UP GEJ!: August 2014

Sunday, 31 August 2014

UP GEJ!: All Hail Our Female NDA Officers

If you are a woman, the only reason you can be admitted into NDA today is because President Jonathan made it possible

Monday, 25 August 2014

MID TERM REPORT/ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN

POWER

• Launch of the Roadmap for Power Sector Reform. The Roadmap launched sets out a clear implementation plan of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act (2005) as a reaffirmation of the commitment to resolve the power crises and setting the path for power sector Improvement.

UP GEJ!: NOSDRA Boss Hails Jonathan’s Leadership

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President Goodluck Jonathan

Chairman of the governing board of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Major Lancelot Anyanya (rtd.) has hailed President Goodluck Jonathan on his leadership style in solving the myriad problems confronting the nation.

Farm land

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Schools Agriculture Programme, Dr. Baraka Sani, has

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, said it had collected signatures of 1.8 million people from

THE Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Fans’ Club International has rejected a call by the Northern Elders Forum that the President should not attempt to partake in the 2015 presidential race, stressing that the call was ethnically biased, unpatriotic and unconstutional.

Political leaders from the six states of the South-West region, across different political parties, on Saturday, declared the region’s support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that he deserved it following his transformation of the country.

UP GEJ: NDDC SET TO COMMISSION OVER 1,500 COMPLETED PROJECTS

No fewer than 1,500 projects executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, have been completed and ready for commissioning in the nine Niger Delta states of the region.

President Goodluck Ebele jonathan has commissioned the national Trauma Centre at the National Hospital in Abuja.

The 10,000 housing scheme rolled out by the Federal Government for Nigerians in the low-income bracket has

Funding challenges have been blamed for the delay in the completion of over 4,000 on-going projects being

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has opened an ultra-modern foot-bridge along the busy Aba

The 2014 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is geared towards addressing the goals of

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has kicked off another round of its popular Free Health Care

Over 1,177 people have received free treatment for sight, dental and other ailments, thanks to collaboration

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has donated eight agricultural tractors and 40 (500KVA)

UP GEJ! MID TERM REPORT/ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN Published May 29, 2013

POWER
• Launch of the Roadmap for Power Sector Reform. The Roadmap launched sets out a clear

Dr.Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (see CV), is a man of great honour and outstanding integrity. He is true statesman, whose meritocracy, selfless services and exemplary leadership qualities bear eloquent testimonies to his professional and political successes

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Ph.DHis Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a man with great quest for knowledge holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Honours, University of Port Harcourt, Master of Science (M.Sc.) and Doctor of Philosophy

(Ph.D.) from University of Port Harcourt respectively. He is seasoned administrator, an academic, a democrat, and an accomplished technocrat and indeed the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State.

Dr.Jonathan holds an Honorary Fellowship of the Nigeria Environmental Society (NES), Fellow of the Public Administrators of Nigeria (PAN),

Fellow of the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA), Bona Fide Member Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON). awarded "Best Performing Deputy Governor", and conferred "Exemplary Leadership Quality and Good Governance Award". And recently, he was given an

Honorary Award for Democracy and Good Governance. A native of Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State – Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was born November 20th, 1957, to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Ebele Jonathan. He was amply endowed with intelligence, strength and tact right from childhood, even though his parents were of a humble social background. Young Goodluck started his primary education at St. Stephen Primary School (now State School – Otuoke) and later proceeded to St Michael Primary School – Oloibiri where he passed his First School Leaving Certificate honourably. In 1971, the young lad furthered his studies at Mater Dei High School – Imiringi and by 1975, he sat for the West African School Certificate and passed with flying colours.

Goodluck Jonathan was identified to be a great child right from his tender age because of his attributes and rare disposition. No wonder, his paternal grand mother "nicknamed" him "Azikiwe" as a striking simile to the great Zik to connote another great Nigerian to come in the nearest future. Goodluck was appointed Class Prefect in class three in 1973, he was further appointed Secretary to the School Food Committee, because of his brilliant disposition. And in his class four and five, he was again appointed Masterson House Prefect while his fellow prefects unanimously elected him as Chairman of the Committee of Prefects.

With his sparkling performance and enduring milieu, young Goodluck soon secured a job as a Preventive Officer in the Department of Customs and Excise from 1975 to 1977.

However, because of his dogged quest for academic knowledge, Goodluck Jonathan promptly enrolled as a pioneer student in the department of Zoology at the newly established University of Port Harcourt, in 1977. He pursued his studies with impregnable zeal and by 1981 he graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons.) Second Class (Upper Division). As a Corper, he served Nigeria devotedly between 1981 and 1982 as a classroom teacher in Community Secondary School Iresi – Oyo State (now Osun State). After the mandatory service, Goodluck Jonathan was invited for a teaching appointment by the old Rivers State Civil Service Commission in 1982, he was however, appointed a Science Inspector of Education in the Ministry of Education because of his brilliant and intimidating performance at the interview.

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan always knew that he had a bond with the academia that he cannot dispute. Hence, he soon left the mainstream Civil Service for the College of Education where he took up an appointment as an academic in the Department of Biology in November 1983. Again, because of his disciplined nature and dedication to duty, he was elected as the Representative of Congress in the Senior Staff Appointments and Promotions Committee. A position he held till he voluntarily left the College in 1993. To equip himself firmly ahead of the foresighted challenges, he enrolled again for a post graduate programme in the University of Port Harcourt.

He bagged a well-deserved Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Hydro-Biology and Fisheries Biology and Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology in 1985 and 1995 respectively.

More so, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan later picked an appointment as an Assistant Director in the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), in March 1993. He was deployed to the Directorate of Environmental Protection and Pollution Control where he was directing the affairs of the Environmental Protection Sub-Department.

Dr. Jonathan is a member of various professional bodies, including the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON), he is a Fellow of the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA), a Fellow of the Public Administrators of Nigeria (PAN), and he was also awarded the prestigious Honorary Fellowship of the Nigerian Environmental Society, following his stride’s contributions towards Environmental Management.

Also, his dedication to service, eventful life devoted entirely to humanity and monumental achievements as an accomplished leader earned him the "Best Performing Deputy Governor Award in the Federation in 2002, by the Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria (IPAN). Similarly, the National Association of Women in Education Development further honoured him with the Award of "Exemplary Leadership Quality and Good Governance" in July 2003. In further recognition of his dedication to service, the NUJ Abuja Council conferred on him a prestigious Honorary Award for Democracy and Good Governance.

A humane administrator, amazingly simple minded and loved by his people, friends and colleagues, nobody ever expected he will venture into the dicey and precarious nature of Nigerian politics. Nevertheless, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan saw the need to boost the socio-economic with political interest of the common man as well as bridge the lacuna of ruralurban dichotomy of his people through the provisions of social infrastructure. Hence, he took to politics in the Fourth Republic and pitched tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was picked as the running mate to the Party’s flag bearer Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha. The duo emerged victorious at the polls in the 1999 gubernatorial election, and so, Dr. Goodluck E. Jonathan became the first Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. After a successful tenure, Dr. Jonathan repeated the feat where he led Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha Campaign machinery popularly called ALAMCO. By the grace of God and the desire for Bayelsans to have a good government, the duo won the gubernatorial elections again, in 2003. And Goodluck Jonathan is thus, serving as a Deputy Governor for a second tenure.

All in all, one significant feat that has endeared Goodluck Jonathan to the Ogbia people is the peace he has brought to politics. At the inception of this Fourth Republic, the political activities were characterized with extreme violence and chaos. But he doggedly advocated for politics without rancor or violence and in his usual peaceful disposition without bitterness, Ogbia political silhouette is not only stable and homogenous but one of the most violent free clan in Nigeria today.

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is happily married to Mrs. Patience Faka Jonathan. The nuptial union is blessed with two children.

Dr. Jonathan is a man well recognized for his cluster of achievements and immense contributions to the polity, communal liberalism, growth, and general welfare of the people. Beyond these, he is a humble man, dearly loved and respected. He has remained in the consciousness of his friends and contemporaries, as a builder of human social bridges. He is a teacher, technocrat, a democrat, a man of transparent honesty and humility; a perfect gentleman, a tender loving husband and an unshakable believer in the unity, not only of Ogbia clan but also of Nigeria.

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

MAJOR ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN ADMINISTRATION

MAJOR ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE JONATHAN ADMINISTRATION

Youth group applauds Jonathan’s policy on Almajiri education

The National Youth Council of Nigeria, North-West zone, has applauded steps taken by the

UP GEJ! : WATER

WATER

•The Jonathan administration has remained committed to the UN resolution in July 2010 on the “Right to

TRANSPORTATION

•The Jonathan administration inaugurated the Lagos-Kano train service, which had been moribund for almost

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ROADS

•A total of 651km of roads was paved in bituminous layers in 2012.
•A total of 32 Highway projects were completed in 2012.
•Following the recent effects of floods in some parts of the country, the administration intervened by

POWER

POSTSCRIPT :

A good leader has respect for the law and regulations, maintains and develops skills, knowledge and experience in themselves and others. He is objective, transparent, accountable, fair and reasonable, takes responsibility for his own as well as others actions and acts with conviction while providing a clear direction, and communicates efforts effectively.

PORTS REFORMS

•Opportunities for bribery, documents forgery and other sharp-practices in the Nigerian ports have been substantially removed through a number of measures introduced by both the Ministries of Finance and that of Transport.

PENSION REFORMS

•Before the Jonathan administration came on board, the pension funds administration regime was one the major channels through which public funds running into hundreds of billions of Naira are misappropriated by corrupt officials.

•Problems associated with the pension management system include embezzlement, falsification of records, Ghost pensioners, obsolete administrative structure and denial of pensioners their due entitlements. This was what necessitated the setting up of the presidential pension Reform Task Team. The activities of this important task force resulted in the following:

•Detection and deletion of over 73,000 Ghost/Fake pensioners from the Head of Service/police pension office.
•Stoppage of a monthly theft of over N4 billion from the National treasury.

•Saving a monthly sum of over N1billion from the police monthly pension releases.

•Discovery of over 50,000 unpaid pensioners and immediate payment of their entitlement.

•Discovery of over N2.7billion fraud by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners.

•Seizure of about 200 properties including choice hotels and cash worth billions of Naira from corrupt public officials.

•Arrest and on-going prosecution of pension fraud suspects by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

•Introduction of a more efficient tamper-proof pension funds management system.

UP GEJ!: Oil Industry Reforms

OIL INDUSTRY REFORMS

•In line with global best practices and the principal aim of the Nigerian Extractive industry and Transparency

ECONOMY

•Statistics show that Nigeria has become the favoured destination of investors coming into Africa recording

AVIATION

•The administration at the end of 2011 earmarked 22 airports for rehabilitation and reconstruction and by the

AGRICULTURE

• In 2012 14 new rice mills with capacity to process 240 metric tons of rice were set up by the private sector while in addition, a sum of 1.2 billion dollars was secured by the Federal Government to install 100 large scale rice processing mills to produce 2.1 million metric tons of rice annually.
•This and other initiatives of government in 2012 resulted in the creation of about two million new jobs among rural dwellers. In 2013, the Federal Government will implement a Young Graduates Commercial Farmers Scheme, which will absorb 780,000 graduates in its first phase and provide an estimated four million jobs in the agricultural sector in the first year.
•Today, Nigeria has reached an unprecedented 60 per cent sufficiency in rice production, a feat, which the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recently described as capable of raising world rice output to a record high in the next 12 next months.
•The Federal Ministry of Agriculture has set a clear goal to make the country self-sufficient in rice production by 2015 and end the N 356 Billion currently spent on importing rice annually, as well as replace up to 40% of the wheat imports for which the country spends over N 635 Billion annually, by 2015.
• The Nigeria Agricultural Bank is being restructured and recapitalized to provide loans to peasant farmers at single digit interest rates. This will be the most remarkable fund injection initiative ever undertaken by any government to empower rural peasant farmers and create wealth for rural dwellers.
•Export of dried cassava chips began in July 2012 and this represented the first time that Nigeria will achieve commercial scale export of dried chips, which will earn the country $136 million annually in foreign exchange.
•The Jonathan administration is resuscitating the production of Cotton particularly in the Northeast and Northwest zones of Nigeria through the provision of improved cotton seedlings, which have been given free of charge to farmers. This will definitely result in the resuscitation of the upstream and downstream cotton/textile subsector before the end of 2013.
•Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world with 34 million MT produced per annum
•In the last one year following the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture under the Agriculture Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan administration, around $8 billion in private investments have been attracted to agricbusiness, crop production, processing and other forms of value addition.
•The Jonathan administration cleansed the rot in the fertilizer distribution system. Under the previous system, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development procured and distributed fertilizers to farmers. The system undermined the private sector and only about 11 percent of the farmers received fertilizers. The rest were sold to friends and `political farmers’ whom exported them. President Jonathan’s intervention dismantled in 60m days, this corrupt system, which had existed for over 40 years and fertilizers are now sold directly to farmers and not to government.
• The Ministry launched a Growth Enhancement Scheme, where farmers receive 50% subsidy on fertilizers, for a maximum of two bags, through the use of their mobile phones or what we call Electronic-wallet system (or E-wallet). In 120 days, over 1.2 million farmers bought their subsidized fertilizers using the E-wallet system. Over 1.5 million farmers will be reached by the end of the dry season. A total of 138,802.7 metric tons of fertilizer and 10,974.78 metric tons of seeds in 517 active redemption centres out of all the 804 centres spread across all states of the federation. The E-wallet system is the first of its kind in Africa and already several African countries have indicated they want to implement the Nigerian system.
• Multilateral and bilateral agencies are providing donor-related investment support and have shown enthusiasm for the major reforms on-going in Nigeria’s agriculture by committing more $1 billion towards Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda. The World Bank Group is providing $500 million. African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed $250 million. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has selected Nigeria as a priority country for its investment in agriculture. The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has put up $80 million. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed $60 million. The UK Government, through DFID has committed £37 million. The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ford Foundation and UNDP are providing significant technical support facilities.

UP President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe-Jonathan (GCFR, BNER, GCON)!!!

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Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON (born 20 November 1957) is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria. Prior to his role as President, he served as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Governor of Bayelsa State and Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

UP GEJ!: YOU WIN Creates 26,000 Jobs In Three Years – Jonathan

Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, announced that the Youth Enterprise With Innovation programme has created over 26,000 direct jobs.

‘’It is preposterous to insist that a sitting president should not go for a second-term when he is entitled to do

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR On the Occasion of the 3 rd Edition of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) Programme

A legal luminary and social affairs commentator, Mr. Sabastine Hon (SAN), has said President Goodluck

The Federal Government has expressed hopes to fully develop the capacity of about six million Nigerian youths through Integrated Youth Empowerment Programme (IYEEP) launched with the Mara Foundation within 12 months.

In collaboration with Mara Foundation, FG said it hopes to lessen the number of youth unemployment across the country.

Speaking on the programme, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Youth Empowerment, Ambassador Obinna Adim explained that the partnership between the government and Mara Foundation was essentially to proffer a formidable base for youth empowerment in the country, adding that the initiative aims to provide solutions for youth leadership and development.

“The mentorship programme will serve as a provider of non-formal education aimed at bridging the gap between school and life after school, enhancing young people’s potential for success by making them approach life as entrepreneurs,” Adim said.

Adim noted that the support services were expected to transform business ideas of entrepreneurs into profitable and thriving business entities that would employ other Nigerians and contribute to local, state and national economies.

UP GEJ!: Court Clears Jonathan To Contest 2015 Election

A Nigerian court in Abuja has ruled that President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the forthcoming 2015 Presidential election if he so desires.

President Goodluck Jonathan: to run or not?

President Goodluck Jonathan: To contest 2015 presidential election

Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, on Friday held that Jonathan’s assumption of the office of the President after the demise of the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua was in line with what the National Assembly aptly described as doctrine of necessity and not as a result of emerging winner in any bye election conducted after the death of the late former President.

“After the death of Umaru Yar’Adua, there was no election or bye election. President Jonathan was merely asked to assume the office of the President in line with Doctrine of necessity. He was not elected as the President but was made to assume office by virtue of Yar’Adua’s death. Having exhausted the late President’s tenure, he sought for his party’s ticket and ran for the office of the President successfully in 2011 general election. He is therefore currently serving his first tenure of office and if he so wishes, he is eligible to further seek his party’s ticket through the party’s primary election and to run for office in 2015” the judge declared.

Justice Oniyangi clearly re-affirmed that his judgment does not in any way make President Jonathan an automatic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and warned that his decision should not be misconstrued to mean that Jonathan has become an automatic candidate of the party for the 2015 Presidential election.

The court further held that the President’s tenure of office begins to count from 29th May, 2011 when he was sworn into office as the elected President of Nigeria and not 6 May, 2010 when he assumed office following Yar’Adua’s death.

The court also held that the suit as presently constituted does not disclose any cause of action and that the plaintiff, Mr. Cyriacus Njoku, lacks locus standi in instituting the case.

President Jonathan, through his lawyer, Mr. Ade Okeanya- Inneh, a senior advocate of Nigeria, in the course of hearing the matter, insisted that he is currently doing his first term of 4 years in office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as provided by the constitution and that the same constitution makes provisions for a President to contest for not more than two terms of 4 years each.

Okenaya- Inneh had also argued that Jonathan has not indicated or announced anywhere, whether in words or writing, that he will contest the Presidential election to be conducted in 2015 and therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit in the interest of justice.

Justice Oniyangi also held that Mr. Njoku’s suit is premature at this time since the President had not obtained any form from his party for the 2015 election neither had the PDP commenced its primary elections for the purpose of selecting its flag bearer for the 2015 Presidential election.

It noted that Njoku ought to have waited for the PDP to have commenced primary election and then complain if their process is breached since nomination and sponsorship of candidates for any election is an internal affair of the party.

The court declined to restrain the Peolples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from submitting and accepting President Goodluck Jonathan’s name as a candidate for the 2015 Presidential election.

Cyriacus Njoku had approached the court seeking for an order to restrain President Jonathan from running for office in 2015 as, according to him, it will amount to breaching a constitutional provision which prescribed a period of not more than eight years for occupants of the office of the President.

He contended that President Jonathan first took oath of office and oath of allegience on 6 May, 2010, following the death of his predecessor in office, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua with whom he (Jonathan) was first elected in 2007 and later took another oath of office and allegiance on 29 May, 2011 for the purpose of executing the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

—Ifeanyi Baron

UP GEJ!: President Jonathan rolls out 64 Almajiri Model Schools

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For the average Nigerian, the ear-splitting noise in the political landscape could be quite confusing. The

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan formally launched Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria initiative, also

Photo: MDGs: We Are Winning War Against Poverty, Maternal Death – Jonathan
— Aug 19, 2014

The President, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, made the remark in Abuja where he declared open a 2-day Presidential Summit on the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 Development Agenda.

Jonathan said Nigeria had made significant progress toward scaling up MDGs indicators in view of the baseline statistics so far obtained.

“The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation recently recognised Nigeria efforts which have reduced by half the proportion of Nigerians who suffer from hunger, way ahead of the 2015 deadline.

“In education, by our focusing on Access and Quality, especially at the basic education level, we have taken proactive steps to stem the challenges that keep children out of school in some parts of the country.

“Our Almajiri Education Programme has increased access to Basic Education for the Almajiris.

“Various programmes are also targeting other disadvantaged groups, including girls, nomads, street children, as well as youths and adult illiterates.

“Nigeria has achieved the gender parity targets for primary and secondary education levels, even as we continue to provide incentives to ensure sustained female enrolment in school.

“Significant progress has also been made in the drive to attain the health MDGs.“

According to the president, the death of children under the age of five years has declined from 157 in every 1,000 live births in 2008, to 94 in every 1,000 live births in 2012.

He said that though the trend was recorded against the infant mortality rate, “the rate of 61 deaths per 1,000 live births needs to be reduced by further 50% to meet the 2015 target“.

Jonathan said that the country had been able to reduce the Maternal Mortality Ratio progressively, adding: “In 1990, it was estimated that 1,000 mothers died per 100,000 live births.

“In 2008, this figure declined to 545 and in 2012, it declined further to 350.“

He said the progress made so far was driven largely by the Midwife Services Scheme, and the increased percentage of skilled health personnel attending to births.

According to him, the country has continued to experience a reduction in HIV prevalence.

The president said that in 2012, HIV infection reduced from 5.8 per cent to 4.1 per cent, with the prevalence rate in the general population currently at 3.5 per cent.

Jonathan said that the reduction in HIV prevalence rate met the criteria for the attainment of Target 6A of the millennium development goals.

He said that the government was implementing a comprehensive HIV and AIDS plan vigorously with the objective of reducing cases of mother-to-child transmission and attaining zero transmission.

He said that though the overall progress was commendable, government in collaboration with stakeholders had embarked on “mobilising the attention needed to focus on those particular goals where progress has been slower, than expected“.

President Jonathan said that in conformity with the UN Secretary General’s request for member states to accelerate progress on MDGs and also aggregate citizens’ demands for post-MDGs era, Nigeria had embraced the UN MDGs Acceleration Framework (MAF).

“This tool focuses on reducing maternal mortality, while building on the success of policies such as the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS), Community Health Extension Workers Programme (CHEWP), the Village Health Workers Scheme (VHWS) and the Saving One Million Lives Initiative.

“Efforts are also being strengthened on other initiatives such as the ground-breaking mobile-money technology, which is being implemented across the federation to scale up Conditional Cash Transfers.

“This multi-faceted programme, designed to stimulate demand for services, targets education, basic health care, as well as the transfer of agricultural enterprise.“

He said he was encouraged to note that at the various stages of the National Consultations on the Post-2015 Development Framework, the recommendation to complete the “unfinished business“ of MDGs was well-articulated.

“There exists, at this time, a broad consensus that the current MDGs must not be side-lined.

“We must now increase our efforts, in these remaining 500 days, to complete the MDGs Agenda.“

The president charged the participants to examine the nation’s dependence on primary commodities comprehensively and suggest ways by which it could escape the subtle trap of low-value addition and low productivity agriculture.

“Your recommendations, hopefully, will eventually align with our administration’s blueprint to urgently transform our economy, from one dominated by primary extraction and low-creativity agriculture and services, to one of high value addition.“

Jonathan expressed the hope that the Post-2015 Development Agenda would have a positive impact on the development trajectory of nations around the world, if the new set of goals tackled the issues that were neglected under the current framework.

In his remark, Mr Daouda Toure, who is UN Resident Coordinator and also UNDP Resident Representative, said the post-2015 agenda would provide Nigeria with a lot of opportunities to fulfil its shared responsibility.

According to him, from all indications, the new agenda will be a continuation of MDGs and will seek to complete the unfinished business of MDGs.

“It will address new development challenges in a way that the MDGs did not foresee, from climate change to food security, population bulge, inequalities, socio-political instability, non-communicable diseases and unemployment,“ he said.

Toure assured that UN and other development partners would continue to work with the government to achieve the new global development agenda.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Mrs Precious Gbeneol, said the summit was part of government’s efforts at setting the post-2015 agenda for the improvement of the lives of the citizens. (NAN)

— Aug 19, 2014

The President, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, made the remark in Abuja where

Sunday, 31 August 2014

Monday, 25 August 2014

Sunday, 24 August 2014

Thursday, 21 August 2014

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

MAJOR ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE JONATHAN ADMINISTRATION

Tuesday, 19 August 2014