Minister Flays SDAs

Minister Flays SDAs

The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has vowed to deal decisively with any Secretariat, Department and Agency (SDA) under her supervision that wants to sabotage the efforts of government in scaling up its internal revenue generation.

She also threatened to apply all constitutional means to punish any agency which fails to comply with the renewed vigour of the present FCT Administration to boost its revenue base.

The minister gave the warning recently, on the sidelines of the 2020 budget preparation of the Federal Capital Territory Administration. While noting that no responsible government could run the affairs of a mega city like Abuja with budgetary provisions, Aliyu frowned on the lukewarm attitude of some revenue based agencies in driving the process.

“You can quote me anywhere; I will be the first minister to discipline any erring agency or staff who wants to sabotage government’s efforts in up-scaling Internally Revenue Generation (IGR) for the administration. “This is not a threat to any agency or head of agency, but I will use the Civil Service rules and regulations to discipline any erring secretariat or staff.

“It is shocking to me that despite numerous opportunities available to the administration to increase its revenue generation, some secretariats or departments are just interested in the merger budgetary allocation from the federation account. How can we develop with this type of attitude?” Aliyu said.

She expressed optimism that with the support she was getting from the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, the administration would achieve a milestone in the revenue drive, while calling on agencies to wake to their responsibilities.

FCMB Supports COPA Tournament

The 2019 edition of the COPA Lagos Beach Soccer Tournament, sponsored by First City Monument Bank (FCMB) came to an exciting end recently with a commitment by the bank to sustain its support for initiatives that promote youths, sports and overall national development.
This marked the eighth consecutive year that FCMB has sponsored the tournament.
The assurance was given by the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank, Mr. Adam Nuru, at the closing ceremony. According to him, the bank’s intervention in the area of sports using COPA as a vehicle is aimed at developing the minds, body and abilities of the populace, especially youths to contribute significantly to the growth of the country’s sports and tourism sectors.

The FCMB MD said, “the COPA Lagos Beach soccer tournament provides a platform to bring our customers, Nigerians, soccer fans, families, local and international soccer beach players and other stakeholders together in an atmosphere of relaxation, excitement and bonding, very important factors for healthy living and nation building.
“This tournament has become one of the most exciting events towards the end of every year. We will continue to remain a strong supporter of initiatives that will create opportunities and equip our youths for a bright future,’’ Nuru said.

The 3-day soccer, music and other entertainment fiesta, organised by Kinetic Sports Limited, was held at Eko Atlantic Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos and featured the national beach soccer teams of Nigeria, Brazil, Senegal and England.

There was also a Club Challenge involving three Nigerian Clubs, namely Pepsi Football Academy, Kebbi Beach Soccer Club, Gidi Sharks of Lagos and Ghana-based Sunset Sports Club. In the national teams’ category, Senegal emerged champions after winning all three matches to secure nine points. Nigeria came second with six points, Brazil was third with three points, while England was fourth with no point.
In the club challenge, Sunset Stars of Keta, Ghana, took home the trophy. The Most Valuable Player of the tournament was Lansana Diassy of Senegal.

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