An accounting firm, Kreston Pedabo, has been acknowledged by government, tax experts, and industry leaders for its commitment to excellence and professionalism. The endorsements came during a programme in Lagos…
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The United Kingdom government has expressed its commitment to support Nigeria and attract more investments into the country. This affirmation was made by the British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Jonny…
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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake said the Federal Government would be partnering with states to reform the mining sector. He said states will contribute significantly to…
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The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engineer Joseph Utsev has called on state governments to make available lands for irrigation farming to boost food production. Speaking in Minna during…
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In a move designed to curb indiscriminate borrowing by state governments, the Federal Government, through the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), has issued a template and guidelines on requirements that banks…
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By Agency
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, has charged Private Sector Participant operators in the waste management value chain in the state on improved service delivery and transparency.
Wahab in company of the Special Adviser on Environment, Mr Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, made the plea over the weekend while Addressing the executives of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria during a meeting at Alausa.
This is contained in a statement signed by Director, Public Affairs of the Ministry, Mr Kunle Adeshina, on Sunday in Lagos.
Wahab said their modes of operations must be digitised to make it more transparent and profitable.
“Being aware that PSP operators are in business to make profit and sustain employment, then cash collection must be digitised for transparency.
“If for example, you tell me that you have control of 45 per cent of this business, tell me what 100 per cent of the business is; these are some of the logical questions that demand answers,” Wahab said.
He charged the association to put in place proper data collation and enumeration of all commercial and private facilities being serviced to increase accountability and allow the operators to carry out their responsibilities seamlessly.
The commissioner said the government was aware that the PSP operators need some interventions but they must explain why the revenue being generated presently had dropped by 50 per cent within five years.
“When you had a surplus, did you increase the stake of the government? As such I reject the appeal to reduce the 25 per cent remit to LAWMA.
“I will not go that route except on two conditions: I want the enumeration of all the houses and digitise the number of household facilities across the state,” Wahab said.
He said the continuous increase in population with the corresponding increase in generation of waste necessitated the need for a major change in PSP daily operations.
Wahab added that the present costing was not sustainable in the light of growth to the economy.
“I think it is high time we sit down and thoroughly review the whole gamut of the PSP operations. The fact is that we must be able to speak the truth to one another as this will continually encourage the government to complement what the operators are doing,” Wahab said.
He stressed that the time has come for PSP Operators to create an online portal where GPS receivers are installed in their trucks to provide accurate locations always, including numbers of trips undertaken by each operator daily amongst other things.
“This portal will be accessible via internet connection on a range of devices, from desktop computers to feature phones regardless of location, age, or socio-economic status,” Wahab said.
He urged the PSP operators to be ready to confront issues of waste, saying there was an urgent need to continually clear waste across the metropolis, while a holistic solution was being worked out.
The statement also quoted the Special Adviser on Environment, Rotimi-Akodu, as saying that “the government understands that the state is faced with a solid waste management challenge as a result of urbanisation and population growth resulting in large tonnes of waste being generated daily.”
Rotimi-Akiodu said residents should expect an uplift in the city’s waste management system with the resumption of door-to-door residential waste collection by the PSP operators especially during the yuletide and after.
The statement also quoted the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mr Olalekan Shodeide, as underscoring the importance of PSP operators in employing technology and innovation to make things work better for all.
“This move is to reassure you that the government is set on a new beginning in order to consolidate what has been achieved. Everybody must work together for a floodfree and sustainable environment,” Shodeinde said.
The statement quoted the Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, as saying that there was the need to have a verifiable database to ascertain the size of the PSP businesses.
Gbadegesin appealed to the PSP operators to provide accurate data for all households so that the government would know those paying and those not.
The statement quoted AWAM President, Mr Olugbenga Adebola, as expressing appreciation to the state government for re-awakening the consciousness of residents to be more environmentally conscious.
He said AWAN members were committed and set to continually work with the state government having invested billions of naira in the project which had contributed a sizable percentage to the economy of Lagos State.
He said that the PSP operators were operating under a very tough business environment which is making it difficult for them to break even.
NAN
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr Solomon Arase, has said collaboration among security agencies and their private counterpart will foster economic growth in Nigeria.
In a statement, Arase said this recently at the 2023 leadership retreat organised by the Lagos Chapter 206 of the American Society for Industrial Security at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan.
Arase who is a former Inspector General of Police, emphasized the pivotal role of public-private partnership in enhancing security.
“Such partnerships can lead to improved security outcomes by leveraging the private sector’s resources and expertise to complement the government’s efforts. Additionally, these collaborations can foster economic growth, as security plays a critical role in investor confidence.”
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, ASIS Chapter 206, Mrs. Joko Olanitori, reiterated the importance of fostering strategic and structured partnerships between Nigeria’s private security industry and government-controlled security agencies.
She said that this year’s event was themed, ‘Secured Handshake: A public and private sector imperative for effective security operations and practice in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world’.
Olanitori said the collaboration is viewed as crucial for achieving the much-required progress in addressing the perennial issues of insecurity in the country.
She said the event was aimed at developing innovative solutions to address the escalating insecurity in Nigeria and promoting knowledge sharing and best practices among ASIS members.
Olanitori stressed the urgent need for structured and formalised engagement between Nigerian public security agencies like the Army, Nigerian Navy, Air Force, Police, Department of State Service, and others, with the private security industry, to effectively address the growing insecurity in the country.
However, Brigadier-General Idam Agachi (Rtd), urged the private security industry to engage in introspection and initiate collaboration with government institutions to bring about the much-needed positive change.
In his sermon at the Iwo praying ground in Iwo, Osun State, on Wednesday during this year’s Eid el Kabir prayers, the Otun Imam of Iwo, Sheikh Asimiyu Ejalonibu, warned Nigerians against plotting against leaders of government and traditional institutions to avoid negative consequences.
Ejalonibu, who spoke in Yoruba, said people in positions of authority should be supported in prayers for them to lead with the fear of God and prayed for peace to reign in Osun State and the country at large.
He said, “Don’t plot against the government, don’t plot against the throne. We need to pray for the government and support our rulers as they make efforts to move the country forward. With our support and prayers, Nigeria will be great again. Anyone plotting against the government may indirectly be inviting negative consequences.”
Speaking in a similar vein at the Eid prayers, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, urged Nigerians to pray for the president, Bola Tinubu, and the governors across the country, saying that by doing so, the nation will witness a positive transformation.
“All we ask for is wisdom for the government of President Bola Tinubu. For the administration to be successful, we need to pray. For his time to be noted for good things for Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, we all need to pray and support him.
“We must also pray for the governors in Nigeria, especially the governor of Osun State, for God to give him the wisdom to be able to pilot the affairs of this state. We must not plot against people in positions of authority. Those in government will get it right with our support and prayers,” Oluwo said.
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Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has launched free open heart surgery for patients with cardiac malfunction in Kano.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the exercise is being sponsored by the Saudi Arabia Government in partnership with Muslim World League and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.
Flagging off the operation in Kano, Yusuf, reiterated the commitment of his administration to collaborate with any non-governmental organisations, good-spirited individuals and philanthropists willing to assist in providing specialised training to the health personnel and medical care to the patients in need of such services.
The governor expressed happiness that the initiative would augment the efforts of the state government in giving the health sector the desired attention.
“We are very much delighted to have you in Kano for this gigantic assistance. Kano state is the most populous state in Nigeria with over 21 million people.
“We have the most vulnerable people and downtrodden masses that don’t have any means of taking care of their health needs.
“We will stick to our campaign promises of building general hospitals across the 44 local governments and primary healthcare centres across the state and re-introduce mobile clinics to cater for the people in rural areas who are in need of medical attention free of charge,” he said.
The Head of the medical team from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Utman Al-uthman Saad, said the group comprised 20 cardiac surgeons who will perform the surgery and pledged that they would do their best to achieve the set goals.
Earlier, the Chief Medical Director, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Professor Abdulrahman Sheshe, described the intervention as timely, noting that there is an increase of heart disease related cases, especially in Northern Nigeria due to the prevalence of hypertension cases.
He expressed optimism that the state government would formulate policies to re-invigorate the health sector and reduce medical tourism in the search for specialised treatment.
(NAN)
The Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Sokoto, has advised everyone in the state who benefited from government land or houses from the past administration in the state to return such or face the law.
The governor stated this during a dinner organised to welcome him and his deputy, Idris Gobir, after their inauguration on Monday.
Sokoto stated, “During my campaign, I promised not to cheat the people of the state and I will not allow anyone to do the same. I promised to protect the people of the state and their properties and I will not be a part of those who share the state’s property with their cronies.
“I am now using this medium to call on whoever benefited from such properties, either you are a member of my political party, the All Progressives Congress or that of the Peoples Democratic Party, to return them or be forced to do so.
“The Aliyu Sokoto you know during campaign is now different from the governor now.’’
I am the state governor, and the full responsibility of the people of this state now rests on my shoulders.
“Anyone who refuses to return such property in their possession will have to face the full weight of the law.”
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