Tag Archives: Benefit

5,000 Rice Farmers To Benefit From CBN Anchor Borrower Programme In Kogi

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No fewer than 5, 000 registered rice farmers in Kogi will benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchor borrower programme.

The state’s Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mrs Rabi Emaiku, made this known in a town hall meeting of Rice Value Chain Farmers and stakeholders on Friday in Lokoja.

Emaiku said that over 5,000 farmers in the state had registered and completed the necessary documentations required by the CBN to qualify them to access the rice fund.

Emaiku urged stakeholders involved in rice production to harmonise ways to boost and ensure adequate rice production in the state.

She advised farmers in the state to make good use of the opportunity provided them by the Federal Government through the CBN to boost production.

“Our associations are ready to give our trust and support to the CBN, Federal and State governments, and all other stakeholders to ensure the success of the programme in Kogi,” she said.

The chairman also commended the State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello for his efforts and total support to farmers in making the programme a reality in Kogi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state governor was represented at the meeting by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Tim Dichie.

The governor restated the strong commitment of the state government in making sure that food security is given priority attention in the state.

The CBN representative, Mr Idris Usman, who is the Head of Development Finance Office of CBN, Lokoja, said he was there to witness the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would be signed by all stakeholders for onward transmission to the CBN for implementation.

Usman noted that 50 per cent guarantee of any amount agreed on in the meeting would be taken over by the CBN, while 40 per cent by State Government and 5 to 10 per cent by individual participants.

The stakeholders present at the meeting includes; CBN, ADP, UNDP, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, RIFAN, Kogi State Ministry of Agriculture, Off takers from Kano, Edo and Anambra States.

Others are Seed Suppliers, Tractorization Company, Sterling Bank, AFAN, SWOFON, KSARPFUL and various farmers’ associations in the state.

Credit: NAN

 

MDAs To Benefit From Properties Seized From Looters

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The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said the Federal Government plans to relocate some of its Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDA) into some recovered looted properties.

Adeosun said this on Friday in Abuja while briefing newsmen after the Steering Committee of the Efficiency Unit meeting.

The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers had been advocating for adequate utilisation of confiscated properties.

Adeosun said that the move to relocate the agencies was to reduce waste since these properties were empty and thereby save government from paying rent.

The issuance of price guidelines and initiatives for reducing expenditure on rent on office and residential buildings will be the primary focus areas of the efficiency unit in coming months.

You may want to know that the average annual expenditure on rent for a three year period of 2012 to 2014 was N3.55 billion.

And to achieve that, we are already looking at using properties that were forfeited from recoveries and moving some of our agencies to occupy those properties rather than paying rent,’’ she said.

Adeosun said that the Efficiency unit had already recorded success in cutting government overhead cost in areas such as travels, welfare, honorarium, sitting allowance, training, adverts and publicity as well as refreshments.

Major savings are expected when on-going engagement with the Bureau of Public Procurement on the pooling of MDAs demands for standard products such as vehicles, computers, diesel and others.

We plan to secure large discounts from suppliers and the issuance of Price Guidelines are developed and implemented.

Price Guidelines will ensure uniformity in the price at which MDAs purchase items, as well as transparency and value for money in the procurement process.’’

Adeosun said she was working with the states to ensure that they all established Efficiency Unit since 47.32 per cent of revenue that accrued to the federation goes to the states and local governments.

She enjoined relevant stakeholders to collaborate with the unit to ensure it achievd its mandate of cutting cost and improving the efficiency of government.

Credit: Guardian

How Subsidy Removal Will Benefit Nigerians- Kachikwu

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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said that the federal government would have had to cough up N16.4 billion every month to offset the subsidy claims of oil marketers had it not taken the decision to remove the subsidy on petrol.

Kachikwu, in a series of tweets Sunday, explained that at the time the government made the decision, it was incurring about N13.7 kobo as subsidy on each litre of petrol bought by Nigerians.

But his tweet failed to resonate with the major labour union in the country – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) – which said yesterday that it had commenced the full mobilization of workers and civil servants for the nationwide strike and complete shutdown of the economy.

This is just as the House of Representatives will today hold a special session to deliberate on the recent removal of subsidy on petrol.

Kachikwu said at the rate of N13.7 kobo per litre as subsidy claims, the government would have paid out N16.4 billion to marketers monthly, adding that the government does not have such funds in its 2016 budget, more so now that the country’s earnings from crude oil have dropped.

He also listed the benefits of the new policy: “There is no provision for subsidy in 2016 appropriation. As of today, the PMS (petrol) price of N86.50 gives an estimated subsidy claim of N13.7 per litre, which translates to N16.4 billion monthly. There is no funding or appropriation to cover this.”

He added: “NNPC has continued to utilize crude oil volumes outside the 445,000 barrels per day, thereby creating major funding and remittance gaps into the Federation Account.”

Credit: Thisday

Nigeria, Ghana, Others To Benefit From EU’s 10m Euro African Connect Project

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Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries are to benefit from a 10 million euro African Connect Project that is aimed at supporting universities and tertiary institutions for the purposes of improving education in their respective countries.

The prospects of Nigerian universities to connect with other universities of the world which would strengthen Nigerian educational system, including Ghana, Togo, Senegal and other countries from West Africa and Central Africa, are to benefit from the European Union 10 million Euro African Connect 2 Project.

To this end, Nigeria is expected to make? a 2.5 million Euro contribution to the project to be able to take full advantage of the African Connect 2 Project which will enable benefiting countries to be on the same research and education networks (RENs).
Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie stated this in Abuja while inaugurating the Board of Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN).

According Okojie,  the project would also improve the nation’s webometric ranking of universities as well as share research results and other academic contents.

Credit: ThisDay

2,000 Women Benefit From Aisha Buhari’s Free Health Scheme

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Over 2,000 women drawn from various locations in the South East geopolitical zone, yesterday, converged at Queens Secondary School Enugu where President Muhammad Buhari’s wife, Aisha launched a one-day free health screening initiative programme .

The initiative, powered by Government of Enugu through Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s wife, Monica, seeks to entrench health care consciousness in women through advocacy, screening and boosting of primary health care centre facilities in Enugu State.

Buhari’s wife, who was accompanied by wife of Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, inspected service provider’s outlet, who rendered blood pressure, blood sugar, kidney function, dental and eye checks service to women, who thronged to benefit from the exercise.

While flagging-off the free health screening initiative, Mrs. Buhari described her husband’s administration as a government of unity.

According to her: “You are in safe hands. I am glad that we are gathered here with governors’ wives for this programme. It is a voluntary health agency  rendering free health care services.

Credit: Vanguard

Nigeria To Benefit From $47m UNESCO Water Study

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Nigeria is among 16 countries to benefit from a ground breaking research on Emerging Pollutants in Wastewater Reuse. The project is a collaboration between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The project titled: “Characterisation of pharmaceutical pollution in the aquatic environment of Nigeria and their potential ecotoxicological effects”, is being implemented by Lagos State University and involves a scientific study into pollution of the Lagos Lagoon. The project began in July 2015 and it is expected to end in the first quarter of 2016.

According to Claire Lynga, a research advisor at SIDA, the project is estimated to cost about $47 million over four years. She said the issue of wastewater reuse is becoming a popular phenomenon globally and thus important that major research be carried out on the problems of pollution.

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