Following Senate’s rejection of the external borrowing proposal from the presidency on Tuesday, the ministries of Finance and Budget and National Planning as well as the Debt Management Office, DMO, have commenced plans to represent the matter to the senate in a more detailed manner.
Senate leader, Ali Ndume, had moved the motion for the president’s request to be debated upon during plenary, but when Senate President, Bukola Saraki, put the motion to a voice vote, majority of the legislators responded in the negative.
The rejection reportedly came to the Executive as a surprise as the leadership of the ministries of Finance and Budget and National Planning as well as the DMO immediately met to work on the details of the loans.
After the plenary, Ndume addressed journalists where he confirmed that the loan request was turned down on “technical” grounds.
He said: “Honestly, I think the problem came on a technical ground. It was supposed to go to committee level and the committee was supposed to take a look at it.
“I am going to appeal to my colleagues to take a look at it again and see how we can bring it back, because one doesn’t throw away the baby with the bath water.
“One of the technical things that was missing there is that, even if you read the letter, it said ‘attached is a draft’ but there was no attachment. These are the kinds of lapses we are trying to look at.”
Also reacting to the Senate’s decision, Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on National Assembly, Ita Enang, said that the presidency had noted the lapses and will furnish the Senate with details of the loan.
“We are not disputing with the distinguished Senate. There are certain information and details, which will enable them to consider in detail and appropriately the request of Mr. President as contained in the plan,” Enang said.
“So, we are collating that information; the Budget Office of the Federation, the Debt Management Office, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, the Minister of Finance and the Economic Management Team are collating the information so that it can be submitted to the Senate to enable the lawmakers make the appropriate decision.
“We will be engaging the Senate. We will not be disputing with them, but we will be engaging with them. When we present a matter before the legislature, it is for them to consider; and as they have considered, more information is needed and that information they are entitled to, and we will provide,” he added.
Similarly, the Director-General, DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, urged the Senate to approve the loan request as, according to him, the Federal Government would not have difficulties repaying it.
Nwankwo clarified that the proposed $29.9 billion loan, which covers a period of three years, has a lower interest rate of 1.5% as well as a long repayment period, and would help in addressing the glaring infrastructure deficit in the country.
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has said that he would approach the appropriate government agencies to request for undercover female policemen in order to unravel the allegations of sexual abuse by government officials working in the various Internally Displace Persons, IDP, camps in the state.
The governor said this when he received a delegation from the National Universities Commission who were in the state on an inspection visit to the proposed Borno State University.
Shettima said he intends to write to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, the Director General of the Department of State Security, DSS, the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, as well as the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA to help in the investigation.
This is following the Human Rights Watch report released two days ago which revealed that many women and girls in the IDP camps were being sexually abused and exploited by officials in charge of the camps.
Governor Shettima said that the negative reports from the IDP camps was a major source of headache for him, but promised that something must be done to remedy the situation.
He said: ”Today, as Governor of Borno State, there is no issue that gives me headache like the unfortunate bye-products of IDP camps.
“Sadly and very sadly indeed, the IDP camps have become avenues that horrible stories of sexual slavery, prostitution rings, drug peddling and other social vices are emanating from.
“This is highly condemnable. Apart from investigating these claims and arresting culprits which is absolutely necessary, I am going to write letters to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the DSS, the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency and may be the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, requesting all of them to deploy female and male undercover detectives to all our camps to permanently spy on anyone involved in sexual harassment, any form of prostitution, drugs trafficking, possible child trafficking and even the allegations of diversion of food items meant for IDP’s,” he said.
The governor added that he wants the investigation carried out and the culprits prosecuted so long as there was evidence.
“I would want these detectives to report their findings to their security establishments and whoever is found wanting should be picked up without notifying me so long as there is verifiable evidence to prosecute him or her,” he stated
He however added that it was not an easy task trying to regulate the movement of the people staying in the IDP camps due to the large number of the people there and also considering the fact that they are from different local government of the state and may have relatives staying around.
He said: “The problem with managing the IDPs camps is that you are dealing with a population of two or more local government areas in one location and you cannot imprison them by restricting or stopping them from leaving the camps in the day time.
“When a female IDP leaves the camp in the morning, you cannot be in control of where she goes and who she sees.
“If she leaves the camp and returns the following day, she may claim to have visited a family member and little can be done.”
Shettima added that whatever be the case, there was need to “instill sanity into the IDP camps.”
“Desperate situations call for desperate measures. Sexual harassment of female IDPs is a desperate situation.
“None of us here is beyond becoming an IDP if Allah decrees and none of us would fold arms if his or her daughter is in position to be sexually harassed, so we must act now,” he said.
Stakeholders from the Niger Delta have presented 16 requests to President Muhammadu Buhari at a meeting they held behind closed doors with him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting which main agenda was how to bring the chaotic situation in the oil-rich region to a close,was also attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, some governors, ministers and other political appointees from the Niger Delta region.
Governors at the meeting include those of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Imo States, as well as as the deputy governor of Rivers State; while serving ministers at the meeting include those of Interior, Justice, Transport, Budget and National Planning as well as Ministers of State for Health and Niger Delta Affairs.
The 16-point request was presented to the president on behalf of the delegation by the traditional ruler of Twon Brass, in Bayelsa State, Alfred Diete-Spiff.
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum, as the delegation described itself, demanded among other things: the allocation of oil blocks and awards of contracts to indigenes of the region; review of the amnesty programme; de-militarisation of communities in the region, and relocation of operational headquarters of oil companies to the region.
Buhari Calls For Peace
President Buhari assured the delegation that his administration is focused on its campaign promises of making the country safe, tackling corruption and making jobs available for the teeming population.
“We are determined to make life comfortable and affordable to all Nigerians. If anybody has a country to go to, let him go, we will stay here and salvage our country,” he said.
He however stressed that no appreciable progress would be possible if peace does not return to the Niger-Delta region.
The President said: “If we give peace a chance, investors will come here to invest. Nobody will invest in an insecure environment”.
“Please Your Excellencies, Your Majesties, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen; we all have our individual constituencies, let us try to pacify our constituencies.
“Let us first recover our country, secure the country and let us invite people who will invest.
“Let us create jobs for our people and let us be accountable to our people where we are sitting on treasuries, whether it is local government, state or the center.
“We should ensure that we rebuild this country. Nobody wants to fail. So, the only way out is, if people understand and believe that we are doing our best at all levels, then we will have some peace.
“But it they have reason to doubt our performance and sincerity, then we will have problem,” he said.
President Buhari pointed out that the service chiefs were also compiling their own report of the militancy situation.
He promised that “when I have these (service chiefs’) reports, including this one (just presented), we will revisit the situation to ensure that we succeed this time.”
Also present at the dialogue were the Service Chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Lawal Daura.
Former governors, civil rights activists and community leaders from the Niger Delta region, including Obong Victor Attah, Chief Edwin Clark, Timi Alaibe, Florence Ita-Giwa, among others, were also at the meeting.
The Chairmen, Senate and House of Representatives committees on Upstream, Downstream as well as Niger Delta were also at the meeting.
A new report launched on Tuesday by the Family Planning 2020, FP2020, has ranked Nigeria among the worst countries in the delivery of family planning services. Nigeria is second to India in a global ranking on the number of women that die as a result of pregnancy.
The report used as baseline the target set at the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning where countries made a commitment to mobilise resources to enable 120 million women and girls use modern contraception by 2020 in 69 poorest countries, including Nigeria.
Despite significant global progress which has given more than 30 million additional women and girls access to modern contraction across the 69 FP2020 focus countries, Nigeria is still among the poor performing countries.
According to the report, there are more than 300 million women and girls using modern methods of contraceptives this year, a development that has averted 82 million unintended pregnancies, 25 million unsafe abortions and 124,000 maternal deaths.
Nigeria’s poor records of family planning have been attributed to the inability of the Nigerian Government to fulfil the pledge it made at the London Summit in 2012.
Nigeria made a commitment to increase its total funding for reproductive health commodities from $3 million to $11.3 million annually over four years, but it has so far released only about $3 million since 2012.
Chairman, Association for Advancing Family Planning, AAFP in Nigeria, Ejike Oji said the government has failed in its commitment to family planning as only about $3 million has been released so far by the federal government since 2012.
In Africa, according to the FP2020 Report, Eastern and Southern African countries have experienced the fastest growth in the use of modern methods and the steepest decline in unmet need, adding that for the first time, more than 30% of women are using a modern method of contraceptives in the regions.
The progress in eastern and southern African countries is in sharp contrast with Nigeria where only 2.7% of women of reproductive age are using a modern method of contraceptives whereas Nigeria committed at the London Summit to increase the percentage of women and couples using contraceptives by 2% each year to reach 36% by 2018.
Nigeria is in the group of poorest performing countries, such as Benin, Central Africa Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
Due to the poor performance of these countries, the FP2020 fell short of reaching 19.2 million women and girls to be on the right track of achieving the 2020 target. Though the report noted that exciting progress has been achieved and more women and girls have been reached more than historical trends would predict.
Oji, a medical practitioner, said family planning could reduce the number of women that die as a result of pregnancy by up to 30%.
He lamented that within every three hours, 15 Nigerian women and girls will die due to pregnancy related causes, noting that about 70% of these deaths occur among women aged between 13 and 19 years.
He disclosed further that Nigeria currently has a maternal mortality ratio of 576 deaths out of every 100,000 live births. “This translates to about 40,000 women dying every year, 111 dying every day, or 5 people dying every hour,” he added.
FP2020 Report noted that Nigeria has only added 1,628,000 modern contraceptive users since 2012 which resulted in increased contraceptive prevalence rate to 14.7%, compared to 12.1% in 2012.
This little progress by Nigeria, according to FP 2020 Report, averted 1,450,000 unintended pregnancies and prevented 9,000 maternal deaths through the use of modern contraceptives in the past year.
The report stressed the need for Nigeria to accelerate progress on family planning services as the population of women of reproductive age grows by more than 1 million every year in the country.
The President of Association for Reproductive & Family Health, Oladapo Ladipo, a professor, called on Nigerians to push for the ban on child marriages as girls are too young and often have obstructed labours which contribute mainly to a large proportion of girls that die from pregnancy-related causes.
He said family planning revolves around three reasons which include health, economy and human rights, pointing out that family planning would reduce infant and maternal mortality as well as reduce poverty.
Ladipo said that family planning is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, noting that women should have access to free family services.
The representative of Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, Charity Ibeneme pointed out that family planning is not just about women and there are also family planning services for men.
She argued that Nigerian men should start using vasectomy to complement their spouses while emphasising that both Christianity and Islam support family planning.
Evidence from the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey of 2013 indicates that Nigeria has not made a significant improvement in its uptake of family planning services over the last 10 years. The contraceptive prevalence rate has remained the same at 10% for the past 10 years with a marked difference between the urban and rural areas which are 17% and 6% respectively.
The use of the modern method of conception is particularly very low in the northern part of the country with less than 3% of women in the North East using contraceptives while in the South West, as much as 25% of women of reproductive age make use of modern contraceptives.
The FP2020 Report urged Nigeria to change social norms around family planning so that the topic is less taboo and also improve counselling and education to increase demand for contraceptives.
Nigeria was also admonished to ensure women can exercise informed choice as well as establish the infrastructure and health care providers to deliver quality family planning services.
The report noted that the low rate of contraceptive use by Nigerian women reflected high fertility desires and limited access to information about family planning, thereby making it difficult for Nigeria to accelerate progress.
Fulani leaders and traditional leaders in Kaduna state have signed a peace deal which is aimed at bringing to an end the series of clashes that have brought about loss of several lives and destruction of valuable property.
The peace deal is as a result of a meeting convened by the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Adeniyi Oyebade, a Major General.
The meeting was attended by traditional rulers and leaders of the Fulani community, as well as heads of other security agencies in the state.
Since the beginning of 2016, about ten communities in Jemaa and Sanga local government areas of Kaduna state have witnessed increased attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen, leading to the several deaths and destruction of houses and farmlands.
After the army general had informed the gathering of the purpose of the meeting, the leaders made their presentations and the meeting went into a closed-door session.
About five hours later, journalists were called into the room where the GOC read out their resolutions.
According to Oyebade, it was agreed at the meeting that a peace and reconciliation committee should be set-up to resolve all pending issues.
Banning of child herdsmen from grazing with cattle on farmlands and major roads, as well as prohibition of carrying of fire arms by herdsmen, were agreed upon.
The army GOC appealed to both parties to sheathe their swords for the interest of peace, warning that any party or individual that is found going against the peace deal would be prosecuted according to the law.
He also reassured the citizens of the state that the army, together with the other security agencies, would continue to discharge their responsibilities of protecting lives and property in the area.
After the meeting, National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Baba Othman, assured that his people would abide by the resolution.
He told journalists that a committee would be set up by all the parties for full implementation of the resolutions.
Kaduna State has, over the years, witnessed series of ethno-religious crises that have ravaged many communities.
In late October this year, three villages – Godogodo, Akwa’a and Anguwan Anjo – were attacked by armed men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen and over 60 people were killed in the attack.
About four days ago seven people including a community leader were murdered in cold blood with no trace of their killers.
The appeal court has suspended ruling on the leadership tussle case that is rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The appellate court had fixed today to hear the case involving the two factions of the PDP led by Ali Modu-Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi respectively.
Also scheduled for hearing today was the issue of the authentic PDP candidate for the Ondo State governorship election which has been scheduled to hold on November 26.
Court officials told journalists that the ruling was suspended due to a petition against the judges accusing them of bias; and no new date has been fixed for the ruling.
The three-man panel of judges led by Jumai Sankey said that the petition was filed by Biyi Poroye, a member of the PDP faction led by the Modu-Sheriff faction.
Sankey said the petition was forwarded to the President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, alleging that the court, under her leadership, was prone to being compromised for financial gains.
Subsequently, the three judges on the panel withdrew their participation in the case, pending the determination of the petition by the National Judicial Council, NJC.
She said her panel would return the case files to the President of the Appeal Court.
Modu-Sheriff, a one-time Borno State Governor and Makarfi, former governor of Kaduna State, have been locked in a series of legal battle over who is the authentic leader of the opposition PDP.
The Makarfi faction had approached the Appeal Court to set aside the judgement of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja which upheld Modu-Sheriff as the authentic PDP national chairman.
Justice Abang also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize Jimoh Ibrahim, candidate of the Modu-Sheriff faction, as the authentic PDP candidate for the Ondo governorship election.
Before the judgement, INEC had already recognized Eyitayo Jegede, who won the primary election organized by the Makarfi-led faction.
Jegede then approached the Abuja Federal High Court, in keeping with the rules of the Federal High Court, to ask for permission to appeal the judgement, but Justice Abang denied the application, saying that Jegede has no local standi to appeal the ruling, and once again reaffirmed Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate in Ondo.
Consequently, INEC removed Jegede’s name from the Ondo governorship candidates’ list and replaced it with Ibrahim.
Jegede, as well as the Makarfi-led PDP faction then appealed to the Appeal Court asking that justice Abang’s judgement be set aside.
The appellate court fixed today (Tuesday) to hear the matter but the hearing has now been suspended.
With just about three weeks to the Ondo Governorship election, its difficult to predict what the next line of action by Jegede and his faction would be.
Especially as it appears the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have closed ranks and agred to support Rotimi Akeredolu as its flag bearer.
Akeredolu visited president Buhari on Monday where he reportedly assured the president that he has secured the endorsement of party Chieftain, Bola Tinubu.
The former Lagos State Governor had initially supported Olusegun Abraham who lost out in the primaries to Akeredolu.
Not less than nine persons were killed in another bomb attack in Borno state, on Tuesday morning.
A pick-up van was blown up as it travelled along the Maiduguri-Gubio road, killing all nine passengers on board.
The vehicle was said to have come out from the bush path and exploded shortly after climbing the tarred road heading towards Gubio town, about 80 kilometres from the capital, Maiduguri.
Victor Isuku, the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer confirmed the incident.
“There was an explosion today along Gubio road just before the military check point,” he said.
“According to preliminary report, a pick up van with nine persons onboard, emerged from a bush path to join the road to Gubio town, when it exploded killing all the persons on board.”
Tuesday’s blast is the fifth in a series of recent bomb attacks within and around Maiduguri in the last three weeks.
On Saturday, October 29, a twin suicide bomb attack claimed the lives of 9 people while 24 others were injured, according to the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.
The next day, the Army authorities also said that an attempted suicide attack was averted after the would-be bomber was “neutralized” by vigilant troops.
The Senate has turned down the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow about $30 billion.
The president’s request was sent to the National Assembly last Tuesday asking for approval to borrow the sum of $29.960 billion with which to execute key infrastructural projects across the country between 2016 and 2018.
However, when the request came up for consideration at the Senate on Tuesday, and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki called for a voice vote, the response was an overwhelming ‘nay’.
The Senate president asked the question a second time and the response was the same.
President Buhari had in his letter last week said that the external loan – which is the biggest in the country’s history – will be used to fund targeted projects cutting across all sectors with special emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth and employment generation.
The breakdown of the projects for which the borrowing was intended is as follows: proposed projects and programmes loan, $11.274 billion; special national infrastructure projects, $10.686 billion; Euro bonds, $4.5 billion and Federal Government budget support, $3.5 billion.
There were calls from many sections of the country against the proposed borrowing, notably from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as from a popular Lawyer and human rights activist Femi Falana.
The outspoken legal practitioner advised the legislators no to approve Buhari’s proposition as it would mortgage future generations of the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with stakeholders from the Niger Delta as efforts continue towards finding a lasting solution to the militancy in the oil-rich region.
The presidency posted this message on its social media handle: “Meeting with Niger Delta Stakeholders this afternoon: Governors, former Governors, Ministers, Legislators, Traditional Rulers, Activists, Youths.”
A closed-door affair, the meeting is holding at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At the launch of a new energy sector roadmap, ‘The 7 Big Wins’ last week, Minister of state for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu had told journalists that a meeting between the President and Niger Delta elders is on the cards.
“Our target is to ensure zero militancy in the area. This planned meeting shows the level of interest the president has to ensure peace in the area,” Kachikwu had said.
Speaking at the event, President Buhari also reiterated commitment to bringing peace to the Niger Delta region, so as to boost the production of crude oil and shore up the Nation’s resources.
He said: “Whatever challenges we are currently facing in the region, our resolve and capability to work with all stakeholders to restore normalcy will guarantee success.”
At least 240 Boko Haram fighters voluntarily surrendered to the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, on Monday after they came under intense pressure from troops.
Spokesman of the MNJTF, Muhammad Dole, a colonel, said in a statement that the mass defection took place in Bagasola town, in neighbouring Chad, considered by troops as Sector 2 Area of Responsibility (AOR).
The statement read in part: “The firepower of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) ground troops and joint Air operation during the Operation GAMA AIKI forced a massive defection of remnants of the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT).
“Sustained offensive operations and blockage of logistics supply routes made the terrorists’ locations untenable; as a result, BHT and their families abandoned their locations and surrendered with their arms to the nearest locations of the ground forces in the operation areas.”
The statement added that the 240 Boko Haram Terrorists were being profiled and camped in Bagasola.
Dole also stated that the Commander of the MNJTF, Lamidi Adeosun, stopped over at the camp of the ex-terrorists during his operational visit to Sector 2 AOR.
“The Commander commended the leaders of the ex- BHT for their courage and for taking the right decision to abandoned terrorism and insurgency for normal life.
“He assured them of safety and good care as long as they remain in the camps. He also urged them to encourage their colleagues in the bush to stop fighting and join them in the camps,” Dole stated.
According to the army spokesman, the peaceful disarming and profiling of repentant terrorists demonstrates the army’s professionalism and adherence to International Humanitarian Laws and Laws of Armed Conflict in combat operation.
He said that the Commander MNJTF donated money “for the purchase of two cows and 10 bags of assorted food stuff for each of the 2 groups for the welfare and up keep of the ex-BHT and their families.”
Dole also revealed that the total number of repentant terrorists that have so far surrendered to MNJTF troops in sector 2 is now “four hundred and sixty-four.”
“The ex-BHT are expected to receive training in different skills and small businesses as scheduled by government agencies and NGOs,” he stated.
The Commander also made cash donations to families of officers and soldiers who were killed in Action, KIA, or Wounded in Action, WIA, during the clearance operations.
Dole stated: “As part of encouragement and alleviation of suffering to the victims’ families and wounded personnel, the Headquarters, MNJTF made provisions of One Million CFA (1,000,000.00 cfa) only for each family of KIA and Five Hundred Thousand CFA (500,000.00 cfa) only for each WIA in the battle field.
“During the presentations in Sector 2 Bagasola (Chad) and Sector 4 Diffa (Niger), General Adeosun prayed for the souls of the departed colleagues for the supreme sacrifice they made in the service to humanity and praised the courage and bravery displayed by the WIA.”
