The Federal Government is targeting about 5,000 men, women and children in its free medical outreach aimed at preventing, detecting and treating victims of hydrocarbon pollution in Ogoniland, Rivers State.
Medical outreach
Dr Marvin Dekil, the Project Coordinator, Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), flagged-off the second phase of the exercise on Friday, December 29, 2017 in Kpite-Tai community, Tai Local Government Area of the state.
He said that HYPREP has concluded the exercise in Khana and would soon begin same exercise in Gokana and Eleme Local Government Areas in compliance to recommendations of UNEP Report on Ogoniland.
“The health outreach is the first step towards the implementation of the initial stage of the Health Impact Study as recommended in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland.
“Health impact study is one of the emergency measures taken by HYPREP to ensure that we are clear about the link between disease pathogens and oil contamination in the area.
“We are mandated to perform three tasks which are to remediate impacted sites; restore livelihood in the communities, and emergency measures – which includes health impact study and water.
“HYPREP would administer screening for various ailments – while at the end of the exercise; the report would be used to do a health record for Ogoni people,” he said.
Dekil said the screening would cover malaria, HIV, dental, eye, arm circumference; Random Blood Sugar; Fasting Blood Sugar, weight and height.
He said that pulse and vital signs of residents would also be checked with focus to early detection of diseases.
Besides, the project coordinator said the exercise would offer free surgeries and treatment to residents found with dental and eye impairment.
“Also, free correctional eye glasses would be given to those diagnosed with impairment,” he said.
Dekil said that Ministry of Environment recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Institute and Research (UNITAR) to train Ogoni youths and women on skills acquisition.
He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was fully committed to successful implementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland.
The founder of Medical Women Association of Rivers State, Dr Bernadette Korubo, expressed optimism that the outreach would improve health of residents.
She said that most residents of the area suffered severe forms of arthritis, high blood pressure, stroke, eye impairment, waist pain and upper respiratory tract infection.
Korubo said: “These diseases are common here because at this age and time people are still drinking from streams and hand-dug wells especially in an area that is highly polluted.
“This is a public health emergency, and as such government at all levels should as a matter of urgency interface with the community gatekeepers to provide them with pipe borne water.
“We will continue to create awareness to enable them maintain healthy living in the midst of the health challenges caused by decades of oil pollution in Ogoni communities,” she said.
The medical practitioner urged the participants to boil their water before drinking while awaiting government intervention in their communities.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Rapheal Obari, who was diagnosed with low blood sugar, commended HYPREP and called for a quarterly conduct of the exercise.
On Nov. 7, 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari told the National Assembly that the Federal Government would launch the first African Sovereign Green Bond in December 2017 to finance renewable energy projects.
Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril
Buhari, while presenting the 2018 Budget Proposal, said: “I am pleased to inform this distinguished assembly that the Federal Government will be launching the first African Sovereign Green Bond in December 2017.
“The bond will be used to finance renewable energy projects. We are very excited about this development, as it will go a long way in solving many of our energy challenges, especially in the hinterland.’’
As a follow-up, the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Green Bond Advisory Group, on Dec. 14 organised Nigeria Green Bond Investors Forum in Abuja and Lagos.
Stakeholders that participated in the forum include Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs), the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Inter-ministerial Committee on Climate Change and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Others are DMO, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the World Bank and Chapel Hill Denham Group as well as representatives of private sector organisations.
The Director-General of DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, said that the forum was organised to educate prospective investors in the Green Bond programme to know the benefits of investing in green bond projects.
Oniha said that the Federal Government would soon issue N10.6 billion green bonds to finance renewable energy projects in efforts to protect the environment.
The director-general said the Federal Government acted to borrow the N10.6 billion, in line with its borrowing agenda contained in the 2017 budget.
According to her, more funds would be allocated to finance green bond projects in the subsequent budgets.
Oniha said that the bonds would be used to finance three renewable energy projects, which were Renewable Energy Micro-Utilities Programme, Re-energising Education Programme and Afforestation Programme.
Also speaking, Alhaja Halimat Bwari, the Deputy Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, said that N142 billion was required to finance renewable energy projects in the country.
She said that the ministry decided to issue the green bonds as an alternative source of funding because of the huge capital outlay which was required to finance the nation’s renewable energy projects.
She noted that the Green Bond programme would boost the nation’s economy and protect the environment.
Besides, Bwari said that the ministry had inaugurated five low-carbon growth projects.
She listed the projects as the Rural Energy Access, the Great Green Wall Programme, the National Clean Stoves Scheme, the Clean Energy Transportation Scheme and the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project.
She said that the projects would go a long way to reduce carbon emissions in Nigeria, while facilitating the country’s efforts to meet its commitments in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
As part of efforts to promote renewable projects in the country, the Federal Government has called for public-private sector collaboration in efforts to promote the use of clean cook stoves.
The Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, while speaking at the 2017 Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum in Abuja, solicited the partnership to develop domestic market for made-in-Nigeria clean cook stoves.
The minister, who underscored the need to develop and expand the market, emphasised that the government and the private sector ought to work together in growing the market for made-in-Nigeria clean cook stoves.
According to him, clean cooking techniques constitute a priority area in efforts to achieve the goals of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which aims at reducing carbon emissions in the country.
“It also aims to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases; clean cooking energy for all is not only possible but a right for our citizens,’’ he said.
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, stressed the need to step up activities and actions that were fundamentally aimed at ensuring increased use of clean energy by households across the country.
He said that the citizens’ consumption of over 500 million kilogrammes of firewood every day was an enormous strain on the nation’s forest resources.
Besides, Saraki said that nearly 65,000 people died every year in Nigeria due to household air pollution, while more than four million people died because of household air pollution globally annually.
According to him, more than 50 per cent of these fatalities are children and women.
The Senate president, who underscored the need to increase the usage of clean cooking stoves by households, said that the stoves would save lives and help to create additional jobs for people in the country.
A stove manufacturer, Mr Biodun Olaore, who is the Country Director, Envirofit Nigeria, urged the government to create public awareness on the menace of indoor air pollution and deforestation to enable Nigerians to embrace the clean cooking technology.
Envirofit Nigeria, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Envirofit International, owns a clean cooking stove factory in Lagos.
Olaore said: “Governments should play a vital role in creating the required awareness about the hazards of indoor air pollution and deforestation.
“This will help people to actually embrace this cooking technology and they can actually see the benefit, which ultimately translates to a better environment for all.’’
He said that his company embarked on the manufacture of efficient, clean cooking stoves so as to encourage the people to engage in air pollution-free activities, adding that the stoves, which produced less smoke and cooked faster, were cost-effective.
“We manufacture the stoves to support government’s policies and efforts to reduce carbon emissions and effects of greenhouse gases.
“This technology is actually out there to reduce the consumption of fuel wood and carbon emissions, while preventing the hazards associated with cooking with biomass fuel,’’ he said.
Olaore, who said that the government had yet to subsidise the stove production, said that the stove was affordable and cost-effective, taking into cognisance the high cost of cooking fuel nowadays.
The country director said that the price of one unit of the stoves ranged between N5,500 and N15,000, depending on the fuel that was suitable for that particular stove.
“We produce these stoves to help people to live better lives; this technology is actually out there to improve the life of the common man in Nigeria,’’ he said.
However, Mr Richard Inyamkume, the Senior Programme Officer, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Initiative (CCMAI), urged the government to support low carbon growth initiatives that were executed by relevant stakeholders in the country.
He said it was imperative for government at all levels to support the low carbon growth initiatives because of their attendant benefits to the people and the environment.
“Presently, a huge number of Nigeria’s population is dependent on dirty cooking modes such as firewood and charcoal.
“While this contributes to global warming through carbon emissions, it also poses health risks to the users.
“Governments need to focus on investing in the area of clean cooking options for Nigerians, especially the citizens in the rural communities,’’ he said.
As parts of efforts to lay solid foundation for the evolution of a low carbon society, Inyamkume urged the government to mainstream climate change issues into federal, state and local government budgetary proposals.
He said that the government at all levels needed to give priority to investments in low carbon projects, particularly in the areas of cooking modes, transportation modes and clean energy options.
“To this end, private sector investments should be encouraged for the production and distribution of clean cooking technologies, low carbon travel options, such as bicycles, hybrid cars, tricycles, and other low- or zero-carbon emitting energy options.
“Nigeria has a huge economic potential as well as brilliant climatic and environmental future which cannot be left to be ravaged by the adverse impacts of climate change,’’ he said.
Inyamkume also urged the government and other relevant stakeholders to implement existing policies and strategies to achieve low carbon growth in the country.
He said that the federal, state and local governments as well as the citizens should make concerted efforts to achieve green, healthy and sustainable environment that supports food and livestock production, as well as clean energy production.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) observes that out of more than 56 million cases of abortions that take place globally each year, almost half of the cases are done through unsafe procedures.
Abortion
It notes further that. between 2010 and 2014, there were 55.7 million abortion cases every year and, out of these, 17.1 million cases were unsafe.
Similarly, some concerned citizens express concern that cases of unsafe abortions are on the increase even as women and young girls have become victims of rape, resulting in unwanted pregnancy that they may seek to abort.
Worried about the trend, medical experts have, on many occasions, warned that cases of unsafe abortions are on the increase in Nigeria because it is not legalised and has made women and girls to patronise quacks in medical profession.
They put the rate of deaths arising from unsafe abortions in Nigeria at 450 persons per 100,000 abortions, using random data from different periods.
They also expressed concern that unsafe abortions, especially among teenagers, have continued to cause life-threatening health problems and regrets, leading to deaths of many people.
A concern citizens, pleading anonymity, cites the case of one Comfort, a 16-year old girl, who got pregnant when she was sexually abused.
Confused and scared of the repercussions, she decided to get rid of the pregnancy by involving a quack doctor.
Although the abortion was done, she later developed pains which led to severe bleeding and health condition for the rest of her life.
Similarly, Kemi, a university undergraduate got pregnant but being uncomfortable with the stigma associated with it, she sought to abort the pregnancy by a quack who sold abortion pills for her.
With the resultant stomach ache and excessive bleeding, she was taken a hospital where she later died.
Considering the mindset of most girls and women on unwanted pregnancy, medical experts believe that unsafe abortion, therefore, remains a major public health problem in developing and underdeveloped countries, especially in Nigeria.
Dr Ejike Orji, Chairman, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, said more than 1.2 million reported unsafe cases of abortion occurred in Nigeria annually.
According to him, 40 per cent of maternal deaths that occur in Nigeria were due to unsafe abortions.
He underscored the need for government to improve budget on health sector to drive change in sexual and reproductive health.
Orji said women should be informed and ought to be given opportunity to make a healthy choice in terms of sexual and reproductive health rights.
He noted that provision of family planning and post abortion for rural women by midwives would be necessary in curtailing maternal deaths arising from unsafe abortions.
Similarly, Dr Godwin Akaba, gynaecologist at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, expressed concern about the rate of deaths caused by unsafe abortions.
“Many lives are lost on a daily basis to crude abortions; many of those who survive often suffer acute complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease that could lead to secondary infertility, systemic infection and ectopic pregnancies,’’ he observed.
Akaba said 40 per cent of women involved in unsafe abortion in Nigeria experienced severe complications around the pelvic.
“If left untreated or poorly treated, pelvic infection could lead to the blockage of the fallopian tube resulting in infertility.
“Based on research, 20 per cent to 30 per cent of unsafe abortion procedures result in reproductive tract infections which lead to secondary infertility.
“Unless the tubes are unblocked via surgery, the chances of conception are very slim because the fallopian tube serves as a passage for the ovum — egg cell — from the ovary to the uterus, where it meets with the sperm for fertilisation.
“Tubal blockage is what essentially leads to infertility; even if it does not lead to complete blockage of the fallopian tube, it could make the lining of the uterus, were the foetus stays hostile, predisposing the woman to recurrent miscarriages,’’ he said.
He said it could also lead to ectopic pregnancy, where a foetus could grow outside the womb and if not detected early, the condition could lead to the death of the mother.
According to him, the alarming rate of unsafe abortion is caused by Nigeria’s restrictive laws which prohibit induced abortion, except when the life of the mother is in danger.
He observed that the situation had forced many women to patronise quacks that often proved to be dangerous.
To check the rate of cases of unsafe abortion, Ipas, a non-governmental organisation that works globally to improve access to safe abortion and contraception, recommends the review of the Abortion Law in the country.
Ipas Country Director Hauwa Shekarau said the law had been in existence since 1861, describing it as outdated and restricting.
She urged the Federal Government to make the law liberal to improve the quality of services women received from health facilities.
She noted that reforming such law would help to check rate of maternal death and health indicators of women as well as enable women to exercise their sexual reproductive health rights.
“The law guiding abortion in Nigeria is found from Section 228 to Section 230 of the Criminal Code as applicable to the southern part of the country, providing for abortion only if it is to save the lives of women.
“We are not saying every woman should have an abortion but every woman’s choice should be included in the law such that if I am raped and decide to keep the pregnancy or abort it, the law should enable me to enjoy that,’’ she explained.
Early Childhood Development (ECD), from conception to pre-primary education age, has been globally recognised as foundation for adult health, productivity, learning and social cohesion.
School children
ECD includes health of mother and unborn child, nutrition, responsive care, early learning, security, safety to ensure improved care and support for growing child, thereby giving him a good head-start in life.
Analysts, therefore, note that the ultimate aim of providing ECD is to provide care for the child for further education.
According to them, failure to invest at this stage would hamper the future of the child and realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They cite 2016 Lancet series on Child Development that states that 250 million children under the age of five globally are unlikely to reach their potential because their development has been stunted by stress, lack of early stimulation and poor nutrition.
They observe that Nigeria is rated among top 10 countries that contributed to the number and failure for these children to thrive would drag the country’s growth by affecting their later learning, social cohesion, productivity and health.
Leveraging on critical place of ECD in SDGs and the potential of early investments in young children is, therefore, providing a foundation for their current and future development, they note.
SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations and the goals are interrelated though each has its own targets to achieve, covering a broad range of social and economic development issues.
Mrs Swadchet Sankey, Education Specialist, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), insists that ECD is fundamental to achieving SDGs by 2030.
She said SDGs presented an opportunity to connect ECD with efforts to create equity, productivity, prosperity and sustainable growth for a more peaceful future.
She noted that through quality ECD, all children, irrespective of background, would have access to quality care, education, nutrition and protection, among others, that ensure the realisation of their full potential.
She also expressed optimism that through improved investment in ECD, SDGs would be achieved because the health and wealth of any nation depends on the health of its population.
Sankey further noted that ECD would aid in driving transformation agenda, describing it as a cost effective strategies for poverty eradication.
“ECD is the foundation of achieving SDGs; if we do not increase investments on ECD in early years, we will have issues in achieving SDGs because all the 17 goals are tied as they all focus on the child.
“If you want to eradicate or reduce poverty, gender inequality, you need to invest in the children.
“To improve the economy, quality education, bridge inequality gap between boy and the girl child among others you need to invest in children.
“If we really want to bridge gap between us and the developed countries as enshrined in the SDGs, we have to take ECD seriously,” she noted.
Sankey urged governments and policy makers to assist parents and caregivers to build enriching environment where they could pay loving attention to their babies and young children.
According to her, any environment that is not sensitive to nutrition, health and security of children is not a complete environment for ECD.
She identified focal areas of ECD as early learning, revitalisation of routine immunisation, support for women to enable them to make decisions regarding their own health during pregnancy, high impact nutrition, sanitation service to reduce stunting and boost cognitive development.
Similarly, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria Mohamed Fall, recommended six months paid maternity leave and four weeks paid paternity leave to ensure healthy development of young children.
Fall also recommended two years pre-primary education, adding that the policies would afford parents time and resources needed to support their young children’s healthy development.
Fall, nonetheless, observes that Nigeria has the potential for comprehensive approach to ECD with an integrated multi-sectoral ECD policy.
He urged stakeholders to encourage investments on ECD by supporting caregivers, giving quality pre-primary education and good nutrition that would help to secure healthy and productive future generations.
Nigeria’s oil and gas revenues plunged from $54.5 billion in 2014 to $24.8 billion in 2015, while the country’s oil production fell from 798 million barrels in 2014 to 776 million barrels in 2015, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio
According to the NEITI 2015 Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report, the total outstanding revenue from the sector as at 2015 was $3.7 billion and N80 billion, while losses incurred stood at $2.2 billion and N60 billion, and unreconciled revenues amounted to N317 billion.
“Beyond providing a snapshot of what transpired in 2015, this report reveals money to be recovered, leakages to be blocked, and urgent reforms to be undertaken,” said Waziri Adio, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, at the release of the report on Friday, December 29, 2017. “The most critical take-away is the need to expedite, expand and sustain reforms in this still critical sector of national life.”
The report shows that Nigeria suffered a 54.6% decline in oil revenues but only a slight 2.7% fall in oil production. “This was due to drastic reduction in the unit price of crude oil in the global market,” states the report. It will be recalled that the yearly average price of crude oil per barrel tumbled from $101.91 in 2014 to $52.16 in 2015.
Oil and gas revenues have been declining since 2011 when total revenues peaked at $68.4b. A five-year analysis in the report reveals that revenues declined by 8%, 7.7% and 6% in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. However, the decline leapt to double digits in 2015 when total revenue dwindled by more than half.
Total oil production also dropped but not by much: from 798 million barrels in 2014 to 776 million barrels in 2015. The report attributed the decline to oil theft and militancy. However, total gas production went up by 20.23% from 2, 593,090 mmscf in 2014 to 3, 250, 667 mmscf in 2015. The jump by a fifth was on account of the combined effect of increase in gas utilisation and decline in gas flaring.
According to the report, the total oil lifted in 2015 was 780 million barrels, about four million barrels higher than the amount produced with the balance drawn from previous years. Of the 780 million barrels, the companies lifted 467 million barrels while NNPC lifted 313 million barrels. NNPC’s liftings were split almost evenly between Federation Export and Domestic Crude Allocation, which accounted for 159.4 million barrels and 153.9 million barrels respectively. However, only 8.7 million barrels or 5.6% of crude oil allocated for domestic consumption went to the refineries in 2015 on account of the state of the refineries.
Other major highlights of the report include the following:
NLNG Dividends
In 2015, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) paid $1.07 billion as dividend, interest and loan repayment to NNPC, broken down as follows: $1.04 billion as dividends, $3.1 million as interests, and $29.1 million as loan repayment. This brings to a total of $16.8 billion NLNG’s payments to NNPC for the period 2000 to 2015. The payments are for the loan grant to NLNG and for the 49% stake that the government holds in the company.
While NNPC has always confirmed receipt of the payments, it has never shown evidence of remittance to either the Federal Government or to the Federation Account. NNPC maintains that it has authorisation from the presidency to hold the dividends in trust and utilise as directed by the government. NEITI recommends that NNPC should provide documentary evidence of the authorisation to hold the money in trust and to give account of the expenditure from and the status of the $16.8 billion collected in 16 years.
Crude Theft and Product Losses
The volume of crude oil declared lost to theft by 13 operators in 2015 was 27.1 million barrels. Though this amounted to only 3.5% of total oil production, the loss was valued at $1.4 billion. PPMC also declared loss of crude worth $25 million, bringing the total declared losses to $1.45 billion. This brings the established loss to theft from 2011 to 2015 to a total of 113.1 million barrels valued at $11billion. Also, PPMC declared losing products worth N56.4 billion, broken down as follows: N52 billion for losses on petrol, N3.8 billion for losses on diesel, and N123 million for losses on kerosene. Deferred production on account of sabotage or repairs came to 57 million barrels. NEITI reiterates its call for effective and adequate metering infrastructure and enhanced security of our oil and gas assets.
Deductions from Domestic Crude Allocation (DCA)
The 153.92 million barrels of crude allocated for domestic consumption (at 445, 000 barrels per day) was utilised as follows: 56.11 million barrels or 37% to PPMC for export; 89 million barrels or 57% for Offshore Processing Arrangement (OPA) and 8.74 million barrels or 5.6% for local refineries. The total value of the domestic allocation came to $7.77 billion or N1.5 trillion.
When combined with the closing balance for the previous year and with allowance made for liability acknowledged and upfront deductions by NNPC, there was an un-reconciled sum of N317 billion from the value of crude allocated for domestic consumption. NNPC acknowledges having a liability of N418 billion as at 31st December 2015. Also, NNPC deducted the following upfront from domestic crude account: N60.9 billion for losses; N316.7 billion for subsidy; and N112 billion for repairs and maintenance.
A breakdown of the repairs and maintenance expenses shows that N24.2 billion was spent on crude movements; N22.1 billion on fund releases for salaries; N15.6 billion on demurrage; N13.2 billion on share of upfront; N11.37 billion on product distribution; N10.5 billion on through/marine; N4.12 billion on facility repairs; N3.27 billion on operations; N1.9 billion on security; and N1.3 billion on projects, among others.
NEITI recommends that upfront deductions should be discontinued and that NNPC should settle its liabilities and reconcile the unreconciled amount. NEITI also recommends that detailed records of losses and repairs be kept to ensure transparency and accountability.
Non-Cash Call Items
The total cash calls paid to joint venture operators in 2015 was $4.37 billion. Out of this, $597.8 million was paid on what the report considers non-cash call items. This included $307.83 million paid to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Navy for security; $238 million collected by NAPIMS as administrative charges; $7.2 million for travelling and accommodation; and $4.8 million for consultancy, among others. NEITI recommends that non-cash call expenses should be paid from NNPC overhead budget, and payment to NIA and others from cash call account should be discontinued.
OPA and Other Losses
The report shows that in 2015 the country recorded a net loss of $723 million from getting refined products through Offshore Processing Arrangement (OPA). This means that the value of refined products that the country received through OPA was less than the value of the crude given by $723 million, even after allowances had been made for costs and margins. The President Muhammadu Buhari administration cancelled the OPA in November 2015 for being uneconomical. However, there was an outstanding liability of $498 million by companies contracted under OPA from under-delivery of imported products.
The report shows that $90 million was lost through a practice where NNPC used a revised/lower pricing option at the point of payment instead of the higher price at the point of purchase. The report states that NNPC has stopped the practice of double valuation with the coming of the present administration.
NEITI recommends close monitoring of the Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangement that replaced the OPA to ensure the country is not being shortchanged. It also calls for government to recover the $498 million OPA liabilities from the affected companies.
NPDC’s Liabilities
From the report, NPDC (the upstream arm of NNPC) reduced its legacy liabilities from $1.45 billion and N80 billion in 2014 to $757 million and N68 billion in 2015. However, NPDC incurred liabilities of $822 million and N9.6 billion in 2015, bringing its total liabilities at the end of 2015 to $1.5 billion and N78 billion.
The report also showed that NPDC promised that by 31st December 2017 it will pay the balance of $1.7 billion that it owes the Federation from the eight OMLs divested to it from the Shell JV between 2010 and 2011. It will be recalled that the OMLs were valued at $1.8 billion, which is believed to be discounted and that NPDC paid only $100 million. The report also showed that the valuation for the four OMLs divested to NPDC from the NAOC JV in 2012 was revised down from $2.25 billion to $1.55 billion by DPR. NPDC claims that the Federation owes it $95 million, having lifted oil from the divested assets and received payments from gas proceeds between 2012 and 2015. NEITI recommends that NPDC should pay its outstanding liabilities and that the basis of the revaluation and mode of payment of the divested assets be examined to ensure that the Federation is not shortchanged.
The NEITI 2015 Oil and Gas Audit Report is the eighth to be produced since the extractive sector transparency regulator came into being in 2004. The report was released on Friday, December 29, 2017, after approval by the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), which is the governing board of NEITI headed by Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Minister for Mines and Steel Development. The audit was conducted by Haruna Yahaya & Co., a Nigerian accounting and audit firm selected through an international competitive process.
The 2016 audits will commence early next year while the procurement process for the 2017 audits has commenced. “Our goal is to clear the backlog as quickly as possible,” Adio said. “We are embracing mainstreaming and automation to ensure we speed up our reports to make them as close to real time as possible and to enhance their reform and accountability utility. Resources and process permitting, we will release the 2016 and 2017 reports next year.”
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has declined to sign into law a bill on the development and application of genetically modified organisms (GMO) technology in the country.
President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni
The National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill, 2012 seeks to provide a regulatory framework that facilitates the safe development and application of biotechnology, research, development and release of GMOs.
In his December 21 letter to Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, President Museveni outlined why he was sending the bill back to parliament to clarify, among other issues, its title, patent rights of indigenous farmers and sanctions for scientists who mix GMOs with indigenous crops and animals.
The president said he had been informed that there are “some crops and livestock with unique genetic configuration like millet, sorghum, beans, Ankole cattle, Ugandan chicken, enkoromoijo cattle, which have a specific genetic makeup which our people have developed for millennia through selection (kutorana for seeds, kubikira (selecting good bulls), enimi or empaya (he-goats).”
Using the new science of genetic engineering, he argues, one may add an additional quality-such as drought resistance, quick maturity, disease resistance, but, “this law apparently talks of giving monopoly of patent rights to its holder and forgets about the communities that developed the original material.
“This is wrong, yes we appreciate the contribution of the holder but we cannot forget original preservers, developers and multipliers of the original materials. This must be clarified,” he said.
The president noted that, “to be on the safe side, GMO seeds should never be randomly mixed with our indigenous seeds just in case they turn out to have a problem.”
Mr Museveni also wants parliament to clarify on other aspects of genetic engineering, such as setting out the boundary of the technology to crops and animals with no crossover to human beings, and labelling of GMOs.
Guiding law
Biotechnology is any technique that uses living organisms or substances from living organisms to make or modify a product, improve plant, animal breeds or micro-organisms for specific purposes while biosafety is the safe development, transfer, application and use of biotechnology and its products.
The Ugandan government, through the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), is already conducting research on crop plants produced through modern biotechnology.
The research aims at finding solutions to chronic problems such as insect and disease epidemics, drought stress, and malnutrition.
Uganda which has a National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy (2008) needed a law to guide implementation of this policy and before the improved varieties from biotechnology could be made available to farmers but the bill has since 2012 left the science world divided on the place of genetic engineering of crops and animals using modern science and the role of indigenous technology built over centuries by Africans.
Legislative process
Uganda parliament’s director of communication and public affairs, Chris Obore, told the Daily Monitor that he could not confirm if the Speaker had received the president’s letter.
He, however, reiterated the constitutional provision on the legislative process when and if the president declines to assent to a bill.
“I can’t confirm the speaker received the president’s letter, it may have come during the festive season. If the president sent back the bill the normal procedure is that parliament will look at the issues raised, discuss and if it finds it fit make amendments. If it believes there is no problem with the bill, it will also write to the president stating the same,” Mr Obore said.
Courtesy: Business Daily (businessdailyafrica.com)
Stakeholders in health sector note that the recent decision by the National Assembly to implement the 2014 National Health Act is an indication that healthcare delivery in the country, particularly at primary level, is inefficient.
Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said the Senate would implement the act, including the one per cent consolidated fund to enhance funding of the country’s healthcare system, although the implementation was not included in the proposed 2018 budget.
Saraki observed that the act “stipulates that one per cent of consolidated fund should be set aside for healthcare provision’’.
Appraising the decision of the Senate, concerned citizens observe that primary healthcare services in Nigeria are deficient and should be revitalised through additional funding and political will.
According to them, the determination of the National Assembly to implement the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund will be a great breakthrough for improving primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Sen. Olanrewaju Tejuoso, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, said the fund provided in the act would generate more than N54 billion for health intervention programmes.
“The act provides that one per cent of the consolidated revenue should be a statutory transfer to the appropriate agencies.
“It means the fund will go to particular pockets as grant to provide basic healthcare to Nigerians.
“It is supposed to be a minimum of one per cent of consolidated revenue to support the funding coming from other partners,’’ he said.
He said the fund would be domiciled with the agencies and if it was not spent, it would be used the following year.
Further to this development, for more efficient primary healthcare delivery, Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the agency would address the challenges of primary healthcare system.
He said the agency would ensure effective human resources, good equipment, availability of drugs, better power supply, regular water and the general management of Primary Health Care (PHC) system.
He said the agency had designed programmes and interventions to improve the efficiency and quality of PHC services.
Shuaib said the agency had concluded plans to roll out Community Health Influencers and Promoters of Health Services Programme to scale up demand for primary health care services in rural communities.
He added that the programme would change the landscape of primary healthcare system in the country, promising that the agency would reach out to remote areas where people lacked access to healthcare.
“During the programme, an average of 10 women per ward who have minimum of elementary or secondary school education will be identified to participate in the programme.
“Such women will be trained on basic health services such as provision of first aid, motivational talks, promotion of good hygiene and environmental sanitation in the community.
“They will also conduct a house-to-house visit with the aim of creating demand for ante-natal and other health services and make referrals to the nearest health facilities.
“However, the trained women are not going to replace Community Health Extension Workers and Juniors Community Health Extension Workers but they are going to assist in the communities,’’ he said.
Similarly, Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health, said government would utilise health segment of N-Power programme to tackle the need for human resources.
“We are tapping to the 1,500 midwives that are available for deployment across the country; we have more than 20,000 young people within the N-Power Health Programme.
“The National Primary Health Care Development Agency will inaugurate Community Health Influencers and Promoters of Health Services Programme that will function like the old village health care workers and health inspectors, and its personnel will go from house-to-house in villages and encourage people to come to access facilities.
“Part of the challenges we have is that we have the facilities and the facilities are not patronised by the people.
“Either because the people had lost interest in the past or they go there and there were no personnel to attend to them or there were no drugs but we are changing that narrative,’’ Adewole said.
He also said the government had been revitalising Primary Health Care centres, beginning with 110 Primary Health Care centres across the country, while the Federal Government had been partnering the state governments in that regard.
“Part of what the Basic Health Care Provision Fund will do is to pay for human resources for health and also pay for maintenance so that you will not revitalise today and in the next few years, the system will fall apart,’’ Adewole explained.
For sustainability, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency insists that the Federal Government has made it very clear that health is a priority sector.
To boost rural healthcare services, the agency announces that it has set up national routine immunisation coordination centre as an engine room to ensure better coordination of routine immunisation activities nationwide.
A new hydrogen fuel cell bus was unveiled in Central Chinese City of Wuhan on Thursday, December 28, 2017.
Hydrogen fuel cell bus
The 8.5-meter vehicle can carry 56 passengers and can run more than 450 kilometers on single refuel of hydrogen, which takes three to five minutes, said its developer, Wuhan Tiger Fuel Cell Vehicle Co. Ltd.
The vehicle is able to start at temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius and intelligently detect malfunctions, according to the company.
The company signed an agreement on Thursday with Wuhan Skywell, a new energy vehicle manufacturer, to produce 3,000 such buses in the next two years.
The first batch is expected to hit the road in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, in the second quarter of 2018.
Wuhan Industrial Technology Research Institute of Geo-resources and Environment and the Hubei branch of China National Petroleum Corporation would set up a hydrogen station in Wuhan in 2018, and bring the number in the province to 21 within three years.
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday, December 28, 2017 moved to increase the state government revenue by reviewing the current Land Use Charge in the state.
Mr Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House read for the second time “A Bill for A Law To Repeal The Land Use Charge Law 2001 and Enact Land Use Charge 2017 and For Connected Purposes.”
The Assembly subsequently committed the bill to the House Ad hoc Committee on Finance headed by Mr Yinka Ogundimu.
According to the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, the proposed law is all about increasing the revenue generation of the state by bringing more houses into the net.
Obasa said that a situation where only a few consultants were working with the state government on the collection of Land Use Charge was not encouraging.
The speaker, who noted that so many buildings have yet to be captured in the tax net of the state, said there was need for more consultants.
“We need more consultants to do the job, so that the entire state can be covered in the collection of Land Use Charge.
“Whatever tribunal that would be set up to deal with offenders should have the support of the government.
“On the issue of exemptions, we cannot exempt religious organisations because most of the worship centres are making money.
“We could only exempt non-governmental organisations; however, let’s leave all in the hand of the committee,” he said.
Also speaking, the Majority Leader of the House, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, said that the bill would repeal the existing laws on land use charge.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, who commended the bill, said that it would help to increase the revenue of the state government.
The Chairman, Adhoc Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Gbolahan Yishawu, harped on enforcement in collecting the charges.
Yishawu decried the situation, where only about 300,000 houses were paying land use charge in a state with over two million houses.
A Nigerian entrepreneur based in the UK, Mr Francis Agbeja, has urged the Federal Government to ensure drastic reduction in energy wastage by adopting the right modern technologies.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)
Agbeja, the Director of Daffresh Freight Services Ltd., gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, December 28, 2017 in Abuja.
The entrepreneur noted that energy efficiency always ensured reduction in the energy bills for poor households among other important social benefits.
“The government should diversify the energy sources in domestic, commercial, and industrial sectors and adopt new available technologies to reduce energy wastage and to save cost.
“Also, government needs to strengthen energy policy interventions, which can make a major contribution to the sustainable economic, environmental, and social development of Africa’s most populated country – Nigeria.
“Implementing the country’s renewable energy target will have significant costs, but these can partly be offset by selling carbon credits according to the rules of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) agreed some 10 years ago.
“This, I believe will result in indirect health benefits,” he said.
The director said that Nigeria could benefit from targeted interventions that would reduce the local air pollution and help country to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
He said that promotion of renewable energy resources, energy efficiency and application of energy conservation in construction of industrial, residential, and office buildings, in transportation would address the shift of sustainable energy future.
“Access to clean modern energy services is an enormous challenge facing the African continent because energy is fundamental for socioeconomic development and poverty eradication.
“Today, about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the Nigerian population do not have access to electricity,“ he said.
Agbeja argued that there was no doubt that the present power crisis afflicting Nigeria would persist without a deliberate effort at saving cost of providing electricity to the teeming populace.
