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Tag: MoU

  • Ogun bars traditional rulers from signing MoUs on land

    Ogun bars traditional rulers from signing MoUs on land

    Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has issued three Executive Orders, an official said on Saturday in Abeokuta.

    Two of the three orders are establishing two new agencies, while the third restrains traditional rulers from signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on land in the state.

    Abiodun’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, in a statement, listed the agencies as the Ogun State Mineral Resources Development Agency and Ogun State Landscaping and Recreation Agency.

    “In addition to the establishment of these two agencies, the third executive order restrains traditional rulers from entering into any form of agreement or MoU concerning mining activities or any other land matters in their domain,” he said.

    Akinmade said the Mineral Resources Development Agency would establish a working relationship with host communities in order to conduct geo-technical and geological surveys of solid mineral deposit within their domain.

    “The second agency is responsible for sustaining the achievement of the Ministry of Environment in the area of environmental regeneration and restoration and through the provision of parks, gardens and recreational centres state-wide to preserve the biodiversity and ecosystem of the environment,” he added.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor’s aide said the three executive orders take an immediate effect.

    “Executive Order One is based on Section 5(2) of the 1999 Constitution which vests in the governor the exercise of executive powers of the state for the purpose of effective governance.

    “The agency shall, directly or through qualified third parties, conduct and establish working relationship with host communities and local governments for the conduct of geo-technical and geological surveys of solid mineral deposits within their domain.

    “It will conduct geo-technical survey of solid mineral deposits in the state and maintain relevant data in the sector, (and) organise the solid minerals sector to the best interest of the state.

    “To realise its objectives, the agency shall be funded through fees generated from regulatory agency, budgetary allocation, grants and financial intervention from both local and international development partners, as well as gifts, aid and other legitimate contributions,” he explained.

    Akinmade said Executive Order Two was on the basis of the Ministry of Environment starting a massive and aggressive tree-planting campaign to complement the beautification and landscaping programmes.

    ”This is to ensure environmentally sustainable, healthier and beautiful society, and the agency shall administer, maintain and manage all designated parks and recreation centres in the state.

    “For the purpose of realising its objectives, it shall be funded through budgetary allocation or monies received for services rendered, grants and financial intervention from both local and international development partners, as well as gifts, aids and other legitimate contributions.”

    He added that Executive Order Three bars traditional rulers in the state from entering into any form of MoU with reference to mining or any other land matters.

    “The State has observes the current trend in which miners and investors circumvent regulations and government oversight by encouraging traditional institutions to interfere with land management by entering into MoUs and other irregular legal arrangements.

    “Therefore, all forms of traditional institutions existing within the state are hereby with immediate effect barred from entering into any form of MoU or agreement with any individual, companies or organisations seeking land within any part of the entire state for purposes of mining or industry.

    ”They are to forthwith refrain from issuing any form of consent letters for mining across the state.

    “Any traditional institution or stakeholder in the institution who flouts this order shall be sanctioned in line with the provisions of the Kings and Chiefs’ Law and other relevant criminal statutes.

  • Nigeria, India sign MOU to block illicit drug flow

    Nigeria, India sign MOU to block illicit drug flow

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Narcotics Control Bureau of India have agreed to collaborate to block the traffic of illicit drugs between Nigeria and India.

    The Director Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said in a statement that the two agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said the Chairman of NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, who signed the MoU on behalf of the agency, said the move represented a robust partnership in efforts to exterminate incidences of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the two countries.

    He said, “this bold step taken by the two agencies is an affirmation of our foresight and commitment to the task of ensuring the safety of our citizens and the global community at large.”

    According to him, the MOU constitutes a fundamental step towards positioning the two countries, India and Nigeria, at the forefront of confronting and dismantling transnational drug trafficking networks.

    “This is with brazen capabilities of outmaneuvering legitimate drug law enforcement.

    “With our understanding of the changing dynamics of the illicit drug problems, locally and globally, every major organisation around the world is working assiduously to curb the menace.

    “They also know that working with partners greatly helps in addressing the trafficking and abuse of narcotic and psychotropic substances,” he said.

    Marwa said the governments of both countries remained committed to eradicating the problem posed by illicit substances, notably synthetic opioids and Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS) which posed a potent threat to our citizens.

    He acknowledged the courage exhibited by the two agencies in the course of past meetings that culminated in the MoU.

    The NDLEA boss stressed that the partnership would impact greatly on efforts to prevent illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, precursor chemicals and related matters between the two countries.

    The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria and Head of the Indian delegation, Ambassador Shri Balasubramanian, signed on behalf of his country.

    Balasubramanian said the negative impact of drugs on global financial and political systems was enormous, and that proceeds of drug trafficking were often directed towards terrorism financing.

    The Indian high commissioner observed that drug trafficking did not only affect the health of the individual that consumed it but equally the economy of the country as well as national security.

    He advised that both countries should take advantage of their similar demographic advantage to address substance use problems.

    He added that the liberal trade relations and educational advantages enjoyed by both countries had been negatively applied to further criminal drug trade.

    “I urge that all hands must be on deck to ensure that merchants of death do not succeed in their evil trade,” he said.

    Balasubramanian pledged the commitment of the Indian government to ensure the enforcement of the provisions of the MoU.

  • Gov Soludo asked to reveal details of MoU with EEDC

    Gov Soludo asked to reveal details of MoU with EEDC

    Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA) has urged Gov. Chukwuma Soludo to explain details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), on 24 hours power supply in Anambra.

    On March 25, Soludo signed an MoU between the state government and Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), to ensure that power supply in the state was available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

    The chamber’s President, Chief Kevin Obieri, called for the clarification in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday.

    Obieri stated that the chamber was concerned that there was no detailed information regarding the MoU and its broad implications for the business community in Onitsha and the entire state.

    He lamented that there was no information on when the partnership would commence and whether the projections were in a month, a year’s time or towards the end of the administration’s tenure.

    “While the chamber continues to support Gov. Soludo’s developmental strides in the state, we strongly feel that the government should do well to sensitise the business community to the MoU.

    “Beyond payment of bills by users, are there other cost implications? If any, will the cost be borne by the state or wholly transferred to the public or subsidised?

    “If the cost is to be borne by the state, what are the implications to the state’s finances, especially as the nation is currently grappling with record inflation?

    “With a struggling economy, businesses trying to stay afloat and people living on a knife’s edge, it will help that people are aware of the full details of the MoU, so that necessary adjustments can be made, ” he said.

    Obieri stated that as of March 21, the total National Power Generation was 4,670 megawatts out of which 365 megawatts was assigned to EEDC which provides distribution for the whole of the Southeast.

    “The obvious question then is, how feasible is the provision of 24/7 electricity when the allocation to EEDC is quite minute to satisfy the whole of Southeast?

    “Even experts have insisted that Southeast requires a minimum of 10,000 megawatts of electricity for a steady power supply.

    “More critical is that EEDC is only a distribution company, not a generation company and can only distribute what is released to it by the GENCOS.

    “They cannot control or guarantee a 24/7 power supply.These are many questions begging for answers here,” he said.

    The Chamber’s President said that a steady electricity supply in Anambra was the single most critical factor to kick-start and galvanize the much publicised industrialisation of the state.

    According to him, steady electricity will transform the economic equation of businesses and boost the disposable income of the citizenry while propelling the revenue generation capacity of the state.

    “This is why every pronouncement regarding achieving this laudable aim must be well considered while any impediment to the realisation of this objective must be addressed quickly.

    “To this end, the business community as well as the general public await to hear a well-articulated process-flow and details of the MoU signed on their behalf to dispell needless speculations and rumours.

    “We hope that the state government, through the relevant ministries, will expand its sensitisation and awareness campaign on this critical agreement, “Obieri stated.

  • Nigeria to begin rice export to Egypt, as RIFAN, Tiamin sign MoU

    Nigeria to begin rice export to Egypt, as RIFAN, Tiamin sign MoU

    The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tiamin Rice company for processing and sale of rice locally and internationally.

    This is contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Managing Director of Tiamin Rice Company, Mr Aliyu Ibrahim in Abuja.

    Aliyu said the initiative was aimed at cultivation of quality rice paddy by RIFAN, while Tiamin processes and packages with state-of-the-art milling technology for sale locally and internationally, particularly to Egypt.

    He said the MoU, which would be operational for a period of two years was signed at the company’s 600-metric tonnes per hour capacity mill in Bauchi State.

    “RIFAN and Tiamin share a common agenda in the area of rice farming and milling.

    “This is to ensure a sustainable supply chain management of rice under a partnership that seeks to produce , mill and package processed rice of the highest quality for export and local trading.

    “With a combined capacity of 920 tonnes per hour from its two mills in Kano and Bauchi states, Tiamin Rice is one of the largest producers of rice in Nigeria,” he said.

    According to Aliyu, the company also has a 10,000 hectare rice farm in Udubo, Bauchi State.

    According to him, large-scale wet and dry season farming takes place in the farm with state-of-the-art agricultural machinery.

    “Though, the company has benefited from six different development finance interventions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    He said the intervention was to the tune of over N20 billion, adding that the company had successfully repaid four of the intervention funds.

    Aliyu said Tiamin Rice company was the first corporate entity to access the Private Sector-Lead Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (P-AADS) funds from CBN.

  • CIBN, PAPSS sign MoU to resolve payments-related barriers in continental trade

    CIBN, PAPSS sign MoU to resolve payments-related barriers in continental trade

    The leadership of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pan- African and Payment Settlement System (PAPSS) in a bid to resolve payments-related barriers in the actualization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    The MoU was signed between both organizations at the CIBN’s just-concluded 15th annual Banking and Finance Conference which held from Wednesday 13th to Thursday 14th September, 2022 in Abuja.

    Themed: ‘Repositioning the Financial Services Industry for an Evolving Glocal Context,’ the Conference featured five business and four plenary sessions with A-list faculty.

    The business session featured the following topical issues; Banking in Africa: The Role of AfCFTA and PAPSS; Nigeria’s economy in the last five years: lessons learnt and choices to make in the next five years; Workforce globalisation: Opportunities and threat; Banking & Fintech: The nexus and opportunities; Climate change: The role of financial services sector.

    The plenary session addressed the following; Sustainable financing: Opportunities, challenges and solutions for the energy sector; Food security: Unlocking Nigeria’s potentials to feed Africa; Creating economy: Scaling for jobs; Harnessing the untapped opportunities in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

    According to a communiqué released by the Institute at the end of the two-day conference, both sessions recorded highly-engaging and intellectual discourse aimed at charting a new partway to unlocking Nigeria and Africa’s untapped potentials in Agriculture, healthcare, financial services and other key sectors.

    Highpoints and resolutions from the Business and Plenary Sessions include;

    1. Focus on improving trade by resolving payments-related barriers isa fundamental requirement for the success of the AfCFTA and this has been highlighted by the PAPSS. PAPSS provides a model that would support international payments in local currency, thus resolving specific payment-related challenges.
    2. There are a lot of opportunities for Africa and the wealth that is not being tapped because of the low level of trade interaction in the continent.
    3. The Nigerian business model should be reshaped to address the unfriendly macroeconomic issues.
    4. The growth of on-lending facilities for companies that have proper ESG goals and workable plans presents opportunities for businesses.
    5. Infrastructure development needs to be facilitated to ensure the success of both the AfCFTA and PAPSS.
    6. The new digital infrastructure should be explored to boost financing in the creative sector is minimal and not yet understood. The players in this industry need to identify the technocrats who understand the way the technology works and play with them.
    7. Understand how comparative economies finance the creative sector. We should consider the depth of equity financing with emphasis on creating special needs banks, investment banks, and/or large asset funds, which are ways of financing the creative sector in other jurisdictions. In some instances, deliberate rebate schemes are also employed.
    8. There is a need to leverage collaboration among various international financial institutions to boost growth and development of the creative industry.
    9. With technological advancement, telemedicine has presented a viable solution for the provision of high-quality and low-cost health services.
    10. With the policy change which has seen social insurance now being made mandatory, there will be a huge expansion in the pool of people who will require health insurance, and this presents an opportunity for the financial services industry to provide workable solutions.
    11. Social dialogue in banking enterprises must be held on issues of common interests.
    12. HR managers need to identify the factors that are within their control and strive to understand why their staff are emigrating to be able to tackle the ‘japa’ syndrome.
    13. With the growing globalisation of work, talent has become fluid and borderless. Rather than recruit new workforce, organisations could improve or train internal talent.
    14. The academic curriculum needs to be modernised to match the demands of businesses in the current clime.
    15. The financial sector has a pivotal role to play in achieving the net-zero ambitions of the country.
    16. The growth of green finance presents an opportunity for financial institutions to lay more emphasis on green-related assets financing.
    17. CIBN should be involved in negotiating the terms for access to clean technology solutions needed to tackle the adverse effects of climate change.

    Meanwhile, the Chairman, Conference Consultative Committee and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman advocated for the institution of US$20 million Capacity Building training fund to be housed in the CIBN. According to him, the proposed fund will be used to train and retrain workers who can fill the gap left by their colleagues who emigrate. He also pledged a donation of US$1 million by Sterling Bank to kick start the fund.

    Dignitaries at the Conference include President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu represented by the Commissioner of Finance, Doctor Rabiu Olowo, Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele who also doubled as the Chief Host. Others in attendance include CEOs, seasoned bankers and industry stakeholders. The CIBN President, Ben Opara was host of the Conference.

  • Maritime security: NIMASA, NITT sign MoU to strengthen research

    Maritime security: NIMASA, NITT sign MoU to strengthen research

    In order to enhance maritime safety and security in Nigeria, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, on research and training.

    Dr Bashir Jamoh, the Director-General of NIMASA, said on Saturday in Zaria that the MoU was hinged on research and training with a view to enhance local content and boost the quality assurance of the institute.

    The director-general noted that NITT and NIMASA have been together for over three decades.

    “The MoU signing ceremony was to formalise and strengthen the relationship in terms of research, training and development,” Jamoh said.

    According to him, the activities of sea pirates had negatively impacted the sector in 2020 and dented the image of our country.

    He however noted that the attacks by sea pirates subsided by 2021 and from January 2022 to date Nigeria did not record any attack by the pirates.

    He said NIMASA achieved the success through strategic collaborations and partnerships with key stakeholders in the sector.

    He added that collaboration with the NITT would further support NIMASA with research to sustain the gains and strengthen the sector.

    Jamoh said with the signing of the MoU, the NITT would assist NIMASA with either research or training in wherever it observed gaps.

    “If it is gaps on individuals that drive the transport industry then the gaps would be bridged in terms of training.

    “If it is in terms of infrastructure, the institute will conduct research to determine the type of infrastructure that would address the identified gaps.

    “If the gaps were identified in terms of the general progress of the industry, the institute would also come-in,’’ he said.

    He stated that NITT was established to develop not only the maritime industry but the whole transport and logistics sector, stressing that NIMASA will sustain its support to the institute towards enhancing growth and development in the transport and logistics sector.

    The Director-General of NITT, Dr Bayero Farah, said the MoU was aimed at strengthening the relationship between NITT and NIMASA so that NITT can provide more training to the staff of NIMASA.

    Farah said the MoU was also hinged on collaborative research between the two agencies on critical and dynamic issues that affect the maritime industry in Nigeria.

    He said:“At any time we had issues in the Maritime Sector, NITT and NIMASA would conduct a research and proffer solution based on international best practice.

    “With the signing of this MoU the training of NIMASA’s managers’ cadre by the NITT towards enhancing the growth of the sector would commence with immediate effect.’’

  • ASUU urge FG to honour existing agreement

    ASUU urge FG to honour existing agreement

    The chairman of ASUU, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) Awka branch, Dr Stephen Ufoaroh, has urged the Federal Government to honour the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Action (MoA) it entered with the union.

    Dr Stephen Ufoaroh, disclosed this at a post-Congress news conference on Tuesday, stating that it was to avert a crisis.

    Ufoaroh said the peace in Nigeria’s universities was being threatened by the refusal of the FG to honour the agreement between it and ASUU, which was entered into on Dec. 23, 2020, noting that the timeline had been breached by over 12 months.

    He said failure to honour the terms of the agreement coupled with the introduction of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) had resulted in mutilated salaries, non-payment of promotion arrears and Earned Academic Allowance.

    “As of today Feb.1, academic staff in Federal Universities are owed between one month to more than two years arrears of salaries, the situation is more pathetic in some state-owned Universities, especially in the South East.

    “In Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University of Anambra State, there is no pension scheme, non-payment of several years of earned academic allowances, among others.

    “We once again alert Nigerians, that unless the Federal Government strives to sincerely resolve these issues, there will be no rest for us all.

    “There will be no more MOUs or MOAs, until everything is fully implemented,” he said.

    The ASUU chairman said that the unfriendly working environment in the Universities and poor remuneration of the teaching staff had encouraged continued brain drain in the sector.

    Ufoaroh said some state governments no longer fund their own university, which had become Tertiary Education Trust and Needs Assessment fund dependent.

    According to him, the take-home pay of a Professor at the current rate of exchange was less than $1000 from the $3000 it was in 2009, this is a serious cause for concern in relation to its adverse effect on the output and productivity of such Professors.

    “Little wonder that many Professors are shopping around for positions and appointments as against their vocations, the exodus of Professors from academics is a death knell on the university system in Nigeria.

    “In State Universities, most visitors (State Governors) have scandalously abandoned their responsibilities to the State-owned universities.

    “These State Universities are now in existence and being sustained by funds from TETFund and NEEDS Assessment Funds, both being products of ASUU struggles. Even payment of personnel cost is abandoned,” he said.

    Corroborating Ufoaroh, Prof Okey Aniebo, chairman of ASUU at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, said lecturers in the institution had no hope for pension as employer’s remittances were not being affected and as such could not attract tax clearance.

    Aniebo said some positions, which were filled by Academic Staff like deans of faculty, were now being given out as political appointments.

  • FG signs MoU on Intellectual Property Commercialisation

    FG signs MoU on Intellectual Property Commercialisation

    The Federal Government says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a UK-based Developing Africa Group, to create Africa’s first Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Commercialisation Project in Nigeria.

    This is contained in a statement by Ibrahim Haruna, Head, Press and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on Saturday in Abuja.

    The statement said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, disclosed this during the signing ceremony held recently in Abuja.

    It said that the minister was represented at the occasion by the Registrar, Trademarks, Shafiu Adamu-Yauri.

    Adeniyi was quoted as saying that the MoU would allow the group to use IPR as a means of resolving some of the issues and challenges facing Nigeria as well as creating jobs and trade services.

    The minister said the pilot project was structured for three Years, adding that “it is designed to place IPR directly into some of the key issues and challenges in Nigeria.

    “This is to address some of the issues surrounding unemployment and allow rural communities in Nigeria to start attracting commercial interests.

    “Since trademarks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, and Nigeria happens to be one of the strong regional hubs of trade in Africa being the continent’s biggest economy.

    “It is no surprise that it has attracted the world’s IP governing body in Abuja, as Nigeria hosted one of the only two World Intellectual Property Office’s (WIPO) External Offices in Africa.”

    According to the statement, the project will assist the registry of trademarks in the effective administration and enforcement of trademark rights in Nigeria.

    “Africa in general and Nigeria, in particular, faces an enormous challenge of industrialisation and unemployment generation given the significant population growth.

    “The African Development Bank estimates that youth unemployment is twice as high as that of adults “and that young people account for approximately 60 per cent of the continent’s jobless population.
    “The problem is only set to become more acute given estimates that some 12 million young people on the continent enter the job market each year,” Adeniyi was quoted as saying.

    The minister urged the group to work closely with the WIPO Office in Nigeria to achieve the goals.
    The statement also quoted the Chairperson of the group, Hajiya Jamila Ahmadu-Suka, as assuring that the use of the IPR would create a series of technology-based projects in Nigeria.

    This, she said, included a project to make Nigeria become a zero tolerant nation for trademarks abuse through the application of a Gig-economy mobile social media app.

    “It will create up to 15,000 jobs across Nigeria for the detection of fake labels and abuse of trademark rights and other IPR violations in Nigeria,” she said.

  • FG, NNPC sign N621bn MoU to fund road infrastructure

    FG, NNPC sign N621bn MoU to fund road infrastructure

    The Federal Government and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding of N621 billion to fund the construction of critical road infrastructure across the country.

    The Tax Credit MoU, which was signed in Abuja by the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on behalf of the Federal Government; the Chief Fiance Officer of NNPC, represented by the General Manager International Energy Relations, Mr Garba Hadejia; and the Executive Secretary, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Muhammed Manni, was to actualise the Executive Order 007.

    Speaking at the occasion, Fashola said the executive order 007 was a strategic partnership with the private sector, according to him it was used to address the Obajano-Kabba road and the very difficult Apapa – Oworoshoki express way.

    ”Of course, when the order expired, we looked at the limitations of the existing order and recommendations were made to the president, some of which were to make the roads more diverse in their selection and another was that smaller companies could merge in groups to handle smaller roads.

    ‘’All of these were then factored in to the order that president Buhari signed as executive order 007 in 2019, the governance structure around it and how applications are made and so on and so forth.

    “So, I think it’s important to make that clear application, because every so often when policies are made, it is misunderstood or requires further clarification, so this is not an order for one person it’s an order for all Nigerian businesses.

    ‘’ We’re now seeing the oil industry sector step in very sure footedly with over 600 billion naira to address over 21 roads that cover 1800 kilometre, that’s truly massive, it is a show of confidence by NNPC.

    “We are also seeing interests in the Telecom sector, and we hope that this will carry on as a strategic expansion for private sector interest contributing to the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure.

    ‘’We’re also seeing interests in the Telecom sector, and we hope that this will carry on as a strategic expansion for private sector interest contributing to the development of Nigeria’s infrastructures,” Fashola said.

    He added that a governance structure had been put in place to ensure that no contractor would ask for an increase in price and that FIRS has five days to certify all contractor certificates and NNPC had 30 days to pay up.

    Fashola said this had given more confidence to contractors of the assurance to get paid and urged them to mobilise their staff, equipment, supplies back to site.

    He was optimistic that the impact of the funding would be noticed before the commencement of the rainy season.

    ‘’Finally let me say that as we enter the peek of the yuletide season, there will be a lot of movement of goods, vehicles and persons on our highways as the number increases, we are also seeing an increase in speeding and increase in accidents.

    ‘’And, as such I appeal to the media to carry this message over that the maximum speed limit on all federal highways is 100km/h and shouldn’t be a kilometre higher.

    ‘’More importantly there’s an increasing tendency to use the phone while driving and this is an absolute no, as it puts the driver and other road users in danger, and we hope that if these two basic ideas are heeded to, we can really reduce the number of accidents on our roads,’’ Fashola said.

    On his part, Mr Muhammed Manni, Executive Secretary, Federal Inland Revenue Service, said the investment in roads was a call on using tax payers’ income tax in fixing critical road infrastructure.

    ‘’This is also to support the fact that there is a social contract between the tax payers and the government and that is what the Federal Government is doing using order 007 to give value to the tax payers money.

    ‘’So, this is actually necessary for us to fix some of these critical roads because the annual budgetary allocation for these roads are not only minimal but absolutely insufficient so government has to come out with this in making sure that some of the roads were constructed.

    ‘’Some of these roads were in the 70s and 80s and are currently bad and need to be fixed in order for us to move goods, persons and farm products from one location to another without any obstruction.

    ‘’Secondly and most importantly to bridge the critical infrastructure gap that we face as a country,’’ Manni said.

    Manni, therefore, commended the corporation for finding it necessary to invest in road infrastructure.

    The Chief Finance Officer of the organization, Mr Umar Ajiya, said the condition of the road networks in the country was affecting their business.

    ‘’We are charged with the responsibility of providing the country with petroleum products, in the cause of doing that most of our pipelines have been vandalised which has resulted in haulage of this products through trucks.

    ‘’Which pass through many of these national road network and these road networks have suffered the same fate over the years and it is difficult for our tanker drivers to pass safely and easily to convey these products to the books and crannies of Nigeria.

    ‘’So it is on that note that we find this tax credit scheme a very important way by which we can step in to support the Federal Ministry of Works in funding these road networks, we are willing and ready to fund with 621billion,” he said.

    He appreciated the government for the privilege to contribute to the sector with the scheme.

  • NASENI, Plateau State Government Sign MoU to Establish Food Processing Equipment and Machinery Development Institute in Plateau State.

    NASENI, Plateau State Government Sign MoU to Establish Food Processing Equipment and Machinery Development Institute in Plateau State.

    As part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to diversify the economy thorough use of innovation and engineering resources in the country, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) today in Abuja signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Plateau State Government for the establishment of Food Processing Equipment & Machinery Development Institute(FOPEMDI) to be located in Jos, the State Capital.
    NASENI is an Agency under direct Supervision of President Muhammadu Buhari who is Chairman of the Governing Board of NASENI.
    The new Institute was recently approved by President Buhari amongst other 12 equipment development institutes to be established nationwide, two per geo-political zone of the country.
    The Executive Vice Chairman/CE of NASENI, Engr. Prof.Mohammed Sani Haruna also disclosed that by 1st quarter of year 2022, the Institute will take off effectively.
    With the signing of agreement by the two parties, NASENI will set up indigenous equipment and machines facilities for processing of food in Plateau State and at the same time create employment opportunities for thousands of youths.
    The MoU will ensure that both parties collaborate towards emergence of entrepreneurs, sourcing of start-up capital for commercialization of new innovative products, sourcing of potential investors for commercialization of products and provision of business development activities in the food processing sub-sector.
    Signing on behalf of NASENI, Prof Haruna said that FOPEMDI apart from taking off in the first quarter of 2022, he disclosed that the MoU would explore other related areas for collaboration between NASENI and Plateau state Government.
    According to him “the MoU will focus on transfer of technology and brokerage, technology acquisition, entrepreneurial training, technical and managerial back ups from NASENI to make the Institute succeed.”
    He said Plateau State had shown tremendous interest and also laid the right foundation for transfer of NASENI technologies and engineering resources to the State to be used indirectly in developing the nation’s economy”.
    The Honourable Commissioner for Science and Technology Plateau state, Hon. Gyang Dung Musa who represented the State Governor, Dr. Simon Lalong and signed the MoU on behalf of the State Government, said the people of the State were patiently waiting for the take-off of the institute, corroborating the EVC of NASENI that “with the signing of the agreement, thousands of Plateau State youths will be trained and empowered soon”
    He stated that Governor Lalong was excited about the upcoming Institute and had devised all necessary measures to ensure that the institute was established while pledging to keep supporting NASENI’s innovations, adding that the Governor had approved the institute would be built on same site that NASENI visited before.
    He thanked President Buhari for hearing the plea of the people of Plateau State by approving the setting-up of the institute in Jos, the State Capital.
    Other areas of collaborations between NASENI and Plateau State Government as identified in the MoU included Value Chain for Food Processing Technologies; Appropriate Technologies for Industrial clusters; Farming Equipment Development to support Agro-allied SMEs and industries; Renewable Energy including Solar Photovoltaic (PV)Panels production; Skill Acquisition including Foundry Technology amongst others.