By Constance Imasuen

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA), says more than 300 clusters have been identified for electrification across the country to achieve the goal of providing constant electricity.

Mr Ayang Ogbe, the Director of Promotion (REA) in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said that so far, more than 12,000 shops were presently receiving clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity supply.

Ogbe said that the Sura Shopping Complex Independent Power Project in Lagos State was electrified.at the inauguration of the pilot phase of the Energising Economies Initiative (EEI).

The EEI is a Federal Government initiative that is implemented by the REA,

According to him, the focus of the EEI is to electrify economic clusters in Nigeria which includes markets, shopping plazas/complexes and industrial clusters in line with the Federal Governments goal of increasing electricity access.

The REA is mandated to implement the initiative through Technical Assistance to private project developers.

This includes identification and audit of economic clusters, facilitation of engagement with key stakeholders and technical support for project development and operation.

He said that at the Sura complex, 1,047 shops were powered, adding that also at the Ariaria International Market Independent Power Project, Aba in Abia, over 4,000 shops were energised.

According to him, more than 6,000 shops at Sabon Gari market, Kano State were energised with more connections in the pipeline.

Deployment is currently ongoing in markets under Phase 1 of the EEI.

In 2019, a Tripartite Agreement between Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Green Village Electricity (GVE) and Wuse Market Association was signed for the development of one MW Interconnected Mini-grid.

The phase 2 rollout plans are currently in view and conversations have begun between the developers, state governments and other key stakeholders,

Surveys and energy audits are currently being conducted for 98 Markets across the country. The agency is also exploring ways to secure concessionary finance and technical assistance to further support EEI developers. he said.

Ogbe said that the REA recently held a roundtable with Energising Economies Initiative (EEI) Private Power Developers to identify implementation gaps,

He said the roundtable was held to also discuss Improvement in service delivery and strengthening of the initiative to achieve the desired goal of providing constant and reliable electricity in economic clusters across the Federation.

The EEI developers at the roundtable had representatives from Ariaria International Market Energy Solutions (AMES) Limited, Solad Integrated Power Solutions Limited, Rensource Energy Limited and Green Village Electricity (GVE) Projects Limited.

At the forum, the setbacks faced by the private developers as stated by their representatives include technical and legal solutions to customer bypass, funding constraints, gas unavailability, power shortage and system collapse due to system capacity,

Inadequate provision of metering, electricity vending system issues and challenges with customer service delivery.

The agency while acknowledging the challenges faced by the developers, reiterated the need for them to deliver on their obligations as enshrined in their bilateral and tripartite agreements.

REA emphasised that some obligations are not being met by the developers in view of the performance of their projects, he said.

Ogbe said that REA agreed that some of the challenges are externally induced such as gas availability constraints,

He said the agency, however, said that many of the challenges were within the developers control and they must do more to mitigate these and get their projects back on track.

The agency advised the developers to strengthen their communication culture by proactively updating their customers on key information and technical issues in order to keep their stakeholders up-to-date per time.

The REA pointed out that it is currently conducting Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) on the EEI Markets. The output of the work will help inform us on how best to support the initiative as well as existing projects, he said

According to him, REA reiterated that the Federal Government is keen on the success of the initiative.

He said that the agency plans to create an enabling environment where the private sector developer handles all the project delivery steps from inception to conclusion.

While responding to the challenges raised by the agency, the private developers agreed to step up toward ensuring the issues are addressed and services improved in all affected markets,

They said such efforts will further serve as mitigation measures in upcoming EEI projects, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has expressed worry over the growing rate of cyber-attacks across the globe, especially in the country.

Pantami said this at the opening of a two-day International Workshop on Cyber-security and Digitalisation, organised by the Africa Centre of Excellence on Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL), technology unit of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

The workshop is being organised by ACETEL in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and CEA-SMIA.

Represented by Prof. Sahalu Junaidu, the minister said that more malware were being launched on daily basis, more than ever before.

Malware is a software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorised access to a computer system.

The resulting damages of cyber-attacks are not only increasingly, but are unfortunately projected to cost the loss of approximately 5.2 trillion dollars across the globe by 2023.

Cybercrime is one of the challenges resulting from the internet and is a great threat to the global economy.

Cyber-security ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 per cent per year over the next five years, reaching 10.5 trillion dollars annually by 2025, up from 3 trillion dollars in 2015.

This represents the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history and is one of the greatest transfer risks against the drive for innovation and investment, he said.

According to Pantami, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa record the largest losses to cybercrimes as at 2017.

The minister quoted a Kenya-based cyber-security IT firm, Serianu, as saying that African economies lost about 3.5 billion dollars to cybercrimes as at 2017.

In that year, annual losses to cybercrimes were estimated for Nigeria at 649 million dollars, and Kenya at 210 million dollars, while South African Banking, Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), said South Africa lost approximately 157 million dollars.

Pantami also said that the increase in cybercrimes was due to the outbreak of COVID-19 which inspired a global adoption of digital platforms.

The Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Olufemi Peters, said time had come for every Nigerian citizen to be digitally enabled to reduce cyber risks as cyber-security was considered to be the cornerstone of successful digital transformation initiatives.

The Digital Economy Initiative for Africa (DE4A) has advocated that every citizen, company and government in Africa must be digitally enabled by 2030 in support of the African Unions Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa.

This is in recognition that digital technologies present a unique opportunity for rapid economic growth, innovation, job creation and access to services unimaginable only a decade ago.

There is no doubt that complex cyber-attack in educational, governmental and industrial settings pose a big threat to smooth growth and efficient business processes.

Criminals exploit the fact that many industrial machines as well as simple devices (e.g., TVs, smartphones, PCs and servers) are increasingly software-controlled and connected to the Internet.

Unfortunately, many of these devices lack regular security updates and are very vulnerable; cybercriminals try to gain access to the software of these devices so as to conduct Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, Peters said.

He explained that the consequences of a successful cyber-attack can be devastating for companies and businesses as it could lead to bankruptcy.

Also speaking, Prof. Grace Jokthan, the Director, ACETEL, said the workshop could not have some at a better time as Africa and the globe strive to achieve a high level of efficiency on digitalisation.

She urged governments and citizens to be committed to understanding the risk of cyber threats and adhere to cyber security policies.

We all need to equip ourselves with the needed cyber-security strategies to sustain the on-going digital transformation, Jokthan said.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, in his keynote address said several organisations were quick to embrace digital transformations without putting adequate cyber-security policies and strategy in place.

Bawa, who was represented by Mr Bello Mohammed, the Director of ICT, EFCC, noted that cyber-security policies had helped a lot of businesses survive cyber-attacks.

He listed online scams, digital extortion, Business Email Compromise (BEC), ransom-ware and botnets, as the most common internet fraud, which had led to huge loss of information and revenue. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

There is also need for adequate budgetary provisions and prompt release of such fund, to promote research and development in agriculture at all levels of governance.

He suggested the establishment of Agriculture Trust Fund to support research, innovation and proven breakthroughs in various agricultural institutes as well as public and private universities that focus on agriculture.

The 2021 Agricultural Support Fund Bill at the National Assembly is a good initiative and in tune with this point, he added.

The lecturer also recommended improvement and expansion of agricultural land holdings to enhance increased access to critical factors of production.

He said Nigerians must embrace what he called hydroponic farming, to raise farmers output and reduce over-dependence on large acres of farmlands for crop production, especially in the light of the surging and frightening pace of national insecurity.

He stressed the need to boost farmers productive capacity with the use of improved farming techniques like tractors for clearing, cultivation and planting, that would ensure a complete departure from the use of hoes, cutlass and other obsolete farm tools.

He said the use of modern and functional irrigation system would also ensure optimal utilisation of the countrys water resource potentials for all-year-round crop production

The don added that the adoption of an advanced fishing farm technology would make Nigeria become Africas leading exporter of fish products. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Rukayat Adeyemi

The Lagos State Government (LASG) on Wednesday said that it had paid nothing less than N38billion as accrued pension rights to 9,865 retirees from May 2019 till date .

The Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mrs Ajibola Ponle, said this at the presentation of bond certificates to the 92nd batch of retirees from the states Public Service by the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) in Lagos .

Ponnle, represented byMrs Bandele Fadipe, the Permanent Secretary in the Civil Service Pensions Office said that the retirees were from the Mainstream, Local Government, State Universal Basic Board (SUBEB), Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and other Parastatals of the states public service.

She said the state, in adherence to its responsibility, had also credited the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of 515 retirees, alongside their monthly contributions with thesum of N1.520 billion for the month of March .

The commissioner said this was their past service benefits prior to the starting of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2007.

The state government recognises the plights of our estimable workers who had served in its public service and the need to safeguard their financial security after service.

This administration has continually prioritised the prompt payment of the governments pension obligations within the available limited resources.

Despite huge liabilities, we have promptly paid the pension entitlements of retirees under the Pay As You Go Pension Scheme monthly while LASPEC ensures payment of accrued pension rights to retirees under the CPS , so our retirees can access their RSAs without delay, she said.

The commissioner assured them that the welfare and wellbeing of the retirees were top-priority of the Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration and that the state government would not relent in its pursuit to improve retirement life.

I wish you the best and advise you to embrace the joy and challenges of this new phase of life , Ponnle said .

In his address, Mr Babalola Obilana , the Director -General of LASPEC, said that theefforts of the present administration under Gov. Sanwo-Olu toward the success of the CPS could not be overemphasised.

Obilana noted that the state had consistently been implementing the CPS since its inception in line with the provisions of the Lagos State Pension Reform Law of 19th March, 2007, now amended.

The state government in a bid to secure the future of the public service which is its greatest asset, has consistently prioritised pension contributions in the annual state budget and we are happy to note that Lagos State is fully compliant with the statutory requirements of the CPS.

Both employees and employers contributions are remitted promptly into individual employees RSAs after salaries must have been received.

Despite rising recurrent expenditure and the current economic climate, the state government has made continuous monthly payments a priority to ensure retirees access their retirement benefits as soon as possible , he said.

According to him, LASPEC also constantly reviews its business processes to ensure first class service delivery to the retirees and accomplish the governors goal of the immediate payment of pension entitlements upon retirement from the public service.

Obilana appreciated the continuous support of its stakeholders, the PFAs and ASPs for their relentless efforts toward the success of the CPS.

Please, beware of any individual or association who claims to be affiliated with the state government and can process or fast track your pension entitlements for a fee , the director-general warned. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Femi Ogunshola

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee on unclaimed funds in commercial banks in Nigeria, has uncovered over N300 billion unclaimed funds in the banks.

Rep. Uyme Idem, the Chairman of the committee said this on Wednesday in Abuja, adding that the amount represented a fraction of unclaimed funds in the commercial banks.

Idem said that the money could be described as hanging funds emanating from failed transactions by government agencies and banks.

The chairman said that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of recovering N1.2 trillion which had been hanging in the banks,
He said that about N300 billion was discovered on March 29 from banks and government agencies.

He said that the committee was still scrutinising documents and reports sent to it by banks and government agencies, adding that this would help the committee to recover more funds.

The commercial banks are regulated by government and they cannot refuse us.

This assignment is crucial. We will not allow any government agency or commercial bank to undermine our power.

If the commercial banks fail to appear the next line of action will be to summon them, he said.

He said that a situation where the country would go out to borrow money to fund its budget when it has over N1 trillion hanging in banks would not augur well for the economy.

He said that if the money in the banks was recovered, it would go a long way to help the country from borrowing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Citi Bank earlier appeared before the committee but was told to go and reconciled its documents and report back. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Olukayode Babalola

The Federal Ministry of Education and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) on Wednesday inaugurated projects worth N1.6 billion at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the projects include an ICT Complex, Faculty of Environment Sciences Building, Faculty of Education Building, Laboratory Complex and offices.

NAN also reports that the inauguration of the projects was part of programmes for the universitys sixth combinedconvocation.

Speaking at the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Suleiman Bala-Mohammed, thanked TETFund and the ministry for supporting the institution with standard structures.

If you go round the campus, majority of the structures were constructed by TETFund over the years.

So, on behalf of the management and staff of the university, I want to express my profound gratitude to TETFund, he said.

Bala-Mohammed said that the ICT complex sponsored by TETFund through the 2013/2016 intervention cost N315 million and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences also sponsored by TETFund cost N395 million.

He said the complex had the capacity for more than 1,000 capacity computer work stations, offices and conveniences.

According to him, the laboratory complex and offices are also sponsored by TETFund from its 2018/2019 special intervention at N541 million.

The vice-chancellor said the Faculty of Education Building cost N355 million and was sponsored by Federal Governments NEEDS Assessment Intervention.

Representative of the Federal Ministry of Education, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Mr Sunny Echono, Executive Secretary, TETFUND and the Nasarawa State governor, represented by his deputy, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, witnessed the ceremony.

Source: NAN News

By Taiye Agbaje

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA) and Nigeria Diaspora Network (NDN) on Wednesday stressed the need for the youth to have sense of direction to drive transformational impact and positive change in Nigeria.

The Chairman, Publicity of NIDOA/NDN Planning Committee, Dr Barth Shepkong, stated this in a statement in Abuja.

Shepkong said that to this end, the groups have agreed to organise a virtual youth summit titled: Youth and National Development in Nigeria scheduled to take place on April 9.

In 2022, NIDOA and NDN are embarking on a collaborative partnership to host a Diaspora Nigerian Youth Summit.

The goal of the youth summit is to bring all Nigerian Youths together, motivate them, get them involved and give them a sense of direction to drive transformational impact and positive change in Nigeria.

Both organisations see the Nigerian youths as a catalyst for change and formidable force to make impact in their communities and our country Nigeria.

A core objective of this collaboration is to establish a foundation and a movement to inspire the young people to serve their communities and raise the bar on what we can achieve together, he said.

Shepkong said that the groups were neither a political movement nor planning to create political parties.

This is not a political movement, and we are not here to create political parties or endorse a political candidate.

Rather, we are here to drive transformational change in our young people and our country, Nigeria, he said.

He said the groups understood that government alone could not solve the myriads of issues facing the country, hence, the need to impact in the youths the knowledge and experience that would help shape them for better Nigeria.

Some of the guest speakers at the summit include Prof. Usman Yusuf, former executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); and Petra Akinti Onyegbule, chief responsibility officer of LibraPrime Communications Ltd.

Others are Dr Tunji Abayomi, civil right leader and ambassador; Toye Sobande, leadership expert, lawyer and certified management consultant and Destiny Asen, chief executive officer, Perfect Asen Entertainment Ltd.

While NIDOAs mission is to
promote the spirit of patriotism, networking, and cooperation among Nigerians in the Diaspora, for their individual and collective success in the countries they reside, NDN is an organisation for volunteer professionals of like mind working with accomplished patriotic Nigerian professionals striving for the development of the country.(NAN)www.nannews.ng

Source: NAN News

By Monday Ijeh

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it will provide grant to 12,283 farmers under the FCT Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (FCT CARES) Programme.

Mr Abubakar Ibrahim, the Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCTA said this on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ibrahim spoke at the opening of a capacity building programme for FCT Fadama CARES Project facilitators and desk officers.

The FCTA has allocated .5 million to the FCT Fadama CARES Project for the implementation of three Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) with targets, to provide grant support to 12,283 and rehabilitate 17 water markets.

The figure which accounts for 30 per cent of the total allocation to FCT Cares Programme by the World Bank, underlines the significance FCTA accords to agriculture in the territory.

We are very conscious of this gesture and wish to assure that we will continue to put in our best to justify the confidence on us from the FCTA, he said.

He said the FCT CARES Programme is a World Bank budget support to the FCTA for non-discretionary expenditure, targeted at supporting existing and newly emerging vulnerable and poor households.

Ibrahim said the Programme would be implemented using the World Bank Programme for Result (P for R) financing model.

According to him, this model requires the beneficiary of the credit, the FCTA to invest its own resources first, while the World Bank thereafter reimburses after verification of achieved result by Independent Verification Agents (IVAs).

He said the reimbursement would be done in line with agreed prices and targets earlier set for all Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs).

The Secretary pledged that the FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat would provide the FCT Fadama CARES with the necessary support to ensure that vital projects were delivered.

In his remark, Mr Usman Adangara, the FCT Fadama CARES Project Coordinator said the facilitators and desk officers, being trained were the frontline project staff in the implementation of FCT Fadama CARES Project.

He said the training was to ensure that the capacities of officers were further built to fully equip them with necessary tools for the successful discharge of their duties.

Adangara said the implementation of FCT Fadama CARES Project had commenced with the declaration by World Bank that FCT was eligible to participate in the NG CARES having met all programme effectiveness criteria. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the immediate conclusion of all the processes for the implementation of the integrated security surveillance and monitoring solution for the Abuja to Kaduna railway line.

He also directed the Nigerian Railway Corporation management to speedily repair the damaged lines and resume normal service without delay while the integrated security surveillance and monitoring solution should also be extended to Lagos to Ibadan railway line.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Presidents Spokesman in a statement, said that Buhari gave these directives after receiving briefs from the Service Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Tuesday in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Irabor was accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba

Also in his company were the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Samuel Adebayo, and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, in the State House.

The president also charged the law enforcement chiefs to bring back all passengers kidnapped.

He also directed that each of the callous terrorists be hunted down and made to face justice for their heinous acts as no one or group should be allowed to make the country prostrate.

He reiterated his earlier directive that the military should deal ruthlessly with terrorists.

He urged them to be more decisive and not spare anyone unlawfully wielding the AK 47 weapon.

No one should be allowed to hold the country to ransom, he added.

Buhari strongly condemned the bombing of the passenger train, describing it as a matter of grave concern.

Like most Nigerians, I am deeply pained by its occurrence, the second of its type, which has resulted in the death of a yet to be determined number of passengers and others who suffered injuries.

The attack on the train, a safe means of transport to many, is callous; and our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and prayers for the injured, he said.

The president commended the Law Enforcement agencies for their prompt response and emergency personnel who were responsible for the evacuation and treatment of the injured persons.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen, Irabor, who spoke with State House correspondents after the closed door meeting with the president, explained the purpose of their visit to the president.

We have come to brief the President regarding the unfortunate incident of yesterday, where some criminals, bandits had gone to lay improvised explosive devices on the rail tracks.

And, a passenger train was demobilised and seven Nigerianswere killed, 29 others wounded and some were kidnapped and we are yet to establish the exact number.

So, we went to the scene this morning, inspected the entire area and gave out instructions on what is to be done and we have come to brief the President on this development, he said.

According to Irabor, security agencies will build on the lessons they have learnt from the latest incident.

He, therefore, assured Nigerians that the military and other security agencies would not rest on their oars until normalcy is restored.

The challenge of insecurity is a constant one and so the defence and security agencies need to be on their toes 24/7.

This is unfortunate and we believe that the lessons out of this are what we need to build upon going forward.

I can perhaps use this opportunity and reassure the nation that based on the presidents directive, we will take every necessary action, not just to apprehend those behind this dastardly act are not just apprehended but for them to also face justice.

Going forward, certainly there will be greater security for the nation and I will like to urge everybody to go about their normal duties, he said. (NAN) ()

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Isaac Albert, a professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan, says the current security challenges confronting Nigeria can only be addressed only if the root causes were identified.

Albert said this at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre 1st Annual Members Summit with the theme,Nigerias Security in the 21st Century: Issues, Challenges and Panacea on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the world was currently faced with issues of international terrorism, environmental degradation, natural disasters, drugs, organised crime, inter-state war, refugee problems, and failed state system.

The professor said that Nigeria was being confronted from two axes of evil referring to the Gulf of Guinea and the Sahel, which he said were two specific environments that threw up security problems in Nigeria.

He said that while the country contended with the problem of oil theft around the Gulf of Guinea, the Sahel harboured troublemakers, terrorists, drug cartels, human traffickers and arms proliferation.

According to him, there is no part of Nigeria that is not having its own specific security problems, and with our military overwhelmed at this moment.

Everywhere you go across the nation, you see high caliber weapons that civilians who have no reason to even know about that even have them all over the place.

Now what makes the military tick is the training as well as the weapons in the hands of the state officers.

Now you have similar weapons in the hands of civilians who have no professional training on weapon handling, who have not been introduced to laws of ongoing conflict.

Our communities are getting totally detached from our security system. There are communities that pretend and no longer speak out.

So the question is, how do you protect that type of community? How do you protect a community that is paying tax to criminals? How do you protect a community that is protecting criminals?

Now, to deal with all these problems, my own recommendation is that we need to start with the root causes of the problems.

Unfortunately, the way we manage our security in Nigeria does not take into consideration the root causes; and so long as you are not dealing with the root causes, you will continue to have the problems because what the military does is to deal with two branches of the tree.

You deal with the top of the tree, but the root causes are political, he said.

Albert urged governments at all levels to work together towards addressing the challenges by adopting all-of-government, all-of-society and all-of-nations approach.

He also advocated that youths be empowered with the requisite training to be able to take up leadership roles, saying there could not be a peaceful state where people have no hope of tomorrow.

The Director-General, Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, said the summit was organised to discuss, understand and diagnose the problem of insecurity in Nigeria.

Wahab said the issues of insecurity required that all hands must be on deck to find lasting solution, adding that the military and the security agencies alone could not address the myriad of security challenges confronting the country.

He urged participants to brainstorm and make useful recommendations that could stand the test of time, adding that the country had enormous human and material resources needed to confront the issues. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
.

Source: NAN News