VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Tag: fg

  • SERVICE MODERNISATION | FG, DBI PARTNER TO TRAIN CIVIL SERVANTS, DIGITISE MDAS

    SERVICE MODERNISATION | FG, DBI PARTNER TO TRAIN CIVIL SERVANTS, DIGITISE MDAS

    The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has announced that the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) is set to play a pivotal role in the federal government’s ongoing efforts to train civil servants and drive the digitalisation of all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

    This collaboration is a strategic component of the federal government’s broader reform agenda, which prioritizes the transformation of the civil service into a more efficient, responsive, and technologically advanced institution. According to Walson-Jack, integrating digital tools and enhancing the technical capacity of public servants is crucial to aligning Nigeria’s civil service with global best practices and modern administrative standards.

    She made the remarks in Abuja during a meeting with the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Bridge Institute, David Daser. The DBI shared details of the meeting in an official statement released by its Head of Public Affairs, Akin Ogunlade.

    Ogunlade noted that the meeting reinforced the growing strategic partnership between the Office of the Head of Civil Service and the DBI. He emphasized that the engagement was focused on deepening collaboration in the areas of digital literacy, capacity building, and the upskilling of government personnel across all MDAs.

    “The meeting served to reaffirm our shared commitment to equipping civil servants with the necessary digital skills that will enable them to thrive in a technology-driven governance landscape,” Ogunlade said. “We are exploring ways to institutionalize digital training programs that will have a long-lasting impact on public service delivery and overall government performance.”

    As Nigeria continues to face pressure to modernize its public institutions, the partnership with DBI is seen as a timely intervention to close the digital skills gap, improve operational efficiency, and foster a culture of innovation within the public sector.

    The initiative is also aligned with Nigeria’s digital economy policy and strategy, which places a strong emphasis on building human capital and leveraging technology to enhance governance, transparency, and citizen engagement.

  • POWER CRISIS | FG TURNS TO BANKS FOR 23BILLION DOLLARS LIFELINE

    POWER CRISIS | FG TURNS TO BANKS FOR 23BILLION DOLLARS LIFELINE

    In a determined effort to put an end to Nigeria’s persistent power supply challenges, the Federal Government has initiated high-level discussions with commercial banks and potential investors to secure funding for its ambitious plan to achieve universal electricity access across the country. The initiative, which is estimated to require a staggering $23.2 billion in total investment, is part of a broader strategy to provide reliable and sustainable electricity to millions of Nigerians who currently live without power.

    According to recent reports, the massive investment is expected to be implemented over the next five to ten years and is projected to reach approximately 120 million people spread across 22 million unelectrified residential households. The scale and scope of the project underscore the government’s recognition of electricity as a critical driver of economic development, social well-being, and national productivity.

    Of the total $23.2 billion required, a significant $14.1 billion is earmarked as upfront capital investment—representing roughly 60 percent of the total cost. This substantial sum will need to be mobilized from a range of stakeholders, including financial institutions, development partners, private sector actors, and international donors. The government is actively courting these players in hopes of forming a multi-stakeholder coalition capable of delivering on the ambitious electrification agenda.

    Despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria continues to grapple with a woefully inadequate power generation capacity, which hovers around 5,500 megawatts—far below the demand of its growing population and industrial base. The universal access plan seeks to address this shortfall by supplying an estimated 11,499 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually to the targeted 22 million households currently left in the dark.

    The government has signaled that the strategy will likely incorporate a mix of on-grid and off-grid solutions, including mini-grids, solar home systems, and expanded transmission infrastructure. This blended approach is intended to deliver not just quantity, but also quality, reliability, and sustainability in electricity access.

    If successful, the plan could mark a transformative moment for Nigeria’s power sector, unlocking new economic opportunities, improving quality of life, and propelling the country toward its long-term development goals.

  • Federal Government to Stop Politicians Guilty of Tax Evasion From Running for Office

    Federal Government to Stop Politicians Guilty of Tax Evasion From Running for Office

    The Federal Government is planning to stop politicians guilty of tax evasion from running for elective offices in the country.

    The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, made this known over the weekend while speaking at the 2024 strategic retreat for staff of the Joint Tax Board.

    Oyedele disclosed that the Executive plans to send a bill to the National Assembly in the coming days to back up the move.

    He also revealed that the federal government is planning to set up a National Tax Amnesty Programme.

    Oyedele, however, admitted that the argument that the issue of tax and party membership dues arises during every major election hardly holds water.

    The economist stated that the Constitution doesn’t explicitly list tax compliance as a qualification criterion.

     

  • FG Reveals Plan to Spend N178.9 Billion to Implement Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda

    FG Reveals Plan to Spend N178.9 Billion to Implement Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda

    The Federal Government has said that it plans to spend N178.9 billion in five years through the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs on the implementation of the eight priority areas of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    This information was contained in the executive summary of the 63-page strategic plan 2024-2028 of the ministry formally presented by the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Hon Zephaniah Jisalo, on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Jisalo said that the ministry is among the three Federal Ministries responsible for contributing to implementing President Tinubu’s developmental policies and National Development Plan 2021-2025.

    The minister also pledged to monitor the projects of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), including constituency projects across the country.

    The minister listed the key priority areas of the strategic plan to include; food security, ending poverty, economic growth/job creation, access to capital, inclusivity, security, fairness and rule of law and anti-corruption stance.

  • Oronsaye Report: FG Speaks on Retrenching Workers.

    Oronsaye Report: FG Speaks on Retrenching Workers.

    The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, has disclosed that the implementation of the 12-year-old Steve Oronsaye report will not lead to the retrenchment of workers.

    He stated that the essence of the implementation was not to retrench workers but to maximize the agencies’ effectiveness and efficiency and reduce costs.

    Idris disclosed this during his remarks at the Ministerial Press Briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.

    You would recall that the Federal Executive on Monday approved the implementation of the recommendations of the Oronsaye panel on the restructuring and rationalization of the Federal Government’s agencies and commissions.

    The government said the implementation of the policy would involve the merging, subsuming, and scrapping of agencies with similar functions.

     

  • President Tinubu, Governors Mull Creation of State Police Over Insecurity

    President Tinubu, Governors Mull Creation of State Police Over Insecurity

    The Federal Government and the 36 state governors have met to discuss the issues of state police to curb insecurity in the country.

    Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, today, told State House correspondents that there was a discussion “around the issue of state police”.

    He said the federal government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police, adding that it was “still going to be further discussed”.

    He described the discussion along the line as a major shift considering that the Nigerian government under previous administrations had vehemently opposed the idea of state police.

    Idris said there would be more meetings and work done to achieve it.

    You will recall that there were earlier reports that President Tinubu had scheduled to hold a crucial meeting with governors from all 36 states at the Presidential Villa on Thursday morning.

    The meeting was scheduled to be held before the President would depart for the African Union meeting in Ethiopia.

    Tinubu will today depart for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU)

    On the margins of the summit, the President will also attend an extraordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in his capacity as the Chairman of the regional body.

    He will be accompanied on the trip by some ministers and other top government officials, and he is expected to return to Abuja following the summit’s conclusion.

  • Federal Government Lines Up 140 Officials to Assess Tinubu’s Ministers

    Federal Government Lines Up 140 Officials to Assess Tinubu’s Ministers

    No fewer than 140 officials have been arranged to track and assess the performance of federal ministries, departments, and agencies ahead of the first assessment exercise at the end of this month.

    This is as the officials joined the third technical retreat for delivery desk officers of federal ministries on the implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, which began on Wednesday.

    A senior official working closely with the Central Delivery Coordination Unit headed by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Mrs Hadiza Bala-Usman, revealed that the officers, who would conduct the assessment, were drawn from 35 federal government ministries, departments and agencies.

    The official who did not want to be mentioned told journalists that theyare considering the modalities of the assessment, the key performance indicators and the reporting mechanisms.

    At the retreat, Bala-Usman echoed President Bola Tinubu’s words to participants when she warned that the President would sack ministers who failed to perform their duties.

    She noted that Tinubu was poised to deliver on his promise of making life better and easier for Nigerians.

    Calling for the total commitment of delivery officers and directors of planning in ministries, Bala-Usman said explained that the President is very serious about his promises and that ministers will be assessed and dropped if they don’t perform.

    On October 17, 2023, Bala-Usman said her office would begin a quarterly assessment of the performance of the ministers appointed by the President by January 2024.

    She said January would be the best period to begin the exercise as all the ministries would have received their budgets for the 2024 fiscal year

  • Give Us a Couple of Months, Nigeria Will Bounce Back – Says VP Shettima

    Give Us a Couple of Months, Nigeria Will Bounce Back – Says VP Shettima

    Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has expressed optimism that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will get the country back on track in a couple of months.

    Shettima stated this on Wednesday, December 20, during a meeting with the graduating class of the second cohort of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative, led by the Chief of Staff to the President and former Speaker of the House Of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

    Speaking during the meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the country’s number two citizen urged graduates to embrace their potential and play an active role in shaping a prosperous future for Nigeria rather than seeking opportunities abroad.

    The Vice President resonated with a message of empowerment as he encouraged the graduating class to reject disillusionment and embrace their potential within Nigeria.

    Shettima stressed that the government will strive to make the country greener for all citizens.