The Nation Newspaper

Tag: reviews

  • Council of State reviews state of the nation

    The National Council of State yesterday reviewed the state of the nation, approving additional $1 billion for agricultural produce.

    It also approved appointment of two non-legal practitioners to the Federal Judicial Service Commission  and a national electoral commissioner for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and 23 members of National Population Commission (NPC).

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun broke the news to State House correspondents at the end of over six hours meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was with Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru and Anambra State Governor Willy Obiano.

    According to Amosun, the approval was given to boost the economy and stop importation of agricultural produce.

    With improvement being recorded by spending about $200 million in agriculture, he said, that efforts would be geared to move the economy further away from mono-economy.

    He said the funds would be disbursed through Anchor Borrower and other agric programmes to encourage diversification of the economy and  promote food security.

    Amosun said: “Council advised that we improve on the funding on agriculture. That the paltry sum of $200 million, when compared to what is being pumped into the oil sector, is insignificant.

    “Council recommended that at least about $1 billion be pumped into agriculture.

    “Council noted how Nigeria moved the budget from about N4 trillion to about N8 trillion. It also noted that when this President came in, he was jostling at a very deep because oil had nosedived from $112 in 2014 and in 2016, it was $30. Council also appreciated the efforts of the ministers for agriculture and budget and national planning after their briefings on the efforts they are giving to Mr. President and agreed they should continue in what they are doing.

    “Council advised that planting should be done all year round and not only during planting seasons and that we should grow what we will need, what we will eat and eat what we grow. The era of wasting our very scarce foreign exchange on everything that we will need is over.” he said

    According to him, council also noted that Nigeria had moved 24 places up in the ease of doing business, stressing that there was a lot more to be done.

    On security, Badaru said: “On the security situation in the country, we received a very long brief from the National Security Adviser, ranging from farmers/herdsmen clashes, Boko Haram, militancy in the Niger Delta, kidnapping and cattle rustling.”

    He said after deliberations, a lot of suggestions came forward.

    Asked to give details on how the  insecurity in the land would be arrested,  he said: “There are so many discussions on this ranging from how do we reduce out-of-school children? How do we create more employment? How do we bring youths to agriculture and other trades?

    “The social intervention: How do we use it to create more employments, to create more jobs, to create self-employment so that the level of youths in the states that might be used for one crime or the other will be reduced?”

    The former leaders present when the meeting started few minutes past 11.am are Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived after the national anthem and the opening prayers were said.

    The meeting was the third held under the administration of President Buhari.

    Others also present were state governors of Adamawa, Benue, Kebbi, Jigawa, Delta, Lagos, Nasarawa, Abia, Sokoto, Imo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Kano, Plateau, Ogun, Rivers, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Kaduna.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Chief Justices of Nigeria and Senate President Bukola Saraki also attended the meeting.

    The meeting started when President Buhari arrived in the Council Chamber venue of the meeting and went round the Council chamber to shake hand with those present.

    The first meeting under Buhari was held on the 21 of October, 2015, while the second was held in September 2016.

    The National Council of State is chaired by President Buhari, with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as  Deputy Chairman.

    The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

  • AFDB reviews Strategic Crops in Africa project

    The Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa (SARD-SC) project, funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB) is  holding its Mid-Term Review this month.

    In a statement the project said  the Mid-Term Review (MTR) conducted by AFDB officials is to assess the progress made mid-way in the implementation of the project.

    Focus is on the achievements of the four  mandate crops ( rice, wheat, cassava and maize) and the impact of the value chains on enhancing  food and nutrition security  in 20 of the bank’s regional member-countries in Africa. Two teams from AFDB are undertaking the review.

    One of the teams led by Principal Agricultural Economist at AFDB, Dr. Jonas Chianu, will commence the mission  in ICARDA (International Center  for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), Tunis office, Tunisia.

    ICARDA is the implementing centre for the wheat value chain of the project. The second Bank team led by Chief Agricultural Economist and Task Manager for the project, Dr. Ibrahim Amadou,  is scheduled to visit Benin and Nigeria. They will first travel  to Benin Republic to  review progress on AfricaRice  activities on the rice value chain. The Project Implementing Unit of AfricaRice, the implementing center for the rice value chain, will make presentations and hold discussions on status of project implementation, critical issues and challenges.

    From May 13 to 14, a Stakeholders Consultation Workshop will be held in International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan; expected at the  event are partners, scientists, researchers, and other stakeholders. The workshop will enable the various stakeholders of the project to listen to the review findings and recommendations and contribute through group discussions to shaping the draft review report presented at the workshop.

    The draft MTR report and Aide Memoire for the mission will be finalised by the Bank team and the Project consultant.

    The SARD-SC project is a multinational, CGIAR-led  project  launched in December 2012, at  the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Oyo State, with an overall objective to enhance food and nutrition security and  contribute to poverty reduction in  the African Development Bank’s low income Regional Member Countries (RMCs).

    The target RMCs are: Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    The project is a research, science  and technology development project  targeted at improving the productivity of and income from cassava, maize, rice and wheat.

    These are four of the six commodities that African Heads of States have, through the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), defined as strategic crops for Africa.

    Consequently, the project would enhance  the productivity  and  income of the  four CAADP’s priority  value chains.

  • Prosecutor reviews ‘link’ between UK aid, Ibori

    Prosecutor reviews ‘link’ between UK aid, Ibori

    Britain’s leading fraud prosecutor is evaluating a material alleging that the United Kingdom (UK) aid might have been channelled to companies linked with convicted former Delta State Governor James Ibori, a top government lawyer said yesterday.

    “As part of that review, it (the Serious Fraud Office) is examining whether there is any indication of an offence falling within the criminal jurisdiction of England and Wales as opposed to criminal jurisdictions overseas,” Solicitor-General Oliver Heald said in a written response to a parliamentary question.

    “No formal decision has yet been made in relation to this matter and no investigation has been opened.”

    The Serious Fraud Office confirmed it had received material from the government’s Department for International Development (DFID) in February but said it was too soon to say whether or not it would launch an investigation.

    A full-blown investigation could be an embarrassment to Prime Minister David Cameron, who brushed aside criticism at home, last year, to increase development aid – aimed at alleviating some of the world’s most abject poverty – by nearly a third to $19 billion at a time of austerity at home.

    Ibori, who governed oil-producing Delta State from 1999 to 2007, was jailed for 13 years in Britain in 2012 after pleading guilty to 10 counts of money laundering and fraud in one of the biggest embezzlement cases seen in Britain.

  • IOSCO reviews reliance on credit rating agencies

    IOSCO reviews reliance on credit rating agencies

    The International Organization of Securities Commissions is reviewing the extent to which asset managers, investors and other parties should rely on credit rating agencies (CRAs) in their asset management.

    The global body of securities regulators has published a consultation report on Good Practices on Reducing Reliance on Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) in asset management with the aim of gathering the views and practices of investment managers, institutional investors and other interested parties on the subject.

    It will subsequently develop a set of good practices on reducing over reliance on external credit rating in the asset management space.

    IOSCO noted that CRAs play a prominent role in today’s global financial markets pointing out that while approaches may differ across jurisdictions, investment managers often use the services of CRAs to form an opinion on the creditworthiness of a particular issuer before purchasing securities, selecting counterparties, or choosing the best collateral to secure transactions.

    It added that investors often refer to CRA ratings before buying shares of a fund, or when guiding investment managers on the basis of a tailored investment mandate.

    IOSCO pointed out that the role of CRAs has come under regulatory scrutiny, mainly as a result of the over-reliance of market participants, including investment managers and institutional investors, on CRA ratings in their assessments of both financial instruments and issuers in the run-up to the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

    According to IOSCO, the good practices that result the consultation paper will be addressed to national regulators, investment managers, and investors, where applicable while IOSCO has also launched a separate project to identify the good practices of intermediaries with regard to the use of alternatives to credit ratings to assess creditworthiness.

    The report stresses the importance for asset managers to have the appropriate expertise and processes in place to assess and manage the credit risk associated with their investment decisions. Recognizing the utility of external ratings, the report mentions that they can be used as an input among others to complement a manager’s internal credit analysis and provide an independent opinion as to the quality of the portfolio constituents. However, in order to avoid the over-reliance on external ratings, the report lists some possible good practices that managers may consider when resorting to external ratings.

    Some of the good practices undergoing consultation include that investment managers make their own determinations as to the credit quality of a financial instrument before investing and throughout the holding period. While external credit ratings may form one element, among others, of the internal assessment process but it should not constitute the sole factor supporting the credit analysis.

    Also, there should be an internal assessment process that is commensurate with the type and proportion of debt instruments the investment manager may invest in, and a brief summary description of which is made available to investors, as appropriate.

  • EFCC reviews ruling on ex-UBEC men

    EFCC reviews ruling on ex-UBEC men

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said it was still reviewing the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed corruption charges against a former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Prof. Bridget Omotunde Sokan, and six others.

    The others are: Molkat Manasseh Mutfwang, Dr. Andrew Ekpunobi, Michael Aule and the companies used in perpetrating the alleged fraud, Intermarkets, USA; Intermarkets Nigeria Limited and Alexander John Cozman, a foreign contractor.

    There was uncertainty whether or not the EFCC would file an appeal against the judgment.

    The seven accused were arraigned at the Federal High Court on May 18, 2009, on a 41-count of fraudulent inducement, criminal conspiracy and subversion of due processes in the award of a N787-million contract.

    But Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 19, last year, discharged the seven accused, upholding their “no case” submission.

    EFCC is yet to appeal the judgment, which is unsettling officials of UBEC.

    It was learnt that counsel to EFCC Mr. Wahab Shittu claimed that the prosecution placed before the court 75 admissible materials.

    The evidence also included oral testimonies of seven witnesses.

    It was gathered that EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Lamorde insisted on treating the case on merit.

    A top source said: “As a matter of fact, the EFCC chairman last week demanded a brief from those connected with the case. As an objective leader, he said he would listen to arguments before taking a position.

    “Expectedly, there are arguments for and against the intent to file an appeal. There might still be a meeting on the matter this week.”

    EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC Mr. Wilson Uwujaren said: “The only thing is that the judgment is still being reviewed by the commission.”

    Another source said: “There had been anxiety in UBEC on the fate of the affected staff because one of them is a top management staff.

    “If the former deputy executive secretary is reinstated in the light of the judgment, it means one of the present deputy executive secretaries would have to vacate his or her seat.

    “The timely decision of the EFCC would also guide the commission.”

  • Gombe reviews movement due to fasting

    Gombe State government has reviewed the restriction on motorcycles movement in the state capital from the hitherto 6am to 5pm to 6am to 11pm.

    The Commissioner of Police, Kudu Abdullahi Nma announced this briefly after the State Security Council meeting held yesterday.

    He explained that while commercial motorcycles can now close by 6pm, the public could use motorcycle till 11pm but must not carry any passenger.

    He said the arrangement was to enable Muslims attend evening lecture (Tafsir) normally conducted during the Ramadan period.

    The Commissioner added that buses have been provided to convey Muslims to-and-fro Tafsir grounds at subsidised rates from 10 designated stations recommended by the leaders of the religion in the state.

    He warned that the arrangement did not in any way imply that the security agencies have relaxed security but “only reviewed timing because of the fasting period.”

    In their remarks, Secretary of Jama’atu Naril Islam JNI in the state, Alhaji Saleh Danburam and the state Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Abare Kalla urged members of the public to be law abiding and cooperate with security agencies.

  • Emenike earns rave reviews

    Emenike earns rave reviews

    Emmanuel Emenike has won rave reviews for his performance and goal against Burkina Faso in Nigeria’s 1-1 drawn opening game at AFCON 2013.

    The burly Super Eagles forward, who played in South Africa’s First Division with FC Cape Town before moving to Europe, got the highest rating from fans on MTNFootball.com’s Rate the Player platform.

    The Spartak Moscow man got 29 likes and zero negative ratings. He was the only Nigerian on the night not to get any negative ratings. The closest player to Emenike was Mikel Obi who got 27 likes.

    Emenike was also at the top of another list recently. The story about ‘Emenike leads Eagles’ attack’ was this morning’s most popular story across the entire MTNFootball website.

    Errol Dicks, the chairman of FC Cape Town and the man who took Enmenike to trials in Turkey, said he is thrilled to see his progress.

    “You know, he phoned me before the game and said ‘Chairman, I am going to score today and kiss the badge’. Well, he did just that. I am so proud of him,” Dicks told MTNFootball from Cape Town.

    “We have walked a long road together and he is like a son to me. I remember when nobody wanted to look at Emmanuel. No teams at all. So to see how he has developed and where he is today is such a wonderful story.”