Blog

A/Ibom Govt. decries N30bn debt owed by Tax evaders

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Taxes

By Bassey Bassey

Uyo, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) The Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Justice, Mr Uwemedimo Nwoko, has said that the state government is being owed over N30 billion in taxes.

Nwoko, who Is also the attorney- General, revealed this at the opening of 2016/2017 legal year in the state.

He said that the statutory allocation from the Federal Account could not sustain the state, pointing out that tax evaders had rendered the state financially incapacitated.

“I hereby call on all tax evaders to urgently retrace their steps and ensure payment of taxes and revenue to Akwa Ibom State.

“As a matter of financial responsibility, the government of Akwa Ibom State will treat all tax evaders as saboteurs of government,” Nwoko threatened.

He called on the judiciary to ensure speedy determination of suits affecting revenue generation, and appealed that cases of revenue accruing to the state should not be lost on altar of technicalities.

Nwoko said that taxes were sources of revenue that helped government to discharge its responsibilities and appealed to companies doing business in the state to pay their taxes promptly.

“I therefore urge all tax payers to toe the path of responsibility and without further delay, pay all taxes and revenue as at when due.

“I will particularly pray my colleagues to advise their clients appropriately in the matter of taxation,” the commissioner appealed.

He said the state government had formed a Specialised Tax Unit headed by him with the intention to address all legal concerns of the State Internal Revenue Service.

Nwoko used the occasion to appeal to workers in the state, especially the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria to be patient with the state government.

“I am equally aware that the Judiciary is affected by the scarcity in resources and that the government is not unmindful of its plights,” Nwoko said.

He assured that the state government was working out measures to contain the suffering of the workers and other citizens under the current recession.

In his address, the Chairman of Uyo branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Aniekan Akpan, urged the state government to make available all financial entitlements owed the judiciary.

Akpan, who spoke on behalf of Eket and Ikot Ekpene chapters of NBA, had advised the state government to prevent any strike by judiciary staff this legal year.

He said that 116 lawyers working for the state government had yet to take possession of the vehicles earlier approved for them.

Akpan called for the amendment of the Customary Court laws to reflect the new status where lawyers are made the presidents of those courts. (NAN)

BB/OFN

Edited by Felix Nwadioha

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NEPAD
By Lizzy Agbaji
Abuja, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) Mrs Gloria Akobundu, the new National Coordinator of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), has said she would adopt new approaches to achieve
the programme’s success in Nigeria.

She made this known on assuming duty at the Partnership’s office on Tuesday in Abuja.

Akobundu said that in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s change agenda, she would adopt a new all-inclusive approach to revamp NEPAD Nigeria for the development of various sectors of the economy.
She explained that as part of the new success plan, she would focus on driving the vision of NEPAD to the grassroots to ensure that it reached every Nigerian.

She identified four major plans upon which she hope to revamp NEPAD’s vision in Nigeria and implement its founding goal to achieving a better economy.

She said “one of my working plan is to rebrand, rework and relaunch NEPAD Nigeria for a greater meaning in the lives of Nigerians.

“Secondly, I will realign our engagements with development partners and other parts of the world in line with the reality of the dwindling oil revenue.

“I will also focus on Human Capital Development which will encompass complete reorientation in our behaviours and attitude.

“NEPAD Nigeria will ensure a growing economic diversification with emphasis on agriculture and food security.

“We shall, together, strive to pursue all of these plans to bring the vision of NEPAD down to the people, the true owners and reason for the programme.”

Launching the NEPAD weekly publication “Nigeria Today’’, she said it was the first step to bringing the partnership to the minds of the public by enlightening and informing Nigerians on its activities.

She called on staff to give her maximum support through hard work and dedication to ensure the success of the new approach.

Responding on behalf of the staff, Mrs Augusta Ume, the Director, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), pledged maximum support of staff in achieving the success of NEPAD in Nigeria.

She said the staff were committed to moving NEPAD Nigeria to greater heights.

Member states of the African Union (AU) adopted NEPAD in 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia for the purpose of providing policy framework for accelerating economic cooperation and integration in Africa.

Its vision also aims at poverty eradication and women empowerment. (NAN)
LIZ/HA
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(Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NYCN warns members against violating court order on its leadership

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Youths

By Martins Odeh

Abuja, Oct.4, 2016 (NAN) The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) on Tuesday warned against further attempts by some aggrieved members of the Council to violate subsisting judgment of court.

A statement signed by the President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Mr Ikenga Ugochinyere, made this known newsmen in Abuja.

Ugochinyere, who is also the President of National Youth Leader of the Federation, said it would amount to a contempt of court if any group went on to conduct a fresh congress.

He said the Aug.3, 2015 judgment of the FCT High Court made him to remain the president of the council.

Justice Valentine Ahsi had in suit FCT/HC/M2612/15 set aside earlier ruling against Ugonchinyere’s election as president the NYCN.

Ahsi, therefore, went ahead to uphold Ugochinyere as the duly elected president of the council.

Ugochinyere said some aggrieved persons had finalised plot to conduct another congress, adding that such action would be done in breach of a subsisting judgment of court.

“We write to inform you about this because the FCT High Court had ruled on who is the President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

“Furthermore, the Federal High Court in another matter still pending before it had also ordered parties to maintain status quo.

“Hence, the same parties before the court cannot purport to have conducted another Congress of the Youth Council,’’ he said.

Ugochinyere further said: “the perpetrators of this act of illegality we are informed have finalized a plot to use media platform to promote their unlawful acts’’.

“We kindly request you deny them the use of your platform for any such use as our legal team has concluded arrangements to file the necessary papers in court to nullify the purported congress.

“We shall also proceed contempt against any person or Organisation supporting their contemptuous acts,’’ he said. (NAN)

OMO/OFN

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ICAO

By Solomon Asowata

Lagos, Oct. 4,2016 (NAN) The 152 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) member states have voted for Nigeria to secure a Council Seat in the Part II Category.

Capt. Hadi Sirika, Minister of State, Aviation, confirmed the development in a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.

NAN reports that Nigeria secured the vote at the ongoing 39th Assembly of the world aviation regulatory body taking place in Montreal, Canada.

Sirika said with the vote, Nigeria would be a member of the council for the next three years before another election.

He said: “I feel great; I feel that Nigeria has taken its rightful place. We are being elected into Part II yet again. Nigeria has been in this council since 1962.

“ We have been contributing our quota and aviation has taken the centre stage now in the world. Security has come to a centre stage without diminishing safety,” he said.

The minister thanked African and other countries that voted Nigeria into the council.

“I thank them very much and I thank the entire nations that voted for Nigeria.

“Most importantly, I thank the Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, who in the first place, allowed and approved that Nigeria should stand for the election.

“He gave us all the necessary support and it has yielded good result.’’

According to him, Nigeria has long ago endorsed the “No Country Left Behind initiative of ICAO’’ and has been supporting aviation industry in the sub-region.

Sirika said,”We have Banjul Accord and BAGASSO domiciled in Nigeria and headquartered in Nigeria, and being funded largely by Nigeria.

“ Nigeria will continue to play the key role in leading aviation in West and Central Africa,” the minister said.

NAN reports that the ICAO Council is a permanent body of the organisation responsible to the Assembly.

Each member state is entitled to one vote on matters before the assembly and decisions at these sessions are taken by a majority of the votes cast, except where otherwise provided for in the convention. (NAN)

ASO/MO/SOA

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Edited by Morayo Omolade/Oluwole Sogunle

NAN-H-85
Disbursement
By Zubair Idris
Katsina, Oct. 4, 2016(NAN) Mr Shehu Koko, the Aide-de-camp (ADC) to former governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, on Tuesday, explained to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry how he disbursed N680.2 million to security agents in the state during the 2015 general elections.

Koko told the Commission in Katsina that the funds were disbursed in cash.

He said it was his former boss, Shema, who asked him to summon a security meeting on March 26, 2015.

“The money was disbursed as logistics and allowances to various security personnel during the Presidential and Gubernatorial Elections in 2015.

“I invited the then Deputy Commissioner of Police who stands for the CP, the then Commanding Officer of the 35 battalion, Nigerian Army, the Director, Department of State Security (DSS) and the Deputy Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC),’’ he said.

He explained that the money was provided by the then Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Sani Makana, on March 27, 2015.

According to him, the DSS was given N158 million, Nigerian Army; N68.2 million, Customs; N8 million, Immigration; N10 and Prisons Service; N8 million.

Others were Federal Road Safety Corps; N8, NSCDC; N24 million, the present Commissioner of Police who was in the state for election duties got N10 million, former Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP); N4 million and DCP operations; N3.5 million.

The ADC said each of the three police area commanders received N4 million, while N95 million was disbursed to the 34 Divisional Police Officers, where each DPO got N2.5 million, among others.

He added that the present ADC to Gov. Bello Masari collected for himself and on behalf of the Non Commission Officers serving in the state.

Koko submitted documents on the disbursement which were registered and marked as evidences.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Commission, Justice Muhammad Surajo, had adjourned sitting until Oct. 26 for adoption of addresses by the counsel.

It would be recalled that the current state Governor, Alhaji Bello Masari, had constituted a
commission of inquiry to investigate how funds were allegedly diverted during the tenure of
Ibrahim Shema and advise government on what to do. (NAN)
ZI/HA
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(Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NAN-S-22
Training
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) Siji Lagunju, an Assistant Director of Technical, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Tuesday in Abuja said regular training of coaches would enhance football development in Nigeria.

Lagunju told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the training of coaches would help in developing them and they would in turn develop players who are under them.

The former player of the defunct Leventis United FC of Ibadan said the need to train coaches brought about the organisation of the ongoing CAF C-Licence Coaching Course in Abuja.

“This training is geared at developing coaches who will in turn develop players in their different towns, villages and clubs.

“The training is in line with FIFA’s idea to constantly develop football at the grassroots.

“With trainings like this, Nigeria in a short while will be better for it and football in Nigeria will grow,’’ he said.

Lagunju said about 80 coaches drawn from different clubs are participating in the training programme.

Speaking also, Emake Anthony, one of the participants, said the training was a refresher course for them to be in tune with modern coaching skills.

“The training is a basic course that is necessary for all coaches, particularly coaches in the football academies, as well as clubs in the divisions two and three.

“The course is an added knowledge from what we got from the National Institute of Sports (NIS) because it is mainly developmental.

“It is on how to develop football at the grassroots and football administration,’’ he said.

Another participant, Patrick Ngwaogu, said the C-Licence course would broaden his knowledge of football coaching and administration.

Ngwaogu said the course also gave him an insight into how to address the challenges in the football sector and to develop the game.

NAN reports that the ongoing C-Licence Coaching Course is a programme put together by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and organised by the NFF and will end on Oct. 15.(NAN)

(Edited and Controlled by Olawale Alabi)

ECOWAS Community Levy: Nigeria pays $54m for 2015

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Levy

Abuja, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) ECOWAS said Nigeria paid 54 million dollars as part of its obligation to the Community Levy for 2015 to implement programmes and projects in the sub-region.

Mr Allieu Sesay, ECOWAS Commissioner for Finance, said this at the Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Tuesday.

Sesay was responding to questions from parliamentarians following the presentation of the Community Status Report by the Commission’s President, Mr Marcel de Souza.

The commissioner said that member states had begun to fulfill their financial obligations following consistent persuasion and enlightenment of governments by the commission.

“A good number of states were not paying prior to 2016; we had some challenges in terms of members complying with some of our obligations but we were eventually able to persuade through consistent engagement.

“Luckily for us, the Nigerian government paid community levy for 2015 to the tune of about 54 million dollars and we are very grateful for that.

“Other member states, as well have been honouring their obligations with respect to the community levy and that has been able to provide the wherewithal for community institutions to implement projects and programmes for 2016.

“For now, we have collected 185 million dollars as at September 2016 for the first three quarters of the year, talking about Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2016,” he said.

He said that some member countries still owed some arrears dating to 2003 but, however, added that they had shown commitment to comply with the payment.

He said that Memoranda of Understanding had been signed with such countries to pay over a period of time.

“There are arrears dating back to 2003, the amount is quite significant.

“They have shown commitment to pay and we have signed a number of MoUs with them.

“They have to have a payment plan for the settlement of these arrears and some countries have pledged to pay over a three-year period.

“Others, because of the magnitude of the arrears, they agreed to pay within four years and we hope they live up to their commitments.”

He added that member countries had paid about 60 per cent of what was budgeted for, for the first three quarters of the year.

He further said that 113.8 million dollars had so far been disbursed to community institutions.

“We are optimistic that they will honour the obligations and we will be able to collect at least 70 per cent of what we projected for 2016; that is a little over 280 million dollars,” he said. (NAN)

TOP/IA

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(Edited by Idris Abdulrahman)

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Recession

By Temitope Ponle

Abuja, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Marcel de Souza says the recession being experienced in Nigeria has a negative impact on the sub-region’s overall economic performance.

De Souza said this while presenting the Community Status Report at the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Tuesday.

He was represented by the commission’s Vice President, Mr Edward Singhateh.

He said the sub-region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had declined to three per cent in 2016 from 5.6 per cent in 2013.

According to him, Nigeria’s economy represents two thirds of the sub-region’s GDP.

He noted that the country’s GDP had dropped to 2.3 per cent in 2016 from 5.4 per cent in 2013, one of the lowest in the sub-region.

De Souza explained that the drop in Nigeria’s growth rate was due to the reduction in oil prices.

He said that The Gambia also had a reduction in its growth rate to 2.3 per cent from 4.8 per cent in 2013.

Liberia and Cape Verde, he said, had a growth rate of 2.5 and 2.9 per cent respectively from 8.1 and one per cent respectively.

The member state with the highest growth rate was Cote d’Ivoire from 9.3 per cent in 2013 to 9.8 per cent in 2016.

Other member states experienced a growth rate of between 4.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent in 2016 against 3.3 per cent to 13 percent in 2013.

“The decline in Sierra Leone’s growth rate from 13 per cent to 21.5 per cent was mainly due to the negative impact of the Ebola Virus Disease on the country,’’ he explained.

The commission’s president said that the highest inflation rates for 2015 were recorded in countries of the West African Monetary Zone which includes The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

He noted that Ghana recorded the highest inflation rate of 17.7 per cent in 2015.

He said that the other member countries of the Union Economique et Monitaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) and Cape Verde recorded an inflation rate of less than two per cent in 2014 and 2015.

The countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

He also noted that Africa’s economic growth declined from 3.8 per cent in 2014 to 23.2 per cent in 2015 and was expected to reach 2.8 per cent in 2016.

De Souza noted that the decline was due to the fall in oil prices, as well as prices of commodities and the fragile political situation in some countries. (NAN)

TOP/EEE

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Edited by Ese E. Ekama

Benue Govt. to construct 10 mw of power plant at $18m

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Power

By Kingsley Okoye

Abuja, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue says the state government, with an investor Contec Global, will construct a 10 Mega-Watt (MW) of embedded power plant valued at 18 million dollars to  grow economic activities in the state.

A statement issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Head of Public Affairs, Dr Usman Arabi, stated that Ortom announced the plan at a visit to the commission on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ortom said that the planned power plant would be dedicated to industrial layouts in the state.

According to the statement, the acting Chairman of NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah, said that NERC would assist states that intended to invest in the power sector to improve the volume of power to Nigerians.

He said that the commission was planning to have a meeting with the 36 state governors on the investment opportunities in the sector.

He said that Ortom and other state governors should take interest in the ongoing consultations on mini-grid regulation.

The chairman said that the governors could explore the mini-grid regulation to provide electricity to areas in their states not connected to the national grid, adding that NERC would provide the needed assistance.

“There is regulatory guarantee on your investments; we will get some of our staff to work with your team and guide you through the technical and other requirement for the issuance of a licence.”

Akah expressed concern at the high incidence of violation of right of ways and trading activities under transmission lines, adding that it had led to many accidents in the power sector.

“Each time we have accident in the sector, we feel we have lost one of our own.

“Most of these accidents are preventable and we hope we can work with state governments on how we can reduce accidents to the barest minimum.“

He solicited the assistance of Benue government on the payment of debt owed operators in the power sector by ministries, departments and agencies.

The Project Coordinator of Contec Global Mr, Shashi Mozumder, said that the company had been issued a Certificate of Occupancy for the project site.

Mozunmder said that the power plant would also comprise three units of General Electric 3.4 megawatts turbines fuelled by gas transported with trucks from the oil fields. (NAN)

KC/IA

(Edited by Idris Abdulrahman)

NAN-HE-28

Policy

By Cecilia Ologunagba

Lagos, Oct. 4, 2016 (NAN) A former Minister of National Planning Commission, Dr Shamsudden Usman, says formulation of policies with effective monitoring and evaluation are solutions to achieving  economic development and not pumping of money.

Usman said this on Tuesday in Lagos while addressing participants at the workshop on “Strategic Planning, Plan Formulation and Effective Linkage to Budgeting Process’’.

He was reacting to questions on inconsistency in government policies, the importance of statistics in planning, leadership of the ministries as well as cadre of planning officers.

Usman spoke on “The Critical Role for the Directors of Planning, Research and Statistics in the Government’s Economic Programme.’’

He said if money was a solution to the problem in the power sector, given the billions spent on it, by now, the problem would have been solved.

“If you are in power ministry, you can go back and check the files and say to the minister of power, it is not money that we need but good policies.

“Right from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, we have spent somewhere in the region of 15 billion dollars on power; we have not reached 6,000 megawatts that is in the Seven Point Agenda.

“It is back to the issue of monitoring and evaluation framework, unless you are measuring, you are not doing well; you cannot achieve anything without measuring,’’ he said.

The former minister also gave examples of the defunct NITEL and education sectors where policies had transformed the sectors.

“Is it pumping money into NITEL that solved the problem. No! We moved from half of a million lines to 150 million lines.

“Yes, it is not working perfectly as it should but it is working.

“Also, one of the key performance indicators for Minister of Education then was the percentage of WAEC candidate that made 5 credits and above,’’ he said.

Usman said that indicator for the minister that time was very powerful measure.

“If the minister is monitoring that way, his attention will shift from establishing more federal colleges and look for whom to partner with to achieve results.

Usman further said that the key performance indicators set for ministers that time was the number of policy initiatives and those implemented.

“We measured how many policies initiated and how many got to National Economic Council (NEC) for approval.

“My quarrel with NEC that time was that, it was turned into a glorified Tender Board, every time we met, 99 per cent of our meeting was to approve contracts which is against the law.’’

The former minister, however, said that the focus of the government had been on expenditure, saying that the method had led the country astray.

“The problem with those figures when I was a Minister of Finance, every international body has already agreed that a certain amount of money should be spent on a sector.

“This is a kind of research you can do at Planning, Research and Statistics, if you are in ministry of finance.’’

On cadre of planning officers, he said that National Planning Commission used to be an autonomous agency that could hire and fire without a reference to the Civil Service Commission.

Usman said that the commission was now a ministry, so clearly that it didn’t have control over its staffing, discipline, and posting under the civil service.

“The law that established the National Planning Commission is still there; nobody has addressed that; the law is there, it has not been abrogated.

“So, if you look at it from legalistic point of view there are some issues there,’’ Usman said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day workshop is organised by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and facilitated by the Centre for Management Development (CMD).

It was organised to build the capacity of planning and budgeting skills of 450 PRS directors and senior officers from 50 Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

CMD is an agency under the ministry of budget and national planning with the mandate to provide services in the areas of management, administration and research. (NAN)

CIA/MO/IA

Edited by Morayo Omolade/Idris Abdulrahman