News

SUBSIDY REMOVAL: NEC SETS UP AD-HOC COMMITTEE TO LIAISE WITH LABOUR UNION LEADERSHIP

Published

1 year ago

August 17, 2023

Ochuwa Ibrahim

SUBSIDY REMOVAL: NEC SETS UP AD-HOC COMMITTEE TO LIAISE WITH LABOUR UNION LEADERSHIP

Urges State Governments to upscale distribution of palliatives
Mourns military personnel killed in Niger State

By: Our Reporter

In a bid to create a forum for dialogue towards resolving issues surrounding the petrol subsidy removal across the States, the National Economic Council (NEC) has constituted an Ad-hoc Committee to engage with the leadership of labour unions.

The decision was reached at the 135th meeting of NEC chaired by the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima in Abuja on Thursday.

The committee comprises the Nigerian Governors Forum Chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Governor of Anambra State,Chukwuma Soludo; Chairman of Progressives Governors Forum, Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; PDP Governors Forum Chairman, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.

Vice President said the committee will liaise with the leadership of labour unions in the country to find a way forward on the emerging issues in the interest of the nation.

Council also received progress reports on the ongoing nationwide distribution of rice, grains, fertilizer, other items to States and N5 billion financial support, provided by the Federal Government and commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for their interventions.

Council then noted various interventions by State governments and urged them to upscale the distribution of palliatives towards alleviating the suffering of citizens especially the vulnerable groups.

NEC also mourned the death of some military personnel in Niger State and observed a minute silence in honour of deceased, while commiserating with their families.

Below are other highlights of the meeting:

Excess Crude Account from 19th July to 14th August, 2023, $473,754.57

Stabilisation Account from 18th July to 14th August, N30,346,557,405.12

Natural Resources Account from 18th July to 14th August 2023, N115,175,616,159.65

PRESENTATION OF PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF FLOOD DISASTER ACROSS THE STATES IN NIGERIA BY GOVERNOR OF KOGI STATE

The Governor at the 128th NEC Meeting held on 20th October, 2022, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum and Executive Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, drew attention of Council to the devastating effect of the 2022 flooding which affected about 31 States of the Federation that had resulted in the loss of over 600 lives, displacement of millions of people, destruction of hundreds of thousands of houses and submersion of thousands of hectares of farmlands and appealed for urgent intervention from the Federal Government to address the impact of the menace on the people and infrastructure.

Consequently, Council resolved to setup a 5-man Ad-hoc Committee on flooding comprising of Governors of Jigawa, Kogi, Anambra, Bayelsa, Lagos and Yobe State. The following were also coopted into the Committee:

Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning

Honourable Minister of Water Resources

Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria

Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

The Terms of Reference of the Committee was to “Review the current flooding situation in the country and design a template for compensation of victims”.

The Committee had its inaugural meeting on Thursday 10th November 2022 at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Secretariat. Highlight of the Meeting were as follows:

The Committee acknowledged the urgency of the assignment and hence the need to expedite action in order to table a draft report at the next NEC Meeting.

A sub-committee was constituted to propose modalities to address imminent food crisis due to the flooding and possible source of funding for palliatives to victims. The Sub-committee was to be Chaired by the Executive Governor of Kebbi State and the following as Members: Ministries of Agriculture, Humanitarian, Finance, NEMA and CBN.

NEC Secretariat to develop and forward a Template with accompanying letter to all the affected States to collect data on Preliminary Assessment of the impact of the flood in the affected Communities, harmonize the data and produce report of their findings to the Committee.

LIMITATIONS

The exercise would have been more successful and effective if all the affected States had responded as and when due and according to provisions made in the template. Some of the limitations include the following:
Delay or Non-submission of filled template by some States. Only 16 out of the total number of affected States forwarded their submissions to NEC Secretariat to date as expected. About 15 others were yet to do so. The submission from defaulting States are awaited to update the database.

Some of the States that submitted did not fully complied with requisitions of the template thereby making some of their submissions difficult to process by the automated system. There is the need for compliance with laid down processes to allow for higher degree of uniformity especially considering the huge volume of data involved.

Only few States reached out to the Council Secretariat’s Technical Team for possible guidance and assistance in the exercise. States are encouraged to take advantage of the Secretariat’s personnel to address important concerns where necessary.

Only few States indicated financial implication for the damages caused thereby making it difficult to proposed a required amount of intervention.

Some submissions were not done according to the template which makes difficult to ascertain the financial implications of such states.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The plight of victims of the unfortunate flood disaster across affected States of the Federation could be alleviated if the much needed intervention from the Federal Government materialized without further delay.

There is therefore the need to expedite release of fund to affected States as recommended by designated Committees constituted by the Federal Government to that effect. This would go a long way in addressing the needs of the victims as well as offset debt incurred by some States to assist their citizens.
COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS

NEC Secretariat and officials of the Office of the Vice President to visit the affected states for on-the-spot assessment of the situation on ground. The exercise will authenticate the date submitted by state to determine needed intervention.

That Federal Government’s immediate intervention to be expeditiously carried out by NEMA, Ecological Fund Office and other relevant agencies. States to assure maximum cooperaton.

NEC resolves that all hands should be on deck to assure appropriate submission and data presentation. The quality of data collected should be enhanced to meet international standard. That the challenges of flooding deserves concerted and collective effort.

There is need to strengthen NEMA as a structure and sustainable adaptation measures for the citizens. In mobilizing resources to tem the tide of flooding, there is need to look beyond NEMA.

NEC Secretariat to come up with recommedations on the roadmap towards addressing the flood situtation.

PRESENTATION ON EXPLORING A NEC AGENDA FOR MACROECONOMICS STABILITY & SHARED PROSPERITY BY DG NESG

The Presentation was to inform the council on achieving low Inflation and stimulation Growth and Macroeconomic Objectives.

MACROECONOMIC STABILITY OBJECTIVES:

High and stable economy
Low Inflation Growth Price level
unemployment Account
Favourable Current low balance and stable exchange rate account balance

CURRENT MACROECONOMIC LANDSCAPE

Investment inflows have dwindled since 2019, likewise the country’s investment/GDP ratio; Crude Oil exports and refined petroleum products imports dominate Nigeria’s trade structure.
Nigeria’s Naira position against major trading currencies deteriorated
Weak FX supply and heightened demand for imports remains core drivers of exchange rate instability; market volatility persists despite recent FX alignment, driven by pressure on FX demand that widens the gap between official and parallel market rates due to inadequate supply and speculative tendencies; external reserves remain under pressure as external reserves fell by 8.3 percent from 37.1 billion in January 2023 to 33.9 billion in July 2023.
KEY CONSIDERATION FOR IMPROVING THE OUTCOMES OF FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL
Inflationary impact: Fuel subsidy removal will increase inflation. So, there is a need for robust social programmes.
Efficiency in government spending: There has been a lack of clarity on how the government spends subsidy savings. This issue must be addressed.
Investment in the downstream and midstream segments of the industry: Achieving this will reduce huge dependence on petrol imports and strike out the need to pay subsidies on fuel.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The NEC must insist on pushing a national legislative reform agenda for national competitiveness. It is essential that nigeria resolves the legislative binding constraints to our national competitiveness, the nesg through nassber, our partnership with national assembly and nigerian bar association has identified over 115 legislations that hinder growth, in the last few years, 10 legislations have been passed (including the cama 2020 and the pia 2021.

COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS:

Council commended NESG for its presentation especially on pragmatic roadmaps for tackling current economic challenges.
It was noted that the recommendations contained in the NESG’s roadmap needs to be reviewed to align with existing economic agenda at the national and sub-national levels for pragmatic purposes.

SUBSIDY REMOVAL: NEC SETS UP AD-HOC COMMITTEE TO LIAISE WITH LABOUR UNION LEADERSHIP

News

Borno Floods: FG Deploys Experts to Test for Hazardous Chemicals

Published

7 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Borno Floods: FG Deploys Experts to Test for Hazardous Chemicals

By: Michael Mike

The Federal Government has deployed a team of experts to help mitigate the effects of the flooding that ravaged parts of Borno state.

The government also announced that experts will carry out continuous water sampling and tests and identify sources of hazardous chemicals, and take proactive measures to prevent waterborne diseases in the state.

The recent flooding in Borno State, caused by the breakdown of the Alau Dam, has resulted in unprecedented devastation, with over 30 lives lost, 23,000 residential houses destroyed, and 414,000 people displaced, critical infrastructure, including bridges, roads, electricity systems, healthcare facilities, and schools, severely damaged, including approximately one million people losing their source of livelihood.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, noted that he led key officials of the ministry to pay a condolence and sympathy visit to the state last Friday, towards mitigating the adverse effects that may occur as a result of the unfortunate flood incidence.
Lawal stated that it is important to focus on the urgent need for a coordinated and comprehensive response to mitigate the resultant environmental challenges posed by the flood.

He said: “During the condolence visit, I informed the Governor that the Federal Ministry of Environment will send a team of experts from the relevant department, agencies and projects to collaborate with Borno State Government in addressing the impacts of the flood.”

The minister highlighted that the ministry has consequently deployed a team of experts from the Department of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, the Department of Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management, the Department of Forestry; the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-arid Landscape Programme Project, the Nigeria Climate Adaptation-Erosion and Watershed Project, the National Park Services, and the Environmental Health Council to help in mitigating the effects of the flooding.

He said: “The above team will carry out continuous water sampling and tests, identify sources of hazardous chemicals, and take proactive measures to prevent waterborne diseases. Similarly, the team will maintain continuous sampling of water sources which is essential for monitoring water quality, identifying contamination, as well as taking proactive measures to maintain public health and safety in the state. All agencies under the Ministry in Borno State have been directed to collaborate with the State Government to mitigate the effects of the flood disaster.
“So far, 100 drums of 40kg of chlorine has been deployed to Borno State to disinfect water sources, ensuring safe drinking water and preventing waterborne diseases like cholera. Furthermore, the Ministry will deploy 30,000 flyers to sensitise the public on best sanitation and hygiene practices which include proper waste disposal, frequent handwashing, and personal hygiene to reduce the spread of infections.

“Beyond immediate short-term response, the Ministry will also work closely with Borno State Government to develop comprehensive flood mitigation strategies and early warning mechanisms to safeguard against future recurrences. We will also explore avenues for collaboration with international partners to strengthen the State’s capacity for disaster risk management and climate adaptation.”

The minister commended Borno Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum for his swift response in mobilising resources and ensuring the safety and well-being of the affected communities.

He said: “I am confident that under His Excellency’s capable leadership, Borno State will emerge stronger from this tragedy and the resilience of its people will once again shine through.
“I hope that together, the Federal Government will strengthen its resolve to build resilience against such environmental challenges in the future.”

Borno Floods: FG Deploys Experts to Test for Hazardous Chemicals

Military

NSCDC Deploys 6,433 personnel’s for Edo Election

Published

8 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NSCDC Deploys 6,433 personnel’s for Edo Election

By: Michael Mike

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has deployed 6,433 officers and men for the Edo State Governorship Election.

The Commandant General of the NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi while announcing the deployment in a statement on Wednesday, charged them to remain apolitical, act professionally and disciplined while on election duty, noting that the NSCDC has a vital role to play in the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure

He stressed that the security of election materials, both sensitive and otherwise, has become very vital for the operatives before, during and after the election.

According to the statement, the NSCDC will deploy over 300 operatives each from Ondo, Delta, Kogi, Osun, Imo and Enugu Commands, with the Edo State Command having 3,626 officers on ground for the election while Rivers and Bayelsa State Commands will draft in 400 and 350 personnel respectively.

Also, 607 Special Forces would be deployed from the National Headquarters, which comprises the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad, Special Female Squad, Anti Vandal Squad, Chemical Biological Radiological and Explosive Unit, while Kennel ( K9) Unit has also been mobilized for the election.

The CG was quoted to have said: “Our deployment for the Edo Governorship Election will cover all nooks and crannies, including flash points. Since we do not have a general election, we have enough personnel to deploy across Wards, Polling units, Collation centres, INEC offices and other areas.

“All Personnel deployed are to work in synergy with other security agencies to ensure a peaceful conduct of the election; the special forces and Anti vandal squad are to ensure the protection of government facilities and infrastructure with more attention paid to the identified flashpoints and volatile areas. Notably, the undercover officers have been deployed few days to the election to maintain round-the-clock surveillance and provide up-to-date intelligence report and real-time security situation from all the 18 local governments in Edo State.

“Let me use this opportunity to enjoin politicians not to heat the polity unnecessarily. You are also advised to shun all forms of violence, thuggery, snatching of ballot boxes and any other form of electoral malpractices that could disrupt the peaceful conduct of the election.

“It is very vital to also warn in strong terms that parents and guardians should keep their children from being used as instruments of violence or being sponsored by desperate politicians to cause mayhem and electoral violence as those arrested would be charged accordingly in compliance with the extant laws”.

The Commandant General also directed the Deputy Commandant General in charge of Operations; DCG Philip Ayuba, to ensure overall supervision, monitoring and effective coordination of the deployed personnel before, during and after the elections

NSCDC Deploys 6,433 personnel’s for Edo Election

News

Maiduguri Flood: Northern Christian Youth Professionals Demand Investigation into Reckless Handling of Alau Dam

Published

8 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Maiduguri Flood: Northern Christian Youth Professionals Demand Investigation into Reckless Handling of Alau Dam

By: Michael Mike

The Northern Christian Youth Professionals
have demand that the Federal and Borno State Governments investigate and hold accountable those responsible for Alau Dam’s reckless handling.

The group on Tuesday in a signed statement by its chairman, Isaac Abrak while insisting that the commonwealth provided for dam maintenance and climate change initiatives which has now failed the people, noted that the recent flooding in Borno State, caused by the breakdown of the Alau Dam, has resulted in unprecedented devastation, with over 30 lives lost, 23,000 residential houses destroyed, and 414,000 people displaced, critical infrastructure, including bridges, roads, electricity systems, healthcare facilities, and schools, severely damaged, including approximately one million people losing their source of livelihood.

The statement read: “We demand that the Federal and Borno State Governments investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the dam’s reckless handling. The commonwealth provided for dam maintenance and climate change initiatives has failed the people.

“While commending President Tinubu’s compassionate visit and N3 billion pledge, we question setting up another fund without investigating why existing Ecological Funds (N40 billion, with Borno receiving N800 million) have failed to mitigate climate issues.

“Flooding is an existential problem worsened by leadership failures. Throwing money at environmental problems without accountability is inhumane.

“We urge: Investigation and accountability for dam mishandling; Transparent utilization of existing funds; Safe housing construction in highland areas; Logistics support for temporary relocation; School closures and alternative education arrangements.”

The group insisted that: “The 2022 Bayelsa flooding serves as a stark reminder. We cannot continue to fail the most vulnerable.”

Maiduguri Flood: Northern Christian Youth Professionals Demand Investigation into Reckless Handling of Alau Dam