Headlines
Reps, Customs clash over N1.3tn revenue projection
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has dismissed a revenue of N1.3tn projected by the Nigeria Customs Service for 2022, vowing to raise the target.
The Comptroller-General of NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), had in his presentation at the ongoing public hearing on the 2022/2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, disclosed that the Customs was projecting the amount as revenue next year.
Ali noted that the Customs came up with a figure that was considered realizable, hoping to surpass the target.
“We came up with a figure that is realizable. Then, whatever comes thereafter, we hope that we will surpass that. We try to be as realistic as we can in our proposal,” he noted.
Members of the committee, however, dismissed the projection as too small.
Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, who is a member of the Committee on Finance, criticized the revenue target as ridiculous, given that the naira had been devalued.
The lawmaker said he expected the Customs’ proposal to be N2.5tn and above.
Abejide said, “This is very ridiculous because now, the naira has been devalued already. So, you will discover that the volume of money you are getting, if you want to get the real value, you will see that it is not a real improvement.”
Another member, Muktar Ahmed, stated that there was no way the committee would accept anything less than N3tn.
In his ruling, the chairman of the committee, James Faleke, said, “For us as a Committee on Finance, we will not accept the N1.3tn. I am sure that by the time our report comes out, you will be pleasantly happy.”
Meanwhile, the committee, also on Monday, summoned the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, to appear before it on Wednesday, unfailingly.
The lawmakers also summoned the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Sarki Auwalu.
Kyari was to address the committee on revenue generation on Monday. He, however, sent the Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy to represent him.
Members of the committee, however, frowned on Kyari’s non-appearance.
Abejide said was shocked by how the GMD of NNPC treats the National Assembly. He said Kyari’s behaviour was demeaning to the parliament and should not be tolerated.
The Kano State Government has inaugurated a 14-member committee tasked with reviewing existing education policies in the state.
Inaugurating the committee on Thursday in Kano, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Ali Makoda, said that the committee was constituted by the Kano State Executive Council to assess the state’s education policies.
“This committee was originally scheduled to be inaugurated by the governor, but due to prior engagements, he has delegated the responsibility to me so that we can begin our work immediately,” Makoda stated.
The Commissioner outlined the committee’s terms of reference, which include reviewing the four existing education policies in the state to assess whether they align with the cultural and religious beliefs of the people.
“Evaluating the feasibility of implementing the policies, and making recommendations to strengthen the state’s education system.”
He noted that the four policies to be reviewed include the Kano State Girls’ Education Policy, Kano State Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, Kano State Non-State School Policy, and Kano State Teacher Development Policy.
Makoda announced that the committee has been given three weeks to submit its report, and urged the members to leverage their expertise to produce recommendations that would enhance the state’s education sector.
In his response, the committee chairman, Malam Abdullahi Dutse, assured the commissioner of the committee’s commitment to work collaboratively to meet the expectations placed on them.
“Considering the diverse expertise of the committee members, I believe the government has selected individuals with the right skills to address the challenges facing education in the state. We will work diligently to provide the necessary report,” he said.
The committee’s members include Malam Abdullahi Dutse (Chairman), Prof Abdallah Uba -Adamu, Habibu Dan Almajiri, Alhaji Danlami Garba, Kano State Commissioner for Women, Children, and Disabled Affairs Hajiya Amina Abdullahi, and Isa Ahmad.
Other members are Prof Tijjani Naniya, Malam Kabiru Hanga, Munzali Mustapha, Prof Auwal Halliru Arzai, and Dr Bashir Aliyu -Umar.
The remaining include the representatives of the Emirate Council and Civil Society Organizations, and Ibrahim Bawa, Director of Archives and Publications, who will serve as Secretary of the committee.
The U.S. Deputy-Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, has extolled Nigeria’s partnership in the successful repatriation of funds linked to forfeited luxury real estate and Galactica Star Superyacht. (more…)
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated six Nigerians named by President Joe Biden among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.
This recognition, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.
This year’s awardees, announced by Biden on Jan. 14, are employed or funded by 14 participating United States government agencies, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
The Nigerian honourees include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; and Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University.
Others are: Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University;
The rest are: Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Case Western Reserve University.
Tinubu commended the awardees for their achievements in science, technology and engineering.
He noted that recognising the talents of the awardees underscored Nigerians’ vast potential to excel both at home and on the global stage.
Tinubu looked forward to the honourees sharing their multidisciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria’s development efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda. (more…)
Kano inaugurates 14-member committee to review education policies
U.S commends Nigeria over Galactica funds repatriation efforts
Tinubu congratulates Nigerian scientists, engineers on making Biden’s honour list
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