TheNewsGuru

Tag: FEC

  • FEC approves N65.9bn for road projects

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N65.9 billion for road projects across the country.

    Minister of State for Works and Housing, Abubakar Aliyu, told State House correspondents on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC)meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)reports the meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The minister said that the ministry presented two memos to the council which were approved.

    “The first memo is to seek council’s approval for the award of contract for construction of Jalingo-Kona-Lau-Karim-Lamido road phase II which is about 29km.

    “The contract at the cost of N6.92 billion inclusive of VAT; this is the phase II of the project; the phase I was completed earlier.

    “The second memo which was also approved by the council has three projects; one is the dualisation of the outstanding portion of the Odukpani –Itu-Ikot-Ekpene road in Cross River State to Akwa Ibom State in the sum of N50.3 billion with a completion period of 36 months.

    “This memo is a combination of three projects and they all approved; the total sum of the three is N58.94 billion.

    “On the second project, you were all aware; in December 2019, there was a report on social media regarding a bridge in Ajaokuta; the bridge was showing an opening at the expansion joint which caused a lot talk around the country.

    “It was approved but actually work began on that bridge and the total contract sum is N1.5 billion.’’

    Aliyu said the bridge might seem a single unit but was actually segmented by expansion joints which were suppose to be maintained periodically.

    He said that at that time when there was a social media outcry, the ministry was already addressing the situation.

    The minister said that the bridge was safe to ply on as the ministry sent its engineers with some reporters and issued statements afterwards to tell people that the bridge was safe.

    “There was no problem; it was the time to maintain the expansion joints and it was a specialist work which we deployed the contractors and they are already working there.’’

    He said that third project on the second memo was the rehabilitation of the outstanding section of Iseyin-Okeho road including two bridges in Oyo state.

    Aliyu said the project was awarded at the sum of N6.87s billion with a completion period of 18 months.

    On his part, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said the ministry presented two memos to FEC.

    “ One was for the procurement of textbooks for early childhood care and development and for primary schools class one, two and three throughout the country.

    “15 contractors won the contracts for N6, 45 billion with a completion period of six weeks.’’

    Adamu said that the second memo was for the construction of 23.7km perimeter fence around the University of Maiduguri.

    “If you could recall, it was first approved around in 2019.

    “ But for reasons of some delay the work is going to commence only now; the project sum is N1. 4 billion with a completion period of 24 weeks.

    “ The second one is connected to the first because it is for the procurement and installation of security equipment around the fence.

    “The sum of the contract is N1.088 billion and the completion period is 24 weeks,’’ he said.

  • FEC approves N5.72bn for NDIC projects

    FEC approves N5.72bn for NDIC projects

    The Federal Executive Council(FEC) has approved N5.72 billion for the construction of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (NDIC) zonal office in Bauchi and for 12 consultancy services for development of NDIC’s offices.

    Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    She said that the contract sum included Value Added Tax (VAT).

    “Today, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, presented two papers to council.

    “The first paper that we presented to council and council approved was for the construction of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) zonal office in Bauchi.

    “The contract is in the sum of N3.239 billion including VAT; this project is to be completed in 96 weeks.

    “The NDIC has been operating from a rented office accommodation; the office accommodation has since become unconducive for a good working environment.

    “The corporation will therefore be saving money but also in building the office accommodation, when it is completed.

    “It will provide comfortable and clean environment for the staff to bolster morale as well as increase productivity.’’

    Ahmed said that, during the process, due approvals from the Bureau of Public Procurement were sought.

    The minister said that the second memo that was presented to council and council approved was also in respect of NDIC.

    She said it was for the award of contracts for 12 consultancy services for the development of NDIC Corporate head office annex in Abuja, its office in Ikoyi, Lagos as well as a training centre in Lekki, Lagos.

    “In 2015, FEC had approved the construction of these three buildings; so what we are asking for now is for the stage three, which is the construction phase of the work for the consultancies relating to architecture, structural, mechanical engineering.

    “ The total amount that is approved is the in sum of N2.489 billion.

    “ This is for 12 consultancy firms for three different categories of professional work for the three office buildings,’’ she said.

  • FEC approves N727b on 2020 Budget

    FEC approves N727b on 2020 Budget

     

    1. The N727 billion added to the N10.2 trillion Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) proposal by the National Assembly was on Monday approved at an extra-ordinary Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

    After a five-hour meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Council accepted the N10.729 trillion returned to the executive from the legislature.

    It was learnt that the Council, at Monday’s meeting, approved the 2020 Appropriation Bill which would be presented by the President to the joint session of the National Assembly.

    A source, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, said the FEC commended the National Assembly for the increment of the crude oil benchmark from $55 to $57 per barrel.

    The source said: “FEC is happy with the National Assembly for increasing the benchmark to $57 per barrel. The additional $2 is to take care of recruitment in the security agencies and also attend to critical areas.

    “This is a sign that the legislature and the executive will work together for the interest of Nigerians. It is a good development,” he said.

    It was gathered that officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, led by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, made submissions on the budget.

    The early submission is geared towards returning the budget from the May-June cycle to January-December cycle.

    Today’s presentation, billed for 2pm, would have taken place in the third week of September, but for President Buhari’s participation at the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

    Besides, the President was in South Africa from last Wednesday to Friday to parley with his South African counterpart President Cyril Ramaphosa.

    A statement issued at the weekend by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had said the meeting was scheduled to put finishing touches to the 2020 budget proposal.

    At the meeting were: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari; Acting Head of Civil Service of the Federation Mrs. Folasade Yemi-Esan and cabinet members.

  • FEC approves N310b for road projects

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved three memos and a total of N310 billion for roads projects.

    The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

    He was with the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuba and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande.

    According to him, FEC approved N79.82 billion for Ibadan-Ilesa-Ife road, N200.176 billion for roads linking second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha, and N29.654 billion for phase 2 of Kano-Katsina highway.

    He said “The ministry of works and housing presented three memoranda and they were approved by the council: construction of Ibadan -Ilesa-Ife Dual Carriage Way, they are connected to Oyo and Osun State at the cost of N79.829 billion.

    “Secondly, for the link-road that connects the second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha. The Asaba link-road was awarded to Julius Berger and the Onitsha link-road was awarded to RCC at the total cost of N200.176 billion.

    “So this completes essentially the access road that will link the Bridge in the short time. You might recall that these roads were under-designed when the bridge was awarded.

    “So it is this administration that completed the design and we now awarded them so that you can have a bring that has link-roads. This was awarded initially under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the bridge in 2010 administration.

    “The third approval was for phase two of the Kano-Katsina High Way from the point known as Gidan-Mutum Daya all the way to where Katsina Steel Rolling Mill is. This is a 78KM stretch approved at the sum of N29.654 billion.

    “That road is a 152KM road linking Kano and Katsina road from Kano. It was a single length Highway until it was awarded in 2013 by the previous administration in phase 1.

    “So we inherited it and we have continued to execute it. The award was to then expand the road into a dual carriage highway way. That means we are constructing the existing one and building another new one. It was awarded for the first 70KM plus for the phase 1 we we have now done is to complete the award to the same contractor so that there is a uniformity of construction.” he said

    Nwajuba disclosed that contracts amounting to N1.833 billion were approved for his ministry under Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

    The first, he said, is N915 million for construction of Faculty of Environment at the University of Abuja.

    He said the second contract is N918 million for construction of Faculty of Education in the same university.

    “The memorandum approved was in respect TETFUND intervention programme in respect of University of Abuja. A key component of that was the award of contract at the sum of N915 million for the construction of the faculty of environment.

    “Another was also approved for he sum of N918 million for the award to build the faculty of education. Those are the two components arising from the special intervention programme that was awarded then in 2017. So we have to act to give effect to them so that they can proceed the delivery.”

  • FEC approves 2.2 per cent increment in Value Added Tax

    FEC approves 2.2 per cent increment in Value Added Tax

    A new Value Added Tax (VAT) of 7.2 percent has been approved for Nigeria by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has announced.

    Addressing newsmen after the weekly FEC meeting on Wednesday, the Minister said this increment was subject to an amendment of the VAT act of 1994 by the National Assembly and if approved by the parliament, the new rate will become effective from 2020.

    Before now, there have been talks about an imminent hike in VAT paid on goods and services in the country so as to increase revenue generated by government to meet the needs of the nation, which depends mainly on sale of its crude oil.

    During her interaction with journalists at the State House yesterday, Mrs Ahmed said, “We also reported to council and council has agreed that we start the process towards the increase of the VAT rate.

    “We are proposing and council has agreed increase the VAT rate from five percent to 7.2 percent.”

    She noted that, “This is important because the federal government only retains 15 percent of the VAT — 85 percent is actually for the states and local governments and the states need additional revenue to be able to meet the obligations of the minimum wage.

    “This process involves extensive consultations that need to be made across the country at various levels and also it will involve the review of the VAT act. So, it is not going to be implemented immediately until the act is reviewed.”

    She further said if approved by the lawmakers, “The total revenue estimate is the sum of N7.5 trillion for the year 2020 and N2.09 trillion that will be accruing to the federation account and VAT respectively.”

    According to her, “There will, of course, be the distribution to the three tiers of government based on the statutorily revenue sharing formula as defined in the constitution and to this effect, it means the federal government will be receiving proposed aggregate of N4.26 trillion from the federal account and the VAT pool, while the states and the local governments are expected to receive N3.04 trillion and N2.27 trillion respectively.”

    Recall that in 1994, under the regime of the late Military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, VAT, which replaced what was then known as sales tax, was fixed at 5 percent.

    On May 28, 2007, former President Olusegun Obasanjo raised VAT to 10 percent, but his successor, late Umaru Yar’Adua, reversed it.

  • FEC approves N52bn for e-monitoring of porous borders

    FEC approves N52bn for e-monitoring of porous borders

    Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting has approved N52 billion for e-border solution to monitor the country’s porous borders.

    The weekly meeting was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,

    Briefing newsmen on the decision, Interior minister, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) said the contract will cover 86 border posts and all the 1,400 illegal routes being used for smuggling and other crimes.

    He briefed alongside his colleagues; Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, Water Resources, Sulieman Adamu and Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

    He said the pilot system has already been installed at two border posts, disclosing that the information will be available real-time 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

    Dambazau said, “Council approved N52 billion for eBorder solution. This process started in 2012 but we picked it up to move forward when we came in. The project is to be completed within the next two years.

    “There is a pilot project already which has been very successful; it was installed to monitor two borders.

    “This project is going to cover 86 border posts in the country. We will be able to also monitor 1,400 illegal routes that are used for smuggling and all kinds of cross border criminal activities.

    “The Nigeria Immigration Service will work very closely with other services. When it comes to response, with the air force and the army units deployed near the borders, with the customs in terms of smuggling. The information will be available real-time 24/7,” he said.

    Briefing on the National Social Investment Programme, Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, said Council approved two memos on National Social Investment Programme. The two approvals is I the sum of N977, 807,194 million.

    The first according to Udoma was for the award of the consultancy service contract for the provision of training services and integrated supply of starter packs for N-Creative Trainees in the Northern states of Nigeria in favour of Messers Patigon services Ltd in the sum of N652,318,104 inclusive of five percent VAT.

    The training he said “will be held in Abuja for 1,500 beneficiaries with integrated starter packs distributed to the trainees at the end of the training.

    “The four thematic creative areas and their respective beneficiaries distributions are as follows: script writing – 150, graphic illustration 375, animation – 750 and post-production -225.”

    The second memo was also under the National Social Investment Programme for the award of consultants’ service contracts for the provision of training services and integration supply of starter packs for the N-Tech Software trainees in Southern Nigeria, in favour of UCH Ltd at the sum of N325, 489 million. This same training has been provided for the northern states already, so this is for the southern states. The training is for 2,000 beneficiaries.

    Also, Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu said the memo from his ministry was for augmentation of consultancy services for two water projects.

    First according to Adamu “is Igawa Dam Project In Katsina State which is 50, 60 percent completed. Last year, we got a total reversal cost of the project and extension. Aligning everything together, the supervising and consultancy services also have to be extended to correspond with the completion period. To that effect, Council approved augmentation of over N91 million for consultancy service supervision in favour of Messers Cosidon Consultancy Service Ltd. This now raises the consultancy fee from N125.7 million to N217.4 million.

    “The second memo is in respect of Mangu Dam project which has attained about 70 percent completion. We also had Revise Estimated Cost Approval last year which also approved an extension period for the work. In the same vain, the consultancy period has to be adjusted to correspond to the completion period. An augmentation of N111.6 million to raise the consultancy service supervision from N104 million to N215 million with an extension period of 24 months in favour of AIM Consultants Ltd.”

  • FEC approves N5.5bn to create 60,000 jobs

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) Wednesday approved N5.5 billion for the creation of 60,000 jobs.

    The contract, under the N-Power Knowledge Multipack project, is to train 12,000 youths between 18 and 25 years old.

    The 12,000 youths will in turn be empowered to train additional youths, bringing the total beneficiaries to 60,000.

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the contract, which was awarded under the Social Investment Programmes, will make provision of N259,000 each for training the youths and N207, 000 each for their tools.

    He said: “One of the projects approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) today is knowledge, youth and empowerment programme. Now, this programme targets 12,000 young Nigerians of between the ages of 18 to 25 years. It is meant to give them trainings and devices.

    “The trainings intend to transform the 12,000 beneficiaries from unemployed, under-employed trainees to employed citizens and entrepreneurs.

    “It will deliver to 12,000 beneficiaries informed trainings which will enable beneficiaries build and imbibe technical proficiency such as assembling, repairs, maintenance as well as technology skills and digital literacy across a wide range of electronic brands, products and technology which can be grouped into three areas – mobile devices, computing devices and commonly used electronic devices irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds.

    “It’s a programme that is open to all unemployed youths across the six geo-political zones. Each of the 12,000 targeted beneficiaries will be empowered to train 5,000 youths via a training platform which means they will need to translate the jobs to 60,000 additional jobs because each of the 12,000 is empowered to train five other youths via a training platform and engage them on his or her platform.

    “The project is awarded to Messrs Softcam. It’s of nine months’ duration. Softcam will be working with officials of Social Investment Programme.

    “It will cost N259,000 per youth for the training and N207,000 for work tools. Thereafter, once they are trained, they will set up their businesses. Each of the 12,000 beneficiaries will set up his/her business. The cost is N5.595 billion.

    “The idea is to ensure that our youths are trained and capable of handling all these electronic equipment, ” Udoma said.

    The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed said $6.8 million loan was approved for rebuilding of the Northeast.

    Hajia Ahmed said: “As at December 2018, the National Assembly had approved the Issuance of Promissory Notes to two (2) creditor categories from the Programme:

    1. Refund to 21 state governments for projects executed on behalf of the Federal Government (Refunds to 4 States – Bauchi, Delta, Kogi and Taraba, were not approved) (N488,743,526,204.77).

    “ii. Payment to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for Fuel Supply Accrued Interest and Foreign Exchange Differentials (N348,003,054,975.00).

    Note: Subsequent to the submission of this Memo to Council, NASS approved the following additional items:

    • Refund to two (2) State Governments (Delta and Taraba States) – N90,236,461,031.36;
    • Payment for six (6) Contractors – N206,065,107,252.69; and,
    • Payment of Exporters Claims under the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) Scheme – N195,089,234,808.63.

    “Purpose of the Council Memo

    To seek Council’s approval for the following: i. Appointment of Transaction Parties for the Programme

    1. To incur a total estimated cost of N689.96 million (including Fees and Expenses to the Transaction Parties) in implementing the Programme and that the funds be sourced from proceeds of FGN Securities Issuance.

    “Appointment of Transaction Parties and the Procurement Process

    1. Three categories of Transaction Parties are to be appointed for the implementation of the Programme. They are: i) An International Accounting Firm operating in Nigeria (for verification of the liabilities); ii) Financial Advisers (for the structuring of the Promissory Note); and, iii) Legal Advisers (for legal advisory services and litigations that may arise).

    Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing Mustapha Shehuri said the Council approved N6.17 billion for the augmentation of the contract for the construction of Ikot-Ekpene border-Aba-Owerri road, Section 1, Phase 1.

    He said that the contract was awarded in 2012 but the augmentation had to come following observations by the contractor.

    He said: “FEC has given approval for the augmentation of contract for construction of Ikot-Ekpene border-Aba-Owerri road, Section 1, Phase 1 and the length is 11.26km.

    “The contract was awarded in 2012 to Arab Contractors at the cost of N3.78b; it came up for augmentation because the contractor actually observed some failures in the contract around some sections of the road.

    “Actually, it is a one lane but with the augmentation now, it will be dualised; the contract period in 12 months; the cost after augmentation is now N6.17 billion,’’ he said.

    The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha Abubakar, said that FEC approved the revised estimated total cost for the completion of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Headquarters in Abuja.

    She said that the building was initially conceived to be the National Children’s Library and Resource Centre approved in 2006.

    The 20 new completed projects including erosion and flood control works, he said, are located in Bauchi, Yobe, Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Benue, Katsina, FCT, Jigawa and Kebbi states.

    The Minister of Mines and Steel, Bawa Bwari said that FEC approved N486.9 million for mining drilling equipment.

  • FEC approves five new clean-up contracts for Ogoni land

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved five more contracts for the clean up of Ogoni land in Rivers State.

    This was announced by the environment minister, Suleiman Hassan, while briefing journalists at the end of a seven-hour meeting of the council on Wednesday.

    The meeting was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Mr Hassan said the new contracts, valued at N3.039 billion, are different from the 16 earlier approved and which sites were handed over to the contractors in January.

    “While the 16 contracts awarded earlier were within the ministerial tenders board, the five approved today is above the tenders board and that is why we presented them to the council,” he said.

    The minister said the ongoing Ogoni clean-up exercise follows a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

    Also, the governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, who is the vice chairman of the National Food Security Council, said the council, chaired by Mr Buhari, submitted two memos which were both approved by FEC.

    Mr Bagudu said the first memo is in respect of intervention “for states that have been affected by conflicts and insecurity, where many have been displaced from their homes and some are living in Internally Displaced Persons’ camps”.

    The governor said whole support has been given in terms of accommodation, food and welfare. He said the food council considered the importance of helping those displaced to restore their livelihood, particularly agricultural activities.

    “Council approved the memo by Mr President and approved N8,558,529,755 for intervention in Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

    “The beneficiaries are estimated about 69,872 people. The intervention includes the provision of fertiliser, seedlings, chemicals, poultry and animals to enable them to resume economic activity,” he said.

    The Kebbi governor also said the council considered and approved the submission which originated from the National Food Security Council on states that have been severely affected by flooding.

    He said it is not an exhaustive list because the National Emergency Management Agency statutorily provides support to states that experience one emergency or the other.

    “Last year, there was an unusual amount of flooding in some states, about 14 of them, and the National Food Security Council considered the impact of that flooding on the agricultural sector, food security, animal husbandry and fisheries.

    “And so, today the council approved an intervention totalling N18,942,818,912.14.

    “Contracts would be awarded to 15 companies to provide seedlings, agrochemicals and fertilisers to 163,117 beneficiaries located in 14 states.

    “The states are Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto and Taraba,” he said.

    He also said as part of the work of national food security council, other interventions have been considered and are being worked upon by the beneficiary communities and also the livestock sector.

    He said the committee worked with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to draw up the list of beneficiaries.

  • Minimum Wage: Buhari summons emergency FEC meeting over labour’s strike threats

    Minimum Wage: Buhari summons emergency FEC meeting over labour’s strike threats

    President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned a Special Federal Executive Council meeting over labour’s demand for a new minimum wage.

    The meeting might consider the draft Bill on the new wage structure before it is sent to the National Assembly.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has made the presentation of the Bill a precondition for shelving its proposed nationwide strike.

    Labour is insisting on a N30,000 minimum wage. The Nigeria Governors Forum(NGF) is proposing N24,000.

    Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige last Tuesday told labour leaders that the new Minimum Wage Bill will be transmitted to the National Assembly on or before January 23.

    The NLC plans to start its strike on January 28.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, confirmed that “all members of the FEC have been advised to cut short official visits or campaign activities in their states to be at the session”.

    Asked if the salaries of workers earning above N30,000 labour’s proposed minimum wage will be renegotiated, the source said: “It is going to be a comprehensive FEC meeting. We will look at all options.”

    Budget and National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma said at the weekend: “Technical Committee on the Implementation of a new Minimum Wage inaugurated last Wednesday by President Muhammadu Buhari is to, among other things, identify additional sources of revenue.”

    He said the panel would assist the government on how it can “meet its expenditure on other services, such as education, health, infrastructure and other important functions of government, after paying the increased salaries”.

    Udoma made the clarifications at the weekend at a session with editors in Lagos.

    A statement by Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister, Akpandem James, said: “The committee is to ensure that government can meet the increased costs that will arise from the implementation of a new minimum wage without affecting government’s ability to meet the other obligations of government, particularly with respect to the ambitious infrastructure development plans of the government.

    “The committee is expected to, among other things, look at how to get additional revenues so that as our wage bill goes up, we are able to increase our revenues to ensure that our spending on capital projects, our spending on basic infrastructure, our spending on health, our spending on education and others is not reduced.

    “In short, the committee is to advise on ways to ensure that notwithstanding the increase in payroll costs, there continues to be adequate funding for other government activities. This is not just for the 2019 fiscal year, but going forward, thereafter.”

    On budget deficit, the minister said the government is “proposing to bring it down slightly from the N1.95 trillion projected for 2018 to N1.895 trillion in 2019. This, he said, is 1.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), well within the three per cent limit set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

    As regards the debt service to revenue ratio, he assured that as the country’s revenue situation improves, that ratio will come down.

    Udoma added: “Nigeria does not have a debt problem as such. Our debt is within prudent limits. However, we need to optimise our revenue generating potential. This will bring down our debt service to revenue ratio.

    “Given the size of our economy, we can, and should, be doing better in revenue generation. This explains our focus as a government on revenues and revenue generation.”

    On the alleged small size of the budget, he said the government was limited by the revenues available to it.

    Udoma said: “Some commentators have complained that the 2019 budget proposal is too small. They would like us to have a larger budget. All of us in government would also like Nigeria to have a larger budget.

    “Indeed as our revenues grow, we will be able to expand our budget size. In truth, though we have increased our budget size significantly since we took over government in 2015, our budget size is still far too small to meet all our needs.

    “However, we are limited by the size of our revenues. Our current proposal for 2019 represents the maximum size that we believe we can prudently fund from our revenue and debt sources.

    “There is no point announcing a large budget that you cannot fund. As we are able to generate more revenues in future, we will be able to continue to increase the size of our budgets.”

    Concerning unemployment, the minister said the government was working hard to improve the enabling environment for economic expansion which will lead to the creation of additional jobs.

    He was confident that as the various initiatives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (the ERGP) continue to be implemented, Nigeria will be able to create jobs at a rate that is much faster than population growth, thereby bringing down the unemployment figures.

    “Most of these jobs will be created in the private sector, particularly in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, trade and services,” Udoma said, adding that “many of the major economic indices are showing signs of improvement.”

  • FEC approves establishment of four new private universities

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the establishment of four new private universities in Nigeria.

    The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who announced the approvals while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the first meeting of the council this year, said the new universities are Greenfield University, Kaduna; Dominion University, Ibadan Oyo State;Trinity University, Ogun State and Westland University in Iwo, Osun State.

    Adamu said the approvals were given because all the four universities have met the criterion for establishing a university following a visitation by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    The approvals bring the number of private universities in Nigeria to 79.

    The NUC had in August 2018 said it was processing over 200 applications for new private universities in the country.

    Before today’s approval, the total number of universities in the country, with over 150 million population, was 160 (40 federal universities, 45 state-owned universities and 75 private universities).

    The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Abubakar Rasheed, said the available universities — private, federal and states could no longer cope with the large numbers of yearly applications for admission.

    Recall that private universities were first licensed in Nigeria in 1999 when Babcock University, Igbinedion University and Madonna University were approved.

    One more – Bowen University- was approved in 2001 before Benson Idahosa University, Covenant University and Pan-Atlantic University were added a year later.

    The number has since ballooned with the federal government approving, in 2017, Admiralty Univerity, Ibusa, Delta State; Spiritan University, Nneochi, Abia State; Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan; Pamo University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Atiba University, Oyo State; and Eko University of Medical and Health Sciences, Lagos.

    Skyline University, Kano, was the only one licensed in 2017.