N165 billion monthly salaries of federal civil servants not sustainable – Adeosun

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said on Thursday in Lagos that the N165 billion monthly salaries to federal civil servants was over-bloated and could no longer be sustained by government.

The minister spoke at a meeting with Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) hosted by her counterpart in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

Adeosun, who was speaking on the economy reform agenda of the government, said that the N165 billion being paid to federal civil servants monthly represented 40 per cent of the total spending of government.

She said the figure was too high and the government was pursuing aggressive measures to detect and prosecute ghost workers and other saboteurs in the system.

“We spend 165 billion every month on salaries and when I came in there was no checking.

“Now, we have created a unit assigned with the sole responsibility of checking the salaries and catching those behind the over bloated salaries,’’ she said.

Adeosun said that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) introduced by the previous administration was faulty and sabotaged by the element benefitting from the salary fraud.

She said that many Federal Government establishments including the Police were yet to be captured in the system.

According to her, it is shocking that the Nigerian Railway Corporation which was not fully functioning still had 10,000 workers in its payroll serviced by government.

The minister assured that government would correct the anomalies in the payroll system and weed out all ghost workers in the service.

Adeosun said that the fiscal focus of the administration was to ensure an economic growth that would be measured on job creation and productive sectors.

“The economy is not measured by how many private jet we have but how many jobs we create.

“People must be productive for the economy to grow.

“We have been a consumer economy, but we want to be productive and stop buying everything from abroad.

“We have been borrowing to pay salaries for years and that has to stop because it is not sustainable.

“Last year, we spent N64 billion on travelling and only N90 billion on roads. Travelling does not grow the economy and this must also stop,’’ she said.

The minister said that the compound GDP of the country had been growing negatively in the last 10 years and the administration was working to correct the trend.

She assured that the administration would be the most discipline government the country has ever had in terms of fiscal accountability and responsibility.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, said government would reposition the agricultural sector to become the mainstay of the economy.

“The ministry will give policy direction and coordination to make farming attractive and for people to practice it as business.

SOURCE: Premiumtimes

Prices of fresh tomatoes up by 1,000%

The prices of tomatoes have gone up by 1,000 per cent in Josand environs in Plateau, a market survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has shown.

Our correspondents, who visited some of the markets and other selling points on Thursday, found out that the commodity had gone beyond the reach of the average Nigerian.

At the Terminus Market in Jos, a small basket of the commodity, which used to be N350, was selling for N3,500.

NAN also found that a big basket of the commodity, which sold for N1,000 about two months ago, now costs N10,000.

The story was the same at the Tudun Wada Market in Jos North Local Government, where a medium basket of the commodity, which sold for N550 in March, was sold for N5,600.

NAN reports that prospective small buyers seeking N150 worth of the commodity, were turned back by the retailers, who said that they did not have any quantity for that little amount.

Speaking to NAN, one of the retailers of the commodity, Mrs. Nanret Abimu, said, "Honestly, I do not know one specific reason why the price is this high’’.

"The price changes every day. One day a basket is N5,000. The next day, you are told it is N10,000. It is a very tough situation,’’ she told NAN.

Investigation by NAN showed that the price increase was caused by seasonal changes, especially at the onset of the rains.

"Tomato is generally a dry season vegetable.

"When heavy rains start, the vegetable gets rotten on the farms, which generally affects supply.

"It means that many retailers or wholesalers could go directly to the farms but will not get much and may be forced to purchase at outrageous prices out of desperation.

"When that happens, the effect is on the buyer and the eventual consumer, which is what we have now,'' she said.

Some consumers, who spoke with NAN on the situation, said that they had left out stew "for now'', in their daily menu.

A housewife, Mrs Nenkwat Joseph, said that she had tried to improvise by using pepper to spice up some dishes.

Another consumer, Miss Mishrap Aro, told NAN that she envisaged the rise in the price and prepared for it by buying in large quantities when the price was good.

"I bought tomatoes a long time; I cut each piece into two, dried it up and fetch it for use now anytime I need it.

"Normally, I soaked the dried tomatoes inside water and grind it; once that is done, it comes back as fresh tomatoes,'' she told NAN.

Also speaking to NAN, a student, Micheal Ali said that he had resorted to tin or sachet tomato instead of the fresh variant.

SOURCE: pulseng

I Want To Go Back To Sambisa - Rescued Girl

A Twelve-year-old girl rescued by the military has said she wants to return to her husband in Sambisa Forest. The girl was one of the 65 civilians rescued from the forest earlier this week.

Theater commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irahbor, handed over 65 civilians recently rescued to the Borno State government on Friday for further rehabilitation, but one teen demanded that she return to Sambisa Forest to be reunited with her husband.

Speaking to the Borno State government, Mr. Irahbor, who enumerated the recent success of Operation Lafiya Dole, said, “Today I would like to hand over our sisters and children rescued during our operations at Sambisa Forest. We shall continue until we wipe out the insurgents because they are losing more ground in Sambisa Forest to our troops.”

Governor Kashim Shettima praised the military for their efforts and promised that his administration would continue to support the military.

"We are experiencing peace now because of the tireless efforts of our military, especially the crackdown on Sambisa Forest. For the newly rescued, I congratulate you all. We are going to take care of you and reunite you with your families.”

But the rescued twelve-year-old wept and refused to eat or drink water for the past three days, as she demanded to be reunited with her husband in Sambisa Forest.

When journalists asked the teen why she refused to eat or drink, she simply answered, "All I want is to go back to him at Sambisa again," and wept.

SOURCE:saharareporters