₦airaland Forum

xreal:
Na dem .....red cap gang.

The decision by the Federal Government to earmark N4.9 billion for electrical maintenance annually in the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, is to keep the facilities in good shape, the Director General Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, has said.


Akabueze said this yesterday in Abuja during an engagement with the media and civil society on the 2018 proposed budget.


“The Villa is quite an expansive edifice with several residences and support services, so as significant as N4.9 billion sounds it is not too much to keep those facilities in top shape that they have been kept. Anyone who has been to the villa will appreciate that it is one of the best maintained edifice in the country,” he said.

He also indicated that for now, there was no provision of the proposed minimum wage increase in the 2018 budget, adding that what was factored in was N40bn for public service wage adjustment and that can’t suffice for a wage rise for all federal staff.

“As at when the agreement (minimum wage) will be reached, the financial implications of that will be quantified and if need be, there will be a supplementary budget. However, what exists now is what we call the public service wage adjustment. That’s barely over N40bn provided and that is not enough to cater for any adjustments that will be necessary,” he explained.

Speaking on other budgetary provisions the citizens considers wasteful and over bloated, he justified all budgetary provisions saying they were carefully scrutinized, and specifically justified the N4.9bn proposed budgeted for the annual maintenance of mechanical and electrical equipment in the Presidential Villa.

He also justified the proposed N2.2bn earmarked for the DSS for a supposed social media mining suite and the N1.14bn proposed budget for cleaning and fumigation of the Office of the National Security Adviser.

“This is not the type of cleaning and fumigation that you and I know as matters of security are treated with some degree of confidentiality. It could be cleaning and fumigation of some criminal elements,” he said, while justifying the nebulous budget sub-head.

On the N2.2bn social media mining suit under the DSS, Mr. Akabueze said “the DSS planned to execute some security protocol to curtail spread of false information which they think could threaten national security.

“They have assured us that their intention is not to hinder freedom of expression. But again, different countries in the world agree with this and that’s the reality of our world today,” he noted.

On the attacks on farmers and implications to food security and impact on the 3.5 percent projection of the 2018 proposed budget, he said “first of all, these are localized occurrences, as worrisome as they are, so we do not think that they would have such pervasive adverse impact on agricultural sector as to pull down significantly the overall growth projection.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

osemoses1234:
Ggggg

Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze, has stated that the 2018 budget, at present, cannot accommodate the minimum wage as proposed by the Nigeria Labour Congress.


He said the Federal Government might go for supplementary budget to implement the new minimum wage if approved by the law.


Akabueze disclosed this at the Media and CSOs Dialogue on the 2018 budget on Wednesday in Abuja.


“When an agreement is reached, the financial implication would be quantified and if need be, there would be a supplementary budget.


“The only provision that exists is what we call public service wage adjustment, but that is barely over N40bn provided on that line, and that may not be enough to cater for any adjustments that may be necessary,’’ he said.


President Muhammadu Buhari, in November 2017, inaugurated a 30-man Tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee, calling on the members to come up with a fair and decent wage for Nigerian workers.


Giving updates on the development, Akabueze said, “We all know that the last minimum wage instrument has expired.


“It is in recognition of the need to ensure a fair and decent living wage that the Federal Government put in motion necessary mechanisms so that we can, today, inaugurate this large committee with a big task ahead of you.


“You are all aware that during the period following the increase in petrol pump price in May 2016, a technical committee was established to examine and make recommendations to government.’’

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Franchise21:
Itz called Konji

TrueSenator:
Which kind Sambisa Forest get Electricity poles.....

2019: A Year That Is Pregnant With Many Expectations, Surprises And Varieties

The House of Representatives on Tuesday directed the Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, and other stakeholders to produce the documents on the $195m waterways security contract awarded to an Israeli security firm within 72 hours.

The Federal Government had approved the contract in October 2017 for waterways security.

It was approved for HLSI Security Systems and Technologies, an Israeli firm.

The contract involves the procurement of security equipment, training of the country’s security operatives, particularly, the Navy, to combat waterways crimes.

Ameachi himself had confirmed in Lagos during the 2017 World Maritime Day, which had the theme, ‘Connecting Ships, Ports and People.’’’

The minister gave details, “When you see the equipment on the waterways, people will know they are safe and secured. Mr. President has kindly approved that, and that is being done through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.

“In the three years, they will train our Navy, our Army and our Police so that we can stop spending money escorting boats and vessels on our waterways.

“Currently, Maersk told me they spend between $15m and $18m annually to those escorting their vessels from one point to another on our waterways. We should be able to deflate that by next year so that people can do their businesses on our waterways without any fear of being attacked or harassed.

“The Israelis have assured us that after the training of our security operatives, such harassment and attacks on our waterways will not happen again.

“They even said we should hold them accountable if such harassment persists on our waterways after the training. That is one achievement that has happened under our leadership in the maritime sector.”

But the House resolved to probe the contract after up to 10 civil society organisations petitioned Amaechi, warning the Federal Government against proceeding with the contract.

They had observed that such contracts could have security implications for the country by exposing its waterways to foreign hands.

The House Committee on Public Petitions chaired by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Abia State, Mr. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, is investigating the contract.

A session convened at the National Assembly in Abuja to investigate the issue was stalled on Tuesday after lawmakers could not lay their hands on the contract papers.

Expressing the frustration of the committee, Nkem-Abonta stated, “We have been demanding these documents and we have received no responses. This is about the 8th hearing on this issue.

“If the contractual documents and agreements cannot be produced within the next 72hours, we will be forced to close this matter and make our recommendations to the House.”

Another member of the committee from Lagos State, Mr. Rotimi Agunsoye, expressed displeasure over the situation, saying that the House was being taken for granted.

“There is no point giving the stakeholders extra 72 hours since tax payers’ money is involved. We should just close the matter.”

He argued that further giving the stakeholders another 72 hours was a waste of parliamentary time.

However, Nkem-Abonta intervened, urging his colleagues to give Amaechi one last chance with the 72-hour grace.

He added, “Let us still give them the benefit of the doubt; after 72 hours we can close the matter.

“For now, my ruling is that all relevant stakeholders should stay action in all activities pending the outcome of House resolution on the issue.

“We have wasted so much parliamentary time on this issue that we will close the matter immediately after 72 hours.”

President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that his administration would no longer tolerate killings and kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs in the country.

He also expressed concerns about the unprecedented level of insecurity across the country.

This was even as Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State reiterated his call for the decentralisation and depoliticization of security services, as a way of resolving the deadly security challenges facing the country.

The President stated this yesterday, in Port Harcourt, while declaring open the Ninth General Assembly of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), with the theme: “Community Policing as a Catalyst to Crime Prevention: The Role of Traditional Rulers.”

He was represented by the Minister of Interior, Abduraham Dambazau.

Buhari said: “I am very worried and saddened about the persistent killings and kidnappings happening in our country, especially the wastage of innocent lives in different parts of the country by whatever means it is done, particularly in Benue State.

“I have, therefore, directed that no effort should be spared in identifying and bringing to justice all those that are carrying out the acts. I have, therefore, directed the Chief of Army Staff to relocate to the North East to ensure that the activities of Boko Haram are stopped.

“Likewise, I have directed the Inspector General of Police to relocate to Benue State to ensure that the killings are not only contained and, but, that those involved are brought to justice.

“By whatever name they are called, these acts are criminal violence in themselves even, as they are deliberate efforts to sustain fear on the citizens of our dear nation and to progressively overwhelm the rest of the country by murdering innocent citizens and destroying property of people.

“These actions amount to declaration of war on our peaceful co-existence and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian State and threaten her sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“As a responsible government, we will never tolerate or condone all trouble makers, criminals and killers; they should be ready to face the consequences of their acts.”

Wike noted that the security services as presently constituted, could not address the security challenges facing the country, where lives were wasted regularly, while governors were helpless.

He said: “For us in Rivers State, our position on state and community policing is very clear.

“While we join our voices to other well-meaning Nigerians to strongly and emphatically demand for the decentralization and depoliticization of security services, we are also not resting on the back of helplessness to do nothing.

“Already, we have forwarded a bill to the State House of Assembly to establish the Neighbourhood Security Corps to cooperate, support and complement the efforts of the regular security agencies in policing our communities and advancing their security.

“The reality before the nation is that centralized policing has flatly failed and is incapable of resolving the enormous security challenges of a vast and culturally diverse country like Nigeria.

“And even as we may continue to live in denial, the recurring bloodbaths in Benue, Taraba and other States have once again, exposed the weaknesses of our country’s centralized policing system, as well as the frustrations and near complete helplessness of State governors in their quest to provide adequate security for the communities and the people that they govern.

“We can only imagine the magnitude of the sufferings and pains ordinary Nigerians are going through when the daily pains of violence and insecurity are added to the unending pressure of poverty, unemployment and lack of development.

“In all these, our traditional rulers have significant roles to play to protect and defend the nation’s unity and advance the rights of our people to democracy, good governance and development.”

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, in his keynote address, noted that the issues of community policing were relevant to the security challenges and in line with Buhari’s resolve to provide adequate security to the nation.

He noted that effective policing of the nation could not be achieved easily without the assistance of the traditional rulers, adding that they (traditional rulers) command the respect of their subjects.

He called for a synergy between the traditional rulers and security agencies, noting that traditional rulers know their subjects and could help in providing useful information that could help the police achieve its mandate.

He warmed royal fathers to stop conferring chieftaincy titles on people with questionable characters, even as he urged Nigerians to support the police force in the area of logistics.

Chairman, NCTRN, Alhaji. Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, charged traditional rulers to be role models in all their dealings.

He thanked Wike for hospitality and noted that any government that relegated traditional rulers to the background would suffer setback in its attempt to take governance to the grassroots.

He said the body would continue to play advisory role to the government in dispute management, stating that with the council, it would be easier to handle crisis in the nation.

Meanwhile, rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN), urged “the security agencies and the government of Buhari to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law in their response to violence and crime in the country.”

His statement was coming on the heels of allegations by Amnesty International that at least 35 Nigerians were killed during air attacks launched by the military on villages beset by communal violence.

According to Amnesty, clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Ondo and Kaduna states resulted in 168 deaths in January 2018 alone.

Falana said: “The government is failing in its most basic duty of protecting citizens and ensuring the rule of law. I am very concerned that these killings may go unpunished, as law enforcement and security agencies are rarely held accountable for serious human rights violations.

“To prevent further killings and violence, the authorities must investigate these latest allegations and bring anyone responsible to justice.

“In failing to put in place appropriate and credible law enforcement measures to prevent killings, and fully investigate and punish perpetrators, the Nigerian authorities have neither respected, nor met their national and international legal obligations, including to exercise due diligence to protect human rights.”

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday deliberated on the widespread usage of digital currency, bitcoin, and ponzi schemes in Nigeria.

In a motion titled, ‘Urgent need to investigate the proliferation of Bitcoin, a form of Crypto-currency, to ascertain the worthiness of same as a form of investment in Nigeria’, the senate stressed that not only has the proliferation of bitcoin become one of the best forms of investment in the country, it is openly marketed across the country on the local television and radio stations, mostly to Nigerians, ”not aware of the consequences.”

A senator, Benjamin Uwaiumogu(APC, Imo North), who sponsored the motion, expressed concern that Nigerians are ”freely advised, and even persuaded to invest in crypto-currency as it promises quick returns, in certain instances, a triple or quadruple of the invested sum as profit within days.”

He said that Google quoted one (1) Bitcoin to be the equivalent of N5, 706, 713.20 as at December 10, 2018.
He said he was aware that bitcoin is not recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, does not exist in any tangible form and is also not subject to any international or local monetary regulations, or backed up by any established government institutions for that matter.

The lawmaker also reminded the senate that the MMM bubble of 2016 (ponzi scheme) left millions of Nigerian families broken, devastated and many businessmen lost all their capital in the phony scheme.

A ponzi scheme is an investment opportunity that promises quick returns usually without any identifiable product or service rendered. It usually thrives on network marketing structures.

“As Nigeria is recovering from recession, it will be devastating for our citizens to lose their hard-earned money on schemes they could easily have avoided had they been properly advised by the government”, the lawmaker said.

Mr. Uwajumogu lamented that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission and the National Orientation Agency are not doing enough to educate Nigerians on the investment risks inherent in Bitcoin.

He expressed worry that wonder banks like Bitcoin traders, Swiss golden traders etc. have carried on their businesses unchecked in Nigeria, mostly to the detriment of the citizens.
Contributing to the motion, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) urged Nigerians as well as relevant intelligence agencies to learn from the MMM saga.

“Many lost their lives due to MMM. No country, no intelligence agency will allow financial scams like MMM, Bitcoin to operate in the borders of their country. Nigeria is so docile that everything comes in.

“If it is a lottery, it should go through national lottery commission, if it is a form of exchange of currency, the CBN can regulate that. The motion is coming because as a senate we need to defend the people,” he said.

Another senator, Bala Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi South) urged the Senate to intervene as he claimed to be ”an analogue senator”.

“I don’t do internet banking. I like to count my money myself. I’m analogue, I don’t want to go digital. It is safe that way.
“They will just go and pop up something and return them (Nigerians) back to square one. It is not nice, it is not ethical and I think we must intervene in this kind of situation”, he said.

The senate thereafter urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, the NDIC and the Nigerian Stock Exchange to ”make an unequivocal statement across all the news platforms in all dialects on the dangers of bitcoin as a store of value in Nigeria.”

The senate also resolved to “call on the National Orientation Agency to spread the news against all forms of wonder banks and Ponzi schemes operating in Nigeria.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Gentle034:
How about the Niger Delta, where he deployed fighter jet's, warships and land troops, to finish militants demanding for Equality? The Military is highly politicized.

princemillla:
d kind bblessing wey go befall u go pass ur handling for that comment

“There is a laid down rule and regulation. The military are the last line of defence. We cannot become the police. It is only when the police go in and they find it difficult that we move in. In a normal situation, the state governor will ask the President, who will take the request to the National Assembly before military is deployed.”

The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, on Monday, said no troop had been deployed in Benue and other states as recommended by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s committee on herdsmen crisis.


The Defence Director of Information, Brig-Gen John Agim, said the police were on the ground in the states, stressing that the military were the “last line of defence.”


The Osinbajo committee, which was set up by the National Economic Council to find lasting panacea to the killings by herdsmen across the country, recommended increased military presence in Benue and other states affected by the attacks.


But Agim said the decision had not been communicated to the military.


He said, “The report just came out. They (the troops) have not moved in. You will recall that the Federal Government asked the Inspector-General of Police to move into Benue State. I have seen the report that the military are going to be given more roles; but that was just yesterday.


“There is a laid down rule and regulation. The military are the last line of defence. We cannot become the police. It is only when the police go in and they find it difficult that we move in. In a normal situation, the state governor will ask the President, who will take the request to the National Assembly before military is deployed.”

SalamRushdie:
The NBS Doesn't have the data of the 12 million jobs we created because the jobs are just too many to be captured --------Liar Mohammed

Troublemaker007:
Honestly one reason I don’t feel sorry for gullible people. Their destiny is in their hands. The only difference between Christians, Muslims and Idol worshippers is their hate for each other.