Wednesday, January 30, 2013

States to get $1b from Excess Crude Account


States to get $1b from Excess Crude Account
To facilitate execution of more people-oriented projects in line with the administration’s Transformation Agenda, the President Goodluck Jonathan, has approved $1billion from the Excess Crude Account to be shared among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, made this known yesterday while speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the 45th National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.
He said the President’s approval was conveyed by the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, while briefing the CouncilPresided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.
Ngama said the Excess Crude Account has a balance of $9.242 billion after $1billion was spent on subsidy payments.
Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, said the Council has also prevailed on states to buy into the activities of the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).
He said the Council considered a report presented by the National Planning Minister and Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, on the need for states to buy in to the activities of NAPTIP to combat human trafficking.
The recommendations of the report, he said, include the development and effective implementation of state level Trafficking in Persons Plans of Action, the development and strengthening of the States Social Welfare System’s for Child Protection and the provision of basic needs, including medical care, educational, vocational and recreational facilities for victims of trafficking.
He listed others as mobilising and providing support for civil society organisations working on combat-trafficking and related issues, assisting and empowering identified victims of trafficking by providing educational grants, scholarships and other incentives and implementing the Child’s Rights Law in each state.
Orji said the Council adopted the recommendations and directed the Minister of National Planning, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Chief Executive of NAPTIP, to liaise with the states towards ensuring better collaboration in addressing the situation.
He said the report recommended that Abia, Kogi and Ogun states should be treated as pilot cases in the bid to combat the scourge.
Dr. Usman also briefed the Council on the status of the on-going implementation of the states’ GDP Computation programme embarked upon by the Commission, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Governors’ Forum and the states.
Following the successful completion of the state GDP computation in the six pilot states, he said the NBS is working closely with the states’ Statistical Bureaux/Agencies to conduct the survey and publication of data on the GDP computation for six states , namely, Niger, Rivers, Gombe, Anambra, Kano and Lagos.
The states’ GDP computation programme is being implemented in two phases, with the first phase covering the six pilot states in each of the geo-political zones due to be completed in April.
The second phase is to cover the remaining states from April to December this year.
Usman said the Council stressed the endorsement it gave the Roadmap when the matter was first presented to NEC in July, 2010.
He urged the states to work closely with the National Planning Commission and the NBS to address the identified capacity and infrastructure related gaps in the states’ Statistical Bureau and Planning Commissions, to ensure the sustainability of the states’ GDP computation programme.
The Council was briefed by a team from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) led by its President, Chief Kola Jamodu, on Multiple Taxation across the country at various levels and its effects on manufacturing and productivity.
Jamodu said MAN sought a reduction in stamp duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), exemption on some raw materials, harmonisation of taxes and levies within the three tiers of government, outlawing of unorthodox means of collecting taxes and full automation of the entire tax administration system.
After extensive discussions of the issues, the Council raised a committee to examine items and report to the Council by March.
The committee is chaired by the Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwabo, with the Governors of Zamfara, Kogi, Abia, Rivers, Imo, Ogun and Lagos states as members..
Usman, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, CBN Governor, Economic Adviser to the Vice- President, Secretary to the National Planning Commission and MAN President, are also members.

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