HeadlineFadama III Project: FG Settles For $200m Interest – Free World Bank...

Fadama III Project: FG Settles For $200m Interest – Free World Bank Loan

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…Okays Cyber-crime Bill

SAN FRANCISCO, August 28, (THEWILL) – The federal government has settled for an interest-free $200m loan from the World Bank to execute the Fadama III project across the country.

The approval for the loan was given on Wednesday during the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

At the meeting, a draft bill seeking to detect, prevent and control cyber-crime in Nigeria submitted to it by the Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, was also approved.

Adoke was equally directed by FEC to issue the required legal documents to back the $200m Fadama III loan.

Also, a contract for an integrity check on the Third Mainland Bridge, the establishment of a branch office of the African Export-Import in Abuja and the hosting of the Nigeria Economic Support Group (NESG), holding between September 3 and 5, were also approved.

Disclosing all these to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting was the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, who was in company with his counterparts in the Agriculture and Finance Ministries, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina and Dr. Yerima Ngama, respectively.

The Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, accordin to a post council document, had brought a memo to FEC, seeking approval to obtain an International Development Association, IDA, credit facility in the sum of USD200 million as additional financing for the Third National Fadama Development project.

“The Project Development Objective, (PDO) for the additional financing is consistent with the on-going Fadama III project which is to increase the incomes for users of rural lands and water resources within the Fadama areas in a sustainable manner,” Ngama said.

He added that “The proposed additional financing will scale up the project’s achievements and strengthen the development effectiveness of the highly performing Fadama III by aligning it more closely with the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the present administration. “

On his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Adesina, said with 24 million hectares of Fadama land all over the country, the federal government felt it is important to quickly optimise the use of these tracts of land, which predecessor, Fadama II , was evaluated by the World Bank and found to have improved the beneficiaries income substantially.

Other benefits of the Fadama project, according to him, include the ability of the farmers to become strongly organised and also enabled them to float a micro-finance scheme that has been sustained.

He said the focus of the projects, from which 317,000 farmers are to benefit, include: increase in food self-sufficiency, crop distribution, such as rice in key states such as Lagos, Niger, Anambra, Enugu and Kano Sorghum-Kano; Cassava in Kogi, and women empowerment.

The NESG assembly, he disclosed, will focus on agriculture and showcase the achievements of the president under the agricultural transformation agenda, which, according to President Jonathan, will empower about 700 youths under the Youth Empowerment in Agriculture (YEA) programme .

Maku,on is part, said the contract for the comprehensive checks of the seabed of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, put at N290 m and awarded to Messrs ICECON Nigeria Limited, is intended to check and make sure that all sectors of the bridge are in good order. He however said if in the course of the job, which is expected to last for two months, any default is detected, the federal government will quickly intervene to rescue the situation.

A post council document listed the scope of the work on the bridge area to include “comprehensive underwater inspection, assessment of pilings, river bed bathymetric survey, profiling and echo metric test on Third Mainland Bridge.

“The bridge is a vital artery on the Federal Highways network connecting Lagos mainland to the island. Following reports of oscillation and excessive vibrations of the bridge under traffic load, investigations and tests were carried out by experts on the bridge in 2008 and the reports indicated that the bridge was structurally sound but required the replacement of damaged expansion joints and bearings,” the document noted.

According to Maku, “The ministry decided that Advanced Integrity Assessment including echometric (sonic pulse) tests on piles was inevitable in order to authenticate the findings of the Nigerian Submarine Divers Limited (NSD).

“Cumulative efforts are being made to rehabilitate Lagos roads in order to make sure that as the artery nerve centre of the nation’s economy, it continues to work. Every effort is being made by the federal government to improve the infrastructure of Lagos. This is aside the works being done at the deep seaports there.”

On the cyber-crime bill, which has been approved for transmission to the National Assembly, Maku said: “The core objective of the Cybercrime Bill, 2013 is to prove an effective, unified and comprehensive legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the prohibition, prevention, detection, prosecution and punishment of cybercrimes in Nigeria, promote cyber security and ensure the protection of critical national information infrastructure.

“There is need for cooperation and international coalition to combat cybercrimes and that a lot is expected of Nigeria as a noteworthy regional power in Africa by the International community which expects her to acquaint herself commendably by joining forces with other members of the comity of nations in the fight against cybercrimes and in the promotion of cyber security. ”

The minister said “cybercrimes are species of cross-border crimes perpetrated in time and space from any geographical spot in the world,” as he noted that the “Bill is in conformity with existing Nigerian laws, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and reflects Nigeria’s obligations under the soon-to-be finalised AU Convention on the subject matter.”

On the establishment of the Afrexim Bank branch in Abuja Ngama who said the location of the bank in Nigeria will accord it a diplomatic status.

“Pursuant to a request made by Nigeria, a branch office of AFREXIMBANK was commissioned in Abuja in February 2003 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding to that effect.

“In view of the above, council approved the ratification of Bank’s branch office agreement as well as direct the Attorney-General of the Federation/Minister of Justice to issue the ratification instrument for the President’s assent,” he said.

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