Why states are running bankrupt - Abia Among Healthy States

Are states and local governments in the country agents of development or mere conduit pipes for channeling proceeds of federation account allocations?  That is the question that stares everyone in the face in view of recent revelations about the finances of most of the 36 states of the federation. While the 1999 Constitution as amended designs the state as vehicle for the actualization of the fundamental objective and directive  principles of state policy as enunciated in chapter two of the Constitution, the operation of the component units of the federation as captured in the ground norm has maintained a continuous slide from the ideal since 1999.  Coming from a state of abyss under the military, it was permissible however that the finances of the states were at the most unstructured level at the start of the current Republic.

But overtime, it has continued to emerge that the states are doing more of rent seeking than actual management. Fewer states are turning in anything tangible in terms of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), while many have completely left the collection of such to touts and political hangers on, as evidence of political patronage.

Many of the states resorted to the bond market, which in actual fact means spending much of your future earnings today.

The effect of the growing rush for the bond market too will not take eternity to show. From the second term of the Fourth Republic, starting from 2003, some signs of distress were beginning to surface in the management of state finances. The coming into force of the Debt Management Office (DMO) in 2000 created the much needed statistics that provided insights into the financial health of the states. Much attention could,  however, not be directed at that because of the battle to free Nigeria itself from the shackles of debt it got entangled in on the platforms of Paris and London Club of Creditors. With Nigeria practically out of the huge debt profile in 2006, concerns shifted to domestic debts and the growing state indebtedness. Right now, the situation is not only worrisome to managers of the economy; it has been described as critical. Chairman of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr. Elias Mbam said at a senate public hearing held to look into the state of indebtedness of the states that states have become rent seekers, solely living on proceeds of federation account, which are also further tied to bank debts, foreign debts and bonds.

The public hearing was sequel to a motion on the growing bankruptcy in the states moved by Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi on October 27, 2011. The Senator had called the attention of the Senate to the growing concern for the finances of the states and the danger of insolvency facing the 36 states of the federation.  Quoting a study of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the Senator noted that 20 of the 36 states are faced with prospects of unstable and unfavourable financial standing, based on the high percentage of their wage bills in relation to the total revenue accruable. The motion was unanimously accepted by the Senate, which immediately assigned a Joint Committee including Committees on National Planning, Finance, States and Local Governments and Appropriation to conduct a public hearing and report its findings to the plenary.

According to the scary statistics submitted by Senator Adetumbi, only four states of the federation can be said to have healthy state of accounts. They are Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, and Jigawa. While records show that Abia spends 14 percent of its revenue on personnel cost, Akwa-Ibom and Anambra spend 12 per cent on the same, while Jigawa spends six percent on personnel costs. Imo (19 per cent), Kwara (18 per cent); Lagos (18 per cent); Kebbi (16 per cent); Delta (15 per cent) are regarded as operating within the tolerable status, while six states are regarded as completely distressed.

On that list include Kano; Sokoto; Niger; Zamfara; Katsina and Osun.

The statistics presented from the Governors Forum Labour Policy Report for 2011 further indicates that Kano expends 126 percent of its revenue on personnel costs, Sokoto, 62 percent and Niger 56 percent. Zamfara spends 54 percent of its revenue on personnel costs, while Katsina and Osun spend 50 percent each of their earnings on personnel costs to stand rooted on the distressed cadre. States that spend between 48 and 30 percent of their total revenue on personnel  costs are regarded as being in critical state and they include  Ekiti(48 per cent); Plateau(44 per cent ; Benue(42 per cent); Edo(42 per cent ); Borno(41 per cent); Adamawa(40 per cent ); Cross Rivers(39 per cent ); Enugu(39 per cent); Taraba (38 per cent); Ogun(37 per cent ); Kogi(32 per cent); Yobe (32 per cent); Ebonyi(31 per cent); Ondo(31 per cent) and Kaduna(30 per cent), while states which spend from  27 and  20 percent of their earnings on personnel costs are regarded as unhealthy. They are Oyo (27 per cent); Bauchi (26 per cent); Bayelsa (24 per cent); Nasarawa (24 per cent); Gombe (23 per cent) and Rivers (20 per cent).   

Senator Adetumbi further submitted that states have now become social employers of labour with unsustainable high work force which makes service delivery almost impossible. With a weak private sector, he projects that the economy would be in further danger even as states become financially insolvent and increasingly handicapped to finance the real sector and drive growth.

He also presented statistics to further trouble the discerning minds. States have encumbered themselves with bonds from the capital market, much of them long term. The records on ground show that Lagos alone had participated in the financial bonds on three occasions, with a N15 billion bond in 2002 and two other series including N50 billion as the first series and another N57 billion bond in the second series. Other states on the bond market list include  Imo(N18.5 billion)Kwara(17 billion); Bayelsa(N50 billion); Ogun N50 billion);Niger(N6 billion); Kaduna (N8.5 billion); Ebonyi(N16.5 billion); Delta(N5 billion); Kebbi(N3.5 billion); and Yobe (N2.5 billion). Osun has disclosed that it will take N50 billion to finance its 2012 budget. With such huge financial burden, it is apparent that the states are not only living from hand to mouth, but are mere appendages of the government at the centre. The Senator submitted that the infrastructural deficits in the states has continued to put pressure on the major urban centres with attendant migration and worsening crime rate. But to the Senator, the fear is not in borrowing but the absence of proper procedures which further exposes the borrowed funds to misuse.

In an interview with The Friday Edition, Senator Adetumbi insisted that states are really enjoying the bad patch of the economy and that there is the need to urgently revise the trend.

He said of the motion: “That motion has brought to the fore the fiscal challenges that most states of the federation are facing. A situation where some states are spending as high as 126 percent of their internally generated revenue on wages meaning that they have to borrow to meet up. Others spend between 60 and 80 per cent of their total revenue as personnel cost, leaving less than 20 per cent for capital expenditure, that is not acceptable in a developing country where the running of the bureaucracy is costing more than what is required to open up the economy.

“Because you open up the economy through education, service delivery, infrastructure and the enabling environment for businesses to run. l am not, however, surprised that most states are now going to the capital market to raise funds but why do you need to borrow even at a very high percent if your internally generated revenue and the money coming from the federation account are enough for you to do what you want to do. They are raising bonds to finance infrastructure projects because there is a gap in their revenue that is not enabling them to do as much capital projects as the development of their states is calling for.”

The Senate reasoned along with Adetumbi and committed the motion to further scrutiny by the Joint Committee. On March 14, the committee gathered stakeholders at the Hearing Room One of the Senate main building to discuss the unfolding scenario of bankruptcy in the states.

RMAFC Chairman and the Debt Management Office did not deviate from the submissions presented by the Senator from Ekiti North on the Senate floor last October. Chairman of RMAFC, Elias Mbam corroborated the findings of the Senator when he declared that the states had so far been living on funds they did not generate.

He stated that most states had mortgaged the monthly allocations from the federation account, due to heavy loans and bonds burden. According to Mbam, besides the local debts, most states have also exposed themselves to foreign debts and bonds, which have practically mortgaged the monthly allocations they receive from the Federation Account.

RMAFC said that as at the end of last year, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja were owing about N339.9 billion (about $2.165billion), which it said was making it difficult for them to finance developmental projects and grow the economy of the states. That is besides the states’ indebtedness to local banks in short term borrowings and the exposure to the capital market.

The RMAFC submitted at the hearing: “Records available to the commission from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that as at December, 2011 the total external debt stock of all the states (multilateral) stood at $2.165billion, while that of the Federal Government stood at $3.5billion and a domestic stock of N5.622trillion for the Federal Government alone. The commission considers this profile as high.”

Mbam also said that as a result of the huge debt profile, there have been consistent deductions from the allocations of most of the states of the federation for settling external and domestic debts and the bonds. He said that the development was an indication that most of the state governments had collaterised their share of the monthly Federation Account receipts to service debts.

Another trend which is worrisome to managers of the nation’s economy is the fact that most of the debts owed banks by states were tied to Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPOs) issued to the Accountant General of the Federation to deduct directly from their monthly statutory allocations.

Mbam said: “The implication is that these debt overhangs weigh heavily on the monthly allocations due to the states thereby preventing them from meeting their minimum basic obligations to the citizens.”

According to him, deficit budgeting has become a serious challenge for most states, noting that even though deficit budgeting is tolerable within an acceptable limit, its endless application has endangered and forced the state governments to resort to excessive borrowing in order to meet their basic expenditure demands.

He said these excessive borrowings continued even when where the states had obviously no capacity to pay back.

The chairman of RMAFC stated that the consistent demand by the states for their share of the Excess crude revenue account is an indication of the desperate financial position of the state governments to get funds in order to meet costs of governance.

He said: “For instance, the sum of $1.5billion was shared in three equal installments from the excess crude account in 2011 alone out of which states received the sum of $400.8million.”

He told the joint committee that between 2009 and 2011 all the states had a gross statutory allocation of N2.66trillion out of which N266.89billion was deducted as total foreign and other loans within the period with varying degrees of effect on the allocations.

Mbam noted that noticeable indicators of financial distress in states include the cries by states that they could not pay the new national minimum wage in the face of the task to provide minimum services to the citizenry.

“This is a critical sign that the finances of most states and local governments were unhealthy. Today, most states have not been able to implement the new minimum wage. This challenge has made state executives to call for the review of the Revenue Allocation Formula in favour of states.

“Equally, they have also called for the removal of fuel subsidy which they also believe would enhance the revenue accruing into the Federation Account and invariably the statutory allocations to their respective states and local governments,” he said.

Mbam, however, recommended that the National and State Assemblies should consider appropriate legislations limiting the total exposure of states to external and domestic borrowing to not more than 20 per cent of their monthly allocations from the Federation Account.

“In addition, such borrowing should be for economic projects. Furthermore, there should be strict compliance to the relevant provisions of the Borrowing by Public Bodies Act,” he said.

As a way of redressing the obviously parlous state of finances of the states, the Revenue Mobilisation Chairman said that governments at all levels should diversify their economic base in order to enhance internally generated revenue, just as he called for a review of exclusive and concurrent legislative lists in the constitution with respect to the responsibilities of the Federal, States and Local Governments for appropriate revenue allocation.

“The cost of governance should be reduced drastically by cutting down recurrent expenditure, particularly, the number of aides, ministries, departments, agencies, wastages, etc. There should therefore be more emphasis on capital projects,” 

Mbam said, adding that allocations from the excess crude account should be targeted at economic projects that have direct impact on the people while relevant government institutions should be strengthened to effectively monitor and ensure full compliance with the extant laws in the use of public funds.

As the Senate is currently awaiting the verdict of the Joint Committee on the way out of the near certain insolvency by the states in the aftermath of the public hearing, some stakeholders are further expanding the frontiers of the argument.

Last month, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs also extended the barricades of the argument on the indebtedness of the states when he presented a bill before the Senate seeking to ensure autonomy for local governments in country in view of the grinding poverty staring the states in the face.

Senator Abatemi-Usman said that financial autonomy for local government areas in the country would give room for rapid growth and development at the grass-roots level. Though the bill is a variant of the Constitution amendment bills being put together by the Senate committee on constitution review, Abatemi believed that the urgency of the matter, as a result of the insolvency ravaging the states and the certain determination of the states to drag the local governments into the pit mandated him to present it immediately. What the Senator appeared to be saying was that if the states go down with the local governments tied to their aprons, the fate of national economy itself is in doubt.

The senator representing Kogi Central said in the lead debate that the autonomy granted local governments through the 1976 Local Government Reform had been whittled down considerably over the years and that most states of the federation had misinterpret section 7 of the 1999 Constitution to suit their whims. According to him, local governments had been prevented from functioning the way they should due to financial strangulation by the states.

He submitted: “Local governments have, over the years, suffered from the continued whittling down of their powers, and state governments had continued to encroach upon what would normally have been the exclusive preserves of local governments and consequently there has been a divorce between the people and government at their most basic levels.

“There is no gainsaying that the critical roles of local governments have indeed been impaired, in fact, out-rightly subverted because of corruption in some instances by states. In other cases, the process of disbursement of the accruable funds, as allocated from the Federation Account to the respect beneficiary local councils often get grossly abused; while some states deduct certain percentages before the release of the balance, in the name of servicing social amenities and infrastructure, which are non-existent, in most cases, others simply hold on, at will.”

He declared that the termination of the joint state and local governments’ accounts will help to substantially eradicate the anomaly. The senator stated further that the delay in release of council funds and deductions by the states had become tools in suppressing the efficiency and service delivery by local governments across the country.

But all stakeholders know that yanking the local governments off the apron strings of the states would not come as an easy task. The Senate and, indeed, all stakeholders must be on the alert if the idea is to be achieved in that direction.

Source: Nigerian Tribune

BA, Virgin, others in fresh trouble with FG

Aviation minister, Stella Oduah-Ogiewmonyi

The Federal Government yesterday gave all foreign airlines operating in the country  a 30-day ultimatum within which to dismantle the fare regime that sees Nigerian passengers paying higher fares than other passengers in West Africa.

Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, who issued the ultimatum in Abuja last night,  said the 30-day ultimatum would start today.

This came on a day the Ministry of Aviation also sought the cooperation of the National Assembly towards the enactment of  a Passengers’ Bill of Rights.

It could be recalled that in the wake of the impasse between British Airways and Arik Air regarding the denial of landing slots of the latter at London Heathrow airport, the ministry had, in addition facilitating the landing rights of Arik Air in Heathrow, waded into the huge fare disparity in the sub-region and demanded fare parity from British Airways, BA, Virgin Atlantic Airways, VA, and other international airlines operating in the country.

See table showing the different price regimes by BA and VA here

BA and VA had particularly asked for more time to conduct its own study on the alleged fare disparity, promising  to report back  to the Ministry last December.

But worried by the obvious delay tactics on the part of the two British carriers, Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, weekend said any international airline operating in Nigeria which failed to dismantle the fare imbalance and other sharp practices within the next 30 days would be banned from operating in Nigeria.

She said:  “We are seriously concerned and worried by the reluctance to restore parity within the region by the foreign airlines.

They have been using all kinds of delay tactics; this is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Nigerian passengers do not deserve this kind of exploitation and we are willing and ready  to stand up to their rights.”

Oduah said Nigeria remained an important and lucrative route for the international airlines, warning that anyone not ready to treat Nigerians with equity and dignity would be barred from operating in the country.

”In the interim, we encourage Nigerian travellers  to avail themselves of other competitive alternatives while we try try  to address and resolve this issue once and for all,” she said.

A source had told Vanguard that government’s action was informed by the delayed tactics deployed by the British government on the need to resolve the issue of unequal fare regime of British carriers in their Nigerian operations, compared to what holds in other countries on the West Coast.

Government had always banked on the fact that once the two British carriers were made to toe the line, other international airlines would follow their footstep on the issue, especially considering the historical links between Nigeria and Britain.

Vanguard gathered at the weekend that the latest withdrawal of slots from Arik Air on its Abuja-London Heathrow operations, which led to the airline’s suspension of flight on the route yesterday, further infuriated the government.

The British government had in the last quarter of 2011 asked the federal government to give it till December 31, 2011, to conduct a study on the fare regime of both British carriers on Lagos-London and Abuja-London routes, in relation to that of other countries in the sub-region, but failed to meet up with that deadline and called for an extension of time which, according to sources, was to enable it buy time while the two carriers continued operations unhindered.

The British government had begged for a negotiation in the heat of the row caused by the shabby treatment of Arik Air at Heathrow, when government threatened to shut down British Airways operations on Lagos-London route.

A source told Vanguard weekend that government was no longer disposed to the delayed tactics being employed by the British government, especially in the light of the resurgence of Arik Air’s problem at Heathrow earlier in the month.

Announcing a re-suspension of its Abuja-London flight penultimate week, Arik Air had said:  “From the inception of the route in November 2009, Arik Air has been in a slot-lease agreement with a UK carrier, leasing arrival/ departure slots on the Abuja/ London route at Heathrow.

“At the end of the summer schedule (October 2011), the UK carrier that Arik Air was in the slot-lease agreement with for this route advised the airline of its intention to sell the company and began to wind down its contractual arrangements with Arik Air. Without these commercially arranged slots, Arik Air was forced to suspend operations at the start of the winter schedule (2011).

“Immediate discussions were held by the respective governments to resolve the long-existing and underlying anomaly in the BASA.   As an abridgement, the UK authorities facilitated the temporary continuation of the commercial lease of these slots in support of Arik Air’s Abuja/ London, Heathrow operation.

“This interim solution was only available up until 25th March (2012). Unfortunately,despite the best efforts of both governments, there has been no solution found. The situation remains as it was at the end of October 2011 with Arik Air having no landing/arrival slots after March 2012 thus forcing it to suspend the route.

Although Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, could not be reached weekend to know what action government was taking in the next two weeks, sources at the Ministry said the operations of both British carriers might be shut in Lagos in the interim, in view of Arik Air’s problems at Heathrow, and shut completely should the British government fail to respond to Nigeria’s quest for a dismantling of the current fare regime which is unfavourable to Nigerians.

The Aviation Minister’s aide, Mr. Joe Obi, had told Vanguard three weeks ago that though the British negotiating team on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways fare structures appealed for extension of time, on the expiration of the December 31, 2011, deadline, which was acceded to, the Nigerian government would not wait indefinitely because of the urge with which Nigerians want the issue settled.

He also said the matter bothered on public interest which government was in a hurry to resolve in the

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Aviation is putting finishes touches on a proposed Passengers’ Bill of Rights which it hopes to present before the two chambers of the National Assembly soon.

The ministry, which is very optimistic that the National Assembly will lend its usual cooperation towards the swift passage of the bill, believes air passengers will have a fairer deal once the bill is passed into law.

One of the salient provisions in the proposed bill stipulates that a passenger has a right to  compensation if his or her flight is delayed for more than one hour, out-rightly cancelled or where a passenger is denied boarding without any reasonable cause.

Source: Vanguardnews

Stakeholders seek local content for broadband at eWorld forum

 

eWorld Broadband Forum: From left, Engr Titi Omo-Ettu, President of ATCON; Mr Tony Ojobo, Director of Public Affairs, NCC; Engr. Festus Daudu, Acting Director, Spectrum, Ministry of Communications Technology, representing Mrs Omobola Johnson at the Broadband Forum held by publishers of eWorld magazine in Lagos.

The desire for faster deployment of broadband services to all the nooks and crannies of the country for quality services delivery received a big boost last week at the third annual eWorld forum held in Lagos. The forum was organized by publishers of eWorld Magazine in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC in Lagos.

The event was a platform for stakeholders in the industry to look out to issues of broadband deployment, especially the gray areas the regulators need to touch in order to reach the required broadband level in penetration, growth and access that everybody is craving for.

Also, stakeholders at the event were expected to articulate other major challenges involved in the deployment process and also proffer solution that would fast-track Nigeria’s journey to ubiquitous broadband services.

Various speakers who spoke at the occasion, including operators emphasized the need for all players in the country to drive local content which to them is the key in creating the critical map that will attract Nigerians to go online. For them, both access and content must go together for the country to achieve the desired goal.

In her keynote address, Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson reiterated the readiness of her ministry to making broadband services available to all Nigerians.

The minister said since Nigeria is a member of the international telecommunication’s union, ITU and United Nations, which had in different fora demonstrated dedicated interest in making broadband connectivity available in at least 40 per cent of households by 2015, there would be no basis for the country to lag behind in attaining the same objective.

According to Johnson, broadband has become a key success factor for national socio-economic development in the world’s economy, saying that a causal relationship between broadband penetration and GDP growth exist, which always results in every 10% increase in broadband penetration, delivering 1.6% growth in GDP.

The forum entitled “Broadband Ecosystem: Issues for Regulators and Operators” attracted a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders ranging from policy makers to regulators, as well as service providers, academia and consumers.

Broadband benefits

Buttressing the importance of broadband in an economy, the minister noted that broadband has benefited the business community, SMEs, agriculture, education, health and finance including access to a wider customer and supplier base for SME’s, new business models that eliminate intermediaries and access to information on good cultivation practices for farmers.

Other areas of benefit according to her include access to market prices, virtual learning deployed to rural and semi-urban areas, patient data collection and health records access, disease outbreak tracking and mobile money to name a few.

To realize the goal, she said a target of 28% of the nation’s population is expected to have access to internet by 2015 with just 6% broadband penetration, a goal she said was set for the lCT industry to double through a heterogeneous network of fiber optic cable.

Issues being dealt with

She identified issues such as spectrum availability, right of way and base station erection as major constraints militating against the planned aggressive rollout of broadband infrastructure in Nigeria and assured that the ministry had already commenced a move to address them.

She challenged the forum to come up with suggestions that will assist government in additional ways, regarding policy direction and implementation action plans for future development of broadband in Nigeria.

In his remarks at the forum, Executive Vice-Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Engr. Eugene Juwah said he was optimistic that the gathering would provide some useful contributions to ongoing plans by the commission to ensure huge benefits of robust deployment of broadband infrastructure and services across the country.

The EVC said that the Commission had demonstrated commitment to this programme by commencing the implementation with the launch of preliminary studies that will situate the plan.

Open access model

Though the commission is currently faced with the challenge of how to drive competition when broadband services become pervasive, he said that the regulatory body is focused on the ‘Open Access’ model in which the role of the network operator is distinct from those of the service providers.

“NCC’s broadband plan is being innovatively designed in such a way as to bridge the yawning gap between available premium mobile type services, and the traditionally affordable fixed line telephony. Unlike most other parts of the world where fixed line services are commonplace, Nigeria never had abundance of fixed line services the way it has seen mobile telephony. Given the unique advantages of fixed line services, our broadband services would also be adopted to provide fixed line-type services.

“The issue of spectrum availability in broadband services is already being addressed in the global platform. One major issue that is of concern to the regulator is how it would affect broadband expansion in particular, as is currently affecting the telecommunications infrastructure generally as well as the issue of multiple regulation and multiple taxation.

Earlier in his welcome address, the publisher of eWorld , Mr. Aaron Ukodie said that the event was packaged to provide as platform for stakeholders in the industry to deliberate on issues of broadband, especially the grey areas where regulators need to address for them to reach the required broadband level in penetration, growth and access.

Source: Vanguard News

Suspected robbers kill girl for allegedly refusing sex

A gang of suspected armed robbers yesterday shot dead a middle aged lady (names withheld) for allegedly refusing to have sex with them.

The incident which took place at Igbukwu Street, Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, has raised lots of insinuations as to whether the girl was shot for refusing to be raped or that she was raped and thereafter shot by her captor as a way of concealing their heinous crime.

However, an eyewitness account has it that the suspected robbers, whose number could not be ascertained, allegedly killed the girl and abandoned her body in her residence, after attempts to have carnal knowledge of the victim failed.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State command, ASP John Eluu, stated that investigation had commenced into the matter but that no arrest had been made.

According to him, the police have deposited the body of the girl in a mortuary while an autopsy would be carried out by doctors to ascertain the circumstances behind the brutal murder of the deceased.

Eluu appealed to members of the public to provide useful information that would help the police in arresting the culprits.

When Vanguard visited the scene of the incident, residents of the street and other adjourning streets had deserted the area for fear of being arrested by the police.

Meanwhile, three shops belonging to the Police Officers Wives Association, POWA, located along Udensi Street were yesterday gutted fire.

Police sources said the fire was caused by electrical sparks as shop owners left their electrical gadgets on after the day’s business.

Nigeria Police Deny Arrest of Suspects in Alleged US Embassy Shooting

A Nigerian police spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory, Moshood Jimoh, told Saharareporters the police did not have anyone detained for alleged shootings at the vicinity of the US embassy in Abuja as reported by local and international media.

Mr. Jimoh said the area was well fortified with diplomatic police units, armored personnel carriers and a police station in the area. He stated that that none of the police units in the area was aware of the shooting and apparently no one was known to be under arrest as at the time of speaking with us.

However, the US embassy has issued a statement confirming the shooting. The statement read:

“We believe there were shots fired in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy. The Nigerian authorities have two individuals in custody. We refer you to the Nigerian police for further information.”

Security Operatives Uncover Bomb Factory At Kano Road In Kogi

Security operatives on Monday uncovered a bomb factory in an uncompleted building along Kano Road, Kabba, Kogi State.

The Unit Commander of the Anti Bomb Squad, Kogi State, Mr. Cletus Nzeji, while conducting journalists round the building on Monday, said their investigations revealed that the owner of the uncompleted building normally visited the place late at night.

He stated that security operatives placed the building under surveillance for three days when they got intelligence information about suspicious activities in the uncompleted building that might undermine public peace and threaten security of lives and property.
He said, “We finally stormed the building around 2am on Monday.”
He added that the security team recovered five canisters that were ready for use, one military cap, large quantity of wire and ropes and many jackets.

Nzeji added that the team also recovered from the bomb factory a bank teller showing N36,000 deposited in one of the banks in Okene and a locally made bomb ready for use.
Also substances suspected to be explosives at various stages of production were recovered from the scene.
A security source said if production of those unfinished explosives had been completed, the masterminds would have wreaked untold havoc on the people.

Journey to consumption of pro-vitamin A cassava varieties in Nigeria

By Jimoh  Babatunde
Cassava is the most important staple food in Nigeria given the number of people who eat it daily and the huge amount of calories derivable.

Over time, it has evolved from being a peasant’s crop to cash and industrial crop with earlier research work and successes focused on food security as well as cash crop roles without attention on its nutritional value.

It is said that large component of vulnerable population, women of childbearing age and children in areas where cassava consumption is high are at risk of Vitamin A deficiency. It was against this background that researchers at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, led by Dr.  Chiedozie Egesi, a Cassava Breeder, to engage with other partners in developing cassava enriched with vitamin A.

The journey which started about 12years  ago in solving  Vitamin A deficiency  came to fruition December last year with the release of  three  yellow  varieties  of cassava  that are  rich in vitamin A.

Drs. Peter Kulakow of IITA and Chigozie Egesie of NRCRI said the development of the varieties was a major breakthrough that would change the nutritional status of people living on cassava-based food. While explaining that what they had come out with is not Genetically Modified crop, Egesi noted that what they breed developed from original stem received from Brazil through International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Egesi disclosed that from over 20 varieties earlier identified and through intense selection and conventional breeding work that they were able to arrive at three varieties that compare favourably in proVitamin A.

“Vitamin A cassava was developed through conventional breeding similar to most other improved varieties that are cultivated by farmers in Nigeria.

“To increase Vitamin A to a level that can have an impact in health, breeders conducted a series of crosses among selected parents and evaluated their promising progenies during a period of over 10 years. The result was the release of three new varieties with intermediate content of vitamin A.”

Paul Ilona of HarvestPlus said “ Given the importance of  cassava in Nigeria, these  new varieties  could provide  more vitamin A  in the diets  of over 70 million Nigerians and continue to  reducing  vitamin deficiency , which is widespread in the country.”

Elated Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina at the official launch of the released pro-vitamin  A cassava  varieties in Nigeria last week at  Umudike, Abia state said  that ProVitamin A or beta carotene varieties of cassava would go a long way in correcting the deficiency of this nutrient in diets, particularly those of the poor and the vulnerable. “Because cassava is still a cheap crop, affordable to most people, the beta-carotene variety will go a long way in helping to correct individual and household vitamin A deficiency.”

He said the success made is part of the drive of the Federal Government to transform agriculture through its Agricultural Transformation Action Plan. “This plan, called ATA, has as its goal the addition of 20 Million MT of food to the domestic food supply.”

The Minister added that cassava is one of the major crops under the ATA as their focus is to create new markets for cassava  through  high quality cassava flour, to be used in replacing some of the wheat flour being imported to produce bread; high fructose cassava syrup to replace the 200,000 MT of sugar currently being used in the juice manufacturing industry; dried cassava chips, and the production of ethanol.

“Our goal is to add an additional 17 million MT of cassava to our domestic food supply. The Agricultural Transformation Action Plan hopes to create 1.3 million jobs across the cassava value chains.”

Dr. Adesina, however, said  producing more food is not enough, “we must also ensure that there is enhanced food nutrition and health.

“Annually, Nigeria loses over US$1.5 billion in GDP to vitamin and mineral deficiencies as many staple foods are low in essential micronutrients,” he added.

Adesina said that it was crucial that Nigeria accelerates efforts and policy measures on improving health and nutrition of vulnerable groups, especially women, infants and children, adding that scaling up core micronutrient interventions would cost less than US$188 million per year—which makes economic sense.

To popularize the Pro Vitamin A cassava, he said greater effort will be needed to increase the nutrition capacity within the Ministries of Health and Agriculture and Rural Development; improve infant and young child feeding through effective education and counselling services; increase coverage of vitamin A cassava within the nation.

The minister also gave the government’s support to the dissemination of the pro-vitamin A varieties by directing the inclusion of Abia state—one of the 36 states in Nigeria.

Farmers who participated in the trials of the varieties across Nigeria loved the varieties for their high-yielding ability and resistance to major diseases and pests. “Demand for these varieties has already started, but it will take some time before we have enough quantities to give out,” says Paul Ilona, the HarvestPlus Manager for Nigeria.

The yellow cassava is already being multiplied through stem cuttings. In 2013, when sufficient certified stems will be available, HarvestPlus and its partners will then distribute these to about 25,000 farming households initially.

Farmers will be able to grow these new vitamin A varieties and feed them to their families. They can also multiply and share cuttings with others in their community, amplifying the nutritional benefits. After the mid-2014 harvest, more than 150,000 household members are expected to be eating vitamin A-rich cassava.

The minister of Agriculture promised that they will accelerate efforts to include the pro Vitamin A cassava in the processing of high quality cassava flour. “So, as you choose pro Vitamin A cassava bread, you are choosing improved health and nutrition!

“We will also expand market opportunities for cassava, through the expansion of processing capacity for high quality cassava flour.”

He revealed that the Government is now working to facilitate the purchase and installation of 18 large scale high quality cassava flour plants that will mill 1.3 million MT of high quality cassava flour per year.

These plants, according to him, will be run by the private sector as they will be fully operational within 18 months, all across the cassava growing areas of Nigeria. “This alone, will make Nigeria the largest processor of cassava flour in the world.”

THREAT TO BAN VIRGIN, BA: Britain warns Nigeria

                                Cameron, British PM. and President Jonathan

The British government yesterday warned that it would take retaliatory steps against Nigerian airlines, if the federal government bans carriers over fare disparity.

This came as British Airways said in a statement last night that all its fares were competitive and on a sound commercial basis.

Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Odua, had weekend threatened to ban any foreign airline which failed to adjust its fares to reflect equity with their prevailing fares on the West Coast. She gave the airlines one month ultimatum.

Reacting to the ultimatum last night, Britain said banning private airlines would amount to a “heavy-handed action that would be catastrophic.”

Consequently, Britain said it would not hesitate to retaliate if the federal government goes ahead with the threat to ban after 30 days.

Britain said only business and first class fares were more expensive to Nigerians than neighbouring countries because of high demand for those seats.

It also said banning BA and Virgin would break a bilateral air services agreement. between both countries.

“It (the ban) would cause potential foreign investors to question whether they want to put their money in Nigeria and have a long-term and damaging effect on Nigeria’s growth,” a British High Commission spokesman said.

“The Prime Minister and President Goodluck Jonathan signed a joint communique last year pledging to double bilateral trade. Action against BA and Virgin would damage that strategic aim,”a British High Commission spokesman.

The fare dispute is running parallel to another row between Nigeria and Britain over airport landing slots.

Nigeria’s biggest carrier Arik Air actually stopped its daily flights between Abuja and London Heathrow yesterday because it was being prevented from getting arrival and departure slots at UK airports.

“It is wrong to suggest that Arik has been prevented from flying into Heathrow. Our understanding is that Arik is just unwilling to pay for the cost of renting or buying landing slots,” the British spokesman said.

He added that it was something all airlines who want new slots into Heathrow needed to do.

The Aviation Minister had argued that it was unfair for BA and Virgin to charge more to fly Nigerian than passengers from neighbouring West African countries.

“We are seriously concerned and worried by the reluctance to restore parity within the region by the foreign airlines,” Aviation Minister Stella Oduah said in a statement.

“They have been using all kinds of delay tactics, this is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. We will resolve this issue once and for all,” she had said in a statement Monday night.

Also reacting to the threat, British Airways said in a statement that its fares were competitive and were based on a sound commercial plank.

We ‘ve been flying to Nigeria for 75 yrs — BA

The airline said:  “British Airways is fully legally compliant with the requirements of the Air Services Agreement between the UK and Nigeria. We remain committed to Nigeria and continue to serve the country with daily flights to Lagos and Abuja.

“We have been flying there for more than 75 years and pride ourselves on offering competitive fares, a choice of products and connections to our Nigerian customers.

“All of our fares are set on a sound commercial basis and remain fully competitive with other carriers in the region including Arik Air.”

Meanwhile, stakeholders in the aviation industry have commended the aviation minister for issuing foreign airlines a 30-day ultimatum, stressing it was long overdue.

Aviation Consultant, Mr Chris Aligbe, noted that the minister, as the number one stakeholder in the aviation industry, was now speaking the minds of Nigeria-based passengers who were usually extorted whenever they flew in foreign airlines.

“With the ultimatum given by the minister, the Federal Government is taking the issue of disparity in fares paid by passengers from Nigeria seriously.

“The Federal Government is now showing concern about the plight of Nigerians and others who opt to fly with foreign airlines,” Aligbe said.

He alleged that his findings had revealed that all the European airlines flying into and out of Nigeria were involved in the international flight fare disparity.

Aligbe advised that Nigerians should exercise patience until the expiration of the minister’s ultimatum.

Mr Kelvin Umoh, a UK-bound passenger, lamented the high air fares usually charged by foreign airlines, describing them as cut-throat. “One continues to wonder why the foreign airlines charge higher fares from Nigeria, compared to what they charge in Ghana,” he said.

“What is the distance between Nigeria and Ghana, that foreign airlines are charging between $1,000 and $2, 000 from Nigerian passengers, above what they charge in Ghana,” he queried.

Mrs Patience Olayiwola, another passenger, said the ultimatum was a welcome development, aimed at stopping the fleecing of Nigerians of their hard earned money.

“Most passengers planning to fly international routes now prefer doing that from Ghana, instead of Nigeria, thus causing capital flight and reducing revenues derivable to the Federal Government from such flights,” she said.

Courtesy: The Vanguard

Orji cautions aides over bogus success claims

WORRIED by the embarrassment caused him by some reports credited to his aides and political appointees, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has cautioned them against making claims on his administration’s purported achievements. The governor, in a chat with The Guardian, decried such false claims especially as they were being dished out through the state-owned electronic media.

He said: “I do not claim projects I did not execute or achievements I did not record. The projects I embark upon are visible, both those completed and on-going, including those we have slated to do. Henceforth, any editor of the state radio/television that approves such false claims of my achievements will be frowned at”.He listed some of his on-going projects that are overt as the new state secretariat, international conference centre and new Government House, Umuahia, new Umuahia markets at Ubani-Ibeku and that of timber in Ndume-Ibeku.Others are the dualisation of Umuahia Township roads, diagnostic centres at Aba and Umuahia, including over 260 health centres in various communities across the state.In Aba, he listed pedestrian bridge at the state polytechnic, scooping of major drainage, Ohanku road, the Ukwu Mango road at Ariaria Market, New Motor Park at Osisisoma, among others.

According to him, environmental sanitation and refuse disposal are also being executed even as purchasing of trucks for doing so has become a regular monthly exercise despite the state’s lean resources, which he put at about N3.5 billion, adding that salaries were being paid duly.“All these we have done and we are doing without taking any loan or bond even in the face of grave security challenges that we faced and are stilling facing”.

He also directed commissioners and political appointees to henceforth take full charge of positions, including enlightening the public on the activities of their ministries.He added: “They should not leave same for me, they ought to be creative and innovative and watch sycophants make frivolous credits to governments on what has not been done”.

W/Bank Presidency: Zuma, Ouattara, others pressure Jonathan to release Okonjo-Iweala

The chances of Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to be appointed President of the World Bank brightened, midweek, as President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has joined the league of those pushing for her Presidency of the global organization.

Mr Zuma and Ivorien counterpart, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, it was gathered, met President Goodluck Jonathan to pressure him to release the Minister to the bank in the interest of developing nations of the World and Africa in particular.  That means that South African Trevor Manuel who should have been Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s closest contender from the continent has given way.

Besides, some Executive Directors of the bank have also visited Aso Rock with a view to urging the president to give his approval for Okonjo-Iweala to take the exalted office at the bank, which has been dominated by the United States since its creation after the World War II, along side  the International Monetary Fund, in 1945.

The current President of the bank, Mr. Robert Zoellick, is stepping down in less than two and a half months time.

A lot of developing countries are said to be pushing for Okonjo-Iweala who worked in those regions for a long time helping to manage their economies by providing expertise and, therefore, endeared herself to them, a reason for which she is said to be highly favoured candidate of emerging markets.

She is expected to be nominated on Friday and if she wins, she will be making history as the first African woman to head the Washington-based institution.

Obstacle

Those familiar with the politics of the World Bank say the only obstacle before Okonjo-Iweala would be the position of American President Barak Obama.

The USA which is the largest shareholder of the bank has dominated its presidency since inception, and whether President Obama would relinquish America’s hold on the bank is not certain.

Sources close to the minister said she was not putting herself forward for the prime job but that it was a great honour for her efforts to make life more meaningful for people in various countries of the world to be so recognised.

Born on June 13, 1954, Okonjo-Iweala had a long career at the World Bank rising to the position of Managing Director before President Jonathan, in July last year, persuaded her to join his cabinet where she performs critical roles in managing the nation’s economy.

Before then, she had served in the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Minister of Finance between 2003 and 2006. She quit Obasanjo’s government  after she was redeployed from the Ministry of Finance to Foreign Affairs.