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ECONOMIC STABILITY IS OUR PRIORITY IN 2024 AGENDA – VP SHETTIMA

ECONOMIC STABILITY IS OUR PRIORITY IN 2024 AGENDA – VP SHETTIMA
…As NEC appeals to organized labour to shelve planned strike
By: Michael Mike
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has identified stability as one of the primes in the economic agenda of the Tinubu administration for the year 2024.
This is just as the National Economic Council (NEC) has appealed to the Organised Labour to shelve its planned strike, saying President Bola Tinubu remains committed to the welfare of Nigerian workers.
The Vice President stated that government at the federal, state and local government levels must remain committed to reevaluating their priorities, streamlining processes, and making bold decisions that would reflect key social issues, including social protection, social investment and nutrition.

Senator Shettima stated this on Thursday at the 136th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held in the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
NEC, a statutory body that has the mandate to advise the President on the nation’s economic affairs, is chaired by the Vice President, with the Governors of the 36 states of the federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Minister of Finance and other stakeholders as members.
In his opening address at the NEC meeting titled, ‘Planning for Stability: Our Agenda for Economic Growth in 2024’, Vice President Shetimma reminded the governors and other members of NEC that the weight of the tough decisions to rescue Nigeria’s economy depends on their cooperation and goodwill.
He noted that what has set President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apart as a Nigerian leader is the courage to embark on fixing the country’s economy through bold reforms.
Identifying stability as a major priority in next year’s economic agenda, the VP said, “It took courage to embark on fixing an economy hindered by decades of political lip service. But that’s what has set President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apart: his bold reforms to reposition the economy and save it from further erosion.
Other highlights of the meeting are as follows;
ACCOUNTS BALANCES:
Excess Crude Account: – $473,754.57
Stabilization Account – N34,936,868,803.58
Development of Natural Resources – N128,330,636,441.14
The Governor of Kogi State and chairman of the Committee on impact of Flood and Disaster Across the States in Nigeria, Yahaya Bello, categorized states based on degrees of damage.
He classified the states as:
Group A
States with over 15 points (most affected)
Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers, Enugu, Kano, Oyo, Yobe, Zamfara
Group B
States with 10-15 points
Cross River, Delta, Jigawa, Kwara, Ondo
Group C
States with less than 10 points
Katsina, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, FCT.
COUNCIL RESOLUTION:
NEC resolved to develop a roadmap for intervention and directed NEMA to provide immediate intervention on relief to affected states. Roadmap to be developed and articulated by NEC with the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum.
Presentation on the Joint Planning Board (JPB) And National Council on Development Planning (NCDP)
The presentation on the National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) and the Joint Planning Board (JPB) meetings serve as a platform for bringing together Senior Officials from Federal and State ministries, as well as other related Agencies responsible for Budget and Economic Planning, Representatives of the Organized Private Sector, the Academia, Development Partners and Civil Society Organizations to engage in in-depth discussions on economic policy issues, with a view to propose an optimal approach for enhancing economic management processes at both National and Sub-national levels.
B. Status Report on the Implementation of Key Resolutions of the 21st Edition of the JPB/NCDP Meetings
i. The FMBEP should collaborate with the States in the process of designing a template for harvesting the status of implementation of the JPB/NCDP resolutions, factoring the peculiarities of each State. i. The FMBEP should collaborate with the States in the process of designing a template for harvesting the status of implementation of the JPB/NCDP resolutions, factoring the peculiarities of each State.
C. Energy Sufficiency for Sustainable Economic Development: Options for Nigeria
i. Government at all levels should promote the migration of Heavy-Duty Industries/Transport systems from fossil fuel to Gas Infrastructure;
ii. Given the new Electricity Act that empowers States and individuals to participate in all components of the energy sector, State Governments should carry out energy audit to determine Energy needs and explore areas for collaboration with the private sector based on their comparative advantage; iii. States should develop small hydropower plants, on or off-grid, and solar, for communities and MSMEs; iv. The three tiers of Government should institute initiatives for the promotion of attitudinal change regarding energy use, wastage, and theft; and v. The government should promote Research and development, Local Content, New Energy (Hydrogen, Biofuels) Prototype Investments for energy sufficiency.
COUNCIL RESOLUTION:
Council noted that the meeting was successful and approved regular interaction and synergy among commissioners of Economic Planning across the federation.
PRESENTATION ON THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON FISCAL POLICY AND TAX REFORMS
The chairman of the Committee Mr. Taiwo Oyedele made presentation to the NEC on the fiscal policy and Tax Reforms, disclosing that the Committee was set up by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to review and redesign Nigeria fiscal system with respect to:
(1) Revenue mobilisation, both tax and non-tax
(2) Quality of government spending and
(3) Sustainable debt management in addition, the committee will identify relevant measures to make Nigeria an attractive destination for investment and facilitate inclusive Economic growth.
Deliverables and outcomes
The expected outcomes from the work of the committee will include, but not limited to the following:
- Repeal of existing taxes and levies especially those that are suboptimal, obsolete or unduly burdensome and enactment of new harmonised tax laws;
- Preparation of a harmonised list of taxes and levies, not exceeding a single digit in number and covering all levels of government;
- Review of the 2017 National Tax Policy to produce a new National Policy on Tax and Fiscal Policy for ratification by the federal and state governments;
- A national fiscal risk framework for efficient fiscal governance, fiscal consolidation and stability;
- Draft bills for constitutional amendments on fiscal matters to promote fiscal federalism;
- Enhancements to the revenue administration system to improve revenue mobilization and a robust framework for tax revenue accounting and reporting to improve taxpayer trust;
- Establishment of National Office of Tax Ombudsman, Fiscal Policy and Tax Simplification.
COUNCIL RESOLUTION
Council noted the presentation
UPDATES ON PALLIATIVE DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE STATES
The Governor of Kwara State, Abdulraman Abdulrazaq gave an update on the distribution of palliatives across the States. He told Council that members are making progress and urged them to re-double efforts as states looked forward for more interventions.
ECONOMIC STABILITY IS OUR PRIORITY IN 2024 AGENDA – VP SHETTIMA
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Zulum bans thuggery in Borno state

Zulum bans thuggery in Borno state
By: Bodunrin Kayode
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has said that thuggery has since become a thing of the past in the state.
He said this while inaugurating the new Governing Council of the Borno state owned Kashim Ibrahim University in Maiduguri recently.
Speaking during the occasion, he said that his administration has achieved giant strides in the education sector as a whole adding that his administration is making unprecedented investments in this all important sector.
” We have constructed 139 new mega schools, rehabilitated many others and recruited thousands of teachers to keep the sector going.
“We are establishing six centres of excellence and have banned political thuggery to redirect the energies of our youth towards scholarly and vocational pursuits”. He posited.
Zulum bans thuggery in Borno state
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ISPON Pushes for Stronger Safety Education Reforms in Nigeria

ISPON Pushes for Stronger Safety Education Reforms in Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
The Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON) has renewed calls for comprehensive safety education reforms across the country, stressing the need to instill a culture of safety in workplaces, communities, and public spaces.
The call was made at the Abuja Safety Summit themed “Safe Cities, Sustainable Tomorrow: Pathway to Responsible Development.”

ISPON President, Chief Udezi Stephen, emphasized that membership of the institute is a statutory requirement for anyone practicing as a safety professional in Nigeria.
“ISPON membership is a must for anybody that wants to practice as a safety professional in Nigeria,” he declared.
Udezi warned that there are legal penalties for individuals and organisations that fail to comply with the ISPON Act.
“For an individual, it is 100,000 Naira… For an organization that employs a person that is not a member of ISPON, that organization can be fined a minimum of 500,000 Naira,” he explained.

Highlighting the institute’s role in streamlining safety training nationwide, Udezi stressed the need for proper accreditation of training bodies.
He noted that: “The body that is licensed and qualified and asked to do safety training in this country is the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria.”
He further underscored the importance of building a safety-first culture across Nigeria.
He said: “If we have safe cities, then you can go home, close your eyes and sleep… We must start with talking to ourselves, getting educated, being trained, so that once we have been trained and we are doing things correctly, it forms part of what we call the culture of what we are doing.”
Also speaking at the summit, the Director-General of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Barr. Oluwaseun Faleye represented by Technical Director, Dayo Alawo, stressed that safety must be seen as a national commitment rather than just a policy.

He said: “Safety is not just a policy, it is a commitment. A commitment we owe to every worker who steps into a factory, every driver navigating our highways, every builder on a construction site and every citizen walking the streets of our federal capital territory.”
Faleye explained that NSITF’s approach to workplace safety rests on three critical pillars.
“Our philosophy is rooted in three pillars which is safety. Prevention. This is our first and most critical line of defense. Compensation. Rehabilitation… to restore human potential,” he explained.
Calling for stronger partnerships, he added:
“Collaboration. Safety is a shared responsibility No agency, institution or company can achieve it alone.”
On the role of technology, Faleye urged the adoption of data-driven safety systems.
“By embracing technology and strengthening data collection, reporting and analysis, we can anticipate risks before they happen or escalate into issues and design interventions that save lives,” he said.
In her remarks, ISPON Abuja Chairman, Mrs. Ifeoma Okpara, outlined the summit’s purpose of building safer cities through collective action.
“As our theme implies… we’re looking for collaboration. We have regulators, policymakers and all of them within this space, all to create a better space and create a safety culture among the citizens of Nigeria, Abuja in particular,” she explained.
Okpara noted that progress has already been made in Abuja through multi-stakeholder cooperation.
She said: “We have done a good length, we have a lot of good collaborators… There are a lot of audits going on, inspections and sensitization, awareness and policymaking going on in the area of safety.”
She further revealed that ISPON plans to expand safety awareness campaigns beyond urban areas into rural communities.
“We are working on campaigns, we are working on sensitization sessions, even to the extent we want to bring some things down to local languages… We’re going to the market spaces, we’re going to the villages, we’re going to communities, we’re going to be advocating for all types of safety,” she stated.
The summit reinforced the urgent need for coordinated reforms, stronger enforcement of safety standards, and wider outreach to build a truly safety-conscious society in Nigeria.
ISPON Pushes for Stronger Safety Education Reforms in Nigeria
News
Bandits abduct, rape victims in Zamfara community

Bandits abduct, rape victims in Zamfara community
By: Zagazola Makama
Suspected bandits have abducted several women in Maniya forest, Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, with some of the victims alleging sexual assault.
Sources told Zagazola on Wednesday that 39 women and girls had gone into the forest on Monday to fetch firewood but were attacked by armed men.
According to sources, 11 of the victims managed to return home the following day, while the rest remain in captivity.
The returnees reportedly said they were sexually assaulted before being released. They have since been taken to hospital for medical examination.
Efforts by security forces, local volunteers and vigilante groups are ongoing to trace the abductors and rescue the victims still being held.
Bandits abduct, rape victims in Zamfara community
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