By Salisu Sani-Idris

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has urged regulatory agencies to eliminate overlaps and align their activities with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for economic growth and enhance ease of doing business in Nigeria.

Shettima said this on Thursday during the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Regulators’ Forum to build an effective Regulatory Impact Framework (RIA) for Nigeria, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said that President Tinubu’s administration was committed toward streamlining the regulatory environment in the country.

According to Shettima, the move is crucial in driving the coordination, transparency and global competitiveness required for the nation’s economic transformation.

He noted that the administration’s journey toward a regulatory system built on trust, consistency and collaboration was ongoing.

He said that it was a journey that required all and sundry to remain committed.

“Our duty to the private sector is clear: to listen, process their concerns, and develop solutions that drive growth.

“In recent months, there have been pockets of complaints regarding certain directives from our regulatory agencies.

“I have personally intervened on several occasions to ensure we are not hampered by conflict, but instead move forward with unity and purpose.

“The success of this forum today does not solely depend on our ability to collaborate, share knowledge, and align our regulatory actions with the broader national agenda,” Shettima said.

He said President Tinubu had reassured the business community of his commitment to easing any bottlenecks they might encounter.

“And each regulator here must adopt the same mindset in their dealings with private enterprises.

“The work of PEBEC, particularly through initiatives like the Regulatory Reform Accelerator, has been pivotal in reducing the obstacles faced by businesses.

“Today’s forum offers an unparalleled opportunity to address these issues head-on and chart a new course towards regulatory cohesion.

“This is not merely an event – it is a defining moment for us to reflect on the duties we owe our nation,” he said.

Earlier, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, outlined PEBEC’s 2024 outlook.

Hadejia highlighted Nigeria’s business and investment climate reforms through its five strategic pillars, comprising regulatory, judicial and legislative reforms, among others.

He said deliberations and actions at the forum would be aligned with national economic goals that could make Nigeria a more attractive destination for business and investment.

“Through your participation and active contributions, this forum will play a pivotal role in transforming Nigeria’s regulatory landscape, ensuring that it enhances our global business competitiveness.”

The Executive Vice Chairman of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Alhaji Aminu Maida, thanked the vice-president for bringing all regulators together for the good of the nation.

“I think this is a very productive meeting and it is a very simple concept for one that will prove extremely effective because often we don’t realise how our actions which might seem to be very insignificant send a signal to the outside world.

“So, I think by the conveying of this forum, we as regulators in Nigeria, we are able to sit down and talk to each other rather than being cut unaware and ending up fighting fires which in the long run hampers investment into the country.

“Which I believe is exactly what President Tinubu wants to do to make Nigeria a destination for investment in the world,” Maida said.

Also, Special Adviser to the President on PEBEC and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, noted that regulators must act as enablers, evolving to support and nurture the very ecosystem they oversee.

“Regulators should be assessed based on the health of the businesses under them. If the businesses are dying, the regulator should be concerned.

“I want us to be the first government in modern history to leave office having reduced the overall burden of regulation rather than increasing it.” (NAN)

Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali

By Gabriel Agbeja

The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion kits nationwide, to fasttrack the change of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to use of CNG.

Mr Micheal Oluwagbemi, Programme Director, Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGi) disclosed this during an inspection tour and distribution of the kits to six CNG conversion centres in Abuja

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the six conversion centres inspected by the team are, NIPCO Oil and Gas Station Airport Road, Kia Motors at Utako, Mijo Gas Auto in Jahi, ABG CNG, Kubwa, Bovas Filling station, Wuse Zone 5 and C&L Mart Energy Solutions Ltd at Lokogoma.

Oluwagbemi said the CNG initiative by President Bola Tinubu would provide cheaper and cleaner vehicle fueling alternatives for Nigerians.

“The President has assured us that we are making one million conversion kits available for free for the commercial sector or at reasonable discounts for the private vehicles.

“This is to enable transportation fare to be moderated across the country over the next couple of years.

“Of course, it is.technically and logistically tasking to get the kits across to Nigerians because the kits must be installed in these vehicles and they have to be done in a way that is safe and reliable as well,“ he said.

The coordinator said the federal government had signed up with over 75 conversion partners officially in eight states including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Edo, Delta, Kogi, FCT, and Kaduna.

“These eight states are the ones where the conversion incentive program has kicked off. In the next six to eight weeks, we’ll be having additional nine states.

The states to be included are,  Kwara, Ekiti. Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Kano, and Niger.

“These states will be joining the category of states where we have activated the program,” he said.

Oluwagbemi said they were working with governors and the private sector to ensure the conversion kits were made available to beneficiaries.

“Of course, these kits are not manufactured in Nigeria at the moment. We are also enabling local manufacturers with capacity to ensure that we get them done locally.

“We need to make sure that we move the nation’s economy in the right direction; Away from our addiction to petrol and diesel which truly is making the nation’s economy bankrupt,”  he said.

For her part, the Coordinator of Business Development and Strategy of the initiative, Mrs Omolara Obileye said the programme would reduce the dependence on fuel.

She reiterated that while the commercial transporters would have 100 per cent conversion-free, private cars are expected to pay a fraction of the cost of the conversion,

“However, the cost depends on the vehicle size because there are different types of vehicles, and there is a need to understand exactly what we need to configure in the system.

“We have over 12 conversion centres in the FCT; we will continue to increase the number and update the public,” she said

Representatives of the management of the conversion centres, respectively commended the Federal government for the initiative and assured that it would go a long way in ameliorating sufferings if Nigerians. (NAN)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

By Philip Yatai

By Philip Yatai

By Amina Ahmed

The Nigeria COVID-19 Action, Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), says it has disbursed N625 billion to the 36 states since inception of the programme.

The National Coordinator, NG-CARES, Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, stated this during the peer learning and experience sharing exercise, on Thursday in Bauchi.

NG-CARES is being implemented by the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank and the 36 state governments, to mitigate the negative social and economic impacts occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also aimed at addressing other shocks through the provision of grants and basic social infrastructure services to poor and vulnerable communities.

Obaje described NG-CARES as one of the most successful World Bank’s intervention assisting more than 5.3 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

He said the programme had been restructured to accommodate victims of flood and other related shocks.

Mrs Elizabeth Egharebwa, Chairman, Federal CARES Technical Committee, said the programme had been working with communities and agencies to alleviate burdens of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians in the last three years.

She was represented by Adamu Gizos, Director Special Duties and Projects, Federal Ministry of Labour.

Egharebwa, who is also the Director, Economic Growth, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, said that: ”while we are proud of what we have accomplished thus far, we know there is still much work to be done.

”That is why this peer learning event is so critical. By convening diverse perspectives and experiences, we can collectively identify solutions to the complex challenges we face.”

Also speaking, Mr AbdulAzeez Olorunshola, represtative of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said the exercise was designed to encourage sustainable collaboration between the states.

This, he said, would ensure better understanding for effective peer learning methods among the states
Gov. Bala Mohammed, lauded the NG-CARES over its food security, small businesses and social intervention programmes.

Represented by Prof. Simon Yalams, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mohammed said the intervention encouraged application of Information Communications Technology (ICT) in the provision of infrastructure and basic services to the people.

He urged the people to protect and ensure effective utilisation of the facilities provided in their communities for sustainable social and economic development in the country.

“The peer learning and experience sharing exercise is coming at a time when the phase one cycle of the programme is about to terminate.

”This will therefore provide an avenue for participants to articulate and consolidate all the strategies, techniques and skills applied and used in the implementation of the programme in the country.

”The lessons learnt would serve as a guide in the conception of development of future programmes, especially the 2.0 whose concept and framework has almost been developed,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali

By Yahaya Isah/Collins Yakubu-Hammer

The National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) has sought for partnership with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the effective coverage of its activities in its quest to deliver on its mandate.

The Executive Secretary of the fund, Mr Tosin Adeyanju, made the request when he led the management team on a courtesy visit to the Managing Director of NAN, on Friday in Abuja.

According to him, the mandate of NLTF is to intervene on good causes such as education, sports, water, disaster management, as well as vulnerable Nigerians.

“We have intervened in several causes in over 365 projects by impacting lives across the country.

“Since I came on board, we have continued the drive to make sure that we intervene in critical sectors of the country, and support the “renewed hope agenda” of President Bola Tinubu.

“Therefore, we need the cooperation of NAN to drive home all our interventions and activities across the country,” he said.

Adeyanju said that there was practically no alternative to NAN in terms of coverage and publicity, because of the agency’s reach and presence globally.

“So, we deemed it necessary to be here to partner with you on areas that have to do with good courses,’’ he said.

He further said that with such collaboration, people would feel the positive impact of what the government had done so far and still doing.

While noting the significance of information, Adeyanju said that a lot had been done by Tinubu that was under reported, hence the need to partner with NAN for adequate reportage.

He expressed confidence that the partnership would go a long way to impact positively on the activities of NLTF.

Responding, the Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali M. Ali, said that NAN prides itself as the biggest news content provider on the continent of Africa.

“We have over 500 reporters spread across the country, and beyond. We have offices in some selected African countries, and even in Europe.

“Right now, we are the only resident news agency or wire service from the West African coast in the UN.

“We also have offices in South Africa, Abidjan, Addis Abba, and some other places.

“So, with a work force like this, we welcome the partnership. Your people and my people will sit down and discuss how we can partner for better,’’ Ali said.

The NAN boss also highlighted other services rendered by the agency with the recent being the introduction of Hausa News portal while that of Yoruba and Igbo would follow shortly.

“For instance, we have started the news portal in Hausa language, being one of the three major languages in Nigeria; so the next will be Yoruba and Igbo languages in that order,” he said.

Ali explained that all these efforts were geared toward ensuring that activities of the Federal Government were properly covered.

“Your request for partnership is a welcome development, and we wish you a successful tenure in office,’’ he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman