Some of the 36 new ministers assumed duties few hours after they were inaugurated on Wednesday by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The ministers were at their various ministries where they pledged to bring about ‘change’ promised by the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The new Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, assured the ministry’s officials who received him that he would reduce the $32 billion Nigeria spends in importing food yearly.
Mr. Ogbeh, who was accompanied by the Minister of State, Heineken Lokpobiri, said following the dwindling oil revenue, there is now pressure on the agricultural sector to earn foreign exchange to replace the resource.
He stated that there was an urgent need to intensify research and marketing for food.
“Oil and gas has served Nigeria well. We did not manage the resources well. We can’t blame oil and gas. Now the pressure is on agriculture. How we are going to make it work to ensure yield and harvest is a burden all of us will carry together,” he said.
“We are going to face very serious challenges. We have to earn foreign exchange to replace oil. The demand out there is very high if we can produce the right quantity and quality.
“We have to intensify research, marketing of food. We have to deal with reducing the import burden of food of almost $32bn a year. I don’t know how somebody can explain importing bananas to the country or Irish potatoes from South Africa or vegetables from South Africa into our shores.”
Mr. Ogbeh, a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, assured that during his tenure the problem of high rate of malnutrition in the country would be tackled.
He said that cancer, liver and kidney failure had increased by 25 per cent in the last 25 years due to food poisoning.
“What is even worse, which we will together deal with, is the nutrition problem. Cancer, liver and kidney failure have increased 25 per cent in the last 25 years. A lot of poisoning is getting into our food system simply from packaging,” he said.
In the Ministry of Transport, the new Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, who said he would fully assume duties on November 17, assured that he would complete all the rail projects began by the previous federal administration.
Mr. Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State, urged parastatals and agencies under the ministry and the aviation sector to cooperate with him to move the sector forward.
He said he would commence work by looking at the ministry’s budget and its level of implementation.
“Rail transport is the easiest thing to achieve if you get capable hands. We are going to work towards completing abandoned rail projects,” he said.
“They will help create employment and ease mass transportation of people. Our mandate is to deliver quality service to the people in accordance with the change agenda.”
On personal principles, Mr. Amaechi added, “If you come to me to gossip about anyone, be rest assured that l will tell the person concerned that this is what you said and you will be there to defend yourself, wrong or right.
“I am not as bad as they say. A lot of names have been given to me but I believe in principles. I don’t like protocols. When I say I hate corruption, I mean it. I don’t give bribe and I don’t take either. If you want to relate with me don’t give me money and don’t ask me for money.
“Just do your job creditably. Don’t see me on the road and run away. I am not as bad as they paint me. I don’t steal and l don’t befriend thieves and don’t put me in a position that l will not be able to call a thief, thief. Let us be friends because l am here to learn.”
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said whatever promise that had been made would be fulfilled and that the era of talking tough without acting had come to an end.
He assured that the new federal administration would deliver on its promises because it was aware of the high hope and expectation of Nigerians.
On his part, the new Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, said he would tackle unemployment effectively during his tenure.
“We will be at the forefront of the battle to stop the scourge of unemployment in the country,” Mr. Ngige, a former senator, said while addressing the workers of the ministry.
“We must, as a people, put on our thinking caps so that we can chart the way forward for employment generation.”
Mr. Ngige, a former senator, said although the new federal administration might not provide jobs for all unemployed people, it would provide the enabling environment for all the sectors to thrive.
According to him, efforts were already on to block all leakages so available resources could be committed to development.
He said, “We are the catalyst, the change agent of the change era; if we block leakages in our system, the country will be better for its resources will be made available for economic growth.”
The new Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who was accompanied by the minister of state, Mustapha Shehuri, said he would bring together processes and activities of all the three ministries under his supervision.
“We are here to work with you in solving problems on ground as quickly as possible,” he said.
“We want to know if some of those problems are man-made or systemic. We want information on what has been done, what remains to be done, and what are the future plans. We want to continue from there.”
The former governor of Lagos State assured that he would harness the available human resource assets in the ministry and the physical assets, ‘’as all these information will assist us as we hit the ground running. We need to do more so as to regain lost time.”
Mr. Fashola said he would ensure there is improved power supply across the federation.
Mr. Shehuri, on his part, asked for a detailed ministerial briefing document to serve as a guide, adding that it would ensure proper take-off of duties.
The Minister of Environment, Aisha Mohammed, said she would achieve the mandate given to the ministry by Mr. Buhari.
“As the minister of state has reiterated, there is a time frame and within that time frame we have to deliver the dividends of this administration to our people,” she said.
“The one commitment that we can make is that as we read through this brief that you’ve got here, it is about us building on the successes that we have in this ministry and ensuring that the teams that we have are working effectively with the skills that will take it to another level.
“It certainly can’t be business as usual because the President has said it and I hope that the Ministry of Environment will give the support to the Minister of State and myself to make real difference and to be a role model for what we mean by that in the country.
“The country has environmental issues everywhere. There is no part of this country that is devoid of the challenges that we have and what we need to do is to find the resources, those that are within the country and the other two tiers of government, the resources that are outside the borders of Nigeria to make sure that we make a considerable impact with what we have.’’
The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jubril, appealed to the workers to cooperate with him and the minister.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu, said the outstanding subsidy payments to oil marketers approved by Mr. Buhari would be paid immediately the government gets the approval of the National Assembly.
He assured of constant fuel supply across the country.
Mr. Kachikwu, who said he would continue in office as Group Managing Director of NNPC, added, “One thing is certain, whatever time I spend here, it is going to be spent with a lot of respect for the dignity of people. I am a very respectful person and I give as much as I expect to have.”
He said he would soon engage the executives of the various parastatals with a view to finding out if they have the capacity and ability to deliver the change mantra.
On the pending Petroleum Industry Bill, the minister said: “Government believes in the bill still. Government wants to see the PIB come through. However, government has indicated that there is a need to look at the PIB as was submitted to the sixth assembly and try and tinker with it.
“There are all kinds of issues. One of them is whether we need to yank out the fiscal terms and develop them into a different law, rely on existing laws, amend them or whether we do that as a separate component of law.”
“We will be at the forefront of the battle to stop the scourge of unemployment in the country. We must as a people put on our thinking caps so that we can chart the way forward for employment generation.”
On her part, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adesosun, at a meeting with senior officials of her ministry, said the federal government had a clear direction towards returning the nation to the path of growth.
She however said that would depend on the management and staff of the ministry.
Okechukwu Enelamah, the minister of industry, trade and investment, who was accompanied by the minister of state, Aisha Abubakar, to the ministry, pledged to start work immediately.
Mr. Enelamah revealed his excitement over his new assignment and asked for the cooperation and support of the officials of the ministry.
The new minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi, also assumed duties at the ministry’s headquarters, in Abuja shortly after the inaugural meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday.
Mr. Fayemi who was received by top officials of the ministry, held a meeting with them.
In attendance at the meeting were the Minister of State for Solid Minerals, Abubakar Bwari, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, and some directors.
Mr. Fayemi told the officials of government’s plan to re-position the ministry as a major contributor to the economic growth of the country, adding that no stone would be left unturned in the bid to achieve the set goals.
Premium Times
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Video - Nigerians turning waste to wealth
As Africa's most populated country, Nigeria produces huge volumes of waste each year, yet the country doesn't have an organised waste management system. There is however a group of savvy entrepreneurs who are managing to turn this waste into wealth.
Related story: Video - Recycling incetive introduced in Lagos, Nigeria
Nigerian political party PDP apologizes for past mistakes
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party has apologised to Nigerians for some of the mistakes the party made while it was in power between 1999 and 2015.
The party’s apologies were conveyed by the Chairman of the planning committee of the PDP National Conference, Raymond Dokpesi while addressing the media Tuesday in Abuja.
“We are aware of the errors of the past 16 years, as human beings, we must have made mistakes and we could not meet the expectations of Nigerians, for that we tender an unreserved apology,” Mr. Dokpesi said.
“Make no mistake, the PDP is aware that there were errors made along the way.
“We admit that at certain times in our past, mistakes have been made, we did not meet the expectations of Nigerians,” he said.
Mr. Dokpesi, who also announced that the party’s national conference would hold at the Thisday Dome in Abuja on Thursday said the PDP had learnt from its mistakes and that the conference was planned to find ways of reviewing issues fundamental to the promotion and sustenance of good governance and democratic ideals in Nigeria.
Mr. Dokpesi identified some of the mistakes made by the PDP to included a deviation from the vision and principles of the founding fathers of the party.
He also said the party’s decision to abandon its zoning formula greatly led to its predicament.
“The first fundamental mistake was made in 2010-2011 by not allowing the North to complete its tenure,” he said.
He also said the decision to block other party members interested in running for the presidency against former President Goodluck Jonathan and the abandonment of internal democracy as well as the inability to ensure that the party was supreme in all matters contributed to the problems of the PDP.
Mr. Dokpesi said the national conference would show Nigerians that the leadership of the PDP “mean business” and “are determined to turn things around”.
He said as a fallout of the matters arising from the last general elections, it had become necessary to bring together the different stakeholders of the PDP in a National Conference that would critically review the current state of affairs in the party and suggest modalities that would allow the party return to power at all levels of governance across the country.
HANDING OVER TO THE YOUTH
Mr. Dokpesi said the PDP would reinvent itself by transforming into a youth-oriented party.
In that regard, he said over 50 per cent of delegates for Thursday’s national conference were youth selected from the 774 local governments across Nigeria.
“We have decided that 774 youth below the age of 35, who must have a university degree or equivalent, are delegates to the conference,” he said.
He added that another batch of 774 female members who must also fall within the youth age bracket were also invited.
He said the National Working Committee of the party was determined to return the PDP to the ordinary members ahead the next national convention of the party, billed for March 2016.
“The young generation would be the centre of focus for the new PDP,” he said.
Premium Times
The party’s apologies were conveyed by the Chairman of the planning committee of the PDP National Conference, Raymond Dokpesi while addressing the media Tuesday in Abuja.
“We are aware of the errors of the past 16 years, as human beings, we must have made mistakes and we could not meet the expectations of Nigerians, for that we tender an unreserved apology,” Mr. Dokpesi said.
“Make no mistake, the PDP is aware that there were errors made along the way.
“We admit that at certain times in our past, mistakes have been made, we did not meet the expectations of Nigerians,” he said.
Mr. Dokpesi, who also announced that the party’s national conference would hold at the Thisday Dome in Abuja on Thursday said the PDP had learnt from its mistakes and that the conference was planned to find ways of reviewing issues fundamental to the promotion and sustenance of good governance and democratic ideals in Nigeria.
Mr. Dokpesi identified some of the mistakes made by the PDP to included a deviation from the vision and principles of the founding fathers of the party.
He also said the party’s decision to abandon its zoning formula greatly led to its predicament.
“The first fundamental mistake was made in 2010-2011 by not allowing the North to complete its tenure,” he said.
He also said the decision to block other party members interested in running for the presidency against former President Goodluck Jonathan and the abandonment of internal democracy as well as the inability to ensure that the party was supreme in all matters contributed to the problems of the PDP.
Mr. Dokpesi said the national conference would show Nigerians that the leadership of the PDP “mean business” and “are determined to turn things around”.
He said as a fallout of the matters arising from the last general elections, it had become necessary to bring together the different stakeholders of the PDP in a National Conference that would critically review the current state of affairs in the party and suggest modalities that would allow the party return to power at all levels of governance across the country.
HANDING OVER TO THE YOUTH
Mr. Dokpesi said the PDP would reinvent itself by transforming into a youth-oriented party.
In that regard, he said over 50 per cent of delegates for Thursday’s national conference were youth selected from the 774 local governments across Nigeria.
“We have decided that 774 youth below the age of 35, who must have a university degree or equivalent, are delegates to the conference,” he said.
He added that another batch of 774 female members who must also fall within the youth age bracket were also invited.
He said the National Working Committee of the party was determined to return the PDP to the ordinary members ahead the next national convention of the party, billed for March 2016.
“The young generation would be the centre of focus for the new PDP,” he said.
Premium Times
Nigeria rejects report stating it has world's worst airport
Unhelpful staff, demands for bribes, lack of seating, broken air-conditioning and a tent for an arrivals hall. Nigeria's Port Harcourt International Airport was recently voted the worst in the world.
The damning verdict came from a travel website, sleepinginairports.net, based on feedback from thousands of travellers on criteria such as terminal services and facilities, cleanliness and comfort.
As well as the dubious global honour, Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub, was described as "the dirtiest and most corrupt airport in Africa".
The capital, Abuja, and financial hub, Lagos, were judged seventh and 10th worst on the continent.
But the country's aviation regulator, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), disputed the ranking.
FAAN spokesman Yakubu Dati called it "unfounded" as the domestic terminal at Port Harcourt was undergoing renovation and a new international terminal was being built.
Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport has also undergone similar renovation, while Chinese engineers are building a new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja.
"While we regret any inconvenience experienced at these airports, including Port Harcourt International Airport, due to ongoing construction projects, we promise all airport users that services at these airports will surely get better at the completion of these projects," he told AFP.
Nigeria's aviation industry has evolved since the liquidation of the state-run Nigeria Airways in the early 2000s because of mismanagement and corruption.
With more than 20 functional planes in 1979, the national carrier was left with just two in 1999, prompting the government to throw open the skies to the private sector.
Carriers such as Arik Air, Dana Air, Aero Contractors, Med-View, Kabo and Overland Airways have since emerged as key players.
Arik, which has a partnership for maintenance with Lufthansa, is dominant with a strong presence on domestic and regional routes, as well as longer-haul flights to London, and Johannesburg.
Med-View recently got the nod to fly Lagos-London from November 20.
- Safety fears -
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Gulf carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways and African airlines South African and Ethiopian are among international carriers flying to Nigeria.
On domestic routes, fuel shortages regularly lead to flight cancellations while air crashes, such as a Dana Air flight that came down in Lagos in 2012, killing 147, have generated safety fears.
In airports themselves, decaying or non-existent facilities have failed to make good impressions.
In 2012, the government awarded contracts to remodel Nigeria's 22 airports, including the construction of new terminals at four international airports, with the help of a $500 million loan from China's Nexim Bank.
On completion, the projects are expected to help grow passenger traffic to 16 million passengers per year, from 14.1 million in 2012.
Aviation experts, however, say the extent of works do not correspond to the money spent.
"The remodelling of the airports has been on for four years, but regrettably, not much is on ground in terms of modern facilities," said a former senior official of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency on condition of anonymity.
The chairman of commercial carrier Arik, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, shared a similar view and called on the government to focus on infrastructure, from terminals to luggage conveyor belts.
"With this and good fuel supply the airlines can operate efficiently," he said.
Niyi Akinnaso, a US-based university teacher and newspaper columnist, said familiar Nigerian problems of mismanagement and corruption were holding the sector back.
The $500 million Chinese loan would not have been necessary if there were proper accountability in revenue collection, he argued in a recent article in The Punch newspaper.
He said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria rakes in more than $2 billion a year from passenger surcharges and other fees, including a $60 surcharge from every international ticket.
Yahoo
Related story: Port Harcourt International airport in Nigeria voted world's worst airport
The damning verdict came from a travel website, sleepinginairports.net, based on feedback from thousands of travellers on criteria such as terminal services and facilities, cleanliness and comfort.
As well as the dubious global honour, Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub, was described as "the dirtiest and most corrupt airport in Africa".
The capital, Abuja, and financial hub, Lagos, were judged seventh and 10th worst on the continent.
But the country's aviation regulator, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), disputed the ranking.
FAAN spokesman Yakubu Dati called it "unfounded" as the domestic terminal at Port Harcourt was undergoing renovation and a new international terminal was being built.
Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport has also undergone similar renovation, while Chinese engineers are building a new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja.
"While we regret any inconvenience experienced at these airports, including Port Harcourt International Airport, due to ongoing construction projects, we promise all airport users that services at these airports will surely get better at the completion of these projects," he told AFP.
Nigeria's aviation industry has evolved since the liquidation of the state-run Nigeria Airways in the early 2000s because of mismanagement and corruption.
With more than 20 functional planes in 1979, the national carrier was left with just two in 1999, prompting the government to throw open the skies to the private sector.
Carriers such as Arik Air, Dana Air, Aero Contractors, Med-View, Kabo and Overland Airways have since emerged as key players.
Arik, which has a partnership for maintenance with Lufthansa, is dominant with a strong presence on domestic and regional routes, as well as longer-haul flights to London, and Johannesburg.
Med-View recently got the nod to fly Lagos-London from November 20.
- Safety fears -
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Gulf carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways and African airlines South African and Ethiopian are among international carriers flying to Nigeria.
On domestic routes, fuel shortages regularly lead to flight cancellations while air crashes, such as a Dana Air flight that came down in Lagos in 2012, killing 147, have generated safety fears.
In airports themselves, decaying or non-existent facilities have failed to make good impressions.
In 2012, the government awarded contracts to remodel Nigeria's 22 airports, including the construction of new terminals at four international airports, with the help of a $500 million loan from China's Nexim Bank.
On completion, the projects are expected to help grow passenger traffic to 16 million passengers per year, from 14.1 million in 2012.
Aviation experts, however, say the extent of works do not correspond to the money spent.
"The remodelling of the airports has been on for four years, but regrettably, not much is on ground in terms of modern facilities," said a former senior official of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency on condition of anonymity.
The chairman of commercial carrier Arik, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, shared a similar view and called on the government to focus on infrastructure, from terminals to luggage conveyor belts.
"With this and good fuel supply the airlines can operate efficiently," he said.
Niyi Akinnaso, a US-based university teacher and newspaper columnist, said familiar Nigerian problems of mismanagement and corruption were holding the sector back.
The $500 million Chinese loan would not have been necessary if there were proper accountability in revenue collection, he argued in a recent article in The Punch newspaper.
He said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria rakes in more than $2 billion a year from passenger surcharges and other fees, including a $60 surcharge from every international ticket.
Yahoo
Related story: Port Harcourt International airport in Nigeria voted world's worst airport
President Muhammadu Buhari swears in new cabinet members
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari swore 36 ministers into his cabinet on Wednesday, nearly six months after he was sworn in.
Until now, although the senate had approved all 36 nominees, no one knew which portfolio each of the ministers would be assigned.
Buhari won March elections after vowing to crack down on corruption in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer. He has been criticized for waiting until September to name his ministers at a time when the economy has been hammered by the fall in oil prices.
Buhari's cabinet is smaller than that of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who had 42 ministers. Under the constitution, the president must include a member from each of the country's 36 states.
Lengthy process
Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, told VOA last month the selection process had taken this long because President Buhari, unlike previous presidents, has high expectations of his cabinet.
Professor Kabiru Mato, director of the political science department of the University Abuja, said Nigerians are anxious to know who will occupy some of the key cabinet posts, including the finance and foreign ministries, and especially whether Buhari will make good on his plan to take over the oil ministry, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of all Nigerian government revenue but which had been plagued in the past by corruption.
“After the swearing-in, the president will now allocate responsibilities or assign each of these 36 ministers to the various ministries and departments of government that they are supposed to serve. And after the portfolios are assigned, then the president said he’s going to have his first federal executive council meeting,” he said.
Mato said Nigerians do not know which ministers are going to occupy which departments because Buhari did not submit the nominees with their assigned portfolios at their senate confirmation hearing.
As a result, Mato said, much of what Nigerians know about the portfolios has been based on speculation. Some said the cabinet is made up of many familiar faces who helped elect Buhari.
Key ministries
Among the candidates for the key ministry of finance is Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah, a former Goldman Sachs banker who heads Nigeria's biggest private equity firm, African Capital Alliance.
Mato said the new cabinet ministers will carry big responsibilities.
“Whoever the president nominated and confirmed by the senate, it is assumed that that person is going to be an agent of change. He’s also going to play a credible role that Nigeria is no longer going to be run with business as usual where people who are appointed to lofty cabinet positions are only to serve their aggrandizement as against providing their skills and entrepreneurship and expertise in moving the nation forward,” he said.
Mato said he hopes President Buhari will make good on his suggestion that he will to take over the oil ministry.
“The president’s body language seems to suggest that he’s going to appoint a minister of state for petroleum while he sits in as overall supervisor of the petroleum sector. I think that would be a very wise decision based on the fact that he desires to put some very tight control measures in the way and manner that national resources from the sale of oil, which of course constitutes more than 80 percent of the total income of the country,” Mato said.
VOA
Until now, although the senate had approved all 36 nominees, no one knew which portfolio each of the ministers would be assigned.
Buhari won March elections after vowing to crack down on corruption in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer. He has been criticized for waiting until September to name his ministers at a time when the economy has been hammered by the fall in oil prices.
Buhari's cabinet is smaller than that of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who had 42 ministers. Under the constitution, the president must include a member from each of the country's 36 states.
Lengthy process
Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, told VOA last month the selection process had taken this long because President Buhari, unlike previous presidents, has high expectations of his cabinet.
Professor Kabiru Mato, director of the political science department of the University Abuja, said Nigerians are anxious to know who will occupy some of the key cabinet posts, including the finance and foreign ministries, and especially whether Buhari will make good on his plan to take over the oil ministry, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of all Nigerian government revenue but which had been plagued in the past by corruption.
“After the swearing-in, the president will now allocate responsibilities or assign each of these 36 ministers to the various ministries and departments of government that they are supposed to serve. And after the portfolios are assigned, then the president said he’s going to have his first federal executive council meeting,” he said.
Mato said Nigerians do not know which ministers are going to occupy which departments because Buhari did not submit the nominees with their assigned portfolios at their senate confirmation hearing.
As a result, Mato said, much of what Nigerians know about the portfolios has been based on speculation. Some said the cabinet is made up of many familiar faces who helped elect Buhari.
Key ministries
Among the candidates for the key ministry of finance is Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah, a former Goldman Sachs banker who heads Nigeria's biggest private equity firm, African Capital Alliance.
Mato said the new cabinet ministers will carry big responsibilities.
“Whoever the president nominated and confirmed by the senate, it is assumed that that person is going to be an agent of change. He’s also going to play a credible role that Nigeria is no longer going to be run with business as usual where people who are appointed to lofty cabinet positions are only to serve their aggrandizement as against providing their skills and entrepreneurship and expertise in moving the nation forward,” he said.
Mato said he hopes President Buhari will make good on his suggestion that he will to take over the oil ministry.
“The president’s body language seems to suggest that he’s going to appoint a minister of state for petroleum while he sits in as overall supervisor of the petroleum sector. I think that would be a very wise decision based on the fact that he desires to put some very tight control measures in the way and manner that national resources from the sale of oil, which of course constitutes more than 80 percent of the total income of the country,” Mato said.
VOA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)