Nigeria's headline inflation dropped slightly to nine per cent in May from 9.1 per cent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Sunday.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation, on a yearly basis, the rates continue to hold below single digits as the core sub-index continued to show a muted rise due to base effects.
The NBS said: “The CPI, which measures inflation, rose by 9.0 per cent year-on-year in May (slightly below the 9.1 per cent rate recorded in April).
“The increase in food prices captured by the Food Sub-index, while significant, are also lower year-on-year. Through the first five months of 2013, the Food Sub-index has averaged 10.0 per cent, 1.8 per cent lower than rates recorded over the same period last year.
According to the report, the urban CPI was recorded at 144.5 points in May, a 9.4 per cent year-on-year change.
It said: “This was lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in April. The corresponding Rural National CPI recorded an 8.6 per cent year-on-year change, lower than the 8.9 per cent in April by 0.3 percentage points.
“On a month-on-month basis, the Urban All-item index increased in May by roughly the same rate as recorded in April (0.6 per cent), while the Rural All Items index increased from levels recorded in April by 0.5 per cent."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Dr Mamphela Ramphele welcomes teachers and learners at African Education Week and Career Indaba on Thursday Free expo workshops and latest teaching technology on show
Dr Mamphela Ramphele, leader of Agang SA, will deliver the keynote address during the opening of African Education Week at the Sandton Convention Centre this Thursday, 20 June at 09h00.
Thousands of teachers and learners are expected at the seventh annual African Education Week and Career Indaba taking place from Thursday 20 June until Saturday 22 June. The events form the largest meeting and trading platform of its kind on the continent for everyone who is passionate about improving the standard of education in Africa. The conference will focus on topics such as STEM* education, improving FET colleges and the role of social media and technology in the classroom.
All teachers are welcome The events also offer teachers free, practical courses to improve their classroom and technical skills and learners can attend talks on career choices and how to find a job after matric.
Earlier, Dr Ramphele said her message at the event will be that “educators have a sacred duty to nurture talent and inspire every child to become, from all aspects, the best human being possible!”
Joining Dr Ramphele for the opening session are education experts:
– Graeme Bloch, independent education expert
– Gavin Keller, a veteran education analyst and development activist
– Johannes Cronjé, Dean of Informatics and Design Cape Peninsula University of Technology
– Louise van Rhyn, Executive Director of Symphonia
Says African Education Week’s programme director Claire O’Connell: “we are committed and passionate about helping to improve and change how teaching and learning take place in classrooms across Africa. I want to invite all teachers to come along to African Education Week’s Learning Expo and attend more than 60 free workshops on the expo floor and learn from our expert speakers and from each other. A wide variety of topics are covered, from engaging students in science and maths, to applying the latest technology in the classroom.”
Career Indaba Entrance to the Career Indaba expo is also free and aims to bridge the gap for students between studying and entering the world of work with presentations on career guidance in a variety of fields, job interview and CV writing tips, celebrity appearances and much more.
All grade 11 and 12 learners, university and college students and their parents are welcome at Career Indaba. Talks are offered on a variety of career paths, including the entertainment industry, theatre, fashion, printing, the wine and hospitality sector and management accounting. Learners can also attend workshops on how to choose the right career, how to apply for bursaries and hear celebrities such as 5FM’s Sureshnie Rider and DJ Fix and singer Chad Saaiman share their success stories.
Latest teaching technology The African Education Week Learning Expo will feature the latest teaching technology and software to help teachers perform better in the classroom.
Solar powered, mobile classrooms: “Samsung started off by offering the African continent our Solar Powered Internet Schools (SPIS),” says Paulo Ferreira, Head of Enterprise Mobility at Samsung South Africa, gold sponsor at the event, “a world-first; the exclusively solar-powered, mobile and completely independent classroom is geared at increasing accessibility to education and connectivity across Africa. It is designed particularly for use in remote rural areas with limited or no access to electricity.”
Accountancy: Sage Pastel Accounting is now an essential component in the accounting curriculum for Grades 10, 11 and 12
Assessment: EDGE Campus will launch Qurio, an assessment product built for the education industry, simplifying the tiring and tedious job of assessments through the use of mobile and web technologies.
Accountancy: CashCow™ comes in the form of a toolkit and board game, and can be used in conjunction with entry level school and college textbooks. It is aligned to the current CAPS curriculum and is available in English and Afrikaans.
Disabled: Tobii Technology is the world's leading manufacturer of eye control technology and allows individuals with complex disabilities to control all the functions of their computer using only their eyes.
Mathematics: My Maths Buddy will demystify maths and has been specifically designed to cater to our multi-lingual society.
Parents also very welcome “I want to urge parents to encourage their kids to pre-register for Career Indaba and come along as well”, says Claire O’Connell,” the expo is open until Saturday 22 June. Moms and dads will find the free workshops very helpful whilst guiding their children towards making important decisions regarding career choice, bursary deadlines, preparing for job interviews or starting a business.”
There will also be plenty of fun on the Career Indaba expo floor with loads of prizes on offer while visitors will have the opportunity to meet the cast of the movie Spud 2. Career Indaba is also proud to host a special wish wall where everyone will be able to write a message to former President Nelson Mandela for his 95th birthday.
Anyone can pre-register online as an Exhibition Visitor for free entry at www.educationweek.co.za or www.careerindaba.co.za
African Education Week & Career Indaba expo times: Thursday, 20 June 2013: 09h00-18h30 Friday, 21 June 2013: 09h00-17h00 Saturday, 22 June 2013: 09h00-17h00
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
An Address Presented By the Amanyanabo of Kalabari Kingdom His Majesty, King Prof T. J. T. Princewill, CFR, JP, Amachree XI On the Occasion of the Courtesy Visit on the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Right Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON on June 11, 2013
Protocol On behalf of the chiefs and citizen of the Kalabari Kingdom, I thank Your Excellency for making out time from your busy schedule to receive us today.
At certain times in the life of a man, the public expression of the love, goodwill, admiration and support of friends and relatives may be highly desirable. For us as Kalabari people, this is a good time to show our solidarity with our son, brother, friend and Governor, Chibuike Amaechi. The last time we interacted with you with a full house of our people, we were all distressed and left in perplexity by what appeared to be a deliberate or inadvertent balkanization of the Kalabari Kingdom. We were given the impression that Soku, an ancient Kalabari Community was no longer in Rivers State. We concede that in the natural course of growth, it is not impossible that the Kalabari Kingdom may spread across State boundaries in the Nigerian Federation.
However, the precise location of Kalabari towns and communities across states ought to be with our knowledge and consent; not by arbitrary division, the rationale of which is lost on us.
May we use this opportunity to thank Your Excellency for the swiftness and persistence with which you have committed to this battle to restore Soku and other Kalabari communities to the Kalabari Kingdom. It would be apposite, in the same vein, to join other men and women of goodwill resident in Rivers State to tender our gratitude to you for the growth and development in the core areas which your administration is focused on. The investments in health, particularly primary Health Care; in education, in infrastructure, enhancing the capacity of teachers, and quality assurance; and in agriculture, especially fish farming, compel us to say thank you.
It would be an oversight not to thank Your Excellency for sending our children to study abroad under generous scholarships. Neither would it appropriate for us to fail to say thank you for our brethren in various positions of responsibility, especially the Right Honourable Otelemaba Dan Amachree, the Honourable Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly in whom we are well pleased. He has maintained the principle of separation of powers while aligning the making of good laws to a shared vision for development. It is our hope that the confidence you have reposed in them will take you all to the finishing line.
May we quickly congratulate you on your re-election as chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, while appealing to your colleagues and indeed all other Nigerians, including the media to see how all the contending issues can be resolved amicably in the interest of the nation. For us as Kalabari people, we can confidently say that despite all odds, you have provided visionary and purposeful leadership for the state. We cannot pretend that your administration has delivered on its mandate. We align with all your pro-people initiatives and express our unalloyed support to your administration. We will stand with you at all times.
Our dear governor, we would not like to be associated with the proverbial ostrich, which allegedly hides its head in sand, rather than confront and overcome challenges. We have inferred that there is a political crisis in which Your Excellency is in the eye of the storm. Your Excellency, we might not know the background or the dynamics of all these events but we perceive that all is not well between you and His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The President is your brother and in-law. Brethren are bound to disagree but as the Holy Bible informs us, we need not let the sun go down on our anger.
It is against this background that we call for reconciliation of all the parties to the disputes, whether real or perceived. We are not merely calling on you and the president to settle your differences; we are offering ourselves as emissaries and mediators. We do not want history to judge us harshly, as having stood by when two brothers had a slight misunderstanding which we allowed to grow into a huge conflagration.
When you are free from these distractions, we believe that you would re-double your focus on delivering good governance in Rivers State. Our expectation is that it would result in measured political, economic and social empowerment for Rivers people, but especially Kalabari people.
Finally, the Kalabari people as an ethnic nationality would continue to work with you. We pledge our loyalty and unflinching support to Your Excellency’s administration.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria! Long live Rivers State of Nigeria! Long live Chibuike Amaechi!
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Leaders of thought from Enugu and Ebonyi States have urged the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, to make himself available for the presidential election, which comes up in 2015. Two delegations from Enugu and Ebonyi states led by Gen. Joseph Okoloagu Chief Ben Nwaobasi respectively said after a thorough scrutiny of the records of prominent Igbo politicians, none has the credentials that matches Okorocha’s, to lead Nigeria of today. The group made this known when they visited the governor at the Government House in Owerri. They said it is the turn of Ndigbo to produce the next president for the country, appealing to other ethnic nationalities to support the quest by Ndigbo for the presidency in 2015.
They urged the governor to contest the presidency, to fill the protracted political vacuum in the South-east. “We are in Imo State to show our solidarity with the governor for his landmark achievements in infrastructural development and free education among others. “We the political leaders from the opposition parties in Enugu state are looking forward to your encouragement and support; we have come to identify with you and solicit your support to build APC in Enugu state,” Okoloagu said. He described Okorocha as an epitome of good governance and true leadership whose capacity to lead Ndigbo is not in doubt. On his part, Nwaobasi said his team was in Imo state to pay a solidarity visit to Okorocha for his exemplary leadership to Ndigbo, and also solicit his support for the success of APC in Ebonyi state. In his response, Okorocha assured his guests that the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) would wrestle power from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015. He described APC as a child of circumstance, which arose from the desire by Nigerians to reap the dividends of democracy. Said he: “APC is a product of the yearnings of the people, for a change that will bring about true democracy in Nigeria. It is a fact that PDP has failed the people of the South-east and Nigerians in general, and that informed this mission of providing a credible platform that will represent an alternative and acceptable government different from the PDP.”
The governor explained that APC is neither an alliance nor a coalition, but a merger that is borne out of genuine concern of progressive Nigerians who are committed to take the country to the desired level. He submitted that PDP has failed the country and continued to deny Ndigbo their rightful place in the scheme of things, describing the situation as a clear case of marginalization where an Igbo man is not occupying any of the principal positions as President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of House of Representatives or Chairman of the ruling party. The Governor advised the people to be courageous, focused and resolute, assuring them that APC would be registered despite plots by some forces to thwart the registration.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State Friday pulled out of the Northern Governors Forum until he was sure decisions reached at the forum would be binding and implemented by all members.
His decision further adds a new dimension to the crises rocking the Nigerian Governors’ Forum where issues of elections has polarised the members leading to factionalisation of the once powerful forum.
In a press conference in Makurdi, Suswam said he joins Governor Isa Yuguda to insist that there was no point belonging to a voluntary forum that could not stand by its decisions, where trust had taken flight among its members.
Suswam who has been at the forefront of the NGF has been involved in the leadership crises over his insistence that their procedure of choosing their leadership had never been through elections but by consensus.
However, the crust of his decision appears to be the alleged breaching of a decision by the Northern governors to vote for a consensus candidate in Jang against Governor Rotimi Amaechi who was running for a second term.
It turned out that some of the Northern governors voted for Amaechi and upstaged the agenda allegedly agreed in a meeting.
Suswam said he was miffed by the simple fact that people who held high offices could not be trusted or keep to their words in a simple election of a voluntary body, hence such people may easily betray for more important things to them.
“The northern governors’ forum is polarized because it is no longer conducive for us to sit as one in such meeting where a collective decision is taken and some people go out to do something else. We no longer trust ourselves,” Suswam insisted.
Asked if the position was final, his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Cletus Akwaya said his principal would no longer attend until he saw reasons to believe that things have changed and that decisions taken would be binding on members.
“He is not going to be party to any forum or association that its decisions would not be binding on its members. He won’t attend the meeting again until is sure the decisions of the forum would be binding on all members. It is not a serious issue; he is acting based on principle,” he clarified.
While backing Jonah Jang faction of the NGF, he alleged that Amaechi exhibited desperation, pointing out that to him, Jang was the rightful Chairman of NGF and “anybody else parading himself as such is deceiving himself”.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Senator Helen Esuene, representing Eket Senatorial district, Akwa Ibom state in the National Assembly has indicated her intention to become the first female governorship aspirant in the state for the 2015 governorship election.
Esuene voiced her intention in her senatorial district, saying she has commenced consultations pending a formal declaration before the entire people of Akwa Ibom State.
“The governorship of this state with present administration ending 2015, a lot of people have come to me to say you must contest and I say why? They say we know that you are the one that can manage this state, so that there is unity, transparency, sustainable development.
“I know sustainable development is born out of three things. One justice, two justice which begets peace and unity and three is vision before you can have sustainable development otherwise we know that it is very difficult to build but to destroy is easy.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Last Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the great day called June 12 in the political history of Nigeria. For twenty years, all the laudable talks, beautiful adjectives and anecdotes have been used lavishly to describe that exercise. It was a day of liberation. A liberation that never was in the true sense.
Despite his furtive attempt to defend his action in annulling the June 12 presidential election over the years, the burden of guilt still lays heavily on former military president, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. It is a cross he will have to bear till breathes last, especially as his name and memory collocate with that great and grave injustice.
It was a day laden with ironies. The June 12 election was supposed to be during the rains. But meteorologists confirmed that all over Nigeria, there was no rain anywhere on that day. I had looked forward to the day with so much excitement. The sun shone with its own excited blaze. I had covered the Hope 93 Campaign Organisation from the very start. I had traveled with the late MKO on many of the campaign tours, I had reckoned that the volume of reception he got across the country was indeed overwhelming, especially when compared with the pilfered crowd of his counterpart, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC). Abiola’s philanthropy, business background, academic background and indeed, his many women, character, etc had all combined to work in his favour. He could connect with every part of the country with homely familiarity. Even his message was enchanting and inspiring. Everything, but the establishment worked in his favour.
His chief strategist, Dr Jonathan Silas Zwingina left nothing to chance. His (MKO’s) sheaves were really upright. Nigerians were not only tired of military rule, the Abiola candidacy chimed well with many of them. There was a bright hope of a new dawn. A dawn that never broke.
The sign that it will be a frustrated dawn emerged soon as Abiola and his late wife, Kudirat cast their votes. The then National Chairman of the NRC, Chief Tom Ikimi began to make a heavy weather out of the fact that Abiola wore a green agbada on which was emblazoned the imprint of a horse, the emblem of his party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP); seeking to suggest that Abiola was, in a way, continuing his campaign, after campaigns had officially ended. He was already stoking the fire of that issue as the initial results were trickling in. We have always had bad losers amongst us. And it resonates well with the recent Nigerian Governors’Forum election, which was won by Governor Rotimi Amaechi, but because he was not the one they (establishment) wanted to win, they began to (as they say in Warri) “draw rain”. A needless rain! They started looking for excuses and after-thought arguments to discredit the election, just as IBB and his cohorts began to shop for excuses to justify why MKO could not be declared. IBB, like Akpabio and co wanted to abort a baby that had been born. From the time of Ikimi to the time of Akpabio, we have always had bad losers.
I remember that the National Publicity Secretary of the NRC at the time, Dr Doyin Okupe, (now President Jonathan’s ‘attack dog’) was so angry with the argument of Ikimi so much that he (Okupe) chose to resign from office. Those were days of righteous principles. Not anymore, it seems. By the end of the first week, when Babangida announced the annulment of the election, the entire result had been known and it was clear MKO won the election landslide. The latter swore to fight the annulment, and vowed to keep a date with history. He did.
It was such a funny act. A man is made to go through the rigours of an election. He wins and then he is chased out of town. And when he eventually returns, he is thrown into the prison, for daring to proclaim his victory by declaring himself the President. I remember that night, at Epetedo, Lagos, when Abiola was smuggled into the arena by the likes of Wahab Dosunmu (who just died) and Chief Ralph Obioha (whose clothes were torn by the surging crowd). Not even the rain that night deterred the people from listening to the declaration. It was such an awesome night.
At the end of the day, not only was Abiola denied his deserved presidency, he was killed or made to die whilst still in government custody. Before he died, he had become government’s enemy number one! His businesses had been crippled by the establishment. I remember how government agencies or ministries began to treat National Concord Newspaper like a leper. Nobody advertised therein anymore. They were not to even buy or read the paper. Gradually but steadily, the establishment snuffed life out of the paper… all to crush MKO, even after he had obviously fallen. It was an injustice that cries to the heavens. It is unforgettable.
Twenty years after, June 12 refuses to fade away. It refuses to be forgotten. It refuses to be dismissed. It has come to represent more than a metaphor for national deliverance and redemption. It has since become a recommended manual of an electoral model. But how much guide have we got from this manual!
NAMA as the Establishment’s Hammer?
Once it was the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, that was manifestly used to haunt perceived enemies of the presidency. Today, the agency in charge of that brief seems to be the National Airspace Management Authority (NAMA). Between April ánd now, the hitherto quiet agency has been in the news, somewhat for the wrong reasons. The aviation agency has been doing lots of explanation to justify many of its actions which are generally perceived to be driven by political considerations.
It started with Gov Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State in Akure, in April. A plane which had been flying for over seven months in the country was suddenly said to have expired permit, incomplete documentation etc. First, they said the pilot failed to file manifest. Then, the plane got grounded, as NAMA fitfully shopped for classified excuses for its actions. All these came just when the spat between the President and Amaechi broke open. Informed sources say Gov Godswill Akpabio’s plane which had the same documentation process with Amaechi’s, has remained spared by the new Aviation Policies.
Then penultimate Friday, the newspapers had published a report where Dr Sam Ogbemudia granted an interview where he said the Peoples Democratic leadership in Edo State had gone begging Gov Adams Oshiomhole to join the party, but that the latter refused. It was supposed to counter the claim by Olisa Metuh, the PDP spokesman that Oshiomhole had lobbied to be allowed to join the PDP. Ogbemudia’s interview not only cleared the fog, it belied the claim of the PDP. Then the very next day, Oshiomhole’s chartered helicopter which had been allowed to take off from the Benin airport was recalled mid-air and eventually grounded by NAMA, again, on the excuse that the manifest was not filed. If that be true, why was the chopper allowed to take off the first time?
And while the dust from that was yet to settle, NAMA again, last Wednesday diverted the chartered plane carrying the Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko (who was recently suspended by the PDP and so a perceived enemy of the power mavens) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, whom it seems had been in the bad books of the party’s hawks, from landing in Sokoto, to Kaduna. NAMA said the crowd at the Sokoto airport to welcome the suspended governor was “unruly”. So to avert the attendant risk, the plane had to be diverted to Kaduna. Some think is is punishment. It is difficult to string all of these as mere coincidences. From Amaechi to Oshiomhole, to Wamakko, all perceived enemies of the presidency, who will be the next on NAMA’s anvil?
Would You Burn the Corpse of your Loved One?
Did you hear that they are about turning our state to Mumbai? Mumbai? Where is that? And who wants to turn our dear Lagos to Mumbai? You don’t know that popular city in India called Mumbai? Don’t you know how they treat their dead? Yes, I know. How does that connect us in Lagos? Did you not hear that there is a new law in Lagos that says dead people will now be burnt to ashes and packed into a bottle? Didn’t you hear this sacrilege? Can you imagine!
What is sacrilegious about burning the dead? Are we more human than those who do it in India? Look, you don’t have to be sentimental about it. It is part of the dynamism of society. A responsible leader has to be proactive and visionary. You can blow all the grammar you like. But I can tell you it is one law that will be Brought-in-Dead. How can we consciously burn the bodies of our beloved ones?
You don’t seem to understand the underpinning of the new law. When last did you visit any of the public or private cemeteries in Lagos? Can’t you see that even the dead are also having acute accommodation problem? Can you imagine where the dead will be buried in the next ten years in Lagos? Can’t you see the cemeteries are full and over-flowing? Even the private vaults would soon run out of space. In fact, some ancient corpses are being removed to accommodate new ones in the cemeteries. So can’t you understand the essence of the new law is to spare the next generation the trouble of finding space for the dead? Really? Ok. Let me ask you: would you burn the corpse of your mother or father, just because Ikoyi or Atan cemeteries are full? Would you? Answer me!
Yes, I can. Stop being sentimental on this matter. It is a reality we have to face someday. In any case, of what use is a corpse? Do you ever go back to maintain a corpse after it’s been buried? If it is the memory you need, the ashes in the urn is a good symbol of your beloved one; something you can relate to and feel. It is different from a corpse dug in somewhere far away, sometimes never visited again by the so-called children or family members.
Do you realize it is against our culture? Burn a corpse? Is that the kind of development we are looking for? Is that how American or Britons treat their dead? If corpses are to be burnt, then of what use are tombs and mausoleums? You are reasoning in analogue way. The world is going digital. I think the Lagos state government should be commended for thinking ahead of the age.
In any case, the law is not binding. It is voluntary. Those who want to do it are allowed by law. But it is not compulsory. But trust me, it is the way to go. Ok, when next your uncle or auntie dies, please go to Mushin, buy plenty of firewood and set them ablaze, gather the ashes into empty ragolis can and take it home.
Look, you sound so made up on your thoughts and beliefs. Thank God your opinion on this matter does not count. The law has been signed by Governor Babatunde Fashola. And there is nothing you can do about it. Hmmmm, you can sign all the laws you want, it is one thing to sign them, it is quite another to implement them. After all, the hullaballoo that trailed the Lagos Traffic laws has settled down now. Have you not been seeing Okada men on Oshodi-Apapa-express way? Or are landlords not still charging new tenants two and even three year’s rent? Please leave me alone with Lagos laws jare. We know how it all goes.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State Friday expressed support for the Sovereign Wealth Fund and charged the federal government to ensure effective participation of all the states in the management of the initiative.
He gave the charge in Asaba during the second anniversary lecture of the fifth Assembly of the Delta State House of Assembly.
The governor explained that state governors were not against the establishment of the SWF “per se, but the way and manner” in which it was being managed.
“We are not against the Sovereign Wealth Fund. States should be able to decide the amount to save and what to do with their savings since they are not appendages of the federal government,” he said.
The Federal Government and the 36 states have been at loggerheads over the SWF for sometime now.
The case is presently before the Supreme Court. The court has since asked the Federal Government and the state governors to explore out-of-court settlement. Only this week, 36 state finance commissioners walked out of the monthly revenue allocation meeting in Abuja over a number of issues, including deductions for the SWF.
Uduaghan also called for the immediate review of the Value Added Tax Law to enable state governments collect VAT in their locality and remit an agreed percentage to the federal government.
He explained that the idea of VAT being collected and shared to states that abhor some of the VAT items like alcohol was unacceptable.
“We collect VAT on alcohol in Delta State and the money is shared to some states in the North where alcohol is prohibited. This is not acceptable.”
The governor also advocated for the practice of true Fiscal Federalism in the country “to enable federating states have access to their resources for maximum development.”
He stated that the practice of Fiscal Federalism would create the opportunity for states to develop their mineral and other resources and improve their revenue bases.
“This would engender healthy competition among the various states in the federation and enhance infrastructure development.
“The issue of Fiscal Federalism is dear to all state governors. If we are practicing true Fiscal Federalism in this country, the state governors will not need to go to Abuja to beg or lobby for what is rightfully theirs.”
The governor commended the Delta State House of Assembly for its contributions to the development of the state explaining that the constant dialogue between the legislative and executive arms had led to the developmental strides in the state.
Speaking further, the governor commended Deltans for the support given so far to his administration and charged politicians to be peaceful and eschew violence and acts that would heat up the polity as 2015 election activities begin.
In a welcome address, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei explained that the idea of the public lecture was to deliberate and proffer solutions to topical national issues.
The speaker said that Delta State Government was promoting the “Delta Beyond Oil” initiative to help develop other sectors of the economy explaining that taxation was one of the means being used to achieve the initiative.
Ochei said the idea of Fiscal Federalism suggested that each tier of government in a federating state would be allowed to pursue its own financial policy initiative explaining that it would ensure rapid development of the country.
In his speech, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu said fiscal federalism and strengthening of democratic institutions were issues that needed to be addressed “if Nigeria is to move forward as a sovereign country.”
Ekweremadu said: “a federating arrangement where the units converge at the federal capital every month like spoilt adults to be bottle- fed with free money without thinking of how to make their own money is what I have often described as a feeding bottle federalism. And typical of free money, this culture has had a lottery effect on the nation.
“This culture of free money has also affected our national attitude to taxation as a catalyst for socio-economic development, as the citizenry regard the allocations from the centre as a national cake. There is aloofness among them towards resources that are not accruing from and impacting their individual pockets in the form of taxes.
“The poor economic health status of most states, their poor development indices and high debt profiles are all concrete evidence that feeding bottle federalism is a huge disservice to industry, creativity, enterprise, responsible governance and national development.”
Ekweremadu explained that fiscal federalism and enhanced resource control had become a reoccurring decimal in the constitutional amendment process since 1999, “but unfortunately, they have failed to garner the requisite support to scale through due to embedded fears which he said is unfounded.”
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha in his lecture titled: “Legislative Issue in Fiscal Federalism” called on the states to tap into other areas of resources to generate revenue.
“While we confront the problems facing us a nation, it’s an achievement that the country has marked fourteen years of uninterrupted democracy. The challenges facing all of us is to ensure that the remaining two years left of our mandate, at all levels of government is to justify the trust of the people and provide democracy dividend.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The federal government Friday expressed shock over the death of the Senate President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Donald Onukaogu and four others in a car crash on their way to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Also Friday, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State called for a probe of the riot that led to the death of two students and the destruction of property worth millions of naira at the University of Uyo.
Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i said in a statement from the ministry Friday in Abuja “the passing of the NANS leaders in such manner was painful.”
Rufa'i who described the late Onukaogu as a committed leader, explained that he worked for the peaceful coexistence of Nigerian students at all levels in his capacity as the leader of the parliamentary arm of NANS.
Students of Engineering and Science Departments of UNIUYO reportedly led their colleagues last Wednesday on a demonstration on the town campus against a new transport fare regime introduced by the school’s administration.
In the course of the protest two students were killed; and in retaliation, the offices of the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor were burnt, while several cars and security posts were vandalised.
Akpabio, who was conducted round the scene of the incident by the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Comfort Ekpo in company with the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professor Paul Ekwere and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Okon Ansa, described the destruction “as criminal, targeted and pre-meditated.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Previous chairmen of the crisis-ridden Nigeria Governors’ Forum used it as a campaign platform to promote personal ambition and as a tool for occupying national political space, thus derailing the NGF from its founding principles, so says Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.
Dickson who spoke on a number of state and national issues to select journalists in Yenagoa recently alleged that the previous chairmen refused to stick to the founding principles of the forum, “which is a peer review mechanism, not a trade union, not a platform for personal political aggrandisement and not a platform for playing partisan politics.”
Said the Bayelsa governor: “We are there actually to compare notes and also to serve as a platform for collaboration. It is not a political organisation; it is not a partisan organisation. It is a bipartisan or multi-partisan organisation that enables us to focus on what is the best, how we can deepen democracy and collaborate with the federal government on challenges of development, challenges of national security and so on.
“Well, the problem didn’t start now. PDP governors who became chairmen of the Forum over the years turned it to a campaign platform. It didn’t start now; it didn’t start with Governor Rotimi Amaechi. Even before him, that was the tradition. So there was the urge of the Chairman of NGF to want to become the President or Vice-President. Once an organisation of equals, a voluntary organisation of equals starts on that note, things could fall apart and the centre may not be strong enough to hold. I think that was what happened basically. But, like I said, we are all not happy about what happened. We are all friends and colleagues and men of honour. We agree and disagree and I think very soon we will all come back to do the things we are supposed to do.”
Dickson said all the governors were unhappy about the on going crisis and how it has metamorphosed and that many felt it could have been handled well: “Quite frankly, there is no governor who would say he is not touched or he is not sad by the development in the NGF. We are as outraged and saddened as any other Nigerian. I think that Nigerian governors are responsible people and not irresponsible as the outcome may have suggested.
”We are putting our heads together, consulting across divides and very soon, with the feelers that I have, the misunderstanding will be resolved and NGF will be back. But the NGF that will be back, I’m sure it’s an NGF that would have learnt its lessons; an NGF that would have learnt to stick to the founding principles of the organisation.”
The Bayelsa governor said he would never accept the chairmanship of the forum, even if offered free because it is an unnecessary stress: “Quite frankly, for some of us, even if you dash me the chairmanship of the NGF, I won’t take it because it is additional trouble and stress. It is basically additional responsibility. The responsibilities we have in our state are enough challenges. Quite frankly, that is why I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion because some people wanted to use it to achieve other ends, other ulterior motives, even when there was no need for it.
“In the United States, people don’t even know who the chairman of the American Governor’s Forum is, because it’s not important. The chairman is just there to preside over the meetings of equals. It doesn’t make him a super governor. But you know everything Nigerian, people want to distort and then make something out of nothing. You don’t need NGF to discuss with your party. If you want to become anything, you set up your campaign platform and you battle for the ticket of your party and you talk to Nigerians. You don’t need an NGF.
“But I think there is this unfortunate misconception of NGF as platform that could be used for national political space. I think heavy investment was also made to project it that way. For me, it’s nothing I am prepared to accept right now because the challenges of governing my state are serious enough. As governors, the mandate we have is to govern our state.”
The governor also spoke on why his administration has been spending so much money on road construction across the state: “There is construction everywhere because that is what I promised the people of the state and also that is what they deserve. We are preparing our state for industrialisation. We are preparing our state to be a foremost tourism and investment haven. We are preparing our state to join the league of developed states. I am in a hurry to see development."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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