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Alia assures proper distribution of NEMA food items to vulnerable
By Titus Atondu, Makurdi
Benue State governor Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Alia has pledged his administration’s resolve to ensure that the federal government approved assorted food commodities donated to the state to onward distribution to vulnerable will get to the right beneficiaries.
Governor Alia also promised that as the state under his watch take delivery of food materials from federal government through National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to cushion the effect of high cost of food items in the country, his administration would ensure that the state remain the food basket of the nation by restoring the lost glory of the state in agriculture for maximum food production to feed the state and the nation at large.
Represented by the Principal Private Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Chenge, the governor commended the federal government under the pragmatic leadership of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finding Benue state worthy of the donation.
Earlier, the Director General NEMA, Zubaida Umar, represented by Bashir Idris Garba, NEMA Director North Central, revealed the allocation of the food commodities to Benue state as follows; 897 metric tons of maize equivalent to 17,940 bags of 50kg maize and 108 metric tons of garri equivalent to 4,324 bags of 25kg to be shared equally to all the 23 local government areas in the state.
Umar also disclosed that THE President has directed that 20 percent of the food items for each LGA, should be given to religious organisations (JNI & CAN) and 3 percent to be given to boarding schools at the LGAs respectively.
The Nema Director General explained that the food commodities are to be distributed through the constituted committees in each local government area.
“Please note that membership of the committee in each LGA is made up of the Chairman of the LGA, State Emergency Management Agency, a Traditional Ruler, Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Faith-Based Organizations (JNI & CAN), Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, Nigerian Red Cross Society, Women Associations, Persons With Disability Group,Youth Associations, Principals of Boarding Schools, Civil Society Organizations and the Media.
“You would recall that In fulfilment of his promise to reduce the impact of the current economic down-turn being experienced in the country in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, Mr President approved the release of 42,000MT of assorted food commodities from the National Strategic Reserve under the custody of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMOA&FS). The assorted food commodities include maize, millet, sorghum, and garri,” Director General explained.
On his part, the Acting Executive Secretary State Emergency Agency, Sir James Iorpuu commended the National Emergency Management Agency for its tireless efforts and dedication in coordinating the initiative.
“NEMA’s work is critical in ensuring that relief materials are distributed efficiently and effectively to those who need them most. I also extend my gratitude to the State government under the leadership of Governor Alia, who has collaborated to make this intervention possible.
“Benue State, known for its rich agricultural heritage, has faced significant challenges in recent years, including herder’s farmer’s crisis and devastating floods that have disrupted lives, displaced families, and severely impacted our agricultural sector. Despite these challenges, the resilience and strength of the people of Benue have shone through. Today’s presentation of grains is more than just an act of giving; it is a beacon of hope and a step towards recovery and rebuilding.
“As the Executive Secretary of Benue-SEMA, I assure you that we are committed to ensuring the fair and efficient distribution of these grains to the most vulnerable members of our communities. We will uphold the principles of transparency, accountability, and efficiency in our distribution efforts, ensuring that this assistance reaches those who need it the most,” The Executive Secretary assured.
ALGON Chairman Benue, Hon. Philip Achwa, state spoke on behalf of the 23 local government council chairmen, thanked Mr. President for his uncommon leadership disposition promised to carry all the enlisted stakeholders along in fair and transparent distribution of the food items and ensure that it gets to the targeted audience.
Tersoo Peekyaa, a beneficiary who spoke on behalf of all the beneficiaries, and commended the President for his humanitarian leadership disposition and promised to use the relief food materials judiciously.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has announced the suspension of services between Delta and Kogi due to the unsatisfactory nature of the track conditions from Ujevwu in Delta State to Itakpe in Kogi State.
This was disclosed in a notice titled “Public Announcement” which was sent to customers, indicating that the agency plans to resume operations on Monday, July 8, 2024.
The suspension, effective from Friday, was attributed to an obstruction on the track.
“This is to officially notify our esteemed passengers that the Warri-Itakpe Train will not run today Friday, 5th July 2024 due to the obstruction we have on our track.
“We shall resume our normal train services on Monday 8th July 2024. Passengers who already booked their tickets online will be refunded.
“All inconveniences are highly regretted. Thank you,” the statement added.
Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya has said that the State is leading other states of the Federation in Ease of Doing Business, owing to the provision of requisite infrastructural facilities through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the State.
Onasanya made this known while delivering a keynote address at the launch of a book titled “Practical Guide to Public Private Partnership Arrangement in Nigeria” authored by Pastor Adebisi Sogunle and held at the Waterfalls Events Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to him, since the State passed the PPP law in 2019, the initiative has facilitated projects with road networks rehabilitated and expanded as well as reconstruction of the Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway among others.
He explained that the collaborative agreement between the public and private sectors was predicated on the strengths of both sectors to achieve outcomes that neither could effectively accomplish alone.
“Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State has harnessed the potential of PPP to drive significant developments and give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and as well create the necessary enabling environment for a public private sector partnership.
“This is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun. Let me, therefore, highlight some of the notable projects of the State Government and their impacts through PPP:
“The Ogun State Agro Cargo Airport: Developed in partnership with the private sector, the Agro Cargo Airport is designed to facilitate the export of agricultural products, thereby boosting the agro-industrial sector.
ii.Ogun State Housing Development Projects: Several housing projects, including the Prince Court Estate, have been developed through PPP arrangements to address the housing deficit.
iii.Ogun State Energy Generation Projects: Lisabi Mini Power was developed in partnership with the private sector to generate 4.5mw Power for transmission and distribution within the State to Government core areas.
“Other projects of the State Government in the pipeline through PPPs include the Olokola Deep Sea Port, Sagamu Trailer Park, Sagamu Stadium, Hillcrest Estate, PMB Estate, Lomiro Oil Palm, OGSG Pharmaceuticals, OGSG Forestry project, Gateway Hotel Ota, Inland Dry Port at Kajola/Papalanto, amongst others,” the HoS said.
While congratulating the author of the book for his contributions to the discourse on PPP, Onasanya said the valuable resource will no doubt guide policy makers, practitioners and investors in navigating the complexities of PPP arrangements in Nigeria and urged public servants as well as private sector partners to key into the messages of the book and apply its lessons in their endeavours.
On his part, the former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the book is timely because government alone cannot maintain all its assets, which requires the PPP arrangements, saying the arrangement paved the way for some major road infrastructure with particular reference to Ogun State and commended the Ogun State Government for keying into the initiative, which has created more job opportunities for the people.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the event, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Iziguzor said the PPP initiative has assisted Ogun State in achieving much in the area of infrastructural development and added that the arrangement, in turn, brought in more investors and provided job opportunities for the citizens.
In his response, the author, Pst. Adebisi Sogunle, while appreciating all guests for the support he got, said he wrote the book based on the experience he garnered while working on a PPP arranged programme in Cross River State.
He said the book will help in examining the roles of stakeholders because they have the responsibility to maintain the environment when political, economic, and administrative concerns arise while partnering.
News
Reverse 40 per cent import fees on LPG to encourage local manufacturers – Techno Oil boss urges FG
Mrs Nkechi Obi, Group Managing Director (GMD), Techno Oil Limited has urged the Federal Government if Nigeria to reverse its policies on the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders.
Obi made her displeasure known during a panel session at the 2024 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.
Speaking, Obi pleaded with the government to reverse the zero import duties placed on the importation of LPG cylinders and restore the initial 40 per cent import duties, to discourage importation.
“We need policy reversal on that to encourage local producers. The unofficial explanation we are getting from some customs officers is that the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which the government wants to encourage its usage in Nigeria, has the same Harmonised System (HS) code with LPG.”
“So, the import benefits placed on CNG equipment eventually affected LPG equipment; that is why they were tied together on the zero import duties.”
“Harmonised System codes are commonly used throughout the import and export process for the classification of goods.”
“For me, we don’t produce CNG cylinders in Nigeria because it involves advanced technology but we produce LPG cylinders here.”
“For us to produce CNG cylinders, we have to change one or two machines, and we expect the government to encourage us to upscale our technology to 32, which we are planning to do.” She lamented.
Obi also called on the Federal Government to separate LPG HS code from that of CNG, to ensure that importers of LPG pay higher import duties, and to also enable the government to continue with its efforts to make CNG affordable in the country with zero import duties.
“The previous government protected those producing cylinders, so that import will not overshadow local production; they did that to encourage local manufacturing but when this government came into existence, policy changed.”
“We only enjoyed that policy for six months before it was scrapped and replaced with the new “zero import duties” policy.”
“Definitely, we have to produce CNG cylinders and the government needs to consider those that will go into that production. But if government policy is killing LPG cylinder production that we are doing, it will be very difficult to enter into CNG cylinder production.”
“So, if there is anybody who can venture into CNG cylinder production, we the producers of LPG cylinders are here to do that and it is in our plan.”
“But we are not encouraged to do it because of what happened to us in the LPG cylinder production because of the frustrating policy that is encouraging its importation,” Obi added.
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