This is commendable, this is expected based on the recent development made by the Buhari led administration in the power sector in various state, if that is achieved, it will boost the activities in this country which will lead to development in the economy.

It is only the weak and selfish politicians that will defect from the APC as earlier said by the President. It is obvious that their selfish interest was not met in the party that's why they have run to another party to fight this present administration.

The Federal Government said states must clear backlog of salaries and other related staff arrears before they would be able to access the remaining 2.69 billion dollar Paris Club Refund.

The Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Hassan Dodo, on Tuesday, said the Federal Government would commence phased payments of the refund to the states once the condition and several others were met.

“The DMO led the reconciliation process under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The final approval of 2.69 billion dollars is subject to some conditions.

“Salary and staff related arrears must be paid as a priority. Also commitment to the commencement of the repayment of Budget Support Loans granted in 2016 must be made by all States.

“Furthermore, they must clear amounts due to the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative and make commitment to clear matching grants from UBEC.

“This is in cases where some states have available funds which could be used to improve primary education and learning outcomes,” Dodo said in a statement.

It will be recalled that the issue of Paris Club loan over-deduction had been a long standing dispute between the Federal Government and the state governments, dating back to 1995.

In response to the dispute, President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the claims of over-deduction should be formally and individually reconciled by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

This reconciliation commenced in November 2016.
As an interim measure to alleviate the financial challenges of the states during the 2016 recession, the

President had approved that 50 per cent of the amounts claimed by States be paid to enable them clear salary and pension arrears.
This approved sum was released to the states between Dec. 1, 2016 and Sept. 29, 2017.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/09/11/buhari-to-governors-clear-salaries-backlog-to-access-2-69bn-paris-club-refund/

Only a Ben Bruce will make such a comment. Didn't expect less of the critics...Nigerians are use to his wailing

Investors coming into Nigeria, especially the telecommunications sector, have been guaranteed a 30 per cent cut in company income tax payment payable to the government.
Besides, there will be relaxation of monetary and fiscal policies; access to foreign exchange; reduction in waivers and Custom Duties and be opened to improved ease of doing business.

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, in his speech delivered at the Nigerian Day of the 2018 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecoms World in Durban, South Africa, yesterday, said the plan was part of the Federal Government’s Economic and Recovery Growth Plan (EGRP) targeted at bringing in investors to the country.
Besides, Danbatta, who disclosed that so far, by the first and second quarters of 2018, contribution of the sector to GDP stood at nine per cent, which should hit 10 per cent by this quarter, said the sector added $5 billion to Foreign Direct Investment quarterly.

According to him, as part of the flexible approach to regulatory management and constant stakeholders’ engagement, the Commission introduced spectrum trading only a few months ago.

He said this was to enable holders of such spectrum not in use to transfer, lease or share it out to those who may have a need for it.

The Secretary-General, ITU, Houlin Zhao, in his speech, commended the level of ICT development in the country.

Zhao, who said he was specifically happy about the growth in 4G services in the country, described Nigeria as the biggest market for ICT in the region.

https://guardian.ng/news/fg-woos-investors-to-telecoms-sector-with-30-cut-in-company-income-tax/

Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah

Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment says the Federal Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) has provided technical assistance to 2,000 youths in the country.

Enelamah, who announced this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the gesture was part of the broader social intervention programme of government.

He said that more than 350,000 micro enterprises had also benefited from GEEP and MarketMoni Scheme.

According to him, the Federal Government Social Intervention Programme (SIP) will also provide interest-free loans to Micro Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSME).

He said that very important agreement was signed with Volkswagen during the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Nigeria to make the country an automotive hub.

“They believe we can sell up to two million cars a year, if we create an environment for Nigerians to drive new cars. They want to work with us to make it happen,” Enelamah said.

The minister said that on trade, the country had signed agreement with European Free Trade Area (EFTA) comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Enelamah added that the objective was to promote trade with those countries.

He said that an economic cooperation agreement was signed between Nigeria and the UK during visit of Prime Minister Theresa May to create environment for future negotiations.

“Technically, the UK cannot have a full negotiation with Nigeria until Brexit negotiations are concluded.”

On Industrialisation, he said that the government had done a lot on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), saying that the National Special Economic Zones Company (NSEZCo) has been set up.

“These are centres of excellence that promote industrial infrastructure. Government has decided to supports it in a significant way,” he said.

Enelamah said that the Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council would focus on industrialisation through collaboration between industrialists and the government.

“The government is working on critical infrastructure, training, skills acquisition, policy, market access, trade facilitation and financing to make the country a better place,” he said.

Enelamah said that among other activities of the industrial council, the Road Trust Fund would soon be launched.

He said that the Federal Government was working with State governments on multiple taxation and Right of Way for broadband penetration.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/09/11/federal-government-provides-technical-assistance-to-2000-youths-enelamah/#comment-1312405

The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N3.946 trillion in the first half of 2018 to federal, state and local governments, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) quarterly report has revealed.

The report released in Abuja, on Monday, noted that amount rose by 41.4 per cent compared to N2.788 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2017 and 95.4 per cent higher than the N2.019 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2016.

It said Delta State received the highest allocation of N101.19 billion in the six-month followed by Akwa Ibom with N100.2 billion; Rivers State with N85.01 billion, while Bayelsa received N77.14 billion.

According to the report, the four states received a total of N364.26 billion in the quarter under review.

“Thus, the disbursements in the first half of 2018 were almost double the disbursements in the first half of 2016.

“The breakdown of the data reveals that in the first half of 2018, the Federal Government received N1.652 trillion, which made up 41.8 per cent of the total amount disbursed;

“The states got N1.375 trillion, representing 34.8 per cent of the total; while N795 billion was disbursed to the Local Government Areas (LGAs), representing 20.1 per cent of the total,” it said

The report further noted that following the top four states to make the top-ten category in the report was Lagos State that received N59.52 billion, Kano N39.88 billion, Edo N32.88 billion, Kaduna N32.86, Ondo N30.96 billion and Borno N30.04 billion.

On the other hand, the report revealed that the 10 states with the least federation allocation received a total of N189.45 billion, about six per cent less than the N201.39 billion total allocation received by Delta and Akwa Ibom states.

Osun State received the least allocation in the six-month period with N10.24 billion, while Cross River, Ekiti, Zamfara and Ogun states received N17.13 billion, N17.92 billion, N18.64 billion, N18.79 billion respectively.



Others include Plateau, Gombe, Kwara, Ebonyi and Taraba, with the allocation of N20.6 billion, N20.64 billion, N21.39 billion, N21.61 billion and N22.49 billion respectively.

The report noted, “In the first quarter of 2013, total disbursements were N2.607 trillion. This figure for the first quarter of 2013 was the highest over this period while the N886.4 billion disbursed in the second quarter 2016 was the lowest.

“This indicates a difference of N1.721 trillion between disbursements in the highest and lowest months.

This figure is very large and further highlights the volatility in revenue for the Federation, arising from the dependence on oil.

“This shows a generally declining pattern in disbursements from the first quarter of 2013 until a trough was reached in second quarter 2016. Thereafter, an upward pattern is observed, and this increase continued until the second quarter of 2018,’’ it stated.

The report indicated that the N2.008 trillion disbursed in the second quarter of 2018 was the highest since the third quarter of 2014, adding that second quarter of 2018 was the first time an amount in excess of N2 trillion was disbursed since third quarter 2014.

“This is a run of 14 consecutive quarters of disbursements below N2 trillion.’’

It further stated that all disbursements from the first quarter of 2013 to second quarter 2014 were in excess of N2 trillion; this figure, it added clearly showed the contraction in revenue for all tiers of government, a pointer to why they had struggled to meet their obligations.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/283102-faac-disburses-n3-946trn-in-6-months-neiti.html

Certainly most people will disagree with this news but if critically analyzed, Nigerians have lost a whole lot of cash in importing goods we are capable of producing and this government is at its best in making that a history as this has being seen in the Rice farm production.

Certainly most people including the likes of Reno who this administration is certainly not favoring will disagree with Ngige but if critically analyzed, Nigerians have lost a whole lot of cash in importing goods we are capable of producing and this government is at its best in making that a history as this has being seen in the Rice farm production.

Desperation everywhere...Saraki that didn't end impunity in the senate now wants to end it in the Nation...We are watching

Nice write up ...I must say but the message was wrongly passed at the end. There is absolutely nothing wrong in supporting what you believe in. These are group of people down even to communities that contributed as well...

Atiku of all people should know that what Nigerians needs most at this time is proper management of public fund and not geographical restructuring. Here he is clamoring over restructuring to attain votes but he should be aware that Nigerians are not fools

Obviously Nigerian Government making Trade agreements to diversify our economy and promote economic growth. It is good the president believes in the strength of its youth.

THE Nigerian Air Force,NAF,said it has killed many Boko Haram territories in Borno State just as the insurgents’ structural hideouts were completely destroyed in its renewed onslaught against the terror group in the North East. Nigerian Air Force helicopter The latest success against the terrorists came as the service begins Operation Thunder Strike 2 in the region. The Air Force,in a statement,Thursday morning,through its spokesman,Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola,said its Air Task Force,ATF, commenced Operation Thunder Strike against Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast,last Monday. According to him, ” The Operation, which commenced on Monday, 3 September 2018, is an independent Air Interdiction Operation targeting selected Boko Haram terrorists locations within the fringes of Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest in Borno State, with a view to further degrading the remnants of the insurgents, curtailing their freedom of action and denying them bases from which they could launch attacks against our ground troops’ locations.” The statement added:”On day two of the operation, 4 September 2018, air strikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the destruction of Boko Haram terrorists’ hideouts and neutralization of scores of insurgents at three locations namely; Tumbun Rego, Sabon Tumbun and Tumbun Allura, all on the fringes of the Lake Chad.” “Tumbun Rego, which is located about 140Km Northeast of Maiduguri, has been identified as a major logistics/communications base and staging area for the insurgents. Accordingly, the ATF detailed F-7Ni and Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the identified Boko Haram terrorists logistics/communications hubs. The identified hubs were subsequently destroyed by the strikes. Similarly, a number of solar panels were spotted and destroyed during the attack,” it explained. The statement further read:”The attack on Sabon Tumbun was undertaken based on Human Intelligence reports, which were later confirmed following several days of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, indicating that the settlement was a Boko Haram terrorists tactical operations base. “The settlement also had some equipment and vehicles cleverly concealed under thick foliage. Accordingly, the settlement was attacked in successive waves of strikes by Alpha Jet, F-7Ni and Mi-35M Helicopter Gunships, leading to the destruction of Boko Haram terrorists facilities, equipment and structures in the settlement as well as the neutralization of several insurgents. “Tumbun Allura, another major Boko Haram terrorists operations base on the fringes of the Lake Chad, was attacked by Alpha Jet and F-7Ni aircraft. Overhead the area of interest, several of the BHTs were observed and the objective attacked leading to the complete destruction of one of the specific target buildings under a tree. “Many of the fleeing insurgents were also mopped up by subsequent follow-on attacks. “Meanwhile, at the time of filing this report, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar, was still in Maiduguri, where he had gone to motivate the frontline personnel while also obtaining firsthand information on the progress of the operation.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/09/air-force-launches-operation-thunder-strike-2-against-boko-haram/

It is quite unfortunate how some media tend to drag the president's name to the mud all for cheap fame. it is obvious that the President's is not just folding his arms as he is all bent in restoring law and order back to the nation.

Certainly Saraki cannot rule this country. This is same man that left the PDP to the APC for selfish reasons and when his selfish reasons where not met, He went back to the PDP. It is obvious that he does not have the interest of this nation at heart as he is in politics for selfish reasons.

President Muhammadu Buhari has picked the Presidential form of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the president's spokesperson on new media, Bashir Ahmad, the N45million expression-of-interest form was bought by "a group of good Nigerians".

He tweeted: "While President @MBuhari is far in China, a group of good Nigerians bought expression of interest form and nomination form for him."

While President @MBuhari is far in China, a group of good Nigerians bought expression of interest form and nomination form for him. #PMB 2.0

National President of APC, Adams Oshiomole, received the team of supporters, who went to APC's headquarter to pick the form on behalf of the President.

In 2015, Buhari claimed to be unable to afford the presidential nomination form, and was bought for him by supporters.

http://saharareporters.com/2018/09/05/breaking-group-good-nigerians-buys-n45m-presidential-forms-buhari

Emmanuel Uduaghan, the immediate past Governor of Delta State and an aspirant for the Delta South Senatorial district seat in the National Assembly who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), has premised his decision to defect on the conviction that the present administration means well for the people.

Uduaghan, who spoke on Tuesday when he paid a consultation visit to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli II, at his palace, to seek royal blessings ahead of the 2019 elections, commended President Buhari on efforts to ensure peace and security in the Niger Delta region.

The APC senatorial hopeful, however, noted that anything that would make the state play politics of opposition would be counter-productive.

He added that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo's visit to states in the Niger Delta brought about relative peace, which he said would bring about more development.

He said: "We need to be in the mainstream politics to accelerate development of Delta State. I'm going to the Senate to represent the three ethnic nationalities equally. For the sake of justice and fairness, we agreed that the Senate position should be rotated among Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri, and it is the turn of the Itsekiris.

"I've looked at the terrain carefully and I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that we need to be at the same party with the centre to ensure speedy development of our district and state. I am convinced that President Buhari means well for Niger Delta. I have therefore decided to join forces with him to mobilise as many people as possible to ensure he succeeds."

Responding, the Olu of Warri expressed happiness about Uduaghan's return to mainstream politics.

The monarch promised to support any forward-looking candidate, who is prepared to shun personal and ethnic interest for the overall interest of the senatorial district, Delta State and Niger Delta in general.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the visit, the immediate past state coordinator of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and a front-line APC House of Representatives aspirant for Isoko Federal Constituency, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, promised to team up with Uduaghan for progress of the region.

"The time has finally come to speed up the development and progress of our people in Isoko, Delta South Senatorial District and Delta State. I am already mobilising the entire Isoko nation for APC to ensure the victory of the party in the forthcoming 2019 elections,” he said.

http://saharareporters.com/2018/09/05/im-convinced-buhari-means-well-niger-delta-says-uduaghan

Same PDP that allowed all form of looting and messed our economy for good 16 years. The PDP is advised to sit back and learn proper governance from the APC...Its as simple as this.

Same Bukola that selfishly left PDP to the APC and when his selfish interest was not met he went back. Same man that selfishly refused the re-convention of the NASS but was going from pillar to post consulting oracles all for his selfish interest. Saraki has being tested and certainly can't be trusted. It is glaring he is in politics for selfish interest and not for the interest of Nigerians.

This is commendable, i appreciate the fact this administration has continued to grow bilateral relationship with other countries, this will not only create a business relationship between the two countries, it will also help in the economy growth of Nigeria.

This man thinks Nigeria is a joke, he wants to use this opportunity to convince Nigerians to win their votes, the fact is that he has been tested and cannot be trusted, he should not be bothered about correcting, Nigeria is already on the path of change.

The summit that Buhari attended with Governors is yielding result already, in Edo state the Chinese have agree to fund the port about to be built Benin and now the Chinese FA are about to build a Football Clinic in lagos, only those that hates are blinded to this act of investors coming into the Country vie the FOCAC summit..

It is glaring Saraki is taking Nigeria for a joke, with his selfish and self centered mindset, certainly Nigerians do not need such Mindset of a leader who can and will always choose his own interest above the group interest..

Here is Atiku forming the all James Bond like he wasn't in power once upon a time. He should know that Nigerians are no Fools and cant be carried by his gullible acts and speeches.

Desperation for Power will sure make a man run even without being chased. Donald is advised to seat back and learn from the President

Desperation for Power will sure make a man run even without being chased. Donald is advised to seat back and learn from the President

This is another clear proof that this administration is for all... Wailers will only try to drag the president's name to the mud but clear proofs will always come and we standing strong

It certain that the President is working tirelessly to ensure he keep to his 2015 election promises as there are positive change in various sectors already.

These are words of wisdom from our amiable Vice President. It is certain that this administration is here to revitalize our economy and make Nigeria of our dream a reality.

It is certain that Uduaghan have the interest of the Niger Deltans at heart. He clearly stated his reasons for defection and one of which is “Rather than using the military to harass our people, the Buhari administration has embarked on various engagement processes that have led to agreements and brought hope to the people of the Niger Delta,”..These are clear words from Uduaghan and later some wailers will say that the amiable president is a tyrant