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Tinubu approves e-vehicles to ease transport costs in north east

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President Bola Tinubu has approved the introduction of electric vehicles in the geopolitical zone to reduce transportation costs.

Mohammed Alkali, CEO of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), disclosed this while speaking with state house correspondents on Wednesday.

He said the decision was reached as a result of plans to create modular solar power units across states in the region.

He said NEDC has conducted a “thorough” analysis of compressed natural gas (CNG) and e-vehicles and concluded that the later are better suited for the region.

Abdulsalam Ahmed, executive director of operations for NEDC, said the e-vehicle fleet will comprise three categories.

These are e-buses designed for intra-state movements with a minimum capacity of 40 people per trip, e-taxis capable of carrying three people including the driver, and modified tricycles enhanced to carry eight people including the driver.

He said the commission prioritised local content and will ensure that the vehicle bodies can be fabricated locally in the north-east or other parts of the country.

“We are here today to brief Mr president on one very critical activity he has approved which we had to engage in the last two months,” he said.

“As you can recall, there is a directive from the president that cars as soon as possible should use CNG or electric vehicles. We, at the north-east development commission, did a thorough analysis of our region, and looked at the comparable advantage between CNG and e-vehicles.

“After our thorough analysis, we came to the conclusion that for the north-east region, yes, the CNG could work, but e-vehicle can work better for many reasons.

“One is that our plan at the end of day is to create modular solar power units across the state which can be used to power this percentage of e-vehicles.

“On that note, earlier on, we sought and got approval of the presidency for us to go ahead and come up with the framework of how we are going to deploy this e-mobility in the northeast and what kind of e-mobility, etc.

”Mr. President graciously gave approval, and today, we came to present to him the kind of e-vehicles we are going to introduce in the morth-east.”

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Akwa-Ibom government to pay extra one-month salary in December

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Akwa Ibom State government has announced its readiness to pay an extra one-month salary to workers in its employ in the month of December, popularly known as Eno-Mber.

It could be recalled that the current administration started the payment of Eno-Mber last December in its commitment to the welfare of workers.

The state governor, Pastor Umo Eno who announced this during a church service at the Eternity Mission International Church on Sunday, advised those constantly agitating for disruption in the smooth and seamless relationship that has existed between the State Government and the Organized Labour to have a rethink.

He reiterated that the payment of the N80,000 minimum wage to all public servants would commence shortly after completion of the ongoing proper verification exercise.

These were contained in a statement signed by Chief Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ekerete Udoh and made available to newsmen yesterday in Uyo.

His words, “I am aware that quite a number of our Civil Servants have relocated within Nigeria while others have gone abroad. We have to be sure that those receiving payments are real Civil Servants.

“My watchword since assuming office has been transparency and honesty in service deliverables and we have to ensure that we carry this through this verification exercise, which would soon be completed.

“Since we came in, we have paid critical attention to the needs and the welfare of civil servants in this State. To date, we have paid N35billion in gratuities to retired state, local government workers and primary school teachers in the State “

According to the statement, the governor during the last Public Service Week, had announced a bonus of N1.1billion naira to all public servants in the State, which was promptly paid.

It disclosed that apart from prompt payment of salary, pension and gratuities as mentioned above, Eno had also released and ensured prompt payment of Wage award for 3months to cushion the effect of high cost of living occasioned by fuel subsidy removal.

“He is also committed to investing in Affordable Housing Scheme for Workers. Last September, 150 homes at the Grace Estate were given to Civil Servants from grade levels 1-8 free of charge through raffle draw.

“He had also given approval for the conduct of all Service Examinations in preparation for 2024 promotions as well as the release of 2023 promotion and an increase of pension to workers who retired before 2012.

“Equally striking in the Governor’s dedication to the welfare of workers, was the approval given for release of outstanding 7.5 per cent contributory pension to contributors as well as the appointment of 22 new Permanent Secretaries”, the statement added.

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No November salary for workers without valid residents registration number, says Kwara state government

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The Kwara State Government has urged public sector workers yet to register with the Kwara State Residents’ Registration Agency (KWSRRA) to do so immediately because anyone without it will not get the salary or bonuses in November.

The state commissioner for finance, Dr Hauwa Nuru, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin on Monday, stating that the registration started in July.

The KWSRRA, she said, is empowered by law to have relevant data on every resident in the state and allocate unique identities to each person for effective planning, resource management, service delivery, and public safety, among others.

“In line with the administration’s commitment to accountability and transparency in resource administration, a directive had since been issued mandating all state employees, including those across the 16 local government areas, to complete their registration.

“Effective from November, workers who have not registered will not receive salary payments or bonuses,” she said.

The commissioner noted that the KWSRRA registration was a vital step towards establishing a comprehensive and accurate database that enables us to serve Kwara residents more effectively, and ensuring that every state worker is registered strengthens our payroll system, enhances service delivery, and builds trust in our processes.

“The integrity of our data impacts all our financial and administrative systems.

“A complete database helps us make informed decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and ensure that every eligible worker is compensated fairly and accurately,” she added.

”All state employees who have not yet registered are advised to do so,” she said.

She urged all the state employees who are yet to register to promptly visit the nearest KWSRRA centre to complete their enrolment.

“By following this directive, Kwara government is working to establish a more efficient and equitable system for its workforce and residents alike,” she said.

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‘It’ll reduce ponmo consumption’ — FG to establish leather factories across 36 states

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The Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST) says plans are underway to establish mini tanneries or factories in all states of the country to process hides and skin into leather.

Mohammed Yakubu, NILEST director-general (DG), spoke in an interview with NAN on Sunday in Abuja.

Yakubu, who is also the chairman of the implementation committee of the national leather policy, said more tanneries are necessary to provide the right infrastructure and technology for the proper processing of leather.

He said leather is a huge national resource with the potential to generate foreign exchange and massive employment.

“Nigeria is not unknown in the area of leather products. We used to have 84 leather industries and some even have branches in Italy and Spain,” Yakubu said.

“The Nigerian leather industry had branches in Europe. We want that to come back.”

“It is not the issue of technology because NILEST is providing all the technical requirements for the Nigerian tanneries and Nigerian leather industry to make an impact in the world,” he said.

“We are not lacking that but poor infrastructure is what is hindering us, especially power which consumes over 50 per cent of our production cost.”

He said that for Nigeria to compete with China, Brazil or India in leather industries, there must be a cheap and regular supply.

“There must be some concessions. We must provide cheap power to our industries, particularly the leather industries, for them to be able to compete with their foreign counterparts,” Yakubu said.

‘ESTABLISHMENT OF MINI TANNERIES WOULD REDUCE CONSUMPTION OF PONMO’

Yakubu also said the establishment of the mini tanneries would reduce the consumption of hides and skin in the country, which was being done largely because the number of industries cannot mop up the excess products generated every day.

Animal skin is locally known as ‘ponmo’.

“We are eating the hides and skin as ponmo because if we don’t eat it, the available industries cannot mop all the hides and skin produced in Nigeria,” the DG said.

“In Lagos State alone, they slaughter about 100,000 cows every day and there are only 48 industries that can buy and process the skin and convert it to leather.”

Yakubu, therefore, said by reducing the cost of production, more industries would spring up.

“The main problem is power. As far as I’m concerned, the issue of tax is secondary,” he said.

“What’s important is to employ our teeming youths and attract foreign exchange, therefore, whatever concession is given to the industries will never be a waste.

“From the point of view of the leather policy, we are asking the government to take a look at the power component for our processing industries in Nigeria, because with this problem, it is not going to be an easy task for the industries to come back to life.

“That is why we are planning to establish mini tanneries all over Nigeria; our campaign to make people stop eating Kpomo has gone far and wide.

”We are aware that if people stop eating Kpomo, those people engaged in selling it will go out of business.

“So in the interim, we, the institute, are going to have mini tanneries all over Nigeria, so that we buy the hides and skin, process it into leather and export the leather.”

Yakubu also said the mini tanneries would be processing between one to five tonnes of leather every week from each of the clusters, particularly the ones products could be made from.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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