The Lagos State House of Assembly has approved a N25 billion Employment Trust Fund Bill for the governor’s assent.
The bill, which was passed alongside with the 2016 budget after stakeholders meeting on it, makes provision for a law for the establishment of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.
While considering the report of a joint committee set up by the House, members scrutinised the findings and recommendations of the committee with minor amendment.
The speaker in his remarks praised the governor for the initiative to engage unemployed teeming youths roaming the streets in a veritable venture that would bring out their potentials, empower and even grow the economy of the state.
He said the economy of the state would further thrive through improved entrepreneurship, trading, commerce and improved economic activities which the trust fund seeks to achieve.
Just about a few days into the new year,the government of Taraba has reported an outbreak of Lassa fever in the state.
According to the Commissioner of Health, Innocent Vakkai, one person has been confirmed dead while two other people kept in for observation.
He said: “One person died and two others quarantined and their blood samples have already been taken to Irrua Specialists’ Hospital in Edo State for further confirmation.”
He explained how the fever spreads.
“People usually get infected with the Lassa Virus after exposure to infected rodents, while person to person transmission occurs through direct contact with the sick person.”
“Other precautionary measures include putting food in rodent proof containers and wearing protections such as masks, gloves, gowns among others,” he added.
The commissioner further urged anyone who witnesses nasal bleeding as well as bleeding through the anus and mouth to the nearest hospital as they are among the symptoms of the fever.
Operators of e-commerce companies have identified costly electricity charges as a deterrent to investment and business development in Nigeria.
This is coming as the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, reveals that less than 40 percent of electricity bills are paid by consumers and as a result higher tariffs are expected to be levied in a bid to plug the loss in power revenue.
Stakeholders’ state that with a recession poised to sweep through the economy, an unstable currency washing out capital security and epileptic power supply forcing a dependence on generators, the hike in electricity tariffs will limit industry growth.
Speaking on the issue, Kushal Dutta, managing director of Jovago Nigeria expressed, “One of the highest cost e-commerce companies in Nigeria cover is electricity. Because online-based business need constant power supply to function and deliver services to clients, we spend a bulk of our revenue which should go into increasing operations on buying diesel for generators that run almost 24 hours each day.
“Although we predict better market opportunities for the sector, there is need to curb this inflation in tariff pricing so investing companies can begin to thrive and achieve real growth,” Dutta said.
While consumers of power bemoan the instability and high cost of sourcing electricity, Sunday Oduntan, executive director of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, said that the high charges were dismissible in view of the low payment habits of Nigerians.
According to Oduntan in an interview granted to a national daily, consumers pay less than “40 per cent of their actual bills.” This revelation was made after electricity distributors began recording redline cash receipts on a quarterly basis.
“I’ve toured all the 11 Discos and I see the same pattern across board in terms of our peoples’ attitude with respect to the payment of electricity bills,” he said, “You give a bill of N5,000 and they’ll pay N2,000 and will tell you they will clear it next time. This is how it continues to pile up.”
With the government removing fuel subsidies and oil marketers refusing to sell diesel at pump prices, the cost of doing business in Nigeria is expected to double over the next three months especially as oil hits a benchmark price of $38 per barrel with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicting a further drop to $20 per barrel by mid-year.
In a bid to improve the level of education in the state, the Benue State Government has unveiled an implementation strategy to employ 16,000 primary and secondary school teachers in the agrarian state.
Governor Samuel Ortom stated this in Makurdi at the weekend during the presentation of the 2016 Budget christened “Budget of trust, confidence and credibility.”
He added that out of the 16,000 teachers to be gainfully employed, 10, 000 are to be deployed to the primary school section while 6,000 would be trained in the secondary school system.
According to Ortom, one of the pillars of his administration is qualitative education, saying that government will renovate and furnish at least 400 primary and 44 secondary schools across the state.
Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has said no room will be given to telecoms service providers to shortchange any subscribers under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
This remark is coming on the heels of numerous complaints of poor quality of service and regulatory deficiencies by subscribers.
The minister, In a statement on Sunday, by his Special Assistant on media, Victor Oluwadamilare, maintained that the various complaints of telecom subscribers across board and the challenges facing mobile telecom operators in Nigeria were being comprehensively examined with a view to finding lasting solutions in conjunction with relevant stakeholders within the shortest time possible.
Shittu added that the telecom sector holds a lot of promise for the economic growth of Nigeria in terms of revenue generation and massive employment generation if all the industry’s potentials and ICT’s limitless opportunities were well harnessed.
He urged the citizens to support President Muhammadu Buhari to provide the enabling environment for the industry to thrive.
Both chambers of Nigeria’s National Assembly has said it would not be part of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) being implemented by President Muhammadu Buhari.
President Buhari had, during last Wednesday’s media chat, said he was having challenge with the National Assembly over the TSA.
Reacting, both chambers of the National Assembly said they would not be a part of the TSA as such would amount to a surrender of their autonomy to the executive.
Spokesperson of the senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said that the TSA is as an executive programme submitting to the TSA is surrendering autonomy of the Legislature as the first line of charge to the executive.
Similarly, spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas insisted that said TSA remains an executive policy.
President Mohammadu Buhari’s has announced its plan to set aside N500 billion to cater for the poor, a culmination of several well-thought out programmes to directly connect with the extremely poor, and the needy which will be overseen by the vice-president.
Senior Special Assistant Media and Publicity in the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, who made this known in Abuja yesterday, said the plan of the President Buhari administration is not only comprehensive but has taken care of some of the factors that led to the failure of previous poverty alleviation schemes in the past.
“One of the major differences here is that the social intervention programme such as the Conditional Cash Transfer, CCT, would be a direct transfer of N5000 monthly to the extremely poor among us.The money would be paid directly to the people concerned on the condition of school enrollment and immunization.
Akande also explained that the School Feeding Programme, which is another aspect of the social intervention programme, is going to be entirely homegrown.
Also, as part of the N500billon, there is in the budget proposals, a provision of no fewer than one million jobs in 2016, including 500,000 graduate-youths to be engaged as teachers and another 500,000 non-graduate unemployed people who would be trained as artisans, making a total creation of about one million direct jobs.
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote and a former Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma to lead the presidential committee that will oversee the rehabilitation of infrastructure and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the North-Eastern part of the country.
In a statement released by his Spokesman, Garba Shehu, in Abuja, the President said the committee would be inaugurated soon, and all forms of assistance and aid generated locally and from foreign countries as promised by the group of seven industrialised countries, G7, will be channeled through the committee.
The President stated that a list of damaged infrastructure, including schools and bridges have been complied and handed over to the leaders of the G7 and the United States, adding: “I didn’t ask for a Kobo (in cash). It is up to them to choose what they will undertake. Already, some of them have sent teams to verify our assertions.”
He said women and children were the most affected victims of the Boko Haram violence.
Buhari also noted that the fight for the return of the Chibok girls was ongoing and will continue to be a worrying issue to his administration, adding that his administration will do all within its powers to ensure their safety.
The Standard Organisation of Nigeria has reiterated the need for owners of fast-food restaurants in the country to make use of the relevant code of practice for their operations in order to avoid food poisoning.
The Oyo State coordinator of the organisation, Dr. Omolara Okunlola, who said this in an address she read during a meeting with stakeholders in the fast-food business, noted that the agency’s 2004 Code of Hygienic Practice for Fast Food was created to protect members of the public who patronise the eateries against food poisoning.
At the forum, which was attended by representatives of all major fast-food companies in the state, Okunlola highlighted the causes of food contamination, the effects and the consequences, saying that they could be prevented if foodstuffs were properly handled.
She said, “There are many ways and points at which food contamination and poisoning could occur in food business and this is why operators of fast-food centres must employ qualified personnel to handle and preserve raw materials. It is equally vital that the issue of environmental hygiene in food handling areas and sanitary facilities which include source of water supply, storage and waste disposal must be properly handled.”
While stating that the organisation would not hesitate to punish any company that failed to comply strictly with safety standard in food business, Okunlola also called on fast-food operators to always look out for SON safety logo before purchasing processed food materials and seasoning.
“We are concerned with the health of Nigerians who visit these fast-food centres daily. We want to urge the operators to play by the rule, conform to safety standard and protect their customers by avoiding the use of substandard food materials and other items used in preparing what is consumed by the people.
“For the operators of these eateries to maintain high standard, it is also important for them to develop good relationships with relevant standard agencies, welcome criticism from them and customers and ensure training and re-training of their employees,” she said.
The Lagos and Murtala Muhammed Airport commands of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency effected the arrest of a total of 577 drug suspects in 2015.
This was made known by the Lagos State Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Aliyu Sule, and his Airport Command counterpart, Mr. Garba Ahmadu, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos on Sunday on the arrests.
According to them, 438 drug suspects were apprehended by the Lagos Command while the airport command apprehended 139 suspects during the period, with a total of 7,315 kilogrammes (over seven tonnes) of various drugs seized by men of his command during the period.
He added that the breakdown showed that cannabis accounted for 7,313. 06 kgs; heroin, 413.5 grammes; while Cannabis Sativa amounted to 480 grammes.
The state commander noted that there was a drop in the number of arrests made in 2015, compared to previous years, with the Lagos command of the NDLEA Lagos command making a seizure of eight to ten tonnes of drugs between 2011 and 2012, compared to the seven tonnes in 2015.
Sule explained that the decline was as a result of the proactive measures put in place by the command to monitor and apprehend drug suspects at their hideouts.
He appealed to Nigerians to cooperate with the NDLEA, pointing out that the war against drug trafficking was a collective responsibility.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to begin a second round of investigation into the $2.1 billion arms deals tomorrow, with this phase of the investigation to cover how the Jonathan Administration allegedly spent €3.654 million on the purchase of security vehicles for the Republic of Niger in October 2013 and April 2014.
The cash was withdrawn from the ONSA account in two installments of €1, 401,869 and €2,252,252.25.
The commission is also seeking to verify whether or not the vehicles were bought and under what diplomatic or bilateral security cooperation.
It was gathered that it would require finding out from the Republic of Niger if there was such assistance from Nigeria.
The agency plans to quiz a number more public figures including Minister of Finance in the Jonathan administration, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, some ex-Service Chiefs and serving military officers in connection with the $2.1billion arms deal.
In a bid to encourage more investments, the Katsina State Government is set to provide a five-year tax holiday for any prospective new industry wishing to commence operation, the Chairman of the State Investment and Economic Summit, Ibrahim Tukur Jikamshi has said.
Jikamshi, who spoke with Daily Trust noted that this is among the many incentives by the government to attract new companies and investments.
The official said the World Bank ranked the state 7th in ease of doing business in Nigeria, ahead of Lagos, Kano, Rivers and Cross Rivers. It was ranked 17th in order of Public Private Partnership (PPP) GDP with $6,022.
Others he said include, approval for the processing and granting of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for industrial purpose within a period of 30 days in addition to patronage where government and its agencies purchase products of some companies operating in the state.
Jikamshi said government shall provide plots of land within the industrial area
and basic infrastructural facilities adding that “there shall be a reduction of amount charged on consent to mortgage land to the barest minimum.
International Energy Insurance, IEI, Plc paid N1.29 billion claims last year, its Interim Managing Director, Peter Irene, has said.
Irene, in a statement, said the claims paid are categorized into motor, fire, oil and gas, general accidents, marine hall, aviation, industrial risks and public liability.
He said the company is determined to keep its promise to deliver on prompt claims payment to its clients.
According to him, this is no mean feat considering the harsh economic condition in the country.
Irene said: “This singular act demonstrates that the company is committed to putting its customers first, and always make them happy.
“It also epitomises the company’s core values of integrity, dependability,proficiency, innovativeness and friendliness. The company exemplifies good corporate responsiveness and transparency.”
He expressed satisfaction with the feats of the company, noting the prevailing economic situation in the country.
The International Data Corporation, IDC, has predicted that 3.2 billion people, or 44% of the world’s population, will have access to the Internet in 2016.
Out of this number, more than two billion will be using mobile devices to do so.
Growth in Internet access is taking place around the world, but some countries are seeing particularly rapid growth. China, India, and Indonesia lead the way and will account for almost half of the gains in access globally over the course of the next five years.
The combination of lower-cost devices and inexpensive wireless networks are making accessibility easier in countries with populations that could not previously afford them.
The total number of mobile Internet users is forecast to rise at a pace of 2% annually through 2020 unless significant new methods of accessing the Internet are introduced.
Efforts by Google, SpaceX, and Facebook among others to make the Internet available to the remaining 4 billion people via high altitude planes, balloons and satellites are underway.
Scott Strawn, Program Director, Strategic Advisory Service said, “Over the next five years global growth in the number of people accessing the Internet exclusively through mobile devices will grow by more than 25% per year while the amount of time we spend on them continues to grow.
“This change in the way we access the Internet is fueling explosive growth in mobile commerce and mobile advertising.”
The Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON, and the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, got zero allocations in the 2016 budget proposals recently presented to the National Assembly for consideration.
The two other agencies also affected are the Centre for Automotive Design and Development (CADD) and the National Automotive Council (NAC).
Out of the total N16.63bn proposed for the ministry and its agencies in the budget, N2.07bn, N970.28m, N112.76m and N146.81m were allocated for SON, ITF, CADD and NAC respectively for both overhead and recurrent expenditures.
The copy of the budget seen by Daily Trust showed that four agencies under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment got no budgetary allocation for capital projects in 2016.
The budget proposed a total of N6.09bn for capital projects across the ministry and its agencies out of which the headquarters is expected to spend N2.75bn on capital projects.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) got the second lion’s share of the funds proposed for capital projects after the headquarters.
Out of the total of N1.50bn allocated to SMEDAN, N717.08m was set aside for capital projects, an indication that the federal government is serious with its job creation drive and support for small and medium enterprises.
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) got N217.76m for capital projects out of the total of N984.36m allocated to the commission while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) got N112.85m for capital projects out of the total of N839.50m allocated to the council.
The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) got N441.48m and N148.82m respectively for capital projects out of the total of N1.02bn and N303.75m respectively allocated to the agencies.
Global PC shipment is expected to hit 6.4 million units in 2019 with a steady growth beginning from 2016.
According to the International Data Corporation, IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Client Device Tracker the global thin and terminal client market deteriorated during the third quarter of 2015 (3Q15), declining -6.7per cent yearly.
IDC said that over shipments continued to be hampered by strong deployments in 2014, but also ongoing economic and currency pressures in key parts of the market.
The report said that the emerging markets continued to lag behind mature markets in terms of shipments and projected growth rates noting that there are combined persistent factors that negatively affected the market, such as budget constraints, which delayed major shipments in Asia/Pacific.
The IDC Tracker observed that although the market is increasingly accepting virtualised client computing, devices such as repurposed PCs and even Chromebooks in some cases, pose viable threats to mainstream thin client purchases.
Trading activities at the Nigerian Stock Market in the last trading week of the year 2015 brought a huge relief to investors on the bourse as equities soared by N612 billion in three days.
Although, it was a brief trading week as the Federal Government of Nigeria declared Monday, 28th December, 2015 and Friday, 1st January, 2016 as Public Holidays to celebrate Boxing day and the New Year respectively.
Meanwhile, trading on the floor of the bourse recorded a turnover of 2.965 billion shares worth N9.364 billion in 7,174 deals in contrast to a total of 743.117 million shares valued at N6.591 billion that exchanged hands last week in 8,325 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 2.760 billion shares valued at N5.174 billion traded in 4,103 deals; thus contributing 93.06 per cent and 55.25 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Services Industry followed with 66.805 million shares worth N203.043 million in 140 deals. The third place was occupied by the ICT Industry with a turnover of 42.737 million shares worth N21.730 million in 15 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely; African Alliance Insurance Company Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc. (measured by volume) accounted for 1.998 billion shares worth N2.585 billion in 882 deals, contributing 67.36 per cent and 27.60 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Also traded during the week were a total of 60,171 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N484,396.36 executed in 20 deals, compared with a total of 721 units valued at N250,859.50 transacted last week in 19 deals.
However, a total of 75,750 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N128.722 million were traded this week in 1 deal.
Index movement shows that the NSE All-Share Index and market capitalization appreciated by 6.59 per cent and 6.62 per cent to close the week at 28,642.25 points and N9.851 trillion respectively.
Similarly, all other Indices finished higher during the week, with the exception of the NSE ASeM Index that closed flat.
Experts have predicted a growth in Nigeria’s insurance industry utilizing the expansion of ICT deployment, population density and massive use of telecommunication facilities to sell insurance products.
KPMG in its recent analysis on “The African Insurance Market at a Glance” observed that many markets in the Sub-Sahara Africa including Nigeria are experiencing a step forward in terms of the sophistication of the insurance market.
The firm sees active regulatory agenda and reform which the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has consistently pursued.
Experts see positive collaboration between regulators to show best practice and agree common framework for future reform.
This can be seen in the recent endorsement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NAICOM and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) of the United States for the purpose of maintaining efficient, safe, fair and stable insurance markets in Nigeria and the United States.
Both NAICOM and NAIC believe such cooperation will enable them effectively regulate the industry and entrench international best practices.
Under the agreement, the authorities will provide mutual assistance periodically through training, participation in internships with specific educational focus, educational seminars, provision of training manuals/materials and any other issues of common interest.
The Kaduna/Katsina command of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, raked in N4.9 billion from January to November 2015.
Customs Area Comptroller, Gidado Bala Muhammad who disclosed this while addressing newsmen said the figure was a little above the sum of N4.5 billion realised by the command last year.
According to him, the command also seized goods that included rice, cooking oil, with duty paid value worth N135 million assuring that the war on seizure of contraband good would be intensified.
Muhammad listed items seized to include used vehicles, pharmaceutical products, China Green Tea, vegetable oil, macaroni and spaghetti.
“Our warehouse is filled to capacity now as any available space is used as constructive warehouse for safe keeping”.
He said no fewer than nineteen suspects are undergoing prosecution and added that one suspect is awaiting prosecution due to the public holiday.
The National Secretary of PMAN, Danladi Pasali, who disclosed this to reporters on Sunday, January 3, in Jos, said the decision was taken following the return of peace and the change in the political and economic atmosphere in the state.
Pasali said:“We have concluded arrangement with two foreign firms from Britain, Blue Oil Company and Water Carbon Filed Energy to build two modular refineries. One refinery would be located in Plateau South while the other one would be built in Plateau North.”
He said that following the approval of over 60 modular refineries in the country by President Muhammadu Buhari and the accommodative, peaceful as well as inclusive system of government demonstrated by the current administration in the state, the state would witness more and investors.
According to him, investors have been driven away from Plateau state in the past because of attitude of previous governments and the protracted communal crisis in state, “but the measures put in place by the present government has restored the confidence of investors and a lot of other investors would storm the state.
President Buhari had within his first 100 days in office granted licences to Nigerian companies to construct modular refineries.
Modular refineries are mini-refineries with capacities ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) which can be assembled and separated easily for enhanced performance and efficiency.
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