Edo State Governor calls for reduction on overhead cost

Edo State Governor has thrown his weight behind the proposed appropriation for 2016, describing it as a realistic budget that would be used to tackle the infrastructure deficit in the country.

Addressing State House Correspondents in Abuja, Governor Adams Oshiomole says previous Budget of the past administration was used to service recurrent expenditure.

He says the 2016 appropriation would correct this and focus more on infrastructure development.

The Edo State governor went on further to say that the 2016 appropriation is not a wish of a witch doctor, adding that the proposed bench mark is very feasible. Governor Adams Oshiomole also stressed that the present depression the country is facing can only be solve by injecting more fund to the economy.

He says there must be conscious attempt to cut overhead and reduce wastage and block all loopholes in the system.

Federal Government to reintroduce toll gates for Revenues generation

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed that the Federal Government will reintroduce toll gates where revenues generated can be channeled towards  sustaining and maintaining quality federal roads. He promised that money generated from the toll gates will be properly accounted for and judiciously put to use.

Fashola, in his maiden press conference at the Ministry of Works in Abuja, also said the former Ministry of Works owes two hundred and six contractors over two trillion naira for which only thirteen billion naira was released to the Ministry out of the eighteen point one thirty two billion naira it budgeted.

FGN Sets to Reviews Petroleum Industry Bill, Splits NNPC into two

Barring any last minute change in plans, the Federal Government of Nigeria is set to split the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into two.
A Reuters report said the government is putting finishing touches to draft that will also revisit the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which had stalled for years with a view to replacing it first with ‘a law to overhaul the sector which aims to close loopholes that bred corruption’.
The report said under the new plan, the NNPC will be split in two – rather than a series of units as envisaged by the stalled 2012 bill. It added that a National Oil Company, which will be run on commercial lines and partly privatised, will emerge.
Nigeria’s lawmakers have been divided over the contents of the current 200-page PIB.
In November, the petroleum minister said the government was working on a new PIB that would probably be passed in sections, particularly the thorny issue of a new tax regime that has been criticized by major international oil firms.

Kaduna State Government dissolves VIO, Sacks all officers

The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday announced the dissolution of the state’s Vehicle Inspection Office.
A statement by Samuel Aruwan, the spokesman to the governor, disclosed that the closure of the VIO was due to the corruption and indiscipline of the personnel, and their lack of respect for the public.
The statement also said an Executive Order giving immediate effect to this decision had been signed by the Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

Nigeria: NMA to FG, Impose more taxes on breweries, tobacco, GSM firms

The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has called on the Federal Government to ensure the implementation of one percent of taxes accrue-able from breweries, tobacco and telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria to fund the health sector.
The body also said these categories of companies should be made to pay more taxes to provide facilities in public health institutions in the country due to the nature of services they render.
Speaking after a week- long National Executive Council meeting in Ado Ekiti yesterday, NMA president, Dr Kayode Obembe, who read the communiqué, lamented the shortage of medical personnel in the country, which ratio stands at one doctor to 6,000 patients, instead of one to 600 as recommended by the World Health Organisation
The week-long meeting which also featured games, free health mission, lecture series and other activities was tagged Ekiti 2015.
Obembe, who called on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to accredit more public health facilities for the training of interns, added that the upgrading of some of the state and federal hospitals and their subsequent accreditation by Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria would help in promoting residency training for more experts to be available in the hospitals.

Nigeria: Manufacturers spend N500b yearly on power

Manufacturers spend about N500billion yearly for maintaining their power plants, the Chairman, Economic Policy Committee (EPC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Reginald Ike Odiah, has said.
He lamented that irregular electricity supply was taking a huge toll on manufacturers despite the handover of the 18 successor companies of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to new core investors under the privatisation about two years ago.
Oduah told The Nation  on  the sideline of the Annual General Meeting of the MAN, in Ikeja that a situation where manufacturers spend a whopping N500billion yearly for fuelling, running and maintaining their power plants, along with other additional costs of providing infrastructural deficiencies,  was not good for business.

Nigeria: FG To Review Aviation Policy Soon – Minister

The Federal Government on Tuesday said it would soon review the Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Policy to accommodate the planned policies of the present administration.
This is contained in a statement by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mr Yakubu Dati in Lagos.
It said that the Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika made this known while speaking at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) 2015 World Aviation Forum in Montreal, Canada.
The statement said the planned review would include a Master Plan to reform institutions, airports (both domestic and international hubs) and national airlines, to provide domestic and international services.
“Nigeria, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, will continue to upgrade and develop aviation infrastructure to improve aviation safety and security.
“This will create an enabling environment for growth of airlines and other service providers, as well as protecting the interest of aviation end-users,” it quoted Sirika as saying.
The statement said ICAO’s President, Dr Bernard Aliu in his address, noted that it was necessary for the organisation to assist Member States in the implementation of ICAO standards and policies.