17102019 - FG cuts travels, estacodes for ministers, other officials

8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
LAUNCHING: From left, Associate Director, Clients/Markets, KPMG Nigeria, Egheosa
Onaiwu; Associate Director, Management Consulting, KPMG, Ayotunde Funsho; Partner/
Head, Consumer and Industrial Markets, Goodluck Obi; Partner/Sector Lead, Agribusiness,
Mohammed Adama; Partner, Deal Advisory, Ijeoma Emezie-Ezigbo, and Partner, Risk
Consulting, KPMG, Tolulope Odukale, during the launch Nigeria's rice industry report by
KPMG Nigeria, in Lagos, yesterday.
Insurgency: Buhari directs service chiefs
to settle entitlements of slain soldiers
•Explains why Jan 15 was fixed as Armed Forces Remembrance Day
•Insists Nigeria’s unity not negotiable
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
AMuhammadu BUJA—PRESIDENT
Buhari,
yesterday, directed service
chiefs to take urgent steps to
settle the entitlements of
soldiers who have paid the
supreme price in the
campaign against
insurgency.
Buhari, who gave the
directive while launching the
2020 Armed Forces
Remembrance Day
celebration emblem and
appeal fund in Abuja, also
told the service chiefs to settle
the welfare packages of the
soldiers for the benefit of their
dependents.
Speaking at the brief
ceremony at the Council
Chamber, Presidential Villa,
before the commencement of
the weekly Federal Executive
Council, FEC, meeting, the
president reiterated that the
unity of Nigeria was not
negotiable.
He said: “The unfortunate
cost of the war against
insurgency and other
internal security operations
is the loss of lives of some of
our officers and men in the
Armed Forces.
“These very sad
occurrences create deep
wounds to loved ones. It is,
therefore, our duty to ensure
that the loss of these bread
winners does not relegate
the spouses and dependents
to a life of want and
deprivation. Government
will do all in its powers to
look after the bereaved.
“Service leaders must take
urgent steps to settle the
entitlements of these affected
citizens as well as the welfare
packages designed for their
dependents.
‘’It is the responsibility of
government to ensure that
the families of our fallen
heroes do not suffer the loss
of their loved ones and at the
same time be deprived of
their due benefits.”
FG launches
emblem with
N10m
President Buhari, who
launched the emblem on
behalf of the Federal
Government with N10
million, said: “Today, we are
once again gathered to
acknowledge and commend
the sacrifices of our fallen
heroes and veterans of First
and Second World Wars,
Nigerian Civil War and
Peace Support Operations
around the world.
“We must not forget those
currently engaged in
internal security operations,
particularly the on-going
war against insurgency in
some parts of the country.
“It is, indeed, befitting to
honour the memory of the
gallant officers and men who
paid the supreme sacrifice to
keep the country united. For
those who survived with
varying degrees of
incapacitation, they require
our attention and care and
we will continue to provide
and cater for them.”
Why FG fixed Jany
15 as Armed Forces
Remembrance Day
On why the Federal
Government fixed January
15 as the Armed Forces
Remembrance Day, he said:
“The Armed Forces
Remembrance Day
celebration was intentionally
fixed for January 15 annually
to commemorate the end of
our civil war. It reminds us
of the need to guard
jealously the unity of our
country which was won at a
great cost.
“This day calls to mind the
negative impact of strife and
conflicts and demands that
as responsible citizens, we
must at all times avoid
actions that emphasize our
differences.
“There is no doubt that the
strength of Nigeria lies in her
diversity. It behoves on us,
therefore, to engage in
activities and endeavours
that feed our diversity as a
source of strength not
weakness.
“The nation is appreciative
of the gallantry and sacrifices
of officers and men of our
Armed Forces in the
campaign against
insurgency and other
internal security operations.
“This has led to the return
of normalcy in affected parts
of the nation. The Boko
Haram terrorists have been
substantially defeated and
degraded to the extent that
they are only daring soft
targets.
Nigeria’s unity not
negotiable
“However, all hands must
be on deck to check the
attacks on soft targets, mostly
innocent Nigerians. The
peace and security of Nigeria
is non-negotiable and the
security agencies must
continue to do their work
diligently.
“As a government, we will
continue to provide
necessary logistical support
to ensure that our Armed
Forces operate with the best
modern warfare equipment,
while at the same time
adequately addressing the
issues of their welfare.
“Similarly, government
will remain steadfast in
developing our alliances
with neighbours and friends
in the international
community for the total defeat
of the insurgents.
“The task of resettling and
rehabilitating our citizens as
well as the reconstruction of
territories affected by the war
will continue to be one of
the priorities of this administration.
North-East
Development
Commission
“We shall not rest until all
our displaced persons are
safely resettled into their
communities without fear of
further attacks. It is for this
reason the North-East
Development Commission,
NEDC, and Federal
Ministry of Humanitarian
Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social
Development were
established.
“The executive arm of
government, hereby,
commends the National
Assembly for the passage of
the bill establishing the
commission. It is our hope
that with prudent
management of limited
resources and support from
well-meaning Nigerians
and corporate bodies, the
commission, working in
close collaboration with the
ministry and friends abroad,
will be able to deliver on their
mandate.
“We are aware that it is the
business of government to
provide the enabling
environment for businesses
to thrive. We will not fail to
provide our citizens with an
atmosphere devoid of
security threats and
criminality, where life is
stable and progress is
certain.
“Government is also well
aware that an insecure
environment stifles
businesses and undermines
growth and prosperity. For
this reason, we will like to
commend and reinforce our
gratitude to our men and
women in the Armed Forces
who have risen to the
challenge of securing our
nation and providing
enabling environment for
national progress."
Boko Haram: C'ttee
dismisses allegation of
rights abuse against army
•Asks NASS to invite AI, AAH for
explanations
By Joseph
Erunke
ABUJA—A
joint
committee of Non-
Governmental
Organisations, NGOs, and
the House of Representatives
Committee on Human Rights
setup to investigate
allegations of human rights
abuse against the military by
some foreign media
organisations, has absolve the
country’s troops of wrong
doing.
Rather, the committee in its
report sighted by Vanguard
in Abuja, yesterday, said the
military, especially Nigerian
Army, has demonstrated
adequate will to recognise
international standards on
human rights in its war
against Boko Haram
insurgents in the Nort-East.
The committee, chaired by
Dr Isaac Dikko, insisted that
the “Nigerian military
authorities have always acted
in the best interest of national
security.”
It also recommended that
the National Assembly
leadership should
recommend adequate
compensation and state
recognition for troops to
encourage them in the line
of national duty to sustain
their morale.
The committee equally
recommended the expulsion
of erring NGOs from the
country and the auditing of
NGOs’ activities in the
country by security agencies.
It said Action Against
Hunger, AAH, and Amnesty
International be summoned
to explain why they should
not be banned from operating
in the country, considering
their frequent criticisms of the
military in the operation
against Boko haram.
Chairman of the committee,
Dr Isaac Dikko, had earlier
submitted the report to the
National Assembly, and noted
that national security
remained the only motivation
for the sacrifice of the
committee.
Dikko stated: “If not for the
interest of national security,
and to fact check if the war
against insurgency is being
truly successfully prosecuted,
nobody would dare to have a
committee secretariat situate
in the North-East for
firsthand information,
particularly given the low
and gloomy media reportage
of the military’s successes in
the region, especially by
foreign media organisations.
“Unknown to us, a lot of
successes have been made in
the war against insurgency
in the North East. The only
challenge is resettlement,
rehabilitation and rebuilding
of infrastructure hitherto
destroyed. But this is beyond
military mandate and will
take time.”
According to him, the
committee dared the region
with double pronged view; to
validate or invalidate the
allegations against the
military authorities and
censor the activities of the
non-governmental
organisations’ operations in
the North-East in order to
come up with facts that are
verifiable.
Reps hail Buhari on order to
deny expatriates visas
By Tordue Salem
ABUJA—THE House of
Representatives
Committee on Nigerian
Content Development and
Monitoring has commended
President Muhammadu
Buhari for issuing his
Executive Order 5, which
restricts issuance of visas to
foreigners whose skills were
available within the country.
According to the
committee, the executive
order will help improve local
content in public
procurement, with science,
engineering and technology
components.
Chairman of the
committee, Legor Idagbo
(PDP-Bayelsa), who
commended the president at
the inaugural meeting of the
committee, yesterday, said
the Executive Order was
expected to promote the
application of science,
technology and innovation
towards achieving the
nation’s development goals
across all sectors of the
economy.
He explained that the
executive order prohibits the
Ministry of Interior from
issuing visas to foreign nationals
whose skills were
readily available in Nigeria,
adding that the president
had, therefore, directed
Ministries, Departments and
Agencies, MDAs, to engage
indigenous professionals in
the planning, design and
execution of national security
projects.
Idagbo revealed that
following the proclamation of
the executive order, the
House has reviewed the
jurisdiction of the committee
to accommodate the details
of the presidential executive
order, hence the change of
its name from ‘local content’
to "Nigerian content
development and
monitoring."
He observed that there
was need to amend the
Nigerian Oil and Gas
Industry Content
Development Act,
NOGICD, 2020 so that the
successes achieved in the oil
and gas sector could also be
achieved in the other sectors
of the economy in terms of
job creation and capacity
building of indigenous
companies.