Review Shows Nigeria Needs Urgent Help - IMF

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Review Shows Nigeria Needs Urgent Help - IMF

President Muhammadu Buhari

Nigerian people are getting poorer despite the country’s slow recovery from recession and economic reforms are urgently needed, the International Monetary Fund has said.

The Fund expects the government to “muddle through” in the medium term, and any progress could also be threatened if elections next year consume political energy and resources, it said in a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Since emerging from recession in the second quarter of 2017, Nigerian officials have repeatedly boasted that they have set the economy back on track.

But critics say much of the recovery comes from a return to oil dependence after a rise in global oil prices and a rebound in crude production, more the result of militants in the Niger Delta halting attacks on oil facilities than of economic policy under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The IMF said in the report that the outlook for growth had improved but remained challenging.

“Comprehensive and coherent” economic policies “remain urgent and must not be delayed by approaching elections and recovering oil prices,” it stated in its annual Article IV review of Nigeria’s economy.

“Higher oil prices would support a recovery in 2018 but a ‘muddle-through’ outlook is projected for the medium term under current policies, with fiscal dominance and structural constraints leading to continuing falls in real GDP per capita,” the IMF added.

In the report, it identified risks to growth, including additional delays to implementing policies and reforms ahead of the 2019 elections, security tensions, and oil prices, a fall in which could see capital flows reversed.

“Further delays in policy action, including because of pre-election pressures, can only make the inevitable adjustment more difficult and costlier,” the report added.

The lender repeated its call for Nigeria to simplify its complex foreign exchange system, a bugbear for the IMF for more than a year, which has left large gaps between official rates and various windows that certain groups can use to get other rates.

“Moving towards a unified exchange rate should be pursued as soon as possible. The IMF staff does not support the exchange measures that have given rise to the exchange restrictions and multiple currency practices,” it stated.

The Fund further singled out the central bank, saying it should discontinue direct interventions in the economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria frequently injects hundreds of millions of dollars into the foreign exchange market to keep its own rates stable.

Commercial banks struggling to remain solvent were also called out, but not identified by the IMF, including one that the lender said was already insolvent, adding, “Some of these banks are kept afloat through continuous recourse to the CBN’s lending facilities.”

The IMF said it would not comment on purported leaks. A spokeswoman for the Fund said a statement would be issued after the lender’s board’s meeting to discuss its assessment on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to a phone call and email requesting comment.

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“We Spent Last 2 Years Digging Nigeria Out Of Mess We Met” – President Buhari

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“We Spent Last 2 Years Digging Nigeria Out Of Mess We Met” – President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government has been salvaging Nigeria from her challenges since he assumed office.

The President said this on Tuesday while addressing a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

He urged leaders and members of the APC at the meeting, as well as Nigerians, to support the security agencies in tackling insecurity in the country.

Ahead of the forthcoming elections, President Buhari declared the APC as the party of the Nigerian people and asked its leaders and members to join forces towards achieving victory in the 2019 polls.

He further asked them to remind Nigerians of the past and thank them for supporting the APC in spite of the recent challenges in the country.

The President also appealed to the party faithful not to relax and support the presidential committee led by former governor Bola Tinubu, to reconcile all aggrieved members of the APC.

Read the President’s full remarks below:

I welcome all of you dear party members to this year’s NEC meeting.

Let me first record my appreciation to the party leadership in Abuja and the states for their stewardship of the party affairs. In particular, may I commend our Chairman, His Excellency Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for steering the party from success to success.

From our resounding victory in 2015, to gubernatorial elections in Kogi, Edo and Ondo as well as much improved showing in Anambra Elections. APC is the party of government and now the party of the Nigerian people.

Mr Chairman, Members of NEC, great credit is due to our APC State Governors for stabilizing the country and to our Armed Forces, Police and other Security Agencies for stopping Boko Haram in its tracks and driving them from their bases. No country, however well secured, can prevent isolated acts of terror as we have seen in America, Europe, Asia and here in Africa.

We must support our Security Agencies to safeguard our country so that the job of development as outlined in our Manifesto can proceed without too much interruption. 

Mr Chairman, Members of the National Executive Committee, we cannot afford to fail to remind Nigerians where we came from in 2015. I am happy to report that slowly and steadily we have managed to stabilise the country and re-direct the ship of the State.

We have restored prudence to the management of public finances. Confidence in Nigeria has been restored. On February 23rd, Nigeria issued 12-year and 20-year Eurobond on the international market, which were both oversubscribed. The 12-year bond was within days subscribed by 332%. The 20-year bond was subscribed by 372%.

We have stabilised the Naira, increased our foreign reserves from US$20 billion to US$40 billion. Inflation rate is down. With considerably less resources available to the country, we have improved all indices towards a stronger economy.

Above all, we must pay tribute to the Nigerian people. They still massively support the government in spite of distractions from exponents of “business-as-usual”.

Nevertheless, I am not asking us to relax and take things easy. As we all know, elections are looming on the horizon, we must, therefore, get our act together. Accordingly, I implore all members of the Party to give the Asiwaju Committee full cooperation to resolve differences existing amongst our members in the States affected. It is perhaps inevitable that there would be differences of opinion within the Party. If we didn’t have differences we wouldn’t be a genuinely democratic Party.

But we must not lose sight of our common purpose as a new Party to break the mould of Nigerian politics and take the country to new heights. Therefore, we have asked our respected Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead this process of restoring order to the ranks, manage differences and strengthen the Party.

Mr Chairman, members of the National Executive Committee, I must acknowledge that the pace of government has not met the expectations of many within our Party. But few of us knew or appreciated the depth of the hole when we took office. Thus we spent the last two years digging the country out of the mess we met.

Furthermore, the stand-off between the Executive and the National Assembly slowed the process of government. We are working hard to resolve the differences so that the country can move forward.

Soon, primaries for; wards, local governments, state and centre will be due.

I urge all members to take account of the fact that APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any position is not reached. Regardless of thcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure victory for our party.

Thank you

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Peace Corps: Reps Demands IGP To Appear Before Them

The House of Representatives has insisted that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, should appear before it, to explain why he disobeyed subsisting court orders to vacate the headquarters of the Peace Corps of Nigeria located in Jabi Abuja.

This was even as the National Commandant of the Corps, Amb (Dr.) Dickson Akoh, averred that, there was a grand conspiracy against the Nigerian youths by those who engineered the decision of President Muhammad Buhari to withhold assent from the Peace Corps Bill.

The House Committee on public petitions, had penultimate Tuesday, ordered that the office of Peace Corps be unsealed, in line with the two recent judgements delivered by Federal High Court in Abuja, to that effect.

At its sitting on Tuesday, the committee said Buhari’s rejection of the Bill is a different issue from the court order asking the police to leave the headquarters.

The police has cordoned the place off since 28th February, 2017, despite two court judgements and the committee’s directive, asking them to leave.

Hon. Nkem Uzoma-Abonta, Chairman of the committee, said, following the change of venue for the Tuesday meeting, the committee will give the police “a benefit of doubt” and adjourn till March, 6.

He said while the police should leave the organisation’s headquarters, the IGP and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, should appear before it “and tell us why the court orders should not be obeyed.”

He added that failure of the duo to appear before it will make the lawmakers explore other options available to them and ensure they appeared as directed.

Meanwhile, the Peace Corps boss, Akoh, has expressed strong optimism that the last has not been heard about the Peace Corps Bill, which he said was purely for the youth empowerment.

The Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill was overwhelmingly passed at the National Assembly and transmitted to the Presidency for assent on Wednesday, 27th December, 2017.

President Buhari, however, on Tuesday, transmitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives that he was withholding his assent on the Bill, citing paucity of funds and duplication of duties.

Addressing journalists after a House of Representatives committee meeting on Tuesday, Akoh accused the nation’s security agencies of working against the Bill.

He said the same persons who “fought” the Peace Corps Bill prior to its passage also advised Buhari against assenting to the Bill.

Akoh said: “The same people that opposed the Bill with the same content during the National Assembly’s public hearing, allegedly took the matter before the President, telling him that instead of voting money for new establishment, they should use it to boost money for their own activities.

“They had said it is a duplication of their functions but we made an advertorial in some newspapers to show the differences in the functions.

“Whatever they have done has not brought the situation to an end. The National Assembly may still take it up.”

The Commandant further said the organisation was in the interest of the vast majority of the youth, adding that “from what I am seeing, there is a conspiracy against the youth.”

“Let them (the youth) be jobless and be committing crimes and let these people have more money and jail them. I think that is the conspiracy.

“We have bills that have suffered similar fate and resistance and was later passed. So we have hope that one day, proper attention will be given to the bill,” he said.

Source DailyPost

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Nigerian Government Has Failed In Health Care Delivery - Minister

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Nigerian Government Has Failed In Health Care Delivery - Minister

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said the reason the federal government is unable to successfully plan and coordinate health service delivery has to do with its weak governance structures, poor human resource capacity and inefficient core processes.

He also expressed sadness at the inability of the Health Ministry to demonstrate expected results and ensure value for money in the delivery of health services.

Adewole made this known while speaking at the opening ceremony of a retreat aimed at strengthening the Ministry’s budget process and the capacity of the Department of Health Planning, Research & Statistics, which was organised in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Health Systems Consults Ltd in Abuja yesterday.

He said: “A few years ago when we came in, I was presented with a report on public financial management, which showed the health sector as the least performer out of sixteen (16) ministries.

“Relatedly, I observed, that the capacity to plan and coordinate health service delivery was weak. These issues undermine the Ministry’s ability to demonstrate results and ensure value for money.”

The Minister, who noted that citizens expected those charged with managing the health system to deliver on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), expressed the belief that a fundamental change in the approach to the delivery of health services that recognizes and addresses the drivers of underperformance is required

According to him, “it is imperative to assess and strengthen the capacity of the Ministry to effectively lead national health planning, policy development, and overall health sector coordination.”

Adewole said that a review of the budget formulation, execution, and monitoring practices within the ministry was a desideratum.

Accordingly, he said the journey to strengthen the process has commenced and all hands must be on deck to achieve this.

He said the leadership of the Ministry is fully committed to achieving that goal and gave assurance of proper guidance.

Source DailyPost

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Summary Of Major Headlines In Nigerian Newspapers Today 28th February, 2018

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Summary Of Major Headlines In Nigerian Newspapers Today 28th February, 2018

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers

1. Suspected herdsmen have rendered no fewer than 5,000 residents of Mbatoho Chile community, an Island close to Benue State Government House, of Makurdi local government homeless following a fresh attack.

The attack took place despite the commencement of Exercise Ayem A’ Kpatuma by the military to check the incursion of herdsmen into parts of Benue‎ State

2. The seeming frosty relationship between the Executive and the National Assembly is slowing down governance, President Muhammadu Buhari has said. 

The President, who spoke at the National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, said the government was working hard to resolve the differences between the Executive and the National Assembly so that the country can move forward.

3. A summit convened by the Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, in Enugu ‎was on Tuesday disrupted by pro-Biafra agitators.

It was gathered that the agitators made up of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, the Biafra Zionists Federation, BZF, among several others, forced the event to an abrupt end.

4. Barrister Aisha Alkali Wakil, a North-East human rights activist, popularly called Mama Boko Haram, has revealed that Abu Musab Al-Barnawi-led faction of Boko Haram might be responsible for the abduction of Dapchi School Girls.

Aisha Wakil, a former member of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the northern region of Nigeria under the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan, had, in previous efforts, brought military officers and Boko Haram Commanders together during negotiations.

5. Suspected herdsmen Tuesday invaded Gwamba community in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

An eyewitness told said the attackers stormed two villages in the community and opened fire on Tuesday morning, razing several houses, while the residents fled in different directions for safety.

6. President Muhammadu Buhari has explained why he rejected the bill establishing Peace Corps of Nigeria.

Buhari’s explanation, which was contained in a letter read during plenary on Tuesday by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara cited security concerns and financial burden of funding the organisation by the government as his reasons for rejecting the bill.

7. The All Progressives Congress, APC, national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Executive Committee has been given one year extension to be in office.

This decision was arrived at during the national executive committee, NEC, meeting of the party holding in Abuja.

8. No fewer than four persons were critically battered on Tuesday in Akaeze community, Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State following a clash between herdsmen and farmers.

Report says three herdsmen were left with head injuries, while one of the farmers received machete cuts on various parts of his body.

9. The Senate has explained the reason behind its move to amend Investment and Security Act (ISA) 2007 and enactment of Unclaimed Funds Bill 2018, saying there was so much benefit locked up in the sector, capable of boosting the economy.

President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, said it had been found that as much as N104 billion was locked up as unclaimed dividends in the capital market.

10. The Senator representing Benue North East in the National Assembly, Barnabas Gemade has faulted the reports in some quarters that the federal legislature gets larger chunk of the nation’s income.

The Senator, who revealed that the National Assembly gets only but 0.06 per cent of the national budget, wondered why those whose interest they were protecting through effective legislations were ones worried about their take home.

Source DailyPost

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Text Scandal Candidate Rejected By Arizona Republicans

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Text Scandal Candidate Rejected By Arizona Republicans

Former state senator Debbie Lesko won the GOP primary in a special congressional election in Arizona Tuesday night, The Associated Press reported. Republicans there rejected a front-runner who had been hit by scandal in the final days of the race to fill a seat vacated by a former congressman who had himself resigned in disgrace.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Lesko had earned 36 percent of the vote in the crowded primary, with former state Sen. Steve Montenegro well behind and nearly tied with former Donald Trump campaign official Phil Lovas, according to results published by the Arizona Secretary of State.

Republican candidate and former Arizona state Sen. Debbie Lesko, right, celebrates with former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer as she claims victory in the Congressional District 8 seat during a campaign party at Lesko's home in Glendale, Arizona, Tuesday night. Ralph Freso / AP

Flanked by former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, her most prominent supporter, Lesko thanked supporters who had gathered at her home and told reporters she was looking forward to the general election in April. “This is so sweet,” she said. "We’re going to have a party in April."

Montenegro conceded the race at a sports bar in Goodyear, Arizona.

Republican Trent Franks left Congress last year after admitting that he had put female staffers in inappropriate positions, including requesting they serve as surrogate mothers for his children.

Last week, the election to replace Franks was rocked when Montenegro, whom Franks had endorsed, got tangled up in his own scandal involving a junior staffer.

Several prominent Arizona Republicans called on Montenegro to withdraw from the race after text messages leaked to local media showed that Montenegro, a Christian minister, received a topless photo of a woman during a year-long flirty relationship.

Montenegro denied the relationship was inappropriate or ever got physical, and said he cut off contact with the woman and informed his wife when she sent the nude photo. But the relationship may have been enough to cost Montenegro the race.

Lesko will now face off against Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, a physician who also won her own primary Tuesday night, in the April 24 special election. But Republicans are heavily favored to retain the conservative district, even with the wind at Democrats’ backs this year.

The outcome will have some Arizona Republicans breathing easier, since they feared the possibility of a Democratic upset with a Roy Moore-like candidate on the ballot if Montenegro had won.

Source NBC News

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