Day: June 5, 2023

An NGO, Community Advocacy for Positive Behavioural Patterns Initiative, says there are substantial benefits to the federal government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy.

Mr Bamidele Mann, Director, Campaign Team of the initiative said this in a statement in Abuja.

“Hitherto fuel subsidy has been a contentious issue over the years, with some calling for its removal and others advocating for its continuation.

“However, we are resolute and have faith that President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy will subsequently impact positively to the nation,” Mann said.

According to him, the president’s pronouncement during the inaugural speech on May 29 that “fuel subsidy is gone” citing budgetary concerns has changed the trajectory of our dear country.

He urged the president to protect and cushion the effect of the removal especially on the low incomes and youths to enable them secure right to adequate standard of living.

“Consequently, many are terrified they might not meet their daily needs, which could be absolutely excruciating.

“As the father of the nation, we seek your support in this regard as we are prepared to work with you to create a system that works.

“We are optimistic that the right attitude will take us through the journey,” Mann said.

NAN reports that President Tinubu declared that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as the current 2023 budget he glimpsed does not contain it.

He stated this on May 29 in his inaugural address at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

The current 2023 budget has provision for the fuel subsidy till June.

Tinubu stated that funds for subsidies will be diverted to other things like public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs.

NAN reports that on Nov. 15, 2022, a former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the federal government will do away with petroleum subsidy by June 2023.

NAN reports that the federal government said that fuel subsidy gulped N2.565 trillion between January and August 2022.

Also, in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the federal government proposed to spend N3.3 trillion on fuel subsidy between January and June 2023.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Senator-elect, Suleiman Kawu (NNPP-Kano), has urged politicians not to undermine 1999 Constitution in the elections of principal officers of the 10th National Assembly.

Kawu said at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, that it was important for modern democracies to recognise the roles and responsibilities of the three arms of government in achieving the overall national interest.

He said the constitution was explicit about how the President and Deputy President of the Senate should be elected.

“For instance, Chapter two of the ninth standing orders of the Senate 2022 as amended, stipulates procedures for selection of presiding officers of the Senate.”

He said Section 50 sub- section one “A” of 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended, stipulated election provisions of President and Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected from among members themselves.

“Section 50 sub- section one “B” stipulates that a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.”

He said it was clear that the election of the presiding officers was purely an internal affair that concerned only members of the National Assembly and should be allowed to decide who among them should occupy the positions.

This, he noted, was to avoid repetition of the past mistakes on elections of principal officers of NASS.

“We may all recall the incidences of the 7th and 8th National Assembly.

“In my view, external interference in the election of the next Presiding Officers of the National Assembly would violate the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Standing Orders of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

“It will also cause serious misunderstandings between the legislative and executive arms of government.”

He alleged that available information revealed that some desperate politicians were planning to use undemocratic means to impose lawmakers-elect of their choice to become presiding officers against the wishes of the majority.

Kawu described the alleged move as undemocratic, unacceptable and dangerous to democracy and the nation at large.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Sen. George Akume as Secretary to Government of the Federation, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff and Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

He said the appointees were very conversant with the processes of the National Assembly, adding that their appointments would strengthen the working relationships of arms of government.

“This is the first time in the history of our democracy when we have a President, Vice president, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff all with parliamentary experiences.

“Thus, it is highly expected of them by Nigerians to respect both the constitutional and standing orders provisions.

“Consequently, I want use this opportunity to draw the attention of Mr. President to this unfortunate and undemocratic move by some elements to tamper with the laid down procedures.

“Similarly, I want to also call on other Stakeholders, Civil Society Organisations and international communities to stand firm in ensuring democratic consolidation in Nigeria.

He said he was confident that President Tinubu as a true democrat who believed in the rule of law, would do everything possible to safeguard the sanctity of the National Assembly.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Dr Malami Ma’aji, Ambassador At Large of African Region, International Human Rights Commission, has commended the peaceful democratic transition of power to the newly elected governments in Nigeria.

Ma’aji, while congratulating President Bola Tinubu and the newly sworn in governors in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, applauded Nigerians, security institutions and all stakeholders, particularly former President Muhammadu Buhari, for ensuring the peaceful transition.

According to him, the process significantly elevated Nigeria’s status in the community of nations.

He, therefore, urged Tinubu to continue to respect the rules of law and human rights and assured him of the IHRC support for the development of the country.

He assured that the commission would continue to stand for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people, particularly women, children and less privileged in the society.

“The main objectives of International Human Rights Commission are to serve humanity irrespective of their differences in religion, region and tribe, as well as struggle against violation of human rights, bloodshed and terrorism in Africa and the world.

“We provide awareness and educate the governments, legislatures and diplomats, among others, to ensure people’s rights are been respected and also protected,” said the envoy.

He therefore urged Nigerians to embrace peace, unity and love as no nation developed without peaceful coexistence.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The European Union (EU) has reiterated its commitment to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy as well as to promote inclusiveness in governance.

Ms Olawumi Laolu, the EU’s Programme Manager for Democracy and Rule of Law, said this in a statement at the end of a two-day retreat for the EU-SDGN cohort in Lagos.

Laolu said that the EU through its Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) funded programme, also work to deepen its engagement with young people, women, and persons with disabilities, through its cohort.

“The EU-SDGN programme provides support to institutions of government and supports, in particular, the Nigerian electoral process.

“It provides funding and technical support to targeted beneficiaries.

“The six EU-SDGN component areas include: Support to INEC; Support to the National Assembly and the Judiciary; Support to Political Parties; Support to Media; Support to Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and Support to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).”

Laolu said that the retreat assessed the interventions of the cohort in the last 12 months, with a view to understand what worked and what didn’t work, identify the challenges encountered, and chart better ways to address them.

She stated that it was important to introspect on the just concluded elections, and urged the EU-SDGN cohort not to lose sight of states like Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo who would be having election in just over 100 days.

“Over the last 12 months, we have had an intense work plan where different members of the EU-SDGN cohort have been delivering several activities and technical support to critical stakeholders that we have jointly identified.

“The retreat, therefore, sought to see whether the interventions that we have planned for the next couple of months would help us address the challenges that we have seen in the period leading to the elections, and the immediate aftermath of the election,” she said.

Laolu said that the retreat created an opportunity for all the partners to discuss their intervention areas, the precise actions they undertook during the elections and what the cohort considered the critical issues that needed to be addressed moving forward.

“In terms of what we are doing around capacity building, one thing to really highlight is the fact that the EU-SDGN programme is Nigerian-led and is mainly implemented by civil society organizations. And that in itself, is our way of contributing and building the civil society space in Nigeria.

“How do we provide a platform with which civil society can better engage with the government and build capacity to ensure that they are focusing on the issues, and they are operating within an environment that helps them properly harness the voices of ordinary Nigerians, and better serve the needs and the will of Nigerian people?

“So, that in itself for me, I think is a huge positive. But in doing this, we are engaging with all identified critical stakeholders as well. And when I say this, I mean, the government, civil society, and the public.”

Laolu said that the EU was working with the government within the electoral management body, to provide technical assistance.

She said that EU was also working with the judiciary through its trainings and engagement with Judges, as well as other officers of the court.

She added that the Union was also working with the media to promote a conducive legal environment for media to operate and for the Broadcasting Commission to also efficiently promote pluralism in the media and civic space.

“Of course, I think it’s very important to stress here that we have Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo state elections in just over 100 days from now.

“So, the priority is to build trust with the Nigerian public by ensuring that those elections are conducted in a way and manner that further instills confidence in the electoral process in Nigeria,” she added.

She said that the members of the EU-SDGN cohort included: DAI Global, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Yiaga Africa, Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Institute for Media and Society (IMS), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa.

Other included :, National Peace Committee, SOS Children, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Justice Development and Peace Initiative, and Justice, Development and Peace Movement.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr. Joseph Whittal, Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) says it is about time the government develops programmes and policies to alleviate the plights of Kayayei in the country.

He said it was not enough to shed state responsibility and look at Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations in terms of what they were doing for the Kakayei, adding that ‘It is the primary responsibility of the state to ensure their development.’

Mr Whittal made this observation during a health screening organized by the Commission in partnership with Nyaho Medical Centre and Unilever for 300 Kayayei around Tema Station, as part of the events preceding the 30th-anniversary celebration of the Commission.

He said the screening was targeted at sharing the celebration with their cherished partner in this regard, who were the Kayayei of Ghana and representatives of the vulnerable community of Ghana.

He said the commission was more interested in what to do to bring the vulnerable in society up, and so most of their programmes were targeted at the vulnerable.

‘So, you see us working with elderly women, albinos among others because they are the ones who are voiceless and need protection and the promotion of their rights,’ he added.

The Commissioner indicated that they chose the Kayayei because the state of Ghana owed them a right to development. ‘We know they may have health issues, so they need the screening, after which the findings then become the basis to approach other people to see how to help support them fix whatever issue that is found.’

‘I do not think they are on the streets because they like it, but they are a deficit of the development of this country.

‘And looking at it majority of them are coming from a certain geo-political area of the country and it is about development.

‘If development is extended there, they will have had employment, education and will have been exposed to the things they want, the reason why they are migrating to the south,’ he said.

Mr Whittal said being on the streets comes with consequences which were undesirable, hence they were reaching out to these girls, to share their celebration with them because that was what was meaningful and not to sing praises of what the commission had done over the 30 years.

‘We also want to let the state appreciate that there is a community out there that has fallen into the cracks, and it is our duty as a state to ensure that their issues take centre stage.’

Nana Amoah-Sekyi, Director of the Public Education Department, CHRAJ said they were preceding the anniversary celebration with the health screening because health issues were human rights issues, and it was their duty to promote and protect these rights.

She said everything about the human body was their priority because a healthy body was needed to be able to celebrate the anniversary.

‘So, we are grateful to the Nyaho Medical Centre and the Unilever team for partnering us to be able to do what is right for the people who work around us.

We also have in mind the SDGs which talks about leaving no one behind and so we do not want to leave anyone behind in our celebration.’

Other activities included a media launch to unveil the anniversary logo and brand ambassador, a webinar to catalogue some of the major research activities, and then a climax with a high-level conference to commemorate the celebration.

Some of the Kayayei expressed appreciation to CHRAG for the screening and appealed to other organisations to support them with shelter so they leave the street and live healthy lives.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ada Traditional Council (ATC) has appealed to the government to clamp down on the activities of illegal salt miners to protect the Ada Songor Salt Project.

The Council said the situation had far-reaching implications for the health of the Songor Lagoon, the viability of the project and the socio-economic development of the area.

Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III, Paramount Chief of Ada Traditional Area made the appeal during a call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, Accra, on Monday.

He was at the head of a delegation of Chiefs and Queen Mothers to apprise the President on matters relating to the general development of the Ada Traditional Area.

Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III, who is also the President of the ATC told President Akufo-Addo that since the government granted the license for commercial investment in the salt project, the area had seen progress in the development and commercial production of the mineral in the Songor concession.

He said since the inception of activities in 2021 by Electrochem Ghana Limited, the investor in the project, Songor had seen ‘a massive facelift and revamping to the admiration of all well-meaning people of Ada and Ghana as a whole.’

Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III thanked the President for the ‘bold’ decision that led to the granting of the concession amid the controversies that surrounded the Songor Lagoon, saying, ‘There is hope for Ghana’s salt industry.’

‘Salt production has increased tremendously both in quantity and quality as Electrochem is revamping the national asset to produce 1,000,000 metric tons of first-rate salt per annum to serve both the local and export market.

‘We are very hopeful that the efforts made so far will lead to further improvements in the salt industry in Ada and contribute to the national economy,’ he said.

Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III, however, noted that while the Ada Songor salt industry was seeing positive development, there was a need for State intervention to boost the project.

He said the activities of illegal salt miners were a serious hindrance to the progress of the work on the project and a threat to the investors’ operation in the concession.

Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III described the situation as unacceptable to the people of Ada and appealed to the President to use his office to support the traditional area to curb the menace of illegal salt mining.

‘The harm this illegal salt mining activity poses to the Songor Lagoon is far-reaching. Creating the enabling environment for the operations is critical if the current progress is to be sustained.

‘We, therefore, call on the Minerals Commission and related agencies to take the necessary steps to evacuate illegal operators. We do not think this should be left to the company or the traditional leaders alone.

‘Your excellency, help us have the state security agencies act swiftly to curb and bring to order those in the Ada traditional area who have taken the law into their own hands and have total disregard for the law,’ he said.

Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III assured the President of the commitment of the chiefs and people of the Ada traditional area to ensure that the Songor salt project was successful.

‘We are not going to turn back the clock of progress. We will offer our unflinching support to all efforts by your administration and the investor, to ensure that the investment is sustained,’ he said.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo was happy that the chiefs and people of Ada had realized the enormous benefits to be had from the Songor Lagoon salt project.

He pointed out that the benefits of the project, which transcended the Ada area, had the potential to make a major contribution to the economic fortunes of the country.

The President cited Nigeria’s export of salt from Brazil to meet its one-million-ton market demand and said the development of the Songor project was in the interest of Ghana.

He urged the chiefs to lend the needed support to the investors in the project.

On the request for state security for the project, President Akufo-Addo assured the traditional council that he would take the matter up with the security agencies to ensure that ‘miscreants, people who do not have the welfare of the community at heart, but only their individual pockets are brought to book and disciplined.’

He said that illegal salt mining, like all other forms of illegal mining, must be curbed to protect the environment.

The President accepted a request by the chiefs to visit the project site and to participate in the annual Asafotufiami festival of the area that comes off on August 3, 2023.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Victor Ofosu Boamah, a leading member of the ‘Youth Caucus for Alan’, says Mr John Alan Kyerematen, remains the best candidate, if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) could retain political power in the Election 2024.

‘Youth Caucus for Alan’ is an emerging political group within the NPP, campaigning for Mr Kyerematen, the former Trade and Industry Minister and now a presidential aspirant of the Party.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Mr Boamah described Mr Kyerematen as the ‘ideal choice for the NPP to maintain political power in 2024’ and implored the delegates to vote for him in the Party’s impending presidential primaries to elect its flagbearer for the Election 2024.

Probing more into the Caucus’s endorsement of Mr Kyerematen, Mr Boamah said ‘I think Mr Kyerematen’s vision, integrity and his exceptional gentility distinguishes him from the other aspirants’.

As the former Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Boamah, Mr Kyerematen spearheaded several successful initiatives of the government to spur trade and investments in the country.

‘We should not forget that through Mr Kyerematen, the One District-One-Factory Programme has fostered industrialisation and job-creation by establishing at least one factory in each of Ghana’s 260 districts/municipalities, focusing on agro-processing, manufacturing and value-added industries’.

Mr Kyerematen also master-minded the National Export Strategy which sought to enhance Ghana’s export sector by improving competitiveness, diversifying exports, and providing support services to businesses, he said.

The implementation of this strategy contributed to Ghana’s record-high export figures, Mr Boamah stated, saying Mr Kyerematen played an instrumental role in establishing the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) in 2018.

The GCX is an electronic platform that facilitates transparent and efficient trade of agricultural commodities, benefiting small-scale farmers and reducing post-harvest losses.

Mr Kyerematen was also the brain behind the Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones, which had pushed the development of several industrial parks and special economic zones (SEZs) in the country.

These SEZs attracted foreign investment through incentives such as tax breaks, customs exemptions and streamlined business registration processes.

He said these and several policies and programmes initiated by Mr Kyerematen had significantly contributed to the nation’s economic growth and job creation and improved market access for small-scale farmers, Mr Boamah stated.

Mr Boamah acknowledged all the Party’s presidential aspirants were qualified and had the capacity and proven track records to lead the NPP, but, added ‘Alan is the best bet for the NPP because he is very appealing to the Ghanaian electorate.’

‘No political propaganda, pettiness and baseless gimmicks can discourage and tarnish the hard-won reputation of Mr Kyerematen.

In fact, nothing can erode the strong connections Mr Kyerematen has with the party grassroots, so it is better his opponents, and their supporters stop the baseless propaganda aiming to make Mr Kyerematen unpopular in the eyes of the NPP delegates,’ Mr Boamah stated.

Source: Ghana News Agency