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  • Smuggling of agricultural products is sabotage – Saraki

    Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has described the high rate of smuggling of agricultural products into the country as “economic sabotage.”

    A statement by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Mr Chuks Okocha, on Tuesday in Abuja, said that Saraki said this when he received representatives of Poultry Farmers’ Association of Nigeria who visited him.

    “We all know that about 40 per cent to 50 per cent of poultry products are still being smuggled into the country and this is bad.

    “Something needs to be done about it. Nigeria Customs must sit up because it is an economic sabotage.

    “ It is now that we must stop this smuggling particularly on agricultural products like rice and chicken.

    “We will take this up aggressively. Without that, we are only wasting our time. Nothing we are going to do at this level in support of agriculture if products are still going to be smuggled in.

    “Chicken is still being smuggled in and rice as well. This is something we must fight as a nation.

    “This is economic sabotage we are talking about and the management of the Nigeria Customs must rise up, either they are ready to do it or we give it to people that are ready to do it.

    “If there are challenges the Customs is having, let them tell us. We are ready to support them. This is a fight we must win.

    “ Ordinarily, if we are talking about diversifying the economy and we still allow the smuggling of chicken, there is no way organizations like your own can survive,’’ he said.

    On non-payment of compensation to farmers who lost their birds to the outbreak of the Avian Influenza, Saraki said that the senate would play its part to ensure that affected farmers were compensated.

    “We will see what we can do particularly on the issue of non-payment of compensation to farmers that lost their birds to the Avian Influenza. These farmers who are doing well need our encouragement.

    “This is where government will show true interest in agriculture and ensure that all compensation is paid,’’ he said.

    On access to finance, Saraki decried the high interest rate charged by banks, saying, “I am surprised and this is the aspect we have to take up’’.

    He expressed concern that farmers borrowed money from banks at interest as high as 25 per cent, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ought to support farmers, particularly the serious ones.

    Earlier, the leader of the group, Alhaji Usman Dantata, said that the progress of poultry farming in the country was being undermined by the activities of smugglers and high interest rates.

    He said, “we humbly request you to implore the Nigerian Customs Service to do more to curtail the level of smuggling.

    “We are equally concerned about difficulties in accessing finance for poultry and other agriculture production by most farmers.

    “Where available, the interest rate is between 25 per cent and 27 per cent and the collateral terms are very stringent and the tenure of loan is very short.

    “The repayment plan does not match the long term nature of our business and the potential cash flow available for debt service of agriculture business in Nigeria.’’

     

     

     

    NAN

  • Senate to invite CBN, DMBs over forex crisis, high interest rates

    …Says Presidency will sign 2017 Appropriation Bill soon

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has said the Senate as part of its legislative function will intervene in the high interest rates on loans and forex crisis that has lingered for a while now by inviting the apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, to technically proffer long lasting solutions.

    He stated that in an economy where workers were being retrenched and people were losing investments, it was immoral for certain sectors to be making astronomical profits.

    Saraki stated this in an interactive session with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State on Sunday. In his words: “They (banks) will tell you that they are doing business but in doing business, there must be social responsibility. We must be able to sit down and look at ourselves eyeball to eyeball, and we intend to do that; and I can promise Nigerians that we can find a solution. Hopefully with the stability in the forex market, we will now begin to address the high interest rate.

    “There is no business that can make money if it is trying to borrow at 28 or 29 per cent. It cannot work and if we cannot get the banks to lend to the real sector and they carry on their money to government instruments, there cannot be growth. So, we must tackle that. I can assure you that I will lead that challenge. We must sit down and discuss it.”

    Saraki added, “They are in business to make money but we must look at what money is reasonable in this kind of environment. You may have to reduce that profitability to allow your country to grow. It is that balancing that we need, but in doing that, there must be some incentives. We may have to tell them, ‘Listen, we may have to limit how much you put in government security’.

    “What do you do with that extra amount of money? It must go to the real sector. It must go to the business that produce made-in-Nigeria products. They may say that it is too risky to do that. In doing that, we must give them some assistance. This is the kind of negotiation we must make.”

    He said the Senate would discuss with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the banks on how to address the high interest rate regime.

    The Senate President urged Nigerians to patronise homemade products, adding that people should report any Ministry, Department and Agency that flouted the Senate’s directive that indigenous companies producing such commodities should be given the option of first refusal during public procurement.

    On the delay in the signing of the 2017 budget into law, Saraki told Nigerians not to be apprehensive about whether the Presidency would assent to the budget or not.

    He said, “There was a comment I read online where the Presidency had said it did not have an intention not to sign. I do not think that (not signing the budget) will happen; I doubt very much.

    “Nigerians should not be concerned about that; I am pretty sure that the Executive will sign the bill and we will begin to implement the budget. I am confident that the Executive will sign it very soon. There should be no anxiety there.”

  • No plans to increase fuel price, Saraki assures Nigerians

    …Says Nigeria will exit recession by 2018

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has assured Nigerians that the National Assembly has no plans to increase prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) which currently sells for N145.

    The Senate President stated this on Sunday in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State while highlighting the landmark achievements of the 8th Senate under his (Saraki’s) leadership.

    Saraki added that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill was another landmark in the Senate.

    He clarified that the proposed National Road Fund Bill would not lead to an increase in the current pump prices of fuel in the country.

    Saraki stated, “Our roads around the country are not adequately funded. If we are banking on the appropriation process, we will not be able to adequately fund and refurbish our roads.

    “Anybody that read the full report would have known that after the public hearing, which involved stakeholders from the road and transport industry, it was recommended that N5 from each litre of petrol should be channelled towards our roads.

    “However, this is not going to be an additional N5, but N5 out of the present price of N145 that Nigerians are currently paying at the pump.”

    The Senate President aligned with the view that the country would be out of recession in the third quarter of this year.

    He stated that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari had made remarkable progress in implementing measures for Nigeria to exit recession.

    Saraki said, “I believe that by the next quarter, we should technically go out of recession. I believe that efforts have been put in place to be able to revive our revenues, bring stability to the Niger Delta and restore confidence to the market.

    “The Nigerian currency was undervalued when it was about N500 to $1, because people were speculating and not that it was the true value of the naira. Investors lost confidence in the market. This is the first time you see when our currency has depreciated and also appreciated significantly.

    “There are investments now coming in. It is even reflected in the capital market. You can see inflows coming in. I see an upward projection in investment coming in and businesses begin to move.”

  • Stop campaigning for 2019 elections, Saraki warns politicians

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has warned politicians in the country to henceforth stop their subtle campaigns for the 2019 elections.

    The Senate President noted that it was insensitive of elected political office holders to abandon serious issues of serving their constituents and preoccupy themselves with the 2019 elections.

    Saraki noted that 2019 was still a long period for serious-minded politicians to concentrate their energy on to the detriment of good governance.

    He admitted that elected public office holders had not met some of the expectations of Nigerians, adding that they should rather be committed to rendering services and fulfilling their electoral promises.

    The Senate President stated this on Sunday during an interactive session with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State.

    Saraki stated, “The year 2019 is a long way. Any serious-minded politician, who is interested in his people, should not be talking about 2019, especially if we want to be honest with ourselves; some of the expectations of our people have not been met. I think it will be insensitive if we have left that and we are now talking about 2019. We need to work hard to make sure that we meet those expectations.

    “The economy is already moving in the right direction, which is why we are addressing the issue of security, which is good. We are fighting corruption; we need to do more in that area. By the time we work tremendously over the next one year, I think we will be in a place where we can beat our chest and say we have done well.”

    Saraki added that though financial autonomy for local government areas might be approved during the ongoing constitutional review, it would be more desirable for the LGAs to be adequately funded to address their statutory responsibilities.

    According to him, the current allocations to the local governments in the country are not adequate to meet their needs.

    He said it might be desirable to reduce the burdens of the councils such as education, which he said would be better handled by the state government.

    Saraki stated that without the support of state governments, about 95 per cent of local governments in the country would not be able to pay salaries, talk less of providing infrastructure.

    He said, “The finances are not just there. All the 36 states cannot be doing something wrong. I do not think there is a place where the revenues of the LGs can meet their expenditure, despite that they still have responsibilities like primary education.

    “We need to review that. Maybe we will go back and look at whether state governments should truly take over primary education, because the arm of government that cannot even meet administrative expenses, you now put on it a very important sector as education.

    “There must be something structurally wrong with it and we need to put our heads together and take decisions on the way forward. Maybe we need to review what kind of responsibilities they have.”

  • No serious minded politician should talk about 2019 – Saraki

    President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has said that it is insensitive for elected political office holders to leave service delivery now and be preoccupied with 2019 politicking.

    He stated that 2019 is still a long period for serious minded politicians to be engrossed with it to the detriment of good governance.

    Speaking during an interview with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Sunday, he said elected public office holders had not met some of the expectations of Nigerians, adding that they should rather be committed to rendering services and fulfilling their electoral promises.

    Saraki said, “2019 is a long way. Any serious minded politician that is interested in his people should not be talking about 2019 especially if we want to be honest with ourselves, some of the expectations of our people have not been met. I think it will be insensitive, if we have left that and we are now talking about 2019.

    We need to work hard to make sure that we meet those expectations.

    “The economy is already moving in the right direction, which is why we are addressing the issue of security, which is good. We are fighting corruption; we need to do more in that area. By the time we work tremendously over the next one year, I think we will be in a position where we can beat our chest and say we have done well.”

  • I sacrificed my presidential ambition for Buhari in 2015 – Saraki

    I sacrificed my presidential ambition for Buhari in 2015 – Saraki

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has said he deliberately refused contesting the All Progressives Congress, APC, primaries in 2015 so as to pave way for the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s flagbearer against the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that Saraki defected from the PDP the APC in January 2014 and there were speculations that he would contest in the APC presidential primary election.

    In response to a publication by African Confidential in which he was said to be one of “those who stood against Muhammadu Buhari for the All Progressives Congress nomination in 2014”, and also that he had “retained London Communications consultants Aequitas, which helped Labour Party to remake its image under Tony Blair in the mid-1990s”, Saraki’s spokesman, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said his principal had publicly announced that he would not run against Buhari in October 2014.

    “First, please note that your claims above are not correct. Dr Saraki did not contest the last presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress. Dr Saraki publicly announced in a statement in Ilorin on October 12, 2014, that he would not contest against Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who was then an aspirant because ‘some of us need to make sacrifice and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem of the party’. He then declared that he would support the candidacy of the retired General. Dr Saraki was one of the people who worked tirelessly to ensure General Buhari won the APC ticket, and the general election,” he said in a letter.

    “Again, contrary to the claim in your article, Dr Saraki does not retain the services of Aequitas. He formerly engaged Aequitas for strategic policy services while he was governor of Kwara state, and chair of the Nigeria governors forum, and at the initial stage of his period as senate president. He no longer retains the services of Aequitas effective from January 1, 2017”, he stated.

    Olaniyonu added that Saraki had “equally pledged his full support for and commitment to the success of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari”.

  • BREAKING: Saraki happy as senate passes Petroleum Industry Governance Bill

    BREAKING: Saraki happy as senate passes Petroleum Industry Governance Bill

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Thursday expressed his delight after the law making body has passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill [PIGB].

    The PIGB is the first part of the Petroleum Industry Bill, which the National Assembly has failed to pass since 2008.

    To allow for easier passage of the bill, the Senate broke it into three parts.

    Details later…

  • How to win the war against corruption – Saraki

    How to win the war against corruption – Saraki

    Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has advocated the need to prioritize deterrence rather than punishment in other to permanently win the ongoing war against corruption.

    Saraki gave the charge in his speech at the Public Presentation and Book-Signing ceremony of Senator Dino Melaye’s book titled: “Antidotes For Corruption – The Nigerian Story”, held in Abuja on Monday, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu.

    On why deterrence is a better approach to fighting the corruption scourge, Saraki said, “I am convinced that we must return to that very basic medical axiom that prevention is better than cure.

    “Perhaps, the reason our fight against corruption has met with rather limited success is that we appeared to have favoured punishment over deterrence.

    “We must review our approaches in favour of building systems that make it a lot more difficult to carry out corrupt acts or to find a safe haven for corruption proceeds within our borders.

    “In doing this, we must continue to strengthen accountability, significantly limit discretion in public spending, and promote greater openness,” he said.

    Besides, on that the 8th National Assembly is doing to fight corruption, the Senate President said: “We in the National Assembly last week took the first major step in this direction towards greater openness.

    “For the first time in our political history, the budget of the National Assembly changed from a one-line item to a 34-page document that shows details of how we plan to utilize the public funds that we appropriate to ourselves.”

    He stated that tremendous progress in the fight against corruption under President Muhammadu Buhari in the last two years, saying, “one area I believe we have made remarkable progress in the past two years of the President Buhari-led administration is that corruption has been forced back to the top of our national political agenda.

    “Every single day, you read the newspapers, you listen to the radio, you go on the internet, you watch the television, the people are talking about it. The people are demanding more openness, more accountability and more convictions.

    “Those of us in government are also responding, joining the conversation and accepting that the basis of our legitimacy as government is our manifest accountability to the people,” he said.

    On anti-corruption legislation being considered by the Senate, he said, “At the moment, we are considering for passage into law the following bills: The Whistleblower Protection Bill, which I am confident will be passed not later than July 2017; The Proceeds of Crime Bill; The Special Anti-Corruption Court, which would be done through constitutional amendment and; The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill.”

    He stated that it has become imperative for governments at all levels to demonstrate that they are not in office for the pursuit of private gain, “but to make our people happier by helping them to meet their legitimate aspirations and achieve a higher quality of life…Nigeria and Nigerians have not accepted corruption as normal; we recognize it as a problem; that we are determined to make a break with our past and live by different rules.”

    He stated that providing more opportunities for Nigerians will help in winning the crusade against graft and added that, “If we are able to build a quality public education system, especially at the basic and secondary level, which would not require parent to pay through their nose for their children’s education…

    “If we are able to build an efficient public health system that provide insurance cover to ordinary citizens so that when they fall sick, they can access quality healthcare without running from pillar to post looking for money; if we are able to build a system that guarantees food and shelter to everyone; if we are able to do all these, we would have gone a long way in removing much of the driving force for corruption at this level,” he stated.

    He further stressed the need the need to simplify the nation’s bureaucracy and administrative procedures “because it is in the complexity and red-tapes that corrupt officials profit.”

  • ‘Five-minute sensationalism’ approach to corruption won’t yield results, Saraki slams Buhari

    ‘Five-minute sensationalism’ approach to corruption won’t yield results, Saraki slams Buhari

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Monday faulted the anti-corruption drive of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration saying it hasn’t ‘yielded much success’ because it was anchored on a ‘five-minute sensationalism’ approach.

    Saraki spoke on Monday (today) at Senator Dino Melaye’s book launch in Abuja.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the book, foreword by the Senate President is titled: ‘Antidotes for Corruption: The Nigerian Story.’

    The Senate President said the current government rather than killing corruption was making efforts at reviving it in full force.

    He said, “I am convinced that why our fight against corruption has not yielded much success is that we have favoured punishment over deterrence.

    ‎”We must review our approaches by building our institutions to make it difficult for people to carry out corrupt practices.

    “‎It is my view that the key area of prevention, we must work on, is to make it difficult for stolen money to find a home.

    “We must fight corruption with sincerity, and not fight symptoms unlike the five-minute sensationalism we have now. It must not be based on individuals but on institutions.

    “Let us fight corruption with sincerity. If we fight corruption in a corrupt way, we will not make any headway.‎”

  • Photos: Saraki, Dogara, Patience Jonathan, others attend Melaye’s book launch

    Photos: Saraki, Dogara, Patience Jonathan, others attend Melaye’s book launch

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and other political heavy weights made it to the book launch of Senator Dino Melaye taking place on Monday (today) in Abuja.

    The book, titled ‘Antidotes for Corruption’, which is divided into 14 chapters with 600 pages, is currently being presented at the Umaru Ya’Adua Centre, Abuja.

    Barely 30 minutes into the program, the former First Lady, Mrs. Jonathan, made a surprise appearance, which led to a loud and resounding ovation from other dignitaries already seated in the hall.

    In his opening remarks, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Umar Ghali Na’Abba said the book was timely as it would help in reorientation of the youths and leaders of the country on the dangers of corruption.

    He said, “Corruption is not only about financial misappropriation, it is defined by social defiance and failure of leadership. Nepotism is also corruption”.

    Other dignitaries at the book launch are; Ike Ekweremadu, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Bello Mohammed, his Labour and Productivity counterpart, Dr. Chris Ngige and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Anyim Pius Anyim.

    Others are Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Molori, serving and past members of the National Assembly, with Former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings and Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote being ably represented.

    See photos from the event:

     

     

    Saraki, Dogara, Patience Jonathan, others attend Melaye’s book launch