Aso Villa Reads for 09/03/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
As the effects of the global outbreak of the CoronaVirus bite harder, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday inaugurated a committee to provide an adequate response mechanism to the economic challenges posed by the dwindling price of crude oil on the international market. The team is made up of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Silva, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mele Kyari. Business Day reports.
The Federal Government has completed 2,500 housing units in 34 states, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said. Fashola, who disclosed this at the National Policy on Development summit in Abuja, also stated the government was currently working on 500 roads and bridges across the country. He further noted that as part of efforts to bridge the infrastructure gap in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing had intervened in the construction of internal roads in 44 tertiary institutions. The minister spoke through his Minister of State for Works and Housing, Abubakar Aliyu, while delivering the keynote address at the NPoD summit. Commenting on the housing deficit in Nigeria, the minister said, “The ministry is concerned about mitigating the deficit and ensuring that Nigerians wherever they reside have access to affordable, conducive and hygienic housing. “The National Housing Programme is ongoing across the country with over 2,500 units completed in 34 states of the federation.” Fashola further revealed that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Housing Authority were increasing the housing stock for Nigerians through several programmes such as rent to own and mortgage finance ownership. Punch reported.
The Federal Government has commissioned a multi-billion ultra-modern Diagnostic Centre built under a partnership arrangement between the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), in the commercial city of Kano. Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance and national planning, says the commissioning of the centre is one of the practical measures being taken by the Federal Government to check the rate Nigerians seek for medical tourism overseas. Zainab, who presided over the commissioning of the $5.5 million world-class health facility, said the Buhari administration was committed to replicating the development of such a modern Diagnostic Centre in each of the six geo-political zones of the country. The minister, who did not disclose the timeline for the establishment of the other centres, however, said one of the centres currently under construction would be set for commission in Umuahia, Abia State. According to Zainab, the ongoing investment in the development of healthcare delivery centres across the country was a clear demonstration of the commitment of the Buhari administration to the well-being of the citizenry. She revealed that a Special Scheme had been floated by her ministry to enable less privileged Nigerians access services at the centre. Business Day reported.
