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Cost Of Living: Nigerians Are Angry With Us, FG Admits
As many Nigerians groan in poverty due to the rising cost of living occasioned by unprecedented inflation, Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said the poor in the country are angry with government officials and other members of the elite, who constitute the minority.
The vice-president said this at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 16 participants from different security agencies and nominees of state governments in Abuja on Saturda
The event was organised by the National Institute for Security Studies.
This is the first time a senior government official is admitting the biting hardship in the country, which has been aggravated since President Bola Tinubu took over the reins of government on May 29, 2023.
In his inauguration speech, the President had declared that subsidy on petrol was gone for good, and hours after that statement, the pump price of petrol jumped from N238-N263 per litre to a minimum of N500. It currently sells for between N580 and N615.
As Nigerians were adjusting to the new reality and the attendant increase in the prices of goods and services, including transport fares, the Federal Government announced the decision to allow the exchange rate of the naira to major international currencies float and be determined by demand and supply.
That decision immediately led to a significant depreciation of the local currency, which peaked at N465.07 against the United States dollar just weeks before Tinubu’s inauguration. The scarcity of dollars and other major international currencies led the naira to climb to over 1,000 against the greenback.
Just on Friday, the naira fell to an all-time low of N1,099.05/$ at the official Investor and Exporter forex window to cap what had been a turbulent couple of months for the national currency.
This signifies a 30.36 per cent decline from its closing rate of N843.07/$ according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange. That was the lowest rate that the naira had closed since the Central Bank of Nigeria moved to adopt the I&E window as the official trading channel for the currency.
Since June, the naira has lost more than 40 per cent of its value, adding to inflationary pressure in the country.
Shettima, however, said on Saturday, “All of us here belong to a tiny segment of the Nigerian population. And you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that the poor are angry with us. Go to the slums and mingle with the poor. I am a native of Maiduguri (Borno State Capital). Anytime a rich man brought a new car to his house, it (the house) used to be a place of pilgrimage.
“People (used to) go and see not out of anger, but out of admiration. But now, as we cruise around in our bulletproof cars, one will see contempt in the eyes of the poor. We have to improve the quality of governance. And what we have is a tiny window of not more than 10 to 20 years. Let’s improve the quality of governance.”
He also noted that creating jobs and giving hope to the populace would help curb insecurity in the country.
The VP added, “Let’s create jobs; let’s give hope to the populace. And once we create jobs, all this madness of insecurity will disappear. There won’t be Boko Haram and banditry if this is done, especially for us from the North. We can blame the bandits, but we in leadership positions owe it to posterity to address this.
“They (the poor) are the most neglected segment of our society. You can hardly differentiate between them and their animals. Even the animals they rear belong to those in the city. So, there have to be kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to all the problems. Be it the IPOB agitation in the South-East; be it the challenges in the South-South; be it Boko Haram or rural banditry in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central.”
He, however, urged the citizens to be patient with the President and support his efforts to reposition the country.
“I want to ask you to give the President the benefit of the doubt. Let us support you. Let us rally around and be reassured that he is determined to redefine the meaning and concept of modern leadership, and is ever ready to reposition the Nigerian nation. But without the support of you and I, he can’t do much,” the VP said.
He berated those seeking to secede from the country, noting that they “hardly think beyond their noses.”
Shettima said, “It’s easy to predict failure. But what about success, what is the end result of failure? It is destruction. Just two million Syrians knocking on the doors of Europe, and they caused Brexit. They caused the emergence of Trump in America. So, how do you proceed? Those people who are agitating for the breakup of this nation, or the implosion of this country, they hardly think beyond their noses.
“They don’t think beyond the depth of their pockets. Surviving their way on the growth of the innocent and the agonies of our people will not do us any good. “
Also at the event, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, said the service would soon commence the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, AK-47s, and other weapons that would be used by its personnel.
According to him, this is to reduce the heavy reliance on foreign countries for weapons and the huge resources for the procurement of such weapons.
He noted that when the plans materialise, the service would deploy the weapon across the country.
The DSS boss said, “We shall support the institute in its training programmes. I care for the welfare of our staff members, active and retired. We shall never go back on that. We’ll also continue to pay attention to our research and development.
“In fact, sooner or later, we shall start eating what we produce, and we will produce what we eat. This is coded. It means that we shall start deploying some of the assets we have or the platforms we produce by ourselves, including unmanned aerial vehicles. We are producing our AK-47.
“When we reach the destination, we will save the country from the pain of the resources being chunked out to buy such weapons.”
He also assured other security agencies of the DSS commitment to providing them with credible intelligence.
Bichi added, “We shall continue to appreciate all the agencies that partner with us in the journey so far. And I promise the other security agencies that the DSS will continue to provide you with proactive intelligence to drive your operations”.
The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has unveiled measures to enthrone ease of doing business and win back the confidence of the business community.
The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, unveiled the plans at the Breakout Session of RSIPA at the ongoing 18th Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, at the Obi Wali International Cultural Centre, in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Peterside said the agency was poised to free the state from accumulation of wrong narratives that branded it over the years as unsafe for business.
He, however, admitted that many things had gone wrong in the past where regulators joined to make the business environment difficult for investors.
He announced that the agency was rather focused on actions, solutions, and results as adopted in the mission statement of the Board.
“Our task is no mean feat. We are dealing with the perception risk that over several years branded the state as unsafe. We are also faced with the challenges of dealing with the lack of cohesion amongst MDAs, policy inconsistencies, multiple taxation, incessant harassment by miscreants, red tape and delays in obtaining operating permits, high cost of operations and opaque public sector,” he said.
“It is about listening to the investors in the field and ensuring that MDAs are carried along, hence the imperative for the setting up of our One-Stop-Center”, he added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, who represented the state governor, said the Fubara administration was ready to listen to the business community to see ways of reducing impediments to investments.
He listed the stages of actions being undertaken by the governor as outlined in his 37-page blue print to revive the economy of Rivers State.
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who was presented at the event as a star investor and promoter of Rivers State reputation, said for the plans of the investment promotion agency to materialize, an enabling law should replace the Executive Order that established the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said this would insulate the agency from political instability and remove fear in the minds of investors about its sustainability.
According to him, protection precedes promotion and Local Direct Investment (LDIs) is what attracts and promotes Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs).
“It is the rat at home that reveals to the one in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen”, he added.
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?The Mayor of Housing who is also the CEO of the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City said that Port Harcourt is like a business empire under lock and key because it is not protecting its own and also not promoting its own enough for investors to come in.
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?In the area of land documentation and inventory, China urged Rivers State Government to borrow a leaf from Abuja and adopt the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in dealing with land and property registration and documentation for ease of doing business.
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?He said Lagos understood the power of business information, adding “this creates the impression that if you are not doing it in Lagos, you are not doing it in Africa.
“We need to shout louder than Lagos, because we need more investments than Lagos and the structural integrity of Abuja. When you marry both, Rivers State would be wonderful and become green with investments,” he said.
In her speech, the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, called on the state government to look into the menace of parked trucks now turning Trans-Amadi into a risk zone.
She outlined the activities of the PHCCIMA and invited investors and businesses to the Port Harcourt economic hub, saying peace has returned.
The Director, Investors Relations of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Mrs Lovina Kayode, urged Rivers State to make haste and catch up on Ease of Doing Business, saying the Council has come to help businesses in the state.
Mrs Kayode, who represented the Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Aisha Rimi, commended the Mayor of Housing and his counterpart, Mr. Oliver Biedima of Rainbow Heritage Group, for their decision to invest in Rivers State, saying it is a proof that Rivers State is safe for investors and their investments.
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In his remarks, Oliver Biedemi of Rainbow Heritage Group urged government to give the private investors chance to develop the economy, saying ordinarily government does not have the funds to develop the economy.
Happy Birthday Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON
Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory
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We’ll Drive Tinubu’s Vision in Rivers With Vigour – Fubara …Inaugurates Dualized Ahoada/Omoku Road ….Debunks Rift With RSHA
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he will lead Rivers people to galvanize support for President Bola Tinubu to drive the vision and objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the State with vigour.
The governor, who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, explained that his decision to join the APC was not for personal interest but for the overall benefit of Rivers State.
Fubara disclosed these while inaugurating the extension of the dualized Ahoada/ Omoku Express road in Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He commended the contracting firm, Julius Berger, for timely delivery of the project, saying the project is a campaign promise fulfilled which will bring economic benefits to the people and tackle issues of insecurity associated with the route.
He said his administration has remained focused in delivering democratic dividends in the state despite facing glaring challenges.
The governor thanked the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas for their continuous support, and urged his supporters to remain steadfast and also support President Tinubu who he said, has demonstrated love to Rivers State as a father.
Fubara denied having rift with the Rivers State House of Assembly, stating that his meeting with the lawmakers was stalled as a result of delay in the agreed meeting to be convened by former Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders for him to meet with the state lawmakers.
“I have made every effort to meet with the Assembly members, but it is not within my leadership to initiate the meeting process.
“The arrangement was for my leader, Wike, and the elders led by Anabraba to call for a meeting with the the lawmakers.
“I’m a gentleman and principled. I can’t go behind to call them when we’ve already agreed. Whoever that tell them that I don’t want to meet with them, or I rejected proposal meant for them isn’t saying the truth,” Fubara said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry Works, Mr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who gave the project description, said the delivery of the project was a fulfillment of long time dream by the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He said the road was previously a single lane and has now been dualised to 14.6 meters wide, complete with solar-powered streetlights with drainages.
He said the road significantly would reduce travel time between Ahoada and Omoku while improving economic activity in the region.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, Hon. Chuku Shedrack Ogbogu, described the road as a symbol of unity, oneness, and development, thanking the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises.
On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Peer Lusbash, said the project was awarded to his company in 2023 with a completion period of 18 months which was achieved in best quality.
He added that Julius Berger enjoyed a good support from the Fubara administration, and assured to complete all ongoing projects being handled by Julius Berger on specification, especially the Ring Road project which is a legacy project.
