The Nation Newspaper

Tag: seeks

  • Babalola seeks return of teacher colleges

    THE Founder/Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has canvassed the return of teacher training colleges to tackle poor teaching and learning methods in public schools.

    He described the scrapping of the colleges as a “great mistake”, saying the policy had affected education at the primary and secondary school levels, which served as the bedrock of tertiary education.

    Babalola said the country must carry out reforms in the education sector for the country’s certificates not to be worthless internationally.

    Speaking yesterday at the sixth edition of a Workshop on Teaching and Learning Methods in Higher Educational Institutions, held at ABUAD Campus, Ado-Ekiti, he said it was wrong for those without teaching certificates to be allowed to practise, which accounted for the rot in the education sector.

    The former Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos said a return of such teacher institutions had become imperative in view of the growing academic decay in schools.

    He said such colleges must be made compulsory for whoever that wants to join the teaching profession, regardless of whatever initial qualification such a person may have.

    Babalola condemned the poor state of the education sector, saying something drastic should be done to salvage the situation.

    The former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Prof. Michael Faborode, hailed ABUAD for being a pacesetter in the efforts to revive the country’s citadels of learning, by exposing lecturers to basic techniques in teaching to improve the quality of education.

  • AGF seeks support for govt’s anti-corruption efforts

    Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has sought support for the Federal Government’s anti-corruption efforts.

    He solicited the commitment of agencies to the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), validated on April 27, 2017.

    Malami spoke yesterday in Abuja while inaugurating the Monitoring and Implementation Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

    He said the committee, provided for under the fourth pillar of the NACS, was to ensure periodic assessment of NACS by the implementing agencies.

    The AGF told the members that their “mandate is to ensure that the National Anti-Corruption Strategy is implemented. I solicit the cooperation of members.”

    He said the committee, whose secretariat would be situated at the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), was expected to suggest ways the NACS 2017-2021 would be better implemented.

    The committee members are drawn from TUGAR, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Office of the Civil Service of the Federation, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR) and Public Complaint Commission (PCC).

    Others are Federal Ministry of Information, Ministry of Communication Technology, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and civil society organisations.

    The National Programme Manager, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme of the European Union, Danladi Plang, said the committee would execute its task.

    He advised members to be inquisitive and query information presented by any agency they assessed.

    “You should know that people may not be comfortable with the activities of this committee, because you are like auditors, who will scrutinise people’s books,” Plang said.

  • Third Mainland Bridge: Govt seeks motorists’ cooperation

    The Federal Controller, Works, Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti, yesterday appealed for the understanding of road users during the three days that the Third Mainland Bridge would be shut to traffic for investigative maintenance test.

    Kuti, at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Works Headquarters in Lagos, said the bridge would be closed to traffic by Thursday midnight and reopen on Sunday.

    “Alternative routes have been provided and motorists should comply with directional signs and traffic control managers,’’ Kuti said.

    He said repair works had been ongoing on the alternative routes, adding that, traffic diversions would be through Ikorodu Road, Funsho Williams Avenue, Eko Bridge and Apongbon Bridge to Lagos Island.

    “For some time now, we have been carrying out maintenance works, we have ensured that some of the pot holes on the alternative routes had been fixed and we have been doing that for a couple of weeks,’’ he said.

    Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) Lagos Island Unit Commander Hauwa Olowookere, advised drivers to exercise caution during the three-day closure.

    “We implore drivers to obey traffic officers on the road and route signs. So, we should look out for the signs, we will be seeing them very shortly on our roads directing you to diversions accordingly,” she said.

     

  • LCCI seeks liberalised forex regime

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has advised the Federal Government to allow a liberalised exchange regime to stop multiple exchange rates in the country.

    Its Director-General, Muda Yusuf, gave the advice during a  forum organised Business Editors in Lagos at the weekend.

    Represented by the Director of Research at LCCI, Dr. Vincent Nwani, he regretted that there are over 15 exchange rates being operated in the country starting from the banks to bureau de change operators. He said this anomaly could only be addressed by introducing a liberalised exchange rate  regime where the forces of demand and supply are allowed to determine the exchange rate.

    He raised alarm that food inflation would escalate by September 2018, as more famers deserted farming during the 2018 planting season for fear of being killed by the herders.

    Yusuf pointed out that transportation infrastructure deficiencies add to the cost of production, but also causes damages on transit.

    Commenting on the budget, he regretted that the delay in signing the  2018 budget was a clear disaster to the  national economic development, adding that the delay has cost most of its members uncountable loss.

    In his goodwill message, Adorable Ogidan, Managing Director/Editor in Chief, Daily Independent, adviced ABEN to engage stakeholders in policy enforcement issues ,adding that the platform will strictly provide a forum for discussion on better business reportage.

    He taxed stakeholders to constantly engage in training and workshop for members and business reporters, adding that business reporting would address a lot of anomalies in the country.

  • Shippers’ Council boss seeks efficiency at ports

    The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is determined to make the ports more efficient to enable them compete with those of neighbouring countries, its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, has said.

    He told The Nation that operators and other stakeholders should collaborate with the government to make the ports attractive, competitive and to be the sub-region’s preferred cargo destination.

    The collaboration, he said, is necessary to drive the reform in the sector to attract more cargoes. According to him, NSC is working with the government and private operators  to create a level-playing field for all.

    “The council is looking for an equilibrium that is needed in port operation, and that is why we interact with the operators regularly.

    “The port system is a representation of various interests and everybody has a target. That is why there is need for a neutral observer that will bring everybody together.

    “That is what the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is doing to cement the relationship so that synergy will be brought to bear on the positive contribution of shipping to the  economy.

    “The more cargo we have, the more it translates to economic growth; the more it translates to employment; building of new infrastructure and making transportation the driver of the nation’s economy,” he said.

    Bello said the complaints by port users, shippers and shipping companies vary, adding that  the complaints were to right certain wrongs. Some complaints, he said, are monetary, some on lack of equipment and short-landing of goods.

    The council, Bello said, has been persuasive with its regulatory power to eradicate the challenges hindering port operations and make the ports the preferred cargo destination. He said genuine automation of port operations would increase efficiency and decrease waste.

    The effect of these, according to him, would be making the ports attractive with increased cargoes, which in turn, would enhance government revenue.

    Bello said there would be more employment and the ports would then become the preferred destination for importers.

    “If it is five days in port A and it is one day in port B, I will rather go to port B because it is the economy of scale that determines which port is used. We have made it possible for us to make that comparison within the sub-consciousness of the national discourse on the economy.

    “It is important for our ports to be efficient and our ports are picking up now. Corruption is what we have been talking about and there are many ways to kill corruption and one of them is automation because the moment you have automation, corruption will just disappear. With the introduction of electronic payment platform, what took place in six days then, will now take place in six seconds.

    “Some of the delays have been eliminated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the agency is also trying to introduce other electronic system of doing things, the same thing with Customs,” he said.

    The NSC boss urged the government to address the challenges confronting the port system with good policies.

    Investors, he said, needed  certainty and ease of doing business in Nigeria, which could be brought about by the government intervention, especially in the gridlock at Apapa.

    According to him, no matter how efficient a terminal is, if there is no road to evacuate cargoes, it will be difficult. So, there must be some level of intervention.

    “The ideas are to have an electronic passage to ensure that a truck is only in Apapa when it is needed to pick or drop cargo. Then, we don’t need trailers to go to tank farms because we have the pipeline, which is also a means of transportation.

    “The moment  we have these pipelines pumping to Mosimi and other flow stations, then we don’t need tankers in Apapa.

    “We cannot rely only on access road, ports should be accessible by road, rail, inland water ways and pipelines because the port is not a storage place for cargo at all,” he said.

    Bello also said the NSC is also establishing Truck Transit Parks along major highways in the country to help address the challenge of trucks parking along major roads in the country, adding that  the project is Public Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at reducing incidences of road congestion and loss of cargoes due to indiscriminate parking by truck drivers.

    The executive secretary explained that the council, in partnership with states, would build modern parks with hotels, restaurants, filling stations and garages for repair and maintenance of vehicles.

    According to him, the facility will also have weigh measures not only for trucks, but also small cars travelling at night can stop over there and stay because there will be security. This will provide revenue for the state government because there will be employment for people and other small businesses can spring up also.

    “We have secured a land from Kogi State Government along Abuja road; Enugu State Government has also given us land in Obolo Afor and other state governments have indicated interest in the project,” he said.

  • SystemSpecs seeks special fund to drive financial inclusion

    Indigenous tech firm, SystemSpecs Limited, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish a special fund to deepen its financial inclusion goals.

    Its Executive Director, Deremi Atanda, who spoke on the sidelines of Digital Pay Expo in Lagos at the weekend, said there are many issues around the push for financial inclusion, adding that literacy is one of them.

    He stressed the imperative for a special fund to drive financial inclusion, adding that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) is an example of the intervention the Federal Government could make to ease the drive on the lenders.

    “I think the banks are committed to financial literacy but it won’t happen in one year. It is a commitment for 2020, which didn’t start yesterday. I have been part of the commitment since 2007. We need to evaluate where we are, so we don’t get derailed, and where we want to be. These are the kind of things we must do. When those targets were set, we have the financial implication of what it will cost, which is not the same now. So, who is going to plug that gap for 2020 dream to be realised? Along the way, there have been many disruptions they didn’t factor in, both the economic aspect and technology.

    “The honest truth is that the pervasiveness of technology is going to make the realisation of these things a lot easier, faster but someone needs to be committed to facilitating it. USPF for example (in the telecoms sector), is there (to ensure that the unserved and underserved rural communities are reached through service subsidy). There is need for a commitment in terms of funding to make sure financial inclusion happen. It might interest you that majority of people investing in that are foreign institutions such as the Bill Melinda Foundation and you ask yourself where the counterpart funding is coming from local institutions. The bank has just committed itself to SINEF, which is rolling out about 500, 000 agents, which CBN is also part of.

    “But don’t forget that the interface of business with the realisation of national policy, money will go after money. If the agents are just to work to achieve a national policy that will not be economically beneficiary to them, somebody must incentive it so that national objection is realise. It is just a matter of time, when that business is worthwhile and there is a plug in from the right agencies of the government, sooner than you think that will happen,” he said.

  • Firm seeks re-assignment of bank’s suit

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned till June 22 for an application by Petrocam Trading Nigeria Ltd, seeking the reassignment of a suit involving it and Union Bank Plc.

    Justice Rilwan Aikawa fixed the date during proceedings on June 11, to allow the bank prepare its response to the application.

    Petrocam Trading Nig Ltd, Mr Patrick Ilo and Petrocam Trading (PTY) Ltd South Africa are the first to third Defendants/Applicants, while Union Bank is the Plaintiff/Respondent in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/383/2018.

    The applicants made the prayer through a Motion on Notice filed on June 5 by their counsel Gboyega Oyewole (SAN).

    They claimed that by the proceedings of the court on May 4 and 9, they were convinced that it would be difficult for justice to be done in the determination of this suit.

    Oyewole told Justice Aikawa that the Applicants had lost confidence in the court’s neutrality.

    He added: “A copy of the said petition was also forwarded to the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and also a request for the withdrawal of the case file from your Lordship and reassignment to another Judge of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division was also made.

    “That the Chief Judge of the Federation has written to the Defendants/Applicants acknowledging the receipt of their complaint/petition.

    But Union Bank’s counsel, Chief Ajibola Aribisala SAN, said the bank was still within time to respond, following which the judge adjourned hearing.

    The application arose following two suits arising from a dispute over credit facilities.

    The first suit was instituted by the applicants against the bank at a Lagos State High Court and the other was by Union Bank against the firm at the Federal High Court.

    In the first suit, the applicants prayed the court to direct the bank to credit or reverse an alleged wrongful debt on Petrocam’s account for the funding of a letter of credit for N6.7billion arising from the bank’s alleged breach of duty.

    It claimed that while the case was pending, the bank filed another suit at the Federal High Court against the firm and its Managing Director, claiming the sum of N10,062,643,928.72 and securing an order freezing all the accounts of the firm in all commercial banks.

    The applicants claimed that despite the “potential harm the order may cause, no undertaken was given as to damages in the event that the orders ought not to have been made.”

  • Ubani seeks restructuring

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Second Vice President Mr Monday Ubani has advocated restructuring to move the country forward.

    He said the country was no longer working and that “there is no viable option left except we restructure”.

    Ubani spoke at a briefing on the state of the nation in Lagos.

    According to him, Nigeria has not been able to make progress because of the unitary system introduced by the military.

    He said the starting point would be to revisit the 2014 National Conference report.

    “Whether anyone likes it or not or wants to hear it or not, the truth of the matter is that Nigeria has a fundamental foundational issue which we need to deal with. Unfortunately we have failed, refused and or neglected to deal with it to our great detriment.

    “Previous and past governments have paid lip service to it even when they found out the truth that the country cannot make much progress with the present structure in place.

    “The present structure is bogus, over bureaucratic, over-centralised, oppressive, devoid of justice and equity.

    “The structure encourages laziness and lack of competitive spirit that was prevalent in our polity in the early 60s due to the apparent adherence to the tenets of operational federalism.

    “Today what we operate is highly distorted economy, the centre taking everything that belongs to the federating units and gathering the states in Abuja for handouts monthly.

    “The proper system would have been the various federating units paying certain percentage of what they have gathered in the federating units for the maintenance of a leaner, more efficient and adequately compensated public service,” Ubani said.

    The NBA chief praised President Muhammadu Buhari and the lawmakers for passing the not-too-young-to-run bill into law.

    He lamented that nothing seems to have been done to develop future leaders.

    He noted: “We have a lot of young people who have the zeal, wisdom, brains to lead instead of recycling the old people whose ideas have become archaic.

    “If we get the issue of leadership right but refused to restructure, we are getting nowhere.”

    Ubani urged the electorate to demand that any aspiring politician swear to a written affidavit on oath to restructure Nigeria upon winning and assumption of office in 2019.

    “We have no time. 2019 is around the corner and election of new public officers will soon commence. Let Nigerians demand any aspiring politician to swear to ‘a written affidavit on oath to restructure Nigerian upon winning and assumption of office at Aso Villa. That  should be the minimum requirement.

    “ Let us stop beating about the bush,  Nigeria is not working and may not work unless we address our defective and unhealthy structure that is clearly defective.

    “There is no viable alternative to a comprehensive restructuring of this polity if Nigeria would be united, peaceful and prosperous.

    “Irrespective of whatever anyone at any level thinks, if Nigeria is to actualise its manifest destiny as the leading black nation, there is no viable alternative to its comprehensive restructuring,” Ubani said.

    The lawyer described as “media trial” and  ”unhealthy for the country”,  the parade of suspects by the police without having been pronounced guilty by a law court.

    ”It is important we begin to emphasis that the issue of parading suspect is wrong. An accused person alleged to have committed a crime should be taking to court. Nigeria should follow international law practice,” he said.

  • NCC seeks Academy’s partnership to tackle multiple taxation, others

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, has sought the partnership of Nigeria Academy of Engineers to tackle the non-technical issues affecting quality of service (QoS) in the telecoms sector.

    He said the NCC would continue with the culture of support and cooperation with the Academy.

    He spoke when the Vice President of the Academy, Prof Fola Lasisi,  led other distinguished professors on a courtesy call on him to convey the readiness of the group to induct him as Fellow of the elite engineering body, at NCC Headquarters, Abuja.

    Dambatta urged the Academy to also lend its voice on the issues of Right of Way (RoW), multiple taxations, and multiple regulations to ensure that all the non-technical factors that affect the QoS are tackled.

    He said: “We will leverage the experience of the Fellows of the Academy and bring this to bear in improving QoS. QoS is normally measured, using four key performance indicators, and we believe that more additional indicators can be brought in to improve the QoS further,” he explained.

    Speaking earlier, Prof Lasis said the addition of the NCC chief to the body is a testimony to the quality of his leadership at the NCC.

    Danbatta will be inducted as a fellow of the Academy on June 21, 2018, just some 48 hours before he receives an honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of Jos.

    Prof Lasis said: “We want to show that NCC has always had very brilliant people at the top. Engr. Ernest Ndukuwe was also one of us and became a fellow when he was here. Prof Danbatta continues in the same way, so we want to congratulate him and tell him that we appreciate his becoming a Fellow.”

    Danbatta  lauded what he described as the tradition of excellence in the NCC, adding that his induction as a fellow of the Academy will be a big honour to the regulatory agency.

    “We acknowledge this recognition as a great honour to the NCC. I, therefore, pledge to continue to impact in a way and manner that will lead to the transformation of the industry, its stability, resilience and general contribution to the economy,” he said.

  • Skyways Aviation MD seeks airlines, firms merger

    The Acting Managing Director of Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited ( SAHCOL), Basil Agboarumi, has canvassed cooperation and merger among airlines and ground handling companies.

    This, he said, will enable them benefit from economies of scale as well as have an enhanced customer experience in the business where isolation is no longer fashionable.

    In an interview in Lagos, Agboarumi said rather than engaging in unhealthy competition, ground handling companies should consider ways to assist one another in improving the quality of services to passengers, airlines and others.

    On airlines, he said merging would reduce cancellations and delay of flights.

    Agboarumi said such partnership by airlines would increase passengers’ confidence and reduce loses associated with individual carriers running unprofitable operations.

    He called on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to create an enabling regulatory environment to foster such mergers.

    The  SAHCOL boss said cooperation, mergers and alliances were the operational models adopted by global companies to have the cutting edge.

    He said: “Where the world is going in aviation is cooperation, you can’t stand alone. As long as you have something to offer in aviation, the time has come whereby stakeholders in the industry must begin to relate with one and other and jointly take decisions that can move the industry forward.

    “Cooperation is for the best of the industry, we as a company we have identified cooperation as the tonic to build the industry. We will continue to do our best, take the right step and initiative to ensure that what can give us the kind of aviation that we desire in the future is done. there must come to a point whereby we will definitely need ourselves.

    “In other parts of the world, ground handling companies are pooling resources. It is for us to get to that maturity stage. Even, airlines are cooperating now. When you have airlines in various parts of the world, they complement each other in passenger and cargo operations. We will have better aviation industry once we begin to look at the industry from that perspective.”

    He expressed optimism that the proposed national carrier would contribute to the growth of the sector.

    His words: “Now, we are talking of having a national carrier, which we believe will be good for our aviation industry. We have come to a point where we have to realise that there is no Nigeria aviation, but global standards. That is why you see regulators that visit us regularly to determine our level of compliance. It means that we must do things in line with international best practices. “