NOSDRA DG to refocus agency on Tinubu's agenda - ITREALMS

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The newly appointed Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Spillage, Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Engr. Emeka Woke, has reiterated commitment to align the agency with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking during a meeting with management staff at the agency's headquarters, Engr. Woke emphasized his mandate to refocus, redirect, and revitalize NOSDRA to positively impact communities affected by oil spills.

WHO Director-General lifts emergency status for COVID-19 - ITREALMS

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The World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee for COVID-19, has lifted the emergency status, reports ITREALMS.

Confirming this, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that COVID-19 will no longer be categorized a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Borrowed funds to finance capital projects – Nwankwo, DMO Boss

ITRealms:

The Director-General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo has said that the Federal Government is fully committed to ensuring that all fund borrowed to finance the 2016 budget, will be dedicated to fund capital projects, reports ITRealms.

Nwankwo stated this on Tuesday at a one-day workshop by DMO on “Public Debt and the challenge of financing Nigeria’s economic recovery” organised for Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) in Lagos.

“The DMO is committed to making sure that we raise money to fund the 2016 budget deficit from appropriate sources and through appropriate mix during the fiscal year to make sure that capital projects are funded,” he said.

The DMO boss who stressed that the Nigerian debt level is highly sustainable, noted that the nation still had a lot of idle potential, which the administration is currently working to harness for effective growth of our national economy.

According to him, while comparative tax revenue to GDP ratio of Nigeria is less than 7.0 per cent, its peer group has a ratio of 18 per cent.  He therefore, stressed the need to widen the tax net to generate more revenue for the government.

“The debt to GDP ratio is 13 per cent, compared to the 56 per cent of peer group.  So in that essence, our debt is still very sustainable. In this respect, I am encouraging all Nigerians to continue to make sure that they pay their taxes fully as at when due because our tax revenue GDP ratio is relatively lower to countries in our peer group.  As our economy grows, as our GDP grows, as we are collecting enough in taxes from individuals and corporates bodies to be able to fund capital projects, our economy will continue to grow” he said.

He said the debt sustainability and overall economic sustainability can be significantly influence by individuals and corporate bodies paying taxes fully.

Speaking on the economic recession caused mainly by unfavourable structural change in the fall of oil prices globally, he said the Nigerian government is addressing the challenge through diversified, self-sustaining growth in agriculture and agro processing, solid minerals, manufacturing and ICT.

According to him, in the medium to long term, debt sustainability in Nigeria hinges on the overall sustainability of the economic, and the overall economic sustainability hinges on diversifying the economy in a sustainable manner.

“That is what the government is doing in agriculture, solid minerals, ICT and manufacturing. And to do that we need a strong infrastructure base and that is why government is spending what is borrowing on capital projects,” Nwankwo said.

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My sack illegal, says Okereke, sues IMAN for N200m

ITRealms:

The sacked Director-General of National TaskForce to Combat Illegal Importation of Small Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons, Chief Emmanuel Osita Okereke, has dragged Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) to an Abuja High Court, saying that his sack was illegal and claiming damages worth N200m, reports ITRealms.

The plaintiff, Okereke, in the suit filed by his lawyer, Mr. Chibuzor Ezike, demanded a N200 million damage from the Registered Trustees of IMAN before a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and insisting that his removal as National President of Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) was illegal.

Although , no date has been fixed for its hearing, Okereke said that his purported removal as National President of IMAN violated Article 12, 18 and 21 of the constitution of the association.

A copy of the suit obtained by correspondent on Wednesday in Abuja, showed that joined as 2nd - 6th defendants were Chief Gilbert Bravo Obi, Chief Obong Patrick Udoh, Alhaji Dr. Bature Abdulaziz, Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed Yar'Adua and Hon. Kingsley Chikezie.

Okereke, a former Presidential candidate of African Liberation Party, also asked the court to declare that the Board of Trustees of IMAN "has no power whatsoever to remove and/or sack any national officer of the association vis-a-vis the power given to it under Article 12 of the constitution of the association."

For Okereke, his purported removal as IMAN President and D-G of NATFORCE in the association over alleged criminal offence without giving him any opportunity to be heard amounted to a breach of his fundamental human rights as enshrined in constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and African Charter on Human and Peoples Right 2004 is null, void and unconstitutional.

The plaintiff also wants an order restraining the respondents to retract the publications with an apology through same newspapers.

Further, Okereke demanded an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further attempts to remove or sack him by any other means not permitted by the constitution of IMAN and laws of Nigeria. 

Isaac Oyimah with correspondent report/GEE

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Shittu suspends Peter Jack, DG NITDA over misconduct

ITRealms:

... Names Olatunji acting DG

The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu has suspended the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack over an alleged misconduct, just as Dr. Vincent Olatunji has been appointed in acting capacity with immediate effect, reports ITRealms.

The Special Assistant Media to the Communications Minister, Mr. Vcitor Oluwadamilare confirmed this to ITRealms in a press statement Wednesday evening, saying that Mr. Jack’s suspension from office was indefinitely.

He explained that the suspension adduces its strength from avalanche of petitions in NITDA and subsequent preliminary findings of an Investigative Committee set up by the Ministry.

Oluwadamilare also said that these petitions against Mr. Jack are largely connected to illegal employments and procurements carried out allegedly in direct contraventions of civil service rules and procedure in the country.

Also, he explained that some of the findings of the Investigative Committee made up of three senior Ministry officials include unauthorised recruitment exercise of additional staff numbering 245 within the last seven months.

“As at 29th May 2015, NITDA only had a staff complement of 74. But from May, 2015 to 31st December, 2015, additional 245 staff were employed in questionable circumstances despite clear instruction from the Ministry directing suspension of employment in the agency,” the SA declared. 

He further said that these disclosures were deduced from the records provided by Mr. Jack, while he was unable to provide concrete evidence on whose authority the recruitment was embarked on and who granted him the authority for officials to be seconded to NITDA from other Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).

ITRealms gathered that the Ministry of Communications reportedly directed Mr. Jack to eschew the purported recruitment exercise held on 17th December, 2015, which was not adhered to under his leadership as Director-General.

In addition, he said, on alleged financial misdemeanour, the Committee had recommended the suspension to afford a thorough professional auditing of NITDA’s finances to determine the true state of the financial health of the agency.

In a related development, the Director, Corporate Strategy and Research, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, who has spent over 14 years in NITDA has been named the acting Director-General of the agency also with immediate effect, pending the outcome of the intended investigations.

+ITRealms DSA 

 

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NICNPA award for NBC boss

ITRealms:

The Nigerian Independent Community Newspapers Publishers Association (NICNPA) has presented the Golden Award for Industrious Service to the Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba for his outstanding performance in broadcast regulation and contributions to the overall development of the broadcasting sector in Nigeria.

Receiving the award from the Zonal Chairman, NICNPA South-South – Mr. Charles James Umejei, Mr. Mba expressed his gratitude for the recognition and noted that communication at the grassroots level such as community newspapers is very important to deepening democracy and building sustainable development in society.

The DG also expressed the desire of the Commission to work with rural based organizations such as NICNPA to achieve effective rural penetration when the digitization publicity and awareness campaign takes off fully.
 

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Dikki says BPE is enabling FDI inflow, commends GOCOP launch

ITRealms:

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki, has commended the formal launch of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) just as his office is enabling inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the launch of GOCOP in Lagos at the weekend, Mr. Dikki also said BPE has laid the foundation for enabling foreign direct investment in the country through privatization and commercialization.

“No doubt, the launch of GOCOP could not have come at a better time than now, given that the world over, online publication has become the vogue; and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind,” he said.

BPE, he said, thus commends GOCOP bold initiative to inaugurate the Guild which undoubtedly, is made up of reputable media practitioners with several years of experience with the primary objective of ensuring that online publishers in Nigeria uphold the tenets of journalism and to serve as a platform for peer review.

He pointed out that the Bureau as the secretariat for the policy implementation arm of the National Council on Privatization (NCP) chaired by His Excellent, the Vice Presidency is focused on reform and privatization.

“In this regard, at the beginning of every year, the Bureau takes its work plan to Council for approval before implementation. It should be noted that in over three decades, reform and privatization have been a key economic policy of successive administrations as regards in Nigeria,” he said.

As a result of the reforms, privatisation and commercialization, Dikki said, Nigeria has witnessed tremendous inflow of foreign direct investments in various sectors of the economy.

“It is worthy to note that the advent of democratic governance since 1999, strong foundation were laid for economic reform and attraction of private capital to the national economy,” he said.

The government, he said, believes that the effective implementation of the proposed reform programmes will attract private capital; reduce government and political interference in the running of the economy; and clearly define role and functions of participants in the economy.

He recalled that the improved telephony which the nation is presently enjoying is a result of such reforms in the sector which produced the Telecom Policy and Legal/Regulatory framework which the NCP/BPE championed in 2000.

“Through the reforms carried out in the telecommunications sector, Nigeria has moved from about 400,000 telephone lines in 2001 to about 134 million lines in 2015; and the teledensity has increased from estimated 2.5 per cent to 95 percent in a space of 12 years,” Dikki said.

Describing inauguration of GOCOP as another eloquent testimony of the successful reform of the telecommunication sector, given that its main stead is on technologies. 

“And the same multiplier effect is expected when the reforms in other sectors of the economy by the federal government are completed,” he said and congratulated GOCOP on this milestone.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +ITRealms DSA  
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