Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, has criticised the federal government’s handling of the health sector and called for immediate reforms to improve access to quality medical care for all Nigerians.
Expressing his views as a guest speaker at the 6th Public Lecture of the Board of Fellows, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, held in Awka, Anambra State on Wednesday, Obi pointed out that Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranking remains low, even after 25 years of democratic governance.
He emphasised that health, particularly life expectancy, is a critical measure of development.
“When you want to measure this Human Development Index, the most critical measure number one is Health – life expectancy.
“Life expectancy as we know today in Nigeria is among the lowest in the world. We are about 65 years, compared to India at about 70, Bangladesh at about 72, Egypt at about 71, and the Philippines at about 70,” Obi stated.
Obi outlined several issues plaguing Nigeria’s healthcare system, such as the country’s minimal functioning primary healthcare facilities, alarmingly high infant mortality rates, that the majority of drugs are imported, making them costly and frequently out of reach for many Nigerians, and the impediments to local drug manufacturing caused by government support gaps and regulatory obstacles.
The former Anambra State governor criticised the government’s approach to healthcare, stating, that the government does not understand what they are supposed to do to help our citizens.
Obi also highlighted the economic impact of poor healthcare.
“Many people with many illnesses can no longer be able to afford treatment. Nigerians now spend more than their income on food because everything has tripled.”
Obi further called for a complete overhaul of the system, emphasising the need for committed and compassionate governance.
He suggested several solutions including, investing in critical areas of healthcare, supporting local drug manufacturing, designing affordable insurance schemes and lifting people out of poverty to enable their participation in healthcare programs, among others.
“We must dismantle this criminality called Nigeria today and make it a country where people will know that they are elected to serve the people and they focus on doing the right thing,” Obi added.
Taking to his X page on Wednesday, Obi added, “Access to quality medicines remains vital for all human beings whether sick or well, who seek medical consultation, and it is proven that 90 per cent of all medical consultations end in one form of prescription or another. Therefore, the availability of quality medicines remains the key armoury for the fight for well-being, while pharmacists remain the armourer.
“The reason we lack quality medicines is due to the same socio-economic problem affecting production in the country, where regulatory agencies now function as revenue collectors rather than as enablers and access to financing is not available or at an excessive rate.
“There is hardly any health insurance regime in place to guarantee access to those who cannot afford immediate cash payments.
“Excruciating poverty and severe economic hardship have also kept functional healthcare and quality medicines out of the reach of the poor. The only medicine our people take now is prayer,” he wrote.
[Businessday]
The results of candidates of the supplementary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME have been released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
The supplementary UTME was conducted between Friday, June 21st and Saturday, June 22nd, 2024.
JAMB’s spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, directed candidates on how to check their results.
“To check their supplementary UTME results, candidates are to send UTMERESULT to either 55019 or 66019 through the same phone number they had used to generate their profile codes at the start of registration,” he stated.
Benjamin said the supplementary examination was conducted for 28,835 candidates, who were unable to be biometrically verified during the main 2024 UTME and were unable to take their examination.
A statement by Benjamin said: “Similarly, the other category of candidates were those suspected to have been involved in examination malpractices during the main UTME but who were given a second chance to sit the examination.
“The exercise, which recorded a huge success nationwide, was marked by heightened security measures put in place by the Board to preclude any instance of examination infractions. As such, some nefarious characters, who had attempted to impersonate bona fide candidates were apprehended and handed over to law enforcement agencies for further investigation and prosecution.
“The Board would continue to ensure that no candidate benefits from any acts of infractions through the deployment of state-of-the-art technology before, during and after its examinations.
“Candidates are, therefore, urged, in their own interest, to refrain from engaging in any form of irregularity during their examinations. They are also enjoined to desist from soliciting score upgrades from fraudsters or engage in the mutilation of their result sheets while trying to generate fake result sheets with higher scores.”
The Federal Government has through the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), relieved a senior officer at the level of Controller of Corrections and two other personnel of their service over alleged misconduct.
In a statement released on Thursday, the spokesperson for NCoS, ACC Abubakar Umar, said the service had conducted a thorough review of multiple instances of unprofessional conduct and improper behaviour exhibited by its personnel.
These misconducts encompass a range of offences such as unauthorized absence, severe negligence in performing duties, involvement in illicit item trafficking, and manipulation of results, among other transgressions.
The NCoS statement reads: “In a letter by the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire, and Immigration Services Board CDCFIB, a total of 20 personnel have been discharged and acquitted of the various offences for which they were accused, while an officer who was previously suspended was reinstated after the review exercise.
“Three personnel were compulsorily retired, 13 personnel attracted plain warning, while six had their ranks reduced.
“These are in line with the zero tolerance on staff misconduct, a cardinal mantra of the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, and targeted toward ridding the Service of unscrupulous elements and misfits, so as to improve professionalism as well as to entrench discipline, ethics and excellence in its officers and men.”
President Joe Biden was supposed to put the nation’s mind at ease over his physical and mental capacity with his debate showing Thursday night. But from the onset of the debate, the 81-year-old struggled seemingly even to talk, mostly summoning a weak, raspy voice.
In the opening minutes, the president repeatedly tripped over his words, misspoke and lost his train of thought.
In one of the most notable moments, Biden ended a rambling statement that lacked focus by saying, “We finally beat Medicare,” before moderators cut him off and transitioned back to Trump.
While Biden warmed up and gained more of a rhythm as the debate progressed, he struggled to land a punch against Trump.
According to NBC news, Trump, unleashing a torrent of bad information — didn’t hesitate to pounce on Biden, saying at one point that he didn’t understand what Biden had just said with regard to the border.
“I don’t know if he knows what he said either,” Trump said.
Nearly an hour into the debate, a Biden aide and others familiar with his situation offered up an explanation for the president’s hoarseness: He has a cold.
Even the Biden campaign acknowledged that the debate would be a critical moment in the election, with officials hoping it could shake up the race to the president’s benefit. Most polls have found the race to be neck and neck, a razor-thin margin that has remained unchanged for months, even after a jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts.
Questions about Biden’s age and frailty have dragged down his polling numbers for months. The public concerns are exacerbated by deceptively edited videos, some of which have gone viral, that cut off relevant portions of an event, making it appear as if Biden is wandering or confused. This was Biden’s first opportunity — since the State of the Union speech — to dispel that narrative.
Instead of a new beginning, many Democrats saw it as a moment for panic.
“Democrats just committed collective suicide,” said one party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns. “Biden sounds hoarse, looks tired and is babbling. He is reaffirming everything voters already perceived. President Biden can’t win. This debate is a nail in the political coffin.“
“It’s hard to argue that we shouldn’t nominate someone else,” a Democratic consultant who works on down-ballot races added.
Biden did ramp up as the debate progressed.
“Only one of us is a convicted felon, and I’m looking at him,” Biden said to Trump. That was one moment that tested really well with internal simultaneous Biden campaign polling at the time of the debate, according to a person familiar.
A Biden aide said that it was “not an ideal start” for the president at the beginning of the debate, but that there was “no mass panic” at the campaign headquarters in Delaware.
Trump, meanwhile, has fended off his own questions over whether he’s diminished by age, including that he struggles to stay on topic and meanders when speaking. Biden has posited that the former president “snapped” after his 2020 election loss and is unstable. Biden, though, had prepped for the possibility of “two Trumps” appearing on the debate stage Thursday, and had planned to try to bait him into revealing “the true Trump.”
The muting of the microphones, a stipulation agreed to before the debate by both campaigns, added a new dimension to the face-off. The two men’s first match-up in 2020 was marked by repeated interruptions by Trump, leading to moments of frustration for Biden.
“Will you shut up, man?” Biden complained in that first Cleveland debate.
“I’m thinking the Democrats are thinking about who the Barry Goldwater is who can walk in tomorrow and tell the president he needs to step aside,” Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said.
In 1974, after key Watergate tapes were made public, then-Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., went to see President Richard Nixon along with other prominent lawmakers and told him that he would be convicted by the Senate and should step aside— which Nixon did
Martin Griffiths, United Nations (UN) under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, says $11 million has been allocated to support the fight against malnutrition in north-east Nigeria.
In a post on X on Thursday, Griffiths said: “Acute malnutrition is increasing rapidly in northeast #Nigeria and food insecurity has reached the highest level in 7 years.”
“To provide immediate support to the most vulnerable, I’ve allocated $11 million from @UNCERF. This is a start; more support is needed,” Griffiths wrote.
In 2023, the UN listed Nigeria among the 15 countries where children would suffer acute malnutrition and wasting.
In June last year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said over 700,000 kids in the north-east would require treatment for acute wasting.
In December 2023, Vice-President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the nutrition core working committee to address malnutrition prevalence in Nigeria.
Shettima said the cases of severe malnutrition in Nigeria were at 33 percent, adding that the country loses $2.5 billion to nutrition deficiency annually.
He said only 88 out of 100 children under the age of five can survive the nutrition crisis in Nigeria.
Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has ordered the arrest of two officers of the agency for manhandling a female worker at the Regional Hotel in Ojo, Lagos.
In a statement on Thursday, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesperson, said Olukoyede also ordered a detailed investigation of the operations carried out at the hotel.
A viral video shows some EFCC operatives invading the Regional Hotel on June 27 at about 4am while guests were asleep.
The officers were also seen in the video assaulting a female worker at the hotel while they reportedly fired shots and arrested some people.
“The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered the arrest of two officers of the commission allegedly involved in the manhandling of a female staff member of the Regional Hotel, Ojo, Lagos,” the statement reads.
“The officers were sighted in a viral video assaulting the staff of the hotel in an early morning sting operation in Lagos. The operation yielded a sizable number of suspects who are still being profiled.
“The EFCC’s boss has also ordered detailed investigations of the operation carried out at the hotel and assured that appropriate disciplinary measures would be taken against any of the officers found to be culpable.”
Oyewale added that the EFCC chairman assured Nigerians that the agency would continue to carry out its duties “professionally and with profound respect for the rule of law”.
A former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, hosted the Presidential Candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, at his residence in Abuja on Thursday.
This meeting follows closely after El-Rufai’s visit to former President, Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, which has fueled speculations about his current political alignments and intentions.
Despite being a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), El-Rufai’s recent interactions with figures from various opposition parties have caught the attention of political analysts and the public alike.
In March, El-Rufai also made headlines with his visit to the national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Abuja, indicating a possible reevaluation of his political affiliations.
This comes after a setback earlier in the year when El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was overlooked for a ministerial position in President Bola Tinubu’s government, reportedly due to a failed security clearance by the Senate.
Following his exclusion from the ministerial list, El-Rufai had briefly moved abroad and stepped away from the political spotlight.
His return to Nigeria and subsequent resumption of public appearances, including the recent visit to the SDP’s national secretariat, have reignited discussions about his future role in Nigerian politics.
Commenting on these developments, Shehu Sani, a former Senator from Kaduna Central, suggested that El-Rufai’s visits, along with those of other northern politicians to Buhari, might be part of a broader strategy aimed at repositioning for the 2027 elections, possibly hinting at challenges to President Tinubu’s administration.
[NaijaNews]
Total domestic and foreign portfolio transactions in Nigeria’s equity market amounted to N355.38 billion in May 2024.
This was revealed in the latest Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment report of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Monthly, the NGX polls trading figures from market operators on their Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) flows.
The total volume of transactions at the nation’s bourse increased by 2.63 per cent from N346.23 billion (about $224.78 million) in April 2024 to N355.38 billion (about $230,73 million) in May 2024.
In comparison to May 2023, which recorded N322.92 billion, total domestic and foreign portfolio transactions increased by 10 per cent in May 2024.
In May 2024, Domestic Investors with a total transaction of N231.10 billion outpaced Foreign Investors’ transactions of N124.28 billion by 85.9 per cent.
However, total domestic transactions increased by 2.52 per cent from N225.40 billion in April to N231.10 billion in May 2024.
Total foreign transactions increased by 2.85 per cent from N120.83 billion (about $78.45 million) to N124.28 billion (about $80.69 million) between April 2024 and May 2024.
Also, Institutional Investors with a total volume of transactions of N117.57 billion outperformed Retail Investors with a total volume of transactions of N113.53 billion by 3.56 per cent.
The institutional composition of the domestic market decreased by 5.66 per cent from N124.63 billion in April 2024 to N117.57 billion in May 2024.
[Leadereship]
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and governors of the 36 states of the federation yesterday kept quiet on the issue of minimum wage after a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC).
Millions of Nigerians and members of the organised labour had expected that the federal government and the states would take a position on the matter, which has dragged since the removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, the day Tinubu took over power, and the expiration of the N30,000 minimum wage agreed on in 2019.
Stunned by thousands of storks flying over the sky in Gia Viễn dike, Ninh Bình - Nếm TV
The NEC meeting, statutorily chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was attended by President Tinubu yesterday, a development that raised the hope of keen watchers of the development that there was the likelihood that the threshold of the new minimum wage expected will be put to rest.
It would be recalled that the 37-member Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, led by a former Head of Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, had submitted its report to President Tinubu weeks ago, after about five months of sittings.
During his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, President Tinubu had said that a consensus had been reached, and that a proposal would be submitted to the National Assembly.
But the organised labour countered the president, saying they were not privy to any agreement.
At about the same time, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) rejected the N62,000 minimum wage earlier proposed by the federal government, explaining that some states would have to borrow to pay salaries if the amount was implemented.
At present, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are insisting on N250,000 as minimum wage.
On Tuesday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) stepped down the memo about the planned new minimum wage for workers in the country.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said this was necessary to allow the president to further consult with other stakeholders on the issue as it involves local governments, states, the federal government and the organised private sector.
The latest development
After the NEC meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday, there was no mention of minimum wage as governors who briefed the press did not entertain questions.
Instead, President Tinubu approved a ‘one-off’ allocation to states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of N10 billion for the procurement of buses and CNG “uplift programme”.
This was part of a new intervention tagged “National Construction and Household Support Programme”.
In a statement, presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said the programme includes the “Delivery of N50,000 uplift grants each to 100,000 families per state for three months, and provision for labour unions and civil society organisations.
According to him, there would be “Deployment of N155 billion for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation”.
The statement said the programme was expected to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, as well as provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians.
It said road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, would be prioritised.
President Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno states, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
“The Sokoto-Badagry road project is specially prioritised for its importance as some of the states it will traverse are strategic to the agricultural sustainability of the nation,” the statement said.
Addressing the governors during the NEC meeting, President Tinubu urged them to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating that he was willing to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians were relieved of hardship.
“Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.
“We are prepared to provide solar powered irrigation facilities to support our farmers across seasons, but we must now produce. We must produce the food our people eat, and it will require coordination and intentionality between members of the National Economic Council (NEC).
“There is nothing we are doing that is more important than producing high-quality food for our people to consume, buy, and sell. We create jobs in the production of it. And that is before we generate wealth by exporting the excess. It is not beyond us to achieve this for Nigerians.
“How much support do you need from me and in what form? I am prepared to provide it. But we must achieve the result. We must deliver on our targets at all levels. Please report back following your consultations and submit to my office within seven days,” President Tinubu said.
On the other hand, after their meeting which started on Wednesday night and went into the early hours of Thursday, the governors said they agreed to “continue engaging with key stakeholders to reach a mutually agreeable solution.”
This was revealed in a communiqué signed by NGF’s acting Director, Media, Ahmed Salihu.
They also assured Nigerians and the organised labour that better minimum wage will result from ongoing negotiations.
Daily Trust recalled that during a similar NEC meeting in August 2023, the federal government approved N5 billion grant to be given to each of the 36 states of the federation for the procurement of grains as well as five trucks of rice to each state as palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
The NEC also approved the distribution of 40,000 bags of maize to be distributed to states.
But months after the announcement, there was public outcry in many states, with some residents saying they did not receive the palliatives, while others said what they got barely took care of the family for a day.
Speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics Programme last night, a public commentator, Hon. Ikenna Azomchine, faulted the approach of the federal government in mitigating the sufferings of Nigerians.
He said palliatives would never solve the problems of Nigerians, saying the Tinubu administration must come up with deliberate policy to address hunger and insecurity.
[DailyTrust]
Humanitarian crisis in Niger State has worsened, with thousands of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, struggling to survive.
DAILY POST reports that the IDPs, in various camps in three local governments of Shiroro, Munya, and Rafi, are living in deplorable conditions.
Mostly women and children, they were forced to flee their homes due to violent attacks from bandits and Boko Haram extremists in the Northern region.
Apart from poor housing within the IDPs camps, a gross violation of their rights and poor sanitation, they are also facing inadequate access to basic necessities like food, water, as well as healthcare.
It was further observed that owing to insufficient food, malnutrition is rampant, with many children suffering from stunting and poor hygiene.
The spread of diseases such as cholera and diarrhea has also been blamed on inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
During a visit to the camps in Rafi Local Government Area, as well as Gwada and Kuta in Shiroro Local Government Area, the IDPs, who are majorly farmers, decried neglect and ill treatment meted on them by the state government, with no source of livelihood to enable them cater for their families.
“We don’t know when the government is going to put an end to these security challenges that have dislodged us from our homes and farmlands.
“That is why we are asking the government to relocate us by getting us another place where we can start our lives all over.
“Because, as it is, bandits and Boko Haram members have taken over many of our communities. Our people are presently scattered across various LGs in the state and even many other neighbouring states,” some of the victims told our correspondent.
They observed with dismay the housing situation which they described as appalling, with overcrowding, no privacy or personal space, insufficient food, no beddings, leading to discomfort and health issues.
Speaking on the difficult conditions being experienced by the IDPs at the Kuta camp, the Shiroro LG, IDP Desk Officer and Coordinator, Yusuf Bala Kuta, in an interview during a visit to the camp, listed lack of adequate food provision as the major problem facing the victims.
According to him, currently, 50 malnourished children were receiving medical treatment due to inadequate food for breastfeeding mothers in the camp, just as many children have no access to education.
The Deck Officer stated that the camp has on record over 5,000 IDPs, out of which a total of 1,119 are women, 2,511 children, 87 men, including 38 women and their husbands from Zamfara State.
“This IDPs camp was established in 2019 and we have victims from 42 communities from three LGs.
“We have eight blocks of classrooms at the Central Primary School, Kuta, for the IDPs. The centre caters for over 5,000 IDPs, out of which almost 4,000 sleep in the camp.
“About 80 persons are cramped in a room, while others sleep outside the camp. The situation is not easy for the victims as they have no sources of livelihood,” he lamented.
He added that, “the IDPs are suffering because their communities have been burnt down by bandits or Boko Haram sect.
“Some of them are sick and currently in the hospital and we don’t have adequate drugs.
“That is why we are calling on the state government and other relevant authorities to come to our aid.
“However, we thank the Nigerian Red Cross for the recent support.”
An IDP at the Kuta camp, Ahmed Al-Mustapha from Bassa community noted that since the military vacated their communities, the criminals have continued to unleash attacks on a daily basis.
“Currently, the Boko Haram members, who are attacking and slaughtering our people, are demanding that we should vacate our lands totally,” he lamented.
Also, a widow, Hasiya Shuaibu disclosed that during the last attack that claimed the life of her husband, there was no military presence in their community, except local vigilantes who could not face the criminals.
“We are left to our fate to defend ourselves and that’s why we are calling for the government’s commitment to end insecurity,” the widow said.
According to the mother of one of the malnourished children, Halima Musa, “we need help from the government; there is not enough food to feed our children and it’s affecting their health.
“Government should come to our aid. As I am talking to you, our children are out of school because we don’t have money to send them to school.”
When contacted on the condition of the IDPs in the state, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Alh Baba Suleiman Yumu said over 42,000 IDPs were housed across the three most affected LGs of Shiroro, Munya and Rafi, even as about 75 communities were affected.
“The State Government has been doing its best in providing succor for the affected victims within available resources and will continue to do more,” he stated.
Similarly, the Public Relations Officer, PRO, Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, Hussani Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of the Director General, Alh Abdullahi Baba Arah expressed the commitment of the Governor Mohammed Umar Bago’s administration in according priority to the welfare and wellbeing of those in need, particularly during emergencies.
Ibrahim revealed that recently relief food items were distributed to the IDPs, adding that the agency was working round the clock to attend to their needs.
[DailyPost]
More...
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ola Olukoyede has ordered the arrest of two officers of the commission allegedly involved in the manhandling of a female staff of Regional Hotel, Ojo, Lagos State.
Olukoyede also directed a detailed investigation of the incident.
According to a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the chairman assured that anyone found guilty will be disciplined.
The statement reads: “The officers were sighted in a viral video assaulting the staff of the hotel in an early morning sting operation in Lagos. The operation yielded a sizable number of suspects who are still being profiled.
“The EFCC’s boss has also ordered detailed investigations of the operation carried out at the hotel and assured that appropriate disciplinary measures would be taken against any of the officers found culpable.
“Olukoyede assures the public that the EFCC would continue to ply its job professionally and with profound respect for the rule of law.”
[TheNation]
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday gave all the state governors seven days to provide concrete feedback on their plans to rev up food production in their respective states.
Tinubu gave the directive at the 142nd National Economic Council meeting attended by state governors and some deputies at the State House, Abuja.
He also announced a National Construction and Household Support Programme which will see 100,000 families in each state getting N50,000 grant for three months, N155bn to be disbursed for assorted foods, N540bn for household grants even as 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory will get N10bn allocations each for CNG buses.
The N50,000 planned for 3.7 million families across the 36 states and the FCT, the N10bn allocation each for CNG buses in the 36 states and the FCT, as well as the N155bn spending on assorted foods, are estimated to cost over N1tn.
While emphasising the urgency of boosting food production in the country, the President urged state governors to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating his willingness to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians are relieved of hardship.
“We must deliver on our targets at all levels. Please report back following your consultations and submit it to my office within seven days.
“How much support do you need from me and in what form? I am prepared to provide it. But we must achieve the result.
“There is nothing we are doing that is more important than producing high-quality food for our people to consume, buy, and sell. We create jobs in the production of it. And that is before we generate wealth by exporting the excess. It is not beyond us to achieve this for Nigerians,” he said.
The President’s comments followed multiple economic challenges rocking the country. High inflation driven by the removal of fuel subsidies and exchange rate depreciation reached 27 per cent year-on-year in October 2023.
This price surge, coupled with high food insecurity has exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis, leaving Nigerians struggling to afford necessities.
Despite adopting significant policy reforms like fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification, the challenges of poverty, stalled per-capita growth, and a weak business environment persist and are compounded by external pressures such as global food price surges and geopolitical uncertainties.
At Thursday’s NEC meeting, Tinubu announced new plans to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, and provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians.
This includes the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geo-political zones in the country.
“Under the programme, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos, is prioritised,” according to a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale.
The statement is titled, ‘President Tinubu urges governors to meet target on food security; approves immediate rollout of national construction and household support programme.’
The programme also prioritises other road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa and Abuja.
Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
Ngelale noted that the programme would especially prioritise the Sokoto-Badagry road project “For its importance as some of the states it will traverse are strategic to the agricultural sustainability of the nation.”
Explaining the rationale for the project, the Presidency said, “Within the Sokoto-Badagry Highway corridor, there are 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over 1 million hectares of arable land.”
Other items under the National Construction and Household Support Programme include: “One-off allocation to states and the Federal Capital Territory of N10bn for the procurement of buses and CNG uplift programme.
“Delivery of N50,000 uplift grant each to 100,000 families per state for three months—provision for labour unions and civil society organisations.
“Deployment of N155bn for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation.”
Tinubu is attending the National Economic Council meeting, often chaired by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, for the first time.
NEC was expected to deliberate on the new minimum wage given the president’s decision to step down the proposal of the National Minimum Wage Committee at Tuesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting to allow for more consultations with necessary stakeholders, including the state governors, all of whom are members of the NEC.
The president had said he would only submit a new national minimum wage to the national assembly for passage into law after such talks.
However, council members who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting were silent on the minimum wage matter.
Announcing the resolutions reached, the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, who joined the governors of Imo, Kano and Kogi to brief correspondents, revealed that the federal government has approved a $1bn agriculture mechanisation programme that will set up 1000 agro-sector service providers across the country with tractors.
He explained, “We’ll have a minimum of 2000 tractors a year for the next five years and all other aggregation of agricultural commodities is going to be utilized at least nothing less than 600,000 youths to man these 1000 service centres.”
Kyari noted that the elaborate plan is an arrangement with John Deere and Tata to provide 2000 tractors before the end of the year. They will be rolled out as soon as is feasible, he said, adding that the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council last Tuesday.
According to Kyari, the Greener Imperative Project, which he said was still in the works, is a €950m project that will soon be unveiled.
Kyari revealed that the FG was anticipating another deal with Belarus Tractors to supply 2000 tractors per year for the next five years, with 9000 implements and spare parts, among others.
The agriculture minister also said Saudi Arabia had expressed interest in providing 200,000 metric tons of red meat every year and 1 million tonnes of soya from Nigeria.
“We have already last week had a meeting with our entrepreneurs and we have come out with a roadmap where we can supply and satisfy that demand.
“We are looking at partnership with foreign governments, not necessarily trying to ask them to come and invest, but asking them what can we produce so that we can sell to you so that we can earn foreign exchange,” he added.
In his remarks, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State said that the NEC directed the sub-committee on crude oil theft right provide comprehensive recommendations to end the menace during the next meeting.
Uzodinma said that even though the sub-committee was expected to submit its report during Thursday’s meeting, “it was inconclusive.”
Meanwhile, Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State announced the constitution of the board of the Niger Delta Power Holding, which he said had operated for a long time without a supervising board.
He revealed that it is made up of governors of Borno, Katsina, Imo, Ekiti, Kwara, and Akwa Ibom states representing the different geo-political zones.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, spoke of the activation of the Presidential Food Systems coordinating unit chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima
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President Bola Tinubu has approved the National Construction and Household Support Programme during the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
According to a statement issued by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, the programme is aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, strengthening the economy, and providing immediate economic relief for Nigerian households.
Ngelale added that the programme, which was supported by the NEC, includes financial allocations and infrastructure projects across all geo-political zones in the country.
He added that a key component of the programme is the approval of the N50,000 uplift grant to be distributed to 100,000 families per state for three months.
Ngelale revealed that another N155 billion was earmarked for the purchase and distribution of assorted foodstuff across the nation to address concerns about food security and affordability.
He disclosed that the programme will also cater to infrastructure projects, including the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse seven states and is considered key for agricultural sustainability. He added that the states along this axis form the food belt of the nation.
Other infrastructure initiatives include the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Trans-Saharan Highway. Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway and the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway.
In addition to the projects, Ngelale said the NEC approved the allocation of N10 billion to each state and the Federal Capital Territory for the procurement of buses and implementation of the Compressed natural gas uplift programme.
According to the presidential spokesman, provisions were also made for labour unions and civil society organizations.
During the NEC meeting, Tinubu urged state governors to collaborate in meeting the needs of citizens and boosting food production in the country.
He said, “Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.
“We are ready and able to support you in the form of the mechanization of your agricultural processes and the provision of high-quality seedlings.
“We are prepared to provide solar-powered irrigation facilities to support our farmers across seasons, but we must now produce. We must produce the food our people eat, and it will require coordination and intentionality between members of the National Economic Council (NEC).
Nigeria Governors’ Forum or NGF, after its meeting that ended on Thursday morning failed to agree on minimum wage, unlike the proposition from the federal government.
Instead, the NGF pleaded with Labour for more time for expanded consultation to arrive at what would be payable to all.
The federal government had said it was willing to pay N62,000 as minimum wage for workers but deferred a final resolution on the wage it would pay at the last federal executive meeting.
Although the organised labour said it would only take N250,000 as the minimum, it was agreed at the last FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu that more consultation was needed.
It was expected that NGF would make its position known with the least likely being an endorsement of the Federal government proposition of N62,000.
However, rising from its meeting on Thursday morning, the forum via a communique signed by NGF acting Director, Media, Ahmed Salihu, equally said more time was needed for consultation to arrive at a payable wage.
The communique read, “The Forum received a presentation from the Minister of Women Affairs on the World Bank-Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up, along with other activities of the ministry.
“Members noted the importance of the project and emphasised the need to implement it at the state level as initially conceived, as the states are the primary obligors of the project.
“The governors acknowledge the work and contributions of the Ministry of Women Affairs in promoting gender equality, empowering women, and advancing social development across Nigeria.”
On the issue of the wage, it said, “The Forum discussed the new National Minimum Wage. The governors agreed to continue engaging with key stakeholders to reach a mutually agreeable solution.
“We remain dedicated to the process and assure that better wages will result from the ongoing negotiations.”
The 36 state governors highlighted the significance of the World Bank-Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up and stressed the necessity of implementing it at the state level as originally intended, given that the states are the primary entities responsible for the project.
“We, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at our meeting held today, deliberated on issues affecting the country,” it added.
It stated further that, “Members received the Acting Country Director of the World Bank, Mr Taimur Samad, and his team to discuss the bank’s various programmes currently being implemented in the states, including HOPE Series of Projects: Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equality, Food and Nutrition Security, NFWP-SU: Nigeria For Women Project Scale Up, NG-CARES: Nigeria Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme SABER: State Action on Business Enabling Reforms Program, SPIN: Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project.
“Members expressed willingness to continue to provide the much-needed support to ensure programme effectiveness across the country.
“Members received a briefing from Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee. He highlighted the progress made regarding the ongoing Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. He sought the input and support of their excellencies on a number of proposals which would directly impact the subnational level of government.
“Members pledged their support for the Committee to ensure the successful implementation of these reforms and to collaborate closely to address any challenges that may arise.”