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FG Kick-starts 2022 Budget With Riot Act On IPPIS

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The Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced preparation of 2022 budget focusing specifically on recurrent expenditure and overhead.

Consequently, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has issued the “2022 Personnel Cost Budget Call Circular”, with an explanation that lecturers must not have their names in the nominal roll of only their primary place of employment, under the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

According to the circular referenced: “BD/2000/EXP/S.651” and dated May 14, 2021, the same policy would apply to consultants in health institutions.

It stated: “Duplication or multiple capturing of the same consultant/lecturer in the nominal rolls of different federal health or educational institutions will not be entertained as the BOF (Budget Office of the Federation) will remove the names of such consultants /lecturers from the nominal rolls of the affected institutions other than the consultant’s/lecturer’s primary place of employment,”

Allowances for such visiting lecturers and consultants could be captured under the Overhead Costs.

The minister warned that no personnel cost provision would be made in the 2022 Personnel Budget for any serving employee of the federal government not captured in the IPPIS, except by due authorization.

The minister also warned federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that “under no circumstance should Staff of outsourced service providers be included in the nominal roll”.

According to the budget guideline, “inclusion of staff of outsourced service providers will henceforth be regarded as willful fraudulent action, and shall accordingly be reported to relevant authorities.”

The circular further says, “MDAs should note that payment of salaries and allowances are for legitimate staff only. Any unauthorized payment from the Personnel Cost will attract appropriate sanctions.”

The MDAs were directed to use only the salaries and allowances structure approved by the Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission as applicable to their various organizations and were asked to validate such payrolls

They were also told that Non-Regular allowances in the payroll should only be provided for those employees who are clearly entitled, under their terms of service and circulars issued by the NSIWC.

“MDAs are required top crosscheck the appropriateness of grade-level/step of all staff on the payroll, including provision for annual increments,” the minister directed.

She said that MDAS should not make provisions for the 2022 promotions of their since such promotions could not be predicted with certainty, but should reflect all promotions already approved and in effect. She said that provisions for 2022 promotions would be made under the Public Service Wage Adjustments and the Service-Wide Votes.

All promotions and salaries arrears are to be referred to the Standing Committee Chaired by the D_G Budget, for review and payment through the IPPIS, she said.

Five Generals On Consideration, As Buhari Weighs Options On New COAS

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As the search goes on for the next head of the Nigerian Army following the demise of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, the permutations are on in effort to zero in on a final choice.

Recalled that, Attahiru and 10 others died on Friday in a plane crash involving Nigerian Air Force’s Beachcraft 350 aircraft in Kaduna.

A new COAS is expected to be named between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the ongoing consultations over the matter.

Newsfocusng gathered that, about five senior military officers were being considered for the post we gathered, with persons close to senior officers lobbying key government functionaries for their preferred persons.

Among the most touted senior officers for the top job are; Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Manu Yusuf, Maj. Gen. Danjuma Ali-Keffi, Maj.-Gen. Benjamin Ahanotu, Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, Maj.-Gen Faruk Yahaya and Maj.-Gen. Fidelis Azinta.

Factors are now being weighed in favour and against each of the senior officers being considered.

The Army’s Chief of Operation, Maj.-Gen. Yusuf is said to be highly regarded for his past exploits as Force Commander, Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) and General Officer Commanding 7 Division.

But a major snag against his choice, according to sources, is his coming from Yobe, the state as the acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba.

Like Yusuf, Maj.-Gen. Sirham who is a credentialed military officer and responsible for many successes recorded by the army, has the disadvantage of coming from the same state (Kano) as the Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), and the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo.

In their case both Maj-Generals Ahanotu and Azinta, the Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP), and Director Physical Training, respectively, are also being considered for their experience and seniority in the service.

There are indications, however, that the president may not pick any of the two as the Aso Villa sources said he may opt for a northern officer.

Meanwhile, there are however calls on President Buhari to look beyond the eligible officer’s ethnic and religious backgrounds in settling in for a new head for the army.

Maj.-Gen. Ali-Keffi, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Kaduna, who is said to be highly considered for the position is however said to be constrained by the number of senior officers ahead of him, with some persons arguing that it may not be worth the while for the country to lose so many experienced hands in the process.

A source rooting for him however argued that the seniority should not be a yardstick as many major-generals were retired to pave way for the favoured candidate to emerge as COAS in the past.

“When Dambazau was appointed COAS over 30 major-generals were retired. When Ihejirika, Minima and even Buratai were appointed, the army retired about 30 generals or more each time,” he said, pleading not be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Tinubu, Akande, Other Leaders Endorse Southern Govs’ Ban on Open Grazing, Call for True Federalism

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Leaders of the South West All Progressives Congress (APC) rose from their meeting held at the Lagos House in Marina, Lagos Sunday calling for true federalism where more power would be devolved to the states. They said such a move will strengthen democratic governance in the country.

The leaders also endorsed the position of southern governors on open grazing, saying besides reducing the tension between herders and farmers, it will minimise the friction in the country.

The APC leaders, in a nine point communiqué read by the former Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, said: “We hold to the view that true federalism where more power and resources are allocated to the states will be an essential part in strengthening society and improving democratic governance so that we beat the present challenges but also engender durable peace and security.

“True federalism and the reallocation of resources and authority that comes with it will empower the states to solve localized issues before they spread and transform into national ones. In addition to mitigating political competition for control of the national government, greater federalism will empower grassroots economic development and political reforms that will stand as bulwarks against the terrorism and criminality now experienced in too many parts of the nation. A hallmark of this enhanced federalism will be the establishment of state police forces.”

Akande, who was flanked by the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Governors Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state; Gboyega Oyetola of Osun state; Lagos state Governor and host, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; former Governor of Ogun state, Chief Segun Osoba; The Minister of Trade and Industry, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; former Vice Chairman, APC South West, Chief Pius Akinyelure; and former Army Chief, General Alani Akinrinade, said, “we endorse the position of the Southern Governors taken at their May 11, 2021 summit in Asaba, Delta State, regarding ranching. We do so because such a decision will lessen tensions between farmers and herders while also helping the long-term economic viability of both the farming and herding communities

We are mindful of the short-term dislocation this might cause but are also mindful that this position is in the best interests of all parties concerned. We, therefore, recommend that the federal and state governments cooperate fully with each other to enact the necessary measures to encourage this more effective and modern method of cattle-rearing so that both farmers and herders can pursue their livelihoods with greater productivity and in a more cooperative relationship that minimizes the friction between these two important pillars of our agricultural economy.”

While commiserating with President Muhammadu Buhari over the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, the communique said the South West APC leaders however expressed concern “about the state of the nation, particularly the serious security challenges facing the country.

“They expressrd their strong opposition to separatist agitations and hate speeches. While urging those indulging in such to desist forthwith, they renew their belief in the unity, stability and sustainability of the country.

“We note with significant concern the security situation in the country. Terrorism and violent criminality threaten many areas, adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of too many innocent and peace-loving Nigerians.

“While mindful of the resource and other constraints facing the nation, we urge the federal government to continue to make the necessary expenditures and allocate sufficient resources to enable the military and security agencies to tackle the difficult security challenges confronting us.

“For Nigeria to overcome these challenges, we must do so with unity of purpose and action. The desire for peace and the chance for a prosperous and just society is universal and transcends all regional, religious or ethnic divisions. Sadly, many public figures have made statements that spark division and undermine the needed unity of purpose

“We urge government at all levels, security agencies, and public leaders across the country to do everything possible to prevent tension so that we sustain the necessary unity to defeat these challenges to our national security. All responsible Nigerians must speak and act in a manner that strengthens our common cause against these common threats to our collective peace, justice and development.

“We restate our abhorrence of violence as a means to achieve either political or economic power and influence. We strongly condemn violence of any form in any part of the country, regardless of ethnic or regional identity of the perpetrators of the violence or of the victims. Government must do all it can to protect potential victims and to assist those who have previously been victimized by terrorism or widespread banditry.”

They thanked traditional rulers for their important role in the polity and appealed to them to keep intervening to maintain peace and stability, even as they used “the opportunity of the meeting to urge the Federal Government to provide, through the CBN, short, medium and long term financing for states and those who may wish to set up ranches as part of the agricultural sustainability policy.”

COVID-19: NNPC: 52m Crude Oil Barrels Lost to OPEC Cuts

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A data by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has revealed how Nigeria lost at least 52 million barrels of crude oil between May and December 2020 to COVID-19-induced compulsory supply cuts imposed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

While Nigeria’s crude oil production level before the curbs was two million barrels per day (bpd), recent data from NNPC indicated that while the average daily crude oil production for the entire year stood at 1.775 million bpd, total production for the whole year was 704.741 million barrels.

In January, the country recorded the highest production level of 2.072 million bpd while last December, NNPC recorded its lowest production of 1.419 bpd.

On the average, the difference in production of crude oil between January and December, 2020, for instance was 652,967 barrels, that is, the highest and lowest production levels.

Although the document did not separate the quantity of crude oil produced from condensates, with a 225,000 bpd approximate under-production, at least 6.75 million bpd of crude oil was shut in to comply with the oil cartel’s agreement.

The figures showed that NNPC fulfilled its pledge to rev up production to hit its targeted three million litres, when the pandemic broke out, slashing average daily production to 1.74 million barrels in the first instance in May after the OPEC intervention.

In June, production further reduced to 1.68 million barrels per day on the average, 1.65 million bpd in July and 1.64 million bpd in August.

Following the virus-induced plunge in oil prices, OPEC and its allies known as OPEC+ in May last year, embarked on the largest coordinated oil production cut regime in history, agreeing to cut 9.7 million bpd in an effort to support the market, amounting to about 10 per cent of global oil supply.

However, according to the data from NNPC’s market and production activities, in September, oil drilling further dipped to 1.59 million bpd, but slightly increased to 1.61 million bpd in October before falling again in November to 1.54 million and tumbling in December to 1.419 million barrels.

In all, the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) portion of the total national output took the lion’s share of oil drilled in 2020, hitting 281.1 million barrels of the total 704.7 million barrels of crude oil produced during the year.

The Joint Venture (JV) agreements yielded 226.5 million barrels, while the Alternative Financing (AF) sources resulted in the production of 75.2 million barrels.

In addition, the activities of the National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an NNPC subsidiary, yielded 72 million barrels in the year under consideration, while the independent marginal fields generated 49.6 million barrels in 2020.

The figures reflect the huge impact the outbreak of the virus had on the international oil market and the efforts by OPEC to curb output to rein in the falling prices, which early last year tumbled to about $10 for Brent, Nigeria’s benchmark, while West Texas Intermediate (WTO), America’s benchmark reeled in the negative territory.

Malami, Ahmed, Emefiele To Appear Before Reps Today over Looted Assets Probe

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House of Representatives has invited ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government as well as top officials, the private sector and civil society organisations to explain the status of looted funds and public assets recovered in the last 18 years.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loot, Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective/Efficient Management and Utilisation is to hold an investigative hearing on Monday.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Adejoro Adeogun, had last week laid an interim report by the committee.

Among those to appear before the committee on Monday are the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd.); Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris; and the Auditor General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu.

Others are the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Central Bank of Nigeria; Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority; Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption; and commercial banks.

Also to appear before the lawmakers are the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria; Chairman of the disbanded Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property; Chairman of the disbanded Pension Reform Task Team; former Ministers of Justice; former National Security Advisers; former chairmen of EFCC; former chairmen of ICPC; former Inspectors General of Police; former Comptrollers General of Customs; former Commandants General of NSCDC.

The rest are Mr. Ngozika Ihuoma, MD, Crincad & Cari Nigeria Limited; Mr. Dipo Fatokun, CBN’s Director of Banking Services; Mr. Abubakar Animasaun, EFCC’s Account Department; Mr. Abdullahi Ibrahim, a member of staff at EFCC; Mr. Mukhtar Bello, also of the EFCC; the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre; Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project; Human and Environmental Development Agenda; BudgIT; non-governmental organisations and civil Society Organisations.

Race To Replace Late Army Chief Begins, As Buhari May Surprise Southeast

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The race for the replacement of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has started 48 hours after his death.

Recall that, Attahiru and others died in a plane crash involving a Nigerian Air Force aircraft in Kaduna on Friday and were buried on Saturday.

Few hours after the burial, there were insinuations that Maj.-Gen. Danjuma Ali-Keffi, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, had been penned down for the job.

However, checks showed that Ali-Keffi is not among the most senior military officers in the operation of the Nigerian Army.

Findings reveal that there are more than 30 senior Major Generals who are superior to him.

A source said President Muhammadu Buhari is considering a senior officer from the South-East to correct alleged imbalance in the composition of his security team.

But the source noted that with the increasing agitation and attacks on security agents and formations by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the thinking is that it is too dangerous to give the South-East such a position.

Security experts, who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday, said Attahiru ought to be replaced as soon as possible in order to sustain the tempo of counter-terrorism in the Northeast and boost the morale of frontline troops.

But a senior officer at Defence headquarters told one of our correspondents that it was too early to be talking about COAS replacement as the nation is still mourning late Attahiru.

Jettison ethnicity, expert tells Buhari

In a telephone interview a security expert, Kabiru Adamu, also stressed the need for the President to jettison ethnicity, and consider superiority, merit and experience of the officer in the theatre of war before appointing anybody.

He added that it was expedient for the President to prove people who are saying he hates the South-East wrong by appointing someone from the region, this, he said, would quell their agitation.

Adamu said, “Incidentally, the COPP represents a part of Nigeria that has been crying over the last six years that they are not represented within the security architecture, I think it is a good opportunity for this administration to show clearly that he reflects national character in his appointment.

“National character is very important; merit is also absolutely important. Nigeria is very challenged at the moment; some will say we are at war. If we are at war, we need a military leader that can deliver victory to us in the war we are in.

“What are the two major issues the military leader, especially the army should focus. First is terrorism and then banditry. The role of military in these two issues is absolutely important.

“We can also add the third one which is the secessionists’ agitation that have been existing in the South East which are not cropping up in the South West. Now, in all these three issues, the army in particular will play a key role, so, it must be somebody who can deliver all these three things.

“More importantly, he should be able to work with other security agencies to ensure a coordinated effort in handling these 3 issues

Army, Family Disagreement Delayed COAS Burial

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There was a slight disagreement on Saturday between the family of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, and the Nigerian Army over the COAS’ burial.

The disagreement led to a short delay of the COAS’ interment as his family insisted that he must be buried without a coffin in accordance with Islamic injunction.

But some senior army officers argued that Attahiru’s remains would be buried in a casket according to military traditions.

After some time, the family was convinced by the superior arguments and the grave was widened to accommodate the coffin.

Attahiru and 10 other military officers were involved in a crash on Friday at the Kaduna International Airport.

Deceased’s wife, sister collapsed amid untimely farewell

It was a sombre moment as the remains of the COAS, Attahiru, and 10 others were interred at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja on Saturday, in full military honours 24 hours after the incident.

Military officers in ceremonial dress with black band tied around their arms trooped into the cemetery to pay their last respects.

The burial ceremony was overseen by the Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army, led by its Commander, Brig Gen Takuti Usman.

It commenced with the arrival of senior retired and serving officers and other government officials, including a former COAS, Lt Gen Azubuike Ihejirika; Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed

Meanwhile, as the ceremony was underway, a sister of one of the deceased officers collapsed around 4.12pm and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance with registration number, NDC160.

The wife of one of the late officers who also fainted was revived and whisked away in a sport-utility vehicle.

The remains of the Beachcraft 350 aircraft occupants were buried at the National Military Cemetery located on the Shehu Yar’Adua Road (also called Airport Road), in the Federal Capital Territory.

The deceased officers’ final journey on Saturday started from Kaduna, where the crash occurred.

Their corpses were airlifted and received at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 11am by senior military officers.

The remains were thereafter conveyed in ambulances amidst tight security to where funeral services were held for them.

The corpses of victims who were Muslims were driven to the National Mosque, Abuja, where Salāt al-Janāzah prayer was held in their honour, while the bodies of the Christian victims were taken to the Nigerian Air Force Protestant Church located inside the Air Force Base for their funeral service.

Malami, Ahmed, Emefiele To Appear Before Reps Today oveyr Looted Assets Probe

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House of Representatives has invited ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government as well as top officials, the private sector and civil society organisations to explain the status of looted funds and public assets recovered in the last 18 years.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loot, Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective/Efficient Management and Utilisation is to hold an investigative hearing on Monday.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Adejoro Adeogun, had last week laid an interim report by the committee.

Among those to appear before the committee on Monday are the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd.); Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris; and the Auditor General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu.

Others are the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Central Bank of Nigeria; Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority; Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption; and commercial banks.

Also to appear before the lawmakers are the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria; Chairman of the disbanded Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property; Chairman of the disbanded Pension Reform Task Team; former Ministers of Justice; former National Security Advisers; former chairmen of EFCC; former chairmen of ICPC; former Inspectors General of Police; former Comptrollers General of Customs; former Commandants General of NSCDC.

The rest are Mr. Ngozika Ihuoma, MD, Crincad & Cari Nigeria Limited; Mr. Dipo Fatokun, CBN’s Director of Banking Services; Mr. Abubakar Animasaun, EFCC’s Account Department; Mr. Abdullahi Ibrahim, a member of staff at EFCC; Mr. Mukhtar Bello, also of the EFCC; the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre; Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project; Human and Environmental Development Agenda; BudgIT; non-governmental organisations and civil Society Organisations.

West African Nations To Curb Epidemic Spread Through Laboratories

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The West African Nations have moved to strengthens Laboratory capacities for better preparedness against epidemic spread in the sub-region.

They made this resolved at the first technical and steering committee meetings of the Strengthening Epidemiological Surveillance and Laboratory System in West Africa (PROALAB), over the weekend in Lagos, Nigeria.

Participants hinted that, it was also important for member-states to stop the practice of waiting for epidemics to happen, but to continually carry out surveillance through the laboratories.

They further called for strengthening of the laboratories in terms of capacity, the work force and quality assurance.

The participants, who included the Director-General of the West African Health Organization (WAHO), Professor Stanley Okolo, believed that the initiative would not only help identify all Infectious diseases, but also identify the nature of viruses involved.

The project, sponsored by the German Development Bank for the West African sub-region, is going on in four west African countries, namely Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Out of the eleven Laboratories to be supported in the region, five were in Nigeria.

Commenting on the safety concerns and anxiety regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, the WAHO DG, Prof Okolo and the World Health Organization (WHO) senior team leader from Burkina Faso, Dr Olivier Manigart, urged West African countries to disregard unfounded claims from different quarters, but to take advantage of scientific improvement that made the vaccine production possible within a short time.

The objectives of the two-day meetings, which held from 20th-21st May 2021 at the Pearlworth Hotel & Suites, Ikeja, Lagos, were to review and assess the level of implementation of the recommendations of the project kickoff meeting held in Ouagadougou on May 13 and 14, 2019; Assess the level of implementation of the 2019 and 2020 PTBAs and the project’s Procurement Plans (PPM) and; Analyze the activities carried out thanks to the COVID-19 PROALAB Emergency Fund.

Other objectives were to analyze the activities conducted for training around the four major PROALAB themes; Share the major difficulties and bottlenecks encountered in the implementation of the project and propose solutions and; Make proposals for recommendations to be submitted to WAHO General Management and KfW for approval for the 2nd phase of the project.

Among the outcomes expected from this meetings were (i) The level of implementation of the recommendations of the project kick-off meeting held in Ouagadougou on May 13-14, 2019 is reviewed and assessed; (ii) The level of implementation of the 2019 and 2020 PTBAs and the related Procurement Plans (PPM) is assessed; (iii) The activities carried out through the COVID-19 PROALAB Emergency Fund are critiqued and redefined; (iv) Activities conducted for training around the four major PROALAB themes are critiqued and redefined and; (v) Major difficulties and bottlenecks encountered in the implementation of the project are shared and solutions are proposed

Proposed recommendations are submitted to WAHO General Management and KfW for approval for the 2nd phase of the project.

The effective background to the meetings is the fact that the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic tragically demonstrated the failure of epidemiological surveillance systems at national and regional levels.

Based on a financing agreement between the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), represented by the West African Health Organization (WAHO), as well as a separate agreement between WAHO and KfW, the German government, through KfW, has allocated a budget of 10 million euros for the project entitled “Strengthening of epidemiological services and systems of health in ECOWAS countries” (PROALAB).

The main objective is to better protect the population of the region against epidemic diseases. The project aims to strengthen in ECOWAS the sustainable development of structures and capacities allowing the rapid identification of outbreaks of infectious diseases in the territories of its partner States in order to allow a rapid and effective response to the prevention of an epidemic.

The main objective of the project is to extend the regional epidemiological surveillance system by strengthening the Network of National and Regional Reference Laboratories.

The Foundation Mérieux and the consulting firm GFA signed a consortium agreement as part of this KFW-funded project aimed at supporting 11 national and regional reference laboratories in four countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria).

This project, which effectively started these activities in September 2018, has made progress in strengthening the structures involved (solar, IT and laboratory equipment’s, renovations) for which procurement processes are at an advanced level.

Training and Technical assistance activities have also been initiated to support laboratories towards accreditation according to ISO 15189. In addition, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, huge adjustments have been made in its implementation and led the KfW to release an emergency fund allocated to support the regional effort to fight against this pandemic for an amount of 5.72 million euros.

It was in this context that the 1st meetings of the Technical and Steering Committees of PROALAB were organized to assess the level of implementation of the project and make recommendations.

NAFDAC To Rid Nigeria Markets Of Unwholesome Food, Falsified Medicines,Dangerous Cosmetics

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The Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has vowed that the agency would not rest on its oars until the Nigeria markets are rid of unwholesome food, falsified medicines, and dangerous cosmetics.

This, according to her will safeguard the health of Nigerians.

She also commended the collaborative efforts of sister agencies like Standard Organisation of Nigeria SON, NDLEA, DSS amongst others towards the realization of NAFDAC’s mandate of ridding the nation of counterfeit products that are inimical to the health and wellbeing of the Nigerian populace.

Adeyeye made the assertions in Gombe, Gombe State at the North East Zonal destruction exercise of fake, counterfeit, substandard, expired, and unwholesome products by the Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) team of NAFDAC.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant,Sayo Akintola on Sunday quoted Adeyeye as saying that the exercise was in line with one of the Agency’s strategies aimed at eradicating incidences of reintroduction of fake drugs and other seized spurious or and unwholesome NAFDAC regulated products from the Nigeria market.

The products destroyed were made up of substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome processed food products, unsafe cosmetics and other counterfeit regulated products seized from importers and manufacturers by various NAFDAC establishments in the North-Eastern part of the country.

Also included in the exercise were expired, NADAC regulated products voluntarily handed over to the Agency by complaint companies, including GSK Pharma, Ogba, Lagos and non-governmental organizations within the zone.

NAFDAC DG who was represented by the NAFDAC’s Bauchi State Coordinator, Mrs Dayilim Josephine, said the estimated street value of the products destroyed was N515, 732.587.

The products destroyed included various quantities of medicines such as antibiotics, herbal remedied, psychoactive, and anti-diabetic.

Foods such as Noodles, palm oil, vegetable oil, ogogoro (local Gin) non-alcoholic beverages, sachet water amongst other were parts of the products destroyed.

Cosmetics such as creams, pomade, and chemicals such as fake insecticides, fertilizers were also destroyed. Medical devices such as disposable syringe, I.V given set, and PPE as well as imported falsified packaging materials for counterfeiting various NAFDAC regulated products.

Adeyeye expressed her happiness that the products destroyed could have found their way back to the markets with the resultant consequences.

The exercise commenced with reception of items from the North East zonal states to wit: Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Taraba. A total of 240.15 tons were received from the North East states and additional 40 tons from GSK Pharma were received and destroyed. The heap of items received was doused with fuel and lighted with fire at noon on Saturday.

Similarly , the NAFDAC DG stated that while the country and indeed the world is battling with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for her to reiterate to the members of the public the presence of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines in the African continent.

‘’The public must be on the look out for those spurious and counterfeit vaccines and other regulated products’’, she said, adding that NAFDAC on its own part will ensure continuous surveillance of those products ‘’and we shall continue to enforce the regulations governing these products in Nigeria’’.

Adeyeye however, assured the general public of continued NAFDAC collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders in ensuring that the prescribed standards of identity, safety, quality, and efficacy of regulated products are met.

In their goodwill messages delivered by the Gombe State NDLEA Commander, Mrs Sylvia Eqwunwoke, Gombe State Standard Organization of Nigeria SON Coordinator, Mrs James Danlami Yakzum and representatives of the state director of DSS and Commissioner of Police respectively, NAFDAC was commended for its untiring efforts to sanitize the country and rid it of products that could endanger lives of members of the public.

The various agencies however, pledged their unflinching support for NAFDAC in its efforts to safeguard the health of Nigerians.

The formal setting ablaze of the heap of items was jointly performed by representative of NAFDAC DG, Mrs Dayilim Josphine, Gombe State NDLEA Commander, and Gombe State Coordinator of SON, Mrs James Danlami Yakzum amongst others.