All Posts in "Day: May 18, 2021"

Strike Is A Legitimate Action-Adegboruwa

Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has said that strike is legitimate and a by-product of human existence, especially on matters in which there is disagreement or for which some people are dissatisfied.
Speaking to journalists at the weekend, the foremost legal luminary said it is intrinsic in human existence for people to have the opportunity to press home their demands where all other options of dissent have been exhausted.
According to him, in labour matters, strike is part of the modes allowed for collective bargaining.
“For totalitarian regimes that are not run on pure democratic principles, strike is a veritable tool in the hands of the employee to negotiate better deals either in relation to their employment or general welfare issues. This particular government has witnessed strikes because of the general perception that it is the best option to secure any deal from the leadership.
“The effect of strike actions can be very colossal indeed, in losses in businesses, manpower and economic progress but that is still better than a society where everybody resorts to self help as in such a situation, life becomes brutish and short.
“In most cases, parties still have to come to the roundtable to discuss and agree, which means that the strike action could have been avoided in the first place. This means then that the appeal should be to those in positions of authority to set up some mechanisms that will create effective channels of communication between the workers and government.
“From experience, the workers would give the government notice spanning over days and yet, nothing will be done until the actual strike has been declared or commenced.
“We will therefore have to deal with the situation as it is, given that it would seem that the strike option is the one that those who are in government prefer, which means they have to always contend with the consequences, since we cannot abrogate strike as it is allowed by law,” he said.
On the JUSUN strike, Adegboruwa said the action is for the benefit of lawyers, Judges, litigants and indeed the legal profession at large, as a way of addressing the real issues once and for all, adding that the general thinking of most state governors is to cage the courts and starve the judiciary of funds as a means of rendering it ineffective, so that lawlessness can thrive unchallenged or where challenged, unchecked.
He commended the Governors across the country, the legislators and all lovers of democracy, for insisting on restructuring, devolution of powers, state police and true federalism. He said it is the only way to save the Nigerian federation, at this critical time.
Online Editor by — May 18, 2021 in Law/Human Rights 0
Dangote Promises To Close Supply Gap Of Cement

Business Archives - Vanguard News
Dangote Cement has said that it is boosting production in order to close the gap between the supply and demand of cement.
Dangote Cement, new Group Chief Sales and Marketing Director, Rabiu Umar, who said this in Lagos,disclosed that about  40 per cent gap in cement supply had led to significant increase in the price of cement across the country.
Umar  said that the company was building more capacity as it recently invested in a new line that had been completed in its Obajana plant. The line was only waiting for power to commence operations, he said.
He added:“We have a new plant in Okpella, Edo state, that will start operations very soon. For the last couple of years one of our plants in Gboko, Benue State has not worked, but we have re-started the plant all in a bid to make sure there is enough production.”
Umar explained, “In every business, what drives the price is the demand and supply. Now as a business, we have not increased our price up until this point. So what has happened in price increment in the cement products is the forces of demand and supply.”
Umar gave the declining COVID-19 crisis, the combination of monetary policy changes and reduced capital market returns as the reasons for increased construction activities.
He said, “We got into COVID-19 last year and immediately after the pandemic, there was a surge in demand, and it is not particular to Nigeria alone.
“A couple of countries across the world like Mexico, South East Asia, among others are also experiencing the same.”
He said that though the company had direct control over its ex-factory prices, it had no control over the ultimate price of cement in the market.
He said it was important to distinguish Dangote’s ex-factory prices from prices at which retailers sold cement.
Umar disclosed that the company would be bringing in 2,000 brand new trucks to ease distribution challenges.
“We are buying these trucks and putting them out there to make sure that the distribution is also taken care of. This new development will lead to thousands of direct jobs in the country, apart from both direct and indirect jobs that the plants will also create.
“Globally, by the time we are done, we believe that the additional capacity we will put in the market compared to what we have today is probably the size of each of our competitors in terms of the additional volume that we will put in the market.”
He added that increasing production capacity would likely make impact in reducing the price of the commodity.
Online Editor by — May 18, 2021 in SME/Manufacturing 0
Nigerians Use Anonymous Companies To Perpetrate Corruption 

Speech Delivered By The Hon. Minister Of Industry, Trade And Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, CON At The Press Briefing On COVID-19 Pandemic - Federal Ministry of Information and Culture
The Federal Government yesterday disclosed that 70 per cent of corruption cases  are perpetrated by persons who use anonymous companies in the country.
Minister of Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo,  disclosed in Abuja at the media presentation of Nigeria’s Road to Beneficial Ownership Transparency of the 2021 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week.
Adebayo, who was represented by his permanent secretary, Dr Nasir Sani Gwarzo, also said that when the register of companies is  completed it will help government in decision-making especially around awards of contract  permit and licences.
“It will help decision makers to  quickly determine who benefits from the operations and profits of the company so as to avoid conflict of interest or manipulation,” he said.
According to him, the journey to establish a public register of beneficial  owners commenced in 2016 at the London Summit on Anti-Corruption where  President Muhammadu Buhari  joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
“At the time of this declaration in 2016, there was no legal framework to commence the implementation of the beneficial ownership disclosure in Nigeria. This necessitated the amendment of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) which the president signed in August 2020, paving way for the commencement of implementation of disclosure principles.
“The Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 has provisions dealing with disclosure of Persons with Significant Control (PSC) who have, at least, five per cent of voting equity holding or voting rights and who are ultimate beneficial owners of such registered entities to disclose such interest” he said.
In his welcome address, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Clem Ikanade Agba, disclosed that the Global Support Unit of the Open Government Partnership through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund awarded a grant of $400,000 to Nigeria.
“This grant is managed by the World Bank and we are at the final stages of documentation for the release of this grant,” he said.
The minister further noted that the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund, Open Government Partnership with the support of development partners and working  together with World Bank, established the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund (or the MDTF) to support World Bank client countries and local entities that participate in OGP or intend to become eligible to participate in OGP.
Mr. Biodun Adewumi, a resource person at the programme, described the value chain of the plant as overwhelming, adding that its legalization would generate revenue, investment and job opportunities.
Chairman, Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria, Akindeko Akindele described cannabis sativa as a good plant given a bad name. He said the use of the plant include pharmaceutical, textile, paper among others.
Online Editor by — May 18, 2021 in News 0
COVID-19:We’ve Met 2m Tests Target-NCDC

COVID-19: NCDC Advocates Grassroots Risks Communication
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), said 2,002,653 tests were carried out since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning its has delivered on its self-imposed target of two million tests in the country.
It said:“The NCDC Laboratory Strategic Group has set itself a target of testing two million people across Nigeria in the next three months.
The two million will come to about 50,000 per state, which it noted was a very ambitious target.
The country has now conducted about 2,002,653 tests since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced in the country on February 27, 2020.
The NCDC stated that the country’s COVID-19 cases had increased by 69, making a total of 165,778 confirmed cases as of May 17.
It stated that the 69 additional cases were registered from three states and the Federal Capital Territory.
It added that Ondo topped with 35, followed by Lagos 30, where Rivers and the FCT reported 3 and 1 respectively.
It noted that the death toll in the country had risen to 2,067, as one more additional death relating to the disease was recorded in the past four days.
While three people in the country have recovered after they were successfully treated, the agency said the total number of recoveries from the virus now stands at 156,415.
The NCDC added that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, continued to coordinate the national response activities.
It said the country now had about 7,224 active cases.
Online Editor by — May 18, 2021 in Health 0
I’m Not Afraid Of Arrest-NLC President

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba has said that he was not afraid of being arrested by agents of Kaduna state government for leading protest against mass sack of workers in the state.
Governor Mallam Nasir El- Rufai had earlier in the day declared the NLC president wanted for economic sabotage & attacks on public infrastructure under Miscellaneous Offences Act.
Wabba who was accosted on Tuesday morning in front of the premises of the Nigeria Unioun of Journalists Kaduna Waff road during the continuation of the rally, when reminded that the governor has declared him wanted, retorted that he is waiting for them to arrest him.
The Kaduna State government had earlier  accused the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) of engaging in politics rather than industrial action, faulting the labour union for campaigning to destabilize social and economic activities in the state.
The  government said was not going to back out on the ongoing physical identification of persons and credentials to determine the number of persons that would be laid off.
Speaking on the position of the government on Channels Television, Hajia Bariatu Mohammed, Kaduna State Head of Service said that the NLC was engaging in political activities and not any form of industrial action, to inflict pain on residents.
She said that Kaduna State residents were not in support of the NLC.
She  stated  that it was unfortunate that the labour union was busy threatening residents and compelling those of them that opened business to shut down.
Mohammed  added:“We met with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and they supported us. They came on a solidarity visit to us this morning. We cannot be threatened by the action of the labour union to back out on what we are doing. NLC is aware that shutting down electricity, hospitals, schools and inflicting pain on the people will not change the position of Kaduna State government. We are yet to ascertain the number of people to be disengaged and when we conclude, we will make the information available to the public”
The Head of Service said that the government was yet to establish the number of people that would be retrenched and would do that at the end of the ongoing physical accreditation of persons and credentials, stressing that the government would be open to dialogue if NLC was ready.
“If the Kaduna State chapter of NLC is ready for talk, we are open for discussion but we are not going to back out on the ongoing exercise. We are doing a process that the NLC is against,” she said.
Online Editor by — May 18, 2021 in Labour/Human Resources 0
NCC: Some Foreigners Don’t Need NIN To Register SIM Cards

 

Foreigners not staying in Nigeria for up to two years do not need a National Identification number to register SIM cards, the Nigerian Communications Commission has said.
The regulatory body said this in its Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration.
It said; “Foreigners validly transiting through Nigeria or are employed in or reside in Nigeria for less than 24 months are exempted from the mandatory use of NIN requirement.
“Persons in this category need to provide justification that they will be residing in Nigeria for less than two years.”
However, NIN is compulsory for foreigners who have legal residency, or those who have lived in Nigeria for two years and above.
“NIN is mandatory for foreigners with legal residency status or those living in Nigeria for two years and above. For those who do not already have a NIN, operators will capture the resident for NIN as part of the enrolment process, upon presentation of resident permit.
“Foreigners with visitor’s visas (with visa less than two years) do not require a NIN. Operators will capture the following on their records; – International passport bio-data page and visa page.
“Foreigners with diplomatic visas (including family diplomatic visas) will also require a NIN for their personal telephone lines if they are staying in Nigeria for two or more years.
“Those staying less than two years will require the following for registration of their personal telephone lines: international passport bio-data page and letter from embassy indicating that their stay is for less than two years.
“For embassies and diplomatic missions: The data page containing the passport number of the diplomatic passport of the Head of Mission/Embassy along with a Letter of Request signed by the ambassador or its equivalent for registration of the official telephone lines of the embassy /mission in Nigeria shall be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for verification and confirmation and registration of the SIMs;  SIM cards of the diplomatic missions are to be linked with a Corporate Diplomatic Identification Number, which will be unique to each diplomatic mission.
“Each mission will also be responsible for managing the lines and allocating them internally.”
It added that the Head of Mission would serve as the Telecom Master or Point of contact for the mission.
Online Editor by — May 18, 2021 in IT&Telecoms 0