Flowerbud News

Blog

  • Experts canvas utilisation of pension funds to boost private sector

    Financial Experts on Friday deliberated on how pension funds could be utilised to add more values to contributors and boost private sector

    The discourse was at a roundtable conference organised by Sigma Pensions in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sigma Pensions Business RoundTable is the first series of leadership initiative to bring to fore key issues in investment places for pension funds .

    Mr Olabode Augusto, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Augusto and Company, said there was need to increase the penetration of pension funds in private equity.

    He posited that there were micro risks the economy is facing as the country prepare for the 2019 general elections despite the increase in oil prices.

    “One of the micro risks included non availability of private fund the private sector could utilise to contribute its own quota to economic development,” he said.

    He noted that the private sector was starved of funds, because the banks are not lending any more.

    “The option available to private sector is pension and insurance funds,” he said.

    He posited that the penetration of pension funds into private sector through private equity would boost performances of private sector and automatically boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He, however, said there were challenges that limited the penetration of pension funds into private sector.

    “First, it is due to the regulations of National Pension Commission (PenCom), the only way  pension funds could be penetrated is through ‘private equity funds.

    ” This means the players in the private sector needed to get listed on the Stock Exchange.

    “Secondly, there is need for the private sector players to open their financial report for assessment, which they avoid always.

    “This is needed to engage financial analysts, pension practitioners,  pensioners and private sector players  to stem up deliberations on challenges of private equity funding to enable pension penetration,” Augusto said.

    Doyin Salami, an associate Professor at the Lagos Business School (LBS), urged the Federal Government to mordenise basic infrastructures for prosperity to take place.

    He said: “There is a demand for PenCom to come out with policies that will create jobs, mordernise infrastructures, lower interest rate to enable prosperity to take place.

    “No prosperity and values can be added to pensioners’ life and the economy as a whole outside the modernisation of basic infrastructures.”

    The Managing Director of Pension Sigma Pensions, Mr Dave Adamu, said that over 700 Nigerians have their Retire Savings Accounts (RSA) with Sigma Pensions.

    He said that as at June, the pension outfit RSA fund has hit N283 billion the Retirees Fund has hit N44 billion while other Defined Benefit Schemes (o-DBS) has hit N358 billion

    He commended PenCom on the new Multi-Fund structures devised to guide the administration of Pension Funds.

    Mr Mark Collier, the Chairman of Sigma Pensions, said the country offers a new market for pension investments.

    He, however, said that there was need for pension and investment savings to be understood by hard working Nigerians.

    “What I observed was that pension practitioners needed to embark on pension awareness campaign and engage pension savers in dialogue.

    “In the future, these workers would hang up their boots, there is need for them to know the value pension would add to them.

    “We can only be good at this if they believe in us,” he said
    (NAN)

  • 2019: Otti returns for Abia governorship race

    Dr. Alex Otti, a former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA ) in the 2015 general elections in Abia on Friday declared his interest to run again in 2019.

    Otti, a former banker and renowned financial expert, told a mammoth crowd of his supporters at  the Ngwa High School, Aba, venue of the formal declaration, that he would seek election as governor in order to restore Abia to the path of growth and socio-economic development.

    “I have decided to contest again for the governor of the state because the Pharoahs of Abia must be forced to let Abians go free.”

    Otti debunked the rumour that APGA had two factions, saying that it was sponsored by the enemies of Abia and APGA.

    He gave a detailed narration of how the mandate given to him in 2015, was allegedly stolen but warned that such daylight robbery would never happen again.

    He appealed to the electorate, especially the youths, to rise to the challenge and defend their vote in 2019.

    “You all should rise to defend your vote. This is a collective responsibility. When you do your beat and we do our own best, it will be impossible for anyone to rig the election.”

    Otti said that the outcome of the election in Ekiti last Saturday showed that it had become difficult for anybody to rig elections in Nigeria again.

    According to him, “the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has improved on the electoral process and has made it difficult for anybody to rig elections again.”

    He decried the inability of the Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu-led administration to address the infrastructure deficit in the state and ensure regular payment of pensions and salaries.

    In his speech, the former National Chairman of APGA, Sen. Victor Umeh, said that it was obvious that Abia people gave their mandate to Otti and APGA in 2015.

    Umeh alleged that the mandate was stolen but assured the electorate that the 2015 experience  would not happen again.

    He said that APGA was strategic for Ndigbo because it was the only party that would bring enduring development to the area.

    “Igbo land must be made better through the placement of respected and upright men and women in positions of political leadership in the zone.”

    He urged the Abia electorate to be vigilant in 2019 “so that you do not allow the electoral robbery of 2015 to repeat itself.”

    The Deputy Governor of Anambra state, Dr. Nkem Okezie, who represented Gov. Willie Obiano at the rally, thanked the Abia people for their relentless support to Otti and APGA.

    Okeke promised that the people and government of Anambra would rally support for the party in Abia in order to ensure its victory at the polls in 2019.

    The state Chairman of the party, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, said that the party would leave no stone unturned in 2019 “to reclaim its stolen mandate.”

    He said that the party would put an end to godfatherism in Abia as it did in Anambra.

    “This is to ensure that the state moved forward like its sister-states in the South East.(NAN)

  • NAN MD unveils frontiers to boost revenue, replies unions

    Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), has unveiled some of the frontiers the agency is exploring to boost its internal revenue to complement dwindling government’s funding.

    Addressing members of staff on Friday in Abuja on the threat by three unions to embark on a warning strike next week, Onanuga said that NAN had the potentialities to be self-sufficient and it was working towards achieving that.

    He explained that the Agency was planning to expand its SMS service and introduce photo portal to serve both national and international clients.

    Aside the free-to-read nan.ng, PRwire and General news service, the Agency was also commercialising its landed properties across the country.

    These measures, he explained, were necessary to make-up for the shortfalls from government’s overhead as well as generate enough revenue to meet the needs and welfare of members of staff.

    He explained that management had invited the three unions to a truce meeting but they refused to turn up with the excuse that NAN refused to invite some union leaders in Lagos.

    The Managing Director, who interacted with members of staff on the face-off, explained that the Agency had since September 2017 forwarded the revised condition of service to the Ministry of Information and Culture for further action.

    Onanuga said the issue of conditions of service was, therefore, no longer the responsibility of NAN as the ministry was expected to make its input and forward the document to the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation for consideration.

    NAN reports that the revised condition of service was an improvement on that of 2002.

    Analysing the financial woes of the Agency, he said, though overhead to the agency had dropped drastically in spite of increase in number of staff and responsibility, the money was not regularly remitted to the Agency.

    “For example, NAN got just six allocations out of the 12 months of last year. This is the seventh month of the year, NAN has only received overhead three times.’’

    He explained that the situation is the same all over as the federal government was no longer buoyant.

    He said that all officers invited for promotion interview were paid transport allowance, which is the practice he met when he assumed office in 2016.

    He explained that he had contacted the ministry of information and discovered also that in spite of dearth of funds, the ministry does not pay Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) to officers attending promotion examination. The situation, he said, was the same in most MDAs.

    Onanuga also explained that he decided to restrict the examination to Abuja and Lagos centres to save cost.

    On payment of promotion arrears and shortfall, he explained that all documents concerning the issues have been forwarded to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for payment and that the management would continue to monitor the situation.

    He explained that the payment of salaries, including arrears, was the responsibility of IPPIS in Accountant General’s office.

    He explained had, within the limit of its resources, the Agency have been sending staff to various training as well as looking out for organisations to provide specialised training for the staff to boost their competence.

    He also explained that the management was not owing any overtime arrearsas he was he had cleared all the backlog of claims on that when he assumed office.

    He also debunked union’s claim that some staff who returned from duty tour abroad were yet to be paid their repatriation allowance,

    He said in the last two years he had been able to clear almost all the entitlements of such officers and the was making sure it would be cleared within the next few months.

    He appealed to members of staff to cooperate and contribute their quota to the development of the agency which he said was already enjoying goodwill of clients and stakeholders.

    The Managing Director would also hold an interaction with members of staff in Lagos on Monday.

    The chapels of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Radio, Television and theatre Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTWU) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service and Technical and Recreational Employees (AUPCTRE) had on Monday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management to embark on a three-day warning strike on July 26.

     I found this interesting

     I didin’t find this interesting

    Join the Conversation

  • “Radical cure” best treatment for common malaria: study

    Researchers on Friday said that “radical cure” is the best treatment for a type of malaria affecting 13 million people.

    A team of international malaria experts, led by the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, published a study analysing the treatment of plasmodium vivax malaria.

    Plasmodium vivax is the most common cause of recurring malaria, affecting more than 13 million people every
    year with 40 per cent of the world’s population at risk of infection.

    Researchers uncovered evidence of vivax malaria becoming resistant to standard treatment with chloroquine,
    a problem exacerbated by the plasmodium vivax parasite’s tendency to lie dormant in the liver for
    long periods before causing recurrent infections.

    “This analysis of more than 5,000 patients from 37 studies… is the largest individual patient data
    meta-analysis of plasmodium vivax clinical trials to date,” Rob Commons, a member of the team from
    the Menzies School of Health Research, said in a media release on Friday.

    “Our results show chloroquine is currently given in lower doses than recommended, with as many as
    35 per cent of patients in trials given less than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended
    25 mg per kg.

    “We also know from our analysis that these patients are more likely to fail treatment.”

    If left untreated, plasmodium vivax malaria leads to severe disease and death.

    “The study highlights the need for clinicians in affected areas to provide radical cure to kill
    the blood and liver stage of the vivax parasite and ensure patients can recover quickly.

    “We also want to prevent transmission of the parasite to other people and reduce the global burden
    of this disease,” Commons said. (Xinhua/NAN

  • Twitter gushes over 86 year-old Grace Oyelude’s beauty , first Miss Nigeria

    First Miss Nigeria Grace Oyelude in 1957 and now

    Nigeria’s Twitterati gushed on Wednesday over the enduring beauty of 86 year-old Grace Oyelude, first Miss Nigeria in 1957.

    Sixty one years after winning the first beauty pageant by the Daily Times, the grey haired woman from Isanlu in Kogi state is still as delectable as ever.

    And Twitterati noticed and kept retweeting her photographs. On Wednesday, the woman was the most discussed topic in Nigeria’s Twittersphere, second only to the unveiling of the logo for Nigeria Air, by aviation minister, Hadi Sirika.

    Grace Oyelude: still charming at 86

    U.S. based Professor Pius Adesanmi, her nephew,  was credited with the photographs of the woman, who will be 87 on 16 November.

    She was born in Kano in 1937 to James Adeleye Olude and Marthan Dantu.

    She entered for Miss Nigeria photo contest, while she was working for the UAC in Kano. She made the final at the event staged at the Lagos Island Club.

    After winning the contest, she travelled to England to study Nursing.

    Pius Adesanmi with Grace Oyelude

    According to her: “I was living in Kano then. My brother saw the advertisement in the newspapers and advised me to go to Lagos for an interview to be selected as a Miss Nigeria contestant.

    “He applied, and the result was that I was supposed to be in Lagos for the Miss Nigeria contest. I was working in the UAC then, and they also were also involved in the pageant. The following day, they got me on a plane to Lagos and that was it.”

  • Abia govt. signs MoU with 2 firms for construction of Enyimba Economic City

    The Abia Economic Enhancement Team says the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two firms for the development of an industrial cluster tagged “Enyimba Economic City’’.

    Mr Chinenye Nwaogu, a member of the economic team, said this on Wednesday in Umuahia, while briefing newsmen on the project, supported by the state Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi.

    Nwaogu, also the Special Adviser to Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu on Social Investment and Empowerment, said the firms included a Nigerian property developer, known as Crown Realities, and Chinese-based RUYI Group.

    He said that Crown Realities had already completed the design for the project at a cost of 1.3 million dollars, while RUYI Group had also committed 2.5 billion dollars to the project.

    Nwaogu said that the 2.5 billion dollars was invested on power generation, adding that the firm was also talking with Geometric Power Plant in Aba on the need to provide uninterrupted power supply to the city.

    According to him, the project sited on 9,800 hectares of land, spread through Ukwa East, Ukwa West and Ugwunagbo Local Government Areas of the state.

    He described the area as most suitable for the project because of its proximity to Onne and Port Harcourt seaports, the Port Harcourt and Imo Airports as well as the huge gas deposit in Ukwa West.

    Nwaogu said that government’s interest was to have the project completely driven by the private sector, hence it had not committed state funds to it.

    He said that the companies had commenced claims survey to confirm the proportion of land belonging to each of the landowners.

    The special adviser said that the survey would help in determining the appropriate compensation to be paid by the companies.

    Nwaogu and Okiyi expressed joy that the Federal Government had also shown tremendous interest in the project and had set aside N10 billion to be invested in it.

    Both officials also said that the state was waiting for Federal Government’s approval to the proposal to make the city a Free Trade Zone.

    They said that the state House of Assembly had passed legislation on the project, known as “Enyimba Economic Development Law’’ in order to ensure its realisation, even after the present administration.

    They said that the project would become the biggest economic hub in the South East when completed, adding that the first phase would commence in the last quarter of the year.

    They said that RUYI Group, which was a conglomerate, would set up the city with more than 22 of its subsidiaries.

    “The project will help to redefine the economic landscape of Abia with abundant job creation,’’ Okiyi said.  (NAN)

  • Ngige receives panel’s report on N6.2b alleged NSITF fraud

    Ngige receives panel’s report on N6.2b alleged NSITF fraud

    The Administrative Panel of Enquiry, which probed the N6.2 billion scam at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) on Wednesday submitted its report to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige.

    Mr Ishaya Awotu, the chairman of the panel said that there were irregular allowances totalling N5.7 billion paid to staff and management.

    “These allowances were paid without the approval of the  National Salary, Incomes and Wages Commission.’

    Some of the allowances were Management Staff Allowance, Staff Education Allowance, DSTV Subscription Allowance, and Dressing Allowance.

    The others were generator and motor vehicle fuelling allowance which were not provided for in the Condition of Service of the fund.

    He said the panel observed that between 2013 and 2017, the internal Audit Department of the NSITF did not audit the cashbooks of the various bank accounts at the headquarters.

    The chairman also explained that the lack of effective auditing of the Fund’s accounts and records violates section 1701 of the Financial Regulations.

    “There were several transfers of funds in bank accounts without authorisation and approvals.

    “The sum of N15, 737,757,697.91.  was transferred from one account to another.

    “Evidences to show the approvals and payment vouchers authorising the transfers were not presented to the panel.

    “The panel observed that N2.9 billion was expended on computerisation and other related lCT equipment.

    “Despite this expenditure, not much was achieved on computerisation of the Fund, defeating the purpose of the expenditure,” he said.

    He, however, added that the sum of N2, 650,731,225. 93 was  deducted from various payments.

    He noted that this was in respect of Withholding Tax, Pay-As-You-Earn (PAVE), Value Added Tax, Pension and National Housing Fund , which were not remitted to the relevant authorities.

    Ngige said another committee would be set up to implement the report of the committee.

    According to him, anyone indicted will be prosecuted.

    “This is not my report, but a report of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Those findings, especially about overseas trips which were unauthorised will be dealt with.

    “Because they are actions that breached public service rules. It is not true that parastatals are exempted from public service rules.

    “This report will be fully implemented and areas of lapses corrected. Many government organisations have gone under because of situations like this,” he said.

    The Minister inaugurated  the panel on Feb. 15,  to probe  the affairs of NSITF.  (NAN)

  • Governors meet to discuss FAAC deadlock, minimum wage

    Governors meet to discuss FAAC deadlock, minimum wage

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Wednesday night met in Abuja to discuss matter arising from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) deadlock, minimum wage, among other issues.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the June monthly meeting of FAAC in Abuja ended in a deadlock.

    The FAAC monthly meeting is the forum where money is shared among the federal, states and local governments.

    Also on the meeting agenda was presentation by the Cheif Executive Officer of EduMarshals, on replicating EduMarshals education project at the state level.

    The Postmaster General was also expected to make presentation at the meeting on the Nigerian Postal Service in maximising revenue potential through electronic stamp solution, digital addressing system and addressing verification system.

    The governors were also expected to be briefed by World Bank Country Director, Dr Rachid Benmessaoud, on ”the States Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Sustainability (FSTAS).  (NAN)

  • 2018 Hajj: NAHCON advance team departs to Saudi Arabia

    2018 Hajj: NAHCON advance team departs to Saudi Arabia

    The advance team of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for the 2018 hajj on Wednesday departed Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja to Saudi Arabia to make arrangements ahead of arrival of Nigerian pilgrims.

    The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Nigerian pilgrims are expected to start arriving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Saturday.

    The members comprised the National Medical and Accommodation teams and are expected to set up clinics in Madinah and Makkah to ensure proper handling of accommodation for pilgrims.

    Addressing the advance team at the airport, the Executive Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, advised them to diligently discharge their assigned roles for the comfort of the Nigerian pilgrims.

    Muhammad explained that the main responsibility of the team was to render service to the pilgrims first before any other Hajj rites.

    The NAHCON boss, therefore, urged members of the team to fear Allah as they would account for all their action or inaction before Allah, on their handling of His guests in the Holy land.

    NAN reports that no fewer than 95,000 pilgrims from Nigeria are expected to join over 2 million pilgrims from around the world to perform the 2018 Hajj. (NAN)