Category: General

Rep. Ibrahim Almustapha-Rabah (APC-Sokoto) says the National Assembly is fully committed to securing the country.

Almustapha-Rabah, who represents Rabah/Wurno Federal Constituency spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

” All of us at the National Assembly are working hard on one issue or the other either individually or collectively, the objective is the same, a better and secure Sokoto State and Nigeria.

” We hope these modest efforts and approaches will yield a positive result in the near future.

“ We are therefore on it securely, proactively and we are as always focused and alive to our responsibilities,” he said

Almustapha-Rabah said the problem of insecurity perpetrated by few of the criminally-minded elements amongst the citizens has eaten deep into the fabrics of the country.

He added that insecurity and its associated challenges had already overstretched the delicate communities.

” These communities were hitherto blossoming economic hubs populated by very active, happy and determined people.

” The landscapes were very green, richly endowed and highly fertile, ready for anything to grow for prosperity and wealth creation.

” Our blessed livestock population provides all we need to support not only our basic needs, but even self – help community projects and to, as well, support others,” Almustapha-Rabah said.

He said those beautiful sceneries have faded over the years, the simple reason being that the fertile lands provide a safe haven to miscreants.

Almustapha-Rabah said miscreants freely move with sophisticated weapons, killing, maiming, seizing livestock and kidnapping for ransom.

The lawmaker lamented that the insecurity situation was an act similar to a war of attrition, economic sabotage and annihilation.

” Unfortunately those criminal elements were nurtured by our collective action or inaction in addressing the identified gaps particularly in education and employment generation.

” The street boys, the out of school children, the Almajiris of the last 20 years are the grown up unemployed population we are managing today.

“ Some of them frustrated and hopeless went into drugs and crime, the nexus being failure to address some basic issues of needs and development in the past.”

He asserted that Education, Infrastructure, and Agriculture remain the major drivers of development and must be taken seriously for the state to succeed.

” At our level, there was virtually nothing we had not raised and discussed at the chambers on way and means and how to go about it,” the legislator said.

According to him, it is therefore going to be a mere repetition and a duplication of effort to continually bring up the issue for publicity sake.

“ More often, the resolutions passed by the National Assembly require time and funding to implement.

” We believe the present administration at both the Federal, under President Bola Tinubu and Sokoto State, under Gov. Ahmed Aliyu are committed to redressing the ugly trend.

”They have this zeal more than ever before to support those concerned security agencies to deliver on their constitutional mandates,” Almustapha-Rabah said.

He said that recently, the governor bought operational vehicles to further support the security agencies.

” We on the other hand as your representatives, having identified some of the gaps and the root cause of the problem, are working hard, though silently, to restore our infrastructure,” the lawmaker said.

Almustapha-Rabah listed some of their projects to include the dilapidated 81km Rabah-Bakura road, solar- powered lights, empowerment for women and recent efforts to restock livestock.

“ Efforts to get our children back to school, creating jobs through alternative and second chance opportunities for school drop-outs in the country among others, are our ongoing projects,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Chapel has condemned the alleged assault on Mrs Philomina Attah, an Editor/Assistant Chief Correspondent of the agency by an official of the Director of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, FCT Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO).

This is contained in a letter to the director of the FCT VIO titled “PROTEST LETTER AGAINST ASSAULT OF A NAN JOURNALIST, CAUTION YOUR OFFICERS” dated Oct. 5.

The letter was jointly signed by the Chairman, Collins Yakubu-Hammer and Secretary, Funmilayo Adeyemi respectively and copied to the Minister of FCT and Chairman of NUJ FCT Council.

Others copied are the Chairperson of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) FCT Chapter, Chairperson, Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA) FCT Chapter, and the Executive Secretary, National Human Right Commission.

The union expressed sadness over the alleged unprofessional conduct perpetrated by a VIO Officer identified as Officer James, attached to the Idu outpost of the service.

“On Sept. 29, officer James assaulted Attah, an Editor/Assistant Chief Correspondent on her way to work to attend an editorial meeting.

“He stopped her in the middle of the road at the Idu Junction, Abuja and refused to allow her to pull over, claiming her papers had expired, even when it was pasted on her car windscreen that it would expire on Sept. 30, and she had already initiated the renewal process with the service.

“The said officer slapped her, calling her unprintable names. Some few minutes after the humiliation and assault, she got a text message via her phone that her vehicle papers renewal process was successful.

“In as much as the union will not want to press legal charges against the directorate/VIO and the said officer for now, we will appreciate it if you can call your officers to order,” the union said.

The union demanded a written apology by officer James of the Idu outpost of the service.

It also urged the directorate to take disciplinary action against officer James to deter other overzealous staff of the service.

The NAN NUJ pleaded with the director to look into the issue of neatness, civility/decorum, professionalism and sanity of the officers on the road.

“As partners in progress, we will always educate our members to ensure obedience to traffic signs, lights and renewal of vehicle papers as at when due” the union said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has announced the withdrawal of the proposed regulations relating to access and use of government waterworks and surrounding State-owned land for recreational purposes.

The draft regulations were published in the Government Gazette on 24 March 2023, for a second round of public comments to solicit inputs from various stakeholders and members of the public who have interests in accessing and using the departmental infrastructures for recreational purposes.

“The draft regulations were withdrawn after considering the public comments received during public consultations as well as from written comments. Newly proposed regulations will be reissued once the reviewing process is concluded,” the department said in a statement.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) says not less than 25 states in the country have passed the Fiscal Responsibility Law.

It also said that 30 state have passed the Debt Management law.

The Director-General, NGF, Mr Asishana Okauru, said this while delivering a goodwill message at the Fiscal Responsibility Commission’s ( FRCs) Stakeholders Dialogue on Implementation of Section 45 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) in Lagos.

Okauru, represented by Mr Olanrewaju Ajogbasile, Senior Programme Manager, NGF, said that states were also domesticating core principles of the FRA, regarding fiscal planning and management.

He revealed that 15 states recorded an average monthly debt service that was less than 40 per cent of gross Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for 2021 financial year and total debt stock at the end of December 2021.

According to him, although section 45 of the FRA is the premise of the deliberation, all sections of the Act or state’s FRL’s, are reinforcing of each other in terms of delivering fiscal sustainability across the tiers of government.

“Unfortunately, certain flexibilities and a weak consequence system, renders full compliance a choice.

“Likewise, fiscal planning has largely remained unrealistic due to paucity of requisite data, low Own Source Revenue (OSR), increase in permanent and development expenditures.

“As well as the susceptibility to volatiles in FAAC, crude oil, inflation rate and exchange rate parameters, among others,” he said.

According to him, the NGF Secretariat will continue to advocate as good practice the tenets and provision of the Act through its engagements, initiatives and discourse around fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability.

In a keynote address, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Dr George Akume, said that the dialogue was organised to promote the need for subnational to borrow through the right channels and for the right reasons.

Akume, represented by Dr David Eze, Assistant Director, Finance and Account, OSGF, stated that the commission must adhere to laid down rules that ensure that government officials at all levels do not abuse the process of borrowing.

He noted that governments across the world grow faster and better through very good and strong institutions, rules and regulations, hence the implementation of the FRA 2007 is worthwhile.

The SGF stated that there was the need to urgently address some of the excesses and infractions of the FRA 2007, particularly with the banks.

Akume also demanded for adequate machineries to effectively control and properly manage public resources, as public debt lowers the future generation’s well-being.

He expressed worry that the private sector may be discouraged from investing in the states, if the government needs to service debt and also provide a satisfactory environment for investment in infrastructure.

“Although, it is believed that the efficiency and equity benefit of borrowing by subnational government outweighs associated macroeconomic risk, factors such as lack of institutional capacity.

“Also, quest to control subnational government impulse in running excessive deficit and the need to take their fiscal excesses in the area of borrowing cannot be overemphasised,” he said.

According to him, systemic subnational insolvency may impede the growth of the capital market, deter fiscal space for infrastructure investment, threaten financial stability and core public services.

Akume said that might create pressure on the Federal Government to provide financial assistance to ensure a continued provision of essential public services.

The SGF insisted that a disciplined borrowing processes was needed to avoid the potential long term consequences of subnational borrowings of fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability.

He stated that FRA 2007 was enacted to ensure the coordination of the national economy policy between various tiers of government.

The SGF expressed that the ACT also enables the monitoring of agencies that were off budget, but whose activities had significant impact on fiscal policies.

He lauded FRC for organising the meeting at a time when the Nigeria economy is faced with key challenges.

Akume said that the country needed to develop strategy on how to structurally reform the economy, move labour and economic resources from low productivity to high productivity sector.

“The dialogue is justified, as the government is damning to get things right from the beginning to avoid mistakes that have dragged the nation into huge domestic and foreign debt.

“Accordingly, this particular direction is to ensure that the nation follows the laid down rules and regulations, in order to ensure prudence, transparency and accountability in the management of public funds and also to depart from such practices that have left so much debt for successive government,”: he said.

Earlier, the Executive Chairman, FRC, Mr Victor Muruako, said that banks and financial institutions in the country must ensure that their lending practices consistently comply with provisions of the FRA.

Muruako, a lawyer, said that to eliminate ambiguity, Section 45(1) of the FRA, all banks and financial institutions shall request and obtain Proof of Compliance with the provision of the Act before lending to any government in the federation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that stateholders at the dialogue included: representatives of NGF, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Chief Compliance (NIDC) Officers, Chief Risk Officers, Chief Legal Officers and Chief Executive Officers of banks, among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) on Saturday highlighted the risks associated with banks lending in a manner that contravenes the Section 45 of its Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Its Executive Chairman, Mr Victor Muruako, who spoke at a one-day stakeholders dialogue in Lagos, said such manner could also have severe consequences for banks and the Nigerian economy as a whole.

The dialogue was on implementing Section 45 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission began discussions with banks and financial institutions in the country to ensure that their lending practices consistently comply with provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act(FRA).

Muruako emphasised that although borrowing by the government and public institutions is a tool for development, lending by banks and financial institutions in violation of the provision is unlawful.

Despite the simplicity and clarity of the Act’s language, he pointed out that banks often approve and disburse loans to subnational governments without fully adhering to the provisions of the FRA.

Muruako said: “Not once in the commission’s verification exercises, has it confirmed that a Proof of Compliance With Provision of the FRA was specifically requested for and obtained by a bank or financial institution before lending to any government.

“Also, only one, out of a recent sample of 13 loans to governments across the country, had an associated ‘Cost-Benefit Analysis’, detailing the economic and social benefits of the purpose to which the intended borrowing is to be applied.

The FRA chairman said there lawsuits in courts across the country, challenging the propriety of some bank loans to governments and public institutions, based on provisions of the FRA 2007.

Muruako said: “The unsavory effect of this non-compliance, may spread well beyond the individual banks to the inside macroeconomic space.

“Since the commission has responsibility toward macroeconomic stability, we thought it necessary to hold this stakeholders dialogue to get the perspectives of banks and also stem the tide before it’s too late.

“I urge the banks and other financial institutions to support the bold macroeconomic reform initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“By being intentional in helping to reduce the risk of macroeconomic instability through ensuring that their lending practice consistently comply with provisions of the FRA.”

Muruako appreciated the leadership of Access bank for their support in organising the event and stakeholders in the financial industry for their cooperation with FRA.

In his remark, Mr Felix Obiamalu, a lawyer, advised the FRC to work toward engaging the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and carry them along to ease the implementation of the provision.

Obiamalu, also Associate Director, Legal and Sanctions, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit,

stated that the FRA should also be empowered to enforce compliance to the FRA.

This, he noted, could be done by enabling laws to sanction and penalise defaulters of the Act.

In his presentation, Prof. Uche Uwaleke of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, also harped on the need to curb borrowings from government at all levels.

He said this had become more for consumption, rather than for capital projects.

Uwaleke noted that government borrowings over the years had been on the rise, as the country currently has over N87 trillion public debt.

According to him, this is causing strain on government balance sheet and stifling the nation’s development.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that stakeholders at the dialogue included: representatives of NGF, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Risk Officers, Chief Legal Officers and Chief Executive Officers of banks, among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has conducted training and empowerment programmes for selected women-owned farmers’ cooperative societies in Oyo State.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the primary objective of this initiative is to enhance the productivity and export potential of these farmers in the manufacturing and processing sectors within the state.

The Director-General, SMEDAN, Dr Olawale Fasanya, at the closing ceremony of the capacity building for the Women in Self-Employment Programme (WISE-P), in Ibadan, said the training was to enhance the production of high-quality foods.

Fasanya, who was represented by SMEDAN Deputy Director, Special Duties, Mr Tunde Oloyede, said that the programme included entrepreneurship and enterprise training, with a specific focus on Hazard and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and delivery of empowerment equipments.

According to him, the training package, designed to enhance the beneficiaries’ capacity, will not produce quality products that only meet the standards of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) but other international market requirements.

“This capacity building will also create a financial enablement for women cooperatives and their businesses on the needed sound footing for impact – in terms of pride, profit, and diversification.

“The objectives of this programme, therefore, include to encourage more women cooperatives to embrace processing and manufacturing food related products as a viable business option and to encourage the diversification of the economy away from crude oil into non-oil exports,” he said.

Also, Mr Ademola Ojo, the Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment, and Cooperatives in Oyo State, urged the beneficiaries to leverage the skills acquired during the training to expand and effectively manage their vocational enterprises.

Ojo said this would help them to focus on wealth creation and employment generation within the cooperative societies.

He noted that it would contribute positively to the nation’s economy and improve the standard of living for citizens.

“I wish to add that the Oyo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, will continue to provide an enabling environment for private enterprises to thrive in the state,” he said.

In his lecture, Dr James Marsh, a food safety consultant from HAACP Academy Nigeria (HAN), charged the participants to be mindful of food hygiene, food fraud, food terrorism, bioterrorism and food sabotage in their operations.

He urged the participants to always imbibe and practice food safety so that they could favourably compete with producers in the international community.

“Majority of ailments that people have is as a result of what they eat.

“Life expectancy rate in Nigeria is not an encouraging figure, we need to focus more on preventive medicine through food safety.

“Government also need to do more on food sensitisation,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries from Agricultural Exporting Farmers’ Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Dr Oluwatomisin Olatunji, said that the training had exposed the participants to food safety system that would ensure that Nigeria products are accepted both locally and internationally.

Another beneficiary from Olorunsogo Oba-Agbe Mechanised Farmers’ Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Mrs Damilola Bukola, urged government to ensure strict compliance with food industry regulations.

She said this would help to improve standard of food coming out of Nigeria to international community.

NAN reports that the two selected cooperatives were empowered with dehydrator for drying food products, slicing machine, power miller for milling dried products and automatic sealing machine for sealing finished products.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria