Subsidy: FG to disburse grants to SMEs.

Subsidy: FG to disburse grants to SMEs.

The Federal Government says it will soon commence disbursement of funds under its Presidential Palliative Programme, targeted at alleviating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.

A statement on Sunday by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, said the programmes consisted of the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme and the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme.

It stated, “In the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme, the Federal Government will disburse a grant sum of N50,000 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas.

“The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria will collaborate with state and local governments, federal legislators, federal ministers, banks and other stakeholders.

“Eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their local government area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number for verification of identity.”

For the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme, it said, the Federal Government would disburse N75bn to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors, and N75bn specifically to manufacturers.

The loan would be administered to the beneficiaries at a single-digit interest rate of nine per annum.

‘While MSMEs can access loan facilities up to N1m with a repayment period of three years, manufacturers can access up to N1bn to access financing for working capital with a repayment period of one year for working capital or five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment,” it stated.

Interior minister, NIS CG order probe into ‘passport racketeering’ in Southeast.

Interior minister, NIS CG order probe into ‘passport racketeering’ in Southeast.

The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Comptroller General of Immigration (CGI), Mrs. Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, have ordered investigation into alleged racketeering of international passports by personnel of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) commands in Abia, Enugu, Imo and other states in the Southeast.

The minister and the NIS boss said while efforts were being made to track perpetrators of the illegal act, the Federal Government would activate appropriate disciplinary measures to ensure those involved were severely sanctioned.

NIS National Service Public Relations Officer Adedotun Aridegbe, who stated this at the weekend, said the agency was doing its best to ensure that Nigerians go through the technologically powered windows to acquire their travel documents without hassles or extortion by the personnel assigned to drive the process.

The NIS spokesman said the standard operating procedures for registration, payment, and processing of international passport as well as timelines for issuance had been laid out to intending holders at online windows disseminated to the public.

To avoid playing into the antics of third party agents or personnel involved in sharp practices, the spokesman said Mrs. Adepoju had urged Nigerians to apply for their international passports six months before the date of expiration.

Offering clarification on the development at the weekend in Lagos, Mrs. Adepoju said: ”I can tell you, barring all technical problems, you should be able to completely apply for your passport, and within three weeks, you should be able to get it.”

The NIS boss said it was important for every applicant to register with the same records they had with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as their national identity numbers would be linked to their passports.

Some reports had said Passport Control Officers of the NIS in some Southeastern states were accused of charging extra fees, in addition to the official fees, for obtaining international passports.

The reports indicated that hundreds of applicants for passports were made to either pay more or get delayed for several months before they would get their passports, if they chose to follow the normal process of applying online.

In Abia State, for instance, applicants alleged that after applying for the passport, they were pressured to pay N13,000 before an applicant was allowed to go for data capturing.

It was learnt that after the capturing, an applicant would be told to pay additional N20,000, if he wanted his passport to be processed faster, thus making it N33,000, besides the official payment of N25,000, including bank charges of N2,000, totaling N60,000 for the five-year passport.

In Owerri, the Imo State capital, it was gathered that applicants were made to pay about N70,000 for a five-year passport, of 32 pages, while about N150,000 was charged for the 64-page 10 years passport.

In Enugu, it was learnt that applicants were made to pay more than the official cost for the passport of N60,000; sometimes less.

But in Ebonyi, the officials allegedly requested for up to N115,000 for a 10-year passport and N55,000 to N60,000 for a five-year passport and up to N150,000 for “express service”.

Commonwealth, Fed Govt open talks on deep sea mining.

Commonwealth, Fed Govt open talks on deep sea mining.

The Commonwealth Secretariat has begun talks with Nigeria on how the country can make gains from sea mining.

This was on top of the agenda during a presentation of the Commonwealth Secretariat with the Nigerian delegation, led by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, during the minister’s visit to the institution.

In his determination to mobilise international assistance to position the solid minerals sector to compete globally, Alake requested to discuss matters of mineral development with the Commonwealth.

Addressing the forum, the minister said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had identified the solid minerals sector as a pillar of Nigeria’s current efforts to diversify the economy.

The policy, he said, led the ministry to develop a Seven-Point Agenda that encompasses the establishment of a solid minerals company, gathering of big data on mineral reserves to de-risk investments, ensure improved security to keep the mines safe, and socio-economic development of mining communities through effective community development agreements.

Alake urged the Commonwealth, as an institution that has developed expertise over many years, to support the Tinubu administration’s efforts.

Nigeria is a member of the 54-member Commonwealth.

The Senior Director of Trade, Oceans and Natural Resources Department, Paul Kautoke, praised the delegation for its visit to the Commonwealth secretariat.

He said Nigeria, as a coastal country, could explore the profitable prospects of extraction of deep sea minerals, such as copper, cobalt, nickel, gold, and rare earth elements.

Kautoke noted that many Commonwealth countries in the Pacific region were making inroads into the seep sea mining subsector, promising that the body could assist to develop a policy for Nigeria.

Also, the Director of Natural Resources, Victor Kitange; the Trade and Investment Adviser, Opeyemi Abebe; the Economic Adviser on Trade, Ocean and Natural Resources, Daniel Wilder; and the Adviser of Ocean Governance, Allison Swaddling, spoke about the progress achieved in deep sea mining.

They expressed concerns that African countries were lagging behind in the sub-sector.

FG budget N200 billion for military operation, poverty reduction.

FG budget N200 billion for military operation, poverty reduction.

The federal government has budgeted about N200 billion for the various military operations across the country in the fight against terrorism and other forms of banditry and poverty reduction programme in the 2024 budget.

This is as the House of Representatives will on Monday hold a townhall meeting to give Nigerians opportunity to contribute to the debate on the budget as presented by President Bola Tinubu.

The government has also budgeted about N1 trillion for public service wage adjustment for Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, including arrears of promotion and salary increase as well as payment of severance benefits and minimum wage related adjustment

Also, the National Assembly and the National Judicial Council had a slight increase in their budget.

While the National Assembly is getting N197,932,625,616, an increase of about N40 billion, the National Judicial Council got N165 billion, an increase of about N40 billion also.

A spreadsheet of the ministerial allocation seen by The Nation revealed that the Ministry of Works got about N521 billion for its capital projects during the year, in addition to another N94 for billion coming from multilateral/bilateral funded projects.

A close study of the document revealed that Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps will get N50 billion and N15 billion respectively for special operations, while N50 billion has been budgeted for the Students Loan expected to take off in January 2024.

Zonal interventions otherwise known as constituency projects is allocated N100 billion in the budget, just as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is getting N324.844 billion while the Universal Basic Education Commission, the North East Development Commission and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will get N251.47 billion, N126.93 billion and N40 billion respectively.

Basic Health care provision fund is allocated N125.7 billion, while National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure will also get N127.73 billion.

The government is budgeting about N40 billion to pay debts incurred by MDAs on electricity bill.

However, as at the time of this report, there were still controversy as to whether the details of the budget containing projects and the allocation to the projects has been made available to lawmakers.

While some lawmakers claimed that the details were not available, former House Leader, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa was quoted as saying that the President gave the leadership a flash drive containing the detail breakdown of the budget.

When contacted, the spokesman of the House, Hon. Akin Rotimi told The Nation that “the details have been made available to the chairmen of committees, saying sectoral breakdown has been published.”

He said the townhall meeting being organsied by the House will be thorough, transparent and inclusive.

FG takes delivery of 2nd Niger bridge from Julius Berger.

FG takes delivery of 2nd Niger bridge from Julius Berger.

The federal government has taken delivery of the second Niger bridge from the contractor, Julius Berger, seven months after it was inaugurated by previous administration. 

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, while addressing reporters shortly after he was conducted round the road and the facilities by the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Dr Lars Richter, said that he was satisfied with the level of work done. 

Umahi, therefore, commended the previous and present administrations for doing quite a lot for bringing the work to fruition, saying that the job was very beautiful and well completed. 

He said: “We have light issue and we’ve put things together on how to permanently have light especially at night. 

“What we have agreed is to deploy solar solution in the coming weeks so that every night we don’t have to run diesel. 

“The roads are going to be completed when we have completed the two inter changes, one is taking us off from Asaba town to cut off the traffic and the other one is going to be done by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Ltd to avoid Onitsha town and take you straight to Obosi. 

“President Bola Tinubu is very committed to the project, we’re going to acquire more and so that we can built service stations, filling stations, restaurants and supper markets and other facilities as we see in western world. 

“We are determined to that, the need to do this with the inter changes is going to be a very smart one, so that over the years we can have a beautiful and maintained road”, he said. 

The minister further assured of security within the bridge by providing Closed-circuit (CCTV) cameras and some security personnel

Earlier, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Dr Lars Richter, said Sunday’s event was a technical handover after the project was inaugurated by the former administration. 

He said that work was successfully completed in time, adding that Julius Berger had delivered highest quality of work. 

Also speaking, the Director, Bridge Design and Construction, (South), Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Bede Obioha, tasked the residents around the second Niger bridge to help secure the already installed facilities.

Bede commended the staff of his ministry and the contractors for a job well done, while urging the road users and the residents to abide by the rules of the road.

No one is created without potentials, Oyebanji declares at International Day for PWDs event.

No one is created without potentials, Oyebanji declares at International Day for PWDs event.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has advocated better and improved living standard for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) noting that God has not created anyone to be useless or without potentials.

Governor Oyebanji, who stated this on Sunday at an event commemorating this year’s International Day for Persons With Disabilities held at Jibowu Hall, Government House, Ado Ekiti, assured persons with disabilities that his government would continue to make policies that would bring them at par with other citizens as regards fulfilling their God-given talents and potentials.  

He added that his administration would not relent in prioritizing their welfare.

The event which was attended by Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye; his deputy, Rt. Hon. Bolaji Olagbaju; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro; members of State Executive Council and House of Assembly has as theme: “united in action to rescue and achieve the SDG’s for, with and by persons with disabilities”, 

The Governor noted that the remarkable and landmark improvement in the lives of Children in the Government Special schools has shown that his administration had not made mistake by taking the affairs of persons with disabilities out of the Ministry of Education and creating the office of Special Education and Social Inclusion.

He highlighted some of the interventions in the special schools to include, several ongoing projects such as renovation of hostels and classrooms, adding that his administration has given approval for employment of 17 therapists and 91 permanent support staff which may include qualified people with disabilities and single mothers with children with disabilities. 

The Governor added that his government has also developed a new curriculum for pupils in the Special Class to address their special needs and prepare them for independent adulthood.

Governor Oyebanji called for renewed efforts to create a fully inclusive world where everyone must work together to break down barriers and build a just society that values every individual's unique perspectives and potentials.

 “When it gets to the issue of Persons with Disability (PWDs), I get a little emotional about it and as long as I remain the Governor of this State, we are in it together. Because, my Bible tells me, we are fearfully and wonderfully made and we are made in the image of God and God doesn’t make mistake, so in whatever form God has created us, its for a purpose and God will use me to achieve those purposes in your lives.

“I don’t agree that anybody is created useless but I agree that if you don’t have the right support, you don’t have the right access to opportunities, it may be challenging to fulfil your potentials, so, the duty of any government is to create opportunities for those of us that don’t have access to those opportunities so that we can fulfil those God-given potentials in all of us.

 “It is vital to support people with disabilities (PWDs) by creating employment opportunities for them. Advocacy for fair job advancement and placement of PWDs has been quite effective in this government. As a result, Mr Victor Olowokere was recently appointed to the admin cadre after successfully going through the rigorous process.

“To improve the inclusion of people with deafness in essential interaction within the office space, all civil servants are currently having sign language lessons online.

“Across the community, particularly in schools, we have several ongoing projects to improve the lives of children with disabilities. These projects include the renovation of hostels and classrooms, approval of 17 therapists and 91 permanent support staff for employment, including people with disabilities and single mothers with children with disabilities. We have also developed a new curriculum for pupils in the Special Class to address their needs and prepare them for independent adulthood.” The Governor added. 

Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Education and Social Inclusion, Mrs Adetoun Agboola expressed her appreciation to Governor Oyebanji for his consistent support for people with disabilities noting that the Governor’s support is a rare gesture. 

Mrs Agboola commended the unwavering commitment of the Governor towards promoting their welfare and advancing their rights through various initiatives and policies that his administration has put in place to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. 

She highlighted the various initiatives of the government towards this direction to include employment opportunities to education and training, as well as sensitisation and awareness campaigns.

The Special Adviser called on government to create a more inclusive society where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive as people with disabilities face numerous challenges in their daily lives, including discrimination, lack of access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities, stressing the need for a united effort to achieve an egalitarian society of equal opportunities.

There were goodwill messages from the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt Hon Adeoye Aribasoye; Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Peju Babafemi and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dayo Apata( SAN) among others. 

The event featured dance, quiz competition, choreography, panel discussions, and award presentation.  

During the Panelists session which featured persons with disabilities, parents and government officials, it was agreed that the three special schools at Ikere, Ido and Ikoro had witnessed tremendous increase in enrolment since the inception of Governor Oyebanji one year ago. 

The panelists opined that the perception of residents of the state about special schools has changed and many parents have been encouraged to register their children and wards in the schools.

Governor Oyebanji Affirms Commitment to PWDs at 2023 International Day Celebration.

Governor Oyebanji Affirms Commitment to PWDs at 2023 International Day Celebration.      By Comr Olamide Akinwumi J. 

 In a heartwarming display of commitment and inclusivity, Governor Biodun Oyebanji dedicated quality time today to connect with the inspiring community of People with Disabilities (PWDs). The gathering took place at Jibowu Hall, Government House, Ado Ekiti, marking an event commemorating the 2023 International Day for Persons With Disabilities.

The significant occasion drew the presence of esteemed government functionaries, creating a momentous atmosphere filled with choreography, cultural dance, and the uplifting recognition of individuals within the PWD community. Award presentations added a touch of celebration, honoring the resilience and contributions of those with disabilities.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji, in his address during the event, reiterated his administration's unwavering commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of Persons With Disabilities. This commitment aligns seamlessly with the human capital development agenda and social inclusion policy championed by the BAO Administration.

The Governor's participation in this commemorative event not only underscores the significance of the International Day for Persons With Disabilities but also emphasizes the need for a society that embraces and supports every individual, regardless of abilities or challenges.

As the echoes of cultural dances filled the air and the awards sparkled in recognition, Governor Biodun Oyebanji's administration stood out as a beacon of inclusivity, fostering an environment where everyone, including Persons With Disabilities, can thrive and contribute meaningfully to the progress of Ekiti State.

The 2023 International Day for Persons With Disabilities celebration served as a powerful testament to the Governor's dedication to creating a more inclusive and compassionate society, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of those present.