SU tiDAY "Utie H OCTOBER 16. 2011
25
BUSINESS
Food security: FG engages Chinese farmers
T T
IFEANVI ONUBA
he
Fed",.1
Govern m e nt has e ngaged Chinf'se fa rmers to tea ch their
Nigerian counletparts how 10 produce more quality food fo r local consumption and exporta tio n. The Coordina to r. South· South Corporation, A1hajl Gidado Bello. said this a\
the 20 11 Ayricultul'lll Show in Abuja. He noted tha t the business cooperation, which started since 2003 across the 36 slales of the federation. was alrelldy yielding resu lts.
He said. ~ We have many things in common with China. While they have the largest popula tio n in the world. Nigeria has the la rgest popula tion in Africa . "11,ey were o nce laced
Minister sets tip FCT revenue board
ADELAN I l\DEPEGBA
he FeJeralCaPital Territ'lIY Minister. Sena tor Bala M o hammed . has a n nou nced the crea lion I d the FCT Revenue Bor,);d which is expected 10 lak'!--O rr soon. The Ministr made this an nouncement when the Senille Comr;nif tee on FCT Pilid him a cpurtesy call at the FCDA Ik'lrd Room, Central Business District. Abuja. Moharrined said the Clmmarl 01 the SenaIe Commitlet!: had assured him that the: biD lOr !he a"l!'(tlion of the revenue bo-Yd ~ be p<'ISSl!d into law at U'oe
boUl 1lCJU'ieS of the National Asse,..n~· on 01' CclOfe January 2012. lhe mini:!:te · reiIernted that the FCT Idntinistra1ion has p.lt 61m rnn ::hanisms on 9'OOnd 10 bled {'II IeakagI!s
from revenue accruable to the FCT Mninistratioo. According to him, the
Board
FCT
Revenue
when
operational
wiD drnstically mprove the inI~ generated revenue d the Administration as
addiIionaJ """"""'"' _ t o t h <
\Vel as provide
residents of the FaIeral CaptaI TerrilCfy. While soliciting Jar coop'?I'alion from members of the National ~,
the
minister restated ~le commi'tmml 01 his admini!:trnlioo k:J ~iki insIilutions that will 9<vld the test of lime.
Moha mmed also called
lor assistance
from Ihe
members of the National Assembly for the passage of all pending FCf Bills to give the administ ration the needed legal backing.
He expressed deiermination of administration
Ihe his
to
others, get the bill for the creation of FCT C ivil Service Board and the FCT Transport Agency passed. The minister d isclosed tha t lhe FCT Department of Develo pment Control would be re·posilioned to deal wi th all the e merging challenges 01 illegal structures in a nd around the Fedetal Capilal City bet:ause Abuja is the
window in which the Wo rld sees Nigeria. In his rema rk. Senator S ma rt Ad~'i!mi reassured the FCT Administration that the Committee is compiling bills on which Iegisla.tive actions v.0e not concluded during the 6th Senate, lor effective Jegislation and quick passage into law before the end 0120 12.
with poverty and fcxxi shortage. which our counlIy has been rDlg. 'That is I.\.-hy the Federal Go.e-nmenl ., its \WtIOm, invited the core nlr.'lI fanner.; from the counlry 10 leach us heM,!hey 'M?Il! able 10 phase out)Xl'v01y and ~ R
in lheir\and.
The benefits 01 the colla boration. accordin g to him, Include the large scale production of rlSh, poultry products, fruits. and diflerent species 01pepper. Bello expressed optimism tha t wi thin the shortest period of time. Nigeria would not only be food 5ulncienl but will have mo re th"'n e nough fo r
importallon.
The leader 01 the 56-man Chinese larmeJ delegatio n. Pro f. Xu Yua nfang. said they WeTe focusing mainly on agriculture. livestock. flSheties. a nd wa ter control. ExpkIininghowtheChinese experts had been able \0 communka te effectively with
the rural farmers. 'ruanfang said there was an interpreter
engaged Uy the r"ederal Government for the job. He said so far. !hey had succeeded in training the farTTle1S o n how 10 proce55 soya beans in large quantity. produce honey. bean curd. <l5 well as large SCille produdion of other crops.
Group, PENCOM collaborate on project financing p"il"", he Carlyle Asse t Company is in talks wi th the National Pension Commission on the possible areas to utilise the Idle N2 tn pensio n fu nds in finanCing kmg te rm projects in the coun try. The co·founder and Managing Director 01 the Carlyle grou p. Mr. David Ru benstein. said this d uring a meeting with the executive ma nagement team of PenCom in Abuja.
He explained tha t the major o bjective of the visit to the commissio n \V3S 10 share the company·s pla ns of becoming a long term str<ltegic partner i'IOd investor in Nigeria. He ~k1 the meeting u..'M to declare the company·s interest in utilising part 01 the idle pensioo funds to finance long term projects in the country. The commission had earlier this ~'i!ar declared that il had about N2tn in
pension fund assets that available fo r use in any Iong·term projects with guara nteed steady re turnS:. The huge id le fu nd!; hlld miKIe the unITal Bank of Nigeria to offer to establish a 6.000·megawall independent power plant for the exclusive use 01 a cluster 01 banks in Lagos a t a cost o f N600bn. This. the apex. bank had noted would be financed wi th N400bn from the pension fu nds. and N2tXJbn rmm
the CBN special intervention fund. However. PENCOM in a sta tementissue<ishortlyafte r the meeting, said mNlgeria is o ne of the company·s primary mart;ets and it IS expected tha t a significant portion o f capilal u..'Ollld be de ployed in Nigeria in sectors where they have de monstrated E'!I:pert ise. such as consumer a nd retail. energy and power. fi nancial services. health ca re. a nd infrastructure.-
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Patrid~'s
College, London, welcomes Nigeria.n Students ...
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JJl lt\'" Michael HiII)n of st. Patrick's College, London & Chelis Education Consult lid. (CEC) will be conducting a presentation and interview for students at the following venues:
ABUJA: \1 0 1 ~DAY. 17Ih Oct. 2011- 9:00a01 10 5:00pm Cllelis Education Consult l td. 84. 4th Avenue. Gwarimpa Estate, Ahuja. ENUGU: TU ESDAY. 181h Oct. 2011 - 9:00am 10 5:00pm Cmference Hall, Nike lake Hotels & Suite, Nike Lake Road, Abakpa , Nike, Enugu PORT·Hf,RCOURT: THURSDAY. 20th Oct. 2011 - 9:00a,m 10 5:00pm Chelis Education Consult lid. 38 Old Aba Road, Rumuobiakani , Port·Harcourt LAGOS: H :IDAY, 21s1 Oct. 2011 -1O:00am 10 5:00pm Prolea Holellkoyi Westwood, 22, Awolow Road, Ikoyi. Lagos LAG OS: S"TURDAY, 22nd Oct. 2011 - 9.00am to 5.00pm Chelis Education Consullltd. 3, Remilekun Street, off Og unlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos LIIGOS: MJ~IDAY, 24TH Oct. 201 1 - 10.00am to 4.00pm Chl!lis Education Consult lid. 3. Remileltun StreeL. off Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, La~IOs._ _, : I
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For more infonnation: chisomudoji@cheliseducation.com 03056736358; 07028444398; 07028444393 www.cheliseducation.com
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