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Netherlands govt approves 400,000 Euros for NLTP pilot project in Nasarawa State

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Netherlands govt approves 400,000 Euros for NLTP pilot project in Nasarawa State
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The Netherlands government has approved 400, 000 Euros for the Federal Government to embark on the National Livestock Transformation Programme (NLTP) in Nasarawa State.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, disclosed this on Monday, at the Government House, Lafia, while on a two-day working visit to Nasarawa State.

Alhaji Nanono, while noting that the country has been toying with the issue of livestock development, which resulted into misconceptions about the NLTP, confirmed that funding for the project has been approved by the Netherlands government and that the Federal Government will embark on a pilot project in Nasarawa State.

The Minister further disclosed that with Nigeria having over 33trn varieties of livestock ranging from cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, camels, horses, among others, the country cannot afford to play with this national assets.

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Commenting on the purpose of his visit to Nasarawa State, the agriculture Minister, said he was in the state to supervise five rural roads built by his ministry across the state.

While higlighting on the signigicance of agriculture to the development of the country, Alhaji Nanono lamented however that the sector has been neglected through the years, except with the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, which is priotizing agriculture.

The Minister pointed out that with the world now focusing on agriculture, it has become paramount that the country appreciates the opportunities inherent in the sector, especially that Nigeria’s growing population is pegged at 400m in the next 30 years.

He said his ministry attaches so much importance to Nasarawa State, in terms of agricultural development, as well as its potentials, ranking the state first in terms of diversity of various agricultural products, with potentials not only for promoting and ensuring food security in the country, but also for export.

The Minister added that Nasarawa State has also been selected among states that will benefit from the agricultural mechanization policy of the Federal Government, with arrangement finalized for the pilot mechanization in 632 LGAs completed.

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“Nasarawa State has the potential for creating a strong relationship between agriculture and the industrial sector. And we have already started seeing some signs. And we are going to promote it in that regard,” the Minister stated.

He announced that as part of the FG’s programme of economic sustainability, for which N600bn was approved as support for small scale farmers, his ministry has registered over 78, 000 farmers in the state, with another 23, 000 registered for the dry season farming covering about 2, 400 hectares of land.

The Minister further disclosed that the FG will engage youths, in collaboration with universities for the production of export crops, stressing that Nasarawa State has been slated to produce soya beans for export.

Responding, Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, said the vision of his administration is perfectly in line with that of President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as it relates to food security.

According to Engineer Sule, in Nasarawa State, agriculture is seen as a business, an opportunity for employment and industrialization.

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The Governor noted that with over 80 percent of the population of the state involved in one form of agriculture or the other, coupled with his knowledge of agriculture from his experience at the Dangote Sugar Refinery, he is convinced that Nasarawa can be another India or Brazil, when it come to agriculture.

While thanking the Minister for selecting Nasarawa State for the youth empowerment scheme for the production of soya beans for export, Engineer Sule appealed to the ministry to also consider the production of yams and cassava for export.

The Governor identified four major agricultural companies in the state, which when fully operational, will boost the economic development of the state.

He explained that Dangote Group acquired 68, 000 hectares of land, which will translate to 400, 000 metric tons of sugar, representing one-third of the sugar consumption of the country, in addition to generating 96 megawatts of power, as well as 2500 litres of ethanol.

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“But the most importantly, the project will generate employment for over 30, 000 for our people,” he said.

The Governor added that other companies like Olams, sitting on 10, 000 hectares but cultivating 5000 hectares, has over 2,500 employees, the Azman Rice, sitting on 14, 000 hectares, with the Flour Mills of Nigeria also concluding arrangement to take over 20, 000 hectares of land in Toto Local Government Area, setting aside 10, 000 hectares for rice production and another 10, 000 for cassava.

“If we have these four majors, then we are going to concentrate more on our outgrowers that will be able to feed these major operations,” Engineer Sule said.

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CBN Sells Polaris Bank To SCIL

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CBN Sells Polaris Bank To SCIL
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the completion of the sale of shares in Polaris Bank to Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL), a new core investor.

In a statement signed by its Director, Corporate Communications Department, Osita Nwanisobi, the CBN said that SCIL has paid an upfront consideration of N50 billion to acquire 100% of the equity of Polaris Bank and has accepted the terms of the agreement,  including the full repayment of the sum of N1.305 trillion,  being the value of the bonds, which as part of its intervention, in 2018, to revoke the licence of the former Skye Bank Plc. and establish Polaris Bank to assume its assets and certain liabilities,  the banking industry regulator injected into Polaris through the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and is to be repaid over a 25-year period.

The statement reads: “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) are pleased to announce the completion of a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of 100% of the equity in Polaris Bank by Strategic Capital Investment Limited (‘SCIL’).

“Polaris has been operating as a bridge bank since 2018 when the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened to revoke the licence of the former Skye Bank Plc. and established Polaris Bank to assume its assets and certain liabilities. As part of the CBN intervention, consideration bonds with a face value of N898 billion (future value of N1.305 trillion) was injected into the bridge bank through AMCON, to be repaid over a 25-year period.

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“These actions were taken to prevent the imminent collapse of the bank, enable its stabilisation and recovery, protect depositors’ fund, prevent job losses and preserve systemic financial stability. SCIL has paid an upfront consideration of N50 billion to acquire 100% of the equity of Polaris Bank and has accepted the terms of the agreement which include the full repayment of the sum of N1.305 trillion, being the consideration bonds injected.

“The CBN thus received an immediate return for the value it has created in Polaris Bank during the stabilisation period, as well as ensuring that all funds originally provided to support the intervention are recovered. The sale was coordinated by a Divestment Committee comprising representatives of the CBN and AMCON, and advised by legal and financial consultants. The Committee conducted a sale process by ‘private treaty’, as provided in Section 34(5) of the AMCON Act to avoid negative speculations, retain value and preserve financial system stability.

“In the process, parties who had formally expressed an interest in acquiring Polaris Bank, subsequent to the CBN intervention in 2018, were invited to submit financial and technical proposals. Invitations to submit proposals were sent to 25 pre-qualified interested parties, out of which three parties eventually submitted final purchase proposals following technical evaluation. All submissions were subject to a rigorous transaction process from which SCIL emerged as the preferred bidder having presented the most comprehensive technical/financial purchase proposal as well as the highest rated growth plans for Polaris Bank.”

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, was quoted in the statement as saying that: “This sale marks the completion of a landmark intervention in a strategic institution in the Nigerian banking sector by the CBN and AMCON. We commend the outgoing board and management for their vital role since the bridge bank was established; in stabilising the Bank’s operations, its balance sheet and implementing strong governance structures to address the issues that led to the intervention.

“This process has provided the CBN with an unprecedented opportunity to recover its intervention funds in full and promote financial stability and inclusive growth. We wish SCIL well as they implement growth plans to build the bank from the strong foundations that have been established.”

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Media Intelligence agency Marks Six years of Operation in Nigeria

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Media Intelligence agency Marks Six years of Operation in Nigeria.
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Media Intelligence agency Marks Six years of Operation in Nigeria.

P+ Measurement Services, Nigeria’s foremost Independent Public Relations measurement and evaluation agency, celebrates its sixth year of effective operation with qualitative offerings for its numerous clients, as it rebrands with a new business logo, website, and office to deepen penetration.

The leading company has in the past six years engendered the needed growth for its clients, and the rebranding is part of efforts aimed at sustaining its leading position in the sector, having worked with over 47 brands and 17 Public Relations agencies in Africa’s largest economy.

The logo with new colors depicts the innovation and creativity of the brand, as also shown on its new website with the agency service rate, to enable brands and agencies to make faster decisions in budgeting.

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As the only AMEC Member in Nigeria, P+ has strong partnerships with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and Reelforge Media Monitoring, the biggest media monitoring agency in the East African region, covering more than five countries.

Speaking on the company’s new development, the Chief Insights Officer, Philip Odiakose, said P+ is strongly positioned to effectively deliver on its offerings, with state-of-the-art structure, process and highly skilled media analysts in an exceptional and value-driven business model in line with global best practices.

“Our Measurement and Evaluation report is in-depth, robust, and flexible to accommodate valid metrics that brands desire to see reflected in their customized reports, and also based on the AMEC Standard in accordance with the Barcelona Principle 3.0. We deploy the P+MCA (media content analysis) methodology for media evaluation and analysis based on qualitative and quantitative metrics in analyzing media exposure,” Odiakose affirmed.

He said the new office would serve as a hub in the country and the West Africa sub-region, where the company will provide media monitoring, measurement, evaluation, and performance audit services for brands, media agencies, government  agencies and NGOs.

Also as part of its efficient services, the measurement and evaluation company introduced “Get-Reports,” a novel product that allows the purchase of PR performance audit reports in key sectors.

The “Get-Reports” product spans across different industries which includes the 22 Commercial Nigerian Banks PR Performance Audit Report, Top Nigerian Insurance PR Performance Audit Report, Top Nigerian Digital Banks PR Performance Audit Report, and Top Online Streaming Services PR Performance Audit Report.

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It’s not too late for NASS to revisit e-transmission of election results – SAN

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By Gistflash News

Sept 26, 2021

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mallam Yusuf Ali, says it is not to late for members of the  National Assembly to revisit the issue of  electronic transmission of election results to ensure credibility.
Ali, who made the remarks while speaking in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, said the more credible elections were, the less litigations they will attract.
The  News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports  that the Nigerian Senate had on July 16, passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, after division among its members on the electronic transmission of results.

The clause 52(2) of the bill gives the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the discretion to determine when, where and how voting and transmission of results will be done.

The Senate had ruled out the possibility of having results transmitted electronically when it voted that the NCC, with the National Assembly’s approval, would determine whether INEC could transmit results electronically or not.

Similarly, the House of Representatives, on July 16, passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, maintaining the controversial Clause 52(2) as presented amidst protests, especially by members of the minority caucus.

After the passage of the bill, the Speaker, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, criticised the proposed electronic transmission of election results, saying it was not feasible in the country for now.

According to Ali, since INEC had assured that it had the capacity to transmit election ressults electronically, it should be allowed to do so.
“For me, it is not too late for the National Assembly to revisit the matter, since the INEC said it has the capacity to transmit election results electronically.
“The legislature should do that which will assist in ensuring credible elections,” he said.
Ali also urged politicians to desist from “do-or-die” politics, adding that the electoral system was too moneytised.
“One major problem with our politicians is this do-or-die politics and the moneytisation of the political process.
“That is why we see so many litigations in the political process. It is all because people see political offices as an avenue to run away from poverty and not for service.
“I have said it before, if you are given an assignment for two or four years and you do it diligently, you will not want a renewal, you will just want to go home,” he said.
NAN

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