Tag Archives: $1bn

UN Needs $1bn to Deliver Life-Saving Assistance in the North East

Posted on by
Reply
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said the agency would need $1 billion in its bid to provide urgent and quality humanitarian assistance to victims of Boko Haram Insurgency in the three northern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in 2017.
 
The amount which is more than double of what the agency appealed for in 2016 is occasioned by the worsening humanitarian conditions in the area, which is said to be the worst in the region.
 
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Peter Lundberg, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja, at the unveiling of the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2017.
 
He said, “Together with 75 partners, we are seeking US$1 billion to deliver life-saving assistance and prevent further hardship for the children, women and men in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, and we are particularly reaching out to Nigerian private sector.
 
“We are grateful to the international community for their support so far, but we ask for commitments throughout 2017 to prevent this disaster from escalating into widespread catastrophe.”
 
Lundberg, while calling for urgent support from all and sundry stated that if nothing urgently is done to help mitigate the situation, millions of people in the area may lose their lives within the next few months.
 
He disclosed that the 2017 plan will focus on 8.5 million people in need of urgent assistance and also aimed at reaching 6.9 million people with life-saving humanitarian support. Also targeted are the over 75,000 children who may like die from severe famine and malnutrition if something urgent is not done.
 
Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who appreciated the agency and the entire international community for rallying round Nigeria in this crisis situation, disclosed that the government is not just focused on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) but the interest of all communities affected and also those communities that have been providing support to the IDPs.
 
Stressing the urgent need to address the issue of hunger, Ahmed appealed to the agency and her partners to scale up efforts and reach at least 3 million people with food supplies. She also tasked the agency on improving health conditions in the region by particularly ensuring that the renewed outbreak of polio in the area is curtailed.
 
“Education is also important as a lot of these children have been out of school for a very long time. 50% of the 8.1 million people in need of urgent assistance are children and we must help them”, she said.
 
The agency apart from intervening in the area of food and health is also assisting in the area of water and sanitation, shelter, education, empowerment amongst others.
Credit: thisdaylive

Former CJNs’ Benefits Slashed From 1.5bn To 1bn

Posted on by
1

The amount to fund the benefits of former Chief Justices of Nigeria in the 2016 Appropriation Bill is by N500m less than what was allocated for the same purpose in the 2015 approved budget.

A budget document obtained by our correspondent on Sunday showed that while N1.5bn was allocated to fund the benefits of the ex-CJNs in the 2015 Appropriation Act, only N1bn was allocated for the same purposes in 2016.

It could not ascertained whether the reduction in the benefits of the ex-CJNs in the 2016 proposed budget followed the N3bn shortfall in the judiciary’s proposed budget for new year.

The N73bn, which the judiciary got as its allocation under the 2015 Appropriation Act was slashed to N70bn in the 2016 budget.

There are five living former CJNs.

They are Justices Muhammadu Uwais (1995-2006); Alfa Belgore (2006-2007); Legbo Kutigi (2007-2009); Aloysius Katsina-Alu (2009-2011), Dahiru Musdapher (2011-2012) and Aloma Mukhtar (2012-2014).

The document showed that the amount budgeted as their benefits usually come under seven heads – purchase of land, construction of houses, residential furniture, residential equipment, access road, maintenance of constructed houses and replacement of vehicles after four years.

It showed that under the benefits of former CJNs, N100m each was appropriated for purchase of land, residential furniture, residential equipment and access road in the 2015 budget, but nothing was proposed for any of these items in the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

In 2015, N1.1bn was allocated for construction of houses, an amount that was reduced to 668,348,313.23 in 2016.

Though there was no allocation for maintenance of constructed houses and vehicle replacement last year, they received N121,651,686.77 and N210m respectively this year.

The document also showed that while N1.119bn was initially proposed for the former CJNs’ benefits for 2016, the National Judicial Council, which coordinates and presents a unified budget for the judiciary, had slashed it to N1bn in 2016.

A judiciary source said most of the proposals submitted by the various courts and institutions in the federal and state judiciaries were re-adjusted to conform to the N70bn ceiling given by the Federal Ministry of Justice.

The source added, “The CJN’s benefits were not the only items slashed in the judiciary’s budget. You also have to understand that there was expenditure under the former CJNs’ benefit in the last year budget that did not come up.

“At the same time, one cannot rule out the impact of the N3bn shortfall on the amount earmarked for the former CJN’s benefit in the 2016 proposed budget. Don’t forget that the amounts allocated for the judiciary have been spiraling down in the last few years.”

Credit: Punch

FG To Free $1bn For Solid Minerals Investors

Posted on by
1

The Federal Government hinted yesterday that it has resolved to provide $1 billion ( about N200 billion) as solid minerals development fund for potential investors in the mining sector.

It, however, noted that only serious investors who look certain to bring profit and success to the country would be allowed to access the fund which had been given legislative backing.

The minister of Mines and Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi said Federal Government’s plan is to fully activate the solid minerals development fund, which is already provided for in existing legislation, as a way to kick start investment.

Speaking on the sidelines of an African Mining Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, Fayemi who said the legislation pegs the development fund somewhere in the region of about 200 billion naira ($1 billion) fund that could be accessed by serious investors with bankable plans.

“Frankly by the first quarter of next year I would really like to see this fund in place”, he added, even as he hinted that the federal government has completed a review of its mining licenses and will publish the results next week.

Credit: Leadership

Nigeria Needs $1bn Annually To Attain 20,000MW By 2020- TCN

Posted on by
1

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer  of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Mark Karst, has said the company is targeting 20,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2020 and would need $1 billion annually to achieve the target.

Speaking on Wednesday at the public hearing into the activities of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Distribution Companies  (DISCOS) as relates to infrastructure and billing by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, Karst noted that the money required is a huge sum.

“We have a long term expansion plan that is detailed to build 20,000mw evacuation capacity by 2020, and the funding would be by external institutions,” he said.

The TCN is however having difficulty is attracting funding, and is considering Public Private Partnership (PPP) alternatives.

“It will need $1billion annually over that period of time. It is a substantial amount of money. But this is a generation on the move, so the only choice we have would be to see how we raise the money,” he added.

Credit; ThisDay