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Tag: October

  • Kwara receives N3.5bn as federal allocation for Oct.

    Kwara receives N3.5bn as federal allocation for Oct.

    Kwara State received a total of N3,516,975,521.40 as its federal allocation for the month of October, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Finance, Mr Benjamin Fatigun, made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Ilorin.

    He said that the allocation was short of N681,499,217.53, being deductions made from source as monthly loan repayment.

    According to the permanent secretary, the loan repayments include the bailout funds which the last administration received from the Federal Government.

    He added that the monthly deductions of the loans started in September.

    Fatigun said that the figure included N3,333,607,862.59 statutory revenue allocation (SRA); N859,606,843.58 value added tax (VAT) and N5,260,032,85 exchange gains.

    The statement also put the total allocation to the 16 local government councils for the month at N2,689,825,780.50, comprising N2,198,740, 352.73 SRA; N487,616,079,59 VAT and N3,469,348.22 exchange gains.

  • Fayemi excites Ekiti Teachers, announces payment of N30, 000 new minimum wage from October

    The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has said the state government would begin the implementation of the new minimum wage of N30,000 from this month.

    Fayemi said the decision was predicated on the need to improve the living standard of workers, especially teachers to be able to deliver the best and reposition the state to its pride of place as the education nerve centre of the country.

    The Governor spoke at Oluyemi Kayode stadium in Ado Ekiti on Saturday during the 2019 celebration of the Teachers’ Day, with the theme: “Young Teachers, the Future of the Profession”.

    At the event, Mr. Henry Olaoluwa Asubiojo of Amoye Grammar School and Tajudeen Olaoye of Anglican Primary School, Esun Ekiti and Mrs Mojisola Ehinafe of Technical School, Ado Ekiti, were awarded with cash price of N500,000 each, for emerging as the best teachers in the state.

    Fayemi said he decided to inject new breeds of teachers into the state’s public schools, by recruiting 2,000 new teachers to safeguard the future of the state.

    “We will commence payment of N30,000 to workers in Ekiti with effect from this month. We are determined to reward diligence because the workers, particularly our teachers have done the state proud.

    “In this year’s WAEC, Ekiti was ranked 12th. I want to salute our teachers but that is not where Ekiti belonged, we must continually do more to rise to number one”, he said.

    He said he was highly determined to protect and preserve the core values of making Ekiti the education capital of the nation.

    Fayemi said he decided to establish more schools in Ado Ekiti capital city to depopulate the overpopulated ones and make learning more conducive.

    “The only way we can reclaim.our lost glory in education is to encourage our teachers in and outside service. I will promote functional and technical education in this state.

    “I have also ensured that all students of school age are in schools in line with education law which makes basic education compulsory and in line with global best practice.

    In his lecture at the forum, the Provost, College of Education, Prof. Isaac Adeoluwa, said for Nigeria to move to its pride of place, teachers must be made to be ICT compliant and embrace modern techniques of teaching.

    “Use of digital tools methodology makes learners innovative, expand scope of retention, increase teachers competitiveness and relevance and create enabling environment for both learners and teachers”, he said.

    The Chairman of the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Com. Samuel Odugbesan praised Fayemi for recruiting teachers into public schools across the state, saying this will help in strengthening the future of education.

    His counterpart in Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, Com. Sola Adigun , said prompt and regular payment of salaries has rescued the teachers from wanton poverty.

    Odugbesan said: “Teachers are retiring every day without replacement but with these recruitments in primary and secondary schools, the future of our education is guaranteed.

    “Not having young teachers in the teaching profession is threatening the future of education and these recruitments are commendable”, appealing to Fayemi to pay all outstanding salaries and allowances for improved welfare and wellbeing of the teachers.

  • Nigeria to cut oil production by 100% compliance with OPEC deal in October – Sylva

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva on Thursday said that Nigeria has agreed to cut oil production by complying with OPEC deal 50% this month and 100 percent in October this year.

    A statement of the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu disclosed that.

    It quoted the minister as saying “We have agreed to comply with production cuts of 50% this month (September 2019) and 100% from October this year.”

    The statement noted that Sylva made the commitment at 16th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

    According to the statement, OPEC commended Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to the stability of the global oil market which spanned many years of its membership of the organization.

    This commendation came from the Chairman of OPEC’s 16th JMMC, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman.

    Bin Salman, who doubles as the Saudi Arabian Energy Minister noted that since the 1980s when Nigeria’s late Oil Minister Dr. Rilwanu Lukman reigned at the helm of the Organisation, the West African nation’s role has been very pivotal in helping OPEC achieve stability in the oil market.

    “Nigeria has always brought commitment and obligation towards the OPEC cause. I always thought of how we would have crossed the uncertainties of the global oil market of the 1980s without Nigeria,” Bin Salman added.

    According to him, Nigeria’s role cuts across compliance with OPEC charters as well as mediation and reconciliation among member countries over the years.

    During Thursday’s JMMC, OPEC reiterated its determination to accelerate concerted action towards addressing market challenges and adapting to future developments.

    While enjoining non-compliant members to fully observe their production commitments, the JMMC also underscored the need for continued commitment for the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) in support of oil market stability on a sustainable basis.

    Earlier in his remarks, Sylva said OPEC’s endorsement was a testimony to Mr. President’s efforts at ensuring that Nigeria remains a stabilizing force within the organization.

    “The rest of OPEC have always looked up to us whenever there are problems. Recall that as OPEC Secretary General, our late Oil Minister Dr. Rilwanu Lukman was highly influential and since then we have played a central role and have been taken very seriously by member countries,” he stated.

    Sylva, who was in his maiden outing at the OPEC described the endorsement as “heartwarming”, adding that it would go a long way to spurring and encouraging the country to do better.

    The next meeting of the JMMC comes up on the 4th December 2019 at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.

  • $2bn tax dispute: Court adjourns MTN, AGF case till October

    $2bn tax dispute: Court adjourns MTN, AGF case till October

    Justice Chukwujekwu Joseph Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday adjourned until 29 October a case to resolve a $2 billion tax dispute between MTN Group and Nigeria’s attorney general.

    The attorney general has demanded MTN pay the $2 billion in September. The company has said the tax demand is without merit and the attorney general has exceeded his powers in making the request.

    Lawyers for the Nigerian government requested the adjournment.

    Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with 58 million users in 2018 and accounting for a third of the South African firm’s core profit. But the Nigerian business has faced challenges, ranging from the tax demand to a fine over unregistered SIM cards.

    MTN Nigeria, the company’s local unit, listed in Lagos in May in a 2 trillion naira ($6.5 billion) flotation and became the second-largest stock on the bourse by market value.

    The listing followed MTN Group’s agreement with Nigerian regulators to settle most of its long-running disputes.

    MTN said it would sell more shares to the public and increase local ownership in MTN Nigeria once the tax row was resolved.

    MTN agreed in December to make a $53 million payment to resolve a separate dispute in Nigeria after the central bank ordered the company and its lenders to bring back to Nigeria $8.1 billion it was alleged to have repatriated using improperly issued paperwork between 2007 and 2008.

    The settlement ended a four-month row that had hammered MTN’s share price in Johannesburg.

  • Inflation drops to 11.26 percent in October – NBS

    Inflation drops to 11.26 percent in October – NBS

    Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Wednesday indicated that Nigeria’s inflation rate, which climbed marginally to about 11.28 percent in September, dropped slightly to 11.26 percent in October.

    The CPI, which measures inflation rate for goods and services in the Nigerian economy, decreased by 11.26 percent (year-on-year) in October 2018, about 0.02 percent points lower than the rate recorded in September 2018.

    On a month-on-month basis, the report said deadline inflation index increased by 0.74 percent in October 2018, down by 0.09 percent points from the rate recorded in September 2018 (0.83) percent.

    The report said increases were recorded in all 12 classifications of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.

    The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending October 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period, the report said, was 12.78 percent, from 13.16 percent recorded in September 2018.

    The urban inflation rate increased by 11.64 percent (year-on-year) in October 2018 from 11.70 percent recorded in September 2018, while the rural inflation rate increased by 10.93 percent in October 2018 from 10.92 percent in September 2018.

    On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.76 percent in October 2018, from 0.86 percent recorded in September, while the rural index also rose by 0.72 percent in October 2018, down from the rate recorded in September 2018 (0.82) percent.

    In August, headline inflation rate rose from 11.14 percent in July to 11.23 percent after maintaining 18 consecutive declines from about 17.78 percent in February 2017.

    The rate again recorded a marginal increase by 0.05 percent, from 11.23 percent in August to 11.28 percent in September 2018, about 0.84 percent rise on a monthly basis.

     

  • Boko Haram: UN to visit Maiduguri, others in October – Onyeama

    Boko Haram: UN to visit Maiduguri, others in October – Onyeama

    Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, has said a United Nations joint delegation will visit Maiduguri, Bama and Abuja first week of October, to scale up its humanitarian intervention in the terrorism-affected areas.
    Onyeama said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria after a meeting with the UN team leaders on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York.
    The minister said that the team would be led by the UNDP Administrator, Mr Achim Steiner and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Mark Lowcock.
    He said that the joint UN Development Programme Principal-level mission was part of the world ogranisation’s efforts to support the victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the region.
    Onyeama said that the visit was a sequel to the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Basin Crisis in Berlin in September, where the international community committed to a comprehensive crisis response in the region.
    Onyeama said that the visit was aimed at discussing with senior government and donor officials in Nigeria on how to further strengthen humanitarian and development responses, including national and local ownership in the northeast.
    “We are looking essentially on how to build on the humanitarian programme and the UN has been very involved and supportive on the humanitarian front in the northeast
    “We realised that we have to move towards the development stage. They also want to hear from the Nigerian government.
    “And of course, it is about the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement; it is about creating an environment for economic growth which will require education and also jobs,” he said.
    The UN had said in a statement that the objectives of the joint UNDP-OCHA Principal-level mission, was to address humanitarian, resilience and stabilisation needs of communities to prevent a protracted crisis in the northeast.
    “The urgency to make progress on the New Way of Working by the UN Country Team and the Humanitarian Country Teams has been amplified by large-scale humanitarian needs and the related imperative to address the root causes of the Lake Chad Basin crises in a comprehensive and sustainable way.
    “Accordingly, the Nigeria UNCT/HCTs are jointly working on formulating collective outcomes which will guide planning and interventions of humanitarian and development actors,“ he said.
     

  • Fourth Annual Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum to hold in October

    Africa’s leading entrepreneurship-focused philanthropic organisation, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), has announced October 25, 2018, as the date for its 4thannual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum.

    The largest gathering of African entrepreneurs and the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem will unite over 5,000 entrepreneurs, global investors, leaders from the African public and private sectors and developmental organisations at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos. The event is a unique opportunity to generate ideas, forge networks and bring policymakers and the private sector together, in a spirit of robust debate and interaction. The 2018 cohort from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, as well as mentors and partners, will be present, as the culmination of their intensive twelve-week induction.

    In keeping with the Foundation’s track record―most recently with President Macron of France―of bringing politicians face to face with the new generation of young business women and men shaping Africa, the Forum will include an interactive session with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, moderated by TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu.

    The Forum will also feature the launch of the TEFConnect, the world’s largest digital platform for African entrepreneurs, dedicated to connecting African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

    Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, stated: “In just four years, we have directly impacted 4,460 entrepreneurs, and we are beginning to see the results – job creation, ripple effects, but most importantly a recognition that Africa’s economic well-being is driven by entrepreneurs: female and male, large and small – they are the engine of our continent’s transformation. We will be championing and celebrating them. This year, we are truly achieving scale and impact; we received over 150,000 applications in 2017 alone, up from 20,000 applications in 2015. We are now calling on the current generation of African success stories and others to partner with us to see how we can all further create impact, genuinely transform millions of lives and increase the number of inspiring stories we will be hearing in Lagos”.

    TEF CEO, Parminder Vir OBE stated: “The TEF Entrepreneurship Forum is the only event across the continent that brings together the complete African entrepreneurship ecosystem, demonstrating our commitment to capturing the whole continuum – from the entrepreneurs themselves, governments who must provide enabling environments, to capital, advice and perhaps most importantly access and network”.

    Inspired by Tony Elumelu’s economic philosophy of Africapitalism and his vision to institutionalise luck and democratise opportunity for a new generation of African entrepreneurs, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has implemented one of the most ambitious entrepreneurship programmes globally.

    The Programme is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor, and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs. Its goal is to invest in businesses that will generate at least 1,000,000 new jobs and contribute at least $10 billion in new annual revenues across Africa. In its 4th year, TEF Entrepreneurship Programme has empowered 4,460 entrepreneurs with a total investment of USD20million; 4,000 funded directly by the Foundation and 460 have been funded by partners.

     

     

  • October is too far, start probing me now, Fayose tells Fayemi

    October is too far, start probing me now, Fayose tells Fayemi

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on Thursday challenged the governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi to begin probe of his government now instead of waiting till October 16 that he will be sworn in.

    The governor advised the governor-elect to seek legitimacy for his election first rather than embarking on a vendetta mission that would consume him.

    Fayose through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New‎ Media, Lere Olayinka, said this in his reaction to Fayemi’s threat.

    “It is obvious that he will be consumed in his vendetta mission and rather than grandstanding, Fayemi should first seek legitimacy for his stolen mandate,” he said.

    “He (Fayemi) should stop living in the world where threat of probe scares people because we in the government of Fayose are not afraid of victimisation and vendetta that Fayemi is obviously coming with.”

    Fayose described Fayemi as a beneficiary of a stolen mandate who is afraid to even come to the open to celebrate his false victory.

    “Even yesterday (Wednesday) when he went to collect the certificate of the mandate that was snatched and handed to him by the powers that be in Abuja, he had to be protected by police helicopter and hundreds of armed policemen. One wonders how he is going to rule the people they forced him on.”

    “If Fayemi is on vendetta mission, which is obvious that he is, he will first destroy himself because like Ekiti and its people survived him during his first tenure, the people will outlive him this time too.”

    Recall that the governor elect had on Thursday during a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari hinted during his interview with state house correspondents that he will probe what transpired in the Fayose administration when he is sworn in as governor on October 16.

     

  • Ekiti Assembly rejects election results, adjourns sitting till October

    Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly on Tuesday condemned and rejected the result of last Saturday governorship election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Recall Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was defeated incumbent Deputy Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) as declared by INEC on Sunday.

    The assembly also adjourned sitting till October 8, 2018, due to alleged harassment of members by security agents.

    The adjournment followed a motion moved by the Leader of Business, Akinyele Olatunji.

    Speaking at the House plenary in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, Olatunji described the process leading to the election and final results as unfortunate.

    He condemned the harassment of Governor Ayodele Fayose, Peoples Democratic Party leaders across the state and members of the state assembly by security men.

    The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Samuel Omotoso, said the election did not meet all democratic credentials.

    He pointed out that the election was marred by outright brigandage, vote buying and falsification of results.

    The Deputy Whip, Ekundayo Akinleye, remarked that the outcome of the election had shown that Nigerians should not expect free and fair elections in 2019.

    The Speaker of the Assembly, Kola Oluwawole, described the election as a show of shame with thugs and security men openly working for the opposition All Progressives Congress.

    Oluwawole alleged that figures were brazenly doubled to favour the declared winner and expressed confidence that the stolen mandate would soon be retrieved.

    The lawmakers called on the security agencies to leave Ekiti State to allow government business to thrive unhindered.

    The PDP has majority of the lawmakers in the state assembly.

     

  • Abuja airport new terminal begins operation in October — FAAN

    The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Saleh Dunoma, says the new terminal building under construction at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will become operational in October.

    Dunoma gave the assurance in an interview with newsmen when President Muhammadu Buhari, inspected the project after the inauguration of Abuja Metro line on Thursday.

    He said the government and other stakeholders were prevailing on the contractors, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company to ensure the completion of the project by August.

    Dunoma said all the challenges that hitherto hindered the completion of the project had been addressed.

    He explained that the issue of water and power supply had been handled by the government, adding that the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory had promised to connect the airport to its water supply system.

    According to him, Federal Executive Council has approved an independent power supply for the airport.

    “So all these works are coming on and by October, they will all be functional and that is when we will start using the terminal building.

    “We are pressing the contractor to finish in August so that we can start operations in October and all the stakeholders are working together to ensure this.

    “The relocation of control tower and fire station has nothing to do with the terminal building.

    “Those issues are going to be handle in the next stage of the items of work that we need to carry out but that will not stop us from using the terminal building.”

    FAAN boss expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done, adding that the train station would be linked to the existing terminal for seamless movement of passengers.

    He explained that there were still more works going on within the airport which includes two car park buildings to be constructed on both wings of the terminal.

    According to him, there are so many things to be done but between now and October when we plan to start operations in the new terminal, the road network would have been completed.

    “Abuja and Port Harcourt airports terminal buildings are on the same level but because of the volume of traffic in Abuja, we prefer to start operations here first.

    “You can see there are congestion here and there and if we must ease up operation, we must complete this project

    “We are also working hard to put old facilities in order so that by the time we start operations here everything will be renewed.

    Dunoma said that there was a programme in place to ensure the execution of the second runway project.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, said the rail would make movement in and out of the airport to be seamless.

    Sirika said the light rail would also make transportation more efficient, adding that it would allow people to connect to their businesses and work places in much faster time than before.

    “It will reduce the pressure on our roads, ease traffic congestion on all the arteries that lead to airports around the world.

    “So, Abuja will be a classical example of multi modern integration and transportation which eases things and makes them better,” he said.