All Posts in "Day: July 25, 2023"

Senate Urges FG To Stop Planned Electricity Tariff Hike

Mohammed Shosanya

The Senate has implored the federal government to halt the proposed electricity tariff hike.

The upper house also urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to decentralize the proposed engagement with stakeholders scheduled for Abuja to the six geo-political zones of the federation for effective participation by all.

The resolution of the Senate was sequel to a motion, titled: “Need to halt the proposed increase in electricity tariff by eleven successor electricity distribution companies, DISCOs,” sponsored by Senator Yunus Akintunde (APC Oyo Central) and co-sponsored by Senators Ekpenyong Asuquo (PDP Cross River South) and Aminu Abbas (PDP Adamawa Central), during plenary.

Senator Akintunde,who lead the debate on the motion,noted that the 11 successor DISCOs have filed an application for rate review with the NERC, saying, “the request for rate review is premised on the need to incorporate in macro-economic parameters and other factors affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies.”

He informed that the commission, in line with its mandate, requested the general public for comments on the rate review applications by the distribution licenses, while advising interested stakeholders to review and consider the excerpts of the applications filed with the commission by the respective licenses.

He observed that NERC, according to the powers conferred by Electricity Act 2023, is empowered to conduct a rate case hearing on the applications prior to making a ruling, adding that the commission had through its official website published and set July 20, 2023 deadline for comments by stakeholders.

He expressed concern that “the proposed increase will significantly impact the affordability of electricity for average Nigerian, further exacerbating the financial burdens faced by households and businesses.

He added that it would impede industrial growth, job creation and economic development while it would also “have adverse effects on the nation’s drive towards sustainable development and poverty reduction.”

According to him, the time frame of less than one week provided by the NERC for comments from all relevant stakeholders was too small for any meaningful engagement.

He said: “It is essential to address the issues of inadequate power supply, metering and quality of service provided by the DISCOs. Customers should not bear the brunt of inefficiencies in the power sector.”

In its resolutions, Senate also urged NERC to explore alternative measures to address the financial challenges faced by DISCOs such as improving operational efficiency, reducing technical and commercial losses, and enhancing revenue collection mechanisms.

The upper chamber also asked DISCOs to henceforth stop estimated billing and make available to all electricity consumers prepaid meters at affordable prices.

The lawmakers, have, however mandated its Committee on Power, when constituted, to engage with the Federal Ministry of Power, NERC and other stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the electricity sector, including the need for comprehensive reforms.

The Senate stressed that DISCOs should henceforth liquidate the cost of electricity transformers purchased by communities or individuals before they are added to the billing system.

admin by — July 25, 2023 in Politics 0
FG Uncovers 1,618 Fake Civil Servants

Mohammed Shosanya

The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation(OHCSF), said 1,618 Federal Civil Servants have been discovered with fake letters of employment.

Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation,who disclosed this on Tuesday at a media parley in Abuja.

She explained that her Office through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System(IPPIS) had detected these workers with fake and illegal letters of employment, following the verification of 69,854 officers across the core Ministries,Departments and Agencies of government in the 36 States of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

She noted that the affected workers have been suspended from the IPPIS platform, adding that they have been handed-over to ICPC for proper investigation and prosecution.

She said: “The Office of the Head of Service has been working towards the implementation of HR Module of IPPIS with a view to bridging the identified gaps in the system.

“As you are aware, prior to the introduction of the current mechanisms put in place to
drive the implementation of the IPPIS, the system was bedeviled with considerable leakages and wastes as well as the incessant infiltration of ghost workers.

“Consequent upon the identified loopholes in the IPPIS, the Office introduced control mechanisms, notable among others, was the inauguration of a Committee on
Enrolment of Newly Recruited Civil Servants on the 1st of March, 2021.

“Hence, this and other initiatives in accelerating the roll-out of the HR Module of the IPPIS has brought about the following: Detection of 1,618 fake/illegal employment letters; Continuous suspension of Officers from IPPIS platform for not uploading their records; Verification of 69,854 officers across the core MDAs in FCT and the six (6) geo-political zones.

“In our investigation,we have found out these workers that were not employed at all, who have found their ways into the civil service.”

She revealed that there is an ongoing verification of 205,411officers across non-core MDAs in the FCT and the six geo-political zones.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation disclosed that the ICPC has begun the investigation of 3,657 officers for not being present during the verification audit, adding that there is the verification of 3,465 officers who were recruited from 2017-2019 and those absorbed into the mainstream civil service.

She expressed optimism that by the end of 2024, the verification of these non-core civil servants would have been completed.

Speaking on digitalisation, which is one of the pillars of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (2021-2025) (FCSSIP 25), Yemi-Esan said her Office in collaboration with the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, had focused on driving public sector transformation in Africa through the deployment of technological solutions.

She said through the collaboration, the Service had to deal with manually-held records and bureaucratic inhibitions to
open government; arbitrary allocation of devices without records and not based on needs as well as apathy in the use of official emails.

admin by — July 25, 2023 in Labour/Human Resources 0
CBN Raises Interest Rate To 18.75%

Mohammed Shosanya

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday raised the monetary policy rate to 18.75 per cent on account of the country’s rising inflation.

The decision was reached on at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting chaired by the acting CBN Governor, Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi.

Eleven members of the committee attended the meeting,according to him.

At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting under the former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, the rates were increased to 18.5 per cent from 18.0 per cent.

Inflationary prices remained elevated in most countries despite broad measures to redeem the markets, Shonubi said.

According to him, the International Monetary Fund reversed global economic growth to 3 per cent from 2.8 per cent.

But,in the local market, the Acting CBN boss said, subsidy removal and unification of the exchange rate had led to an uptick in inflation.

Shonubi said the key development that would continue to influence inflation are the new policy decision of subsidy removal and naira unification.

He admitted that there are pressures on foreign exchange that precipitate uncertainties in the economy.

The CBN boss predicted that the economy will continue to recover at 2.66 estimate. According to him, the continued uptick in inflation led to a call for decisive measures to address inflationary pressure.

The MPC enjoined the Federal Government to sustain growth by boosting of non-oil revenues.

In its decisions, members considered inflation and its effect on output growth. They remained cautious in their decision to moderately increase the rate.

According to the CBN boss,six members voted to raise MPR, while 5 voted to hold rates. They decided to reduce the asymmetric corridor at 100-300 from +100 to -700 basis points around the MPR which is 18.75.

admin by — July 25, 2023 in Banking&Finance 0
Balyesa:Suspects Defraud PoS Operators With Charms

Mohammed Shosanya

The Bayelsa State Vigilante Service (BSVS) have arrested four-gang that allegedly specialises in using charms to defraud unsuspecting operators of Point of Sale (PoS) machines, business owners and residents of their cash and other valuables within the Yenagoa metropolis.

The chairman of the BSVS, Doubiye Alagba, confirmed their arrests on Tuesday in Yenagoa,and identified the suspects as Ufuoma John, Igwe White, Opeko Kennedy and Sandra Erhirhis.

The suspects were nabbed in Yenagoa and at a small border community between Bayelsa and Rivers States where they claimed to obtain the charms from a native doctor,he said.

Handing the suspects over to the state’s security outfit, Operation Doo-Akpo, in Yenagoa, for further investigation, Alagba said their arrests followed complaints by some PoS operators and tricycle passengers over the gang’s strange activities.

He claimed that the BSVS apprehended them through intelligence.

He said criminals had some months ago allegedly charmed and defrauded one Micah Innocent, a PoS operator, of the sum of N400,000 and other valuables.

He added:”The syndicates migrate from one PoS point to another with the same method to defraud the unsuspecting victims, including tricycle passengers.

“Once they approach their victims and succeed in using charm, the victims will lose control of themselves and they take you to another location and collect all your money and valuables, in some cases they ask you to transfer to their account.

“Through our intelligence, we arrested one of them, he led us to the residence of another member of their gang who is a native doctor that prepares charm for them and that was how we arrested all of them.

“The suspects confessed to the crime, and narrated that they have been operating within Bayelsa and Rivers State. The suspects further added that they have been operating for long and share percentage of every amount defrauded from victims.”

admin by — July 25, 2023 in Crime/Metro 0
Employment Racketeering:My Boss Lied To Avoid Probe -FCC Commissioner

Mohammed Shosanya

A Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission representing Delta State, Moses Anaughe, Tuesday said the chairman, Dr. Muheeba Dankaka lied that she had a medical appointment with her doctor in order to avoid ongoing employment racketeering probe in the commission

He disclosed that his boss was currently sitting in her office as the House of Representatives investigative hearing on job racketeering and gross mismanagement of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in Nigeria, when was ongoing.

Anaughe stated that this was her usual character of avoiding invitations of the National Assembly.

He added that this was not the first time such was happening, as her usual habit was to send commissioners to represent her at investigative hearings.

The commissioner from Taraba state, Armayau Abubakar, who represented the chairman had earlier presented a letter to the committee from the chairman that she was unavoidably absent due to a medical appointment with her doctor.

When the head of the delegation who stated also appealed that the Commission be given a new date to come with the requirements documents as requested by the commission; and the Chairman of the adhoc committee, Rep.Yusif Gagdi moved that their request be granted.

However, when the Commissioner from Delta came in he stood to introduce himself and said that the Chairman Dankaka was currently in the office and not in the hospital but in the office as at 12 noon was in the office.

“I want to stress that this is her usual excuse for various committees that invited her. I should be on record.If she wants to collect 10 percent of employment she sees that the Chief Executive must come one on one with her. Why is she not here?”, Anaughe stated.

The Committee rescinded its resolution as early moved, as Rep. Gaza Gbuefi move for the resolution to be rescinded, after which the commissioners present were put under oath.

The Committee Chairman therefore ordered that the Chairman Dankaka, and the 27 commissioners appear before the Committee on Wednesday.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas says mismanagement and subversion of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) is a gross misconduct and criminal activities that challenge the very core principles of prudent management of our nation’s financial resources.

According to him, the investigation was important to clean up the system and make it work for the people.

“This Committee emblematises the House’s commitment to entrench transparency, efficiency and accountability in public service. Therefore, as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, I am convinced that fostering good governance in Nigeria’s public institutions is not only a routine legislative responsibility but an obligation we owe to the people of Nigeria.

“The matters before this Ad-hoc Committee represent the yearnings of Nigerian citizens, hence, must be treated with keen attention. The abuse of personnel recruitment and blatant employment racketeering destroys the essence of bureaucratic processes and leaves damaging implications. It affects the integrity of our institutions and distort the aspirations of many citizens who seek competitive and fair opportunities. This negative practice is an affront to the Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution which provides the even distribution of our commonwealth in the spirit of federal character.

“The essence of this provision as explained in Section 318 (1) of the Constitution is to foster national loyalty, inclusiveness and to give every part of the country a sense of belonging. The issues this committee is to investigate negate this very noble intent of the drafters of our Constitution and cannot be overlooked in the spirit of national interest”. Hon Abbas said.

He also challenged the Committee to address the issues head-on and recommend policy agenda for legislative actions.

The mover of the motion that led to the setting up of the Committee, Hon Oluwole Oke, said that the IPPIS is a software and it should not be difficult to submit reports to the committee.

admin by — July 25, 2023 in News 0
Lopsided Promotion:Customs Officers Kick, Seek Tinubu’s Intervention

Mohammed Shosanya

Customs officers employed between 1989 and 1994 have expressed discontent over an alleged discriminatory promotional exercise in the Nigeria Customs Service.

They implored President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Services,Adewale Adeniyi to tame the practice there with a view to enabling them earn their promotion duly.

They said those who engaged in the services between 1989 and 1994 have been at a standstill, without any promotion, while the newly promoted ones have enjoyed accelerated promotions.

They conveyed their displeasure in a document made available to Premium News by their lawyer,Chief Chukwuma Ekomari,SAN

“We humbly request to consider redressing the injustice meted out to older officers’ sequel to directives communicated vithe letter NCSB/ABJ/AP&D/94/S.I/VOLV/19 dated 29 March 2022. This is connected with the implemented discriminatory special promotions given with backdated notional effects to newer officers recruited as graduates starting from 2009.

“These special promotions were reportedly approved by the Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) consequent to Management’s presentation of the recommendations of its Generation Gap Committee.”,the document reads in part.

They alleged that the management of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recently announced its Board’s approval of a proposal to institute yet another special promotion scheme designated competency-based accelerated career progression plan (CBACP).

This was made public by its National Public Relations Officer (PRO) Abdullahi Maiwada, a Chief Superintendent of customs in a press release reference NCS/PR/SP/S.582/003/23/VOL. 1 OF 19th May 2023,they said.

They added:”The same PRO was quoted in an online punch Newspaper report of 2 June 2023, by Anozie Egole to have said that the NCS Board had approved the plan to close the Generation Gap that could lead to a vacuum in the NCS higher hierarchies if not addressed. Find attached the Press Release of 19th May, 2023 with the approved memo on CBACP”.

They also alleged that the Customs Service is now faced with the problem of coping with the passive resistance to teamwork created by a class conflict between the segregated customs officers and the favoured customs officers.

They appealed that they were either upgraded or converted into the officer corps based on the competency-based accelerated career progression plan (CBACP)

“For a regimented service like the NCS sudden loss of seniority by an entire generation of older officers to their juniors is absurd”,they said in the document.

admin by — July 25, 2023 in Business 0
Isese Festival Will Hold In Ilorin, Traditional Worshippers Insist

The first edition of its Isese Youth Festival will hold on the 20th of August, 2023, in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital,the Youth Wing of the International Council for Ifa Religion (ICIR),has said.

Mr. Olowoopejo Fashola Oluwagbenga, the Leader of the ICIR Youth Wing, who disclosed this after a closed-door meeting, said that the planning of the maiden Isese Youth Festival had started since last August

He said that the members of the Executive of the group felt that a more appropriate time was needed for the convergence of Isese youth adherents.

The Secretary of ICIR Youth Wing, Awoyemi Ifayemi Omonda also confirmed that the festival would hold in Ilorin-.

He said:“The maiden edition of the Isese Youth Festival, which is a massive convocation of over 2000 young generation of Ifa and Orisa adherents from within and outside Nigeria, would be holding in the Yoruba City of Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital”, he declared.

Speaking on the reason the festival was fixed to hold in Ilorin, against the backdrop of heightened religious tension in the city,he inquired if there has ever been tension whenever Christians in Ilorin hold their crusades or whenever muslim faithfuls exercise their right to peaceful worship and gathering?

He added:“Nothing should cause tension in Ilorin if those practicing other religions respect the rights of traditionalists to also gather and hold events peacefully and within the ambits of the Nigerian law,” He posited.

”Traditionalists in Nigeria have always shown a great level of equanimity in the face of harassment and intimidation from other religious faiths. This is enough to convince the world that Ifa and Isese are the true religions of peace.

“There are records of religious killings, arson and mass lynching traceable to those who profess peace; all the ungodly killings are on account of some negligible mistakes or foibles commited by their unfortunate victims.

“How many christians or muslims have been killed or even slapped by traditionalists on account of incessant stigmatization and defamation of some of our deities like Esu, Ifa, Ogun etc? They launch provocative sermons against us all the time. They tell the world, even us, to our face, that we worship gods that neither see, hear or speak. Why do they always create and fight wars, killing people, in defence of their own “gods” whom they say are mighty in battle? ” he asked.

He revealed that the massive Isese youth convocation taking place in Ilorin next month is for celebration and advocacy outreach to press home demand from the Kwara State Government to declare 20th August every year as Isese Day just as the Governments of Osun and Ogun have done.

”We, the traditionalists, are not prepared to engage any religion in violent confrontations neither are we ready to respond to any assault, except if there is an existential threat and we feel the need to help ourselves, perhaps because relevant agencies continue to show indifference to our situation.” Olowoopejo asserted.

The ICIR Youth Wing leader said the festival would run peacefully and that the Isese Youths in Kwara State have received the news of their hosting of the maiden edition of the festival with great excitement.

“Hosting the festival in Ilorin is significant to Ilorin Chapter of the ICIR Youth Wing because it would serve as a reminder to any deluded mind that Ilorin is part of Nigeria which still stands as a multi-religious and culturally diverse nation,” he explained

The global Secretary of the group, Ifayemi Awoyemi, further disclosed that all necessary correspondences would be done to keep relevant agencies notified of the event so that those who might plan to forment trouble would be cautioned ahead.

“We will assure appropriate agencies of our commitment to continue to be peaceful and law-abiding. We would however not fail to also inform them that we have resolved to protect ourselves and resist any form of intimidation and harassment during and after our peaceful assembly”, he added.

admin by — July 25, 2023 in Oduduwa 0