Metro

Nigeria’s VP Shettima admits hardship, poverty, pleads for patience

Published

12 months ago

December 10, 2023

Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria has become the first official in the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to admit that majority of Nigerians are angry with government officials as a result of the rising cost of living and its attendant hardship and poverty.

Shettima, who made the admission in Abuja on Saturday at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 16, however, pleaded with Nigerians to be patient and support Tinubu so that he could work to solve the problems.

In his keynote address at the occasion, Shettima said the Tinubu-led administration was aware that Nigerians were going through harrowing times, and was doing everything possible to ameliorate the pains as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy and the attendant inflation.

“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,” the VP said.

“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.

“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.

“I want to ask you to give the President the benefit of the doubt. Let us be patient. Let us support him.

“Let us rally round him 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”, he just added.

Shettima also suggested that creating jobs and giving hope to the populace would go a long way in curbing insecurity in the country.

“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”, he said.

Related Topics:Featured Hardship Kashim Shettima President Bola Tinubu

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Metro

Zambia: Farmers’ union warns of uncertain future for agriculture sector

Published

16 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has warned of uncertainty on the future of the agricultural sector, stating that its outlook over the next 25 years remains uncertain and gloomy.

The Executive Director of SAFADA, Boyd Moobwe, who raised the concerns in a telephone interview with Zambia Monitor on Saturday, expressed regrets that the agric sector was facing critical challenges that could hinder its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth by 2030.

Moobwe admitted that the rapid changes in agriculture due to new technologies and innovations, has been slow amid the inconsistent implementation of these advancements which raises questions about the sector’s ability to survive amidst the growing threats of climate change, political instability, and economic difficulties.

The SAFADA Director pointed out that many of the problems plaguing agriculture were self-inflicted.

“The current measures for agricultural and rural financing are inadequate due to poor data analysis and utilisation,” Moobwe said.

Agriculture, he said, “had the potential to revive the economy if proper policies were introduced and if small-scale farmers were fully involved in planning and implementing agricultural projects.”

Metro

Nigeria: CSO urges President Tinubu to investigate missing funds in Humanitarian Ministry

Published

20 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Nigerian civil society organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an investigation into the over N57 billion that allegedly went missing in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.

The organisation, in a statement on Sunday, urged the president to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as other anti-corruption agencies to commence a probe into the allegations without delay.

In the letter issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare and addressed to President Tinubu, the group warned against sweeping the allegations under the carpet as the Nigerian public has a right to know what happened to their money.

“The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations,” the watch dog group said.

“The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation, and international anticorruption obligations.

“Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, (the ministry) in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.

“The money was not directly paid to the beneficiaries. The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.

“The ministry reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion of public funds meant for the home-grown school feeding programme during Covid-19, as the programme was never executed. The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states, but without any trace.

“The ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million to carry out a survey on the ministry’s Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups but without any approval or document.

“The ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million meant to pay stipends to 4,450 independent monitors for October, November, and December 2021.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

“SERAP urges you to immediately enforce the judgment by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering your government to release the spending details of N729 billion by Mrs Sadia Umar-Farouk, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development,” SERAP warned.