All Posts in "Day: December 13, 2021"

 NSITF Settles N1bn Claims In 2021 

The Chairman, management board  of  Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund ( NSITF), Prince Austin Enajemo-Isire, has disclosed that  the agency it  has settled 11,000 claimants worth over N1billion in the outgoing year.
He said the sum of N529.9million was disbursed to such claimants between June and November this year.
He disclosed that the agency is undergoing a transformation and repositioning, adding that the  financial account of the fund, which was in arrears of over seven years has been audited up to date with 2019 and 2020 currently under process and auditing.
He added: “Today, NSITF is currently undergoing a transformation and repositioning to deliver on its core mandate in line with the vision of the fund. Therefore, a new beginning, a renewed hope weaved around a commitment to rebuild NSITF that the Nigerian workers will be proud of.
“It is gratifying to note that since the inauguration of the present executive management, the fund has been on a turnaround and a growth trajectory.
“This is one of the key promises made by the management board to change the narratives during their inauguration with a view to enthroning sound policies, accountability and probity.
“It may interest you to note that this year alone, well over 11,000 claims have been paid to different categories of claimants and more are being processed for payment.
“At the inception of this management board and as contained in the Honourable Minister of Labour’s Speech, the financial account of the fund was in arrears of over seven years but as we speak, this has been audited up to date with 2019 and 2020 currently under process and auditing.”
Disclosing that the agency maintained presence in 11 regions and 56 branches across the nation to ensure easy accessibility by all employees and employers, the Chairman said, “with these offices across the country, we will reach out to more Nigerians and ensure that every worker, both in the formal and informal sectors, are well protected.”
He explained that the Employee Compensation Act (ECA) guiding the operations of NSITF, was a fall out of  employee compensation scheme,  introduced and powered by an act of parliament, known as ECA in  2010.
“The primary aims of the act is to provide a fair and guaranteed compensations to any employee of a registered employer who suffers occupational hazard while on active service; either leading to death or disability.
“Since the enactment of the Act, we have seen a leap unto the mountain of progress and a low walk on the valleys of the not so good,” he explained.
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in News 0
Makinde Commences Construction Of  N8billion Independent Power Project In Ibadan

Oyo state governor Seyi Makinde has flagged off the construction of 11MW Independent Power Project.
The project will be  executed by Elektron Energy on a Build-Operate-Transfer model.
Speaking at the groundbreaking at the Sate Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan at the weekend, Governor Makinde  said the facility will provide power to government facilities within the Oyo State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan and environs.
Other facilities to enjoy from the 11MW hybrid power solution include; 12 healthcare facilities, including Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital, State Hospital Ring Road, the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, the judicial complexes at Iyaganku and Ring Road, the state’s House of Assembly, and a selection of schools within a defined catchment from the generation plant at the Oyo State Secretariat.
He said the project which would be delivered in eight months is to cost N8,027,430,214, with the state government repaying the Elektron Energy for over a ten-year period within which the energy company will operate and manage the infrastructure.
He added that the Special Purpose Vehicle that Elektron Energy will use to execute the contract is Ibadan Hybrid Power Limited (IH Power), noting that IH Power will also be responsible for managing the distribution infrastructure through Ibadan Hybrid Distribution Limited, which will hold an Independent Electricity Distribution Network (IEDN) license.
Makinde said:”Nigeria has had a long history of problematic public power supply.Well, from the days of NEPA, through to the PHCN and now DISCOS, the problem has essentially remained the same. Nigeria has been unable to generate and distribute enough energy to provide a 24/7 power supply to citizens. In fact, at a time, people even changed the acronym NEPA to mean Never Expect Power Always.
“Over time, individuals who can afford to have purchased different sizes of petrol or diesel generators or invested in solar energy as alternative sources of power supply.But we are not here today to discuss the problem. We are here for one solution to this perennial problem – for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Oyo State Independent Power Project.
“Before I go into the details of this project, it is important to clarify issues related to power distribution in Nigeria.Some have stated that only the Federal Government has the power to distribute energy. So any power generated at the state or local level must be fed to the national grid before it can be distributed. This is only partly true.
“Under the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSR), 2005, independent power distribution is allowed. Regarding “Distribution Licenses,” Section 67(1) states that “Subject to such terms and conditions as the Commission may fix in the licence, a distribution license will authorize the licensee to construct, operate and maintain a distribution system and facilities…”
“Based on this, the Oyo State Government is entering into a contract with Elektron Energy to finance and develop an 11MW hybrid power solution for the Oyo State Government and some of its facilities within the Oyo State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan and environs.
“The Special Purpose Vehicle that Elektron Energy will use to execute this contract is Ibadan Hybrid Power Limited (IH Power). IH Power will also be responsible for managing the distribution infrastructure through Ibadan Hybrid Distribution Limited, which will hold an Independent Electricity Distribution Network (IEDN) license”
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in Power 0
Lagos Public Servants To Receive 30%  End of Year Bonus 

Lagos Gov Appoints Muri-Okunola New HoSTHISDAYLIVE
The Lagos State Government has announced a generous End of Year Bonus for all public servants in its employ.
The Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, announced this in a circular addressed to several top government functionaries.
The circular, dated December 7, 2021, was addressed to the Deputy Governor, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Commissioners and Special Advisers.
According to the circular, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had approved a 30 per cent bonus for the public servants as an End of Year Bonus and it will not be taxable.
It said: “In fulfilment of the present Administration’s commitment to the welfare of its workforce and continuous benevolence in appreciating the contributions of all Public Servants in the State, it is hereby notified for general information that Mr Governor has graciously approved the payment of 30% Basic Salary as End-of-Year Bonus for all Political Appointees and Public Servants, including employees of Local Governments & Local Council Development Areas, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Lagos Neighbour Safety Corps (LNSC).
“Additionally, Public Servants are to note that the 30% Basic Salary End-of-Year Bonus will be paid alongside with December 2021 salary as a ‘ non taxable element.Consequently, it is believed that Officers will be more committed and diligent in providing qualitative service delivery towards fulfilling the laudable programmes of Mr Governor’s Administration. The essence of this is to maintain and sustain the enviable status of Lagos State as the Centre of Excellence.
“All Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are hereby enjoined to note the content of this Circular and give it the Service-wide publicity it deserves.”
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in News 0
NFF  Names  Eguavoen Interim Super Eagles Coach

NFF sacks Rohr, appoints Eguavoen Super Eagles interim coach - Punch Newspapers
The  Nigerian Football Federation(NFF),has appointed   Technical Director,Augustine Eguavoen,   on an interim capacity. and with immediate effect.
His appointment was sequel to the sack of the erstwhile Franco-German Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr.
Eguavoen will work with Salisu Yusuf (Chief Coach); Paul Aigbogun (Assistant Coach); Joseph Yobo (Assistant Coach); Dr Terry Eguaoje (Assistant Coach) and Aloysius Agu (Goalkeeper Trainer).
Former Nigeria captains Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu and Garba Lawal have also  been appointed to provide technical and ambassadorial support for the crew.
The changes which trailed the outcry of Nigerians is coming barely one month to the kickoff of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Gernot Rohr, who has been in charge of the three –time African champions for the past 64 months, is Nigeria’s longest –serving manager.
General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Mohammed Sanusi said: “The relationship between the Nigeria Football Federation and Mr Rohr has come to an end. We thank him for his services to the Super Eagles and Nigeria.
“We also want to thank the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports for their collaboration and guidance all through.”
Eguavoen, a former Nigeria captain, was coach of the squad when it finished in third place at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in 2006. He was on-field captain when the Super Eagles lifted the Africa Cup for the first time on away ground, in Tunisia 27 years ago.
He will now take charge of the team as it begins preparations for the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon 9th January – 6th February 2022, and until the appointment of a substantive Head Coach.
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in Sports 0
United Nigeria Acquires New  A320 Aircraft

United Nigeria Airlines Acquires New Airbus 320 Aircraft
 United Nigeria Airlines (UNA) has acquired a new Airbus 320 aircraft to boost its fleet of aircraft and expand its operations.
According to a statement by Achillieus-Chud Uchegbu, the spokesman of UNA,  the aircraft touched down on the runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos on Sunday, December 12, 2021 and taxied to the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos, the operational base of the airline in Lagos.
He  said that with the additional aircraft, the airline would boost its domestic operations and frequencies this December, adding that this would further make connections easier for the travelling public at this time of the year.
He promised  that the airline would continue to offer quality services to its clients and assured that more routes would be opened very soon.
He said: “The airline understands that the service of reliable airline is built around schedule integrity and safety, which remains the fulcrum of UNA’s entire operations.”
He insisted that the airline had been operating flights in line with global safety standards and vowed that it would continue to maintain such in all its operations.
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in Aviation 0
‘Relatives Responsible For Most Human Trafficking Cases’

NAPTIP new DG, vows to chase down after high profile human traffickers
Most victims of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) were lured and trafficked for forced prostitution, organ harvesting and other inhuman treatment by members of their families,the Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi has said
Dr. Waziri-Azi,who said  this  in Keffi, Nasarawa state at the end of a capacity development workshop, organized for journalists and other relevant stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking, said the agency has sponsored 13 survivors of human trafficking to the university and rehabilitated some of the victims.
She said:”NAPTIP had sponsored 13 Human Trafficking survivors to university level and had employed three of the graduates who are now working with the agency.
“We have been able to train and rehabilite some of the victims who are now doing well in the society. One was trafficked by her sister, another one by her brother and the other one by her neighbour.”
Reiterating her  agency’s determination to ending the scourge of human trafficking  in Nigeria, the DG  advocated the need for the  media to partner  NAPTIP in curtailing the menace of TIP.
She described TIP as a well organized crime and promised to clampdown on the syndicate wherever they are hiding and brought them to book.
“We won’t relent as an agency just as the traffickers are not planning to relent; our goal is to inaugurate vanguard clubs against human trafficking in all the unity schools in Nigeria.We must not relent in sensitization and awareness creation. We will keep relying on you, the media to listen to us and to be the voice of the victims of TIP,” she said.
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in News 0
1.9m Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines Administered In  Lagos

Over 1.9m doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Lagos | Pulse Nigeria
Lagos state government says 1,912,394 doses of AstraZeneca and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the state.
Its commissioner for health,Prof.Akin Abayomi Abayomi,who disclosed this on Sunday,said 864, 467 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were administered as first dose, while 494, 385 of the vaccine were administered as the second dose.
According to him,317, 784     Moderna vaccine were administered as the first dose, while 235, 758 were administered for the second dose.
He noted that 3.04 per cent of the targeted population had received two doses of the vaccines.
He said that 13, 905, 615 doses of vaccines need to be administered for the state to achieve its herd immunity target.
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in News 0
How NNPC’s Trading Surplus Hits N141.96bn

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has disclosed  a trading surplus of ₦141.96billion recorded in June 2021.
This,it said, compared to a deficit of ₦37.46Billion in May 2021.
A statement by Garba Deen Muhammad
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, noted that the information is contained in the June 2021 figures of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR).
In June 2021, NNPC Group operating revenue as compared to May 2021, decreased by 9.07% or N89.27billion to stand at N894.64billion.
Besides, expenditure for the month decreased by 29.32% or N299.44billion to stand at N721.93billion.
In  the period under review, expenditure as a proportion of revenue was 0.81%, compared to the figure in May which stood at 1.04%.
According to the report, the increase in trading surplus was due mainly to the increased sales of crude oil and gas by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an upstream subsidiary of the NNPC, and the increased gas sales and depreciation postings by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC).
The report also said  positive outlook was further bolstered by the performance of Duke Oil and the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) which also added to the improved bottom line.
Trading surplus or trading deficit is  derived after deduction  of the  expenditure
profile from the revenue for the period under review.
The report said in order  to ensure continuous supply and effective distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) across the country, a total of 1.63bn litres of PMS translating to 54.50mn liters/day were supplied in June 2021.
It indicated that in June 2021, 47 pipeline points were vandalized representing 26.56% decrease from the 64 points recorded in May 2021. Port Harcourt Area accounted for 43%, while Mosimi and Kaduna Areas accounted for 51% and 6% respectively of the vandalized points.
According to the report,in  the gas sector, a total of 223.77billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas was produced in the month of June 2021 translating to an average daily production of 7,459.88million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).
For the period of June 2020 to June 2021, a total of 2,890.11bcf of gas was produced representing an average daily production of 7,321.36mmscfd during the period.
Period-to-date production from Joint Ventures (JVs), Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and NPDC contributed 59.84%, 20.26% and 19.90% respectively to the total national gas production.
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
CBN Scores Adoption Of eNaira High As  Banks’ Credit To Economy Hits N23.5tn

CBN knocks banks for shunning eNaira - Punch Newspapers
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has scored  the adoption of eNaira digital currency introduced by the bank by Nigerians high
CBN Controller, Enugu branch, Ch’Edozie Okonjo,  gave the assessment while delivering a keynote paper titled, ‘Implications of eNaira on the Nigerian Economy,’ during the 2021 Annual Bankers Dinner and Lecture, organised by the Enugu State branch of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria
Ch’Dozie explained that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to virtual events and contactless payments across the globe, saying that the world had yet to return to the old normal system as the pandemic amplified the transition to a more digital world, which the global payment system remains a typical reference point.
He said  that while the use of cash was declining both locally and globally, digital payments were rising significantly which necessitated the introduction of the eNaira, the Nigerian Central Bank Digital Currency.
He said, “The eNaira was launched to improve access to finance for individuals and businesses through digital channels to improve financial inclusion, lower the cost of transactions, and increase the flow of credit to households and businesses.”
Okonjo explained  that the eNaira was aimed at providing “a fast, efficient and reliable payment option for households and business; provide a resilient, inclusive, innovative and competitive payment system, among others.”
He also said since the eNaira platform came alive, there has been overwhelming interest and encouraging response from Nigerians and other parties across the world.
He added:“So far, we have recorded over 583,000 consumer wallets and about 83,000 merchant wallets downloads, with downloads occurring in over 160 countries (per Google Play Store and Apple Store data).  We have also recorded over 34,000 transactions amounting to over N188m. This numbers suggest the adoption rate has been excellent”.
Meanwhile,the apex bank has said that banks’ gross credit to the Nigerian economy increased  to N23.5tn in November this year.
In  a new report,the CBN said that the development boosted the Loan-to-Deposit ratio policy, which had resulted in a significant rise in loans provided by financial institutions.
According to the bank,total gross credit rose by over 21.1 percent over the past year, from N19.4tn to N23.5tn,adding that  it created a N50bn target credit facility for affected households and small and medium enterprises through Nirsal Microfinance Bank, against which N363.5bn had been disbursed to over 767,000 Nigerian households and micro-businesses.
The apex bank mobilised key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy under the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 team that raised N39.64bn to support the fight against the scourge.
The report  said  that the funds were used to support three key priority areas including the “development of 39 fully equipped isolation centres, including intensive care units and molecular testing labs and procurement of medical equipment such as PCR test kits across the country”.
Others were “provision of palliatives in the form of essential food items to 1.7 million households, an equivalent of eight million Nigerians; and improving awareness in rural awareness on the COVID-19 virus and capacity building for community health workers”.
The  apex bank  said it had also created a N1tn facility in loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors, of which 53 major manufacturing projects, 21 agriculture-related projects and 13 service projects were being funded from the facility.
The report added that it provided N100bn intervention fund for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners to expand and strengthen the capacity of the nation’s healthcare institutions.
It said:“We have increased this fund to N200bn to accommodate more players in the healthcare sector, such as phytomedicine practitioners and manufacturers of medical devices and vaccines.
“Our primary focus is to create a hub where medical officers can have access to diagnostic equipment to carry out quality medical services at an affordable price for Nigerians.”
Online Editor by — December 13, 2021 in Banking&Finance 0