Aso Villa Reads for 07/07/2020
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
According to Business Day, the Federal Government said on Monday it would be sourcing up to 60 percent local content to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company. Olamilekan Adegbite, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development stated this in Abuja during an interaction with newsmen, noting that the government is keen on local content promotion and wealth creation and would only source for foreign content when they are not locally available. “We’re working on what we call local context, right now we proposed 60% local content. Everything that is required in Ajoakuta and National Iron Ore Mining Company, (NIOMCO) that is obtainable in Nigeria must be sourced from Nigeria. We don’t want everyone to come here and dump everything on us, only those things that we cannot provide can be brought from outside so right now we are at that stage of 60/40- 60% local content and 40% foreign.”Adegbite said. The minister explained that funding for the project would be coming from two sources- Russian Export Centre, which is providing $450m and the Afrexim Bank, bringing $1b which sums up to a total of $1.45b. According to him, the Russian technical experts will come, do the audit which will lead to them giving us an exact figure of how much it will cost to resuscitate Ajoakuta and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO).
President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate, seeking for the screening and subsequent confirmation of 11 nominees as Judges of the Federal High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The letter from President Buhari was read yesterday on the floor of the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan. The letter read: “In accordance to Section 256(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, I have the honour to forward for confirmation by the Senate, the under-listed names of eleven (11) nominees as Judges of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja. The nominees are Abubakar Husseini Musa (Adamawa State); Edward Okpe (Benue State); Babashani Abubakar (Borno State); Emuesiri Francis (Delta State); Jude Ogho (Delta State); Josephine Enobi (Edo State); Christopher Opeyemi Oba (Ekiti State); Mohammed Idris (Kano State); Hassan Maryam Aliyu (Kebbi State); Fashola Akeem Adebowale (Lagos State); and Hamza Muazu (Niger State). Vanguard reports.
The Federal Government has decided to write off 60 per cent of the N7bn owed by radio and television stations in licensing and renewal fees. The government has also slashed the existing licence fee by 30 per cent for all open terrestrial radio and television services with effect from July 10. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed these at a press conference he addressed with the acting Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, in Abuja on Monday. The N7bn being owed the Federal Government by the broadcast industry is the total outstanding from television and radio stations on renewal of their operating licences. Mohammed however said for any debtor station to benefit from the 60 per cent debt relief, it must be ready to pay the 40 per cent balance within the next three months. According to Punch, he said the debt relief offer would open on July 10 and close on October 6, 2020. The minister said the measures announced were aimed at giving a lifeline to the broadcast industry, which, he said, had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
