Business
FG to spend N447.6 billion on Police in 2021
N447.6 billion has been allocated to the Police, as disclosed by the government in the 2021 Appropriation Bill.
The Federal Government is set to allocate the sum of N447.6 billion to the Ministry of Police Affairs in 2021, if approved by the National Assembly.
This was disclosed by the government in the 2021 Appropriation Bill presented to the lawmakers last week Thursday.
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NPF’s allocation since 2018
The allocations of the government to the Nigeria Police Force have been on the increase in the last four years and the difference between the figures has been around N40 billion or more.
For instance, the 2021 proposed allocation increased to N447.6 billion from N403.45 billion allocated in 2020, which is about an 11% increase. That of 2020 also recorded an increase from N366.13 billion allocated to the force in 2019. This represents an increase of about 10%.
The difference between 2019 and 2018 allocations was over N42 billion when it increased from N324.2 billion (N366.13 billion in 2019).
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What you should know
The breakdown of the allocation to the police in the 2021 budget is
- N18.45 billion is for overhead expenses, N417.2 billion on personnel expenses, and N11.98 billion on capital expenses.
- N14.23 million is for the construction of MOPOL and SARS headquarters in Okpoko Ayamelum, Anambra State.
- N166.7 million is for Arms and Ammunition in 2021, at a time several Nigerians have called for an end to police brutality across the nation.
- The Police also plans to purchase riot controlling equipment worth N57.87 million and 1000 pieces of bulletproof vests worth N67.6 million.
- Procurement of educational materials and upgrade of training equipment worth N128.5 million across training institutions in the country.
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Should there be more protests, either by angry youths or other groups, it appears the police is prepared for 2021.
Backstory
The men of the force had lamented over what they described as underfunding of the Nigeria Police Force to the tune of about N1.1trillion between 2011 and 2015, which they argued weakened the capacity of the police to perform their duties and adequately improve the institution.
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Former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, had argued that neither the funding of the capital projects of the police nor the overheads had risen beyond N11 billion between 2011 and 2015, compared to actual funding requirements of up to N71 billion for overheads and N345.7 billion for capital projects in the case of 2015 for example.
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Business
Twitter to establish its first African presence in Ghana
Twitter has announced Ghana as headquarter of its operations in Africa.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc has announced today in a tweet that the company is establishing a presence in Africa.
“Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” Dorsey tweeted.
As part of its mission to serve the public conversation, Twitter is making it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.
Why Ghana as a choice…
Twitter stated that it chose to expand to Ghana first because the country is an advocate of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.
In a blog post the company said, “In line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
“Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.
“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, we’ll continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving,” Twitter stated.
The company is also looking to hire specialists to join several teams to operate in product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
Reacting to Dorsey’s announcement, Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a tweet said that the government and people of Ghana welcome welcomed the micro-blogging site.
“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” President Akufo-Addo tweeted.
Business
Youths need critical skills to strengthen Nigerian economy – Bankers Committee’s FITC
Nigerian youths need to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
Bankers Committee’s FITC has called on Nigerian youths to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director, FITC, Chizor Malize, during the launch of its Future of Work Academy for Youths on Monday.
According to her, the initiative is to continuously bridge the knowledge gap in the country and Africa at large, as it is expected to equip the youths for the peculiar needs of the Future of Work.
It also seeks to solve the prevalent issue of producing university graduates with degrees and skills that have limited practical use in the current global job market, as well as the requirements for the Future of Work.
She said, “The world of work is changing rapidly, and competition for the right talent is fierce. Graduate talents have for decades been primarily identified and employed based on academic excellence, however, in the emerging world of work, creativity, innovation, and work-ready skills have become the non-negotiable indicators for competitive advantage, and to evaluate capabilities.
“It is therefore important for youths to build critical skills, that will equip them for the requirements of the Future of Work in the ever-evolving business landscape. The value FITC FOWA is bringing to corporations at this time cannot be overemphasized. By equipping youths and creating a pool of well-engaged workforce for organizations, FITC FOWA will be directly strengthening the economy and the society in general.”
Malize added that the initiative offers essential courses in Data Science, Data Analytics, Coding, Digital Marketing, Graphics Designs, MS Excel & Analytics, Digital Marketing, Use of PowerPoint, and other key areas that have been strategically packaged to educate, enlighten, and upskill undergraduates and graduates with the vital skills for the Future of Work.
What you should know
Owned by the Bankers Committee (CBN, NDIC and all Nigerian deposit money banks), FITC was established in 1981 as a non-profit organisation limited by guarantee to provide capacity building and serve as a knowledge hub for the Nigerian Financial Services Sector.
