Aso Villa Reads for 04/03/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
“The Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustafa, says the tough decisions President Muhammadu Buhari will take during his second term, will be in the interest of Nigeria. Mustafa, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Yola on Monday, allaying fears expressed in some quarters following a statement by the president that his second term would be tough. Buhari won a second term of office when he defeated his main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the rescheduled Feb. 23 presidential election.” THIS DAY writes that the SGF “described the president as a good man, who had the trust of ordinary Nigerians and would like to see improvement in their lives, while the nation moved to the next level. When we came to power in 2015 about 27 states couldn’t pay salaries; we had to take tough decisions like giving them bailout and Paris Club refund. These are tough decisions,” Mustafa said.”
“Nigeria recorded a favourable trade balance of N1.44 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018, being 125.5 per cent higher than the record of the third quarter of the year. The Foreign Trade in Goods Report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), yesterday, showed that during the fourth quarter of 2018, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N8.61 trillion, down from N9.11 trillion recorded in the third quarter by N460.96 billion or 5.1 per cent.” Daily Trust reports that “analysis showed that the total export component of this trade was recorded at N5.02 trillion, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent over the third quarter of the same year and 28.5 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2017. The import component stood at N3.58 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018, showing a drop of N631.6 billion or 15.0 per cent compared to the third quarter of the same year, but an increase of 69.6 per cent when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2017. The increase in export value and decrease in import value (relative to third quarter of 2018) resulted in a favourable trade balance.”
Guardian reports that “despite the N280 billion losses incurred by investors in two trading days, following the announcement of the presidential election result, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) gained N405 billion in the month of February 2019. Specifically, the market capitalisation of listed equities, which opened at N11.424 trillion as at Friday, February 1, 2019, stood at N11.829 trillion when the market closed for the month on February28, 2019, representing N405 billion or 3.4 per cent gain. Also, the All-Share Index that measures the performance of quoted companies rose by 1,085.4 points from 30,636.36 points to 31,721.76 points. The stock market had last week Thursday, shed N194.84 billion on the back of sell off in blue-chip stocks like Nestle Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Guaranty Trust Bank and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.”
“The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the agency mandated to manage the national identity database of the country is set to commence enrolment of Nigerian in South Africa into the national identity database for the purpose of issuing the National Identification Number (NIN). The commencement of the diaspora enrolment in South Africa was in collaboration with a licensed partner, Thebez Global Resources Limited (TGR).” According to THIS DAY “the company is in the business of providing similar services in partnership with other companies in the diaspora. TGR is working in collaboration with Cox & Kings Global Services Limited ‘CKGS,’ a premium outsourcing partner for government and businesses across the globe, to enrol Nigerians in diaspora by setting up enrolment centres in different countries.”
“The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has commenced moves to decongest the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), the busiest airport in Nigeria, Daily Trust can report. To this end, the authority has finalized arrangements with some foreign airlines to divert flights to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja and the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Omagwa, Rivers State. The two airports currently boast of brand new terminals which were commissioned late last year by President Muhammadu Buhari. They were among the Chinese funded four airport terminals with the other two in Lagos and Kano.” Daily Trust gathered that the Kano new terminal may be ready in the next two months. Following congestion in Lagos, it was learnt that FAAN had engaged relentlessly with airlines with a view to putting the new terminals into adequate use and decongesting the commercial city. This engagement has germinated with Turkish Airlines and Emirates indicating interest to commence scheduled flight operations from PHIA and NAIA, respectively from June. Also, Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest domestic carrier in terms of fleet size, would also begin direct flight to Dubai from PHIA as from April this year barring any last minute change.”
“The TraderMoni scheme of the Federal Government has generated a significant amount of buzz and national conversation: from those who laud its impact, and those who view it as politically motivated. TraderMoni is one of three microcredit products of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). In this interview Chief Operating Officer of GEEP, Uzoma Nwagba explains how GEEP was a direct response to the challenge of access to funds for micro-enterprises, and financial inclusion.” Read more of this interview here:
“The GE Healthcare has gone into partnership with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to supply latest technology in computed tomography (CT), Discovery RT, to Lagos University Teaching Hospital. The partnership would ensure the provision of latest technology to enable early diagnostics and better treatment for cancer patients. NSIA- LUTH Cancer Center (NLCC) is the first hospital in West Central Africa to install GE Healthcare’s Discovery RT CT. The facility was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari last month. The Discovery RT, a simulation CT machine, is the first of such technology to be installed in the country. It enables physicians to study the body in detail allowing them to determine the exact location, shape, and size of the tumour to be treated.” THIS DAY reported this.
According to Daily Trust “three weeks after the UBA group launched its operations in Mali, the global financial city of London hosted a high level gathering of business and public sector leaders on Thursday February 28, 2019, as the new UBA franchise, UBA UK was formally birthed in the United Kingdom amidst high expectations. At the upscale ceremony which held at the Prestigious Shard in the city of London, UBA UK was formerly introduced to business leaders across Europe and Africa with a commitment from the UBA Group of its readiness to galvanise trade and commerce between Europe and Africa.” The report reported that “the Group Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu said the Group is excited by the authorization of the relevant regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom for UBA to upgrade its operation and further fulfil its aspiration of deepening trade and investments flows between Africa and Europe. Elumelu expressed that he is extremely pleased as UBA is living up to its mantra of being Africa’s global bank and positioning itself to support investors in key financial centres across the world.”
