₦airaland Forum

The National Inland Waterways Authority ( NIWA) has initiated discussion with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) on how to deliver crude to the refineries through the waterways.

The Acting Managing Director of NIWA, Mr Danaladi Ibrahim, told reporters in Lokoja yesterday that formal discussions with the management of the NNPC on the proposal would begin this week.

Danaladi said NIWA was encouraged to initiate the proposal following the decision to stop the delivery of crude by trucks to the refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri.

He said the NIWA could deliver crude through barges to the refineries, describing the option as cheaper, safe and environment-friendly.

Ibrahim said NIWA also had the capacity to deliver refined products through inland waterways to all states, except Katsina and Kano.

He said the organisation had procured enough tugboats to drive the barges, which were of varying capacities from 300 to 800 tonnes.

The NIWA chief said the organisation had also procured 17 gunboats to guarantee the security of the facilities and personnel involved in the operation.

Ibrahim hoped the proposal would be considered by the NNPC, saying the organisation had taken steps to protect the banks of River Niger.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/nnpc-national-inland-waterways-authority-in-talks-on-delivery-of-crude-to-refineries/

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will this week continue the disbursement of its special intervention fund totalling N338 billion to 27 states in the country in line with federal governments plan to boost the economy.

Already, the funds to Kwara, Zamfara and Osun States were disbursed last week and they have commenced the payment of salary arrears to workers in their respective states.

A source at the central bank confirmed that more states would get their special intervention fund this week. From the breakdown of funds made available to the first three states to which monies were disbursed last week, Kwara State got a total of N4.320 billion from the special intervention fund, Osun got N34.988 billion, while Zamfara was given N10.020 billion.

The loans repayable at an interest rate of nine per cent over a 20-year period, also showed that Abia State is expected to get N14.152 billion, while Adamawa State will receive N2.378 billion; Bauchi – N8.60 billion; Bayelsa – N1.285 billion; Benue – N28.013 billion; Borno – N7.680 billion; and Cross River – N7.856 billion.

In addition, Delta has got the central bank’s approval to receive N10.036 billion; Ebonyi – N4.063 billion; Edo – N3.167 billion; Ekiti – N9.604 billion; Enugu – 4.207 billion; Gombe – N16.459 billion; Imo – N26.806 billion; Katsina – N3.304 billion; Kebbi – N0.690 billion and Kogi – N50.842 billion.

Nasarawa is also expected to get N8.317 billion, while Niger will receive a total of N4.306 billion; Ogun – N20.00 billion; Ondo – N14.686 billion; Oyo – N26.606 billion; Plateau – N5.357 billion and Sokoto will get N10.093 billion.

The source, a senior central bank official, stressed that with the disbursement of the N338 billion to the 27 states that applied for the special intervention fund, economic growth would be stimulated through the payment of outstanding salaries to workers who have been owed for months.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/cbn-injects-n338bn-in-27-states-to-stimulate-economy/

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Mr. Sonny Echono, has disclosed that within the next three years, the federal government will review the import policy on staple food items such as rice, fish and wheat into the country.

Echono, who disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Uju Hassan-Baba, described the current import policy on staple foods as “unfavourable,” adding that it would ensure that Nigeria becomes self sufficient in food production before the restriction of the importation of these food items.

According to a statement from the ministry on Sunday and obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Echono said: “The ministry would in the next three years seek the review of the current unfavourable policy by the federal government which allows the importation of staple food items such as rice, wheat and fish into the country.”

He also stressed the need to link Nigerian farmers to the market, adding that it was one of the critical factors that would determine productivity and incomes of farmers as well as promote exports through value addition.

The statement noted that the ministry and the Nigeria Investment and Promotion Commission (NIPC) had resolved to partner in the promotion of strategic investments in the agricultural sector.

It said the permanent secretary in the FMARD, together with the executive secretary of NIPC, made the resolution when the investment promotion commission’s boss paid Echono a working visit in his office.

Echono underscored the need for attraction of more investments in the sector and explained that Nigeria had comparative advantage in the development of agricultural sector in view of its vast arable land, huge population and markets.
He pointed out that the main target of the ministry was to guarantee food security for the country as well as export food items to other countries in the West African sub-region.

In her reaction, Hassan-Baba called for the reestablishment of synergy that had existed over the years between the commission and the agriculture ministry.
She said there had been an increase in the demand of market information on agricultural activities in Nigeria by foreign investors, adding that a desk officer from the Ministry should be posted to the NIPC’s one-stop shop.

The NIPC boss further disclosed that the commission would organise stakeholders’ forum on promoting investment in the agricultural sector, noting that the ministry had a critical role to play in order to ensure the success of the proposed forum which comes up in Abuja soon.

Source: http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/fg-to-review-import-policy-on-rice-fish-others/

The Ministry of Defence has said it is not involved in the procurement of weapons in recent years.

Answering questions from journalists after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the activities of the ministry, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Ismaila Aliu, said the president had directed that the ministry be included in the panel set up of to probe weapons procurement.

He said: “Procurement of weapons and equipment is the immediate need that the president is going to address.

”The ministry was involved in the procurement of arms
sometimes but in recent years the responsibility was shifted to the services.”

He said following the directive of the president that the ministry of defence be included in the probe committee, the ministry had a lot to help the committee with.

He said: “The ministry was very involved in the procurement in those years so definitely we have something to present to that committee.
“We are part and parcel of that committee. The ministry is very excited that this committee has been formed, because our own concern apart from the administrative and financial support is to make sure that policy thrust was complied with, procurement of relevant equipment according to specification of Nigerian armed forces is being complied with and we are very happy for that.

“At the end of this, we hope to have procurement that will be value added, cost effective and will meet our needs both locally and internationally.”

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/perm-sec-defence-ministry-not-involved-in-weapons-procurement-in-recent-years/

In its drive to rid the country of illegal universities, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has released a list of 57 illegal degree-awarding institutions operating in Nigeria and other campuses in the country.

The Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie maintained that certificates obtained from the institutions would not be accorded recognition for the purpose of election, participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and other important functions.

The commission has also begin investigation of over eight other illegal institutions, who are likely to face prosecution in court.

The ban by NUC was contained in the commission’s bulletin.
According to the NUC, the illegal fees and charges on subscribers by operators of the illegal institutions would also be recovered.

However, NUC Head of Media/Information, Ibrahim Yakassai, said the commission had always devoted time to release the names of institutions operating illegally for the attention of the public for purposes of taking caution.

The illegal universities include:

1. University of Accountancy and Management Studies, operating anywhere in Nigeria;

2. Christians of Charity American University of Science and Technology Nkpor, Anambra State or any of its campuses;

3. University of Industry, Yaba, Lagos or any of its other campuses;

4. University of Applied Sciences and Management, Port Novo, Republic of Benin or any of its other campuses in Nigeria;

5. Blacksmith University, Awka or any of its campuses;

6. Volta University College, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana or any of its other campuses in Nigeria;

7. Royal University Izhia, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State or any of its other campuses and Atlanta University, Anyigba, Kogi State or any of its other campuses.

8. Sunday Adokpela University, Otada Adoka, Otukpo, Benue State or any of its other campuses;

9. United Christian University, Macotis Campus, Imo State or any of its other campuses;

10. United Nigeria University College, Okija, Anambra State or any of its other campuses;

11. Samuel Ahmadu University, Makurdi, Benue State or any of its other campuses;

12. UNESCO University, Ndoni, Rivers State or any of its other campuses;

13. Saint Augustine’s University of Technology, Jos Plateau State or any of its other campuses;

14. The International University, Missouri, USA, Kano and Lagos Study Centres, or any of its campuses in Nigeria;

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/fg-bans-24-universities-sanctions-30-others/

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had announced the nullification of the purported suspension of the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr. Victor Kwon, the PDP National Legal Adviser on Thursday in Abuja.

It noted that contrary to the suspension of the national publicity secretary, the party‘s NWC at its Wednesday meeting reiterated its implicit confidence in his ability and actions that had stabilsed the party so far.

“The NWC restates its implicit confidence in the National Publicity Secretary and expresses satisfaction with his commitment toward the progress and development of our great party at all levels.

“The NWC of the PDP notes with concern, misleading reports in some section of the media that a certain group in Anambra, unknown to our party, has purportedly suspended Chief Olisa Metuh.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the NWC reiterates that Chief Olisa Metuh is a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and as such can only be disciplined by NEC.
“He can be disciplined in accordance with Sections 57(7) and 59(3) of the PDP Constitution 2012 (as Amended), and that is in the event that a need for such arises.’’

It therefore said “the purported suspension is therefore a nullity.’’

In the same vein, the NWC also declared as a nullity, the purported “impeachment” of Capt. Olatunji Shelle, the Lagos State Chairman of the party by the Lagos State Executive.

It added that Shelle was also a member of NEC and could only be disciplined by NEC as prescribed by the PDP constitution.

It stated that members of PDP in Lagos with genuine complains and grievances on the running of the chapter were at liberty to channel such to the NWC for appropriate action in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution.

“The NWC urges all party faithful to go about their normal activities, in accordance with the constitution of the party and extant laws of the land,’’ the statement said

Source: http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/pdp-nullifies-chief-olisa-metuh-suspension/

Strong indications emerged wednesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced a detailed investigation into some financial transactions during the tenure of the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi.
Thia investigation which was based on a petition by a Port Harcourt-based group, The Integrity Group, which on July 29, wrote to the EFCC, detailing three instances of alleged corruption, graft and abuse of office under Amaechi’s government.

In the petition, the group alleged that Rivers State electric power projects were sold and the proceeds converted to other uses through payments amounting to N60 billion to three companies all located at Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt.

The petitioners alleged that the transfers, made in US dollars, occurred within a space of one week between December 1 and 8, 2014.
The Integrity Group also alleged that the proposed Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital in Port Harcourt was a failed contract, which cost the state a whooping N4.63 billion in what the petitioners described as questionable circumstances.

In the third allegation in their petition to the EFCC, the group stated that Amaechi as governor, appointed a firm of tax consultants, which was given a relatively exorbitant fee of 12 per cent of taxes collected on a much lower monthly collection target of N2.5 billion, even as the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service was raking in about N7.5 billion monthly at five per cent administrative cost, as prescribed by law.

The consultants were said to have collected over N1.5 billion in fees within weeks of their being engaged by Amaechi’s government.
Responding to the petition, the EFCC in three separate letters titled, “Investigation Activities”, and dated August 13, 2015, swung into a detailed probe of Amaechi’s dealings as alleged by the petitioners.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/efcc-begins-probe-of-amaechis-administration/

Kwara and Zamfara States are the first to get the nod of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s request by commercial banks to start providing bailout funds to states that had requested for the funds in order to enable them pay the backlog of salaries owed workers.

The fund was sequel to the decision by the National Economic Council (NEC) at its meeting of June 29, 2015, that had requested that the CBN in collaboration with other stakeholders should appraise and consider ways of liquidating the outstanding workers’ salaries owed by state and local governments.

A statement from the CBN yesterday explained that the conditions for accessing the facility included resolutions of the State Executive Council authorising the borrowing and state House of Assembly consenting to the loan package, as well as issuance of Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) to ensure timely repayment.

The statement disclosed that out of the 27 states that had applied for the funds, only two have received the fund because they met the requirements as agreed with their respective banks. The two states are Zamfara and Kwara.

“Efforts will be made in the coming days to conclude disbursements to other states so that all outstanding salaries to civil servants can be cleared,” it added.

As part of his resolve to end the lingering crisis of unpaid workers’ salaries in the country, especially in several states of the federation, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved a comprehensive relief package designed to salvage the situation. Part of the relief package was a CBN packaged N300 billion special intervention fund to be offered to states which would be in the form of soft loans available to states to access for the purposes of solely paying the backlog of salaries.

Source: http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/kwara-zamfara-get-cbn-bailout-funds/

Diaspora Nigerians remitted home about $20b last year, the Federal Government said yesterday.

Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo said the government will tap into the experience the Nigerians abroad to deepen the economy.

Those in the Diaspora will however wait for some time before they can start voting in elections.

Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, spoke at the 2015 Diaspora Day held at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The theme of the conference is: “Diaspora and Nigeria Change Agenda.”

The VP said legislation, huge finance, and confidence in the electoral system were required before diaspora voting can commence.

He said: “We are also aware of the importance of voting rights of Nigerians abroad. But to achieve this, the National Assembly will have to legislate. Diaspora voting is in Nigeria’s future.

“Because obviously there is a lot to be done including building confidence in the Nigerian electoral process. The skills and planning required in planning a number of national election in an atmosphere of continued suspicion of each party is a major challenge by itself.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/osinbajo-nigerians-abroad-remitted-20b-in-2014/

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the cancellation of the offshore process contracts and crude oil swaps, the state-run oil firm has started the process of setting out new terms for the selection of new traders for the oil swap programme.

Speaking on the cancellation, a top NNPC official said though the president had approved the Group Managing Director, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu’s request to cancel contracts, it had not been communicated to the traders.

He disclosed however that part of the criteria for the selection of new traders would require that they either own and operate refineries or have access to refining capacity while Nigerian companies would be required to show evidence of depots and retail services to make the shortlist.

The official clarified that the terms for the selection process was still a work in progress and would be expanded to ask traders to provide evidence of their financial capability by meeting a minimum capital base, among other requirements.

But the minimum capital base, he explained, has not been determined as NNPC was still working on the criteria that would ensure that “arm chair contractors” are eliminated.

“We intend to make the re-tendering process very transparent once we are done with the terms that traders will have to meet, and this will be advertised in the local and international media for the world to see,” he said.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/nnpc-sets-new-terms-for-crude-swaps/

Given its constitutional role of protecting Nigeria’s territorial waters, the Nigerian Navy (NN) authority on monday said more than 50 per cent of the ships needed to achieve this are down.

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, said this yesterday while urging officers and ratings to join the fight against oil theft on the nation’s waterways.

Ibas, alongside other senior officers, visited Lagos to have a dialogue with officers and ratings during his familiarisation tour at the Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Quora in Lagos.

He said: “We have more than 50 per cent of our ships down and some of the problems are avoidable. I am always perplexed at the way we handle what we call government property.

“The truth is that we are shortchanging ourselves because the money government gives us will go back go repairing those equipment.”

On his vision for the navy, Ibas said: “My vision is to develop a credible naval power in fulfilment of the Nigerian Navy constitutional roles towards enhancing national property and security.”

While addressing personnel on total eradication of oil theft, Ibas warned officers to stay away from any form of illegal operation.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/navy-chief-more-than-50-of-naval-ships-are-down/

Investigations have revealed how President Muhammadu Buhari sanctioned the recall of officers and soldiers who were said to be “unjustly disciplined and dismissed” through various general court martials set up by the immediate past Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah (rtd).

Through the process, an estimated 2,700 soldiers and officers of the Nigerian Army have been recalled.

Military sources told the press that President Buhari, after reviewing most of the cases and the circumstances under which the affected personnel were sanctioned, called for the review of the trial to determine if there were cases of injustice.

According to one the senior officer, the case was brought to the attention of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, who on the assumption of office vowed to continue with the disciplinary measures adopted by his predecessor.
However, the source noted that Buratai had a change of heart when the whole picture of the circumstances under which the affected officers and soldiers were court martialled.

It was disclosed that one of the affected commanders was the immediate senior to the new army chief who narrated the plight of the servicemen “who were almost forced to fight without weapons.”

Incensed by the revelations, it was said that Buratai had to first assess the situation and subsequently presented it to President Buhari who wasted no time in approving the need to review all the cases with panel of enquiry set up.

“The commandant who was also affected was not happy about the things that happened…with those boys being dismissed. So when the new man (Buratai) came, having been next to him in hierarchy, he approached him with the situation of those boys. The fact is that the former army leadership was the ones who did not provide the needed weapons to those boys. So how can they come up to claim that the boys were running from Boko Haram.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/army-recalls-2700-dismissed-soldiers-and-officers-after-buharis-intervention/

The Senate is becoming uncomfortable with the perceived unpreparedness of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to submit to the National Assembly the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Policy (FSP) ahead of the presentation of the 2016 budget.

The concerns arose after a recent directive by Buhari asking the Ministries of Finance, Trade, Investments and Industries, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other relevant agencies to come up with new economic policies aimed at boosting manufacturing in the 2016 budget.

A source in the National Assembly told the press yesterday that the Senate leadership was worried by the order, bearing in mind that only the approval of the MTEF/FSP by the National Assembly should pave the way for the preparation and subsequent presentation of next year’s budget.

Ordinarily, the MTEF/FSP should be ready for submission to the National Assembly by September at the latest, ahead of the succeeding year’s budget.

But in the absence of a Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Planning Commission who should work with the newly appointed Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation on the MTEF/FSP and review the budgets of the federal government’s ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) to determine the necessary parameters for the MTEF/FSP, it is uncertain that the three-year rolling plan will be presented to the National Assembly next month.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/2016-budget-senate-frets-over-fgs-unpreparedness-to-submit-mtef/

he exit of the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, no doubt created a big vacuum. More than 11 aspirants are presently jostling to succeed him. They include the Acting INEC Chairman, Mrs. Amina Zakari who, in this interview with select journalists, speaks about what she called unwarranted mudslinging against her person. YUSUF ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, was there. Excerpts:

WHAT are the things left undone by the former INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, which you have to contend with now?

There is a lot that has been done in terms of processes to conduct credible elections. The main issue now is to make our staff and internal processes more efficient. It has been a tough five years. When we came in five years ago, it was like a new commission. We did a lot of restructuring, re-organisation and strategic planning. So many things were happeningCVR, permanent voter cards, electionand the commission is the only agency that can conduct governorship elections and by-elections. So it wasn’t an easy five years. But thank God, we were able to surpass the expectations of Nigerians.

Within those processes, however, we discovered a lot of human errors. Things that could be done easily were made more difficult because of the understanding of Nigerians, training of ad hoc staff and so many other issues. So, the concentration now is to inculcate some values. People need to understand that they have to work on a daily basis. They have to utilise their processes. In fact, we are working on a business process review, and I am chairing the committee. We have gone far in mapping out our business processes. All we need now is to keep on sensitising the staff so that we can have a changed management.

We have done all we needed to do in terms of restructuring and re-organisation. But there is change management and that is one of the handover notes. The other handover issue is increased use of technology in the electoral process. I believe the use of technology increases transparency and efficiency of any process and we also need to sensitize our staff on the need to be ICT-efficient. This is the message I gave them all.

In every election now, we must ensure that the staff is adequately trained. We must provide capacity building. We must go back and get those who are technologically ready, because if God willing I am allowed to continue, we are going to increase the use of technology. Even in our day to day activities, we realise we have a dearth of data management. After an election, you don’t know who conducted the elections. Who were the ad hoc officials? So that we can have a data bank of who has done elections before, so we could use them. With little training, you could re-use them, but every time we want to have an election now, we have to start all over again. So, if we have hands at the lower level who are technology-savvy in the use of computer, data management would not be an issue.

Will INEC continue to use card readers?

The card reader is here to stay. We are ensuring that the storage facilities are being run. We are doing an audit on our storage facilities and sometimes we get calls from the field that everything is fine, because we monitor to ensure that everything is fine. We’ll do an inventory of all our card readers and ensure that what we think we have in store is actually what we have in store. I will also do an inventory of the internal workings to see whether our SIM cards are still there or they are missing. You know we have to continually do the auditing. You can’t just leave it to chance until maybe 2019 when you open and discover that all your card readers are not functional.

Will they be useful in 2019?

Normally, the lifespan of the machine is five years, with proper storage. So, when we audit the storage, we would see if we need to rethink our storage strategy; maybe we have to store them in a central place where we can concentrate on providing a conducive environment for their lifespan.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/acting-inec-chair-zakari-ive-been-a-widow-for-15yrs-but-have-never-asked-any-man-for-help/

As part of measures to collectively fight maritime illegalities on the waterways, no fewer than 20 countries have indicated interest to partner with the Nigerian Navy for the 2015 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) conference.

The conference which will be hosted by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, is targeted at improving maritime security on our waterways.

Scheduled to hold at the Four Points By Sheraton Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos from August 24 to 26 2015, the Chairman of the committee, Rear Admiral Begroy Ibe-Enwo, said the navy was partnering with the International Quality Productivity Center (IQPC).

He said over 20 countries will participate in the OPV conference themed, ‘Facilitating Cooperation Across Africa and Focusing on Naval System and Coastal Surveillance To Enhance Maritime Security’.

Ibe-Enwo, who is also the Chief Staff Officer (CSO) of Western Naval Command said several papers would be presented and discussed by international maritime security experts on the areas and issues that were of interest to African and global maritime stakeholders.

He said, “Participants at the event would include global experts in maritime security and naval operations, service chiefs and flag officers from international and African navies.

“The participants will focus on Anti-Piracy Operations, Coastal Surveillance Systems, Cost-effective OPV and Naval System Acquisition, International Best Practices in OPV Operations.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/nigerian-navy-partners-20-countries-to-fight-maritime-illegalities/

President Muhammadu Buhari thursday ordered the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase, to prune down the number of policemen attached to dignitaries, and redeploy all policemen withdrawn from that role to regular police duties.

The president gave the directives when he met with the Police Service Commission (PSC), Inspector General of Police (IG) and the Ministry of Police Affairs.

He assured Nigerians that the police would receive more funding and equipment under his administration.
The president also said provisions would be made for the recruitment of more policemen.

Buahri had on Monday announced plans by the federal government to recruit about 10,000 new officers and men in the police.
He told the PSC not to collect bribes from those seeking to joint the police force.
At a meeting, Buhari said he would not tolerate any irregularities or extortion of money from unemployed Nigerians in the coming recruitment into the police.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari told the officials that those in charge of recruitment and training in the police must be above board and eschew every form of extortion and underhand dealing.
The president said applicants having to pay bribes before being accepted into the police in the past was totally unacceptable.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/buhari-orders-ig-to-reduce-policemen-attached-to-dignitaries/

As part of efforts to deliver mass housing to residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the FCT Administration (FCTA) has embarked on plans to partner with an Abuja-based property developer known as B.A.M Projects and Properties to build 500-assorted houses at affordable prices.

The project, it was learnt, is in line with the federal government’s efforts at bridging the huge housing gap in the country, through the ongoing mass housing scheme in the FCT.

The Communications Officer of B.A.M Projects and Properties, Mr. Kelvin God’swill Musa, in a statement, said that under the plan, the project which is located at Belham Estate in Karsana District near Gwarimpa Estate is being developed on 45 hectares of land to accommodate different units of 2-bedroom apartments, 3-bedroom town houses, 3-bedroom luxurious apartments, 4-bedroom detached bungalows and 5-bedroom villas.

Also, at the just concluded 9th Abuja housing development exhibition, the Director, B.A.M Projects and Properties, Abba Mohammed, said the company had since three years ago embarked on the project having successfully completed all necessary building processes, adding that: “An approval by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for a development lease was thereafter issued to the company under the mass housing scheme of the FCDA.”

He also stated that the company is an emerging mass housing developer in the FCT which has the recognition of the FCTA to participate in the scheme based on its experience and full compliance with the laid-down procedures of the government.

He added that the company gained official recognition after it completed all the necessary procedures for registration such as payment of compensation to original settlers, approval of the engineering design and a certified development planning design.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/fcta-partners-property-developers-to-build-500-mass-houses-in-abuja/

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured indigenous companies operating in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector of the full support and protection of his administration.

At a meeting Wednesday with members of the Independent Petroleum Producers Association in the Presidential Villa, Buhari commended the determination to increase the participation of Nigerians in the country’s oil industry and promised to do all within his powers to address the challenges which they currently face.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the president had also directed the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to work more closely with the indigenous oil producers to resolve the problems which members of the group said were affecting their operations.

The president said: “We have the manpower for a more effective participation in our oil industry. We will give you all possible encouragement. You certainly won’t be ignored under my leadership.”

The association comprises about 20 Nigerian companies operating mainly on onshore fields.

The president also assured the oil producers that his administration would take appropriate actions to maintain and enhance security in their areas of operation, noting that better security would help to lower production costs, which, he said had become unnecessarily high in the country.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/president-directs-nnpc-to-work-with-indigenous-companies-in-oil-gas-sector/

The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Alhaji Ahmed Idris, on Tuesday allayed fears that the federal government’s directive on the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would negatively affect the operations of some specialised agencies. But the directive has not gone down well with federal universities in the country, with the tertiary institutions vowing to make a case to the federal government for their exemption.

President Muhammadu Buhari last week had directed all federal government MDAs to remit their revenue to the TSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Buhari’s directive was followed up by a memo from the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kisali, to the MDAs detailing the implementation of remittances to the TSA.

However, investigations as showed that several MDAs including universities, teaching hospitals and federal medical centres nationwide were yet to comply with the directive.

Speaking in Abuja while receiving members of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities who were in his office to discuss the directive, Idris said the intention of government was neither to punish nor jeopardise the peace and stability at tertiary institutions but was targeted at enhancing greater transparency in the management of public resources.
He argued that the adoption would boost their efficiency and add value to the nation’s economy.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/universities-kick-against-directive-on-treasury-single-account/

Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, has said his administration was saddled with the heavy load of spending over N12 billion on security-related issues with insignificant support coming from the federal government.

The governor who spoke to journalists through his media aide, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, on Monday, lamented that the only major contribution of the federal government to assisting Yobe State which has had to pick almost all the bills incurred as a result of the protracted Boko Haram insurgency was a meagre N150 million.

Bego, who disclosed that this donation was given during the outgone President Goodluck Jonathan administration, said though no financial donation was yet received from the present President Muhammadu Buhari administration, all things now show that the federal government was better committed to ending the crisis and assisting the affected states pick up some of the bills.

He however said the state government, despite the heavy financial burden has not shied away from its numerous responsibilities in all other sectors of the state.

He said: “At a time that we were going through the worst security crisis of our lifetime, a crisis that continues to exert a heavy toll on our finances, the Yobe State Government under His Excellency, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, has continued to keep faith with all its major responsibilities – paying workers their salaries regularly at the end of each month, helping to provide support to the security forces who are working to bring the prevailing Boko Haram insurgency to an end and pushing on with the delivery of basic services. To date, the Yobe State Government has spent over N12 billion in security-related spending.”

Bego also disclosed that the state government has done a lot to support people directly affected by Boko Haram attacks.

He said records from the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) showed that a total of 135, 511 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are now scattered in 13 local government areas living in host communities.

He further revealed that the state government has established IDPs camp in Damaturu with 3,011 persons, of this number, 482 are men, 670 women and 1,859 are children.

He said there were two other camps set up by the IDPs themselves in Kasaisa and Kukareta with a population of over 2, 750 IDPs, noting that over the past two years, SEMA has been supporting these IDPs, also with additional support from NEMA and other development partners.

Bego stressed that the most recent support provided people affected by Boko Haram insurgency was the sum of N61.8 million, given by the state government to some traders whose businesses were destroyed by the terrorists.

Source: http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/gaidam-yobe-has-spent-n12bn-on-security-in-six-years/

Former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi spoke with Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU on his legacies, the crisis in the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) and people’s expectations about the Buhari Administration.

What efforts are leaders making to resolve the division in the Ekiti APC?

I don’t see what is going on as a division. It is not uncommon in politics to have tendencies within the broad spectrum within a party, provided they are dedicated to strengthening the party to deliver its agenda. What should be the agenda in Ekiti? It should be the retrieval of the state from the irresponsible leadership that is currently in office there. For us, as leaders of the party, we speak with one voice. The former governors who constitute the leadership are Mr. Segun Oni, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and myself. We are fully on the same page with the party leadership; the party executive; on how to reorganise the party in the aftermath of the June 21, 2014 governorship election and the recent general elections. So, we are building a process that will bring everyone who is genuinely interested in the party to work within the house. Those who choose to do otherwise clearly are not interested in the APC in Ekiti. For me, the reality is that as party processes move towards another election, interests will appear and people will want to pursue the interest in the manner they deem fit. And in doing that, it generates tension within the party. They will push the frontiers of the debate. They will want to push the position and interest they represent. But, what is clear to those of us in the core leadership of the party is that we need a large tent to accommodate everybody, who may have one perspective or the other. As long as they do that within the ambit of the party, it is allowed. So, I do not see any division. It is artificial. Once the leadership is not divided, it is easy to bring these tendencies back into the fold.

Your former Commissioner for Education, Dr. Eniola Ajayi, said on a television programme in Lagos today that what you did as governor was gradually being destroyed by your successor. What is your comment?

I don’t like to comment on my successor, if I can avoid it. This is not out of disrespect to the public interest because people want to know what is going on. My heart ache anytime I am in Ekiti and see the degeneration some of the projects and institutions have suffered. I spent the last weekend in Ekiti. It is a source of concern that the efforts that we made, which should bear fruits, in terms of the fundamental restructuring of the Ekiti economy, are now being threatened by the seeming lack of direction that the current administration there exhibits. It is a source of worry to me when Ekiti is now seen as a the kidnapping capital of the Southwest. That is a major security challenge we never witnessed in the four years I was in office. Even, when we had a few worrisome armed robbery incident, we quickly took steps to nip it in the bud by working closely with the security agents and supporting them materially and financially to be able to deliver on the task of protecting the people of Ekiti. This dovetailed to other areas. The Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which we spent a huge sum of money on to bring about has been abandoned. The private initiative has been abandoned. There is no management there. There is nobody doing anything there. In less than a year I left the government, it is a shadow of itself. This is an area the private investor was already complementing what the state was able to do. We had already concessioned it to a private organisation to run before we left office. I was told the new governor has reversed it. Thankfully, Ire Blocks Industry is back after 23 years. The clay factory is working now. I hope they will allow it to be run as a private entity in a professional manner.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/my-legacy-is-being-destroyed-in-ekiti/

The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), has urged corporate organisations in the state to update their operational addresses, or face prosecution.

The Head, Distrain Unit of LIRS, Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the ultimatum stemmed from recent discoveries about companies with fake operational addresses in the state.

She identified false addresses as a major challenge encountered by LIRS operatives responsible for the sealing of organisations that failed to pay tax.

According to her, about 50 per cent of the addresses submitted by some organisations are non existent.

She said that LIRS projected revenue from most of the corporate concerns with fake addresses were lost annually and unaccounted for by the service.

The taxes of the companies that are not realised will invariably affect and reduce the government’s earnings from taxation, she said, adding that companies should not, because of fear of the amount the government may give them to pay, continue to give false addresses,” she said

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/lagos-inland-revenue-board-moves-against-firms-with-false-addresses/

President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the decision of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, to voluntarily retire from service.

Abdullahi is expected to proceed on his voluntary retirement from tuesday.

He had earlier written a letter dated August 3 to the president in which he notified Buhari of his desire to proceed on voluntary retirement. While speaking about his retirement at another forum in Abuja monday, Abdullahi said he was not afraid of being probed after leaving office, considering his achievements while he held sway at the revenue generating agency.

Buhari’s approval of Abdullahi’s request was dated August 14 and personally signed by him (the president).
He thanked the NCS boss for his services to the country in the last six years.

Abdullahi’s letter was titled: ‘voluntary Retirement from the Nigeria Customs Service.’

The approval reads: “Dear, Alhaji D.I. Abdullahi. I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter Ref. No. NCS/ADM/HQ/P. 35802 of August 3, 2015 conveying your decision to voluntarily retire from the Nigeria Customs Service with effect from Tuesday, 18th August, 2015. “I note with appreciation your service to this nation, especially as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service in the last six (6) years.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/buhari-letter-to-retired-customs-boss/

The Police Service Commission (PSC), said in Abuja yesterday that the Nigeria Police lost 12,000 officers between 2013 and now due to death, dismissal, desertion and or retirement.

The Chairman of the commission, Mr. Mike Okiro, who made this known to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said in spite of this, there had not been recruitment into the force in the period.

“In the last two years, the police lost 12,000 personnel as at the last count,’’ he said.

He contended that internal security would be adversely affected by 2016 if there was no recruitment into the police.

“By this time next year, if we don’t recruit, the possibility of police providing adequate internal security will be called to question,’’ he said.

Okiro said that on assumption of office as chairman of the commission, his request to government to recruit men into the force was turned down.

“In June 2013 when I assumed office, I wrote a memo to government that we needed to recruit police officers, especially as the election was coming up in 2015, but it was turned down.

“In that memo, I recommended 1,000 officers from every state and 500 from the FCT making it 36,500. The number of police personnel is dwindling daily in terms of strength,” he said.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/commission-police-lose-12000-men-in-two-years/

The publisher of Leadership Newspapers and promoter of Banana Republic Limited, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, has petitioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor over an alleged defamation of his character by Enterprise Bank Limited. He also vowed to sue Enterprise Bank.

The commercial bank had last week Monday published Banana Republic Limited among its delinquent debtor.

But Nda-Isaiah, in a petition to the CBN Governor, called for an investigation into the loan granted to him by the bank. He explained that in 2013, the food and hospitality firm, where he is the chairman, approached Enterprise Bank for a facility for the expansion of its business into Maitama District of Abuja and the construction of a 5-star hotel in Guzape, Abuja, on a 1.4 hectare hilltop prime location.

According to the politician, the bank then advised that the firm should apply for a facility to enable the company to expand into Maitama first before proceeding with a different application for the 5-star hotel.

Banana Republic Limited then proceeded to apply for a facility of N80 million for the new branch in Maitama and then engaged an international consultancy company to commence a feasibility study on the 5-star hotel project, he said.

“We placed the 1.4 hectare hilltop land in Guzape worth more than N2billion as security for the N80 million facility since it was the same bank that would also handle the hotel project anyway. The loan was promptly approved by the bank because it was considered a good project.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/bank-debtors-list-nda-isaiah-petitions-cbn-to-sue-enterprise-bank-for-defamation/

The Chief Executive Officer of Egbin Power Plc, Mr. Dallas Peavey, has stated that the plant has hit a generation capacity of 1,100 megawatts, thus accounting for almost one-third of the current improvement in power supply across the country.

Peavy attributed the recent ramp-up of Egbin’s capacity to continuous investment and revamp of the plant by its new owners, Sahara Power Group and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday said his government had already identified the critical problems in Nigeria’s power sector and was taking appropriate actions to address them.

Peavey in a statement said when the new owners took over in November 2013, generation at Egbin averaged 500 megawatts due to the dismal state of its six units, with only two of the six units operational at the plant’s lowest point.
According to him, the last time the power plant hit the 1,000MW mark was eight years ago, adding that this peak lasted for less than two hours.

He said the transformation in Egbin commenced after its acquisition by Kepco Energy Resource Limited (KERL), in collaboration with its technical partners, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

“Through the injection of close to N50 billion in new capital into Egbin post privatisation, the Sahara Power/KEPCO partnership has brought to the power plant, an unprecedented level of innovation, professionalism, human capital development and continuing investment in new technology. The control room panels, installed at the plant’s inception have been removed and upgraded to state of the art digital panels. The highlight of the main plant rehabilitation occurred in the first quarter of 2015, when the company successfully rehabilitated ST Unit 6, bringing an additional 220MW to the national grid and restoring the power plant to its installed capacity of 1320MW,” Peavy explained.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/egbin-power-boosts-electricity-generation-by-1100mw/

President Muhammadu Buhari has been told that a substantial part of a $1.005 billion loan from the Chinese Exim Bank obtained for the construction of a standard gauge rail line linking Lagos to Kano has been diverted.

Consequently, the president has asked the Ministry of Finance to explain how foreign loans obtained for rail projects got diverted to other purposes.

Speaking monday at the Presidential Villa after the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Mohammed Bashar, made a presentation on the ministry, Buhari expressed disappointment over the discovery that foreign loans obtained in line with signed agreements were moved from one project to another.

“I hope that due process was followed before such diversions were carried out. Taking money from one project to another has to be done properly,” the president warned.

A statement by the president’s media aide, Garba Shehu, said the president issued the query while reacting to the specific instance of the diversion of a substantial part of the $1.005 billion loan from the Chinese Exim Bank obtained for the construction of the rail line from Lagos to Kano.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/buhari-1bn-chinese-loan-for-lagos-kano-railway-was-diverted-am-disappointed/

The asset recovery committee of the Bauchi State Government has clarified the controversy surrounding the vehicles recovered from the wives of former Governor, Isa Yuguda, saying that it has so far collected 25 cars from the wives of the former governor.

This is as the state government has also revoked a portion of land belonging to the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), saying that the union illegally reallocated the land to individuals for residential purposes.

The chairman of the committee, Air Commodore Ahmed Tijani (rtd), disclosed that the state government retrieved 25 cars from the wives of the former governor in an interview with journalists while reacting to media reports which said only the former governor handed over all government properties in his possession to the present administration.
He explained that the committee was not set up by the government to witch-hunt anybody, but to recover all lost and looted properties of the state government in tandem with its mandate.

According to him: “There were certain controversies surrounding the cars collected from the wives of former governor Isa Yuguda which the committee wishes to clarify.
“We learnt that the former governor through his media team debunked claims of the 22 cars, stating that the committee lied. I want to state categorically that the committee has in its possession all the valid documents in connection with the retrieved vehicles.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/bauchi-assets-recovery-cttee-ex-governor-lied-we-collected-25-cars-from-his-wives/

The Senate on Thursday directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Ministry of Health and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to be alive in its regulatory oversights especially on food and agricultural products.

The Senate also tasked food and agricultural agencies in the country to promptly embark on the standardisation of food crops that have failed to meet international export standards.

This resolution was the fallout of a motion by Senate Deputy Whip, Francis Alimikhena, during which he drew the attention of the Senate to the ban on some of Nigeria’s agricultural products by the European Union (EU).

The EU had banned export from Nigeria till the end of June 2016, items such as beans, sesame seeds, dried fish, dried meat, peanut chips and palm oil.

Therefore, these food items, which are staples in Nigeria, will not find their way into any European country in the next one year, a development seen by the senator as bad news for Nigeria, which he said was desperate to expand its export basket in order to boost revenue.

Alimikhena disclosed that the products were banned because they contained high levels of pesticides perceived to be harmful for consumption adding that Nigeria’s failure to adhere to international standard despite repeated warnings from EU had come to haunt it.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/senate-laments-ban-of-nigerias-agric-products-by-eu/

All the eight group executive directors at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were sacked yesterday.

Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu also trimmed the directorates from eight to four —for efficiency.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday named Kachikwu GMD to replace Dr. Joseph Dawha.

The President’s mandate is for Kachikwu to, among others, review the structure of the NNPC.

A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, confirmed the retirment yesterday. The GEDs are: Mr. Bernard Otti (Finance and Accounts); Dr. Timothy Okon (Acting GED, Exploration and Production who also doubles as Coordinator Corporate Planning & Strategy); Adebayo Ibirogba (Engineering and Technology); Dr. David Ige (Gas and Power); Ms. Aisha Abdurrahman (Commercial and Investment); Dr. Dan Efebo (Corporate Services); Ian Udoh (Refining & Petrochemicals) and Dr. Attahiru Yusuf (Business Development).

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/new-gmd-of-nnpc-sacks-all-eight-group-executive-directors/

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday promised that his administration would take necessary actions to maintain and improve the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme as a functional vehicle for the promotion of national unity and integration.

Buhari gave the assurance after receiving a briefing from officials of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, led by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta.

The President, according to a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, affirmed his confidence and trust in the programme, noting that the objective for which the scheme was established in 1973 was still relevant for national development.

He said: “I firmly believe in NYSC and I think it should remain a national programme to promote integration.

“Whenever I go home to Daura, I look out for corps members from Lagos, Aba and other parts of the country.

“I am always thrilled to learn that except for the NYSC, some of them have never left their states of origin to visit other cities in the country,” President Buhari said.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/well-maintain-nysc-for-national-unity-says-buhari/

After four and a half hours of screening behind closed doors, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointments of the four service chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 13.

The new service chiefs are Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin as Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General Tukur Buratai as Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar as the new Chief of Air Staff.

Before the service chiefs were ushered into the Senate chambers at 11.20 am, Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, moved a motion that all the Senate’s relevant rules should be suspended to pave the way for their entry and consequent screening and confirmation. The exercise ended at exactly 4.05 pm.

Efforts by journalists to speak with the confirmed chiefs proved abortive as they declined to entertain questions from the media.

However, the Senate President Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, congratulated them, saying he had no doubt that the service chiefs would live up to their responsibilities.

He tasked them to thrash out corruption embedded in the procurement process of the armed forces, adding that widespread graft in the military had hampered its effective service delivery over the years.

Saraki also called on the service chiefs to justify the confidence reposed in them by the federal government by carrying out their responsibilities effectively.


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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/08/senate-confirms-appointment-of-service-chiefs/