Aso Villa Reads for 03/09/2020

Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday, approved N26.06 billion for the execution of projects in the Ministries of Works and Housing, Aviation and Justice. The sum of N11.74 billion was approved for the Ministry of Works and Housing for an emergency works and to complete work on the Gadan Zaima-Zuru-Gamji Road in Kebbi State, at the aggregated cost of N11.74 billion. The Council approved N13,122 billion for the upgrade and refurbishment of the safe tower equipment for Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt airports. It also approved N1.20 billion for the acquisition of building for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA. Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC virtual meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said his ministry obtained two approvals for a memorandum for an emergency works as well as complete work on the Gadan Zaima-Zuru-Gamji Road in Kebbi State, at the aggregated cost of N11.74 billion. Also, briefing, the Ministry of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said he obtained approval for the upgrade and refurbishment of the safe tower equipment in four airports; Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt. According to him, the cost for the contract, which he said was in two denomination components, was put at N13,122,230,999.17. On his part, the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, said his office obtained approval for a memorandum seeking to purchase accommodation for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA. Malami said the property had already been located Plot №1123–1129 Cadastral Zone 0607 at Aviation Village, Airport Road, Abuja, and at the cost of N1.20 billion.[Vanguard]

The Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr. Muhammad Babandede says the NIS has implemented procedures for international flights resumption and visa payment. Babandede said this during a virtual meeting with stakeholders to address travel concerns and automation of Travel Work Permit on Wednesday in Abuja. In a statement issued by the NIS Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday James, Babandede said the procedures were in line with Federal Government’s approval for the commencement of international flight operations from September 5. Babandede said Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, were earlier approved by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, for the implementation. This, he said, was vide letter Ref. No. MI/PM/16012/S.366/Vol.ll/ dated 6th April, 2020 on waiver for visa payment due to COVID-19, closure of land borders and suspension of international flights. According to him, the NIS, in exercising its statutory mandate, wishes to implement as follows. “All migrants in Nigeria whose permits expired from 23rd March to 5th September, 2020 have extension. All migrants with evidence of confirmed return tickets scheduled to travel out of the country were to be issued free extensions to enable them depart on or before 15th September, 2020. All migrants whose permit or visitor’s pass expired before 23rd March, 2020 will pay overstay penalty for the number of days stayed before the lockdown on 23rd March, 2020. All resident migrants whose permits expired outside the country from 23rd March, 2020 shall be allowed entry into Nigeria with the expired permits on or before 25th September, 2020. Such returning holders of expired permits and their dependents are to renew the permits within 30 days of arrival to Nigeria to avoid sanctions under relevant Immigration laws. All migrants who processed payments for visa-on-arrival and other categories of visas from the Nigerian Missions before 23rd March 2020, are to apply for re-validation. This should be done by uploading copy of the previous payments via cis-evisa@immigration.gov.ng not later than 15th September, 2020.”[Punch]

Nigeria and India have worked out strategies to strengthen the bilateral relations between both countries, especially on economic development, trade and investment, counter-terrorism, defence and maritime security around the Gulf of Guinea. This was contained in a joint communiqué issued on Wednesday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a virtual meeting on Tuesday between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishanka. Both sides recalled their extensive cooperation in the field of defence training and capacity building and expressed satisfaction that it was expanding to newer areas such as defence equipment support, medical and maintenance services, sharing of research and development expertise for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, and regular exchange of information. The two ministers noted that the next meeting of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee would hold later this year in Abuja. The communique partly read, “The two ministers acknowledged ongoing collaborative efforts through information sharing between the Indian and Nigerian Navies and increase of surveillance for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, through collaboration between Indian and Nigerian Navies. The ministers urged the armed forces of both countries to continue to work together in the on-going efforts to counter terrorism, insurgency and piracy.” With a bilateral trade turnover of $13.9 billion in 2019/20, India is Nigeria’s largest trading partner, and Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa.[Punch]

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has opened an investigation into the conduct of dominant Pay TV service providers, following credible information, public announcements by operators, and consumer perception analytics. In a statement, the FCCPC said it has conducted an investigation, pursued legal action in court and secured an injunction pre-empting price increase. The agency said it also entered specific orders regarding a provider, engaged in periodic surveillance and monitoring, and more recently inquired into a purported tax increase by at least one provider. It said the investigation was targeted at addressing the Commission’s concerns and publicly expressed consumer dissatisfaction with Pay TV services. The scope of the inquiry includes questions about unfair dealings, unreasonable and manifestly unjust contract terms, abuse of market power, colourable pricing practices and other obnoxious or illegal conduct.The Commission however enjoined operators to familiarise themselves with the FCCPA and its statutory clarifications of their obligations to the FCCPC under S.104 in addition to, and or irrespective of any obligations to other regulators. [The Sun]

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Wednesday met with ambassadors from countries with high records of the coronavirus. The meeting which was held in Abuja, was part of the preparation for the reopening of the country’s airspace for international flights scheduled for Saturday. The airspace had been shut to international flight since March 2020 following the global lockdown as part of the measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting with the ambassadors was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, on his Twitter handle. Onyeama said he met with the ambassadors in the company of the National Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu. “Met with the National Coordinator, #PTFCOVID19, Dr Sani Aliyu and Ambassadors of Countries with high rates of discordant #COVID19 test results,” he tweeted. [Punch]

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revise regulations on Retiree Life Annuity, the guidelines on group life insurance policy for employees and Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) Retiree Pack. The regulators for both pension and insurance sectors signed the agreement on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, according to a statement from the Head of Corporate Communications Department at PenCom, Mr Peter Aghahowa. The MoU was signed by the Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar and Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas at the event which was held in Abuja. The PenCom spokesperson explained that the regulation was for employees and those with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) retiree pack, adding that the revised regulations and guidelines provide clarity on the Provisions of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) of 2014 in areas relating to Retiree Life Annuity. He said that they focus on guiding stakeholders to make an informed decision, ensure the safety of Retiree Life Annuity funds and assets, address concerns of mis-selling and de-marketing by pension and insurance operators in the country.[Business Post]

In a bid to achieve a robust digital economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) is set to establish a Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The DG NITDA Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE said the centre is going to be the state of the art facility for emerging technologies. He made this known while receiving delegates from Nile University led by the Vice-Chancellor of the institution Prof. Osman Nuri Aras at the Agency’s Corporate Headquarters, Abuja. He stated that the Agency offers scholarships in areas that have a direct impact on the industry. “Our focus is not to just have MSc or PhD but to add value to the industry”, the DG said Mal. Abdullahi added that it is important to strengthen the existing relationship with the institution so that there can be custom made courses to prepare us for future work. According to NITDA boss, embedding relevant skills will better prepare the workforce to actively participate in the fourth industrial revolution. He also commended the institution for its transition from physical learning to virtual learning within the first week of the lockdown, the method he encouraged other higher institutions of learning to emulate.[Vanguard]

As the country prepares for resumption of international flight operations on Saturday, September 5, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has issued a circular to all Aviation stakeholders and the foreign airlines flying into Nigeria. This is just as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, also issued Notice To Airmen, NOTAM, informing the airlines that only Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will be opened for now for international flights. NCAA in an All Operators Letter with reference number NCAA/AIR/11/16/225, signed by the Director-General, Captain Musa Nuhu reads: “Following the announcement by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on the partial resumption of international flights, we wish to inform the industry of the following: Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, (DNMM) and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (DNAA) will resume international operations effective 00.01z on 5th September 2020.” Other international airports in the country will not be reopened immediately for international flights resumption as the NCAA circular further said that, “ Other International Airports, namely: Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano (DKNN), Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa (DNPO) and the newly reopened Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu (DNEN) will remain closed to international flights until a new date is determined and announced.”[Vanguard]

The Federal Government has approved the restructuring of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to further improve the safety oversight system of the country’s aviation industry. The Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos. Nuhu said the approved restructuring was aimed at repositioning the agency for effective and efficient service delivery. He said this was also to entrench a robust safety oversight system in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and recommended practices. The director-general said the restructuring was to enable the regulatory body to resolve the current and emerging challenges facing the industry.[Vanguard]

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