Nigerias Senate under Ahmed Lawan

By Naomi Sharang

As debate on the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.08 trillion entered the second day, senators have called for infrastructure development in the country to make life easy for citizens.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill on Wednesday during plenary, Senate Leader Yahaya Abdullahi announced continuation of the budget consideration by the lawmakers.

Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege recalled his contribution during the 2020 budget debate said, for us to be able to achieve this 1.86 million barrels per day, certain things must be in place.

We must have peace and maintain peace in the Niger Delta region before we can achieve this.

Mr President, when I say this it begins to sound as a broken record.

Every day we hardly sleep, we are very worried because these are the people that lay the golden egg that take care of this economy but they are jobless, there is nothing for these youth to do.

That is why we maintain that the youth in these communities are engaged and the only way they can be engaged is for these oil companies which explore oil in these communities in the Niger Delta help in creating jobs.

The thing they should do is to have their headquarters of their businesses located in the region.

The infrastructure that we have in the region is in serious state of decay, major road connecting Delta and Edo is being cut in half and journeys that take about 30 minutes from Warri to Benin now take hours.

Omo-Agege said that it was bad enough that the economy was in its present state but there was need to maintain the available infrastructure so that those in the Niger Delta would cease to agitate.

He added, it is clear that the only two sources identified in this budget are the revenue from oil for the most part, and borrowing, both local and foreign.

But Mr President, we also have other sources or potential sources that are not being looked at.

We keep talking about leakages; why even go into leakages when we can go directly into solid minerals sector.

This is an area we must develop because there is revenue there that will take the burden from international borrowing, he said.

Similarly, Sen. Bima Enagi (APC-Niger) commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the total expenditure of about N13.08 trillion for 2021.

He said the estimate is about 21 per cent above the 2020 budget in spite of the contractions in the second quarter and the possibility of the economy going into recession.

I consider the budget conservative and achievable.

To have made the budget conservative in nature, the President and his team have shown a very good understanding of our people and country.

The Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is estimated to rise from N5.84 trillion to N8.43 trillion which represents about 44 per cent increase from that of last year.

One could say that this is ambitious but it is achievable if the revenue generating agencies like NNPC, Nigeria Custom Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) transmit as expected of them.

He, however, said that as laudable as the appropriation was, there were areas of concern considering the worsening insecurity,.

One expects the country to spend more on security so as to confront the evil challenge that is facing the country.

Our annual allocation to agriculture has remained below three per cent negating our commitment to the Malabo Declaration of not lower than 10 per cent of the annual budget.

While making a case for Nigerian roads, Enagi appealed to the Federal Government to tackle the countrys deplorable roads headlong.

We really need to declare an emergency in the road sector. All is not well and Nigerians are suffering.

Im seriously worried about Nigerian roads, Im seriously worried about Baro Port in Niger as commissioned by Mr President in January last year. But up till now, the port is not functional.

The Nigerian roads must be improved upon; the Baro Port must be made functional. In the whole northern Nigeria, there is no any inland water port, he said

Also, Sen. Adamu Aliero (APC-Kebbi) reiterated that there was no way the over 600 roads across the country could be funded by budgetary provisions alone.

I propose that the National Assembly should come up with a workable solution on how to fund infrastructure in the country.

For that reason, I recommend Public-Private Partnership to fund road infrastructure, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

An equipment for cancer treatment

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fayemi made the donation to the diagnostic centre on the premises of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) in Ado-Ekiti, to mark this years cancer awareness week.

The governors wife said that the gestures were aimed at encouraging women in the state to visit the centre for regular check-up.

She listed the items donated to include, 100 KVA generating set, television set and projectors and other digital accessories.

Fayemi said that stakeholders must be united in efforts to sensitise women on the risk of cancer, especially in the rural areas.

The center here needs a lot of equipment and we have been able to mobilise resources from the SDGs office, from the network I belong to with other first ladies and from well spirited individuals.

The early diagnosis is everything when it comes to cancer and I am calling on our women to come forward to have the checks and I am encouraging men to push their wives to come for regular checks, Fayemi said.

Source: NAN News

One of the cars destroyed by thugs in Abuja during EndSARS protest

By Salisu Sani-Idris

Five cars were vandalised in Abuja on Wednesday when rival youth groups clashed over the EndSARS protests.

The Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Mr Bala Ciroma, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, said that the incident caused a traffic gridlock around the area.

There were exchanges between groups opposed to the protests and others supporting the protests at Julius Berger round-about in the early hours of Wednesday.

The timely intervention of the Police prevented the situation from escalating to something more dangerous.

We have commenced investigation to determine what happened at the Berger junction. About five vehicles were vandalised. No arrest has so far been made but investigation is ongoing. There is no casualty recorded, he said.

He explained that the command had deployed its personnel across the territory, especially at strategic points, to curb other security breaches.

We have deployed a good number of personnel to flash points to prevent any security breach, he said.

He urged the protesters to allow peace to reign so that economic activities could pick up in the Federal Capital Territory. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Nigerian Air Force attacks bandits camp

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Defence Headquarters says the Air Component of Operation HADARIN DAJI has taken out another bandits camp, killing scores at a location near Ungwar Ali-Kere in Katsina State.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, stated this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

Enenche said the airstrike was executed on Tuesday on the heels of credible intelligence reports and confirmatory surveillance missions which revealed that bandits had established a camp at the location.

He said that an appropriate force package of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets and helicopter gunships were dispatched to engage the location.

According to him, the fighter jets engaged the location in successive passes, destroying portions of the camp and neutralised some of the bandits.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria, in furtherance of the objective of restoring peace and security in the North West of the Country, will sustain the offensive against all enemies of our nation, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Ajaokuta steel company

By Francisca Oluyole

Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development says a 60- man team from Russia will soon arrive Nigeria to start Technical Audit of Ajaokuta steel.

Adegbite disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said that Russian government had nominated TYAZHPROMEXPORT (TPE), a Russian company, the original builder of Ajaokuta steel to conduct technical audit of the steel company to ascertain the level of work to be completed.

The original builder of Ajaokuta steel TPE are coming with the 60-man team to Nigeria to commence audit report of the company.

I am in contact with them, we are making arrangement for their coming in line with COVID-19 protocol established in Nigeria.

They will go through Nigerian protocol on COVID-19 when they arrive, he said.

NAN recalls that the accord to revive Ajaokuta steel company was reached during a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and President Vladimir Putin in Russia in 2019.

The foundation laying of Ajaokuta steel company was conducted in 1980 by late President Shehu Shagari and within four years, the company recorded 84 per cent completion.

The steel company that is located on 24,000 hectares of sprawling green field landmass is built on 800 hectares of land over three decades ago.

Ajaokuta steel reached 98 per cent completion as far back 1994 and has not produced a single iron till date.

On improving the sector, the minister said that the ministry had commenced the process of reviewing the mining law.

The law that controls mining is 2007 but we are at the process of reviewing it.

He said that some physical incentives for attracting miners to invest in Nigeria include import duty waiver for all mining equipment.

Others are tax holiday for foreign miners, three years with a possible extension to five years and low royalty from three to five per cent compare to some countries that charge 20 per cent royalty and among others.

These are parts of incentive put in place to attract foreign mining investors; these same incentives are also applicable to local miners, the minister said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano

By Muhammad Nur Tijani

Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the introduction of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, to fight crimes, protect lives and property in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammmed Adamu, announced the formation of SWAT to replace the Nigeria Police Force Special Anti Robbery Squad (FSARS).

FSARS was disbanded on Oct. 11, sequel to public outcry and widespread protest by Nigerians over its operations.

Adamu announced SWAT as a replacement squad in accordance with Section 18 (10) of the Police Act 2020.

Ganduje lauded the president and the IGP, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Abba Anwar, on Wednesday in Kano.

The statement said the governor commended the action while addressing a coalition of youth groups on a solidarity rally at the Government House, Kano.

The governor also commended the youth for cooperating with security agencies to enhance the safety and security of the state.

We noticed that there are protests in some sections of the country while in Kano, the youth decided to take a good stand by not condemning the police as an institution, rather condemned the few bad eggs among them.

Without the police, can we move freely in the country?

We are only calling for the fishing out of the bad eggs among the institution; no more, no less.

SWAT formation is a good step in the right direction and reforming the police institution is what our youth are agitating for.

We commend you for the maintainance of law and order in the state, Ganduje was quoted as saying in the statement.

The statement also quoted, Mr Khalid Sanusi, the National Coordinator, Coalition of Youth Groups, as saying that the events in the past days had brought a policy twist in the nations security system.

Sanusi commended President Buhari and the IGP for the prompt response, as well as the gallant efforts of the youth, to voice genuine concerns for a better policing orientation in the country.

He said the rally was to show their support of the planned reform of the police, adding that practical steps were necessary to successfully reform the police.

This, he said could be achieved through adequate funding and provision of equipment to enable the police operate in accordance with international standards.

He said: We believe FSARS, which had helped to reduce criminal activities in the country, created as a unit in the police force with noble anti-robbery intentions.

We hope that the police authorities, as promised by the IGP, will re-evaluate, restructure, rebrand and rebuild confidence in an efficient and effective anti-bribery tactical unit in the force. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Personnel of NSCDC

By Aminu Garko

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Niger, has arrested four suspects for allegedly buying 400 mattresses meant for distribution to Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

The Commandant of the corps, Haruna Zurmi, disclosed this while parading the suspects before newsmen in Minna on Wednesday.

Zurmi said the command had received intelligence report on Sunday that some mattresses, suspected to be palliatives from the state government, had been diverted.

We swung into action immediately by trailing the movement of the trucks, thereby identifying the buyers and their locations, he said.

He said that the command, through monitoring and intelligence, was able to recover 400 mattresses and arrested four suspected dealers at different locations in Minna, the state capital.

The commandantexplained that the suspects had already admitted that they bought the items from some government officials.

Zurmi said that the suspects and their collaborators would be arraigned before the court after full investigation. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

World Bank

By Folasade Akpan

Mr David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, has commended the Federal Government for removing subsidies on petroleum products.

He said this in Washington D. C. on Wednesday at the opening press conference for the World Bank at the ongoing 2020 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank virtual annual meetings.

Malpass was responding to a question on whether the World Bank saw an opportunity or problem regarding the enormous youth population in Nigeria accompanied with rising unemployment and the burden of COVID-19.

I compliment Nigeria for tackling the problem of subsidies in the hydrocarbon area.

By reducing those subsidies and allowing gasoline prices to rise it is very hard for governments to do that there are substantial benefits.

It means that there are fiscal savings, it also means that there are environmental benefits that are large and it allows markets to work better and to allocate resources better.

So, I think progress is being made in that area and it is valuable, he added.

On tackling the economic crisis the pandemic posed for Nigeria, he said that the vital steps were to strengthen the health and the education system.

According to him, the governance system and transparency were vital in order to reduce the corruption within the system.

He said that there were opportunities as well.

I think each country has to confront or has to think about where it wants to be in a post-COVID world that is going to be very different from the pre-COVID world.

That means a different way of people interacting, hopefully better; a greener way of operating; and an emphasis on health care.

We have extended the emergency health response to include vaccines and distribution of vaccines for COVID, but it also has the benefit of helping the vaccination programes in other areas and the healthcare outreach in other areas that will be so valuable.

He, however, said that the first priority was to save lives, peoples health and safety.

He said that would involve procedures like social distancing and masks and proper health care if people contract the virus as well as strengthening of hospital systems.

Malpass said that looking at the next stage, it would be a prolonged downturn for many countries, as there would not be as fast a rebound in tourism, for example, as many would like to have.

He said that there would need to be flexibility in economies, so that people could move to new jobs and positions and the country could be prepared for a post COVID global economy.

We know it is going to be different from the pre-COVID economy. We do not know exactly how and that will only evolve over time.

So, having countries preserve some of their core industries and businesses, and then keeping families together.

We are providing social safety nets to try to help provide cash grants for people, he said.

In addition to the steps to strengthen the process and create a resilient recovery was climate and lower carbon rebuilding efforts, which, he said, was very important.

Also, on what could be done in therecovery period to strengthen and improve global trade as it related to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said avery beneficial step was trade facilitation.

According to the president, that means trying to keep markets open across borders and where markets are closed and lowering the barriers that occur.

So, for example, between Benin and Nigeria, there are high tariff barriers on rice, which is distortive and expensive, so finding steps that can be done to facilitate cross border trade and to allow commerce to take place.

That, according to him, means a safe environment, one that is available to all people, that is not discriminatory in terms of the way it operates.

I think looking more broadly, it is the commitment by countries around the world, a recognition that commerce is critical to peoples rising living standards.

We strongly support moves worldwide to allow more trade and to reduce the barriers to trade, Malpass said.

The 2020 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group holding in Washington D. C. began on Oct. 12 and will end on Dec. 16.

Source: NAN News

By Vivian Emoni

Prof. Aliyu Jauro, Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), on Wednesday said that E-waste business would create job opportunities and promote development in the country.

Jauro said this while delivering a speech to commemorate International Day for E-waste, organised by the agency in collaboration with E- waste Producer Responsibility Organisation Nigeria (EPRON) on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said that the effort would create job opportunities, improve development, as well as reduce poverty in the country.

According to Jauro, the substances contained in the electronic devices can also have a negative impact on the environment.

Although some chemicals present in electronic components are hazardous, many have economic value.

This makes e-waste a tradable commodity and a source for job creation and poverty reduction in the country.

E-waste poses a serious hazard to human health and the environment when dumped in landfills or improperly recycled, he said.

Jauro said that the agency was planning to sensitise Nigerians on possible ways in collecting E-waste, by educating people on the need for them to imbibe the best method of collection of the waste.

The director general said that the agency has commenced the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme.

He said that the EPR was a framework of action for a collaborative and partnership approach between government, business and the larger society towards achieving a zero waste society in the near future.

Jauro said that the objective of the EPR programme is to ensure a decrease in the total environmental impact from a product including its packaging.

He said that the programme will be implemented by making the producers of the product responsible for the entire life cycle of the product, in particular, the take-back, recycling and final disposal of the product and its packaging.

The primary responsibility of EPR lies with the producer, who makes designs and marketing decisions, Jauro said.

He said that the agency was also planning to launch the Emission Control Progrmme, adding that the programme was aimed at cleansing and sanitizing the environment.

The event also featured school debate, by six schools from various states, namely, Aliyu Academy, Bauchi, Bankys Private Schools, Abuja, Brilliant International School, Dutse, Jigawa State.

Regan Memorial Baptist Girls School, Yaba, Lagos, Oakspring Hill Schools, Portharcourt, Rivers and Salvation International Schools, Lagos were also involved.

Meanwhile, winner of the debate was Regan Memorial Baptist Girls School, Yaba, Lagos, while Oakspring Hill Schools, Portharcourt, Rivers came second.

Jauro said that the purpose of the agency involving the students to mark the international E-waste Day is to educate the children on the importance of E-waste and how they can handle it at their various schools and homes.

E-waste Producer Responsibility Organisation Nigeria (EPRON) is a non profit organisation set up by electrical and electronic producers in Nigeria.

It is the first Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) for electronic waste in Nigeria.

Source: NAN News

5G

NCC moves to formulate policies on 5G

Policies

By Funmilola Gboteku

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) says it is working vigorously with multi-sector stakeholders to formulate policies for the 5th generation (5G) mobile network.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umaru Danbatta, made this known on Wednesday during a virtual innovative tech forum organised by Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA).

The theme of the event was Multi-Stakeholders Approach to National Recovery Post-Pandemic.

Dambatta said that the stakeholders included the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

He said other bodies working with the Commission to establish the 5G policy were Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Academia, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), among others.

Our goal is that when the Federal Government is able to establish a policy that will drive 5G, all the benefits of 5G will be properly harnessed by Nigerians.

The Commission is also working to ensure the safety of 5G networks in Nigeria by having multi-stakeholder approach in environmental impact analysis on the use of 5G and the Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) impact on humans in Nigeria.

Once this is done, Nigerians can safely utilize 5G and reap all the economic, human and material benefits of 5G, he said.

Danbatta said that the economic benefits of 5G to Nigeria post coronavirus pandemic would be huge, especially as almost all businesses and activities of government are migrating and offering their services online.

He noted that 5G would enable a new kind of network for Nigerians, adding that it is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects and devices.

Danbatta said it would usher in the era of Internet of Things and faster innovation in Artificial Intelligence applications.

Nigerias vibrant youth population stands to benefit immensely from the deployment of 5G as it will offer technopreneurs, technology enthusiasts, SMEs and Tech-startups the platform to expand and network with other global players on a scale that has never been witnessed before.

With high speeds, superior reliability and negligible latency, 5G will expand the mobile ecosystem into new realms.

5G promises to impact every industry, creating safer transporting systems, improving access to healthcare for our rural populace, increasing output from the agriculture sector, and digitized logistics among others,he said.

Danbatta said that according to a landmark economy study conducted by QUALCOMM, 5G would affect the global economy and drive growth exponentially.

He noted that its full economic effect would likely be realised across the globe by 2035, adding that it would be supporting a wide range of industries and potentially enabling up to 13.2 trillion dollars worth of goods and services.

We are all aware of the controversies surrounding COVID-19 and 5G technology. It is normal for the emergence of new technologies to be followed by such disagreements and the debate is mostly useful.

We at the Commission, however, are inevitably committed to examining the pros and cons.

The socio-economic benefits of the expansion in telecommunications capabilities embarked upon by the Commission would be of immense benefit to the country, especially with the roll out of the 5G technology, which currently is being test run in about 40 countries, Danbatta said.

He noted that rollout would be a significant upgrade for networks and also a backbone for the ICT industry post-pandemic recovery.

Danbatta said according to the ITU, 5G technology was expected to connect people, things, data, applications, transport systems and cities in smart networked communicons environments.

Source: NAN News