Author: Ibrahim Abusadiq

The German Corporation Agency (GIZ) has announced plans to develop about 5,000 businesses in the leather and garment industries in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia.

Mr Yakubu Paiko, Access to Finance Advisor for GIZ, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Aba on Tuesday.

Paiko explained that the company was responsible for the implementation of four year European Union (EU) funded programme called Nigerian Competitiveness Project (NACOP).

The finance advisor said the project was aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of some selected product value-chains across seven states in Nigeria.

“A value chain is a series of activities that a company which specialized in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market.

“The value chains we are to improve within Nigeria are tomato, chili pepper, ginger, leather and garment.

“In Aba, we are just going to be dealing with just the leather and garment sectors.

“Our job with the garment and leather industry in Aba will be to support them in building their entrepreneurship capacity and skills to be able to produce qualitative products and in the right quantities.

“We are going to introduce them to some technology that will improve their productivity and production capacity as well.

“We are going to also be supporting them by linking them to markets because one of the problems they have here is marketing, when you produce, where do you take them to?

“So, one of our programmes is to link them to some of these global names in the industry so that they can sell to them.

“At the end of it all, we would have improved and touched 5,000 businesses in Leather and Garment sectors,” he said.

He said although they had no money to lend the businesses, they were bringing together key stakeholders like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry and commercial banks to give loans to the businesses.

Paiko said the GIZ/NACOP launch which would include a policy round table discussion would hold in Aba by the end of the August.

He said the agency would be inviting the Abia governor and commissioners, the leather and garment manufacturing communities, the CBN, commercial banks and the media to the event.

NAN

The Federal Government says it will set up a committee in the coming week to review the revenue sharing formula for Federal, States and Local Governments due to current economic realities.

The Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Elias Mbam disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, shortly after he received an Award of Excellence from the Nigeria Civil Service Union.

According to the current revenue allocation formula, the Federal government gets 52.68 per cent, State, 26.72 per cent and Local government 20.60 per cent.

Also, 13 per cent of oil and gas federally collected revenue is returned to the oil producing states as derivation revenue to compensate for ecological disasters arising from oil production.

The formula was designed during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

However, the RMAFC in 2013 saw the need to review the formula for balanced development of the country, hence it embarked on a nationwide consultation and met with notable figures on the issue.

In December 2014, the commission came out with a proposed new revenue formula but for some reasons, it never saw the light of day.

Five years on, the RMAFC chairman said the commission plans to constitute a standing committee by next week to review the revenue sharing formula.

Mbam said the commission would also push for the diversification of the nation’s revenue for a more sustainable growth and economic development.

“My agenda is to expand the sources of revenue for the federation. I will like to expand the cake that we are sharing so that people will get reasonable quantity.

“I intend to do this through diversification in areas outside oil and gas, and that includes solid minerals, agriculture and manufacturing.

“So, we will encourage states and let them know what is available outside oil and gas so they can develop those aspects of the economy to their own benefit,’’ he said. (NAN)

A selected team of visiting members of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) on Sunday in Kaduna beat their Kaduna State hosts 4-0 in an exhibition match.

Olayinka Owolewa of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who was making his debut for National SWAN Selected, opened scoring early in the game.

Abubakar Hassan, the Niger SWAN Chairman, doubled the lead before half-time, after Owolewa who is also Kwara SWAN Secretary had missed a number of good scoring chances.

The visiting side restarted the game better than they played in the first stanza, controlling most of the proceedings till Nasarawa State SWAN member Jesse Adams made it 3-0.

The goal came midway into the second stanza almost as an anti-climax, as the hosts stayed back in their half to play defensively and stop the visitors from scoring more goals.

The SWAN Selected Side’s captain, Andrew Randa, scored as the match dragged to its end.

“We got some things accomplished as we wanted to,” Randa who was voted Man of the Match later said.

“I felt like we passed the ball pretty well. We would have liked to see more quality crosses and finishing, but overall I think it was a pretty good game.”

He however acknowledged that his team’s great start to the match helped them to dominate the game.

His team also had the likes of Sammy Adesoji, Richard Ajegena, Damilola Alagbe, Eche Amos and Promise Pikin-of-God.

Musa Nimrod, the Patron of Kaduna State SWAN and President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NBBF), who was the match’s special guest of honour was full of praises for both sides.

“Both sides had a good game, even though my people lost. But it was all interesting, and I praise the players and their officials, as well as supporters, for coming out for the game,” he said.

NAN reports that the match was played on the sidelines of the 2019 National Aiteo Cup Finals, and was meant to strengthen the unity among sports journalists covering the competition.(NAN)

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) says that meters installation now depends on customers payment.

Meters would be installed for any customers as soon as they make payment for them, Mr Oyebode Fadipe, AEDC’s General Manager, Corporate Communications said.

In an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, he said that it is only customers who paid that get meters.

“So installation of meters is not Disco-driven but customer-driven. We have meters, so it is for customers to pay and we go install it for them.

“We are working at customers pace as it is after verification that we give permit for payment,‘’ he said.

Fadipe said that 30,204 customers have so far applied for meters and that AEDC had verified 28,136 of the applications.

He said that out of the 28,136 verified only 9,467 have paid and that AEDC had so far installed 7,984 meters from the lot.

He said the reason for the 1,483 difference was because the process was ongoing, adding that AEDC had recorded over 80 per cent performance in terms of those who have paid.

“The difference is also inclusive of some people who had given us wrong data and which is making it a little bit difficult for us to get back to them.

“There are those who did not put their telephone numbers or information on how to get back to them, so there is that challenge.

“But one thing we have done is to further escalate our public enlightenment so that customers who have paid can get back to us if they are not metered,” he said.

Fadipe explained that it usually took 10 days for customers who have paid to be metered except those with inadequate information.

He said AEDC had gone the extra mile to get such customers information by asking them to go to the Area offices nearest to them or AEDC office at Yauonde Street, Wuse Zone 6.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had approved the Meter Asset Provider Scheme to ensure that electricity customers only pay for what they actually consume. (NAN)

Mr Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers and immediate past Minister of Transportation on Saturday says poverty alleviation at all levels of government is panacea to lingering insecurity in the country.

Amaechi who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja stressed that only viable and productive economy that creates jobs will surmount the spate of insecurity in the country.

He commended the APC-led federal government for devising templates aimed at revamping the economy.

“This government knows the problems of the country which they inherited.

“That is why President Muhammadu Buhari declares war against poverty as a means to ending insecurity,’’ he said.

Amaechi, who made the President’s new ministerial nominee list, restated the need to revitalize the economy for sustainable development at all levels.

He identified youth empowerment as vital in wealth creation for a stable and secured polity.

NAN reports that President Muhammadu Buhari on June 12, democracy day, promised to reduce poverty to minimal level in Nigeria.

The APC-led federal government since inception in 2015 had given bailout funds to states and introduced youth empowerment scheme called N-Power, among other strategies to revamp the economy. (NAN)