Aso Villa Reads for 09/08/2021
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria.
The rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries, acquisition of 20 per cent stake in Dangote Refinery and the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal standard gauge rail line, are among the contracts approved yesterday by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). Contracts worth $15.44 billion in the Transportation and Petroleum Resources ministries got the nod at the meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva, said his ministry got approval on two memoranda, which included the award of $1.484 billion for the rehabilitation of both Warri and Kaduna refineries. A 20 per cent minority stake in Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemical Refinery will be acquired for $2.76 billion. THE NATION
The federal government has commenced the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N250 billion intervention fund for the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), which is expected to create about three million direct and indirect jobs. The intervention facility for the NGEP, which is targeted at stimulating finance to the critical sector and motivate investment in the gas value chain being funded by the apex bank, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Bitrus Nabasu, disclosed at the weekend that the process of receiving applications from potential beneficiaries to access the facility had commenced. THISDAY
The federal government has assured that it would complete all outstanding projects in the Nigerian aviation industry before 2023 when President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to handover political power to a new government. The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika stated this in Lagos at the 25th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) with the theme: “Nigeria’s Aviation Industry: Management, Policy and Regulation.” THISDAY
Federal pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) have a cause to smile as the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has paid an additional nine months of consequential adjustment arrears, occasioned by the new minimum wage increase of 2019 , to Civil Service Pension Department pensioners and six months of the same arrears to parastatals, police, Customs, Immigration and Prisons Department Pensioners. This brings the arrears paid so far to 18 out of the 24 months arrears of the pension increment. THE SUN
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced a trading surplus of ₦43.57bn in April 2021 representing a 23.64% increase over the ₦35.24bn surplus it recorded in the previous month of March 2021. This is contained in the April 2021 edition of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), according to a press statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru. Trading surplus or trading deficit is derived after deduction of the expenditure profile from the revenue for the period under review. DAILY INDEPENDENT
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says the African Development Bank (AfDB) has agreed to support micro, small and medium enterprises(MSMEs) in Nigeria, especially technology-based ones, with $500 million. Osinbajo made this known on Sunday at the 33rd inaugural lecture of Babcock University in Ogun state. He said that one of the things the federal government did to support small businesses during the outbreak of COVID-19 was the introduction of the N75 billion MSMEs survival fund. “The MSMEs survival fund gave almost a million businesses support after the pandemic,” NAN quoted him as saying. “We paid three months salary of several of the MSMEs, especially private schools such as-private primary schools, private secondary schools; we paid for teachers and also for several other businesses. “I think the statistics will be useful, especially as you further research and work; and so much have been done. THE CABLE
The National Livestock Transformation Plan, a project of the Federal Government, in partnership with the Netherlands Government has received a boost following the launch of a new ranching hub in Awe local government area of Nasarawa State. This is a shift from the controversial RUGA policy of President Muhammadu Buhari that was widely opposed by a section of Nigerians, some state governments and notable groups in the South-south and the middle-belt regions. With the launch of the new ranching hub in Nasarawa, the scheme is expected to be replicated in other states that had indicated towards finding a lasting solution to herders/farmers clashes. The ranching hub which covers about 22,000 hectares of land will see Nasarawa and four other states benefitting from the Federal Government’s €400,000 grant for the implementation of the NLTP project in the affected states. BUSINESSDAY
