Aso Villa Reads for 08/10/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
As reported by Punch, the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, on Monday donated 300 laptops to selected schools in Gombe Sate. The Minister of Communications, Dr Ibrahim Pantami presented the laptops alongside the Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, at the commissioning of the North East Information and Communication Technology Hub with over 250 computers and other ICT infrastructures in the State. He said the wisdom behind the establishment of the centre was in line with the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration. According to Dr Pantami, the hub will help towards diversifying the nation’s economy. He charged the schools that received the laptops to put the computers to effective use.
The federal government has announced plan to commence national database capturing of all micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide, in a bid to enhance support towards the sector. The Chairman, Governing Board Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Femi Pedro, said the database would enable the federal government allocate resources to grow the segment of the economy which in turn would reduce unemployment. Speaking at SMEDAN’s review of the national policy on MSMEs in Lagos, yesterday, Pedro said: “This year, SMEDAN is embarking on a project that is very important to us and already has the support of the federal government. “We are starting a mass registration of MSMEs in Nigeria. We don’t want to rely on surveys alones. “We want to have a database of every business so we can focus polices directly on different sectors and different goods in different parts of the country. And this database would also be made available for lenders, funders, people who are ready to provide support, state governments, policy holders and policy makers. So it is a very important project that has never been done before in this country.” This Day reports.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja called on governments all over the world to support Nigeria’s ongoing war on piracy and maritime crime and criminality in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), noting that the Gulf is vital to global energy demands and economic prosperity. The President, who made the call while speaking at the ongoing Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja, added that security in the GoG is contingent on the ability to put in place international, continental regional and national framework and resources. He pledged that Nigeria would not relent on her efforts to address piracy scourge. According to This Day, he pointed out that the international treaties on maritime security provided robust mechanisms for cooperation among maritime nations in the fight and suppression of maritime crimes. “To succeed in our objective, a collective effort from all stakeholders represented here today is essential. I reiterate the need for a joint effort because security in the GoG is vital and central to global trade in view of the fact that many trade routes connecting the continent to the rest of the world, run through the Gulf. “Also, the Gulf of Guinea encompasses diverse geographical, geological and rich cultural heritage with many of its states endowed with vast oil and gas deposits critical in addressing global energy demands. More so, as the African continent forges ahead with phase 2 negotiations for the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), safety and security of sea transportation are critical to seamless trade and effective economic integration.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday formally presented N10.729 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year before a joint session of the National Assembly. Buhari said the 2020 budget is based on the proposed new VAT rate. The increased revenues will be used to fund education, health, and infrastructure. The budget proposal was prepared based on the following assumptions: Benchmark of $57 per barrel, daily oil 1.86 million barrel per day. Buhari said the goal of presenting the 2020 Appropriation Act early to the lawmakers is so it can come into effect on January 1, 2020. He also stated that the main emphasis of the budget is on the completion many ongoing infrastructure projects, instead of starting new ones. The Ministry of Works and Housing got N262 billion, transportation ministry got a budget of N123 billion, Agriculture ministry received N83 billion. UBEC got N112 billion, Defence ministry N100 billion, Water Resources was allotted N82 billion, Education sector got N48 billion, health has N46 billion. North East Dec Commission got N38 billion, SIPs was given a budget of N30 billion, FCT got N28 billion and the Niger Delta ministry got N24 billion. Guardian reports.
As reported by Guardian, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai has reiterated the Nigerian Army’s resolve to fully support the ongoing peace process between the Government of Zamfara State and the bandits to succeed. Lt Gen TY Buratai made the remarks when he paid a courtesy visit to the Governor in Gusau, Zamfara state. He expressed confidence in the peace process as an opportunity for the unrepentant bandits to lay down their arms and key into the peace process. He used the opportunity to call on the bandits to hand over their weapons, otherwise, they will be faced with aggressive and offensive operations. General Buratai implored the general public to continue to support the Nigerian Army by providing credible information that can assist or enhance their operations.
The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has announced five areas of priority focus based on the Federal Government’s strategic plans to revamp Nigeria’s ailing economy and achieve inclusive growth. The fiscal authority said it would focus on enhancing revenue generation, collection and monitoring, accelerating fiscal consolidation by optimising priority capital and recurrent expenditure, and optimizing management of both domestic and global fiscal risks. Other focus areas, the Ministry said, are increased coordination of fiscal, macro monetary and trade policies, and integrating annual budgets and medium-term fiscal strategies into medium and long-term national plans. Business Day reports.
The multi-billion High–Tech Greenhouse Farm established by Dangote Farms Limited, geared at boosting the cultivation of high-quality tomatoes in the country, has commenced full production in the commercial city of Kano. The farm which is fully automated is the first of its kind in West Africa and is expected to transform the economy of the local tomato farmers, as the technology is expected to up their harvest from the current 10 tons per acre to as much as 40 tons. Abdulkarim Kaita, managing director of the Dangote Tomatoes Company Processing Limited, confirmed this, on Thursday, during the visit of senior officials of the Kano Office of Central Bank of Nigeria to the farm. Speaking to BusinessDay on the sidelines of the visit, Kaita disclosed that his company `s new investment in the farm is motivated by the quest to help Nigeria stop the over $350 million that is expended on the importation of fresh and processed tomatoes yearly. He said his company had so far, injected over #3 billion in the development of the farm, which in the next three weeks, is expected to deliver high-quality tomato seedlings to tomato farmers across the 12 states of the Federation where the commodity is heavily cultivated.
The $129.17 million Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Programme in the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) being driven by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is targeted at creating 38,250 jobs in the agricultural sector. Speaking at a day stakeholders’ meeting of the LIFE-ND project at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, last Thursday, the NDDC acting managing director, Akwagaga Lelegima Enyia, stated that the goal was to transform the rural economy of the Niger Delta region and improve the livelihood of the citizens of the region. Enyia, who was represented by the NDDC director, special duties, Nosa Agbongiasede, said LIFE-ND was planned with a financing period of six years, adding that it had both the first phase of six years, with parallel finance from NDDC to the tune of $30 million and an additional six years to be financed in the future by other partners and additional IFAD loan. According to the acting managing director, the total project cost to be incurred during the 12-year implementation period, including price and physical contingencies, duties, and taxes, was estimated at $129.17 million. Business Day reports.
Communications Minister, Dr Isa Pantami has said in line with global requirements of communications, Nigeria was ready to deploy 5G network across the country to ease network flow. Pantami said this at the ongoing 39th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) holding in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). GITEX is a global technology exhibition that brings together over 200,000 trade visitors, investors, innovators, IT experts, countries, Information Communication Technology startups from over 145 countries of the world, to share trends of ICT and ways of advancing technology innovations. Nigeria’s participation in GITEX, which is spearheaded by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is a week long programme holding from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10. 5G mobile network is the next-generation standard for wireless communication, set to start taking over the mobile network environment in 2019. 5G delivers vastly increased capacity, lower latency and faster speed. The minster said “ Nigeria is ready for 5G network but preparation is key. We are ready but need deployment and before that we need pre-deployment and post-deployment. Economic Confidential reported.
Worried by the recent spate of rejection of Corps members by agencies and parastatals of government, the Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami has directed all parastatals and agencies under his purview to accept and train all Corps members posted to them on entrepreneurship. The minister said the directive became necessary in view of the negative and resultant impact such rejection would have on the Corps members and society. According to Vanguard, he said the ministry is worried at the development and expect agencies under his watch to comply with the provisions of the law regarding the NYSC scheme. According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari is particularly mindful of the fact that the future of our great country depends on the youths and therefore, they must be equipped for the critical role that lies ahead. To this end, he said the Communications ministry has initiated a policy to ensure corps members are equipped with adequate entrepreneurial skills at the end of their service year to properly empower and position them as entrepreneurs instead of job seekers.
