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Tag: Stakeholders

  • Stakeholders seek review of auto policy

    Stakeholders in the automotive sector have called for a review of the automotive policy.

    Spaeking at the ongoing 14th edition of Lagos Motor Fair and 8th Autoparts Expo Africa in Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, they sought for a review of the plan to reflect some of the realities and development its implementation has thrown up.

    According to the Managing Director, BKG Exhibitions Limited, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu, the organisers of the fair, the review will ensure the policy achieves the desired ends.

    The sector, Agwu said, is very important as it shows physically the state of the economy and it generates much revenue and creates enormous employment.

    “No serious government toys with it. It is a sector that affects virtually everything. If it is not rightly re-positioned now, it will in the very near future negatively affect a whole lot in the life of the people and economy. Government should, therefore, parley seriously with the sector stakeholders to seeing how it could be made better,” he said.

    He urged the stakeholders to close ranks and pursue the development of the sector with more focus and dedication.

    He said: “They need to ensure unity of purpose and always utilise every window of opportunity such as this, to draw the attention of policy makers and implementers to the challenges in the sector. In unison the stakeholders can put the issues of the sector in the front burners of economic discourse and policy in the country and ensure that it does not collapse.

    “We aim at using this event to strengthen the auto parts markets role as the hub of the sectors business in Africa. The intention is to make players in the sector from other countries in the continent to be buying from the Nigerian markets. Nigeria has the resources and capacity to play such a role and it will be a very big disservice to Nigeria and its people if another African country does this ahead of Nigeria.”

    Automobile Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association of Nigeria, (ASPMDA) President Chief Offorkansi Ebubedike, represented by Secretary, Foreign Trade and Investment Committee, Sir Leo Okoye, thanked the organisers of the fair “for this positive development that will shape our immediate environment”.

    According to Ebubedike, the industry cannot move to greater heights without the support on government.

    He said: “The Federal Government through the Ministries of Technology, Trade and Investment or the National Automotive Council should come to our aid to open industrial hubs to take care of auto spare parts manufacturing for export.

    “Double taxation, multiple administrative bottlenecks in our seaports, bad road network and high interest rates are the clog in our wheels of progress. Our containers are left unattended to for months accumulating huge demurrages. Government should look into these areas; solve the ailing problems to pave way for our positive contribution in the economy.

    “Our relationship with China is not cordial or balanced. Chinese visitors entering Nigeria found it easy on the grounds that when they purchase their flight tickets, they flew into our borders to get visas at less than $150. But on our part, the Chinese Consular denies and frustrates Nigerians in the issuance of travel visas. Chinese government should reciprocate the good gestures offered to them by our government relating to the issue. This development has made some of our importers to start engaging exporters from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, who are willing to issue travel visas.

    “The Federal Government should come quickly to our aid, address these anomalies that limit our success in order to achieve greatness and contributing immensely to our economy. The economy of Thailand thrives in agriculture and motor spare parts production for export. United Arab Emirates do not produce auto spare parts components and yet, they are the major player in the Middle East. Here in Nigeria, with all the support needed, we can move Africa and surprise the world.”

  • Stakeholders urge APC chief to join race for guber ticket

    Bayelsa State stakeholders under the auspices of the Kimisese Mass Movement (KMM) have appealed to a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Preye Aganaba,  to join race for the party’s governorship ticket.

    The KMM in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Marshall Odede, said Aganaba had a template for the holistic development of Bayelsa and should not shy away from joining the governorship race in the state. Odede said the APC chieftain, who is the Prince of Odi community, had shown selfless leadership style and efforts aimed at tackling the endemic problem of underdevelopment in the state. He said: “Aganaba has provided the leverage and enabling impetus that propelled him as top echelon of the APC in Bayelsa State.

    His level headedness and administrative mien saw most of the developmental projects come to reality. “Aganaba has worked assiduously to influence major Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) projects spread across the state. More remarkable was his agenda to open up roads that have remained on the drawing board for decades.”

    Odede named some of the projects attracted to the state by Aganaba as Prof Izonfuo Health Center at Odi; Cemetery Road Odi; four solar water projects in Southern Ijaw and  three solar power projects in Ogbia LGA. Others according to him are Government Girls Secondary School Road, Odi, Sampou-Kalama Road and projects captured in the 2018 budget such as five shoreline protection jobs in Famgbe, Kalama and Ogbogoro in Yenagoa LGA and canalization of Onopa and Opolo Creeks. He added: “Aganaba’s humble nature and administrative uprightness elevated him from where he was to his present status. Preye Aganaba’s love for Bayelsa endeared him to initiate several projects capable of ameliorating the suffering of Bayelsans through widespread consultation and shuttle diplomacy is open for every one to see.

  • Stakeholders call for child labour elimination

    Stakeholders have been urged to unite in their efforts to eliminate child labour in the country.

    The charge was given by speakers at a seminar by the Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The final draft of the State Action Plan (SAP) on child labour elimination was presented at the event.

    Speaking on Impact of child labour responses in agro communities, the Head of Leaf, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), Oluwakayode Oshodi, decried the prevalence of child labour in the agricultural sector.

    He attributed it to the limited understanding of the impact of child labour by the rural folks, which underscores the need for training and heightening their awareness on the malaise.

    “The agricultural sector is one where child labour is prevalent. There is a thin line between helping a parent and exposing a child to child labour,” he said.

    He noted that parents who engage their children and wards in child labour see it as a short-term and cost-saving benefit failing to realise the long-term effects.

    Speaking on BATN efforts to eradicate child labour, he said the company always ensured that its farming partners and stakeholders understood the impact of their decisions on child labour. BATN also conducts regular spot checks on their farms to ascertain compliance with its child labour policy.

    “We ask farmers to share with us evidence of the child’s school attendance and take steps to reward members who are compliant through our annual Farmers’ Productivity Awards,” he added.

    The Chairman, Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour (SSCCL) and controller, Federal Ministry of Labour, Mr. Ogunbiyi Adewole,said the meeting was to validate the final draft on the state action plan on child labour elimination. He noted that the ministry and state government were working with stakeholders to achieve the mandate.

    The Secretary, Oyo SSCCL, Marcus Williams, while giving a summary of the State Action Plan (SAP) on child labour, said it provides the roadmap for the National Policy on the Elimination of Child Labour in Oyo State.

    He listed the key thematic areas of the plan as policy, legal framework and assessment; child protection; awareness campaign; monitoring and evaluation, among others.

    On best practice on child labour elimination, Williams identified gradual integration of victims and rehabilitation as pivotal to the achievement of positive results.

    “There is a lot that goes into re-integration of victims. Gradual integration is very important in the elimination of child labour. Therefore, stakeholders need to understand the dynamics of gradual integration and must work together in this regard,” he added.

  • NCDMB, stakeholders conclude on local content regulations

    The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has held its final phase of engagements with oil and gas industry stakeholders on the draft of Nigerian Content Ministerial Regulations (NCMR).

    The final forum was held in Lagos had in attendance representatives of the multinational and indigenous operating companies, service companies and select law firms working on the regulations.

    NCDMB Executive Secretary,   Simbi Wabote, an engineer, was represented at the workshop by Director Finance and Personnel Management, Mr. Isaac Yalah, who stated the key objective of the event, which was “the adoption of the updated draft Ministerial Regulations by industry stakeholders for onward transmittal to the Minister for ratification”.

    He said the Board believed strongly in collaborating with key stakeholders in the development of policies, which was why it convened a number of engagements to obtain the reviews and endorsement of industry players on the regulations.

    According to Yalah, Sections 36, 40, 41, 42, 47, 55 and 101 of the Nigerian Content Act empower the Minister of Petroleum Resources to make regulations that will foster the development of Nigerian content. He urged participants at the workshop to make robust inputs, which would be incorporated before the documents are dispatched to the Minister.

    NCDMB Legal Services Co-ordinator, Mrs. Rose Chukwuonwe, noted that previous deliberations on the ministerial regulations had been impactful and successful.

    The ministerial regulations covers Research & Development (R&D); Training, Capacity Development; Growth of Indigenous Capacity; Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Enforcement and Compliance Regulation; Registration of Operators and other professionals with Nigerian professional bodies; Technology transfer and Establishment of operations in Nigeria.

  • Stakeholders demand social infrastructure for textile sector

    Stakeholders in the industrial subsector have impressed on the federal government the need to provide infrastructure development in the textile industry as it is the only way to revitalise the ailing sector.

    They noted that for the government to ban issuance of foreign exchange to textile companies is certainly not the right approach, arguing that enough windows ought to have been given.

    “It is only the masses that will suffer the hike in price, because leaders in power will go ahead and import textile materials in large quantities,” they stated.

    The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe said that it is only when the sector is provided with the right infrastructure that the sector would bounce back again.

    Gwadabe, who was represented by the Financial Secretary of the Association, Mr. Adewumi Adewale at the inauguration of new Exco of Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN), recently in Lagos, noted that government has not put anything in place that will encourage the textile industries that are moribund to take off, saying that this cannot be a sudden affair, as it has to be a gradual issue.

    In his speech, the Managing Director of NISPO Porcelain Company Limited, Mr. Afam Mallinson Ukatu said VAT increase from 5 percent to 10 percent would affect manufacturing sector and other businesses in the country negatively.

    Ukatu noted that if government does not refrain from the proposed, most manufacturers would be forced to shut down their factories here in Nigeria and relocate to others countries where taxes are more-friendly.

    He recounted that another area the government needed to look into was the issue of multiple taxation, stressing that it is of paramount importance to harmonise taxes.

    “The situation has deteriorated to the extent that tax authorities shut down factories, for the inability of tax defaulters to pay. What we do ask them is that if you shut a factory because they have not paid tax, and all their workers are on the street, where are they going to get the money to pay the tax? Again, I will advise that government desist from the proposed increase of VAT,” he stressed.

  • NCDMB, stakeholders conclude on local content regulations

    The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has held its final phase of engagements with oil and gas industry stakeholders on the draft of Nigerian Content Ministerial Regulations (NCMR).

    The final forum was held in Lagos had in attendance representatives of the multinational and indigenous operating companies, service companies and select law firms working on the regulations.

    NCDMB Executive Secretary,   Simbi Wabote, an engineer, was represented at the workshop by Director Finance and Personnel Management, Mr. Isaac Yalah, who stated the key objective of the event, which was “the adoption of the updated draft Ministerial Regulations by industry stakeholders for onward transmittal to the Minister for ratification”.

    He said the Board believed strongly in collaborating with key stakeholders in the development of policies, which was why it convened a number of engagements to obtain the reviews and endorsement of industry players on the regulations.

    According to Yalah, Sections 36, 40, 41, 42, 47, 55 and 101 of the Nigerian Content Act empower the Minister of Petroleum Resources to make regulations that will foster the development of Nigerian content. He urged participants at the workshop to make robust inputs, which would be incorporated before the documents are dispatched to the Minister.

    NCDMB Legal Services Co-ordinator, Mrs. Rose Chukwuonwe, noted that previous deliberations on the ministerial regulations had been impactful and successful.

    The ministerial regulations covers Research & Development (R&D); Training, Capacity Development; Growth of Indigenous Capacity; Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Enforcement and Compliance Regulation; Registration of Operators and other professionals with Nigerian professional bodies; Technology transfer and Establishment of operations in Nigeria.

  • NEPC, stakeholders to work on export promotion

    The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and stakeholders are working on Export Promotion Action Plan  (EPAP).

    NEPC offered itself for benchmarking by the International Trade Centre since August this year.

    While the council scored well in a number of areas under the watch of the International Trade Centre, it is clear that there are still much to be improved upon.

    Read also: ‘Why FG needs to reconsider signing African Free Trade Agreement’

    Its Executive Director/CEO, Olusegun Awolowo who spoke during a focus group meeting on non-oil export in Abuja, said it was time to discuss past NEPC interventions and how they could be improved upon.

    Represented by the Director  Policy and Strategy,  Abdulahi  Sidi  Aliyu, the CEO said participants were invited to discuss ways in which they feel both parties could form additional strategic partnership. This is an opportunity for stakeholders to show how they feel and how collaboration can be enhanced and improved.

    NEPC will also be expecting feedback from CBI Programme, SIAL Food Fair, women in export events, Gul Food Expo and Nigeria UK Trade and investment diagnostic study.

  • Fg partners stakeholders to expand diagnosis and treatment of tb

    As part of its bold step in finding missing Tuberculosis (TB) cases, the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli-Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP) of the Federal Ministry of Health is rapidly expanding TB diagnostics and treatment services to move sites across the country.

    The NTBLCP National Coordinator, Dr. A. Lawanson who made this known in the pre–world tuberculosis day press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, in collaboration with the Stop TB Partnership, said: “OPD screening for TB has been instituted and is currently being scaled up to include all health facilities in the country.”

    Dr. Lawanson who was represented by Dr. Emperor Ubochioma, said that: “Nigeria is classified among countries with high burden for TB, TB/HIV and MDR-TB and currently ranked 6th globally and 1st in Africa.

    ‘The country contributes 9% to the global 3.6 million missing TB cases after India and Indonesia with 26% and 11% respectively.

    “An estimated 418,000 new TB uses cases in Nigeria in 2018 and the country notified l04,904 (25%) and l06,533 cases of TB in 2017 and 2018 respectively giving a gap of 314,712 and 3l9,599 cases yet to be notified respectively.

    “This implies that a large number of TB cases are still undetected/missing thereby constituting a pool for continuous transmission of the disease in the community.

    “The missing TB cases in Nigeria can be found among men, women and children with different forms of TB, including drug-resistant TB.

    “The proportion of missing TB cases among children is more worrisome, as the country was only able to notify 7% of the estimated childhood TB cases in 2017.”

    She, however, said that the major challenge is low case detection and low levels of awareness among the populace.

    Read also: ‘Nigeria has highest rate of tuberculosis in Africa’

    The NTBLCP boss also added that, “TB diagnosis is also a challenge as Xpert MTB/RIF assay, which is the first line test for the diagnosis of TB in the country, has a coverage of 41%, that is, 394 machines in 315 LGAs out of 774 LGAs in Nigeria.”

    Prof. Lovett Lawson, who is the Board Chair of Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, said: “TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. And Nigeria is among the 30 high burden countries for TB, TB/HIV and MDR-TB.

    “Nigeria is ranked 6th among the 30 high TB burden countries in the world and 1st in Africa. Nigeria also accounts for 8% of the global gap between TB incidence and notified cases.

    “Unfortunately, despite significant progress made over the last few years, every hour, eighteen (18)  Nigerians still die of TB; a disease that is preventable and curable.

    “To accelerate the TB response in countries to reach targets – Heads of States including His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, came together and made strong commitments to end TB at the first-ever UN High-Level Meeting in September 2018 in New York.”

    He explained that the World TB Day 2019, which will hold on the 24th of March, is a continuation of joint efforts to keep TB high on the global and national agenda.

    The theme of this year World TB Day – ‘IT’S TIME’ (Adapted in Nigeria as “It’s time to end TB in Nigeria” – puts the accent on the urgency to act on the commitments made by global leaders at the UNHLM in New York, to: scale up access to prevention and treatment; build accountability; ensure sufficient and sustainable financing including for research; promote an end to stigma and discrimination, and promote an equitable, rights-based and people-centered TB response.

    According to Dr Odume Bethrand, the Senior Programme Specialist – TB/HIV of the United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC), “We are looking at the funding gap which is about 24%, about N35bn as at last year. Talking about TB case detection case in the country, we can’t reach out there if there are no resources to support the infrastructure, human resources, and other innovation approaches in detecting TB cases, and even support for the patient.

    “We agreed that it should be a multi-stakeholder approach; the government must be there, the funding organizations, even the patient group too. The problem now in Nigeria is that the private sector is not coming onboard to raise funding and collaborate to in addressing the TB issues in the country.

    “The government has done great. When we look at funding gaps, remember that the health care facilities out there are supported by government, and the people providing those services are being paid by government. But we are looking at drugs which are coming in through the global funds and other partners supporting. Government support and funding have actually increased overtime.”

    Other stakeholders at the pre-conference were: World Health Organization (WHO), USAID, USG implementers, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), Development Communications (DevComs) Network, and many more.

    -End-

  • Maritime security: Stakeholders reiterate regional collaboration, borderless sea

    •As NN inaugurates RMAC training school

    The Nigerian Navy (NN) and her regional counterparts have been urged to sustain collaboration and embrace borderless patrol of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) to address issues of arms, drugs and human trafficking, piracy and other maritime crimes has been restated.

    They were also urged to sustain joint regional patrols of the GoG in order to contain menaces that were militating against effective realisation of the blue economy.

    These were some of the recommendations made by participants at a symposium to mark the official opening of the 2019 OBANGAME Express held at the Naval Dockyard Limited in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Initiated by the United States (US) Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF) in 2010 to foster togetherness among African navies, this year’s exercise would test the interoperability of the forces, information management, arrest and prosecution of offenders, among other things.

    Addressing delegates from 31 countries of the world yesterday, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas said the joint exercise was coming barely a month after the NN concluded training of naval personmel from Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic on Regional Maritime Domain Awareness Capability (RMAC) as well as 200 Maritime Stakeholders.

    He said the regional joint patrol was very important for governments of countries around the GoG because of the enormous maritime resources with prospects for lasting solution to economic and developmental aspirations of African states.

    According to Ibas, the region was frequently being challenged by multifaceted and evolving maritime threats leading to unpredictable threat-levels and deepening conditions inimical to peace and security.

    Of particular concern, Ibas said, was the realisation that many of the threats posed great danger to effective exploitation of the maritime environment and increasingly manifest as transnational and cross-border crimes, hence, the need for a united response by regional navies and coastguards.

    He said: “This esteemed assembly is no doubt fully abreast of the gains of the African Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) 2050 and the Yaoundé Code of Conduct of 2013, which have facilitated capacity building within a defined architecture for regional maritime security Operations.

    “These instruments have also emplaced standards for inter-regional co-operation based on law enforcement at sea, information sharing and training, further enhancing multilateral collaboration in the GoG. This is the spirit that birthed the OBANGAME EXPRESS as a tool for enhancing the collective capabilities of GoG countries to counter sea-based illicit activities by improving regional

    “This year’s exercise provides another unique opportunity to appraise operational and tactical scenarios akin to real life challenges commonly experienced within our region.

    “Despite the attendant operational and logistic challenge, the exercise would again provide for our navies opportunity to freely exercise without the encumbrances of boundary restrictions and sovereignty to overcome migratory threats and inter regional crimes which have begun to fester across our responsibility overlaps.

    “I am pleased to mention that the NN along with the navies of ECOWAS Zone E and the Gendarmerie of Niger Republic have been in the vanguard of efforts to build synergy across boundaries necessary to mitigate maritime security challenges within the zone. Under the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, the member states have endorsed a memorandum of understanding for joint patrols of their common maritime space.”

    Earlier, US Consul-General John Bray

    said the exercise had grown in complexity and accomplishment, commending efforts by the regional navies to collaborate to counter sea-based illicit activities.

    He said: “We note the efforts by regional navies to work together in the spirit of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct which is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to enhance the collective capabilities of Gulf of Guinea and West African nations to counter sea-based illicit activity.”

    Director of Intelligence, U.S. Africa Command, Rear Admiral Heidi Berg said 33 countries were scheduled to participate in the exercise, adding that illegal fishing, trafficking of weapons, narcotics and people, as well as the ongoing threat of piracy, undermine the rule of law, food security, and economic development in the region.

    She said the exercise was clear demonstration of the US’ dedication to combat illicit activities and help its partners in the GoG to provide security for their resources, economy, and people.

    “Obangame Express 2019 will make the region a safe place for maritime commerce and ultimately help increase prosperity,” Berg said.

    Highpoint of the event was the inauguration of the first Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) Training School in West Africa which was established through a counterpart arrangement between the US and Nigerian governments.

    At the event were General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division Maj.-Gen. Musa Yusuf, Commandant, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) Oshodi Air Vice Marshal Abubakar-Sadick Liman, Rear Admiral Ifeola Mohammed, Flag Officers Commanding (FOCs) Western and Naval Training Command, Rear Admirals Obed Ngalabak and Stanfford Enoch respectively, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Rear Admiral Maurice Eno, among others.

     

     

  • Controversy trails reduction of pump price, stakeholders flay move

    The call by the Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo-led factional body of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for its members to reduce the pump price of petroleum from N145-140 has generated heated debates amongst the stakeholders with many describing the proposal as counterproductive.

    Speaking with our correspondent at the weekend, Prince Adekunle Okunade, Southwest Zonal Chairman of the Private Depot of Oil and Gas Marketers Association of Nigeria (PDOGMAN) and other stakeholders said the directive was not in the overall interest of stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, especially those at the upstream sector.

    It may be recalled that Mr. Okworonkwo had prompted its members to slash N5 from the N145 official petroleum pump price in a bid to motivate Nigerians to return to their respective destinations to vote on February 23 and March 9 respectively.

    The IPMAN president urged his members nationwide to immediately implement the directives maintaining that the IPMAN’s decision to reduce the petroleum pump price followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s concern over the election postponement.

    However, Okuande, PDOGMAN considers the proposal as self-serving and has urged its members not to take it seriously.

    Raising some posers, Okunade asked, “Where would they get product?” adding, “Our members should not panic because this is not feasible. As a private depot there is no need for speculation.”

    Pressed further, he said, “What we are concerned about is how the government will increase our own margin because the margin of profit we make from the distribution and supply of products currently is not even encouraging is already a disincentive to business so going forward with such a proposal to further reduce pump price may be suicidal for business. Anybody that buys products from any private depot can never sell at N140 basically because there are lots of expenses and running cost such as AGO to power our tankers and generators at a lot of cost to the depot. There is no private depot that buys from marketers that can sell at N140 per litre it’s not just possible.”