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Edo SEEFOR Constructs 67.357km Access Roads, Empowers 8,424 Youths In North, Central

Published

3 years ago

July 3, 2020

Editor

Edo State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) has unveiled 67.357 km access roads constructed and over 8,424 youths empowered in the state North and Central senatorial districts.

SEEFOR is a World Bank, European Union, and State Government funded project with the objective to enhancing opportunities for employment and access to socio-economic services.

Access road and transformer installed by Edo SEEFOR at Igarra, Akoko-Edo, Edo North Senatorial district

Mr. Toju Onaiwu, Edo SEEFOR Project Co-ordinator, in a media tour to the project sites, disclosed that SEEFOR has so empowered 32 graduates in the Central Senatorial district and 41 graduates in North Senatorial district.

Onaiwu said that, 53 micro-projects such as renovation of Town Hall, open market, primary healthcare centre, electrification, ICT centre were completed in Edo North, while 19 micro-projects similar as that of Edo north were executed in Edo Central.

Soundproof 1.5kva generator provided by SEEFOR to Government Science and Technical College, Irrua, Edo Central

He added that Edo SEEFOR, in collaboration with World Bank and European Union also renovated and procured equipment for Government Science and Technical College, Igarra, Edo North, and also did same in Government Science and Technical School, Irrua.

Fish pound provided by Edo SEEFOR at Edo Central.

Speaking, Ajadawe Abraham, Vice Principal, Admin, Government Science and Techinal College, Irrua, said buildings in his school were in dilapidated state before SEEFOR intervened and helped renovated the buildings and fenced the school which according to him was a major road to motorists and pedestrians.

Government Science and Technical College, Irrua equipped with computers by SEEFOR

He added that, SEEFOR did not just renovate the buildings, but also went ahead to equip different workshops in the techinal college, and also provided soundproof Mikano generator for effective practicals in the school.

“When I was transferred to this school, I met only two old buildings that were in dilapidated state. The roofs were licking, and the windows and doors broken. We were there managing them when we one day heard that there was going to be intervention to the school by SEEFOR.

Another access road constructed by Edo SEEFOR at Igarra, Edo north

“They came to our aid by renovating the whole buildings, and also bought equipment for us both in the electrical and business workshops. If you enter our workshops, they are well-equipped with the state-of-the-art equipment. In fact, you would be tempted to believe it is a university workshop”, the VP said.

While admitting that SEEFOR has intervened in the school through the renovation and provision of equipment in three different times, Ejadawe appealed to SEEFOR to do more for the school to attain an enviable state.

Skill Aqcuisition Centre, Igarra funded by Edo SEEFOR

On her part, Unice Obajaja, head of skill aqcuisition centre, Igarra, Akoko Edo local government area of the state, disclosed that on before SEEFOR’s intervention, the centre had nothing to work on, and was practically empty.

She said after request for intervention, Edo SEEFOR came in and provided all the necessary equipment for the place to be functional, adding that this has helped the centre to train a large number of youths who could have ordinarily be roaming the street.

Another access road constructed by Edo SEEFOR at Edo Central

“Before SEEFOR intervention, we were totally grounded, nothing was happening here. There were no equipment until SEEFOR intervened. When SEEFOR intervened, they did a lot of things for us. We now have borehole here, we have light, we have equipment as you can see in the class. We have computers, we have equipment in the hairdressing and cosmetology room. We have equipment in the tiling department.

“Since 2018 till date that SEEFOR intervened, we have graduated a total of 503 students from this centre. And about 120 have been empowered so far, and we still have 120 students on ground learning now as I speak to you” Obajaja said.

Shops built by Edo SEEFOR at Uromi, Edo Central

Obajaja, however, said the centre needs more of skill aqcuisition departments and equipment from SEEFOR.

Also responding, Sunny Imoudu, head, Afemai Corporative, who is into poultry, said he graduated but had no job until SEEFOR came to the rescue with the provision of funds which he used in procuring over 300 birds in the first batch before he proceeded on other batch.

Part of Edo SEEFOR empowerment to graduates who are into poultry

Imoudu added that over ten graduates have been empowered and benefited from the poultry.

He said, “This programme has helped a lot of graduates who would have been ordinarily roaming the street. It has helped at least ten of us in the Corporative. When we first stocked the poultry, we had up to 300 birds. Now, this is the second stock wherein we have up to 320 birds in total. SEEFOR has been fulfiling its mandate of engaging graduates.”

Town Hall constructed by SEEFOR at Igueben, Edo Central

Related Topics:#European Union #World Bank Edo SEEFOR

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[FULL TEXT] Tinubu’s 2024 Budget Speech

Published

5 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Editor

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, presented the N27.5 trillion 2024 budget proposal to a joint session of the 10th National Assembly in Abuja — his first since assuming office exactly six months ago.⁣

Read the full speech below:

1. In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly.

2. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, I commend your swift consideration and passage of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bills and the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Your prompt action underscores your devotion to economic development and to the greater welfare of our people. It also highlights your desire to work in close collaboration with the Executive branch. We do not serve ourselves. We must always strive to work together to serve and benefit the people of our beloved country.

3. I am confident that the National Assembly will continue to work closely with us to ensure that deliberations on the 2024 Budget are thorough but also concluded with reasonable dispatch. Our goal is for the Appropriation Act to come into effect on the 1st of January 2024.

4. It is, by now, a matter of recorded history that my very first fiscal intervention as President of this great nation was to end the fuel subsidy regime which had proven to be so harmful to the overall health of our national economy. The second was to negotiate and subsequently present a supplementary budget to enable my government to fund the items needed to restore macro-economic stability and mitigate the harsh impact of subsidy removal.

5. The third was to secure a second supplementary budget, this time to enable us to keep our promises to promote national security, invest in infrastructure and provide much-needed support to the most vulnerable households in our society.

6. In swearing in my cabinet and reflecting on the unique challenges facing us, I invited the Ministers to imagine that we are attempting to draw water from a dry well. Today, I stand before you to present our Budget of Renewed Hope; a budget which will go further than ever before in cementing macro-economic stability, reducing the deficit, increasing capital spending and allocation to reflect the eight priority areas of this Administration. The budget we now present constitutes the foundation upon which we shall erect the future of this great nation.

PREVAILING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

7. Economic conditions remain challenging both abroad and at home. Despite lingering post-COVID supply and production bottlenecks, armed conflict in various parts of the world and restrictive monetary policies in major economies, we expect global growth to hover around 3.0 percent in 2024. This relatively low rate has significant implications for our economy due to our current reliance on importation.

8. Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members: despite the global headwinds, the Nigerian economy has proven resilient, maintaining modest but positive growth over the past twelve months.

9. Inflation has trended upward due to weak global conditions. To contain the rising domestic prices, we will ensure effective coordination of fiscal and monetary policy measures, and collaborate with sub-national governments to address structural factors driving inflation in Nigeria.

10. The Budget proposal meets our goal of completing critical infrastructure projects which will help address structural problems in the economy by lowering the costs of doing business for companies and the cost of living for the average person, The Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning will provide full details of this proposal.

PERFORMANCE OF THE 2023 BUDGET

11. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, an aggregate revenue of 11.045 trillion naira was projected to fund the 2023 Budget of 24.82 trillion naira with a deficit of about 6.1 percent of GDP.

12. As of September 30, the Federal Government’s actual aggregate revenue inflow was 8.65 trillion naira, approximately 96 percent of the targeted 8.28 trillion naira.

13. Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations.

THEME AND PRIORITIES OF THE 2024 BUDGET

14. Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members, permit me to highlight key issues relating to the budget proposals for the next fiscal year. The 2024 Appropriation has been themed the Budget of Renewed Hope. The proposed Budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.

15. Defence and internal security are accorded top priority. The internal security architecture will be overhauled to enhance law enforcement capabilities and safeguard lives, property and investments across the country.

16. Human capital is the most critical resource for national development. Accordingly, the budget prioritizes human development with particular attention to children, the foundation of our nation.

17. To improve the effectiveness of our budget performance, the government will focus on ensuring value for money, greater transparency and accountability. In this regard, we will work more closely with development partners and the private sector.

18. To address long-standing issues in the education sector, a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education will be implemented, including the Student Loan Scheme scheduled to become operational by January 2024.

19. A stable macro-economic environment is important to catalyse private investment and accelerate economic growth. We have and shall continue to implement business and investment-friendly measures for sustainable growth.

20. We expect the economy to grow by a minimum of 3.76 percent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 percent in 2024.

21. In preparing the 2024 Budget, our primary objective has been to sustain our robust foundation for sustainable economic development. A critical focus of this budget and the medium-term expenditure framework is Nigeria’s commitment to a greener future.

22. Emphasizing public-private partnerships, we have strategically made provisions to leverage private capital for big-ticket infrastructure projects in energy, transportation and other sectors. This marks a critical step towards diversifying our energy mix, enhancing efficiency, and fostering the development of renewable energy sources. By allocating resources to support innovative and environmentally conscious initiatives, we aim to

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Rivers Crisis: Call Wike To order, Ijaw Group Tells Tinubu

Published

5 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Editor

The Ijaw Monitoring Group has warned against any attempt to undermine the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalaye Fubara, amidst the ongoing crisis between the governor and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesome Wike.

The group also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to mediate in the ongoing feud between Fubara, who hails from the Ijaw ethnic group, and his predecessor, Wike.

The group’s coordinator, Joseph Evah, made this known while speaking on Channels TV on Tuesday.

He said, “What is happening in our River State, fire is on the mountain in River State. We want the President to intervene in this matter. Call the FCT minister to order. We don’t want fire on the mountain in River State. That is our demand.

“Ijaw people will never fold hands. Just like Ikwerre people would not fold hands if they want to mess up their own son. The Urhobo people will not fold hands. The Yoruba people never folded their hands when annulment of June 12 took place.”

The PUNCH reports that Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party governors in October intervened to stop the impeachment moves against Fubara.

On the night of October 29, an explosion occurred at the state House of Assembly, causing significant damage to assets worth millions of naira.

Law enforcement agents also reportedly fired tear gas at the governor during his visit to the Assembly on the morning of October 30.

The relationship between Wike and Fubara reportedly turned sour amid the looming threat of impeachment against the governor by the Assembly.

Some have accused Wike, a former governor of the state, of masterminding the impeachment move.

News

Knocks As Church Invites Pasuma, Portable To Praise Night

Published

5 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Editor

A branch of the Celestial Church of Christ in Lagos State has come under fire for inviting Fuji singer, Pasuma, and street-hop artiste, Portable, to its praise night event.

The flyer for the event was posted on the church’s Facebook page on Wednesday, and netizens took to the comment session to slam the church for inviting secular artistes to its event.

A Facebook user, Bolanle Bamidele Adewuyi, wrote, “This is disheartening… Is this what you turn the Church of God to? It’s hilarious.”

Another commenter, Festus Olanrewaji Ojo wrote, “This is a shame! Shame and a very big shame.”

“This is totally nonsense,” BU KO LA commented.

Ayo Ife wrote, “The artists are not complete yet Una for kuku add Naira MarleySo that the soul winning can be complete!”

Edafe Oghenebrume said, “This is a sacrilege in the Celestial Church of Christ. It is disheartening, pathetic, shameful and disgraceful. I wonder about the spiritual orientation of your Shepherd-In-Charge and the congregation.”

Becky Wunmi Hassan Ayoade added, “There is nothing they will not turn celestial church to.”

However, some netizens noted that they would be present for the event.

Abike Ade said, “I will surely be there.”

Another Facebook user, Abike Garment, wrote, “I must be there make I come dance away my sorrow.”