One of the Big Four audit firms in the United Kingdom (UK), KPMG, has admitted misleading regulators during spot checks on audits of construction group, Carillion and software firm Regenersis, and may be fined 14.4 million pound ($17.6 million).
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the British auditing regulator, told a London tribunal that it is seeking a record 20 million pound fine, reduced to 14.4 million pounds because KPMG self-reported and cooperated.
“It was unjustifiable and wrong,” KPMG’s Chief Executive Jon Holt said in a statement, adding: “It was a violation of our processes and a betrayal of our values.”
The Firm, which dominates the market alongside EY, Deloitte and PwC, admitted to misconduct at an initial London tribunal in January and reiterated its apology at the start of a two-day hearing.
“I am saddened that a small number of former employees acted in such an inappropriate way, and it is right that they – and KPMG – now face serious action.”
The tribunal found five former KPMG employees guilty of misconduct during a routine FRC inspection of a Regenersis audit to end-June 2014 and a Carillion audit to end-December, 2016. The FRC, which is seeking to fine them between 50,000 pounds and 400,000 pounds and ban them from the profession for up to 15 years, alleged they provided false or misleading information or documents to the regulator. The five had contested the allegations.
The tribunal will rule on sanctions at a later date.
Because KPMG is liable for the conduct of its employees, it faced the same allegations. The proceedings did not delve into the underlying audit work.
The FRC is separately investigating KPMG’s audits of Carillion, whose collapse in 2018 led to recommendations of a sector shake-up, although legislation has yet to be brought before parliament.
KPMG has separately vowed to defend itself against a 1.3 billion pound ($1.6 billion) lawsuit by Carillion’s liquidators for missing “red flags”, in one of the largest claims against top accountants to date.
File photo of Crisis in Nigeria and is used for illustration purpose
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has imposed curfew in the state capital as a means of controlling violence that erupted over the arrest of the killers of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education who was alleged to have blasphemed Prophet Muhammad. In a broadcast to the people of the state today, May 14, the Governor said: “following the sad incident that happened at the Shehu Shagari College of Education on Thursday and sequel to the developments within (Sokoto) metropolis this morning till afternoon, by the powers conferred on me by sections 176 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and section 1 and 4 of the Public Order Act; and, also Section 15 of Sokoto State Peace Preservation Law, I hereby declare, with immediate effect, a curfew within (Sokoto) metropolis of Sokoto township for the next 24 hours.” Governor Tabuwal, who appealed to the people to continue to observe law and order and calm down against the backdrop of the restiveness currently pervading in the metropolis, begged everyone to, in the interest of peace, go back home and observe the measures, with a view of the reestablishment of peace, law and order in the state. “It is not in the interest of anyone for us to have a breakdown of law and order. I, therefore, appeal for restraint; and, for people to observe and respect the rule of law.”
A Senate aspirant for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mrs. Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi, has expressed the determination to usher in the change which both the natives and settlers in the FCT deserved. She said that through proper legislation, she would protect the interest of not only women but the generality of natives and settlers. She said, in a statement that she would be in constant touch with her constituents to have ‘first-hand matters about them’. “With proper legislation, there will be proper delivery and management of citizens’ expectations and policies alike. My decisions and proposals in the chamber will originate from my vigorous consultations with the electorate. They own the power. Both residents and original inhabitants of the FCT will be fully represented. “I present myself as an intentional expression not just for women but for the collective people of the FCT. It is an expression of change that is desired for this time: translating apathy into action when it comes to servicing mandates of people in the 62 wards of the FCT. “Do you realize that every community in Abuja has a tourism engagement? I represent the locals who are challenged by the paucity of legislative processes. That woman seeking this position must be empowered and mobilized by a framework of people. I am a visible voice.” She called on women to engage in politics to protect their interests. According to her, “The 35% affirmative action takes action by the actors themselves. The judgement of Justice Donatus Okorowo of 6th April on the matter is ready for full implementation. Women need to rise. “The fundamental principle of equality is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, Section 17. It prohibits discrimination on the grounds of origin, sex, religion, ethnic or linguistic associations. We need to run fearlessly as women, not trying to run as men in the legislative push.” She called for collaborative efforts towards encouraging women to participate in politics. In her words, “Men should also support profiled women to go into elective challenges. My husband gives me guidance and counselling. He is my promoter. “A woman’s voice begins with her presence at the participatory space of engaging the conversations, and choices of the outcomes. Norms are the reason why women are dealing with the crisis of history that has attacked them in the form of equity and representation. This is not just for herself but for her nativity and nature. “Institutions have to deliberately position women for the opportunity to serve in the political space. We should firmly represent a voice as part of a community that can together affect the outcomes of favourable decisions.” She called on women to use their permanent voters’ cards to effect the change they deserve. “It is the women who come out in their numbers to vote; to drive campaigns. Women in local areas take voting seriously. There needs to be vigorous advocacy so that we come to the rank and file of representation. We need more voices across party and inter-faith lines. “You may not win always, but you have brought our defiance and courage to bear. Let’s make it a movement. When you position women with her qualities, they produce outcomes that impact an entire society, and translate into the uncommon good and deliverables for all.” She encouraged women to be ‘better engaged politically,’ adding that, “To ignore women’s participation in politics is equivalent to wrecking whatever developmental strides we have achieved as a nation and to ignore the youth is to destroy our future.” She said if given the opportunity, she would make a difference: “from whatever background one comes, once you identify a gap in a system, the task becomes to fill it. Politics is about service. I am ready to serve.”
Front line Presidential aspirant in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has denied condemning the killing of a female student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, over alleged blasphemy. Atiku is currently trending on social media after he deleted his earlier post condemning the gruesome murder of Deborah by her classmates that accused her (Deborah) of blasphemous comments against prophet Muhammad. The PDP Presidential aspirant, who was also the party’s Presidential candidate in the 2019 election, had yesterday, May 12 said: “There cannot be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered, and all those behind her death must be brought to justice. “My condolences to her family and friends.” The above post by Atiku triggered reactions from some Muslims, forcing him to delete the posts on Facebook and Twitter. Today, May 13, Atiku took to his Hausa Facebook page to debunk making the earlier posts and said it was made without his knowledge. “This evening, I received information that a post was made that doesn’t agree with my orders. “I use this to announce that any post without AA isn’t from me. May God protect- AA.” The late Deborah was killed after she instructed her classmates to stick to the purpose of the group (WhatsApp platform). “Our WhatsApp group was created for assignments, tests, exams; not for useless prophet, what a useless prophet,” said Deborah Samuel.
Abdulrahman Adamu, a serving councillor representing Soba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, arrested by the Kaduna State police command with AK-47 rifle in his possession, has confessed that he is a regular supplier of arms to the bandits and kidnappers. He said that he had been getting the firearm from his accomplices and used to deliver same to bandits around Galadimawa village for their nefarious activities. The police had earlier arrested the councillor with AK-47 rifle in the Giwa Local Government Area of the state. The arrest was made by the operatives of Operation Puff Adder II, attached to the Kaduna Police Command during a routine patrol along Galadimawa Road. According to a statement by the spokesman of the command, Mohammed Jalige, the police officers succeeded in intercepting the councillor, who was moving in a black Lifan motorcycle towards the Galadimawa community with a sack. The policemen at that point became suspicious of the sack being carried by the suspect and were prompted to search its content. It was in this process that they discovered an AK-47 rifle loaded with six rounds of 7.62 X 39mm live ammunition concealed inside the sack. The police spokesman revealed that the suspect was arrested and taken into custody alongside the exhibits while preliminary investigation reveals the identity of the suspect, Abdulrahman Adamu, as a serving member in the legislative council of Soba Local Government Area of Kaduna State representing Kinkiba ward.
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that any of the ministers who have just jumped into the Presidential contest ahead of the 2023 election is sufficiently equipped to succeed him as President. At valedictory session today, May 13, to bid farewell to outgoing ministers, Buhari stressed that a significant number of them have been sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the Office of the President. President Buhari said that he has no doubt that if the next President emerges from among former members of his cabinet, like any other aspirant, ample competence and outstanding service delivery would be on display. “This will be part of our legacies to Nigerians.” The President, who commended the departing public officers for serving the nation sacrificially, with dignity and honour, had at the last FEC meeting on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 directed that all Ministers and other political appointees who aspire to contest for elective offices in the 2023 General Elections should resign their current appointments. ”I note that some have complied while others are in the process of doing so. ”I would like to use this opportunity to commend your decision and courage to contest for elective offices and your compliance with my directive. ”I also wish to thank you for your invaluable services to this nation through your contributions as Cabinet members. ”I wish you success in the upcoming elections and in your future endeavours.” President Buhari said that looking back as the head of the team over the years, he had fond memories of incisive and robust discussions during cabinet meetings, rendering of performance reports during special sessions and presidential retreats. ”In 2015, citizens of this country overwhelmingly voted for me to become the President of this nation on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). ”Selecting members of the Cabinet went through a careful process so that the best and most competent could emerge. The performance of that class of 2015 proved me right. ”In 2019, Nigerians similarly re-elected me as President. Again the selection went through another meticulous process. ”That re-election was significant because it served as a referendum on our performance during the first term and it inspired me to bring back some of the members of the first cabinet either to their old Ministries or re-assigned to other sectors. ”New Members were also brought on board to inject fresh energies, skills and ideas to enhance the execution of government’s programs and policies. ”With these and much more, I am happy to note that a significant number of cabinet members have become sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the Office of the President. This shows the impact of the experience gathered while serving as members of the Federal Executive Council.” The President acknowledged that prior to some of them joining his cabinet, they had made their marks in other areas as governors, legislators, entrepreneurs and core professionals. He added that the experience and expertise they brought on board have significantly resulted in enormous development in various sectors and the accomplishment of government programmes. ”These include infrastructure, agriculture, health systems, financial management, administration of justice, building social safety net systems.” According to Buhari, the departure of some cabinet members has undoubtedly created a vacuum that should be filled, adding that the appointments would be made without delay so that the business of governance will not suffer. He advised the remaining members of the cabinet to show more diligence, resilience and commitment to serve Nigerians better, saying: ‘‘the journey to the finish line is still very far. ”Like always, there will be challenges to address, programmes to deliver and policies to implement. ”You must therefore brace up for more work and target increased accomplishments. ”The determination to leave important legacies for Nigerians should never be compromised.” The following outgoing members of FEC were present at the valedictory session: ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige. Others are the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen and the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Tayo Alasoadura. The Minister of State (Education), Emeka Nwajiuba, who had earlier tendered his resignation, was not present at the valedictory session. Speaking on behalf of the outgoing ministers, Akpabio thanked the President for giving them the opportunity to serve and contribute their quota to nation building. He described working with the President as a ‘‘fantastic and knowledgeable experience,’’ adding that as they step aside they will continue to be great disciples of Buhari. ”As we step aside from FEC, I want you to know that you have disciples in us. I want you to know that it is time for us to propagate Buharism. ”I want you to know that we are going to be working closely with the Minister of Information and Culture to take your message of transformation, love, patience, administrative sagacity to Nigerian.” The Niger Delta Minister said that his interactions with colleagues leaving the cabinet was like the story of the Spanish play of ‘‘sadness and joy.’’ ”Sadness in the sense that we are going to miss the continuous daily and weekly interaction with a Father and learning from him; joy because we now have an opportunity to go to the wider audience in Nigeria to speak more of your achievements for this country.” Lauding the President’s deep patriotism, Akpabio said he is the ”best president Nigeria could ever have had at a time of difficult circumstances.” He prayed to God Almighty to grant the President a successful tenure and protect his , family, adding: ”may one of us succeed you in order to continue the good legacies you have laid on ground. “We have seen and know your vision. We know where you want the country to be.”
The minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has withdrew his ambition to contest for the Presidency ahead of the 2023 Presidential election, saying that he preferred keeping his present job. In a statement today, May 13, Senator Ngige said that he took the decision to withdraw “firstly in the overall interest of the nation, in order to enable me concentrate on my job, and assist the President and the Government, weather the difficult last lap, in the life of the administration and secondly for other family reasons.” He declared: “today, 13th May , 2022, I had an audience with the President, Muhammadu Buhari as a follow up to the one I earlier had with him on 11thMay , 2022. “Having also consulted widely with my family, constituents, supporters and well-wishers, it is my pleasure to announce the withdrawal of my interest and earlier decision to contest the office of the President in the 2023 general elections. “As a result of this, I will NOT be participating in any of the internal party processes of the said election, starting with the primary. “I have since communicated this decision to the President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. “My constituents , political associates and well-wishers across the country are by this statement informed of this latest decision, which also has the blessing and support of the overwhelming majority, hence supersedes any other interest , personal or otherwise.” The minister recalled that on Tuesday, 19th April 2022, he publicly declared his interest to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, following the constitutional provision that precludes President Buhari from seeking re-election to the office, as he would have completed his two terms in office by 29thMay 2023 . He said that his declaration was made in his home town, Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State. “My declaration was sequel to pressure on me from my constituents, political associates, friends and other well-meaning Nigerians, who felt I possess the necessary qualifications and experience for the job. “Some of these supporters even taxed themselves to procure the Expression of Interest/Nomination Forms of our Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for me. The forms however are yet to be filled and submitted.”
Hon. Albino Matham Ayuel, Special Envoy of the President of the South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, was at the Aso Rock Presidential villa, Abuja, Nigeria, today, May 13, to deliver special message from that country’s leader to President Muhammadu Buhari. With them is the Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada.
Unpacking the main takeaways from President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, starts with the gain from a side event, not the 15th Conference Of Parties to the United Nations Conference on Combating Desertification, UNCCF, which was the main event, considering the significance of what the President set out to achieve.
For the records, this was the first official event hosted by President Buhari following his election in December last year, as the President of the Conference of Heads of States and Government of the member states of the Pan African Great Green Wall Agency, PAGGW.
The background was that in February 2021, the French President Emmanuel Macron, Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, and President of the World Bank Group David Malpass, organized the fourth ‘One Planet Summit’ which will focus on biodiversity to mobilize commitments to protect ecosystems and links to human health.
The summit brought together Heads of State and Governments, leaders of international organizations, financial institutions, companies and NGOs, at the end of they demonstrated strong commitments that will lead to actions to preserve and restore biodiversity, and systemic transformations of economies.
President Buhari got elected to and found on the table of the One Planet Summit Initiative pledges amounting to $19 Billion to support the activities of the PAGGW.
The necessity of this meeting was the need on the part of the 11-member bloc, made up of Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Sudan, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Mali, Eritrea, Djibouti, Burkina Faso and Chad, facing dire and present danger due to the devastating effect of desertification and drought, impacting negatively on the security of their communities and the livelihood their people to confront these challenges associated with desert encroachment and drought.
The major objective of the President’s meeting was to draw attention to the USD 19 billion pledge and to trigger the process for accessing the funds in order to immediately embark upon land restoration and tree planting, investment in small and medium sized farms/support to small holder farmers, development of climate resilience infrastructure, institutional framework to enhance security, stability and governance and capacity building.
The President, in his capacity as the President of the member-states of PAGGW called on the World Bank, African Development Bank and the One Planet Summit Initiative to support this drive by setting up a ‘Task Team’ to work with PAGGW, and further requested the UNCCD and One Planet Summit to advise on a suitable Financial Consultant for the PAGGW that can coordinate the process under the auspices of the UNCCD and PAGGW in a transparent manner.
If these steps follow as expected, access should immediately be ensured to these huge funds in the of opening “a new era for the GGW.”
As emphasized by the President as well as Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary General representing the United Nations, what is needed at this time is action “with scale and urgency,” to set in motion the re-greening of the Sahel and changing the fortunes of the 1.3 billion people inhabiting the entire region.
President Buhari, who over the years had taken the advocacy for Congo River Inter-Basin Water Transfer, a project that would redistribute water from the Ubangui River into Lake Chad saw an opportunity in the pledges and charged the GGW agency, the funders and the consultant to-be to give a serious consideration to the issue.
He also highlighted the several environmental challenges including creeping land degradation, desertification and drought in the Northern region, to wanton deforestation, land encroachment, invasion of coastal line, biodiversity loss, flooding and coastal erosion in the Southern region of the country.
According to him, this reality is what reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 2018-2030 Strategic Framework, geared towards mitigating the effects of desertification, land degradation and drought. In line with this, he urged the Parties to seize the momentum created by the conference to accelerate their commitments to achieving land degradation neutrality in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihood of more than 1.3 billion people and reduce the impact of drought in the affected regions.
President Buhari saw in the theme “Land, Life, Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity” as a clarion call to action for global leaders to halt and reverse the three “Ds” planetary land crises of desertification, degradation and drought, as envisioned by the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration; and to restore our lands, in order to fulfill our food, water and energy needs. He charged the international community to demonstrate enough political will and commitment towards the realization of the pledge to restore one billion hectares of land by 2030, which should hopefully save humanity from starvation and preserve the planet for future generations.
President Buhari welcomed the UNCCD’s goal of land degradation neutrality and went on to highlight Nigeria’s commitment to its National Action Plan which is being implemented through National Policies, Institutional and Legislative Framework, Sectoral Programmes and Partnership Building that have been put in place to address the problem of drought and desertification.
For example, he reported establishment of an early drought warning system that involves local people in designing, implementing and managing of natural resources conservation programmes for combating desertification and ameliorating the effects of drought. Furthermore, Nigeria has been collaborating with development partners in areas of training, research, development and transfer of affordable and acceptable environmentally friendly technologies to mitigate drought and desertification.
Nigeria has also revised its National Forest Policy in 2020 which he said is a remarkable improvement on the previous one which had been in use since 2006. The country has also launched the National Strategy on Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime in 2022. The new policies are anchored on the need for continuous socio-economic development that will provide optimal benefits to the people and government of Nigeria in a sustainably managed environment.
There are also Forestry Programmes implemented by Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria to tackle the problems of desertification through the establishment of woodlots, shelterbelts and windbreaks. Through these programmes, the government is able to establish a Green Wall or Shelterbelt across the frontline States over hundred kilometers in width, stretching from the Northwest to the Northeast of the country.
Nigeria, reported the President, has also established a National Forestry Trust Fund aimed at improving afforestation programmes in the country, ensuring sustainable financing from non-government sources for the restoration of Nigeria’s forest estates and reserves and production of landscapes in order to achieve significant increase in our forest cover.
Through the nation’s National Afforestation Programme under the green bond project, Nigeria has successfully forested over Six Million, One Hundred And Ninety-One Thousand, Three Hundred And Sixty-Three Hectares of land through the green bond project. The target is to increase the nation’s forest cover to Twenty-Five percent in line with global best practices and also in fulfilment of the pledge he made at the 74th Session of the United Nations General assembly in September, 2019, of planting Twenty-Five Million trees towards achieving restoration of degraded forest reserves and other landscapes nationwide.
Nigeria has also expanded protected areas by creating ten additional National Parks, including two (2) Marine Protected Areas, cutting across the various ecological zones of the country, and accelerated the implementation of the ongoing Ogoni Clean-up for restoration of polluted land as well as implementation of the Great Green Wall programme hinged on ecological restoration and rehabilitation of degraded land in the Southern part of the country.
The National Agency of the Great Green Wall in Nigeria has made progress in land restoration of over Three Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-two hectares of land.
Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in partnership with the World Bank, expended enormous resources to establish Agricultural Development Programmes in all the Thirty-Six States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The ADPs operate the Training and Visit system of unified extension system covering the areas of Crop Production and Protection, Livestock Production and Animal Health, Fisheries, Agro-forestry and Gender related issues in Agriculture popularly referred to as Women-In-Agriculture.
He gave assurances that Nigeria is dedicated to fulfill the pledge to the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative that seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030 in response to the Bonn challenge. To date, the initiative has 128 million hectares in pledges from 32 African countries. In 2017, Nigeria committed to restore 4 million hectares of degraded forest landscapes under the AFR100 initiative. So far, over Five Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Eight Hectares of land restoration have been recorded, including the planting of Fifteen Million tree seedlings covering over Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred Hectares of deforested lands.
On finance, domestically, the President said that the country has made efforts for funding a pipeline of projects in our path to a greener economy and that Nigeria has issued its first and second Sovereign Green Bonds. So far, two rounds of the green bond have successfully been executed. The first round of the green bond amounted to $27.3 million, the second amounted to more than $41 million. We are currently on the verge of launching the third green bond to the tune of $68.7 million. Through the instrumentality of the green bond programme, innovative funding streams are being unlocked in order to finance environmentally and climate friendly projects with focus on both adaptation and mitigation.
In reiterating Nigeria’s commitment to the goals of the conference, the President highlighted the major obstacle, which is finance, and used the platform to appeal for the redemption of the pledges made by International Technical and Financial Partners to provide the $19 billion dollars as assistance to the Green Wall Member Countries to enable them meet their commitments.
Although the meeting was focused on the problems of desertification and drought, the President observed that without a peaceful world, there can be no development. In the light of this, he called for a ceasefire and cessation of conflicts where they exist and especially the Russian – Ukraine war. “We call on all the parties to return to the negotiation table with a view to putting an end to this needless conflict,” said the President.
As a leader, President Buhari over the years has shown the world that he is at the forefront of world leaders determined working to save the planet from the ill-effects of climate change.
In this role as the President of the Conference of Presidents and Heads of Government of the Great Green Wall countries, he has found a perfect chance to do for Sub-Saharan Africa, what he is doing at home in Nigeria. This, he is determined to do.
Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon as his ‘true friend’ and wished him the best as he ends his seven-year term as the Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion worldwide.
The President, who received the clergyman at the Presidential villa, Abuja, today, May 12, appreciated Archbishop Idowu-Fearon for his many endeavours at home in Nigeria, promoting coexistence between followers of the major faiths, Islam and Christianity.
Buhari described the clergyman as a highly respected academic and a professor, saying that he will continue to take advice from the recognized proponent of Christian-Muslim dialogue.
The President said that he is pleased to hear that the Most Reverend Idowu-Fearon , upon his retirement, plans to return to Nigeria and continue with his work of promoting Christian-Muslim Understanding at the Centre he established in Kaduna.
“The nation will continue to cherish Idowu-Fearon’s efforts to heal the society especially at the height of the Boko Haram attacks, which he followed up even while abroad, treating victims of terror as if they were his family members.”
Archbishop Idowu-Fearon recalled his close relationship with the President and thanked him for the enormous amount of sacrifices he has been making to make Nigeria a better country.
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One of the Big Four audit firms in the United Kingdom (UK), KPMG, has admitted misleading regulators during spot checks on audits of construction group, Carillion and software firm Regenersis, and may be fined 14.4 million pound ($17.6 million).
A Senate aspirant for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mrs. Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi, has expressed the determination to usher in the change which both the natives and settlers in the FCT deserved.
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that any of the ministers who have just jumped into the Presidential contest ahead of the 2023 election is sufficiently equipped to succeed him as President.
The minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has withdrew his ambition to contest for the Presidency ahead of the 2023 Presidential election, saying that he preferred keeping his present job.
Takeaways From President Buhari’s Brief Visit To Abidjan, By Garba Shehu
Unpacking the main takeaways from President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, starts with the gain from a side event, not the 15th Conference Of Parties to the United Nations Conference on Combating Desertification, UNCCF, which was the main event, considering the significance of what the President set out to achieve.
For the records, this was the first official event hosted by President Buhari following his election in December last year, as the President of the Conference of Heads of States and Government of the member states of the Pan African Great Green Wall Agency, PAGGW.
The background was that in February 2021, the French President Emmanuel Macron, Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, and President of the World Bank Group David Malpass, organized the fourth ‘One Planet Summit’ which will focus on biodiversity to mobilize commitments to protect ecosystems and links to human health.
The summit brought together Heads of State and Governments, leaders of international organizations, financial institutions, companies and NGOs, at the end of they demonstrated strong commitments that will lead to actions to preserve and restore biodiversity, and systemic transformations of economies.
President Buhari got elected to and found on the table of the One Planet Summit Initiative pledges amounting to $19 Billion to support the activities of the PAGGW.
The necessity of this meeting was the need on the part of the 11-member bloc, made up of Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Sudan, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Mali, Eritrea, Djibouti, Burkina Faso and Chad, facing dire and present danger due to the devastating effect of desertification and drought, impacting negatively on the security of their communities and the livelihood their people to confront these challenges associated with desert encroachment and drought.
The major objective of the President’s meeting was to draw attention to the USD 19 billion pledge and to trigger the process for accessing the funds in order to immediately embark upon land restoration and tree planting, investment in small and medium sized farms/support to small holder farmers, development of climate resilience infrastructure, institutional framework to enhance security, stability and governance and capacity building.
The President, in his capacity as the President of the member-states of PAGGW called on the World Bank, African Development Bank and the One Planet Summit Initiative to support this drive by setting up a ‘Task Team’ to work with PAGGW, and further requested the UNCCD and One Planet Summit to advise on a suitable Financial Consultant for the PAGGW that can coordinate the process under the auspices of the UNCCD and PAGGW in a transparent manner.
If these steps follow as expected, access should immediately be ensured to these huge funds in the of opening “a new era for the GGW.”
As emphasized by the President as well as Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary General representing the United Nations, what is needed at this time is action “with scale and urgency,” to set in motion the re-greening of the Sahel and changing the fortunes of the 1.3 billion people inhabiting the entire region.
President Buhari, who over the years had taken the advocacy for Congo River Inter-Basin Water Transfer, a project that would redistribute water from the Ubangui River into Lake Chad saw an opportunity in the pledges and charged the GGW agency, the funders and the consultant to-be to give a serious consideration to the issue.
He also highlighted the several environmental challenges including creeping land degradation, desertification and drought in the Northern region, to wanton deforestation, land encroachment, invasion of coastal line, biodiversity loss, flooding and coastal erosion in the Southern region of the country.
According to him, this reality is what reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 2018-2030 Strategic Framework, geared towards mitigating the effects of desertification, land degradation and drought. In line with this, he urged the Parties to seize the momentum created by the conference to accelerate their commitments to achieving land degradation neutrality in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihood of more than 1.3 billion people and reduce the impact of drought in the affected regions.
President Buhari saw in the theme “Land, Life, Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity” as a clarion call to action for global leaders to halt and reverse the three “Ds” planetary land crises of desertification, degradation and drought, as envisioned by the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration; and to restore our lands, in order to fulfill our food, water and energy needs. He charged the international community to demonstrate enough political will and commitment towards the realization of the pledge to restore one billion hectares of land by 2030, which should hopefully save humanity from starvation and preserve the planet for future generations.
President Buhari welcomed the UNCCD’s goal of land degradation neutrality and went on to highlight Nigeria’s commitment to its National Action Plan which is being implemented through National Policies, Institutional and Legislative Framework, Sectoral Programmes and Partnership Building that have been put in place to address the problem of drought and desertification.
For example, he reported establishment of an early drought warning system that involves local people in designing, implementing and managing of natural resources conservation programmes for combating desertification and ameliorating the effects of drought. Furthermore, Nigeria has been collaborating with development partners in areas of training, research, development and transfer of affordable and acceptable environmentally friendly technologies to mitigate drought and desertification.
Nigeria has also revised its National Forest Policy in 2020 which he said is a remarkable improvement on the previous one which had been in use since 2006. The country has also launched the National Strategy on Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime in 2022. The new policies are anchored on the need for continuous socio-economic development that will provide optimal benefits to the people and government of Nigeria in a sustainably managed environment.
There are also Forestry Programmes implemented by Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria to tackle the problems of desertification through the establishment of woodlots, shelterbelts and windbreaks. Through these programmes, the government is able to establish a Green Wall or Shelterbelt across the frontline States over hundred kilometers in width, stretching from the Northwest to the Northeast of the country.
Nigeria, reported the President, has also established a National Forestry Trust Fund aimed at improving afforestation programmes in the country, ensuring sustainable financing from non-government sources for the restoration of Nigeria’s forest estates and reserves and production of landscapes in order to achieve significant increase in our forest cover.
Through the nation’s National Afforestation Programme under the green bond project, Nigeria has successfully forested over Six Million, One Hundred And Ninety-One Thousand, Three Hundred And Sixty-Three Hectares of land through the green bond project. The target is to increase the nation’s forest cover to Twenty-Five percent in line with global best practices and also in fulfilment of the pledge he made at the 74th Session of the United Nations General assembly in September, 2019, of planting Twenty-Five Million trees towards achieving restoration of degraded forest reserves and other landscapes nationwide.
Nigeria has also expanded protected areas by creating ten additional National Parks, including two (2) Marine Protected Areas, cutting across the various ecological zones of the country, and accelerated the implementation of the ongoing Ogoni Clean-up for restoration of polluted land as well as implementation of the Great Green Wall programme hinged on ecological restoration and rehabilitation of degraded land in the Southern part of the country.
The National Agency of the Great Green Wall in Nigeria has made progress in land restoration of over Three Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-two hectares of land.
Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in partnership with the World Bank, expended enormous resources to establish Agricultural Development Programmes in all the Thirty-Six States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The ADPs operate the Training and Visit system of unified extension system covering the areas of Crop Production and Protection, Livestock Production and Animal Health, Fisheries, Agro-forestry and Gender related issues in Agriculture popularly referred to as Women-In-Agriculture.
He gave assurances that Nigeria is dedicated to fulfill the pledge to the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative that seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030 in response to the Bonn challenge. To date, the initiative has 128 million hectares in pledges from 32 African countries. In 2017, Nigeria committed to restore 4 million hectares of degraded forest landscapes under the AFR100 initiative. So far, over Five Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Eight Hectares of land restoration have been recorded, including the planting of Fifteen Million tree seedlings covering over Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred Hectares of deforested lands.
On finance, domestically, the President said that the country has made efforts for funding a pipeline of projects in our path to a greener economy and that Nigeria has issued its first and second Sovereign Green Bonds. So far, two rounds of the green bond have successfully been executed. The first round of the green bond amounted to $27.3 million, the second amounted to more than $41 million. We are currently on the verge of launching the third green bond to the tune of $68.7 million. Through the instrumentality of the green bond programme, innovative funding streams are being unlocked in order to finance environmentally and climate friendly projects with focus on both adaptation and mitigation.
In reiterating Nigeria’s commitment to the goals of the conference, the President highlighted the major obstacle, which is finance, and used the platform to appeal for the redemption of the pledges made by International Technical and Financial Partners to provide the $19 billion dollars as assistance to the Green Wall Member Countries to enable them meet their commitments.
Although the meeting was focused on the problems of desertification and drought, the President observed that without a peaceful world, there can be no development. In the light of this, he called for a ceasefire and cessation of conflicts where they exist and especially the Russian – Ukraine war. “We call on all the parties to return to the negotiation table with a view to putting an end to this needless conflict,” said the President.
As a leader, President Buhari over the years has shown the world that he is at the forefront of world leaders determined working to save the planet from the ill-effects of climate change.
In this role as the President of the Conference of Presidents and Heads of Government of the Great Green Wall countries, he has found a perfect chance to do for Sub-Saharan Africa, what he is doing at home in Nigeria. This, he is determined to do.
Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity.