POLITICS
Nigeria Doing well Under Tinubu- Group
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), says Nigeria’s economy did remarkably well in the first quarter of 2024 under President Bola Tinubu in spite of criticisms.
Chief Niyi Akinsiju, the Chairman, IMPI said this at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.
He said following government economy reforms, Nigeria had bounce back an economic giant waiting to take its position in the sun.
This, he said, was in spite the fact that the country had remained stunted over the years because of policy misapplications.
“Already, we have started witnessing the green shoots of the impact of the policy deployments on the economy,” he said, adding that the periodic under review witnessed commendable strides in the oil and gas sector.
These, he said, included the domiciling of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) revenue account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which had facilitated a truly single treasury account platform for the country’s oil earnings.
“In addition, in a continued upward trajectory witnessed in oil and gas exploration activities, oil rig count, an index with which upstream activities are measured, surged by 23 per cent year-on-year to 16 rigs in February 2024.
“The increased rigs activities have resulted in higher crude oil production inclusive of condensates averaging 1.65 million barrels a day as per last quarter.
“While this has positive prospects for accretion to our foreign reserve, we estimate that crude oil production should increase to 1.8 million barrels a day
“Which is more than the 1.78 million crude oil production target projected in the 2024 federal budget, by the end of the second quarter of 2024,” the IMPI chairman said.
He said the government had taken the economy a notch higher with the introduction of the Consumer Credit Scheme known as The Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp).
This, he said, had the potentials to improve consumption capacity for Nigerians, resulting in expanded productive capacity for the manufacturing sector.
“This implies that you do not need to wait until you have saved so much to purchase what you desire.
“The establishment of the Credit Scheme and the extension of payment of Social Security to NCE graduates upward with a commitment of N100bn by the President.
“And the approval of Social Security Unemployment Programme to alleviate economic difficulties for unemployed youths.
“Are part of the actions and decisions of the Tinubu administration within the first quarter of the year, which we consider to be courageous, timely and commendable,” Akinsiju said.
He called on the media to sensitise and encourage them to register for BVN and NIN to enable them benefit from government’s social security programmes.
He also advised government on the urgent need to rejig its cash transfer programmes to ensure effectiveness, transparency and accountability.
He said the group was delighted to note that the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered transportation system had become a reality as promised by the president.
This, he added was especially as Nigeria had now joined the group of nations with fleets of CNG vehicles.
Akinsiju said this was as all was now set for the launch and deployment of the first set of mass-transit CNG vehicles and tricycles across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in May, 2024.
He said the eco-friendly vehicles would transport commuters at reduced cost, provide thousands of job opportunities for our youths, and improve the standard of living of the people.
He added that in the immediate, the Federal Government was growing stronger on opening up and truly liberalising the Nigerian national economy from the fetters of the past.
He further added that this had reflected in the market-determined movement of the naira in the foreign exchange market.
He said with the situation at the parallel market, the naira was now competing favourably with other world currencies and continued to affirm its place as one of the best performing currencies globally.
“On the revenue side, the removal of fuel subsidy has become a financial elixir for the hitherto constricted revenue earning capabilities of the national economy.
“Nigerians are now witnesses to the monthly spectacle of Federation Accounts Allocation Committee’s (FAAC) sharing and savings never-before-earned revenue among the three tiers of government.
“Which has averaged N250bn monthly, thereby enhancing the Federal, States and Local Government Areas capacity to pay workers’ salaries and provide critical infrastructure.
“While the economy is gaining much needed momentum in the enunciated areas as recorded in the first quarter of the year,” he said.
He said the group however, observed with mixed feelings, rocketing food prices which continued to manifest in high headline inflation rate recorded at 33.2 per cent, driven by a 40.01 per cent food inflation rate in March.
He said in spite of the increase in food prices, the conscious efforts of President Bola Tinubu to rejig the economy and ensure food security through massive investment in agriculture must be encouraged.
He commended the administration for funding the ongoing dry season cultivation of 120,000 hectares of farmland for the production of wheat.
He noted that this aggressive push to boost food production was a confirmation of the president’s seriousness on his declaration of State of Emergency on Food Security on July 13th 2023.
He also commended Jigawa government for allocating 80,000 hectares of land to the Presidential initiative on wheat, and the Government of Kano and Kaduna States for making available the remaining 40,000 hectares.(NAN)
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, National Chairman, Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed to political parties, candidates, and supporters to maintain peace during the governorship election in Ondo State.
Yakubu made the appeal while monitoring the 2024 Ondo State Mock Accreditation held on Wednesday across the three senatorial district of the state.
Report says that INEC is scheduled to conduct the Ondo State Governorship Election on Nov.
16, 2024, with 18 political parties to participate in the election.The INEC chairman, who said that the exercise was part of the commission’s preparation, said the maintenance of peace would enable the commission to conduct a free and fair election.
He also said that the mock accreditation was to further test the functionality of their system.
“In the last election, our machines performed optimally but we can not take that for granted.
“We will ensure that all the polling units open on time so that voters will not come and wait for INEC officials and materials.
“And we have tested the integrity of the machines, it is not the matter of early deployment, but also early accreditation.
“We are doing our best as an electoral commission and others should also do their best, particularly political parties and their candidates.
“I want to appeal to political parties, candidates and their supporters to ensure that they maintain the peace that will enable us to deploy and conclude the process in good time.
“And also to announce the candidate people of Ondo State are choosing as their governor on Saturday,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Usman Isiaka Taiwo, who was accredited at the Ijapo High School, Akure, Ward 4 Unit 41, applauded INEC for the conduct.
“There is no delay in the exercise, and I will come along with my family to cast our votes for the candidate of our choice,” he said.
Also, Mrs Adebimpe Bankole, who was accredited at Alagbaka Primary School, Akure, Ward 5 Unit 18, scored INEC 80 per cent for the mock exercise.
“I am satisfied with the process because I did not waste any time before I did my accreditation.
“I would have given them 100 per cent but I can’t, rather I will give them 80 per cent because they have done well.
“By Gods grace, I will come out on Saturday, Nov. 16 for the election proper to cast my vote,” she said.
The INEC national chairman visited Ijapo High School, Akure, Ward 4 Unit 41; and Alagbaka Primary School, Akure, Ward 5 Unit 18.
Ward 10 Unit 12 in Owena, and Ward 10, Unit 1, Aiyetoro/ Owena, Idanre Local Government Area in Ondo Central Senatorial District, were also visited.
Yakubu also visited two Local Government Area offices of the commission including Ile-Oluji/ Okeigbo in Ondo North Senatorial District. (NAN)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the claim by Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, that he did not lose the election but stolen, was most comical.
Mr Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary said this, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to comments made by Abubakar on the outcome of the election.
Abubakar, also a former vice president, on his X handle, stated that he did not lose the 2023 presidential election, claiming the election was stolen from him.
Morka, in his reaction, described Abubakar as Africa’s most infamous presidential election loser, noting that since serving as vice-president, he had lost election to every elected president.
“Six times in the last 17 years, Nigerians have declared their verdict of untrust and lack of sportsmanship on Abubakar’s presidential candidacy, and roundly rejected him at the polls.
“Abubakar’s long record of electoral defeat was serially certified by Nigeria’s highest courts, sealing his rejection by the electorate with judicial and constitutional finality.
“However, a clearly unabashed Abubakar continues to lay a bogus claim that he did not lose the 2023 presidential election. That is beyond comical,” the APC spokesman said.
He said that this was so as the former vice president probably believed that he was cheated out of all previous five presidential elections that he also lost.
Morka added that Abubakar’s inability to come to terms with the reality of his rejection cuts an ominous portrait of extreme and disturbing political desperation.
He added that Nigeria’s intelligent and discerning electorate would not act against their best interest by electing Abubakar into office.
According to Morka, the former vice president is a central and recurrent player in some of our country’s most vile roll call of corruption scandals perpetrated by the PDP administrations.
“He was the vice president in the government that created crooked and viscerally corrupt petrol subsidy hydra-headed dragon that has crippled our country’s economy,
“And laid the foundation for the endemic corruption and inefficiency that have undermined our power sector through the years.
“His desperation to be president can only be understood in the context of his determination to complete the full subversion of Nigeria’s economic life from where he left off as vice president.
“Nigerians will not entrust their country to someone who puts his selfish interest, and the interest of his cronies over and above the national interest,” Morka said.
He added that having demystified himself with his recent release of what he would have done differently if he was the president, showed that he had nothing to offer Nigerians.
Morka added that from Abubakar’s release, it was obvious that all he would had offered was his stale, tired, tested and failed economic ideas that were at polar relevance to the current existential economic challenges facing the country.
He added that the former vice president had a chance to execute whatever economic ideas he may have ever had, but failed to do so.
He further added that as vice president, Abubakar also failed to get his party, the PDP, to do so in all of its 16 years government.
“Abubakar thinks himself capable of fixing Nigeria but cannot fix the rot and hopeless dysfunction in his PDP,” the APC spokesman said.
He urged Nigerians to be steadfast in support of the APC-administration of President Bola Tinubu and valiant efforts to restore vitality to our economy for the good of all Nigerians.(NAN)
Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, on Tuesday submitted N156.5 billion supplementary appropriation bill for 2024 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly for approval.Mr Danladi Jatau, the Speaker of the House, announced this during plenary in Lafia.He said that the supplementary appropriation bill would enable the state government to provide the much needed dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
Mr Suleiman Azara, the Majority Leader of the House, moved a motion for the bill to scale first reading which was seconded by the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Onarigu Onah Kana. The Assembly read the bill and unanimously passed it through the first Daily Asset recalls that in Dec.2023, the House approved N199.8 billion budget the for 2024 fiscal year.The supplementary appropriation bill if approved, would take the Nasarawa State Government 2024 budget to N356.5 billion. ( NAN)
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