04042019 - Nigeria 7 other nstions home to world's hungriest - UN

14 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019
Buhari orders Finance Ministry
to sell recovered assets
, 08052867023
Ekaette urges support for
Buhari
By Chris Ochayi
A former BUJA—THE
Senator representing
Akwa Ibom
South senatorial district,
Senator Eme Ekaette, has
called on Nigerians to support
President Muhammadu
Buhari-led administration
in order for it to deliver
on its resolve to revitalize
the nation’s economy.
Senator Ekaette, who
made the call while receiving
members of the South
South zone of Institute of
Chartered Economists of
Nigeria, ICEN, in Abuja,
said the administration deserves
support of all well
meaning Nigerians, given
the level of rot that the
All Progressives Congress,
APC, inherited.
Ekaette, who also extended
the plea to Nigerians
in Diaspora, noted that
the economy was in a near
ruins with overreaching
consequences following
the absence of sustainability
in planning for uncertainty
by past administration.
The Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, Akwa Ibom
South senator between
2007 and 2011, charged
Nigerians to believe in the
government as a way of
strengthen the system to
By Levinus
Nwabughiogu
ABUJA—THE Fed
eral Government is
set to sell off all assets recovered
in the course of the
anti-corruption war within
the next 6 months, the
Minister of Budget and
National Planning, Senator
Udo Udoma , has said.
The implication of this is
that many Nigerians especially
in the ruling class
whose assets had been
seized by the government
are likely to lose them.
Udo Udoma made the
disclosure before the Joint
Committees on Finance,
Appropriation, Planning
and Economic Development
of the House of Representatives
during a budget
defence.
He said President Muhammadu
Buhari, had directed
the Ministry of Finance
led by Zainab
Ahmed to execute the order,
saying the government
was determined to
improve on the revenue
profile of the country.
He said: “The Ministry
of Finance, working with
all the relevant authorities,
has been authorized to take
action to liquidate all recovered,
unencumbered assets
within six months.”
The Minister also said
that the Department of Petroleum
Resources, DPR
had been directed to complete
the collection of oil
licences and royalties with
three months.
“The Department of Petroleum
Resources has
been directed to, within
three months, complete the
collection of past-due oil
license and royalty charges,
including those due
from Nigerian Petroleum
Development Company
(NPDC) (a subsidiary of
NNPC), which it had
agreed to pay since 2017”,
he said.
The minister also, noted
that the President had directed
that work should be
concluded on the deployment
of the National Trade
Window to enhance customs
collections efficiency
from the current 64% to up
to 90% over the next few
years, while lamenting the
inability of the government
to achieve its target on revenue
generation in 2018.
According to the minister,
the failure was attributable
to non implementation
of some one-off items
which included the N710
billion from Oil Joint Venture
Asset restructuring
and N320 billion from the
revision of the Oil Production
Sharing Contract legislation/terms.
He said that the items
had been rolled over to
2019.
Giving insights into the
production quota agreed
on by the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting
Countries, OPEC, Udoma
informed that President
Buhari had directed that all
efforts should be made to
ensure the realization of
the 2.3 million per day oil
production.
…Says regime on right course
effectively deliver dividend
of democracy and to manage
the evolving dynamics.
According to her, “Belief
nurtures determination,
creating a mindset to deliver
and to make a reality.
As a Nigerian, I believe in
teamwork to make possibility
achievable through a
government led by an honest
leader.”
In a clear reference to the
administration’s achievements,
she identified a
number of APC led government
pro-poverty programmes,
among them
N-POWER and the ongoing
Presidential Youth
Empower scheme (P-Yes),
which she described as
successful.
INVESTITURE: From left; First National Vice President, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, TPL Toyin Ayinde;
Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business Director, Unilever Ghana and Nigeria, Mrs. Soromidayo George;
The 16th Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners – Lagos Chapter, TPL Adebisi Adedire, FNITP; Chairman,
Eleganza Group of Companies, Chief Razak Okoya and Director General – Office of Transformation,
Creativity, and Innovation Lagos State govt; Mr. Toba Otusanya at the Investiture of the 16th Chairman and
inauguration of executive committee members of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners – Lagos State Chapter.
Reps C’ttee threatens to issue bench
warrant on PFAs
By Emman
Ovuakporie
ABUJA—THE House
of Representatives
ad-hoc panel probing activities
of National Pension
Commission, PenCom has
vowed to issue a bench
warrant on Pension Fund
Administrators, PFA, if they
fail to show up today.
Chairman of the ad-hoc
Committee, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma
(APC, Edo) in
a briefing, threatened to
issue a bench warrant to
compel PFAs to appear before
the committee, if they
fail to attend the public
hearing slated for today.
The House after a resolution
passed in February
2019, had ordered the committee
to start investigations
into the activities of Pen-
Com, since April 2017 over
allegation of violation of the
Act establishing the commission
and the N9trillion
pension fund.
Lamenting that the PFAs
and other stakeholders
were deliberately avoiding
the investigative hearing,
he said, “We would have no
option than to apply the
law. That is we would have
to seek approval to issue
bench warrant so that they
can be compelled to appear
before this ad-hoc committee.
To the PFAs that refused
to appear before this
ad-hoc committee, we
would do just that to anyone,
not just PFAs that are
invited, but also the banks,
PenCom.”
The lawmaker displayed
a letter by the Executive
Secretary, Pension Fund
Operators Association of
Nigeria, Susan Oranye
and addressed to the adhoc
committee where it was
stated that “On behalf of
the invited Pension Administrators,
we regretfully
wish to inform you that they
would be unable to attend
the scheduled meeting as
requested due to prior industry
engagements slated
for the same day.”
Nigeria may close 80 missions over poor
state of embassies
By Henry Umoru
A are BUJA—THERE
fears that
based on the 2019 budget
estimate of the Federal
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Nigeria may be
forced to close no fewer
than 80 foreign missions
over the bad state of the
embassies across the
globe, due to poor funding.
Nigeria at present has
110 missions around the
world, but the budget of
the ministry of foreign
Reacting to the development,
the committee chairman,
said: “We have been
having different issues with
people trying to avoid coming
to the public hearing. I
believe some people are
trying to derail the wheel
of the progress of our adhoc
committee.
“We invited different
PFAs, we invited the Pen-
Com, the acting DG, the
Nigerian Labour Congress,
NLC, Trade Union
Congress, TUC and many
civil societies, who submitted
documents related to
the subject matter and we
never invited (Pension
Fund Operators Association
of Nigeria (PenOp),
they call themselves, but
Senate’ll pass Police Reform, Trust Fund bills, Saraki assures IGP
By Henry Umoru
APresident,
BUJA—SENATE
Dr.
Bukola Saraki, yesterday
told the Acting Inspector-
General of Police, IGP,
Mohammed Adamu that
before the 8th Senate
rounds off, it would pass
the Police Reform and the
Police Trust Fund bills.
Giving the assurance
in Abuja when the police
chief, Adamu and
his team visited his office
at the National Assembly,
Saraki however
reiterated the National
Assembly’s commitment
to strengthen the nation’s
security architecture.
Saraki said: “The performance
of the Nigeria
Police is key to our nation’s
security. This is because
apart from us ensuring
that the institution
is well-funded, we need
to ensure that the Police
plays its Constitutional
role in the security of our
nation. Across party
lines, the police can be
reassured of our support
to strengthen it as an institution.
Funding is a
major issue, and I know
that a lot of work has been
done to ensure that the
Police Trust Fund Bill get
to its current stage in the
House. Before the end of
the 8th Senate, I want to
assure you that we will
pass this Bill.
“Another critical issue is
the Police Reform Bill
which has gone through
Public Hearing with major
input from stakeholders.
We started this process before
your tenure, but we
can still allow a few more
days before it is laid, so that
you too can make your contributions.
‘’We would like you to
take a close look at this Bill
alongside the Committee,
so that by next week, we
can lay the report of the Bill
and pass it.’’
we are surprised to be receiving
letters; the first one
we received before our
public hearing telling us
that the PFAs will not be
able to attend under the
umbrella of PenOp.
“There was no time this
ad-hoc committee wrote
PenOp. They have been
representing the various
PFAs we had invited, the
administrators, some of the
banks and the custodians
of the funds.
“To our greatest surprise
and dismay, we also received
another letter on
Wednesday, informing us
that the Pension operators
will not be able to attend
the investigative hearing
slated for tomorrow.”
affairs for this fiscal year
will only focus attention
on 30.
This came as reports
said many of the Nigerian
ambassadors were
unable to pay their children
school fees, rent,
electricity, medical and
other utility bills with the
headquarters of the federal
ministry of foreign
affairs owing both volunteers
and its staff over
N4.9 billion entitlements.
The shocking revelations
of the pitiable situations of
Nigeria’s foreign embassies
and High Commissions
across the world
were exposed yesterday
to the Senators during
the 2019 budget defence
by the Federal Ministry
of Foreign Affairs with
the Senate Committee
on Foreign Affairs.
According to report,
the Embassies have been
facing inadequate
funding over the years.
Speaking yesterday
during the 2019 budget
defense, the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry
of Foreign
Affairs, Ambassador
Mustapha Suleiman,
said discussions were
ongoing over possibilities
of shutting down
some foreign missions.
The Directorate of
Technical Aid Corps
(TAC), Foreign Service
Academy (FSA), Institute
for Peace and Conflict
Resolution (IPCR),
National Institute for International
Affairs
(NIIA) and Directorate
for Technical Cooperation
in Africa (DTCA)
are all under the supervision
of the ministry of
foreign affairs which is
owing its staff over N4.9
billion.