Aso Villa Reads for 04/08/2021
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, said the Federal Government would soon unveil policies to unbundle the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST). The Minister described NIPOST as one of the most important institutions of government, adding that policies that would transform its operations and make it innovative would soon be unveiled. “We also have the ACT of NIPOST going into amendment. “We have a plan with a property and development company, the company will bring together all the properties of NIPOST, develop them and make sure that the government generates revenue from them.[Punch]
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has offered N5m to the students of Marist College, Yangoji, Abuja, for the invention of the Sensebox and Aquabot devices. Both devices were designed to monitor air and water pollution. The cash prize was presented by the Minister, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, in his office on Tuesday in Abuja.[Punch]
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, Tuesday, disclosed that the Federal Government has adopted gas as a strategy to meeting the nation’s climate-change-net-zero-emission target. Speaking at the Annual International Conference & Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, he expressed the government’s concern about joining the rest of the world to transit from oil to cleaner fuels.[Vanguard]
The federal government in its continuous desire to reward superlative feats has increased Team Nigeria’s winning prize for a gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan from $5,000 to $15,000. With this increase, each gold medal athlete will now get $15,000 (N7, 575, 000) as a winning prize per medal against $5,000 per gold earlier announcement before the competition kicked off. While a silver and bronze medal athlete will smile home with $10,000 (5, 050, 000) and $7,500 (3, 787, 500) respectively against the $3,000 and $2,000 per medal earlier promised the athletes.[Leadership]
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s declaration of zero tolerance to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria. Prof Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster and Social ,Management, Sadiya Umar Farouq gave the assurance in Abuja during the official launch of the USAID Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) project, underscored the need to support GBV survivors by ensuring that they have access to safe, confidential and professional medical care, life-saving support; support that will prevent further violence from occurring as well as other services that provide more dignity and comfort, including options for safety and psycho-social support.[Tribune]
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has launched the maiden training on e-governance and digital transformation for the members of the Kano State Executive Council. This is contained in a statement by the Spokesperson to the minister, Mrs Uwa Sulieman, on Monday in Abuja. The statement said the training, the pioneer programme at that level, was aimed at equipping the leadership of the state with the requisite skills for effective governance in line with global trends.[Guardian]
Minister of works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said that the Federal Government would refund the money expended for the construction of Federal roads in Yobe State. Fashola, who was in Yobe to assess the Federal roads constructed by the state government, said the refund would be initiated after the completion of evaluation exercise of the roads. [Business Day Pg 9]
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has doubled its loan portfolio to N215.1 billion, as Agusto & Co. assigns a triple “A” rating, with a stable outlook to the real sector finance institution. DBN’s Managing Director, Mr. Tony Opkanachi, who provided the loan portfolio data in a statement last week, said that his team was excited about the rating.He said that the bank has sustained an outstanding asset quality record of zero delinquency, unique fundamentals which attest to the efficacy of its credit creation model and overall risk management culture.[Vanguard]
Federal Government on Tuesday said it has introduced a system of National Vehicle Registry, VREG, to tackle smuggling and dumping of stolen vehicles into the country. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed made this known while declaring open a one day zonal sensitization programme on the system, VREG for stakeholders in Kano. Ahmed represented by her Director, Technical Services, Hajia Fatima Hayatu said Nigeria has been a hub of stolen vehicles as most Vehicle Identification Number (VIM) in the country were unregistered rendering the vehicles difficult to trace hence the need to introduce the system. [Vanguard]
Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda on Tuesday said that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise sub-sector, MSMEs has so far provided over 59 million employment in the country. He said it has also accounted for over 41 million businesses in the country. Radda stated this during the opening ceremony of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Opportunity Fair held in Kano. He said the aim of the fair was to provide opportunities to participating MSMEs to understand how to access the market and harvest the huge potentials in the sector.[Vanguard]
