done.

    Each state is expected to refund about N17.5billion to the Federal Government. Only Lagos State did not obtain the loan.

    The Federal Government gave the conditional budget support facility to the states through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2017.

    A top source at the meeting said: “The NEC agreed that the states must refund the N614 billion. This is not in dispute at all. But the template brought forward by the Federal Government was rejected by NEC members

    “The governors based their calculation on the clause in the agreement with the Federal Government before the N614 billion bailout was given to them as a loan.

    “They said the government wanted the cash paid back in 20 years. They insisted that the rules cannot be changed midway.”

    A governor, who spoke in confidence said: “We also pleaded with the Federal Government to stay action on the effective date of the deduction until a proper reconciliation of how much each state owes is concluded.

    “There are a lot of indices to be taken into consideration. We have some outstanding cash with the Federal Government too.

    “A reconciliation is headed by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State. We will wait till the committee submits its report before determining when the refund will start.”

    At a pre-NEC meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr.  Kayode Fayemi, said states were not against paying back the loans, but there must be proper book keeping.

    He said: “If you borrow, you pay. We are never averse to payment of loans that we took under legal environment and we don’t want a situation that will put our financial and banking system into jeopardy.

    “However, governors believe that we are ready to pay, we also have a duty to ensure a reconciliation of account as far as moneys owed to states may be concerned and that is the process that is ongoing.

    “It is a storm in a tea cup. When we read about governors refusing to pay it is not true…we don’t have such an issue, we are ready to pay”.

    The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, hinted of plans to deduct the refund from source.

    Mrs. Ahmed, who spoke at a Public Consultative Forum on the draft 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework in Abuja, said  the deduction will commence from this month.

    She said the repayment will be deducted from the affected states’ allocations during the next Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting.

    The FAAc meeting held yesterday with the three tiers of government sharing N720 billion.

    NGF condemns invasion of governor’s home

    At their meeting on Wednesday, the NGF condemned the invasion of the home of some governors by security agencies.

    Fayemi, who also read the communiqué at the end of the meeting, described the action as an “indirect violation of the immunity of the governors.”

    He said the forum discussed the issue with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector -General (IG) Mohammed Adamau.

    The communiqué  said: “The Forum was briefed by the Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State on the meeting between the Forum and the President first, and later the Inspector General of Police on the unlawful invasion of some governors’ residences, in direct violation of the immunity of the governors.”

    He said the governors “pledged to continue to collaborate with journalists, especially around the issues of security when they work in hostile environment.”

    The Forum also received a briefing on the status of the World Bank -Assisted State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Program for results (SFTAS).

    “The team from the World Bank assured the Forum that all assessments now imply that states have improved in transparency ratings over the last quarter.

    ”The Forum received, in session, the new Country Director of the World Bank, Shubham Chaudhuri, whose tour of duty commences on 1st of October, 2019. He replaces Ben Masoud after his four-year tenure in Nigeria.

    “The Forum received a presentation from Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) advising that the country should expect above average rainfall which has already resulted in severe flooding in many states.

    “The Forum listened to a presentation by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which highlighted the issues around inadequate transmission and sought governors’ commitment to improve the power situation in the country. The Forum resolved to partner TCN to improve power supply nationwide.”

    Those in attendance were governors Babatunde Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Henry Seriake Dickson (Bayela), Abubakar Badaru, (Jigawa), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Aminu Masari (Katsina) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara).

    The deputy governors who came for the session were from  Nasarawa and Kaduna states.

     

  • N481b lost to oil theft

    NIGERIA lost 22.6 million barrels of oil to petroleum pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in the first half of this year, the National Economic Council (NEC) heard on Thursday.

    The value was estimated at $1.35 billion (about N481.95 billion), according to Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, who briefed State House reporters at the end of the 97th NEC meeting in Abuja. He was with Governors Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) and Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe).

    Thursday’s NEC meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    If the loss is not checked, Obaseki said Nigeria would lose $2.7 billion by the end of the year. And to check the trend, he said his committee recommended to the Council the need to restructure the maintenance and ownership of pipelines across the country.

    The recommendations, he said, also include the prosecution of criminals and training of special judges to handle the cases.

    He said the committee also recommended that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should endeavour to engage the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to track the countries benefiting from the stolen crude oil.

    According to him, the Council resolved that the recommendations should be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Minister of Petroleum.

    Obaseki said: “The 13-member ad-Hoc Committee, which is chaired by me, submitted its report to the NEC today. The committee was constituted to address the impact of vandalism, oil theft, illegal bunkering on oil production. It was also to check the effectiveness of the activities of the joint task force and other security agencies in curbing the menace of oil theft; and also to consider the setting up of a special court to prosecute offenders amongst others.

    “The terms of reference of the ad hoc committee include restoring and sustaining the four major trunk pipelines, which moves crude oil to the terminals, to access the challenges and draw up a road map to guide further actions towards finding a lasting solution towards the problem.

    “The committee could co-opt individuals to facilitate its work and we are supposed to update council regularly.”

    On the findings of the committee, he said: “The committee discovered that there were huge losses. In fact, the NNPC reported to the committee that the 22.6 million barrels of crude oil valued at approximately $1.35 billion was lost during the first half of this year.

    “And if this situation is not contained by the end of the year, we would have lost in excess of $2.7 billion.

    “The losses that were recorded in the first half of the year were broken down as follows: The Nembe creek trunk-line lost 9.2 million barrel, the Trans-Niger pipeline lost 8.6 million barrel, the Trans-Focadoes Pipeline lost 3.9 million barrel, Trans-Escravos pipe we lost 877,000 barrel.”

    He said the committee decried the prevailing governance structure of the pipeline in which no one is held accountable whenever breaches and losses occur.

    “The slow and inadequate prosecution of thieves, despite numerous arrests and seizures”, he noted, “have continued to encourage the menace.”

    He also said that the absence of petroleum products’ filling stations in most of the oil-producing communities around the Niger Delta have made them resort to illegal bunkering and illegal refineries.

    Obaseki also said that huge internal and external market of stolen products exist across the west coast of Africa and the sub-region.

    He added: “Therefore, the ad-hoc committee made the following recommendations:

    • That there is need to restructure the maintenance and ownership of oil pipelines as a way of tackling the perpetrators of crude and other products.
    • That we should have a legal framework that will ensure that criminals are duly prosecuted, imprisoned and their assets confiscated.
    • That there should be special courts to try offenders and also have a special legal task force to coordinate the prosecution of arrested offenders as well as train special judges to handle cases of oil theft.
    • That NNPC should be encouraged to engage with the National Intelligence agency (NIA) to identify the markets for stolen petroleum products across the continent.
    • That the governors of the oil-producing states should set up actions to develop the communities that are most prone and through which these pipelines run with their 13 per cent derivation allocation as well as implement programmes that will be impactful and make life easy for the people.

    “It noted that the NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission), which has the mandate to undertake development in the region, should be restructured to perform its role better.

    “That they should emphasis creating employment opportunities for youths in the region.

    “That the proposed funding arrangement to be jointly funded by the federal, states and the oil companies to ensure the communities through which these pipeline traverse get some benefits to encourage them to protect these lines.”

    On resolutions, he said: “Therefore, council resolved as follows: That recommendations should be presented to the president, who is also the minister of petroleum, for the final decision for implementation.

    “The chairman of council also asked the NNPC to make a presentation to council on the state of PMS and other products which are smuggled across the borders.”

    Umahi, who is chair of the committee on the herders/farmers crisis, said that his panel proposed a N100 billion budget for the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) in the report it submitted to the Council.

    While participation by states is voluntary, Umahi said the Federal Government would contribute 80 per cent of the budget and interested states would provide 20 of the budget, the land and other logistics.

    He said: “As the chairman sub-committee on herders/farmers crisis, NEC was today (yesterday) briefed. The committee presented a National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) 2019-2028 today.

    “The plan is not targeted only on cows, but a holistic strategy to address animal husbandry. The plan has six pillars through which it aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along market oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.

    “The six key pillars include: economic development (investment), conflict resolution, justice and peace, humanitarian relief and early recovery (that is to IDPs), human capital development and cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.”

    The committee, he said, proposed the implementation of guidelines to guide the Federal Government and states.

    “N100 billion budget was proposed to support the project. Federal Government is to contribute 80 percent in grant to support the project while states will contribute land, project implementation structure, personnel and 20 percent cost of the project.

    “Council resolved today that there is need to look at the trans-human West African protocol. You cannot allow such movement of cattle without registration and monitoring.

    “Council emphasised the need to continue to establish the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), a creation of NEC and state governors and, of course, minister of agriculture is also a member of this committee and minister of interior is also a member, and it is entirely distinct from RUGA.

    “NEC adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) January 18, 2019 and it is a creation of national economic council of course in liaison with the federal government.

    “States will determine whether or not to participate. Federal government did not impose this plan, participation remains voluntary. What we are talking about is National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) which is a product of NEC in liaison with federal government.”

    Ruling out foreigners from benefiting from the plan, he said: “Our budget did not include non-Nigerians and so, I am not aware if the governor said so and It’s possible you did not hear the governor very well, but there is no way we can make our programme which the Federal Government will put eighty percent and the States will put twenty percent and then we are now going to accommodate non Nigerians, it’s not part of the programme.

    “And of course, what we have said here is that they would have to review our ECOWAS protocol and see what we can do about that.

    “Of fact, we commend the Federal Government for any reason they closed the borders, and this is the kind of thing we are looking for. While we are trying to reposition this programme, there will be temporary restrain for such. NEC did not make any budget to accommodate non Nigerians. This is very important.”

    Inuwa said that governors requested for clarification from the Council chair (vice president), on the relationship between NEC and the newly formed Economic Advisory Council (NEC).

    According to him, Prof Osinbajo explained that those councils are advisory for the benefit of Mr. President and that while NEC is established by the constitution, they are to complement one another.

    “He (Osinbajo) added that NEC could be briefed regularly on the activities of the Economic Advisory Council with the permission of Mr. President”, Inuwa said.

    The Secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Dr Jumoke Oduwole, according to Gombe State Governor, gave an update on the enabling business environment and informed the council that the current reforms in African countries as contained in the African Development Bank Economic Outlook report released in January 2019 and in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business 2019.

    He said Nigeria is ranked 146 with micro, small and medium enterprises making up to 90 percent of businesses in Nigeria.

    “And that the economic recovery and growth plan 2017-2020, which has three broad objectives which includes restoring growth, investing in people and building a competitive economy, has positioned Nigeria as a force in building a competitive economy.

    “The committee was mandated to take Nigeria to top 100 in the 2020 World Bank ease of doing business index.

    “It is also mandated to achieve the required political buy-ins across all arms and levels of government. PEBEC in the past three years achieved the following:

    • Moved up 24 places in the World Bank ease of doing business ranking
    • 32 states, led by Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Lagos and Anambra have improved in their ease of doing business environment.
    • Independent survey adjudged Nigeria as impactful in terms of procedures and time of doing businesses.”