Resins I’ve not been commissioning projects – Ortom

Politics

Governor Samuel Ortom

By Peter Duru – Makurdi

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Sunday gave reasons he had not been commissioning the projects executed by his administration in the last six years.

He explained that the funds earmarked for the commissioning of such projects could be used to execute more development projects in parts of the state, hence his decision to ignore the idea.

The Governor who made this known shortly after inspecting ongoing construction work at the Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Naka, Gwer West Local Government Area, LGA, of the state said if it were the general consensus that it should be done, he would have no choice but to commence the commissioning of projects in the state.

He said: “for me it is not about commissioning of projects because I noticed that each time I want to commission a project, protocol will come with a list of several expenditure, you pay for this and that.

“So I believe that what I will spend in commissioning projects will help me add another development project to the society; that is my take.

“The commissioning of projects should be the siting of those projects and completing them. That is my belief about projects.

“But since people believe in the commissioning of projects, maybe I would have to change my mind about that and start to commission my several projects spread across the state so that they will be appreciated.

“I must say that I am always very surprised when the opposition claim that we have not done projects. We can all see the roads, schools, health facilities, name them in every sectors and all over the state.

“Even in the area of security you can see what we have been able to do. You can see where we were from 2015 and where we are today.

“We have done so well, we are gradually fishing out the deadly criminals operating in the state so that development can come. And I can assure you that in the next few weeks if you ask a criminal to come to Benue whether armed herders or anyone, they would decline.”

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Opposed to Bitcoin Payments, Bank of Russia Says State Should Not Stimulate Spread of Cryptocurrencies

News 

Bank of Russia Reiterates Negative Stance on Cryptocurrencies, Legalization of Bitcoin

A “responsible state” should not stimulate the proliferation of cryptocurrencies, according to Elvira Nabiullina, chair of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The head of the monetary authority made the declaration in the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma.

The high-ranking official emphasized that the bank has “an extremely negative attitude towards cryptocurrencies” which she described as “private currencies pretending to be money.” Quoted by the Tass news agency, Nabiullina elaborated:

At the same time, people need to be given an alternative, the governor acknowledged. Bank of Russia is trying to do that through its projects. “I have already spoken about the digital ruble – in our opinion, this should develop,” Elvira Nabiullina added

The head of Russia’s monetary policy regulator remarked that the CBR is not against digital currencies in general, provided they are not used for “shadow operations.” Nabiullina pointed out, however, that Bank of Russia continues to oppose the legalization of bitcoin as a payment instrument in the country.

In response to the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and the significant increase in electronic payments, the Russian central bank has stepped up its efforts to create a digital version of the national fiat, the ruble. This year, the regulator formed a digital ruble pilot group with over a dozen financial institutions. A prototype of the CBDC platform will be launched in December, with trials scheduled to commence in January.

The digital ruble is what the Russians need as it will facilitate cheap and reliable non-cash payments, Nabiullina recently told participants in an international banking forum. According to the country’s latest financial market development strategy, the state-issued digital currency should prevent citizens from using ‘money surrogates,’ a term used by officials in Moscow to describe cryptocurrencies.