The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SURE-P

  • SURE-P: 111,000 workers may lose jobs

    Unless additional funds are made available, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Committee may sack 111,000 workers at the end of this month, it was learnt yesterday.

    Its Chairman, Dr. Christopher Kolade, spoke on the cash crunch affecting the activities of the committee when he briefed the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on SURE-P in Abuja.

    Kolade told the Senator Abdul Ningi-led committee that the SURE-P committee employed 3,000 workers each from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    He regretted that of a budget proposal of N27 billion meant to pay workers under its employment generation scheme, only a paltry N9 billion was approved in this year’s budget.

    The agency chief said the development has hindered the committee’s target of employing 5,000 workers per state and the FCT on a monthly allowance of N10,000 each.

    Kolade said his committee would not be able to meet its commitment to the 111,000 youths already engaged under the programme.

    He said: “This year, for instance, I mentioned the fact that our target was to provide jobs for 5,000 youths per state, including the FCT. We started last year and, in fact, in all the states we got to the level of 3,000 youths per state.

    “We pay each of these people N10,000 per month. So, there is a lot of money involved in this.

    “…In our budget to get to 5,000 per state this year and to maintain all of them, we needed N28.5 billion.

    “What we estimated in the budget was N27 billion and the Federal Government agreed to this and passed on to the National Assembly. But when the budget came back from the National Assembl, we found that the N27 billion had been reduced to N9 billion. So, there is a shortfall.

    “We immediately alerted the executive on this and I believe the executive made representations to the National Assembly, saying if we reduce this fund to that extent, we will be unable to carry out the programme.

    “Unfortunately, when the National Assembly returned with the final budget, it was still at N9 billion. So, it means that we cannot only be unable to press forward in 5,000 per state, but that in fact continuing to pay the 3,000 per state we have now, as from the end of this month, is impossible.”

  • Govt gets $300m World Bank loan for youth employment

    Govt gets $300m World Bank loan for youth employment

    THE Federal Government has obtained a $300million loan from the World Bank to support the Youth Employment and Social Support Operations (YESSO).

    YESSO is meant to provide opportunities for employment and social service delivery and harmonise social protection interventions.

    The National Project Coordinator of the Graduate Internship Scheme of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Mr Peter Papka, spoke yesterday at the training for delegates of the seven states that have met the conditions stipulated for participation in Abuja.

    He said the objective of this support is to increase access of poor citizens to youth employment opportunities, social services, and strengthened safety net systems in participating states.

    At the federal level, a Federal Operation Coordinating Unit (FOCU) based at the Federal Ministry of Finance would coordinate YESSO with other agencies involved in implemention under the operations such as, the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the Millennium Development Goals Office (MDGs).

    The operation is to be managed at the state level by a designated State Operation Coordinating Unit (SOCU).

    The SOCU, Papka said, is responsible for the establishment of the central safety net coordination system including the targeting system and the unified registry of beneficiaries.

    SOCU, he said, “is accountable to the state government and FOCU while the project implementation units (PIUs) are responsible for implementing the three components of YESSO at the state level.”

    There are three components of the support operation. These include: The public workfare component which will enhance the capacity of participating unemployed young people, create and improve basic social and economic infrastructure in communities.

    It is expected to increase the income and consumption of young participants and their households, increase effective demand in local markets, and increase household asset ownership, savings, and investments.

  • FG woos firm for SURE-P GIS

    The Federal Government has commenced moves to woo firms in Edo State to participate in the Graduate Internship Scheme, an arm of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
    It said only 10 firms out of the 34 organisations that registered for the GIS in the state met its requirement for paticipation in the scheme.
    It also said out of 2623 graduates that registered in the state, only 31 were matched to firms and four were hired as staff.
    Project Director of the Graduate Internship Scheme, Mr. Peter Papka disclosed this in Benin City at a sensitization session with some organisations in the state.
    Mr. Papka represented by GIS Head of Operations, Akubo Adegbe called on the firms to participate in the programme and help take unemployed graduates off the streets.
    He said 35 per cent of over 2000 firms that registered for the scheme nationwide were eligible.
    Papka assured the firms that the federal government would be responsible for the payment of monthly stipend to the graduates during the one year internship.
    According to him, “If we work together, we will all contribute to addressing graduate youth unemployment in this state.”

    “There is the urgent need for more firms to participate in this program and take graduates out of the labour market. This session is a call to action. The challenge is getting enough firms for a large proportion of the registered graduates.”

  • Minister urges payment of SURE-P stipends

    Minister urges payment of SURE-P stipends

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu yesterday said that the continued delay of the payment of stipends to the beneficiaries of the Community Services, Women and Youths Empowerment (CSWYE) under the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) could cause crisis.

    Speaking at the Inter-ministerial Consultative Committee (IMCC) meeting at Abuja, he said: “The fear is that the delay in payment of stipends to the beneficiaries cause crisis in all the state as they tend to grow impatient.”

    He said that the ministry has toiled to source funding for the project in sustainable manner to ensure smooth payment of the youths ‘ monthly stipends.

    According to him, the paucity of fund is having a toll on other aspects of the project which are at slow pace or put completely on hold.

    Wogu said that only part of the 2013 budget for the project was released, to the tune of N4.96billion, which enabled the payment of monthly stipends to beneficiaries and provision of running cost to all the states of the federation, up to June.

    He said: “ We currently have back-log of these payments for the months of July and August, which will continue to build up if more funds are not released.”

    The minister said that following the federal government’s directive to involve five more banks, Access Bank, First City Monument Bank, First Bank, Unity and Zenith in the beneficiary payment system in addition to the United Bank of Africa , the pioneer bank.

    He added that series of meetings were held with the banks and a consensus was reached that the new banks will be given till October to take over the payment stipends in their respective assigned geo-political zones to enable them develop and test-run the required payment portals.

    Wogu noted that in continuation of the zonal sensitization and appraisal visits to states, the South West geo-political zone is the next in line.

  • SURE-P to spend N230b on projects, says Kolade

    SURE-P to spend N230b on projects, says Kolade

    The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) is to spend about N230 billion on some projects before the end of the year, the Chairman, Dr Christopher Kolade, has said.

    Kolade, who spoke in Abuja, said the body spent less than its N180 billion last year.

    He said: “So, the new fund for this year was still N180 billion and because of what we did not spend last year, our budget for this year was N273 billion.”

    He said going by the pace of the body, it was likely that by the end of the year, it would have spent between N220 and N230 billion the projects.

    He said the body is charged with managing and reinvesting the Federal Government’s share of savings from the partial removal of the subsidy on fuel in projects and initiatives, adding that the focus of the committee is to improve the living condition of ordinary Nigerians by monitoring the spending from the savings.

    “We are glad to say that the pace of work within the country is something we are satisfied with,” he added.

    He said the Federal Government’s share from the savings is 41 per cent, while 54 per cent is shared by the states and local governments and the remainder goes to the Ecological Fund.

    Kolade said the committee was giving priority to what the fund would be applied to, such as infrastructure development, safety net projects, building of railways and roads around the country.

    He said the committee could not do much last year because of its slow take-off, but that this year, people had started to notice the difference.

    “For us that is the way people should be experiencing improvement because the funds were derived from individual Nigerians, so it is important we deliver through them some relief as promised by the President,” he added.

  • Plateau SURE-P funds

    Plateau SURE-P funds

    •The state govt should be more responsive to legislative scrutiny

    The Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) allocations to Plateau State have become a subject of legislative scrutiny, a thing the executive arm of the government is not comfortable with. Yet, the state government deliberately kept an anxious public in the dark over the safety of and what use to deploy the funds. The state house of assembly finally bowed to public pressure when it beamed its klieg light into the matter, to ascertain what has happened to the over N5billion said to be SURE-P accruals to the state from January 2012 till date.

    The public, through the assembly, sought to ascertain whether or not the money had been misappropriated by the government, since nothing concrete points otherwise. The 17 local government councils in the state that ought to benefit from the funds have nothing on ground to show that they did. The programme, unfortunately, has not taken off at all in the state, over a year and half after the introduction of SURE-P by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in the aftermath of the January 2012 nationwide fuel subsidy protests that nearly paralysed the country.

    The eight-man ad-hoc committee set up by the speaker of the house of assembly, John Clark Dabwan, and chaired by Dalyop Mancha has concluded investigation into the matter and submitted its interim report to the assembly. What is rather disgusting is the rigid posture of members of the executive arm that were invited to appear before the committee. It is sad that officials of the state reluctantly appeared before the committee and more contemptuous is the fact that most of them refused to give bank details of the state’s SURE-P funds. Also, the federal, zonal and state coordinators of SURE-P shunned the committee’s summons.

    The state government should refrain from acts that could project it as denigrating another arm of government. It is certain that it cannot pretend not to be aware of the uncooperative and disdainful attitudes of some of its officials, especially the accountant-general of the state, among others, that were duly summoned by the assembly. The lawmakers are accountable to the people and not to Governor Jonah Jang.  And the people have the right to compel the assembly to look into whatever they feel is going wrong in the state. This should be done without executive intimidation.

    Despite these deliberate official hiccups, we consider as commendable the fact that the committee was able to unravel some facts. For instance, it was revealed that the state has been receiving N218 million monthly since January 2012 as its share of the SURE-P funds from the Federal Government, which reportedly has amounted to over N3 billion. Also, the state government has reportedly been receiving N146 million monthly on behalf of its 17 local governments for the same period, and which has equally accumulated to over N2 billion. This could not have been achieved if this constitutional oversight had not been carried out.

    However, we condemn the assembly’s subsequent apologetic posturing before the executive by denying the probe and calling it mere investigation. Are the members afraid of the governor? What should be paramount is the interest of the people that has been served in this regard. Whatever squabbling from whatever quarters is sheer bunkum. The Plateau State assembly and others across the country must insist that it is illegal for any governor to treat public funds as his personal wealth. And that it is necessary to let them know that public funds in all circumstances must be appropriated by the state houses of assembly. The SURE-P funds should not be treated as a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ‘family affair’. Much as we have our reservations about the programme, it is important to say that its results must be apparent for all to see and feel, more so when public funds have been disbursed.

  • ‘Invest SURE-P funds in petrochemicals’

    THE Federal Government has been urged to invest part of the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) funds into petrochemical industries.

    Chairman of the states’ Commissioners of Finance, Timothy Odaah, gave the advice at the just concluded National Council of Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) in Minna, the Niger State capital

    He spoke against the backdrop of what some state government called lack of proper harnessing of Nigeria’s resources.

    He urged state governments to diversify their sources of revenue and depend less on proceeds from crude oil.

    He expressed concern that with United States gradually building up its oil reserves and exploring Shale oil and gas, and China’s growing investment in crude oil across the world, the continued dependence on only one source of revenue for Nigeria was dangerous.

    Odaah lamented that Nigeria’s oil is about to finish, saying that Nigeria should diversify and encourage professional education in the fields of science, technology and research.

    While supporting the growth of agriculture, Odaah, attributed the growing fall in gross revenue to what he called, “less extraction and not harnessing the resources in other sectors.”

    Over the months, fall in gross revenue has been attributed to continuous theft of crude oil, leakages, pipeline vandalism at various terminals, and repair works.

    To check these, Odaah suggested that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) should be independent, arguing that the practice of plea bargain should be discouraged.

    “Plea bargain will encourage criminals to continue in their nefarious activities with realisation that if they return part of their ill-gotten wealth, they will walk away with the rest of their criminal proceeds,” he added.

  • Plateau Assembly uncovers unspent SURE-P fund

    Plateau Assembly uncovers unspent SURE-P fund

    The Plateau State House of Assembly has discovered over N3 billion unspent Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) fund in the state since January 2012, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

    The Chairman of the House Ad- hoc Committee on the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, Mr. Dalyop Mancha, made this known to journalists in Jos on Wednesday.

    Mancha said the committee discovered that both the state and local governments attracted fund from the SURE-P since January 2012, which the two tiers did not disbursed to the beneficiaries.

    He said the Commissioners for Finance, Local Government and Chieftaincy, the state Accountant-General, state and zonal Coordinators of SURE-P and the Director-General, Research and Planning, Plateau Government House, appeared before it.

    The chairman said the finance commissioner told the committee that the state started receiving monthly allocation of funds from the programme in January 2012, but a special account was created for it in April 2012.

    “He said the funds are intact and that the account have so far received the sum of over N3 billion arising from a monthly allocation of N218 million,’’ he said.

    Mancha said the commissioner for local governments also told the committee that the state received SURE-P funds from April 2012, and was kept in an account domiciled as local government SURE-P account.

    He said the commissioner blamed the non commencement of the programme on late submission of programme by committees’ set up in local governments for the purpose.

    He said the committee had recommended that the state and local governments should put in place mechanisms for the commencement of the programme to catch up with other states.

    Meanwhile, the house has mandated the committee to reconcile it figures with the SURE-P headquarters in Abuja.

     

  • Assembly not probing Jang over SURE-P, says Speaker

    Assembly not probing Jang over SURE-P, says Speaker

    •ALGON: our SURE-P project ’ll take off soon

    The Plateau State House of Assembly has said it is not probing Governor Jonah Jang over the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) fund.

    Assembly Speaker John Clark Dabwan spoke yesterday in Jos, the state capital, when he was reacting to reports on the alleged probe.

    He said the Assembly was investigating the status of the SURE-P funds as well as its level of implementation at both federal and state levels.

    Speaking through the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Diket Plang, the Speaker said the Assembly was not in doubt about the ability of the Executive to ensure a prudent management of state’s funds.

    Dabwan said: “The action of the House in finding the status of the SURE-P in the state was to ensure we protect the interest of the state in the Federal Government’s programme. Indeed, we need to commend the state government for the transparent manner it has protected the fund it received from the Federal Government.

    “We are aware of various kinds of SURE-P projects going on in other states, being sponsored by the Federal Government. We need to know why nothing of such is happening in Plateau State.

    “The Ad Hoc Committee of the House has not concluded its assignment. It has only submitted an interim report. The committee will go to Abuja to make more enquiry from the relevant federal agencies.

    “So far, we are satisfied with what we got from the Plateau State government concerning the state’s share of SURE-P. But we have to also know what the Federal SURE-P will do for Plateau and how soon we expect that.

    “So, our overall interest is to make sure we protect the interest of Plateau State both in state government’s and Federal Government’s programmes.”

    The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Davo Mang, told the Ad Hoc committee that the N5 billion received by the state was intact.

    Mang said: “It is true that the cash has not been spent because it has not been appropriated by the House of Assembly. While the SURE-P cash is kept in normal current account of the state government, that of the local governments goes to their accounts.”

    The Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Paul Wai, explained why the funds had not been spent.

    He said: “The delay in the take-off of the SURE-P programmes at the local government level is due to late submission of the programme’s outlines by the committee of the local governments.

    “All the local governments were asked to submit project plans that are peculiar to their communities. The implementation of the SURE-P in the local governments is largely dependent on programme outlines of the local governments.

    “The SURE-P funds are controlled by the Joint Account Committee of the state and would be managed the way any state fund is managed. That is, it will be used for all sectors of the state’s economy.”

    The state Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Emmanuel Loman, gave reasons for the delay in the implementation of the SURE-P in the local governments.

    He said: “The local governments would not rush into wasting public funds carelessly. We have to plan for it; we are still planning for it.

    “We have identified various programmes, such as youth empowerment, women’s programme and others that majority of our people will benefit from. I mean, there must be the right reasons to spend this money. We don’t want to waste it. The identified projects will soon take off in all the local governments as soonhe Plateau State House of Assembly has said it is not probing Governor Jonah Jang over the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) fund.

    Assembly Speaker John Clark Dabwan spoke yesterday in Jos, the state capital, when he was reacting to reports on the alleged probe.

    He said the Assembly was investigating the status of the SURE-P funds as well as its level of implementation at both federal and state levels.

    Speaking through the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Diket Plang, the Speaker said the Assembly was not in doubt about the ability of the Executive to ensure a prudent management of state’s funds.

    Dabwan said: “The action of the House in finding the status of the SURE-P in the state was to ensure we protect the interest of the state in the Federal Government’s programme. Indeed, we need to commend the state government for the transparent manner it has protected the fund it received from the Federal Government.

    “We are aware of various kinds of SURE-P projects going on in other states, being sponsored by the Federal Government. We need to know why nothing of such is happening in Plateau State.

    “The Ad Hoc Committee of the House has not concluded its assignment. It has only submitted an interim report. The committee will go to Abuja to make more enquiry from the relevant federal agencies.

    “So far, we are satisfied with what we got from the Plateau State government concerning the state’s share of SURE-P. But we have to also know what the Federal SURE-P will do for Plateau and how soon we expect that.

    “So, our overall interest is to make sure we protect the interest of Plateau State both in state government’s and Federal Government’s programmes.”

    The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Davo Mang, told the Ad Hoc committee that the N5 billion received by the state was intact.

    Mang said: “It is true that the cash has not been spent because it has not been appropriated by the House of Assembly. While the SURE-P cash is kept in normal current account of the state government, that of the local governments goes to their accounts.”

    The Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Paul Wai, explained why the funds had not been spent.

    He said: “The delay in the take-off of the SURE-P programmes at the local government level is due to late submission of the programme’s outlines by the committee of the local governments.

    “All the local governments were asked to submit project plans that are peculiar to their communities. The implementation of the SURE-P in the local governments is largely dependent on programme outlines of the local governments.

    “The SURE-P funds are controlled by the Joint Account Committee of the state and would be managed the way any state fund is managed. That is, it will be used for all sectors of the state’s economy.”

    The state Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Emmanuel Loman, gave reasons for the delay in the implementation of the SURE-P in the local governments.

    He said: “The local governments would not rush into wasting public funds carelessly. We have to plan for it; we are still planning for it.

    “We have identified various programmes, such as youth empowerment, women’s programme and others that majority of our people will benefit from. I mean, there must be the right reasons to spend this money. We don’t want to waste it. The identified projects will soon take off in all the local governments as soon as all arrangements are concluded.

    “In any case, this fund is for the state to spend on areas of needs. Besides, Plateau State’s major need is security. The state could have spent this fund on solving its security problems but the government is very cautious in spending public funds. That is why the cash remains intact, until government finds the right reason to apply it.”

    as all arrangements are concluded.

    “In any case, this fund is for the state to spend on areas of needs. Besides, Plateau State’s major need is security. The state could have spent this fund on solving its security problems but the government is very cautious in spending public funds. That is why the cash remains intact, until government finds the right reason to apply it.”

     

  • SURE-P kits youths, others in Delta

    THE Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) has cheered up youths in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.

    How? It provided over 900 of them with work kits to enable them lead independent lives, apart from contributing meaningfully to the economy of the state.

    The distribution of the tools took place at Otorho-Agbon, headquarters of the local government area.

    The benefiting youths were spread across the 11 wards in the council. Others also gained from the programme.

    Items presented were clippers and generating sets to 100 barbers, hair-dryers and generating sets to 100 hair-dressers, sewing machines and generating sets to 200 tailors, while tricycles were distributed to 30 persons for mass transport. Eight persons got tricycle trucks for transportation of farm produce.

    Two hundred and thirty women were given N50,000 each to recapitalise their mini-trades and mass transit businesses. Some, like the elderly, needed the cash so they could buy blood pressure apparatus.

    In addition, 60 women were linked up with a consultancy, Dibof Enterprises Limited based in Lagos to train them in different areas of micro-enterprises. such skills include soap and detergent making, printing of recharge cards, production of confectionaries, air fresheners, among others.

    Speaking at the event, Ethiope East Council Chairman, Sunday Eromedoghene Onoriode said the SURE-P, which cuts across political parties, is in compliance with the directive of the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to implement it in the 25 councils.

    Onoriode explained that Ethiope East received N70,670,280,006, being its share of the subsidy proceeds for the period covering from May, 2012 to January 2013.

    He said it complemented the wisdom of the state and Federal Government, which deemed it necessary to align with the programme, to bring succour to impoverished Nigerians.

    Onoriode explained that the Federal Government in January, 2012 approved the partial withdrawal of oil subsidy from the Nigerian petroleum market, though added that the dividends of the subsidy will be reinvested in the welfare of th people.

    Represented at the programme launch by the Commissioner, Directorate of Local Government Affairs and the Accounting Officer of the SURE-P Mr. Neword Safugha, Governor Uduaghan said the programme was in line with the three-point agenda of his administration.

    Dr Uduaghan advised beneficiaries to make judicious use of what they received under the programme.

    The Political Adviser to the Governor and Deputy Chairman, Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ighoyota Amori; Director-General of Federal Budget, Dr. Bright Okogu, the Ethiope East leader and party chairman, Chief Bernard Edewor and Dr. Kings Okpako hailed the council chairman, Sunday Onoriode for his initiative in ensuring that the empowerment benefited the down-trodden.

    They said that the programme was one of the best in the country.