NCDMB, SON leads top performing MDAs in 2022
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) lead the chart for the top-performing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in 2022 as the Federal Government continues to ensure that MDAs comply with Executive Order 001 (EO1) on transparency and efficiency.
Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business and Secretary, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), said this on Thursday in Abuja.
Oduwole restated PEBEC’s promise to continuously track and keep the business community updated on MDA’s performance through its Executive Order report.
She said in the PEBEC’s 2022 EO1 Compliance Report, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) had 81.11 percent, while the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC), which came in second and third, had 78.68 percent and 68.37 percent, respectively.
Others include the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which came in fourth and fifth with 64.59 percent and 63.68 percent, respectively.
According to Oduwole, the codification of EO1 directives in the Business Facilitation Act 2022 is a major development in the efforts to entrench EO1 in the psyche of the Civil Service.
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Abia guber candidates, political parties sign Peace Accord
At least 16 political parties and their Governorship Candidates for the March 18 poll in Abia on Thursday signed a Peace Accord to be of good conduct during the exercise.
The event, organised by the state Police Command, took place at the Officers’ Mess, near Government House, Umuahia.
It was attended by Ikechi Emenike (APC), Okey Ahiwe (PDP), Enyinnaya Nwafor (YPP), Sunday Onuoha (ADC), Mascot Uzor-Kalu (APP) and Ukpai Iroh Ukpai (NNPP), amongst others.
The ADD candidate, Onuoha, who spoke on behalf of others shortly after the signing formalities, gave assurance that they would abide by the electoral guidelines and shun violence.
He said: “Abia is God’s Own State and we are God-loving people.
“We are going to show Abia people, Nigerians and indeed the whole world that Abia will be a reference point for peace.”
In an opening remark, the Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Bala, who supervised the signing formalities, commended the political parties for their peaceful disposition during the Presidential and National Assembly elections. (NAN)
Ogun SDP gov candidate quits, backs Adebutu
Tony Ojeshina, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ogun State, has jettisoned his governorship ambition and thrown his weight behind the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, ahead of the March 18 election.
Ojeshina made this known on Thursday at a press briefing in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He said that Adebutu’s vision and manifesto tallied with his and believed that by throwing his weight behind his ambition, the party had a better chance of bringing sustainable development and social justice to the people of Ogun State.
Ojeshina said, “Fellow citizens of Ogun State, the cardinal vision of our great party, the Social Democratic Party, is to rebirth a new state through social justice and sustainable development.
“In my published manifesto as the Ogun State governorship candidate of the party, we outlined our people-centered program around making Ogun a new model state.
NCAA promises to address alleged Lufthansa maltreatment of passengers’
Sam Adurogboye, General Manager, Public Affairs, of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) disclosed on Thursday in Lagos that the NCAA has begun investigation into the alleged maltreatment of over 200 Nigeria-bound passengers by German airline carrier, Lufthansa Airlines.
Adurogboye said that the agency had received a petition from passengers about the unprofessional conduct of the German carrier.
According to information gathered, the flight from Frankfurt to Lagos, which was meant to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 5:45 p.m. last Friday, ended up at 2 a.m. after diverting to Cotonou, the capital of the Republic of Benin, and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Unfortunately, after arriving in Lagos at 2 a.m. on Saturday, the carrier threatened to call the police on the passengers after they requested that they make arrangements for their stay.
There were also reports that Lagos airport was not closed, contrary to the claim by the Lufthansa pilot.
Adurogboye, however, promised to look into the complaint as an investigation into the matter has been launched.
He said, “I just got our Consumer Department, and I was told that the report came in today, and as such, they are just beginning to do their investigation into the matter.”
Oil heads for sharp weekly decline
WTI crude futures near $75 per barrel on Friday and were set to drop more than 5 percent this week, weighed down by fears that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates further to combat inflation, increasing recessionary risks that could dampen energy demand.
Haitham Al-Ghais, OPEC Secretary General had voiced out such concerns, saying weakening oil consumption in the US and Europe could threaten market. Traders also tracked energy flows from Russia as the country’s oil exports held up well even in the face of escalating sanctions.
Meanwhile, investors continued to assess the demand outlook in China, as the world’s top crude importer dismantled strict Covid-19 rule but set a modest growth target for this year. (Tradingeconomics)
