₦airaland Forum

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF POWER, WORKS AND HOUSING
Office of the Special Adviser on Communications
Headquarter, Mabushi P.M.B. 111, Garki - Abuja, Nigeria

PRESS RELEASE
INCREMENTAL POWER: TRANSMISSION, GENERATION CAPACITIES RECEIVE BOOST AS FG COMMISSIONS IKOT-EKPENE TRANSMISSION LINE, SWITCHING STATION
· Minister of Power, Works and Housing commissions Ikot-Ekpene-Alaoji-Ugwuaji Switching Station and Transmission Line
· Energizes the 287-kilometer double circuit Transmission lines to increase transmission grid capacity, provide transmission capacity for power plants along the lines
· Fashola commends all Stakeholders that made the commissioning possible, urges communities hosting national assets to take ownership, engage with Government rather than stall projects
The Federal Government’s objective of achieving incremental power has received further boost as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, commissioned the Ikot-Ekpene-Alaoji-Ugwuaji Switching Station and Transmission Line towards solving the problem of evacuating stranded power in Calabar Power, Afam VI Power, Ibom Power and Alaoji Power Plants.
The energizing of the 287-kilometre double circuit transmission line project, which was stalled for about two years due to community and court issues, will not only increase transmission grid capacity but will provide transmission capacity to enable the power plants along the lines to produce to full capacity.
It will expand the transmission capacity of the National Grid all the way to Enugu, and from there boost power supply to Makurdi which will in turn correct the problem of low voltage being experienced by communities along that line.

In his remarks at the switching-on ceremony, Fashola expressed delight that with the switching on of the transmission lines, the power plants that had stranded power problems such as Calabar Power Plant, Alaoji Power Plant, Ibom Power Plant and Afam VI Power plant, would now gradually increase their outputs until their full capacities were available to add an extra 1,246 Megawatts of usable generation capacity to the National Grid.

Fashola, who noted that the problems that delayed the project were not solely engineering problems, said the Power Plants waiting to be served had respectively 561Megawatts (MW), 450 MW,185 MW and 650 MW installed capacities, but had only been producing 100 MW, 100 MW, 100 MW and 300 MW (i.e. only total of 600MW).
The Minister declared, “From today, we expect them to start increasing their daily output until their full capacity is available to add an extra 1,246 Megawatts of usable generation capacity to the National Grid”, adding that the completion of the project has proved wrong the insinuations from some quarters that the nation’s transmission capacity was static at 5000 MW.
Pointing out that the problem of stranded power caused by lack of gas was also being tackled by Government, which according to him, is currently working to facilitate gas access to the plants, Fashola said the Vice-President recently led the signing of a guarantee agreement to ensure gas supply to the Calabar Plant.
“What this means is that we are focused on progressing on our primary and short term goal of getting incremental power anywhere and everywhere, and committed to achieving the target set out by Mr. President in the short term”, the Minister said adding that a number of transmission facilities had also been completed since the advent of the Buhari administration without fanfare.
Fashola, who listed such facilities to include those in Sokoto, Maiduguri, Okada, Alagbon, Damboa, Nasarawa, Gurara, Osogbo, Kashimbilla and Kumbotso, said government would continue to complete other projects that advance the objective of achieving Incremental, Steady and Uninterrupted power without making much fanfare about them but leaving the public to experience the impact.
The Minister, however, described the energizing of the Ikot Ekpene-Calabar, Ikot- Ekpene-Alaoji, and Ikot-Ekpene-Ugwuaji Transmission Lines as a critical milestone adding, “At critical milestones, we will make public statements about transmission capacity enhancement and grid expansion to inform the public, to dispel rumors, and to correct deliberate mis-statements or ignorant assertions”.
He further explained, “What is different about this project is that it involves three double circuit lines that stretch over 287 kilometers. But that is not all. This project shows that it is going to require a collaborative national effort of different skill sets to overcome our power challenge. It is not something that only engineers can do, contrary to what some people erroneously think”.
Commending the dedication of all the engineers who worked on the project “and defied great odds to deliver it”, Fashola particularly acknowledged the pioneering work of the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of Niger Delta Power Holding Company, (NDPHC), Engineer James Olotu, who, according to him, “midwifed the project”, and also the focused dedication of Chiedu Ugbo, his successor, who saw it to conclusion.
The Minister also commended the engineers who worked with the contracting company, the consulting company, NEMSA, the testing company and TCN the management company adding, however, that if it were only an engineering issue the project would most likely have been long completed.
Recalling the other man-made issues that had stalled the project, Fashola said it was beset by property rights challenges, legal and community challenges and the invocation of fetish practices to frustrate contractors along the right-of-way adding, “These are not engineering challenges. They are man-made problems as I have consistently insisted and they required a team of great men and women like the President and Vice President who have provided the leadership”.
The Minister, who said the Alaoji project could not proceed because it was obstructed by a Globacom telecoms mast, pointed out that it did not mean that the company did anything wrong as they were expanding their infrastructure just as Government was seeking to expand transmission adding that nobody apparently brought the matter to the leadership of Globacom until the advent of the Buhari administration.
He commended the Globacom management, for taking prompt action as soon as the matter was brought before it pointing out that, the Chief Executive of the company, Dr. Mike Adenuga, immediately directed the relocation of the mast within a few days in a gesture of commendable patriotism. “This was not an engineering issue, it was simple communication and collaboration. It was also putting people and Nation first, before business”, he said.
The Minister also recalled the next hurdle that came up in a village in Itu Local Government of Akwa Ibom State where the community used charms and other underhand means to scare the contractors away from the site, adding, “While those charms could not produce 1 kW of electricity, they certainly had the effect of stopping engineers who knew how to produce electricity from doing so”.
He declared, “Communication, collaboration and leadership provided by the Buhari administration and the State Government, led to the removal of the fetish charms, the return of the engineers and the completion of that section. This again was not an engineering problem or solution”.
Other problems down the line, Fashola said, came from a community in Oronta in Abia State which went to court to stop work on the section that passed through their territory. The Minister, who faulted the move by the past administration to engage the community in a court battle resulting in two years of delay, added, “The Buhari Government changed the approach”.
Describing the court approach as one that should be the last resort, the Minister declared, “Meet with the community, engage with their leaders, and resolve the problem if possible; court disputes do not produce power for an expectant Nigerian public”.
He said Government finally engaged the services of a consultant, Amanze Uchegbulam, who knew the community adding that the Eze of Oronta and his people finally came to the table where negotiations commenced and were concluded with the signing of terms of settlement. “The case was taken out of court, engineers returned to their work site, completed that section and here we are”, he said.
Explaining why he described the project as a milestone, Fashola said the project had helped to demystify and to inspire hope, that the problems could be solved, adding, “Not only will these projects now give us incremental power by about 300 MW immediately, it will expand the transmission capacity of our grid all the way to Enugu, and from there we can now boost supply to Makurdi and begin to correct the problem of low voltage being experienced there”.
The Minister, who noted, however, that all the problems would not be solved in 24 hours, added, “There is a lot of testing to remove problems, synchronization and all that to be done. But in the days, weeks and months to come, our engineers will respond to do their work to assure that the fullest benefits of increased power, better voltage, robust transmission are achieved, while we move on to complete other projects”.

“We have heard from the contractors and from the Managing Director that this station will evacuate power from four major plants. We have also heard that it will evacuate power from other plants coming up. So let us be clear, let us understand that this is a transmission project; this is the transporter of the business. So all those who keep telling you that the transmission system is weak are wrong”, he said.

He added, “They are wrong to say that the system is only 5000MWs; they are wrong because the transmission system is dynamic, it improves every day, as you complete the KV lines you are improving and boosting the capacity and this is how it will continue to be”.

The Minister, however, explained that the extra power that would now come from the Calabar, Ibom, Alaoji and Afam Power Plants was not going to happen immediately, pointing out that there would be switching on of additional power, while the engineers test-run and synchronize the system before putting the power on the Grid.

“So there is still a lot of work to do and the engineers will tell you that. But in the next few months I assure you we will achieve our objective of incremental power, adding more power to the grid every day, every week until we evacuate all the power that is already in those stations and then it will encourage us to build more”, he said.

Promising to come around from time to time to see the progress of work, Fashola also encouraged the community members to escalate to him anything they noticed that would require his attention, especially those that could not get sufficient local response, adding, “If we continue to talk, continue to communicate, we will solve all the problems”.

The Minister cited the Itu Local Government issue where a community used charms to drive away government contractors adding that although the charms could not produce electricity, they caused enough fear to drive away the contractors. “But by talking together the charms left the way, some things happened and we are here. So that is the kind of communications that we want more of. So if we talk and work together we will reach the goal”, he said.

Fashola appealed to the host community to take ownership of the project adding, “You hold this asset in trust for Nigerians and you will benefit from it if you protect it. The work we have to do here is also not finished as you have heard; we are only switching part of it that is already evacuating power. There is still a lot of work to do here before all the work is completed”.

Responding to the issues raised by the State Governor, who was represented on the occasion by his Deputy, Mr. Moses Frank Ekpo, about local power for the host community, Fashola, who assured that the community would get power, however, explained that the power had to be taken to the Grid before it would be brought down adding that the power has also to be paid for by the DisCos.

“So all the people who have built all those plants, the first thing they want to do is to get it on the grid because they are guaranteed that NBET will pay them. So that is the first reason because they have to act in a commercial manner”, the Minister said.

He assured, “So ultimately it will get to you”, adding that the contractors also told him that the transformer that would be used for the local step down was already available. “There are more challenging work that they have to do before they come to serve you”, he said.

The milestone event had in attendance other senior officials of the Akwa Ibom State Government, traditional rulers and members of the host communities as well as Chief Executives of the Generation, Distribution and Transmission Companies in the power sector.

HAKEEM BELLO
SPECIAL ADVISER,
COMMUNICATIONS
TO THE HON. MINISTER
23RD NOVEMBER, 2016

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE:

WITH ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY, OUR DEPENDENCE ON OIL CANNOT CONTINUE, WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, SAYS VP OSINBAJO

*NIGERIA READY FOR GREATER FEATS IN I.T


SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON AT THE E-NIGERIA SUMMIT, ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NITDA) WITH THE THEME "LEVERAGING I.T. INNOVATION FOR ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION" HELD AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA 22ND NOVEMBER 2016


Protocols:

(I think already so much has been said here today and you can already see that we are well on our way to diversifying our economy with the kinds of innovation and the kinds of thoughts and ideas that we’ve seen on display today.)

It is my pleasure to be with you today at this 9th edition of the e-Nigeria summit. I don’t think there is any subject of greater importance in Nigeria today than the theme of this summit which is Leveraging IT Innovation for Economic Diversification. The Director General of NITDA, Mr Musa Ali Ibrahim and his team truly deserved to be commended for this excellent and innovative idea. Their choice of subject and task that they’ve set for themselves are entirely spot on.

Every once in several centuries comes an innovation that completely redefines every aspect of human life and experience. The printing press for example is described as the turning point at which knowledge began freely replicating, and quickly assumed a life of its own. The invention of the telegraph was so revolutionary that a notable commentator said that before it “information was moving only as quickly as a man on a horseback.”

Electricity is yet another innovation that has completely transformed everything.The internal combustion engine. There is so much talk about how that transformed all that there is to know about mechanical devices, the automobiles and all of that.

But the invention of the innovation of Information Technology has certainly changed everything, we have a new world paradigm and this is why it is that, whether we like it or not, there is a new reality, the virtual world, a new world in every sense.

The implications are varied and profound. They compel diversification and the creation of new opportunities in practically every aspect of human endeavor.

To put it differently, digital technology has created a situation where whether we like it or not diversification will be forced upon us. Our dependence on oil for example, simply cannot continue whether we like it or not.

As the years go by, oil is becoming less and less important. Cars are some of the largest users of petrol. But technology is changing all of that and if you look at what is happening today, the birth of the electric car, with all what have gone into the technology, just shows us that, whether we like it or not, we may not be depending on oil for much longer.

Last year, Electric Vehicles or EVs as they are called grew by 60%. Japan has more electric car charge points than petrol stations. Both Japan and China are aggressively investing and encouraging the use of Electric cars and both offer subsidies to buyers of Electric cars. Fairly conservative analysis indicate that by 2040, long-range electric cars will cost less than $22,000, according to the projections and thirty-five percent of new cars worldwide will be electric cars.

So the most frightening implication for us who are oil producing countries is that there will be far less oil consumption especially from the Asian countries, who today, are our major oil markets.

Bloomberg estimates that electric vehicles could displace oil demand of 2 million barrels a day as early as 2023. Now, that would be equivalent to what created the glut of oil, to what triggered the 2014 oil crisis. How about self-driving cars? Technology can now produce self-driving cars; Toyota, Mercedes for example. And all of those are very quickly expanding in operation, there are now self-parking, and of course cruise control.
Google, by the way, is one of the most aggressive innovators in the self-driving car category. The company has in fact indicated that the driverless car technology in development within its Google X research lab is from two to five years from being ready for widespread use.

Chris Urmson, the Google executive who was in charge of the project, discussed the imminent possibility of autonomous vehicles patrolling neighborhoods to pick up and drop off passengers. Clearly, whether we like it or not technology is forcing diversification, as innovation opens up new vistas, new business opportunities and greater access to benefits that were once exclusive.

In medicine for example, some of the most incredible innovations and futuristic ideas are already happening. If you look at what digital technology has done to accelerate medical advances in diagnosis, treatment, and health preservation, from electronic aspirin for people suffering from migraines or other chronic head or facial pains (Autonomic Technologies), to needle free diabetic injections, it is clear that the next few years promise astonishing leaps in healthcare.
Telemedicine, the system of health care delivery in which physicians examine distant patients through the use of telecommunications technology is becoming more available.
There is a geneticist called Eric Topol, he said that doctors can remotely and continuously monitor each heartbeat, moment-to-moment blood pressure readings, the rate and depth of breathing, body temperature, oxygen concentration in the blood, glucose, brain waves, activity mood, practically everything. For the first time, he said we can actually digitize human beings.
Technology now makes it possible for a cancer patient in Nigeria to access expert diagnosis or even consult with experts across the world on video platforms. Tele-psychiatry enables psychiatrists anywhere in the world to provide treatment to patients remotely.

Just this last May, some publicity came for a software called Proximie which enables surgeons to lead surgical operations from thousands of miles away. The software could be loaded on an IPAD or a smartphone. The software enables the doctors to see a live camera feed of the operation. The surgeon sees this and can then mark the exact point where an incision needs to be done on his own device which then appears on the device of the doctors on location. Telesurgery can now literally bring the surgeon into a theatre thousands of miles away.

For the average person with no serious health challenges requiring sophisticated processes, the future is also here. Portable diagnostic technology allows anyone to generate their own reliable health diagnosis.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in 2014 developed a mobile application which could make diagnosis and monitoring of Kidney disease, Urinary Tract Infections, HIV, Malaria and Diabetes easier. It can also facilitate the speedy transfer of medical data from the field to doctors or centralised laboratories.

The morale of this narrative is that the business of medicine is expanding, opportunities are multiplying and technology is both the subject and the facilitator of access to the new opportunities.

Look at the way that in just 10 years banking in Nigeria is diversifying so rapidly. Fewer people go to banking halls to collect cash, e-payment and mobile payment platforms are coming up daily.

A few of our exhibitors just came up to talk about some of the payment systems and so on. Looking at the incredible ideas and the exciting things, the interesting thing about them is that payments can be made in cash or kind using a phone or any other electronic devise. There are new e-opportunities for various financial services being created daily. And most of these new services are owned by innovators not the banks themselves.

Formal Education, both in terms of content and delivery is certainly another area that has been radically impacted by technology and innovation in this decade. The changes that we are seeing even locally are as dramatic as they are profound. Take a secondary school for example, a student had to buy several textbooks and a few years of past question papers. However in 2013, Osun State introduced the Opon Imo, an electronic learning tablet, which enables self-paced learning.

The tablet provides three major content categories, namely, E-Library, Virtual Classroom and an Integrated Zone. The virtual classroom contains 63 e-books covering 17 academic subjects for examinations conducted by NECO, WAEC, and JAMB as well as material on enterprise education, civics and even sexuality education. The Integrated Test Zone has over 40,000 JAMB and WAEC practice questions dating back twenty years. The device will save the state of Osun N8.4Billion extra it would have spent to provide hard copies of the textbooks. The tablet can record audio lessons. The tablet has clearly revolutionized learning, making it cheaper and far more effective. It gives the student more control allowing him to pace himself in his learning. The E-Library that it contains, bridges the huge gap of lack of libraries and books by making books available electronically. By simply enabling Internet facilities on the device the student can access useful e-libraries all over the world. It certainly is a new day.

Incidentally in one of the youth employment initiatives of the Federal Government called N-Power which started last Friday; we are engaging in the first phase about 200,000 graduates. That particular programme has opportunities for the training of volunteer teachers, agricultural extension workers and public health officials. Each successful applicant will get a device. Now, that device is a teaching tool which contains a broad range of teaching materials, including technology training materials, software writing, and access to several electronic learning sources. The devise will enjoy free Internet access.

The result is that we will for the first time be conducting the largest completely on-line training and empowerment, as well as monitoring and evaluation in Nigeria. Without technology it would have been impossible to train over 500,000 persons within a few months, given the cost and space constraints of such a venture.

Applications for JAMB, as you know, are now on-line, results are also electronically generated. The automation of education has moved faster than we imagined even here in Nigeria. So it is evident that the quantum leap that we have seen in technology is only delayed by the current deficit, in power, bandwidth and other infrastructure.


So, the Federal Government is investing aggressively in technology. We have budgeted for the training of 65,000 young Nigerians in hardware and software services as part of the social investment programme of the Federal Government which has a very active collaboration of the Ministry of Communications and of course NITDA. This will mean that we will be building more local capacity to build, assemble hardware, and to write innovative programmes. We also will be focusing on technology for media and entertainment. We intend to create a reservoir of human capacity in technology that can be exported internationally. Nigeria can lead India as a market for technology and innovation talent.

Just three months ago, we demonstrated our resolve to encourage young, innovative Nigerians by hosting an Aso Villa Demo Day (AVDD) to showcase various solutions developed by young Nigerians. We hosted Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, who simply expressed his amazement at the wealth of talent in the country, both the talent at the event and those he interacted with during his visit to various parts of the country.

During the Aso Villa Demo Day, our recently concluded government led innovation competition, we saw how some of these young people using smart technology, startups and all of that, were able to achieve all manners of milestone in technology in the areas of Transportation Management, Waste Recycling, Payment Processing, Tracking and Verification System, Human Resources Management System, Medical Health Record Management System, amongst others.

The top three finalists of the competition were:

The first was Ms Damilola Olokesusi, 26-year-old founder of ShuttlersNG Limited – A startup company with less than 5 employees started by two young ladies. Their technology application brings professionals together to share transportation systems based on proximity to their respective places of work, which will drastically help reduce the traffic challenges in metropolitan cities like Lagos and Abuja.

In the second position was Mr. Emmanuel Okena, 38-year-old founder of Tracology – A startup company founded in 2014, currently with 4 employees. The company developed and patented a smart payment process for tracking and verifying user payments by utility companies and government, which will help increase revenue generation and collection by utility companies as well as local, state and federal governments. It will also reduce inefficiencies in the revenue management process.

The third is Mr. Alison Ukonu, 36-year old founder of Recycle Points – A startup company founded in 2013 currently with 50 employees. The company developed a solution for motivating waste management and recycling as a social benefit venture. The company encourages citizens to gain value from proper disposal of their everyday waste and this in turn has benefits for the environment. In addition, the company exports the recycled waste to China, which in turn helps to generate foreign exchange for Nigeria.

These innovators and many others like them, provide abundant proof that with sheer determination and an enabling environment our young entrepreneurs are set for world-class achievements.

And what this just tells us is that we are well on the way, and what have we left to do. I think that the important things have already been highlighted by Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo-(the keynote speaker). Those important things are policy and incentives. A policy and incentive regime that enables all that we have been talking about and unleashes the talents and the hard work that have been put in place by these young people.

The important thing is that we have the willing government that has very creative people, and very creative people in the private sector. So what is required of us now to be on our feet, there are all manners of policies that we are doing and we need to be able to identify these policies that will make a big difference and that way we need to develop the collaboration between the private and public sector to define thoroughly, what is it that we need.

What are those incentives that we require for this time? And when we are able to identify them, we should be able to put them in place very quickly. We already have an Ease of Doing Business Council which basically looks at the incentive regimes, the different aspects of industry and that Council helps in pushing forward the promises and incentives that will very quickly bring all the results that we expect from the active sector.

Today we say collaboration is the key. There is nowhere in the world where technology is developing without collaboration. Collaboration between the private and the public sector, even within the private sector, everyone is working in collaboration.

Development in chemical technology today means that several people from across the world together are working online to ensure that they share awareness and innovations in the field. There is another kind of collaboration also between the private and the public sector. The public sector today is willing to collaborate with the private sector, that willingness is evidenced in practically everything and the investments that we are making in technology.

This is a great moment for our country; it is a great moment for technology in our country. I think that we have everything that is required to make things happen, we have an Honourable Minister that is ready to do the work, a NITDA Director-General that are ready to do the work, a President that has opened up the Villa for an annual Demo Day. Everything is right and I believe that our country is set for greater achievements in technology.

On that note I like to thank you very much and officially declare this e-Nigeria summit open.



RELEASED BY:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 22, 2016

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE:

NIGER DELTA PIPELINE VANDALISM:
NOBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD WILL DESTROY FACILITIES MEANT TO HELP THEM—VP OSINBAJO

*On talks with leaders from the region, says President will keep his word

*Leaders of Thought from Delta State Condemn destruction of oil installations

*FG ready with counterpart funding for railway projects with China

The damaging of pipelines and oil installations in the Niger Delta is a destruction of facilities meant to help the people of the region, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has reiterated.

Speaking today while receiving a delegation of Urhobo leaders at the Presidential Villa, Prof. Osinbajo lamented that “so much damage is being done, governments will come and go, but this damages will ultimately destroy people’s livelihoods, aspirations and their future.”

“Nobody else anywhere in the world will destroy the facilities meant to help them, there is no benefit whatsoever from the destruction,” the Vice President continued.

While maintaining that the Buhari administration would continue its outreach to leaders and groups in the Niger Delta in seeking peaceful solution to the crisis, Vice President Osinbajo called for understanding, especially on the part of the leaders of the region stressing that destruction and damage “does not lead to anything good.”

Regarding the opened channels of communication and negotiation with the Niger Delta leaders and representatives, the Vice President assured that President Muhammadu Buhari has shown exemplary leadership and is someone that can be trusted once he gives his word.

“He is quiet, but fiercely determined, once he makes up his mind and gives his word,” the VP observed encouraging the Niger Delta people to work with the President.

Welcoming the delegation from the Urhobo Leaders of Thought led by its president, Chief Tuesday Onoge and the APC’s Gubernatorial Candidate in the 2015 elections, Olorogun Ortega Emerhor, Prof. Osinbajo commended the leadership and understanding of the Urhobo Leaders of Thought.

Earlier in his comments, Chief Onoge lamented that if the money sent to the Niger Delta in the last 16 years were judiciously spent, the people of the region would have benefitted. He then asked rhetorically “What happened to this monies?

Pledging support to the Federal Government, the leader of the delegation said the group condemns the vandalisation of oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta in its entirety and offered to assist in furthering peace in the area. He also stated that the group supported the anti-corruption efforts of the Buhari administration.

Meanwhile, the Vice President also disclosed today that the Federal Government is ready with the counterpart funding for the designated railway constructions: Lagos-Kano and Calabar-Lagos lines.

He spoke during a courtesy call on him by the new Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Zhou Pingjian, where he said the relationship between Nigeria and China is getting stronger and strategic. The Chinese envoy in his remarks said trade between both countries has increased and described Nigeria as “giant of Africa.”

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 22, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

CONNECTION EXISTS BETWEEN OIL PRICE, PIPELINE VANDALISATION AND GDP RATES - PRESIDENT BUHARI

*SAYS FG HAS OPENED SEVERAL CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION WITH RELEVANT NIGER DELTA GROUPS
*CLEAN-UP OF THE REGION STARTING WITH OGONI IS AN IRREVOCABLE COMMITMENT

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR, DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, VICE PRESIDENT, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY OF THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE COURSE 38 OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POLICY AND STRATEGIC STUDIES, NIPSS, KURU, JOS, PLATEAU STATE ON NOVEMBER 19, 2016

PROTOCOL:


I am delighted to be here with you this morning on the occasion of the graduation ceremony of the Senior Executive Course 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, our nation's foremost institution for policy, research and training. It is re-assuring to note that since the establishment of the institute 37 years ago, the national institute has provided a vibrant platform for policy intellectuals and thought leaders on critical issues of national development.

The institute is to be commended for the quality of research and policy output that has been generated over the years. The innovative ideas that have been proffered by this intellectual power-house have positively influenced national policy and development of our nation through the years.

It is also specially heartwarming to note that some of the current members have contributed significantly to improving the infrastructure here at the institute and that the entire Senior Executive Course 38 of 2016 have donated a block of two shelters to accommodate all of the participants. Your altruism and generosity is a mark of the leadership efforts that we are confident will define the new Nigeria.

Please accept my sincere condolence on the sudden passing of your course mate, Hajia Maimuna Abdullahi who incidentally was present at the presentation ceremony of your course to me at the Presidential Villa only two weeks ago.

As has become traditional, the Special Guest of Honour's speech at NIPSS graduation usually seeks to address some crucial policy issue, this is as it should be, our foremost policy think tank ought to be a place where thoughts, ideas and evolving policies in government are laid out and interrogated.

Today permit me to speak briefly on the law and order challenge in Nigeria.
(The law and order challenge in Nigeria, its scope, its implications and the critical pathways for resolving the issues that attempt this matter of law and order.)

It is clear that a stable, safe and prosperous society must be the desire of every group of policy makers and executors. It is probably true to say also that the chief function of government is the protection and assurance of the security of lives, livelihoods and the properties of the citizenry.

Indeed at the conceptual level, it explains the reason why individuals and communities give over their right of self-help and self-protection and even vengeance to the state; and the state cannot afford to compromise these responsibilities in anyway. Indeed many nation-states in exercising that duty of ensuring security find themselves unfortunately prioritizing the maintenance of law and order over individual and sometimes communal rights.

In recent years, Nigeria has had to deal with fairly significant and sustained breaches of the norms of law and order, these include the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast, several cases of herdsmen and farmer clashes, and also cattle rustling, facility and pipeline sabotage in the Niger Delta, kidnappings for ransom and the Shiite-Army and Police clashes with pro-Biafra agitators in the southeast among others.

But beginning with the Boko Haram insurgency, although in the past year, the capacity of the Boko Haram as a military force and to hold territory has, to a level, been degraded, much laws and instability has resulted, and it is essentially a rag-tag left-over that still carry out the itinerant ambushes and raids especially in border territories.

But almost over 2 million people have been displaced in the Northeast, some in IDP camps, but most in host communities, with orphans in the tens of thousands. As the insurgents fled very many small border hamlets, they left behind women and children that they had held in captivity, in many cases badly malnourished.

Several local and international humanitarian organisations, working in the region have worked hard with the government to contain the large number of individuals of malnourished and dying children. I ordered the establishment of an inter-ministerial task-force of relevant line ministries to create more order and synergy with the humanitarian organisations, NGOs and the UN agencies. Barely two weeks ago, I also formally inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiatives (PCNI) headed by General T.Y. Danjuma, Rtd, to coordinate both official and private initiatives in the region and also ensure that the state governments have the same power to rehabilitate in a particular area where they have found their competence useful.

Only recently, Dikwa Local Government had some of the public buildings, schools, hospitals rebuilt, and the PCNI provided the material while the state government, the builders, artisans and labourers executed the job.

Still the humanitarian tragedies are immense and the losses are enormous. No farming has taken place in many of the villages and communities for over three years. Farmlands in many cases have been mined by the fleeing insurgents and because they are largely at various communities, the deprivation of livelihood and economic opportunities is big.

Invariably, this dents agriculture’s 32 percent contribution to our GDP. Although the terrorists still hold several persons captive, the nation recently received the cheering news of the rescue of 21 of the Chibok girls after practically two years in captivity. They were reunited with their families.

Government is, and as I have said repeatedly, committed in ensuring that all the girls and all those who are in captivity are returned safely. Over twenty thousand Nigerians have lost their lives in the Boko Haram insurgency. The cost of rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure in the Northeast is enormous. The education of children in many communities has been stalled for years.

The military have shown tremendous professionalism and patriotism. The reports of humanitarian organisations and the activities have been very salutary indeed.

Turning to Fulani herdsmen and farmer clashes, this has had an unfortunate long history. Disputes have arisen, use of essential resources, farmlands and grazing areas and water, farmers complaining of invasion of their farms and destruction of their crops by cattle, climate change and the continuous decrease in grazing land have led to even greater complications and the dire needs that have continually presented this particular problem.

More recently, the disputes have turned more violent with the arming of herdsmen with guns. There is also evidence of the infiltrations of the ranks of the herdsmen by North African youths who have been involved in the civil conflict between Libya and Mali. The proliferation of small arms in these conflicts has probably made them more available to criminal acts. Cattle rustling has also been a prominent breach of law and order.

Early last year, governors in the northwest came together to launch combined operations against (the) crime, but the collaboration of the police and the armed forces achieve considerable successes in stemming the tide. It is evidence that stronger, more robust and more effective law enforcement is necessary to deal with all of these violent attacks.

My firm orders had been that even the bearing of arms without license is illegal and persons found with arms must be arrested and prosecuted.

No quarter can be granted to anyone who perpetrates violence or promote its occurrence in anyway. There is nothing noble about the banditry and criminal violence that we have seen more frequently and we must prevent their continuing occurrence.

Turning to the Niger Delta, the attacks on pipelines and export facilities in the Niger Delta is a different law and order challenge. The damage has far reaching consequences for the national economy, the perpetrators are few and their motives are not necessarily aligned. The huge degradation of the environment and the criminal neglect of the region due to corruption, failed policies and the continuous vandalization of facilities has created a vicious cycle of environmental damage, poverty and violence.

The economic dimensions of the disruptions in oil and gas production caused by militant activities in the region are grave indeed. The blowing of four strategic oil facilities and oil fields, the Trans Forcados pipelines to the terminal, the Qua Iboe terminal, the Brass pipeline, the Trans-Niger pipeline and the Nembe creek trunkline access both of which convey exports to the Bonny terminal, led to a decline in output from budgetary provisions of about 2.2 million barrels per day to about 1.1 million or sometimes less than 1.1 million barrels per day.

In August 2016, the loss of over 1 million barrels of oil per day translated to the loss of over 60 percent of gross revenues. This is compounded by the comparatively low price oil regime. When oil revenues crash, even the non-oil economy is affected because 52 percent of our non-oil sector revenues depend on oil. Real GDP growth is directly linked to the price of crude and the relationship between oil price, oil export, and GDP growth rate remain as important as ever.

Besides, as of February 2016, we were generating 5,000 Mega Watts of power for the first time in the history of the country but that same month the attack on Trans Forcados pipeline led to a 40 percent loss in gas for power. We suffered a sharp drop in power output to less than 2000 Mega Watts of power at some points.

The implication of these despicable acts of sabotage on the vast majority of our people and even our people who live in the Niger Delta trying to make a living is definitely obvious. While we have made it absolutely clear that criminality under any guise will not be tolerated in any part of the country and the sabotage of national assets is a heinous crime. We have nonetheless opened several channels of communication with all relevant groups in the Delta.

We remain firmly of the view that all legitimate issues can be resolved when there is commitment on the part of all to the good of our neighbours and the development of our nation.

The clean-up of the Niger Delta beginning with Ogoniland is an irrevocable commitment, it will be irresponsible of this generation of leaders to ignore or worsen the environmental degradation in the region. This is why the continual vandalization of pipelines ultimately jeopardizes the lives and the livelihood of the present and the next generation.

There is no question at all that the security, law and order come first in order of priority. As we have seen, violators of the law completely undermine our economic potentials and harm the poorest amongst us the most.

The policies of the government on law and order are quite clear: first, we believe in the dignity of every Nigerian regardless of status, tribe or religion. As a soldier, l pledged my life to defend this nation, since my youth; i have in adulthood, twice sworn, as Head of State and President, to defend the laws and constitution. Our constitution grants the right to life and with it I believe, the right to be protected from the violation of one's cause or property and l take that oath seriously.

It is therefore the position of government that this criminal conducts cannot be tolerated in any form. Every criminal act must be accounted for. It must remain clear that impunity has come to an end in our country and there would be consequences for violations of the law. This is why we are working diligently to improve the nation’s capacity to maintain law and order.

We are supporting the incremental provision of state-of-the-art equipment of crime fighting especially using technology. Recently we commissioned a central criminal database of police in Abuja which will greatly assist in crime detection and prosecution.

Our system of criminal justice from investigation to prosecution and adjudication by the court needs to be re-engineered. A long delay in the trial process has impaired the credibility of our capacity to hold offenders to account. Our problem, it seems, is not access to justice, it is exiting our justice system once you have access to it. I have charged the judiciary often, and I do so again, on the task of developing a firm blueprint for a justice system that works, a system that delivers result.

When a person remains accused for years, it is bad for both the accused and the justice system. When a system does not deliver the result that it is created to deliver, self-help is the only option and of course the breakdown of law and order which it is meant to prevent inevitably follows.

Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, l received a report of these graduating senior participants a few weeks ago, the theme of the report is “Strengthening the Institutional Mechanisms for Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Development.” It is insightful, practical and solution -oriented. I again commend the course for the very useful contributions to our understanding of critical issues in the eradication of poverty.

Our approach as a government to the issue is multi-pronged. We believe that the economic policy must remain market-driven and the private sector-led, but the state must intervene where market forces would be slow or ineffective. This is why in the 2016 budget, we provided the largest social intervention allocation in the history of budgeting in our country with the sum of N500 billion. The sum is to provide the targeted intervention measures including 500, 000 volunteer graduate programme. And the employment of those who have graduated began yesterday. The first phase is the employment of 200, 000 volunteer corps graduates who will be paid for their services as they teach, render public health services as well as agriculture extension services in their various local government areas.

The fund also includes micro-credit facilities for market women and artisans and traders. We intend to satisfy at least a million market women, artisans and traders.

The programme also include the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme for one million poorest of the Nigerian families. We are working hand-in-hand with the World Bank in identifying the poorest families in the various communities. The sum of N5000 a month will be given to the women who are in these families in other to facilitate the feeding of their children and other sundry matters.

I have been briefed by the Vice President on some of the challenges facing the National Institute and I am pleased to inform you that we are addressing these problems. Already, the processes leading to the review of establishing the institute has progressed very well, being the nation's foremost policy think-tank, conditions of service of the institute will be made more attractive to engage and retain strong academics and other Nigerians who have a relevant high level practical experience.

The government will continue to provide the necessary financial support within the limits of the available resources. The present economic realities has made it practically impossible for government alone to actually satisfy all the financial demands, hence the need for the institute to try funding through policy research, linkages, consultancies and corporate Nigeria.
l have been informed that some spirited Nigerians have already begun discussion with the institute on various areas of intervention. These are commendable partnerships. l use this medium to call on other private sector leaders to emulate the examples of those who are already speaking to the institute on ways of assisting them.

I’m equally aware of the support of some of our agencies like the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, ANAN in the area of infrastructure. I thank them all and l also urge that they continually look at other areas of assisting NIPSS in achieving its most important policy objectives.

Finally, let me congratulate the wives, husbands, family and friends of the graduands, for the day and moment belong to the new MNIs. Congratulations on the successful completion of this programme. l have no doubt that this very intensive programme has not only expanded your outlook and perspectives, it has also deepened the understanding and commitment of Nigerians and the resolution of these challenges. Your training has placed you in a position to positively impact the future of this nation. That future has already arrived and I pray that this will be the beginning of greater possibilities and elevations for you.

God bless you and God bless Nigeria!

RELEASED BY:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 21, 2016

RESS RELEASE

INTERIOR MINISTER ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO REPORTED KILLINGS IN KWARA PRISONS

The Honourable Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (Rtd) has ordered investigation into reported inmate’s riots at Oke Kura Prison, Ilorin, Kwara State on Thursday, 17th November, 2016 which reportedly claimed six inmates in the condemned Prisoners cell, while many others sustained injuries.

Worried at this ugly development, the Minister has directed an Intra-Ministerial Committee to work closely with Nigeria Prisons’ management team with a view to unraveling the remote circumstance surrounding the most unfortunate incident, with a view to avoiding a repeat of such in any of the nation’s penitentiary and to sanction any official found culpable.

The Honourable Minister has consistently maintained his stance on the need to adhere to the United Nation Minimum Standards for the Treatments and Rehabilitation of Prison inmates including condemned Prisoners in line with the Mandela Rules. Findings overtime have shown that such riot involving condemned criminals has been as a result of frustration of being on death row for a period of 10yrs or more. Moreover, a Prison that was built in 1914, with 121 inmates capacity now accommodating 417, is bound to create difficulties in management. Government has therefore embarked on reconstructing old Prisons, while also building new Prison facilities in some locations.

He therefore reassures of his resolved to retooling the Country’s Prison Service, to effectively play its pivotal role of Reforming, Rehabilitating and Reintegrating transformed inmates back to the society in this connection, while ensuring that the rights of Prisoners are well protected.


OSAIGBOVO EHISIENMEN
Press Secretary, to the Honourable Minister of Interior

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE:

SLIGHT GROWTH SEEN IN NON-OIL ECONOMY, AS FG POLICIES SUSTAIN RISING GDP FIGURES IN AGRIC, SOLID MINERALS SECTORS

*Recession persists in third quarter report amid rebound in financial sector & overall positive outlook

Third Quarter GDP figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reveal a consistent growth in Agric and Solid Mineral sectors, indicating the success of the Buhari administration's economic policies even though overall economy is still in recession.

The over-riding impact of the oil and gas sector, where vandalism and sabotage of critical installations negatively affected production output, explains the persistence of the recession, as the non-oil economy posted a very slight growth.

Efforts to resolve the Niger Delta situation are however continuing as the Federal Government has opened several channels of communication with all relevant groups in the Niger Delta. Also, urgent fiscal and monetary measures to spur the economy back to overall positive territory are certainly in the offing including those targeting manufacturing.


The following statement was made on behalf of the Economic Management Team by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu on the latest NBS reports today:

“The third quarter results just released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the Nigerian economy is still in recession. Growth in Gross Domestic Product fell by -2.24% in the third quarter as compared to the decline of -2.07% experienced in the second quarter.


The slight deterioration in national economic performance owes largely to the continued poor performance of the oil and gas sector which worsened to -22.01% in the third quarter as compared to -17.48% in the second quarter of 2016. The immediate cause of this, as is now generally recognised, is the steep decline in oil and gas production in the third quarter of 2016 due to acts of vandalism and sabotage of oil export facilities.

Remote causes include the continued outsized influence of the oil and gas sector on the rest of the economy as typified by its contribution to government revenue and foreign exchange earnings, which continue to be important motors of economic activity. Moreover, due to time lags, it is still too early for policy interventions of the Federal Government to begin to impact fully on economic activity.

There are however some 'green shoots' of economic recovery beginning to emerge.

To start with, on-going consultations to bring lasting peace to the Niger Delta have enabled an increase in oil and gas production which if sustained at current prices, will bring a measure of relief to the economy.

Other key sectors of the economy showed encouraging signs of improvement.

The growth in the non-oil economy although still weak at 0.03% showed a return to positive territory after two consecutive quarters of negative growth. This was partly due to the continued good performance of agriculture and the solid minerals, two sectors prioritised by the Federal Government. Agriculture grew by 4.54% in the quarter under consideration of which growth in crop production at nearly 5% was at its highest since the first quarter of 2014. Growth in the solid mineral sector averaged about 7%.

The financial sector rebounded quite strongly in the period under review growing by 2.85% from a negative growth of -13.24% in the second quarter. The recently approved first tranche of $600m to be borrowed from the African Development Bank will also provide some relief in budgetary terms and supplement capital inflows. Indeed, there was a slight uptick of capital inflows into the economy in the third quarter of 2016. Overall capital inflows in the third quarter of 2016 increased by 74.84% over the second quarter.

The performance of the manufacturing sector continued to be of concern given its key role in value addition and job creation in the economy. It is expected however that with greater local sourcing of raw materials, expected improvements in infrastructure, especially power and reductions in the cost of doing business, this sector will soon experience a sustained improvement in its contribution to the national economy.

Similarly, while inflation is still high at 18.3% on a year-on-year basis it has begun to level out on a month-on-month basis and should enable the deployment of more policy tools to support growth and employment. Indeed, growth of headline inflation slowed down appreciably from 13.8% in May to as low as 1.70% in September.

The year to date growth is about -1.58% and is set to improve given some of the points mentioned earlier especially regarding agriculture, oil and gas, and power supply. In addition, there have also been reductions in the rate of contraction of household and government consumption expenditure. Household consumption expenditure fell for instance by -3.25% in the third quarter of 2016 as compared to -6.0% recorded in the second quarter.

The ratio of investment to GDP also showed a notable improvement rising by 7.6% in the third quarter of 2016 as compared to a contraction of -7.4% in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The Strategic Implementation Plan for the implementation of the 2016 Budget of Change prioritised capital expenditures for power, roads and rail as well as social investments. In addition to creating jobs and promoting social inclusion, these expenditures will also provide a stimulus by putting money in the hands of people. The usual economic activity that takes place in the Yuletide season will also likely have a positive impact on the wholesale and retail trade sector.

Overall therefore, it is expected that these factors which will be underpinned by the policies to be unveiled in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, to be adopted before the end of the year, will lend further momentum to on-going efforts to revitalise and reposition the economy.”

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 21, 2016

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT BUHARI TO ATTEND 4TH AFRICA-ARAB SUMMIT IN MALABO

President Muhammadu Buhari will attend the 4th Africa-Arab Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016.

The summit, which will be attended by Heads of State and Government from Gulf and African countries, is expected to endorse the Malabo Declaration and Action Working Plan for 2017-2019 to promote trade and economic ties.

The two-year plan seeks to implement priority projects in trade, investment, transportation, communication and energy in Africa.

In Malabo, President Buhari is also expected to hold discussions with Arab leaders, aimed at reviewing agreements to strengthen partnerships that bolster agriculture and infrastructure development in Nigeria through long term concessionary loans and technological skills transfer.

President Buhari will also explore the opportunity of the summit to seek support for the ongoing fight against Boko Haram and the humanitarian situation in the North east.

Jointly organised by the African Union Commission and the League of Arab States, the summit focuses on promoting development by strengthening trade, investments, transport, communication and energy among Gulf and African states.

FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 21, 2016.

PRESS RELEASE

FG BEGINS EDUCATION ADVOCACY PROGRAMME TO REORIENTATE CHILDREN AFFECTED BY INSURGENCY IN 3 NORTHEAST STATES

*Plan will engage IDP children as advocates against terrorism through writing and speech competitions

Tomorrow the Federal Government will commence an education advocacy program for school-aged children displaced in the North East States of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

By means of a writing and speech competition between the children in those states, this programme will adopt the children themselves as the main advocates of education and voices countering every form extreme violence.

The competition is open to all school-aged children (8 -18 years old) currently receiving various forms of education in the Internally Displaced Persons Camps and Host Communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States, she said.

This advocacy model will engage the children in conversations concerning their educational plans, intending to create a sense of involvement and enhance the success and sustainability of their education.

The programme, tagged ‘2016 Protecting Education Advocacy Challenge, PEACH’, will involve school-aged children residing in the camps and host communities across the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, and will be conducted in three stages.

The stages are self-expression through creative writing, focused mentorship and the development of an advocacy campaign which will be presented by the children themselves before a live audience.

According to Senior Special Assistant to the President on Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, Dr Mariam Masha, who disclosed this in a statement, “education remains one of the pivotal tools in addressing ignorance and it is a soft, yet effective approach to counter-terrorism initiatives.”

The programme, according to Dr. Masha, is jointly hosted by the Office of the National Security Adviser, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) who would also actively participate in the focused mentorship for the children.

She described the programme as a huge opportunity to catch school-aged children residing in the various camps, aimed at actively engaging the vulnerable children who have been out of school, in advocacy to counter violent extremism.

She pointed out that whilst the maiden edition of the programme was targeting children displaced in the North-East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, subsequent editions would be on a national scale.

She also added that the education advocacy challenge would decisively engage the children, who she noted, were “at continued risks of exposure or influenced by radicalism”.

According to Masha, the 2016 Protecting Education Advocacy Challenge aims to complement the Federal Government’s ongoing recovery efforts in the North-East Nigeria by using education as a tactical tool to return dignity and normalcy to the affected children.

"It is necessary to actively engage these children in advocacy to counter violent extremism with education,” the SSA asserted.

Noting that children and young adults are perfect change agents, Dr Masha said the Focused mentorship and team building module in Stage two of the Education Advocacy Challenge programme would provide “an uncommon window to take the counter-terrorism fight from the battlefield right into the minds of the children.

“Education remains one of the pivotal tools in addressing ignorance as it provides a window of opportunity for school-aged children to be exposed to benefits of peace, tranquillity and stability in the society and in countering violent extremism, " Masha stated.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 20, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

BUHARI PRESIDENCY KICKS OFF JOB SCHEME FOR HALF A MILLION UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES

*200,000 Nigerians selected to start work as teachers, agric & health workers in their communities December 1

*Names of successful first batch participants to be posted on N-Power Portal

ALL IS NOW SET FOR THE deployment of 200,000 unemployed graduates selected in the first batch of the Buhari administration's plan to hire half a million Nigerians.

While the 200,000 have been selected about two weeks ago, their names have now been sent to state governments and the FCT who would deploy them to their specific programme assignments. The names would also be published this week on the N-Power internet portal, while the participants would start receiving SMS messages informing them of their selection as from Monday November 21, 2016.

State governments and the FCT are also encouraged to post the names of the successful first batch applicants in their local government areas while there would be further public announcements.

Between now and the end of the month, the states and the FCT would be engaged in deploying the graduates who would formally start working and earning their stipends on December 1, 2016.

Of the 200,000 first batch, 150,000 of them would teach, 30,000 would work in the Agric sector and 20,000 in Healthcare delivery covering the three specific programme assignments.

The N-Power Volunteer Corps is an expression of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to invest in the human capital development of Nigerian citizens, particularly our young people. The N-Power programmme is also an innovative means to enhance ailing public services in the area of basic education and primary healthcare. Also in the agric sector, it is aimed at achieving self-sufficiency by giving our farmers relevant advisory services.

The Federal Government of Nigeria hereby congratulates all 200,000 successful applicants in the first batch, and they are encouraged to take this opportunity seriously by learning the skills that will brighten their future. They are also implored to serve their communities with commitment and dedication.

For those who have not been selected at this time, there is a waiting list based on the total number of applicants, and subsequent batches will absorb more of the qualified applicants.

All together, the N-Power will engage and train 500,000 young unemployed graduates. It is a paid volunteering programme of a 2-year duration that engages graduates in their immediate communities, where they will assist in improving the inadequacies in the education, health, and agriculture sectors.

The 500,000 graduates under the N-Power Corps programme will be trained in skills that will enable them exit after two years to economically viable job and business opportunities.

As part of the programme, the participnts would own tablets that will contain information necessary for their specific engagements, as well as information for their continuous training and developments.

Participants will be provided teaching, instructional, and advisory solutions in 4 main focus areas, and will be paid a monthly stipend of N30,000 during the programme. The 4 main focus areas are in basic education, agriculture extension services, public health and community education (civic and adult education).

Besides the N-Power programme for undergraduates, there are other schemes for non-graduates. These are: N-Power Knowledge, which would select 25,000 young Nigerians and N-Power Build 75,000, all of whom shall be trained and paid during the duration of the scheme.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
In the Office of the Vice President
November 20, 2016

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT BUHARI TO KERRY: CORRUPTION FIGHTING BACK VIGOROUSLY, BUT WE'LL WIN

President Muhammadu Buhari says the anti-corruption war is tough and grueling, with corruption fighting vigorously back, but assured that the battle would be won.

Meeting with American Secretary of State, John Kerry, Wednesday, on the margins of conference on climate change, COP22, in Marrakech, Morocco, President Buhari said corrupt people had accumulated a formidable arsenal of illicit wealth, which they were now deploying against the government on diverse fronts.

"But it is a war we are determined to win, and which we will win," President Buhari said. "People of goodwill are behind us, countries like America and many others are with us, and we will surely win."

The President also updated Secretary Kerry on the war against insurgency in the North-east of Nigeria, efforts being made to tackle humanitarian problems caused by the insurgency, informing that a presidential committee had been launched "under Gen T.Y Danjuma, a man of high integrity."

On the unrest in the Niger Delta area, which manifests in the sabotage of critical oil and power installations, President Buhari said the engagement process was proceeding apace, adding that it was rather difficult bringing the main protagonists of the insurgency under one umbrella.

The President said Nigeria was happy with American support on different fronts, assuring that the economic challenges facing the country were being "frontally tackled, and we will overcome them soon."

Secretary Kerry expressed delight at the many successes of the Buhari administration, pledging continued U.S support in the bid to overcome security, humanitarian, political, and economic challenges.
As the Barrack Obama administration exits next January, Kerry said he would love to continue engaging with Nigeria, even in a private capacity. He described President Buhari as a strong international partner in the battle against violent extremism.

FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
November 17, 2016

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT BUHARI: NIGERIA WILL BE ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST EXAMPLES IN EMISSIONS REDUCTION

President Buhari has declared the resolve of the government of Nigeria to ensure that policies put in place to address climate change will make the country emerge as one of the world’s best examples of how reducing emissions can benefit the environment and the economy.

In his statement at the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) taking place in Marrakech, Morocco, President Buhari outlined the plan of the administration towards aligning with the global objectives on climate change and ensuring inclusive growth and environmental sustainability.

“In Nigeria, we are launching a strategic plan for the implementation of our Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and we have equally embraced the issuance of green bonds as an innovative means and alternative way of raising climate finance both locally and internationally. We cannot afford to wait until 2020. We are already making far reaching changes to all sectors of our economy including through:

v Substantially increasing the use of climate smart agriculture
v Diversification of our energy mix through renewable and efficient gas power
v Creating a more efficient, cleaner and lower-carbon oil and gas sector especially through a gas to energy programme
v Initiating the implementation of the clean-up of the Ogoni-Land in the Niger-Delta region.
President Buhari also stated Nigeria’s ambitious but achievable commitment to ‘green growth’.

“We have reflected our determination for green growth in my country’s ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. We have also announced our plans to reduce emissions by 20% by the year 2030, with the intention of raising this target to 45%, with the support of the international community. This is one of Africa’s most ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions – covering all emissions from all parts of the economy,” he said.

President Buhari also affirmed that Nigeria has no choice but to key into the global action on climate change. “In Nigeria for instance, the impact is being felt by the more than 2.1 million people displaced by devastating floods that the country has continued to suffer since 2012. If not addressed by 2050, the human and financial cost would be colossal. For us in Nigeria, the larger dimension of the challenge goes beyond emission rights. Survival rights are also at stake.”

He equally reminded the gathering of the agreement at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly that climate threats and security threats go hand in hand and called for concerted efforts on them.

“The Lake Chad Basin for example, has shrunk to a mere 10% of its original size, and this has seriously affected the livelihood of over 5 million people and contributed to the growth of insecurity in the region, including the emergence of Boko Haram as a terrorist group. Hence the urgent need to resuscitate Lake Chad. In this regard, I seize this opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to those who have responded to our call and to encourage other well-meaning partners to join in our efforts to revive the Lake Chad Basin,” President Buhari said.
He expressed the readiness of Nigeria to join hands for the change that the whole world is working towards.

“We, therefore, stand ready to engage in meaningful partnerships to tackle the menace, and call on our neighbors and developing partners to fulfill their financial obligations in support of efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change,” the President declared.

He also called on world leaders, “to recommit ourselves to the achievement of the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement that we collectively signed in 2015 for the benefit of this and future generations. Nigeria has submitted its instrument of ratification for the new global agenda on climate change. We urge others to do the same in order to make the world a safe place.”

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 15, 2016

https://d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Morocco-Arrival-6-e1479160466278.jpg

SULTAN DASUKI WAS A VOICE FOR PEACE –PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari extends heartfelt condolences to the Dasuki family, the government and people of Sokoto State on the death of the 18th Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki.

President Buhari also commiserates with the Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs over the demise of the remarkable traditional ruler that devoted his life, tenure of office to the promotion of peaceful coexistence and tolerance among diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The President joins them in mourning the passing of one of Nigeria's most powerful voices for peace and unity in diversity, who diligently kept faith with the virtues of the Sardauna whom he had served as a public servant.

Apart from modernising the traditional institution to bring it in tune with changing times, President Buhari believes that the late Ibrahim Dasuki, who died on Monday at the age of 93, will be long remembered for his role in the creation of the present local government system in the country.

The President pays tribute to his contribution to national peace and development, particularly his significant role in producing the report that gave birth to the current local government councils.

President Buhari prays that Almighty Allah will comfort the family of his Eminence, grant the deceased eternal rest and reward his good virtues with Paradise.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media and Publicity)
November 15, 2016

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE
WE NEED OIL TO GET OUT OF OIL-VP OSINBAJO

Remarks by His Excellency, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON at the presentation of three books by Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in Abuja, on November 14, 2016

I am especially pleased to be here this morning to celebrate the major intellectual and policy achievements of Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu, in his three texts on oil & gas law and policy in Nigeria.

One, is the Compendium of Oil and Gas Cases in Nigeria, two, Legal issues in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry and the Petroleum Industry Bill: Getting to the Yes.

These books are important, first, because oil and gas law and policy in Nigeria is notoriously underserved with quality materials. There just aren’t enough scholarly materials on the subject.

But perhaps of greater importance is the pedigree of the author, a first class scholar, an industry expert of 30 years standing and now possibly the foremost policy person in the sector today, in his capacity as Chair of NNPC, former GMD of NNPC and the Honourable Minister of Petroleum and perhaps one should add his current position at OPEC.

With this type of antecedents, it should be expected that the quality of thoughts and insights and the solutions that should be on offer should be unique indeed.

I am pleased to say that from my assessment of one of the books: Legal Issues in the Petroleum Industry- which I had the pleasure to peruse, he did not disappoint.He took on the difficult issues of the defining items in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The law is the law, policy is what it is, but how do they work on a regular day? What are the unspoken or subtle rules? In order words, what are the practical implications of policy and legislation? How did the subsidy regime for example redefine our downstream sector and perhaps the whole industry?

You will not find the insights that Dr Kachikwu offers in the chapters on marketing and transportation of petroleum products, divestments, negative trends in the Nigerian petroleum industry and ministerial discretion in any text book or policy manual on the subject.

Dr Kachikwu clearly took full advantage of the rare convergence of scholarship, contemporary experience and policy wisdom to deliver what are probably today the most significant contributions to our understanding of the major issues and nuances of the Nigerian Petroleum industry. It is this uniquely versatile background that makes this publication on the subject a must read for serious participants in one form or other in the industry.

But I will not be surprised if one of the books – The Petroleum Industry Bill: Getting to the Yes – attracts considerable attention.

The industry has awaited this all important bill for so long and many would hope at least that they can get a sense of how the minister’s mind is working.

(I am afraid I cannot help much on that score as I was unable to read the book before now.)

However, I think it might be important to say that the federal government has had to deal frontally with the critical issues bedeviling the sector: the deregulation of the downstream sector and its continuing challenges, vandalism of pipelines and export facilities and the critical drop in production, gas to power issues, the urgent imperatives of local refining, cash call problems and the plans to exit that regime and empowering indigenous operators.

As we move to diversify our economy we are acutely aware that we need oil to get out of oil. Yet our window of opportunity to benefit maximally from the petroleum industry is narrowing.

The development in shale oil which the author spends considerable time on, the increasing breakthroughs in renewable energy use, the incredible speed of the expansion of the use of electric vehicles, -Japan now has more electric charging stations than gas stations- all point inexorably to the fact that the party might be over sooner than we expected.

But let me just go to another issue. Very few people here know that the author, Dr Ibe Kachikwu is also a great writer of fiction. I wonder how many people know that Dr Kachikwu was the publisher of the famous Hints magazine. Hints magazine, by the way, was a romantic magazine and several of the romantic stories there, were personally authored by Dr Kachikwu himself. I am sure for those who read fiction, you might have read the Cocaine Connection which he wrote, Beneath the Boardroom and the wonderful book, Peace at Last, which really is a book about himself and his childhood. And I think it is the book that we all ought to read because, again it deals with some of the types of problems of young people that are growing up, especially when we have issues with our parents.

Dr Kachikwu has always proved to be a multi-tasking individual and when you look at some of the works of fiction that he has written and just the way that he has written them, -and they are such good books to read, -I am sure that many of us would agree that if he had not made a success of his first love, which is oil and gas, he probably would have been quite successful as a writer of fiction.

Let me say that having read his latest works, especially the one that I have read, I think that we must really commend him for the very excellent work that he has done.

Once more, let me congratulate the author. I am sure he knew that when he finally decided to write on the industry, we would not tolerate one book from him. Three books at once is certainly in keeping with his immense talents. Congratulations indeed.



Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 14, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

TOGETHER WITH PRIVATE SECTOR, WE SHALL TAKE NIGERIA TO PROSPERITY, SAYS VP OSINBAJO @ STOCK EXCHANGE

(Vice President's comments before ringing the closing bell at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Lagos on Friday)


Let me say how very privileged it is to be here. I would say it's a very special privilege. I have never been on the trading floor to see what is going on, but now I can see for myself those who make it happen.

And I would like to commend you for the good work you are doing everyday and also to say that all of us - the private sector and government must work hand in hand at this time, this is the time of great challenges. And always, everywhere in the world, the stock exchange very quickly recognizes where there is an economic challenge because you see it, all the indicators show very clearly that there are complications and there are problems.

So, I want us to see ourselves as partners working together to ensure that we are able to take our nation up from where we are at the moment to a great and permanent prosperity.

And I know that all of you here are great patriots in your own way - you could have disappeared and possibly worked in Dow Jones, or somewhere else, or may be Germany or somewhere and you are ever here and you have not checked out, its a very good thing.

So I really want to thank you and commend you again for the good work you are doing. It's really a special privilege and a great opportunity to be here. Good bless you all.

COMMENTS TO THE MEDIA AFTERWARDS

FG EFFORTS TO BOOST INVESTMENTS:
What we are trying to do is to create an enabling environment for industry and for business, that's a whole lot of things. We are trying to work on infrastructure and we are also trying to work on tax incentive and all manner of incentives' regime that will enable businesses to do better. You know what the immediate challenges are; foreign exchange, power in some cases and all of that.

But all of these are issues that we are working on day by day and my interaction today with the council has also helped a great deal in trying to understand some of the more immediate issues that we are trying to confront and I am trying to see how how we can deal with them.

Essentially, we recognize that this is a partnership: Private sector and government. Government deals mainly as a regulator and partner in such a way and ensuring that the private sector does business and does it well and efficiently, because the private sector owns the economy. So for us, this is an important engagement and this where we are, that is why I'm here.

LISTING OF STATE-OWNED FIRMS AND PRIVATISED ONES

I think the most important thing is that there is engagement already on listing. As you know several major companies have already indicated that they want to be listed on the stock exchange. And I think that for the privatized companies because they are privatized the decision is not the decision of government, the decision has to be the decision of the new owners.

So it is not government that necessarily decides to list privatized companies but we are fully ready to encourage listing in the stock exchange. It is the stock exchange that is the important driver of economic activity and an important driver of investment so for the federal government that is absolute necessity. I don't think there is any need to wonder whether the federal government would be interested or would want to enable listing but we certainly want to encourage it. That is the reason why I'm here, to promote interest in the market, federal government sent me and I'm doing so.

INCENTIVES FOR COMPANIES TO LIST ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE

Well, don't forget that incentives will come from the exchange. We will encourage on an incentive regime. We want to encourage business generally. Where there are opportunities, for example, when we think it should be entirely on the advice of the NSE council, when the council for example, or the market makers believe that there are things that can be done to make life easier in some way or there can be things to be done we are happy to listen to those things.

As you know the President just inaugurated an Ease of Doing Business Council. The whole idea is to look at the entire incentive regime, to look at the infrastructure, look at all of the different areas where we can encourage and enable the business environment. So that is (looking at) the whole lot of economic policy and whole lot of legislation that can encourage business.

Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 13, 2016

WHY NIGERIA IS CUTTING DOWN ON FOOD IMPORTATION, BY VP OSINBAJO

*Invites Russian farmers to engage in local agric production

Foreign exchange constraints and the availability of arable land in Nigeria makes the case for improved local agricultural production in Nigeria an imperative, rather than continued importation with its significant pressure on dwindling foreign earnings of the country.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, gave this explanation earlier today while receiving in his office a Russian delegation led by the Russian Minister of Agriculture who is also the Co-Chair of the Nigeria-Russia Joint Commission, Mr. Alexander Tkachev.

“The oil prices have gone down tremendously and yet large amount of foreign exchange is used to purchase food abroad and we have large arable land for agric. It won’t make sense, if you don't use the land,” according to the Vice President.

Prof. Osinbajo then invited Russian farmers to invest in Nigeria, produce and import from here, saying “we are just 6 hours away from Europe by air. Vegetables, flour can be exported to Europe from here, even our local market here is a lot.”

Both the Vice President and the delegation that included the Russian Ambassador in Nigeria, Ambassador Nikolay Udovichenko, Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Evgeny Gromyko and officials of Russian’s firm-United Company (Rusal) agreed that Nigeria and Russia should deepen the existing diplomatic relationship, especially economically.

According to Prof. Osinbajo “there is a lot of money to be made if Russian technology in agriculture is deployed locally,” adding that there are better opportunities for economic cooperation between both countries.

Speaking earlier, the Russian Agriculture Minister expressed his country’s willingness to enhance the existing trade relations with Nigeria. He observed that the Nigeria-Russia trade volume as at the end of 2015 exceeded $300 million, but added that there are potentials for improvement in the years ahead.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 10, 2016

President Buhari swears in the new Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen at the State House in Abuja.

WE'LL STRENGTHEN MARITIME SECURITY, PRESIDENT BUHARI PLEDGES

Nigeria will team up with other countries to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged.

Receiving the Executive Secretary of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, Ambassador (Mrs) Florentina Adenike Ukonga, at State House, Abuja, Thursday, the President said the Commission is of strategic importance, as most of the crude oil stolen from Nigeria is taken through the Gulf of Guinea.

"That region, between Senegal and Angola, affects our financial and physical security as a country. Nigeria will, therefore, meet all its obligations to the Gulf of Guinea Commission, and also encourage other member countries to do the same," the President said.

"This administration will do its best to strengthen maritime security. The rejuvenation of the Gulf of Guinea Commission is vital, and Nigeria will participate more effectively because of the security implications," President Buhari added.

Ambassador Ukonga disclosed that the Commission was established in 2001, to tackle piracy, unregulated fishing, drugs and human trafficking, environmental pollution, among others.

The Gulf of Guinea Commission, with headquarters in Luanda, Angola, also generates awareness among member states on the need to maintain security in their territorial waters.

"We have been giving the bad guys in maritime a run for their money," the Executive Secretary said.

The Commission has eight countries as members from West and Central Africa, with an intention to admit more countries soon.

FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 10, 2016

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT BUHARI CONGRATULATES U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP

On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari congratulates President-elect Donald Trump on his victory in the United States presidential election.

President Buhari also congratulates American citizens on the outcome of the election, which was keenly observed by all true lovers of democracy and those who believe in the will of the people.

The President looks forward to working together with President-elect Trump to strengthen the already established friendly relations between both countries, including cooperation on many shared foreign policy priorities, such as the fight against terrorism, peace and security, economic growth, democracy and good governance.

As Mr Trump prepares to assume the position of the President of the United States, President Buhari extends his good wishes to him on the onerous task of leading the world’s strongest economy.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 9, 2016

PRESS RELEASE
LET’S COLLABORATE TO TACKLE KIDNAPPING AND SUNDRY CRIMINALITIES. Interior Minister tasked Police and Civil defense Chiefs

The Honourable Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General ( Rtd) Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau has tasked the Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps on better synergy to decapitate Kidnapping and sundry criminalities currently plaguing the Country .

The Minister told a gathering comprising of top management of the Police and NSCDC, as well as the zonal AIGs and their NSCDC counterparts that crime pattern is not static but dynamic, hence the need for the two agencies to workout better synergy considering the fact that criminals do not operate in isolation.
He observed that in the face of rising security concern, there is need for both agencies to collaborate with other security services in sharing intelligence, manpower development through joint training, and joint operations.

General Dambazau noted this has become imperative considering the need to share resources by the services to address security issues, while creating a safe and conducive environment which will attract the much desired direct foreign investments, needed to revamp the nation’s economy.

The meeting was attended by the Ag Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Interior, Mr Mohammed Maccido MFR and directors in the Ministry.

In a similar development, the Minister of Interior has condemned in strong terms, the senseless killing of innocent Nigerians at a mining site in Zamfara State. While condoling with the Government and people of Zamfara over the most reprehensible attack, General Dambazau has mandated the Police and NSCDC to apprehend perpetrators of this dastardly act, with a view to bringing them to justice. Accordingly, the Minister said this attack has strengthen his resolve to collaborate with the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals to establish a special squad compressing of NSCDC personnel to protect organized mining sites across the country.



OSAIGBOVO EHISIENMEN
Press Secretary to the Honourable Minister of Interior.

FCTA PRESS RELEASE

FCTA EMBARKS ON COMPLETION OF ROAD PROJECTS IN ABUJA

The FCT Administration has resumed works on stalled major road projects within the Federal Capital City with the intention of completing the 10-Lanes Airport (Umaru Musa Yar’Adua) and Kubwa (Murtala Muhammed) Expressways by the end of December 2016.

Most of these stalled or abandoned road projects today have sound financial plans with adequate appropriation in the 2016 budget with additional impetus from the window of 2017 appropriation plan of the FCT Administration which has encouraged Contractors to return and remain on sites.

Some of the sites visited were the locations of the massive on-going construction works for the completion of the Circle road around the Three-Arms-Zone known as B6 and B12 in the Abuja Master Plan, which is the road from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to the Federal Secretariat; and from the Federal Secretariat (Phase II) to the Presidential Villa coming under the bridge linking the stadium which was hitherto abandoned for several years.

The team also visited the Airport and Kubwa Expressways and at the Airport Expressway the two major underpass bridges where the proposed new City Gate is expected to be constructed to serve as another tourists’ attraction has almost been completed with the final level of asphalt laid and opened to traffic. This is in addition to the road construction behind Grand Square to Leventis Super store in the Central Business District.

The trumpet interchange at the Airport junction by Bill Clinton Drive is also being completed as efforts are being made to connect the loops (ramps) moving out from Bill Clinton Drive as well as motorists from Gwagwalada-Giri axis into the Airport and the city centre respectively.

Meanwhile all the tanjents connecting the city centre, Gwagwalada and environs are completely ready and are currently being used by motorists.

The project sites of the Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX), known as Goodluck Jonathan Expressway from behind the National Christian Centre through the Central Bank of Nigeria, bordering the Central Business District and Garki I to Kaura Districts down to Galadimawa Roundabout (interchange) is witnessing remarkable construction works as the bridge/interchange as well as the carriage ways are being worked on.

In another development, the several knotty potholes in and around the city centre due to the age of the roads are simultaneously being attended to, for instance, those at the ever busy Power House Junction and AYA to Ring Road I (Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway); Shehu Shagari Way by Ring Road I, Ladoke Akintola Boulevard as well as IBB Way by BPE Junction have all being mended.

Speaking after the marathon project inspection, the FCT Director of Engineering Services Department, Engineer Adamu Alfa Abu said that the Airport and Kubwa Expressways would be substantially completed by the end of December 2016 but with all the auxiliary services like street lights and telecommunication ducts would be completed and handed over by the middle of 2017.

The Director stated that the team’s visit to the construction sites must have given an insight into the on-going projects that have been abandoned for some time now due to lack of funds in the past.

Engr. Abu remarked that with the efforts of the FCT Administration and the financial plan put in place through the windows of the 2017 budget and even the implementation of the on-going 2016 budget, many contractors have been encouraged and have been working assiduously.

According to him, “This Administration is also working vigorously to complete the on-going works at Tanks 1 and 6 to provide enough portable water to the districts in Phases I-III”.

He revealed that the overhead bridge of the railway crossing before Kubwa where train from Idu moves to Kaduna would be completed by the end of the year.

Engineer Simon Agene of the Earth Moving Department of Julius Berger Nigeria PLC who spoke at the project site near the Bill Clinton Drive assured that the firm is now committed to complete the project by the end of 2016 and handover at least by the first or second quarter of 2017.

Some FCDA site engineers that led the team round the Bill Clinton Drive junction interchange led by Engineer Murtala Greema disclosed that they are always at the site to ensure standard and quality control.

Signed.
Muhammad Hazat Sule, FCAI
Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary,
Wednesday, November 2, 2016.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

BUHARI ADMINISTRATION ON COURSE TO ATTAIN INCREASED RURAL SUPPLY OF WATER AND BETTER SANITATION- SAYS VP

(THE STORY)

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is on course to attain increased rural supply of water and better sanitation in the country, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has said.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this while speaking in Abuja on Monday at the public presentation of the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) and the unveiling of the National Water and National Irrigation Policies developed by the Ministry of Water Resources.

Referring to the new set of policies, the VP said: ``by this, the ministry is provided with the overarching framework which will guide the activities of all stakeholders in the sector in the wake of our renewed focus on agriculture as a revenue earner and contributor to our GDP and importantly, the development of our irrigation infrastructure.
``PEWASH will provide a new collaborative and systematic approach to the achievement of an increased universal access to sustainable water supply and sanitation services involving all the relevant stakeholders from the beneficiary communities, local government areas, state governments, development partners, donor agencies, the organized private sector and the Federal Government.’’
According to the Vice President, ``It will also take cognizance of special groups such as the vulnerable and people living with disabilities with a well-structured framework for project delivery.’’
Prof. Osinbajo added that with the new framework, ``we hope to attain our targets of increased rural water supply and sanitation and health as well as make positive impact on economic growth and human development.’’
He however emphasized the need for a stronger collaboration and synergy among stakeholders in the water resources sector if Nigeria was to attain its targets of increased rural water supply and sanitation as stipulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said: ``It is also a well-known fact that Nigeria did not achieve the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation.

``Some of the reasons adduced for this include primarily, the lack of effective coordination among stakeholders and the inability to harness the required funds.

``I encourage all stakeholders especially the states and local governments to participate in this crucial initiative and commit to its success so that our common development goals as a nation will be achieved.’’

The Vice President said there were gaps in access to water and sanitation especially in rural Nigeria that required urgent attention, stressing that efforts by previous governments in addressing the challenge had not yielded much with 69% and 29% water supply and sanitation attainment figures respectively.

According to him, ``about 150,000 children under the age of 5 die annually from diarrhea-related diseases that are mostly traceable to unsafe drinking water.’’

He said: ``the situation is even more depressing in the rural areas where polluted ponds and streams remain the only source of water for drinking and other household chores.

``This is still a far cry from what is needed. Indeed, within an ever increasing population and a drive to self-sufficiency in food production, the demand for water supply and sanitation service will continue to increase thereby requiring an innovative and holistic approach towards closing the access gaps.’’

Prof. Osinbajo expressed optimism that the new water and irrigation policies and the PEWASH programme would provide the necessary framework for comprehensively addressing the challenges posed by lack of water.

Earlier in his presentation at the event, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State pledged the commitment of state governors to work with the Federal Government and other stakeholders in addressing challenges posed by water resources management in Nigeria.

On his part, the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu said the ministry had recorded tremendous achievements in efforts to reposition the water resources sector.

He listed some of the achievements as developing a framework for the commercialization of the river basins and the enhancement of partnerships aimed at moving the sector forward.

The minister said the target of PEWASH is to improve public hygiene and tackle poverty through improved water resources management in Nigeria.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 7, 2016

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT PRESS RELEASE

200,000 selected unemployed graduates to start work soon-VP Osinbajo

*150,000 to teach
*30,000 to serve as Agric extension workers
20,000 as public health workers

The inaugural set of 200,000 unemployed graduates already selected in the first batch of the N-power volunteer job and training scheme of the Buhari Social Investment Programmes should start work in the next two weeks.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN made this disclosure over the weekend while attending the Apostolic Coalition Summit in Lagos.

He noted that "at the moment close to a million graduates have registered on the volunteer scheme and we should be doing the first 200,000 in the next 14 days or so, we should be able to get started with the first 200,000 across the country."

According to him as a stop gap measure, the Buhari administration is engaged in direct creation of jobs, including the plan to create 500, 000 jobs for unemployed graduates, 200,000 of whom have now been selected.

He explained that the programme should have commenced "as at October 31, 2016, but is delayed on account of the fact that we are trying to get as many of the equipments that we require," referring to the tablets that would be given to all the 500,000 N-power undergraduate participants.

The Vice President further explained that efforts are also being made"to ensure that all across the country, we are able to provide those opportunities as we promised."

Already 200,000 unemployed Nigerians have been selected, including 150,000 who would teach and serve in their communities, 30,000 who would serve as Agric Extension Workers and 20,000 who would serve as public health workers.

Each of the unemployed graduates would get a N30,000 monthly stipen and also get an electronic tablet that would be packaged with several applications that would train and empower the participants.

The Vice President reiterated that the N-Power scheme was launched as a volunteer programme "to create temporary opportunities for young graduates, to at least be doing something and many of them would be volunteer teachers, health officials and extension workers, who will earn a stipend."

He added that the participants will also have a device "and that device has a lot of training brochures, different forms of training brochures and it's also a device that enables them to be able to, on a continuous basis, learn different things, some code-writing, some entrepreneurial skills. There are lot of varieties of material that can be learned on the device. The device is also a means of communicating with them wherever they may be in the country."

While the federal government would pay the 200,000 directly, state governments would play an active role in their deployment to the needed areas. The first batch of 200,000 selected volunteers are also being screened using the BVN so as to properly set-up the payment of their monthly stipends.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 6, 2016

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

200,000 SELECTED UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES TO START WORK SOON - VP OSINBAJO

*150,000 to teach
*30,000 to serve as Agric extension workers
*20,000 as public health workers

The inaugural set of 200,000 unemployed graduates already selected in the first batch of the N-power volunteer job and training scheme of the Buhari Social Investment Programmes should start work in the next two weeks.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN made this disclosure over the weekend while speaking at the Apostolic Coalition Summit in Lagos.

According to him as a stop gap measure, the Buhari administration is engaged in direct creation of jobs, including the plan to create 500, 000 jobs for unemployed graduates.

He explained that the programme should have commenced "as at October 31, 2016, but is delayed on account of the fact that we are trying to get as many of the equipments that we require," referring to the tablets that would be given to all the 500,000 N-power undergraduate participants.

The Vice President also explained that efforts are being made "to ensure that all across the country, we are able to provide those opportunities as we promised."

Already 200,000 unemployed Nigerians have been selected, including 150,000 who would teach and serve in their communities. The balance is made up of 30,000 who would serve as Agric Extension Workers and 20,000 who would serve as public health workers.

Each of the unemployed graduates would get a N30,000 monthly stipend, and also get an electronic tablet that would be packaged with several applications that would train and empower the participants.


Vice President reiterated that the N-Power scheme was launched as a volunteer programme "to create temporary opportunities for young graduates, to at least be doing something and many of them would be volunteer teachers, health officials and extension workers, who will earn a stipend."

He added that the participants will also have a device "and that device has a lot of training brochures, different forms of training brochures and it's also a device that enables them to be able to, on a continuous basis, learn different things, some code-writing, some entrepreneurial skills. There are lot of varieties of material that can be learned on the device. The device is also a means of communicating with them wherever they may be in the country."

He noted that "at the moment close to a million graduates have registered on the volunteered scheme and we should be doing the first 200,000 in the next 14 days or so, we should be able to get started with the first 200,000 across the country."

While the federal government would pay the 200,000 directly, state governments would play an active role in their deployment to the needed areas. The first batch of 200,000 selected volunteers are also being screened using the BVN so as to properly set-up the payment of their monthly stipends.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
November 6, 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari is meeting Niger Delta Leaders and Stakeholders at the State House. Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Governors, Ministers and Security Chiefs also attending.

PRESS STATEMENT
FG HAILS NIGERIAN DOCTOR IN USA FOR A SUCCESSFUL SURGICAL FEAT ON AN UNBORN BABY IN THE MOTHERS' WOMB


Abuja, Oct. 31, 2016: The Federal Government of Nigeria has congratulated a US- based Nigerian Surgeon, Dr Oluyinka Olutoye on his recent feat in carrying out a successful operation on an unborn baby with tumour in her mother's womb.
2.. Dr Oluyinka Olutoye and his surgeon partner Dr. Darrell Cass of Texas Children's Hospital, carried out an operation on a foetus at 23 weeks in US.
3. The baby, Lynlee Hope, who suffered from a tumour known as Sacrococcygeal Teratoma was removed from her mother's womb, operated on and returned back. She healed and continued to grow until she was born again at 36 weeks.

4. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, stated this in a statement to felicitate with Dr Olutoye on behalf of the President and people of Nigeria.
5. The statement stated that President Muhammadu Buhari received the news of Dr Olutoye's unique feat with excitement and fulfillment and looking forward to meeting with him soonest.
6. The Senior Special Assistant to the President said that it is important to celebrate Dr Olutoye for the wonderful feat he performed in saving lives and projecting a good image for Nigeria.
7. Dabiri-Erewa therefore commended Nigerians in the Diaspora for their positive roles in enhancing the image of the country.
8. She said Nigerians in the Diaspora are a huge potential, playing greater role in all sectors, assuring that her office was working on having a database for all the Nigeria achievers.
9. ``Nigerians are great people, making greater positive impacts in all fields of human endeavour in the Diaspora. Dr Olutoye's feat is one of such testimonies", the statement added.
10. To complement that, Dabiri-Erewa said that Nigeria is working on a National Diaspora Policy guideline geared towards regulating all engagements with all Nigerians in the Diaspora.
11. According to her, Nigerians in the Diaspora are of high importance to the growth and development of the country.
12. She appealed to other Nigerians in the Diaspora to emulate the positive image Dr Oluyinka Olutoye has given to Nigeria which earned him recognition.
13. Dabiri-Erewa reiterated the determination of President Muhammadu Buhari " to enhance the welfare of all Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, and unadulterated determination to continue to tackle insecurity, corruption and the economy."
14. Dr. Olutoye is Co-Director of the Texas Children's Fetal Center and fetal surgery team member, as well as a general pediatric surgeon in USA.

15. Olutoye received his medical degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, in 1988 and his PhD in anatomy from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, in 1996.
16. He completed his residency in general surgery at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Virginia Commonwealth University, and his fellowship in pediatric surgery at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa.
17. Dr. Olutoye is a member of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society and is a Fellow of the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Surgeons; he is also a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons.

18. Dr. Olutoye has specialized clinical expertise in fetal and neonatal surgery, with specific interest in congenital diaphragmatic hernia and complex wounds.
19. His research interests include understanding the role of the fetal inflammatory response in scarless fetal wound healing, development of animal models of congenital anomalies, in utero correction of severe congenital malformations, and the study of endothelial-leukocyte and endothelial-tumor cell interactions with a goal to better understand the mechanisms of tumor metastasis.

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora

HOW BUHARI IS CHANGING LEADERSHIP PERCEPTION IN NIGERIA, AFRICA BY OSINBAJO

*VP Details How North-East Would Be Rebuilt & the degrading of Boko Haram in Harvard Speech

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has said President Muhammadu Buhari is beginning to change the narrative and perception of leadership in Nigeria and Africa because of his widely acclaimed uprightness and honesty.

Osinbajo stated this while delivering a public lecture titled ``The Unravelling of Boko Haram and the Rebuilding of the North-East of Nigeria’’ at the Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs on Thursday.

Before he spoke, the Vice President had been received in the school by the Harvard University Marshall, Ms. Jackie O’Neil, and Prof. Jacob Olupona of the Divinity School among other top Harvard officials and professors.

Osinbajo said the Buhari presidency offered Nigeria and indeed Africa the best opportunity to convince the entire world about leadership perception in the country and the continent.

According to the Vice President, ``the commitment that the Federal government has made is to be consistent and there is no distrust for the political leadership in Nigeria today, and for good reason, this has promoted the easy embrace of dissenters of all shades by the people.’’

He said: ``Nigeria has a great opportunity to change the perception of leadership as being corrupt and unreliable, with President Buhari who is widely acknowledged as being forthright and honest, Mai gaskiya (the truthful one, as he is known in the North).’’

``Transparency in government, social investments, provision of education and healthcare could improve the government's image as being responsive.’’

Prof. Osinbajo, who spoke on some of the causes of Nigeria’s security, social, political and economic challenges, noted that governance failure in the past culminated in the myriad of problems that manifested in the form of terrorism, kidnapping, general insecurity and many others that predated the Buhari government.

On the Boko Haram insurgency, Prof. Osinbajo said the inability of previous governments to implement programmes and policies that had direct impact on poor Nigerians, and endemic corruption, led to a degeneration of the situation in the North-East.

He however expressed optimism that the Buhari government’s posture and actions had changed the narrative for the better, stressing that the international community and Nigerians, including a few skeptics now believe in the government’s abilities to change things.

He said: ``Clearly one of the strongest reasons for President Buhari's victory in the March 2015 Presidential election was the expectation that going by his reputation as a no-nonsense soldier he would defeat Boko Haram and restore peace to the North East.
``He moved quickly to realise this objective, announcing a relocation of the Command and Control Headquarters to Maiduguri right at the heart of the insurgency.

``With more effective leadership, command and control, improved logistics and intelligence, better equipment and motivation of the troops, the tide soon turned.’’

The Vice President told his audience that the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari remained committed to rebuilding the devastated North-eastern region through a comprehensive plan that is also transparent.

According to Prof. Osinbajo, ``The overall objective of the Buhari Plan is to develop a structure and process capable of providing leadership, co-ordination and synergy in achieving its targeted goals.’’

He said the goals are to: ``Restore peace, stability and civil Authority in the North-East region; co-ordinate the mobilization of targeted resources to respond to the humanitarian crisis and jumpstart the region’s economies while strategically repositioning the region for long-term prosperity.

``Providing equal access to basic services and infrastructure; promoting a civic culture that integrates zero tolerance to sexual and gender based violence with peaceful co-existence as the success indicator.

``Accelerating equal access to quality education for girls as well as boys and building social cohesion; targeting social and economic development and capacity building that reduces the inequalities affecting the poor, particularly women and youth.

``Addressing environmental degradation through sustainable measures to halt desertification and protect the Lake Chad resources; physical reconstruction of infrastructure especially schools, hospitals and dwellings in areas considered safe for residents to return.’’

Regarding treatment of abused women and girls, Prof. Osinbajo said despite the daunting challenge, the government in collaboration with local and foreign partners was establishing special programmes and shelters for abused women and girls.

Citing the case of the recently released 21 Chibok girls and the teenage bomber that refused to blow up herself at the Dikwa IDP camp in February, VP Osinbajo said government had a strong commitment to impact on the lives of both the victims of the insurgency and other persons affected.

He stressed the need for stakeholders to partner with government at all levels to counter the ideology of the insurgents as one of the measures of addressing the menace of terrorism.

``After the trauma and deprivations of captivity on the day of their release they looked frightened, malnourished and unkempt. But such is the power of freedom that few days after their release, the girls were seen dancing and rejoicing heartily at a Thanksgiving service where their parents reunited with them for the first time in over two years!

``What the stories of the Chibok girls and that of the converted suicide bomber point to is the certain defeat of Boko Haram insurgency and the waning resonance of its underpinning ideology.

``While we had to put troops on the ground to liberate occupied territories and free captive people in the North-East, we would have to continue the battle for the minds of the radicalized many so that we can have more Aminas of Dikwa saying no to terrorist propositions of death, despair and destruction.’’

He said government however acknowledged the fact that the most important long term therapy was the assurance that the state has the capacity and the will to protect the most vulnerable.

The Vice President concluded that the Federal Government’s commitment and strategy in combating Boko Haram and rebuilding the region was anchored on its anti-corruption posture which would ultimately ensure judicious utilization of resources for both the military’s operations and in implementing the non-kinetic aspect of reconstructing the north east.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
October 31, 2016

Communiqué of the 1st National Retreat on the Open Government Partnership, Kaduna, Nigeria

A cross section of stakeholders from government, civil society and business met at a consultative retreat to prepare the National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of Open Government Partnership (OGP) on governance reform in Nigeria from 24th to 26th October 2016 at Hotel Seventeen in Kaduna State. The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, who also delivered the keynote address, declared the Retreat open.

In attendance were Dr. Balkisu Saidu who represented Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Architect Barnabas Yusuf Bala Bantex, the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State who represented Mallam El-Rufai, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Joe Abbah, the Director General of the Bureau for Public Service Reform, Mr Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Mr. Oglafa Epipamo, Secretary, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission. Relevant Directors involved in reform programs in their various Ministries represented the Ministers for Mines and Steel; Budget and National Planning; Power; Petroleum Resources, as well as Information and Culture. Other agencies that participated include the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission, (NNPC), and the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Also in attendance was the Chief Executive Officer of the OGP International Secretariat, Dr. Sanjay Pradhan who was accompanied by the Deputy CEO, Mr. Joe Powell, a member of the Global OGP Steering Committee from Tanzania- Mr. Aidan Eyakuze, and the OGP Civil Society Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East, Ms Maureen Kariuki from Kenya. Also in attendance were many civil society leaders across the country and development partners such as the Department for International Development (DFID)/Justice 4 All (J4A), Partnerships to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), Swiss Embassy and United States Agency for International Development.
Recall that President Buhari attended the anti-corruption summit in May in London where he made several commitments to scale up efforts in the fight against corruption through implementing programs aimed at:
a) Exposing Corruption
b) Punishing the corrupt and providing support to victims who have suffered from corruption.
c) Driving out the culture of corruption.

In July, 2016, flowing from these commitments, the President led the country to join sixty-nine (69) other countries as the seventieth (70th) to sign unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen’s participation and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation. OGP was formally launched in 2011 when the eight founding governments of Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States endorsed the Open Government Declaration.

In his opening remarks, the Deputy Governor commended the OGP process and explained that Kaduna state government is already operating an open budget process and direct monitoring of citizens’ feedback on all projects across the state.
The Chief Executive Officer of Open Government Partnership, Dr. Sanjay Pradhan praised the efforts of Nigeria in joining what he described as the global elite club of reformers. He enjoined participants to prepare a plan that is ambitious, smart but realizable as other African countries are looking up to Nigeria. The CEO expressed the willingness of the OGP secretariat to provide any support and guide that Nigeria may require in the NAP preparation process.

The discussions that followed were frank and interactive. In line with the multi-stakeholder nature of the OGP, both civil society and government representatives participated equally to co-create the National Action Plan. Commitments were drawn up along the following four thematic OGP core principles in line with the contextual priorities drawn from President Buhari’s commitments at the London Anti-Corruption Summit:
a) Improving Fiscal Transparency
b) Access to Information
c) Anti-Corruption and Asset Disclosure
d) Citizen Engagement and Empowerment

These thematic areas were further broken down into actionable activities to cover key elements of the plan, such as:
- Implementing an open contracting standard to ensure more effective citizens participation across the budget cycle and procurement process.
- Implementing open contracting and to ensure a more effective citizens participation across the budget cycle and procurement process.
- Enhancing disclosure of production and payment information in the extractive sector.
- Adopting common reporting standards and signing on to the Addis Tax initiative.
- Improving familiarity by citizens and civil/public servants with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by public servants and citizens.
- Increasing compliance with the FOIA by public institutions.
- Establishment of a public register of beneficial ownership information.
- Establishment of an internationally endorsed guideline for the transparent and accountable management of stolen assets.
- Development of common principles governing the payment of compensation to victims of corruption and ensure that the payments are made safely, fairly and in a transparent manner.
- Instutionalizing an improved dialogue mechanism between government and civil society across programs in the thematic areas of OGP.
- Reviewing related legislation on OGP related themes and making recommendations for amendment to the National Assembly.
- Adoption of a technology based citizen’s feedback to all public funded projects.
- Adopting technology and innovation to drive commitments along four thematic areas.
- Development of an overall monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure that timelines and milestones are achieved as proposed.
The draft NAP will also be hosted online for two weeks to receive further input of citizens and other stakeholders, before submitting it to the President through the National Steering Committee for approval.
Following the President’s approval, the NAP will be submitted to the OGP secretariat for review and approval. President Buhari has been invited to the 4th Global OGP summit to be held in Paris, France, between the 7th and 9th of December 2016. It is expected that the announcement of the approval of the Nigerian National Action Plan will be made at that event.
Kaduna 26th October 2016

List of OGP National Steering Committee Members
Government Ministries
1. Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation
2. Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF)
3. Federal Ministry of Justice – Coordinating Ministry / Chair of the National Steering Committee
4. Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning
5. Federal Ministry of Finance
6. Federal Ministry of Information
7. Federal Ministry of Communication
8. Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources
9. Federal Ministry of Education
10. Federal Ministry of Health
Agencies / Department
1. Central Bank of Nigeria
2. Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI)
3. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
4. Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP)
5. Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
6. Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB)
7. Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS)
8. Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Crimes Commission (ICPC)
9. Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
10. Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF)
Other Arms of Government
1. National Assembly
2. National Judicial Council
Civil Society Organisations
1. Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC)
2. Budget Transparency (BudgIT)
3. Media Rights Agenda (MRA) - Co-Chair
4. African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)
5. Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
6. Publish What You Pay (PWYP)
7. Centre for Law Enforcement Education, Nigeria (CLEEN)
8. Global Network For Cyber-solutions
9. Digital Forensics
10. African Centre for Leadership Strategy and Development (Center-LSD)
11. Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP)
12. Freedom of Information Coalition (FOIC)
Professional Organisation
1. Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG)
2. National Union of Journalist (NUJ)
3. Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
4. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
5. Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)
6. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN)
7. Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA)
Observers
1. Federal Ministry of Works and Power
2. Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
3. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
4. Nigeria Governors’ Forum
5. Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC)
6. Federal Ministry of Transportation
7. Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel
8. National Orientation Agency (NOA)
9. National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)

Kaduna 26th October 2016
AS ISSUED BY COMRADE SALIHU OTHMAN ISAH, SPECIAL ADVISER, MEDIA AND PUBLICITY TO THE HONOURABLE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS STATEMENT

VP OSINBAJO: 800 HERDSMEN NOW IN CUSTODY IN NIGERIA OVER VIOLENT ATTACKS AGAINST COMMUNITIES

Security agencies in Nigeria have arrested about 800 suspected violent herdsmen across the country, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo made this disclosure in Houston, Texas in the US on Friday at a Townhall event where he interacted with US-based Nigerians who asked questions live at the event and also via the Internet, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson Mr. Laolu Akande in Houston.

The Vice President fielded about thirty questions at a well attended townhall event moderated by Mr. Rudolf Okonkwo of Sahara Reporters and Prof. Nimi Wariboko of Boston University.

Asked about the issue of Fulani Herdsmen attacks in certain states across the country and what the Federal Government was doing to curb the problem, the Vice President said "the President has given firm instructions to the security agencies to arrest not only herdsmen who are attacking communities anywhere in the country but anyone of them or anyone at all in possession of firearms."

He added that "there are about 800 of suspected violent herdsmen in the country that are currently in custody." The Vice President however decried the slow pace of the criminal justice system which is affecting the prompt trial of such suspects.

Prof. Osinbajo reminded the audience however that the issue of killings by such violent herdsmen has been a perennial issue especially as grazing lands continue to disappear over the years and the cattle feed on peoples crops on the farmlands. He clarified that the matter just did not crop up when President Buhari assumed office.

Vice President Osinbajo then urged against the tendency of interpreting the herdsmen issue as a religious issue, stressing that it is important for all Nigerians to refuse such divisive narratives and tendencies.

He reminded his audience that there has always been conflict between herdsmen and communities across the country and that people should disabuse the notion that the problem has just started because President Buhari, a Fulani is currently at the helm of affairs in the country.

Answering question on the need for community policing, the Vice President indicated that community policing via State Police is indeed a cardinal program of the ruling APC. However the party agenda cannot be introduced until there is an amendment to the nation’s constitution.

Giving a scenario where a policeman from Bayelsa State for instance is working in Borno State where he cannot even speak the language or understand the culture of the people he is policing, noting that such is counterproductive.

The current situation where police activities is controlled at the federal level sure has some limitations, he conceded adding that the “ the federal government is currently working to introduce community policing that would be in line with the constitution.”

Commenting on the recent arrest of judges in the country, Prof. Osinbajo told his Nigerian audience in Texas that impunity could be very dangerous in any sector and that the federal government is only exercising its executive function in attempting to check excesses.

He pointed out that the important thing is that due process is being followed as the judges were released about 24 hours after their arrest and once they had given their statements.

The Vice President also responded to a question on the state of the nation’s economy and attributed the current recession to the loss of about 60 percent of government revenue due to pipeline vandalisation and endemic corruption in the system.

He however stated that getting back oil production is a sure way to get out of the recession and the federal government is working to sort it out.

Answering question from the internet on when former President Goodluck Jonathan would be arrested, Osinbajo pointed out that the Buhari administration is not in the business of arresting just anyone anyhow. He said all the Buhari administration does is to empower the security agencies and the anti-corruption agencies to do their jobs, without the administration trying to teleguide them.

He also added that the fight against corruption in the country is not fought on ethnic, hasty or premediated grounds.

According to him, “ corruption is not an ethnic thing, there is an equal representation in the stealing as no one operates with his/her ethnic group alone, the culprits are in every case seen so far, united by greed to steal and not by ethnic or religious interest.”

He frowned at a situation where for instance as much as $15 billion has disappeared from the national coffers into private pockets, pointing out that no responsible government would wave that aside so as not to offend people.

Commenting on the declining fortunes of Nigeria in international sporting competitions occasioned by poor funding by the government, the Vice President said that a long-term solution to inadequate funding of sports is private sector involvement.

According to him, looking around countries that have excelled in international sporting competitions, the private sector in those countries are directly involved and that is exactly what should happen in Nigeria.

By the time companies and organizations take up sports sponsorship, he believes that the tide would change for good.

Nigerians from all walks of life in Houston, Texas and from other parts of the US attended the town hall meeting which was preceded by a Nigeria Infrastructure summit which showcased opportunities for foreign investors in Nigeria.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
29th October, 2016

PRESS STATEMENT

VP OSINBAJO TAKES MESSAGE FOR A NEW TRIBE OF NIGERIANS TO US, RECEIVES US CONGRESSIONAL PROCLAMATION OF HONOR

.Decorates award-winning US-based Nigerians

Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has reiterated his call on Nigerian elites to come together based on a common consensus to build the nation as Nigerians clearly desire good governance, according to a statement by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity in the Office of the Vice President.

Speaking at the gala/ dinner event organized by the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, CANAN in Houston, USA on Friday night, the Vice President noted that, “ even in the midst of all the country is going through, there is a growing consensus by all and sundry on the need for good governance.”

At the event attended by leaders of the Nigerian community in the US and American political leaders including US Congress Woman Sheila Jackson Lee, the Vice President was presented an honorary US Congressional Proclamation to commemorate his visit to Texas and also honor the Buhari presidency.

Explaining the need for a group of Nigerians who are committed to lifting the nation to rise up, Prof Osinbajo noted that this was important to counter and stop those who are working to pillage the resources of the country.

"This is why the president and myself have made a call that we need a New Tribe of Nigerians. We do need a new tribe of men and women of all faiths, tribes and ethnicities, who are commited to a country run on high values of integrity, hard-work, justice and love for the country," he said.

Continuing he said "I mean a tribe of men and women who are prepared to make the sacrifices and self-constraints that are crucial to building a strong society; who are prepared to stick together, fight corruption side by side, and insist on justice."

Prof. Osinbajo pointed out that the current administration takes diaspora issue very seriously, a reason, according to him that the President appointed a Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora in person of former House of Representative member, Mrs. Abike Daibiri.

Highlighting the importance further, the VP also pointed at the proposal for a Diaspora Commission, and a diaspora bond worth N1 trillion for investment purpose by both Nigerians at home and abroad.

Osinbajo commended CANAN for its accomplishments during its short existence. He listed some of CANAN’s achievements to include being in forefront of the quest to designate Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, FTO, by the US and also donating $50,000.00 in 2013 to Boko Haram victims, stating that these are a demonstration of patriotism by members of the association even while outside the shores of the country.

Speaking earlier,the President of CANAN, Dr. James Fadel urged Nigerians to engage in prophetic prayers in order to take the country out of its current predicament.

Giving assurance that things will indeed end well for the country, Fadel enjoined Nigerians to pray for the country.

Nigerians, Dr. Fadel said, must reject the tendency to be a consuming nation without the desire to also produce, adding that what is needed now is for all and sundry to build trust in God to win the battle against the nation’s opposing forces.

At the event, the Vice President was presented with an honorary congressional proclamation by US Congress woman Sheila Jackson-Lee, who indicated that the US Congress takes Nigeria as a very serious partner, a reason it has given great support to the ongoing fight against Boko Haram.

She disclosed that it is on record that, Nigeria is one of the countries that has its own Caucus among the elected representative in the US Congress, made up of both Democrats and Republicans.

Some Nigerians were honored at the gala night for their achievements in various areas of human endeavors in the US, including Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, the US-based Nigerian doctor who recently operated on a pregnant American mother who had a tumor growth. Olutoye removed the fetus, operated on the tumor, and returned the fetus. The pregnant woman then completed the pregnancy term and delivered the baby safely.

Vice President Osinbajo presented the laurels to all the high-flying US based Nigerians honored at the event.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
30th October, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

FASHOLA SAYS 40MW KASHIMBILA MULTIPURPOSE DAM WOULD PROVIDE PROTECTION, ELECTRICITY, SUPPORT AGRICUTURE
· As Minister undertakes working tour of project in Kashimbila, Taraba State
· Appeals to host communities to take ownership , remain peaceful to enjoy benefits of project

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Thursday visited the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam Project in Taraba State assuring that when completed, the Dam would serve the multiple purpose of protecting parts of the country from a predicted ecological disaster, provide electricity and support agricultural ventures in surrounding States of the Northeast.

Fielding questions from newsmen after the inspection, Fashola, who said the project was conceived about 2007, pointed out that the purpose was a proactive step by Nigeria to prevent an ecological disaster that Science predicted would happen in future when the structurally weak volcanic Lake Nyos inevitably collapses, which would likely affect six states in the country.

The Minister, who named the states to include Taraba, Benue, Cross River, Delta and Kogi on the route of the tributaries of the Katsina-Ala River, added that the project was also conceived to provide electricity and support agricultural ventures in the surrounding communities.

He told the newsmen, “Nigeria has decided since 2007 or thereabouts to intervene and prevent the disaster by building a dam and from the dam you have water which is a force of energy, we decided to build a 40 MW plant to generate electricity to feed communities like Doga, Wukari, Takum, Kashimbila and many other communities in the Northeast and Yandev in Benue State who are not yet connected to the Grid”.

According to him, what the communities have presently is a 33KV line that transmits energy across 80, 90 to 100 and above kilometres adding that by the time the energy ultimately gets to the communities, it is not effective resulting in what is often referred to as “low current.”

Assuring that the project would solve all of the problems, Fashola, however, regretted that the contracting firm has not been paid for about two or three years adding that the project had just been put into the budget. He added, “We have approved payment for the contractor and I have now come to see what we are paying for to ensure that the project is delivered”.

“This project has three phases and three objectives to accomplish. First to prevent an ecological disaster that science predicts will happen and secondly from there provide electricity and support agriculture. This is the Kashimbila 40MW Multipurpose Dam for electricity and irrigation. But as I’ve said it was an ecological necessity”, the Minister said.

Emphasizing the benefits of the project to agricultural ventures in the host state and beyond, Fashola, who described Kashimbila as one of the most beautiful parts of Nigeria, added, “I have just come from Ecuador which is about 2,800 metres above sea level. I think this is about 500 to 800 metres in altitude. What you have here are mountains, rivers and a very rich resource agro-base”.

The Minister, particularly, noted that the water supply embedded in the Dam could also be distributed far beyond the host community, Tagun, adding that government had opened discussions with the contractors on how the water catchment could be expanded beyond Tagun to serve most of Taraba and parts of the Northeast.

Noting that the water would be discharged from a high altitude, Fashola said government was also thinking of building a booster station which, according to him, “may be a supplementary project to what they have”, so that the host communities could have fresh potable drinking water, adding, “That is the beginning of good health, that is the defence against diseases”.

Appealing for peace among the host communities, Fashola declared, “There is so much here for the people of this community so I want to use this opportunity to appeal to them to remain peaceful and not to throw this away”, adding that the President was determined that the project would be finished in record time.

“President Buhari is determined that this project will be finished in record time and it will serve all of its purposes; protect them from flooding because that flooding will happen when lake Nyos ultimately collapses, give them electricity and support their agricultural endeavours and give them clean water”.

On the progress of work at the project, Fashola said all the turbines and the electrical parts were already in place adding, “In fact they have been maintaining it for two years to make sure nothing goes wrong”. He said as part of their strategy to protect the equipment, the contractors keep cats in the facility to prevent rats from eating the cables.

According to him, the contractors have over 300 kilometres of cables laid in the facility and there are equipment in containers in the premises to be used to complete the transmission adding that the containers also have the transformers and water treatment facilities. “We hope that by the latter part of next year the water part will be completed”, he said.

The Minister said the transmission tower also visited during the inspection, would lead all the way to Takum and beyond adding, “They have started trenching and the last part of their equipment will come in before the end of this year. When they come in we can then start realigning the project plan and we will be more definite about month.
“But a lot of progress will be made between now and early 2018 latest by 2018 this project would have achieved all of its objectives: protection, energy, agric and water supply”, he said.

The Multipurpose Dam, located on River Katsina-Ala in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, aside serving as buffer dam, will provide, through its hydro power component 40 Megawatts of electricity to be evacuated from Kashimbila by 132KV Double Circuit through Takum(65km), Wukari (75km) to Yandev (105 km) existing 132/33KV substations.

HAKEEM BELLO
SPECIAL ADVISER,
COMMUNICATIONS
TO THE HON. MINISTER
27TH OCTOBER, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

MAIDEN EDITION OF MINISTRY OF INTERIOR GAMES KICKS-OFF IN KADUNA

The Honourable Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau, has flagged off the maiden edition of ministry of interior games. The five days event, which closes on Saturday 29th October 2016, is aimed at integrating the five agencies in the ministry through sports. Considering the pivotal role of agencies under the ministry in ensuring safety and security, General Dambazau is optimistic that the five days sport fiesta will impact the spirit of sportsmanship, discipline, team work, dedication, and result oriented attitude on the agencies.

In his remarks, the interior minister posited that the part to excellence must be sought as well as followed, as nation building and development requires men and women of valor and integrity who believe in themselves and are determined to give quality service.

The Honourable Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Barr. Solomon Dalung, who was at the event saluted the brilliant initiative of the Interior Minister, admonished participants on the need to take sporting activities seriously, considering it overall benefits for participants who distinguished themselves.

President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who was the Special Guest of Honour was represented by the Deputy Governor, Arc. Yusuf Barnabas Bala. Other dignitaries at the Opening Ceremony include the Ag Permanent Secretary of Interior Ministry, Service Chiefs in Interior Ministry and other notable Nigerians.



EHISIENMEN OSAIGBOVO
Press Secretary to the Honourable Minister of Interior

ADDRESS BY H.E. MUHAMMADU BUHARI,
PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF 7 BIG WINS TO GROW NIGERIA’S OIL AND GAS
#7BigWins

Protocols

1. I am delighted to be here this morning at this important event to launch the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Roadmap tagged “The 7 Big Wins”.

2. The Petroleum industry, remains critical to the Nigerian economy of today and the future, despite our current challenges.

3. The golden era of high oil prices may not be here now, but Oil and Gas resources still remain the most immediate and practical keys out of our present economic crisis.

4. Oil and Gas still remain a critical enabler for the successful implementation of our budget as well as the source of funds for laying a strong foundation for a new and more diversified economy.

5. As important as it is to ensure that Agriculture, Solid minerals and other critical sectors of the economy are supported to grow and contribute more to the nation’s economy, we still need a virile and efficient oil & gas industry to take care of our foreign exchange requirements.

6. This is a national imperative and a core thrust of our economic policy.

7. Therefore, the task before the Ministry of Petroleum Resources is to maximize the potentials and opportunities across the whole range of the Oil and Gas industry to stimulate our economy in spite of the current challenges.

8. To do this certainly requires creativity, innovation, technology and robust partnership amongst various stakeholders.

9. There is also a dire need to instil a new culture of transparency and efficiency in the industry, streamline operations along best practices by championing and implementing strategic reforms at every layer of the industry.

10. This will help us improve oil and gas production, explore our frontier basins, improve our local refining capacity and above all build sustainable partnerships with the oil producing communities.

11. If we are able to plug the leakages, and tighten loose systems that characterized this industry in the days of high oil prices, we are convinced that we can do even more with the little that we are getting at the moment than we did even in the time of plenty.
12. As you are aware, recent developments in the Niger Delta have temporarily limited our oil and gas production and supplies. However, let me reaffirm that, whatever challenges we are currently facing in the region, our resolve and capability to work with all stakeholders to restore normalcy will guarantee success.

13. I congratulate the Honourable Minister of State Petroleum Resources and his staff for putting this together and the good work he has been doing in transforming the Oil and Gas Industry.

14. This Roadmap reflects the vision and aspiration of this Administration for this sector and urge you all to deliver on the expectations contained in the Petroleum Industry Roadmap.

15. I also acknowledge the importance of the public, the media, local and foreign investors and other critical stakeholders in the oil and gas industry and appeal for their support and cooperation as we seek to consolidate CHANGE in this very important sector of our national economy.

Thank you all for your attention.