The resurgence of arson targeted at public institutions, especially those critical to the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Guardian reports that a resurgence of arson targeted at public institutions, especially those critical to the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections, yesterday, raised fears of a volatile electioneering season as the country begins its countdown to the polls.
After a jolt from simultaneous attacks on its Osun and Ogun offices, yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has summoned an emergency security meeting today with head of security agencies, who are members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), including the National Security Adviser (NSA), over recent attacks on its facilities to deliberate on the disturbing trend.
The National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said that the meeting was triggered by the attacks on the Commission’s Local Government offices in Ogun and Osun.
He said: “The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun, Dr. Niyi Ijalaiye, reported that our office in Abeokuta South Council was attacked and set ablaze. The incident occurred around 1.15a.m. when some unidentified persons overpowered the security personnel on duty and set the entire building ablaze.
“The main building and all the Commission’s movable assets in the office were destroyed. They include 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, eight electric power generators and 65,699 uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
“Similarly, the REC for Osun, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, reported that our office in Ede South Council was attacked and set ablaze. The incident occurred in the early hours when some unidentified persons attacked the building and set a portion of it ablaze.”
“Similarly, the rising incidents of attacks on supporters of various political parties since the commencement of campaign barely two months ago and the use of hate and incendiary language by some politicians are extremely disturbing. Accordingly, the Commission has convened an emergency meeting of the ICCES for November 11, (today), to discuss the disturbing trend.”
A convoy of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, was reportedly attacked by hoodlums in Borno State on Wednesday. The PDP and ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have since traded blames over the incident.
Also, a rally by the former vice president in Kaduna last month was disrupted by thugs. With about three months to the next general elections, political violence seems to be on the increase with some recorded in parts of Zamfara and Lagos states, spreading fears about the safety of voters at the polls in 2023.
In Osun, it was gathered that the conference room of the office was mainly affected in the inferno. Early response of firemen from Osun State Fire Service to the incident was said to have restricted the fire to only the conference room.
It was further learnt that items like knife, slices of bread, a keg containing petrol and a fez cap were recovered from the scene of the fire, raising suspicion of arson.
The newspaper says that to avert looming food crisis in the country, Forum for Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to order Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Ifeanyi Emefiele, to immediately release funds for massive dry season farming.
The umbrella body for some 67 commodity associations with a population of about 16 million farmers, pledged that growers were ready to produce food for two cycles during the dry season, to make up for the devastating flooding.
FACAN Chairman, Sadiq Daware, at a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, alongside presidents of commodity associations, lamented the destructive impact of the flooding on food production, stressing the need for government to take immediate steps to salvage the situation.
He regretted that despite the daunting challenges experienced during 2021/2022 farming season, the apex bank had allegedly halted funding of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, with no single support to farmers.
Daware feared that that singular act might eclipse the achievements that may have been made thus far by the current administration.
He also canvassed support for flood victims and farmers, with the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative expanded to include other farm inputs like agro-chemicals and seeds, among others.
The National Coordinator, Special Project Rice Farmers Associations (RIFAN), Shehu Muazu, said undertaking dry season farming for two cycles would make up for losses thrown up by flooding.
On non-repayment of loans by farmers, he maintained that with the level of destruction, government will have to provide funds to planters to produce and repay facilities.
In his contribution, President of Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Bello, attributed rising food prices to high cost of production, pointing out that prices of fertiliser, agro chemicals and other farm inputs have more than doubled.
The Punch reports that the Managing Director, Japan External Trade Organisation, Takuma Taninami, has said the current business relationship between Nigeria and Japan is not enough.
According to him, the huge Nigerian market was yet to be fully tapped into by Japanese and Japanese companies, considering Japan is the third largest economy in the world.
The JETRO boss stated this at the Japan Pavilion at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair 2022.
At this year’s edition of the LITF, 19 companies are exhibiting at the Japan Pavilion ranging from automobile sectors or hi-technological pieces of machinery.
While speaking on Nigeria-Japan business relationships he said, “We JETRO, Japan External Trade Organization is well known as the governing body of Japan to promote trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. JETRO Lagos was established in 1955 and for more than six decades, we’ve been trying to support various kinds of business between Nigeria and Japan.
“When we refer to the business relationship between Nigeria and Japan, in 2021, the amount of export from Nigeria to Japan is around $760m dollars, while the import from Japan to Nigeria is $287m.”
Taninami said the major commodity of export from Nigeria to Japan is LNG, and that LNG represents about 70 per cent of all exports.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Richard Adebayo, has said that the Federal Government, in its efforts to create the right environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive, has disbursed N785 billion through the Bank of Industry to over 10 million MSMEs from 2019 to July 2022.
He stated this on Thursday at the Command Guest House during the closing ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment which had the theme, “Strengthening Industry, Trade and Investment Sector in Promoting Development in the Country.”
According to him, the intervention was made possible because the BOI further deepened its capital base to $5 billion, attracting international partners like AFREXIM and Credit Suisse.
“We have implemented various initiatives focused on creating the right environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive. These include measures to ensure MSMEs have improved access to finance, enhanced market access, and reduction in operation cost.
“The Federal Government has successfully disbursed about N785 billion through the Bank of Industry to over ten million MSMEs from 2019 to July 2022. This was possible because BOI has further deepened its capital base to $5 billion with international partners like AFREXIM, and Credit Suisse, among others,” he said.
Adebayo said that his ministry revised the MSME Policy to drive the growth and competitiveness of the sector in the country and successfully increased the nation’s capacity to fund tech-driven MSMEs, through collaboration with the African Development Bank, to secure the $500 million Technology Fund.
He recalled that the MSME Survival Fund Initiative was launched in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic as part of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan, which protected MSMEs from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing out that as of July 2022, N67.5 billion had been disbursed to over 1.2 million beneficiaries, thus protecting at-risk jobs and creating new ones.
GIK/APA