Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting with the president, Edun said the bankers sought insight into the tax regime, particularly the Windfall Levy, recently passed by the National Assembly.

He said Mr Zacch Adedeji, the Special Adviser to the President on Revenues, said the intention of the Federal Government was to simplify the tax regime, focussing on taxing profits, and leaving companies’ capital to grow.

He said the meeting was conducted in a friendly atmosphere and was knowledge-based, data-driven, and that the President Tinubu, being an accountant and financial expert, actively engaged in the discussion.

According to him, the representatives of the banking sector are expected to share their perspective on the outcome, including assurance of support for the president’s macro-economic reforms.

Representatives of the banking sector at the meeting included Mr Tony Elumelu, Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Ladi Balogun, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

“The Chairman of FIRS gave some insight, particularly into the fact that under President Bola Tinubu, the idea is to simplify the tax regime, as much as possible.

“The government intends to make the tax regime more efficient and less costly for people to even file their taxes and critically to focus on the wealth that’s created.

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“We will not focus on the companies that are not doing so well, or focus on their capital. We will leave their capital to grow and make sure that the emphasis is on taxing and levying only the returns, only the profits,” said Edun.

Elumelu said it was important to democratise prosperity for Nigerians, and ensure access to a good life for all.

He said that the banking sector would support the Windfall Levy, which he said was aimed at alleviating poverty.

He stressed the importance of prosperity for majority of Nigerians, where businesses thrived, jobs created, and investors benefit leading to a happier society.

Elumelu was confident that the newly introduced levy would achieve the objective of creating a prosperity for all Nigerians.

“We believe in prosperity. We believe in creating jobs and employment for our people.

“We believe in making sure that we democratise prosperity and that Nigerians have access to good life. So, today we spoke about the Windfall Tax. We support the government.

“We believe that where there is extraordinary income, it should go towards helping to alleviate poverty in the country, which is what the government intends to do,” he said.

Similarly, Balogun expressed confidence that the current administration would continue to support all stakeholders in the economy, promoting growth and investment.

He emphasised the importance of the banking sector and investing public aligning with the government’s reform agenda.

The Windfall Tax was introduced in July under Nigeria’s Finance Act.

The Act promises many benefits, which include redistributing unexpected gains into important public services, infrastructure development, healthcare and education.

Source: NAN

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The chairman of EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, made this known in the March edition of the commission’s monthly e-magazine, EFCC Alert, released on Monday.

Olukoyede said the commission had also placed 50 bank accounts under investigation over alleged fraud that involved Halima Shehu, suspended Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the National Social Investment Programme Authority, NSIPA.

President Bola Tinubu had, in January, suspended both Edu and Shehu over alleged payment of N585 million humanitarian funds meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos State,  Cross River and Ogun into a private account.

The president also suspended Social Investment Programme and, thereafter, asked the EFCC to take over the case and probe both embattled officials, including anyone involved.

Olukoyede said the anti-graft agency was making progress on the investigation, emphasising the magnitude of the case and the need for Nigerians to exercise patience.

“With respect to this particular case, we have recovered over N30 billion, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government. It takes time to conclude investigations; we started this matter less than six weeks ago,” he said.

According to him, there are cases that take years to investigate. There are so many angles to it. And we need to follow through with some of the discoveries that we have seen.

“Nigerians should give us time on this matter; we have professionals on this case and they need to do things right. There are so many leads here and there.”

According to him, the commission was investigating over 50 bank accounts that it had traced money to.

“That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal. And again, we have thousands of other cases that we are working on.

“Nigerians have seen the impact of what we have done so far by way of some people being placed on suspension and by way of the recoveries that we have made. You have seen that the programme itself has been suspended,” he said.

He said the commission was exploring so many discoveries that it had stumbled upon in its investigation.

“If it is about seeing people in jail, we’ll let them wait, everything has a process to follow.

“So, Nigerians should wait and give us the benefit of the doubt,” Olukoyede stated.

Source: NAN

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President Bola Tinubu reminds me of Clint Eastwood’s role in the Italian 1966 epic spaghetti “The good, the bad and the ugly.”

The hunting expedition that brings two men together in an uncomfortable alliance while looking for a buried treasure. In their moves they have to contend with an outlaw, a wanted man.

Tinubu, Nasir El-Rufai, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, the public fund looters, the bandits, the politicians of different ideologies, the dollar speculators, the Obidients, the Atikulooters, the Batists, the Civil Society Organisations and the Human Rights Activists. These are the casts before and during this movie.

The toughest of them all is Tinubu, the, the loudest is Obi and the angriest is Atiku.

The smartest of them all is El-Rufai who opted out shortly after the election. The drama he faced at the National Assembly was a game plan so as not to participate in this government, having seen the handwriting on the wall that it would not be easy if Tinubu would go ahead to make these strong policies.

I’m sitting down to see the new movie that is playing out now. Tinubu as the main character, Obidients as the badmen, Atikulates as the gangsters and the masses as the wailers.

El-Rufai is a close ally of former Emir of Kano, Sanusi whose economic template is being used to run this present government.

The statement by the present Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero that the first lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, should tell her husband that Nigerians are suffering is more political than advocacy.

In this Tinubu’s political expedition, Mr. President has mingled with those that never shared his ideology but who are only playing along in the search for the looted, stolen and buried fortune of this country.

Those I will call the outlaws, whose ideas of governance is to feed their stomachs and expand their empires in the guise of solving the problems at hand.

I have likened Nigeria’s situation to the good, the bad and the ugly and Tinubu as the main character. Will he eventually emerge as the hero of this movie? Time will tell.

Watching movie and listening to music can help our worldview more than reading letters. Movie summarises a whole book and takes away all the sensationalism and embellishments we read today on the pages of newspapers.

It queries our thoughts instantly and makes mess of some so called Civil Society Organisations and Human Rights Activists who only memorise data to sensationalise their audiences.

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I watch intently how Tinubu will survive many of the arrows being shot at him now, having witnessed how he rose above his many haters and frenemies to become the president and hero of the last general elections.

I’m sitting down to see the new movie that is playing out now. Tinubu as the main character, Obidients as the badmen, Atikulates as the gangsters and the masses as the wailers. In facts, new traitors are coming on board.

I and many others have a role too, to be an advocate of good governance by postulating little ideas and agenda on how we can go about these problems without being the mouthpiece of the government.

I watched how the movie started and how Tinubu began the process of reformation with the removal of oil subsidy and how he floated the Naira and refused to subsidise the dollars anymore. To him, the performance of Naira and dollars should be determined by the market forces.

I also watched how he came up with the idea of palliative, how corruption had crept in and the implementation had failed woefully and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Beta Edu, was sacked.

I’m watching now, how the subsidy removal is raising the fuel pump price almost every week from over N200 to about N630 per litre and how floating of Naira is sinking our FOREX economy with a dollar now selling between N1300 and N1500.

I’m watching how the prices of foods and cements are rising everyday.

In this movie are pessimists who will never recommend new approach to solve any economic problem but will always echo the rising dollar and cost of fuel.

They echo the rising prices of foods in the market. They have their own role. They are the wailers.

Unlike many of them, I watch the movie with optimism that the hero won’t die. If he does, it brings an end to the movie.

Nigeria will not go down if this government can re-strategise. It is not a crime to make a mistake. Subsidy removal is good but the implementation of the palliative to cushion the effect on the masses is uncivilised.

In a chat with a friend who stays abroad, he said that the developed economies do give palliative just as Nigeria is trying to do but this government has failed to create an automation that will make it work perfectly without corruption.

Nigeria will not go down if this government can re-strategise. It is not a crime to make a mistake.

According to him, there are foods and other stuff that the government of Canada has subsidised but the government doesn’t force a price on the sellers.

There is a control on how you buy and sell and for every buyer that purchases a subsidised item, he or she gets the subsidised amount in a week or two weeks via a bank alert from the government.

I could remember that the last transportation palliative by the Federal Government during the Yuletide was done haphazardly. It was done manually and it allowed corruption.

This government must create a system, automated procedure, using the citizens database to process subsidy alongside the food we buy, the transport we take, the bill we incure without using a human intermediary but machine.

For Tinubu to survive among the bad, the good and the ugly, he must be ready to fight dirty just as Eastwood did in the epic movie.

To reform this economy and breathe relief to the suffering masses; to find the stolen treasure of this country and recover it from dollar speculators, food hoarders and economic saboteurs, Tinubu’s shots must always hit the target like that of Eastwood.

The post Will Tinubu survive in this movie? appeared first on Frontpageng.

Less than one year into her tenure, this woman was caught up in the web of corruption. The funds involved were those earmarked for the poor, the desperately poor and the multidimensionally poor. Due to the outcry that followed the exposure and, I must say, the penchant, so far, of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to listen to and act on public opinion, the minister was suspended from office; she has also been called in by the EFCC. Apart from these, that front is quiet and the suspicion by many is that after some air has blown over this issue, it will be swept under the carpet like many others before it, and the suspended minister would be given a soft landing; that is, if not recalled!

But how can a country move forward with the “man-know-man” and “highest bidder” kind of recruitment system it is said we operate here?

This will not be the hallmark of an administration that has promised to revive and rejuvenate the country. Prompt dispensation of justice, especially in a corruption case, ought to be the signpost that the administration has zero tolerance for corruption. To allow the matter to drag will send wrong signals on two sides. On the side of culprits, it will mean they can cut corners and get around the problem Nigeria-style. They will be encouraged to press buttons and play games, leveraging on the ample time being gifted them.

Specifically on Betta Edu, we have heard that more big fishes are being dragged into the matter. That is a sure recipe that they may eventually die the matter, as they say. On the side of the people, it would be a clear statement of intention by the Tinubu administration that theirs is same-same or even more of the same; that nothing has changed; and that the more you look, the less you see.

The other side of the coin is the curious actions of some members of the public themselves; the very people at the receiving end of the Minister’s action! Are you aware that some crowd, rented I believe, have carried placards pleading that the minister be given a second chance? Second chance to do what? To perfect her act? To scale up the quantum of cash involved? Some women groups have also weighed in on her behalf, pleading for women’s rights! Because she has proven that what men can do (playing monkey games with the public till), women can also do and even do better? Not to be left out, folks from her place of ethnic origin have also joined the queue, threatening that we must leave their “daughter” alone to continue in office! Are we okay as a people? How can a country make progress this way?

By now this woman should be cooling her heels in jail, just like the Dean of one university’s Faculty of Law is doing right now, deservedly so, in Kuje prison. That professor abused his office; the suspended minister did. The professor misplaced the trust and confidence reposed in him; the suspended minister did. The professor abused his oath of office, the suspended minister did. The professor’s alleged crime was limited to a few individuals but the minister’s offence was committed against the entire country. Yet, one is already in custody while the other walks about freely. What country moves forward this way?

The second example is the menace or, better still, nuisance called Miyetti. I have chosen not to dignify them by identifying “Allah” with their name, and I ask other people to follow suit, because they are through and through evil. We are yet to forget the ruins they and their alleged grand patron subjected this country to for eight gruelling years. Where people know shame and have a modicum of civilized conduct, neither Miyetti nor its grand patron would be able to walk the street, not to talk of strutting like a peacock and letting their voice be heard again.

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But why will Miyetti not grandstand when their grand patron is also all over the place gloating about his time in office and how he did his best for Nigeria?  His best was to hold the country down for looters and for Miyetti to skin alive. And how will Miyetti not threaten Nigerians with Armaggedon when one of the spin doctors of the most clueless, most incompetent, most corrupt, and most irresponsible government in the country’s history had the temerity, a while ago, to launder the image and deodorize the stench still oozing out of the chambers of the Muhammadu Buhari maladministration? All the suffering in the land today can, and must, be traced to the Buhari administration. It will take time and effort to repair and restore the country again to good health.

Miyetti and its likes ignore the bitter truth and will seek every opportunity to pull the government down. The unrestrained access they had to the government and its resources is no longer there. The protection of the State that they used to enjoy is also no longer available. So, their leaders, who used to be above the law, can now, to their utter surprise and consternation, be called in for questioning and be made accountable for their actions. That is how it should be and we must not relent. Their ego trip, bordering on lunacy, that they own this country, has been cut short. Without State protection and patronage, they will soon be cut to size and be weaned of their hallucination that they own Nigeria.

Miyetti’s rag-tag militia cannot overrun the country. Let Miyetti set them up! They will be uprooted in the fullness of time. The other nationalities that make up this country will not let Miyetti have its way. The latest excuse they, and their co-travelers, have latched on to is the relocation of some agencies of the Federal Government from Abuja back to Lagos for ease of operations and to save cost. Reasonable men and women will analyze and interrogate the reasons adduced, and not insist that everything must remain in the North, be it profitable, be it otherwise, because the North wants it so! Baloney!

Towing the same path as many other concerned Nigerians, I have been vociferous in my call for the Tinubu administration to drastically cut down the cost of governance. So, I was one of those who criticized his bloated administration of ministers, advisers and assistants. I spoke out against the car loans and humongous allocation awarded the National Assembly members. I queried the number of delegates the president took along with him to his first UN General Assembly meeting in New York, USA. Of course, I raked against the scandalously-high delegation to this year’s COP28 summit in Dubai.

Therefore, if the government is now doing something to reduce the cost of governance, it must be saluted, not pilloried. Except, of course, we have evidence that this is not so. The everything-for-us and nothing-for-the-others mentality of some Northern leaders will not wash. If they took the other parts of the country for a ride in the past, the chickens have now come home to roost. In fact, the Tinubu administration must continue the further decentralization of government ministries, agencies and parastatals not only to Lagos but to other parts of the country. That is the practice elsewhere. Nigeria belongs to all its people, not to a few arrogant block heads and empty barrels that rejoice in making a lot of noise and setting the country backward. Mercifully, reasonable Northerners have distanced themselves from the maddening crowd of Northern feudal irredentists.

The third example is that of the mint-fresh deputy governor of my state, Ondo, Mr. Olayide Adelami, who was quoted as saying he did not lobby for the post, which some other people almost killed themselves over. Fair enough! And kudos, Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his recruitment team. But in doing that, Adelami inadvertently let the cat out of the bag when he said he was busy chasing after a Federal appointment when the deputy governor job came! His exact words: “I never contested for deputy governor; I was looking for a federal appointment when I was called to be deputy governor…”

Miyetti and its likes ignore the bitter truth and will seek every opportunity to pull the government down. The unrestrained access they had to the government and its resources is no longer there.

So, people go to look for Federal appointments? How? So, all the rumours we hear of how people do all sorts to get appointments, how appointments are bought and sold, may not be all lies after all! So, what happens to competent people not willing to go look for appointments? They rot away in their little corners? Is there not a system where we can headhunt for the best materials whether or not they go looking for appointments, just as happened with the job of deputy governor that Adelami landed without lobbying?

So, then, is this scripture fulfilled before our very eyes: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7: 7-8).

But how can a country move forward with the “man-know-man” and “highest bidder” kind of recruitment system it is said we operate here?

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Why Nigeria is not moving forward, By Bola Bolawole appeared first on Frontpageng.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has interrogated the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, and invited more members of staff of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs over alleged N585.2m fraud in the ministry.

An EFCC source told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that Madein and some other members of staff were invited over an alleged link to the alleged N585.2m case involving the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Betta Edu.

The source said that the AGF was quizzed by EFCC interrogators for several hours at the anti-graft agency’s headquarters, Jabi, Abuja but was later released.

The source said that Madein was queried over the payment of N585.2 million of government funds from the ministry into the private bank account of a government official.

Madein, according to the source, told interrogators that she didn’t approve the memo from the minister, Edu, for the payment into a private account.

“She was grilled for several hours on Monday over the payment of N585.2m from the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) account to the UBA account of Bridget Oniyelu, the Accountant of the Grants for Vulnerable Groups under the ministry.

“She told the investigators that she didn’t approve Edu’s memo for payment into private accounts.

“She was not detained and was released with no condition after she made her explanation in writing to the investigators during interrogation.”

The source said some ministry officials were invited to explain their involvement in the exercise, adding that some were quizzed and released while others were detained depending on the level of their involvement.

“I don’t know how many of them that were released or are being detained but some of them are still in the custody depending on their involvement,” the source said.

A leaked memo had revealed how Edu, in December 2023, allegedly requested Madein to transfer the money from NSIO account to the UBA account of Oniyelu, the accountant of the Grants for Vulnerable Groups under the ministry.

The AGF, however, in a statement, countered the claim by the suspended the minister.

She noted that allocations were released to self-accounting MDAs in line with the budget and such MDAs were responsible for the implementation of their projects and payments for such projects.

The minister, who was suspended on January 8, by President Bola Tinubu, was last week Tuesday grilled by operatives of the EFCC for more than 10 hours over the alleged  fraud in her ministry.

The N585 million was meant for payment of grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Cross River and Ogun states.

Also, Halima Shehu, the embattled co-ordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency domiciled in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, is also being probed by the EFCC over an alleged N44 billion fraud.

Source: NAN

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A highly-reliable source at the anti-graft agency confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that the minister was at the commission’s headquarters on Tuesday morning.

“An official invitation by the commission was sent to her on Monday and she honoured the invitation on Tuesday.

“She is being interrogated by the commission and she is expected to give proper insight into the issue at hand,’’ the source said.

President Bola Tinubu suspended the minister on Monday over alleged payment of N585 million humanitarian funds meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Cross River and Ogun states into a private account.

The source added that Edu might be detained or released to go home and return for further interrogation.

“Her release will depend on the investigation team. I cannot say whether she will be released or detained; it depends on the investigators, the investigation is still on-going,’’ the source said.

The source added that the former Minister of Social Development, Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouk, was still being interrogated by the EFCC.

According to the source, the former minister was released on Monday night, but she returned to the EFCC on Tuesday for further interrogation.

Umar-Farouk is being investigated over a staggering N37.1 billion allegedly laundered by officials of the ministry during her tenure as minister.

The source also told NAN that Hajiya Halima Shehu, the suspended National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, was still undergoing investigation at the EFCC.

Shehu was responsible for overseeing the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari to give succour to vulnerable groups and individuals.

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The suspension was announced on Monday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale.

The president’s action was said to be in line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians.

The suspension was said to be with immediate effect.

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The suspended minister, according to the media aide, was directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

She was also directed by the president to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities in their investigation.

Ngelale added that the president directed the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.

Furthermore, the president was said to have tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.

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The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known in a statement he issued on Sunday.

He expressed the determination of the government to get to the roots of the issue and take actions against breaches and infractions that might be identified.

The minister appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience as the investigation unfolded.

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He said the outcome of the probe would be communicated duly and transparently to the public.

The statement reads in full:

“The Ministry of Information and National Orientation acknowledges the concerns raised by the public regarding the alleged payment of funds into a private account by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. We are aware of the narratives circulating widely and wish to assure Nigerians that the Government takes these issues most seriously.

“The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is transparent and accountable to the people, and committed to ensuring that public funds are allocated and utilized effectively and efficiently to address the needs of Nigerians.

“In light of recent events, the President has directed that a thorough and comprehensive investigation be conducted to ascertain the accuracy and validity of the reported details.

“The government is determined to unravel the truth as it relates to this matter, and assures that appropriate action will be taken to ensure that any breaches and infractions are identified and decisively punished, in line with the Administration’s commitment to public accountability and due process.

“The public is advised to note, against the backdrop of various unverified narratives circulating on the Internet, that the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, under the leadership of Minister Mohammed Idris, is the primary  source for verified information about events and actions of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Only accurate details will be shared with the public. The Ministry is committed to providing timely updates to keep Nigerians informed about the progress of the investigation.

“We urge Nigerians to exercise patience as the investigation unfolds. The government is focused on ensuring a fair and unbiased process, and the findings will be communicated duly and transparently to the public.”

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Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State who was joined by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, inaugurated the process in Calabar.

Otu commended the initiative and said it would help alleviate poverty among the vulnerables.

Otu, however, said that the president needed the collaboration of all to succeed in the task to take 50 million Nigerians below poverty line by 2030.

He expressed his administration’s readiness to support the initiative and also collaborate with other initiatives of federal government on poverty reduction.

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While noting that some persons had already started receiving payment alert, he described the development as timely, especially against the background of Christmas celebration.

The governor assured the people of a brighter future in the country and the state in particular.

“With the way the government speaks to the economics of the nation, it means the future of the nation is secured.

“For Cross River, we are looking into all key sectors from agriculture, security and tourism. In no distant time, the state will be a toast of all the other states in the nation,” he said.

He said that the physically challenged would not be segregated by his administration as a commission had been created to handle issues concerning them.

Earlier, the minister expressed the president’s determination to reduce poverty to the barest minimum.

She noted that President Tinubu was working closely with the Cross River government and other state governors to achieve this.

“The federal government has so many initiatives such as the Farmer Money, Trader Money, Conditional Cash Transfer in which 3.5 million Nigerians have benefitted across board.

“We also have the End Hunger Programme that will be launched in January, and the Skill Acquisition Programme, among others; all I ask for at the state level, is for the state to key fully to the centre.”

She appealed to residents of Cross River to support the governor of the state to enable him to effectively continue from where the previous administration in the state stopped.

On her part, Mrs Eyoanwan Otu, wife of the governor, said the initiative would make significant impact on the lives of countless individuals in the state.

While thanking the president and his wife Sen. Oluremi Tinubu and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, she implored beneficiaries to put the grant to good use.

Source: NAN

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The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Betta Edu, disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday during her visit to the Adire mall at Itoku in Abeokuta.

Edu who also visited the fabric’s production grounds at Asero said government would create an industrial hub across the country to further boost revenue for market women.

She therefore assured market women of government’s intention to ensure the fabric became known around the world.

“This is why there is need for government to ban the importation of foreign Adire products.

“First, you must be able to push local production to meet the demand. Local production must be enhanced at all cost to meet the demand.

“When local product is enhanced, subsided and supported by government, it will automatically eliminate whatever infiltration comes in to the market.

“We do not want to be selling fake Adire, made-in-China Adire brought into Nigeria. What we want is the local one made by our people,” the minister said.

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She pointed out that this would create jobs, build the micro and macro economy and help Nigeria to be more of a manufacturing country than an importing country.

“These are the things that are affecting the exchange rates. Government will provide that subsidy for the people.

“Since we took the subsidy off fuel, we will provide it for the Adire makers so that they can provide local Adire that will be used and exported out of the country,” Edu said.

She appreciated Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, whom she said had promised that the state would create hubs in Abuja where the original Adire would be sold.

“It is another opportunity to showcase the fabric to the world.

“Our Adire is a precious fabric all over the world, people recognise and identify with it.

“So, we can build the local production and ensure that more people make money for themselves and their families,” the minister said.

Source: NAN

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