Blog

SGF tasks Fayemi on prompt payment of salaries, addressing illegal mining

Advice
By Kate Obande-Okewu
Abuja, Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has advised Ekiti Governor-Elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to ensure prompt payment of staff salaries and address illegal mining in the state.

Mustapha gave the advice while speaking with newsmen after a closed-door meeting with Fayemi on Thursday in Abuja.

The SGF urged Fayemi to utilise his wealth of experience as the former Minister of Mines and Steel Development and lay a solid foundation for legal mining activities.

He expressed confidence in the governor–elect, stating that Ekiti State would have a new lease of life under Fayemi’s leadership.

“Ekiti is predominantly a civil servant state of highly enlightened and educated community; one of the areas the people of Ekiti had a rough deal was the payment of salaries to civil servants.

“And that would be his first area of priority because he needs to empower the people so that they can have money in their pockets, pay rents, do their businesses and the economy will grow.

“The state of Ekiti has a lot of mining activities; right now illegal miners have taken over the place.

“I believe with his experience having served as Minister of Mines and Steel Development, illegal mining would be curbed.

Also speaking, Fayemi said that the purpose of his visit to the SGF was to solicit his support in moving the state forward.

He said that the key priority of his government was to clear the backlog of salaries, ensuring that salaries get to people as at when due.

Fayemi pledged to revive the social investment programmes that he initiated in his first tenure as governor such as free education, free health and social benefit for the elderly, among others.

“The state had benefitted from bailout funds and all of these assistance from the Federal Government has not trickled down to the primary beneficiaries of this assistance.

“If you owe a civil servant one month salary, you know the kind of pain you will cause the family not to talk of 10 months.

“ I have had the benefit of serving the nation as a former minister; I know where all the opportunities are and it will be irresponsible of me not to build on it and boost the economy of the state.’’

He added that his government would not tolerate any form of corruption from the outgoing government, stating that perpetrators would face the full weight of the law.

He said that his government was also going to establish a transition Act that would clearly stipulate the obligations and responsibilities of an outgoing government and an incoming one, to ensure a seamless change in government.

“You cannot be an outgoing government and refuse to talk to the incoming government; it is irresponsible, unacceptable and should be condemned and this should go beyond personalities.

“When I take over office, I am going to implore the House of Assembly to put in place the Transition Act that clearly stipulates the obligations and responsibilities of an outgoing government and an incoming government.

“It is the duty and responsibility of both sides to ensure that government changes seamlessly,’’ he said.
(NAN)
KTE/NKO
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Edited by Nkechi Okoronkwo

China, Africa Summit: Sen. Sani warns Africa against creditor/debtor relationship

Loan
By Cecilia Ijuo
Abuja, Sept. 13, 2018(NAN) The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Sen. Shehu Sani, has cautioned against emphasis on loan in the relationship between China and African countries.

Sani, gave this warning when he chaired a roundtable organised by the Centre for China Studies in Abuja on Thursday.

The roundtable has the theme,” The Outcomes of 2018 Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).”

The roundtable was aimed at working out ways to synergise outcomes of the summit with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government, to drive sustainable and inclusive development in Nigeria.

Sani, who warned that debt was a form of colonialism, advised that the relationship between China and African countries should be mutual and not on a “creditor and debtor basis.”

According to him, many African countries have frosty relationship with their creditors, for their inability to service their loans accessed from such countries.

“China, Africa relationship should not be simply about loans. We must be careful and ensure there is no strong emphasis on loan.

“Loan is sweet but payment is bitter and it will be in the interest of both countries that other areas are explored.

“Debt from our experience is a new form of colonialism. I am of the opinion that as you borrow in bits it becomes a mountain.

“We should explore all other areas, from security cooperation, to China doing everything possible to support Africa to have a permanent representation at the United Nations Security Council.

“The relationship between Africa and China should not be about the creditor and debtor.

“It should be about mutual engagement and the need for China to invest in Africa, so that we can also rise to their level,” he said.

The lawmaker urged African countries to borrow a leaf from China’s developmental strategies, which were devoid of loans.

According to him, China rose from being a third world country to becoming the second largest economy in the world.

“We are here today to follow up that historic forum that brought together leaders from Africa to China, to discuss and deliberate on what has been achieved and the way forward.

“There is no doubt that there is no nation outside of Africa that is deeply involved in developmental and economic activities in Africa than China and this relationship becomes easy because of the historical similarities between the continent and China.

“China moved from a third world nation to the second biggest and largest economy.

“That should be an inspiration to African nations to look up to themselves for their political liberation and economic progress.

“China today is a dominant economic power, a force to reckon with and one that is viewed globally as a power militarily and economically and an inspiration to us.

“They did so without putting their knees on the ground begging other countries to come and develop China. That should also be the inspiration of Africans.”

Sani, while appreciating China’s role in Africa’s liberation struggle, called for mutual relationship that would see African countries providing value rather than looking up to what China had to offer.

In his remarks, former Director-General, Institute for Peace, Conflict Resolution, Prof. Joseph Golwa, said while there was nothing wrong with accessing loans, workable strategies ought to be put in place to make judicious use of such loans.

According to him, emphasis should be laid on having a coordinating body on loan implementation.

He also said attention should be paid to research and human capacity development to maximise the potentials in the country and continent at large.

“In this country and most African countries, we do not encourage research and that is why we are not growing at the pace we ought to.

“Why should we be bringing in Chinese and other people to build our refineries.

“In our relationship under FOCAC, we should be able to build on the technology we obtain here as well as using our own people so that we build our own refineries and other things.

“We have the human resources to achieve this feat and we must take it seriously.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari led a delegation to Beijing, China, to attend the 7th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which held between Sept. 3 and 4.

Heads of Government and delegations from 52 African countries, including Nigeria and the People’s, Republic of China met in Beijing, under the auspices of the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The tri-annual summit was held with the theme: “China and Africa: Towards an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation.”(NAN)
CJM/AFA
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Edited by Felix Ajide

Fund

By Kingsley Okoye

Abuja, Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) The African  Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has called for the establishment of a National Assets Recovery Agency  in Nigeria to oversee the process of recovery and management of stolen funds stashed in developed countries.

The Executive Director of ANEEJ, Mr David Ugolo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday .

Ugolo also spoke of the need to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of the recovered loot.

Cue in audio (Ugolo)

“But the first fundamental thing that we all agree on is there is transparency and accountability  and there should be a national asset recovery agency that will be having the responsibility to manage the fund.

“And the other thing is about the issue of participation of the citizen, it is  very  important , particularly against the background where there  is lack of transparency.

“And then, the institutional framework has to  be designed in a way that citizens  can  have access  to what they are doing .

“And in the current situation we find our self  now  in the absence of legal framework like the proceed of crime  bill.

“ it has become  almost  difficult for  asset recovered so far to the managed in a manner that  we send the right positive signal to the international community .

“And for us as civil society , our basic demand  is very clear we , we are demanding that government should create  a framework where there  should be institutional framework and asset recovery regime that can help send the right signal  to  the countries where  monies are  located .

 “So that when they return it, the fears that the monies will not be re-looted will not be there.”

Cue out audio

According to him, ANEEJ has launched a new project on monitoring recovered stolen assets, adding that the project is currently receiving support from DEFID .

Ugolo said that the project was designed to build the capacity of at least 100 civil society  groups  on how they would monitor  the funds recovered.

  According to him, ANEEJ, via the project, is helping to monitor the recovered 322.5 million dollars Abacha loot.

“We are working with the Attorney General, working closely with the national cash transfer office and other stakeholders.“

He said ANEEJ was  encouraged by the collaboration between the Nigerian government and  civil society groups on the management of  the recovered monies looted by Nigerian officials.

“And we are very  encourage  by the step  that the government  have  taken by openly collaborating with the civil  society and  for me , this  is  something that is very  remarkable.

“It is a practice that we are also encouraging other African countries to adopt as a way of moving forward.“

On challenges encountered by governments in the recovery of looted funds from developed countries, Ugolo said: “The issue of asset recovery is a challenging process   and particularly for a country like Nigeria and other developing countries that has capacity problem, first we must put our house in order.

“The institutions that will have to go for asset identification and tracking need to have the capacity.

“They need to have the right resources, and there is need to also create trust, trust is very important in asset recovery.“

He added that it was important to also take advantage of the global framework as enshrined in Chapter 5 of the United Nations Convention against corruption to engage countries where the looted funds were located.

 “Our governments need to firm up how they engage with other jurisdictions, Is very important,  and  also  collaborate with civil societies  across the globe.“(NAN)

KC/YEE

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

Entitlements

By Victor Adeoti

Osogbo, Sept.13, 2018 (NAN) The Osun Government says it has released N19.8‎ billion for the settlement of salary and pension arrears owed all categories of workers in the state.

Mr Bola Oyebamiji, the state Commissioner for Finance, announced this at a news conference on Thursday in Osogbo.

Oyebamiji said the Governor gave the directive following consultations with labour leaders and other stakeholders.

He explained that the money would be used for the payment of August salaries, backlog of the salaries and pensions for September to December 2015‎, in addition to leave bonuses.

The commissioner said that part of the amount was the N16.6 billion Paris Club refund received from the Federal Government while the additional N3 billion came from other sources.

He commended the workers for their sacrifice, resilience and unflinching support to the present administration in the state as well as their dedication to duty in the last seven years.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government’s action is on the heels of the Sept. 22 governorship election in the state. (NAN)

VE/OSA/EMO
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Edited by Shittu Obassa/Ejike Obeta

Association urges health workers to shun unethical practices, corruption
By Awayi Kuje
Ethics
Keffi (Nasarawa State), Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has tasked its members to shun unethical practices and corruption as part of their contribution to improve service delivery.
Mr Hussaini Ahmed, the National Vice President of the association, gave the task on Thursday in Keffi, Nasarawa State, while speaking at a one-day seminar on: “The Role of Health Workers In Clients’ Satisfaction: FMC Keffi in Focus”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar was organised by members of the association at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Keffi.
Ahmed enjoined them to adhere strictly to their professional ethics in the interest of the health sector.
In his paper titled: “The Importance of Membership in a Union”, he challenged the members to shame their detractors and temptations that would smear profession.
He noted that unethical practices engaged by some members had affected the lives of many Nigerians negatively, hence the need for health workers to shun unethical conducts.
“For us to satisfy patients adequately, we must shun unethical and other sharp practices capable of tarnishing our image, that of the health sector and country at large,” he urged.
The labour leader said the union would continue to promote and protect the interest of members through improved welfare and working conditions.
Ahmed assured the members of the union readiness to continue to initiate good programmes that would have direct bearing on their lives and Nigerians in general.
Mr Monday Otso, the state Chairman of the union, said the seminar was organised for members to acquaint them with modern knowledge of ensuring clients’ satisfaction in the centre.
While describing patients as “kings’’, Otso urged them and other health workers to always respect the right of patients to save human lives.
More than 1,400 members of the union are expected to be trained on patients’ satisfaction for quality healthcare delivery.
NAN recalls that the association had in July 2017 organised a one-day seminar on “Work Ethics: A Panacea for Effective Service Delivery in a Tertiary Health Institution, FMC Keffi in Focus”. (NAN)
AKW/KOLE/MST
Edited by Remi Koleoso/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Mimiko

By Angela Atabo

Abuja, Sept.13, 2018 (NAN) Dr Olusegun Mimiko, former governor of Ondo state on Thursday, declared to run for president of Nigeria on the platform of the Labour party (LP) in 2019.

Mimiko, who declared his intention at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja,expressed concern over what he described as wanton killings in the Middle Belt and other parts of the country.

He said that the effect of the current economic reality, unprecedented level of division, distrust at individual and communal levels, were of great concern to him.

Mimiko said ability to envision great ideas and demonstrable track record, rather than place and circumstances of birth should be the most compelling basis for investing candidates with power.

He said:“This is, therefore, not the time to cheapen the dialogue by engaging in argument on whose turn it is to run the country. Rather, it is time to insist that only the best is good for Nigeria.

“It is time to all march out and recall our past, take charge of the present and launch out into greatness as one inclusive and cohesive family,

“There comes a moment in the life of a nation when every patriot must stand up to be counted!.At such a moment, no person worthy of a place in history can afford to remain ensconced in his or her comfort zone.

“ For our country, Nigeria, the moment is now! .The truth, however, is that bad as these times are, they will not pass away if we choose to remain on this same old path.

“I am running for president because I believe that working together, we can restructure and redesign our country in such a way that it would mean for all of us.’’

“We shall frontally attack corruption in all its ramifications by strengthening existing institutions, deploying technological tools and deepening relevant policies on cashless society while proactively leveraging global frameworks for anti-corruption.

He said that as governor of Ondo state for eight years, he restructured the state, empowered youths and transformed the education as well as health sector among others.

Mimiko promised to commit to mobilising the youth of Nigeria for education, providing opportunities for them to be productively engaged and elevating them into leadership, through a careful process of acculturation.

Speaking, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, the factional Chairman of Labour Party, congratulated Mimiko for his declaration.

Abdulsalam said that the party decided to support and give Mimiko nomination form, based on his track record as one time governor of Ondo.(NAN)
ATAB/DUA
Edited by Dada Ahmed

Competition: Army tests officers’ mental fitness, combat readiness

Army

Mateen Badru

Lagos, Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) The 81 Division of the Nigerian Army has commenced its Inter Brigade Sports Competition aimed at testing the officers’ mental fitness and combat readiness.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Musa Yusuf, in a statement on Thursday in Lagos, said that continuous training was the only guarantee of having physically and mentally fit personnel.

“The competition has all the formation and units of the division grouped into four to ensure maximum participation.

“The formations participating are 35 Artillery, 45 Engineer Brigade, 81 Div. Garrison and 9 Brigade.

“Continuous training is the only way of having able bodied men and women to carry out the security duties effectively.

“Training is also a critical element that builds and sustains professionalism in the sector and equips personnel with the skills to perform any task in all situations,” he said.

Yusuf said the competition, which started on Sept. 12 at the Buratai Sports Complex, 9 Brigrade Ikeja, Lagos, would end on Sept. 15.

Also, Brig.-Gen. Mundane Ali, Commander, 9 Brigade, said one way to navigate through difficult paths was through continuous sporting and training activities.

Ali said this would hone the skills and professional judgment of the personnel.

He said the events to be competed for included football, volleyball, table tennis, combat race and half marathon. (NAN)

BOM/AOS/EMO
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Edited by Bayo Sekoni/Ejike Obeta

Innovation
By Victor Adeoti
Ede (Osun), Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for home-grown technologies, innovations and creative ideas that would assist the country in solving  its challenges.

Osinbajo made the call at  the 10^th  convocation of  the Redeemer’s  University in  Ede, Osun.

The vice president said there was also the need for application of native intelligence to the interpretation of academic knowledge so as to make it relevant in  solving  societal problems.

Osinbajo  was represented by Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, the acting Chairman of Redeemer’s University Board of Trustees.

The vice president, who described the graduating students as generation of hope for the country, urged them to take up the task of solution providers.

“The world today is technology-driven. Agriculture, health care cum medical sciences, among others are being controlled by the nations of superior technological experts.

“And being technological savvy, your generation is the only hope we have,’’ Osinbajo told the graduating students.

In his remarks, Prof. Debo Adeyewa, the Vice Chancellor of the university, called on government at all levels to evolve a blueprint on adequate funding of education in the country.

Adeyewa said such blueprint would help to secure the future of  the present  generation and those  yet unborn.

He said that adequate investment in education would guarantee a strong and bright future for the country.

“Investment in education should be a collaborative effort between government and other stakeholders, but dynamically and passionately driven by government as the overall key stakeholder that is critically accountable to the current and future for the country.

“Government should therefore take a bold, constructive and non-partisan view of the current state of education with a view to revitalise the sector for the common good of  the entire country,’’ he said.

Adeyewa also said 27 of the 423 graduating students made first class honours.

He said 160 were in the Second Class Upper Division while  179 had  Second Class Lower Division.

Another  57  had  third class while six had pass degree.

Adeyewa added that the institution turned out three awardees with  postgraduate  diploma, 42 Msc and MBA degrees while  two had PHDs.

He urged the graduating students to be good ambassador of the university.

The Chancellor of the university, retired Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, urged the graduating students not to see the convocation as a mark of final exit from the institution.

He said they should  rather see it as an opportunity to continue to support the development of the institution.(NAN)
VE/KOLE/OJO
=========
(Edited by Remi Koleoso/Mufutau Ojo)

TCN transmits 30,936MW in 11 days

Electricity

By Yunus Yusuf

Lagos, Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on Thursday, said it transmitted 30,936 megawatts (MW) within 11 days in September.

The daily statistics of TCN’s operations obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from Nigerian Electricity System Operator, a section of the TCN, indicated that 30,936mw was generated from Sept. 2 to Sept. 12.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the daily power generated within the period was in tranches of 3,101mw, 2, 987.93mw, 2, 982.69mw, 3, 204.8mw and 2, 915.9mw.

Others are: 2, 944.4mw, 3, 050mw, 2, 943.5mw, 2, 943.1mw, 3, 017.2mw, and 3, 570.6 respectively, all transmitted to 11 distribution companies (Discos).

NAN also reports that while TCN transmitted 99, 781.9mw in August, its national peak demand forecast stood at 19,100.00mw, with installed capacity of 11, 165.40mw and that 7, 139.60mw was the available capacity.

It added that the current transmission capacity stood at 7, 000 mw with network operational capacity of 5,500.00mw.

According to TCN, the peak generation ever attained in the country is 5, 222.3mw, while the maximum energy ever attained stands at 109, 372.01mw.

However, an expert in the Nigeria’s power sector, Mr Simon Oderinde, has charged Discos to be effective in every responsibility bestowed on them for the power sector to thrive.

Oderinde, the Managing Partner, Pacific Solar Technologies Ltd, told NAN that the power sector value chain was financed by bill settlement from consumers while the Discos interfaced with the consumers.

For efficiency in the sector, he listed metering, tariff and decayed infrastructure as three issues that must be addressed by stakeholders in the sector.

On metering, he said consumers must be adequately metered to reduce apathy.

“Compelling cases for cost reflective tariff has been made by many and there is just no point debating this.

“The sector requires huge investment and without clear and unambiguous means of recovering the investment, appropriate investment would continue to suffer,” Oderinde added.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recently said 58 per cent registered electricity consumers in the country paid tariff via the estimated billing methodology.

NERC made the disclosure in a 2018 first quarter report published on its website.

According to NERC, out of the 8,135,730 registered electricity customers in the Discos’ network, 3,434,003 representing 42 per cent have been metered.

It also said with the percentage of registered customers metered by each Discos as at March, only Benin and Port-Harcourt Discos had metered up to 50 per cent of their registered customers.

It listed the percentage level of  metered  electricity customers by the Discos to include Port-Harcourt  78 per  cent, Benin 64 per  cent, Enugu 46 per cent,  Eko 46  per cent,  Ibadan 41 per cent, Abuja 38 per cent,  Jos 35 per cent .

Others are: Ikeja 34 per cent, Kaduna 28 per cent, Kano 25 per cent and Yola 21 per cent respectively.

Also, the Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors (ANED) called on NERC to address the widening tariff gap hindering effective performance of Discos in the power sector.

ANED Chief Executive Officer, Mr Azu Obiaya, said the widening tariff gap was due to the freezing of Residential tariff (R2) in 2015 for 18 months by NERC.

Obiaya said the removal of electricity collection losses in 2015 and non-implementation of five tariff reviews by NERC caused the wide tariff gap in the sector.

He also said N435.7 billion of under-recovered revenue in the sector among others were the regulatory responsibilities NERC should focus on.

According to him, ANED is fully interested in the urgent reset of the sector with the implementation of the Power Sector Reform Programme (PSRP).

This, he said, would stop the sector from bleeding and promote investment drive, critical for injecting efficiency and provide electricity to relief customers from the current difficulties affecting electricity supply. (NAN)

YO/SA

Edited by Salif Atojoko

=================

Shares
By Lilian Okoro
Lagos, Sept. 13, 2018 (NAN) A total of 173.55 million shares valued at N3.71 billion were traded in 3,082 deals on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.

These were against the 246.91 million shares worth N6.930 billion traded in 3,912 deals on Wednesday, representing 29.711 per cent decrease in volume.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market capitalisation depreciated by N99 billion or 0.84 per cent to close at N11.690 trillion from N11.789 trillion recorded on Wednesday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index, which opened at 32,292.79, lost 270.56 basis points to close at 32,022.23.

Nestle led the losers’ chart for the day with a loss of N81 to close at N1, 398 per share.

CCNN followed, depreciating by 2.75 to close at 25.10, while ConOil dropped N2.40 to close at N21.90 per share.

Lafarge Wapco also dipped by N2.30 to close at N20.70, while Forte Oil shed N1.40 to close at N17.50 per share.

Conversely, GTBank topped the gainers’ table with 35k to close at N32.95, while UBA and Nigerian Breweries gained 10k each to close at N7.15 and N84.10 per share respectively.

Unity Bank followed with gain of 7k to close at 85k, while Sky Bank gained 6k to close at 67k per share.

GTBank was the toast of investors, trading 28.19 million shares worth N640.13 million transacted by investors in 188 deals.

Zenith Bank sold 25.86 million shares valued at N37.36 million exchanged by investors in 275 deals.

Zenith Bank came second, trading 25.86 million shares valued at N37.36 million exchanged by investors in 275 deals, while Sky Bank trailed, trading 18.87 million shares worth 291.46 million in 120 deals.

UBA traded 16.31 million shares worth N443.05 million in 148 deals, while FBN Holdings sold 7.36 million valued at N91.97 million in 227 deals. (NAN)
LUC/GOK
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye