Aso Villa Reads for 11/09/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
According to Business Day, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to ensure compliance with extant Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and regulations to mitigate the risks and vulnerabilities in the sub-sector. This is coming as the regulators seeks-accountants-partnership-in-anti-corruption-war also challenge them to play stronger role in the industry by leveraging effective self-regulation. Mustafa Haruna, CBN deputy director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department (OFISD), said this in Lagos, during the Inter-governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) mutual evaluation exercise sensitisation/workshop for South West BDCS. He said ABCON should develop and implement a Code of Conduct for members to promote ethical practices and transparency in the sector while also continually advising the apex bank on market intelligence on key industry issues. Also speaking, Aminu Gwadabe, ABCON president said ABCON had consistently advised BDCS to put in place and implement, a system of internal policies, procedures and controls including Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence and reporting of all suspicious transactions to regulators.
As reported by Business Day, the newly appointed Minister of Communications, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has said that Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry which currently contributes 13.8 percent to nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will in the next two to three years, double the 8.8 percent contribution of the oil and gas sector to Nigeria’s GDP. The Minister who spoke on Monday at the ongoing session of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2019) in Budapest, Hungary disclosed this. “The recent statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the future is indeed in ICT. This is a clear indication that at the pace ICT is growing in Nigeria, most probably in the next two or three years, the contribution of the ICT to the GDP will at least double that of the oil sector. As the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the yearly event, Pantami said that the government wanted to sustain the steady growth of ICT in the country, hence the need to attend events like the ITU telecom world, which will enable delegates network and get the best idea.
Business Day reported that President Buhari, on Tuesday, called corruption, a violation of human as he sought the cooperation of Nigerian Accountants to help rid the country of the monster. He was speaking at the ongoing 49th Annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) which focused on ‘Building Nigeria for sustainable Growth and Development’ and hosting over 5,000 delegates in Abuja “I urge you now to always see corruption in its true color as a gross violation of human right,” the President who was represented at the event by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation said. He said Corruption is the country’s greatest enemy will certainly fight back, “but we must continue to fight to effect a change to our value system. He noted that government’s fight against corruption is in reality a struggle for nation building and the future.
In line with its mandates of promoting maritime safety and building in digamous commercial shipping capacity for international and coastal shipping the Nigerian maritime administration and safety agency (NIMASA) has reiterated its commitment to ensuring safe shipping on Nigerian waterways. Dakuku Peterside, Director-General of NIMASA said the recent signing of the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill (Anti Piracy Bill) into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2019, was geared towards dealing with the menace of piracy and related crimes in the Nigerian maritime domain. Business Day, 11 September 2019, Page 42.
According to Punch, the Federal Government is to deliver Final Investment Decisions on at least four key projects within the nation’s oil and gas industry within the tenure of this administration, President Muhammadu Buhari, has said. Buhari, who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources, said this through his Minister of State, Timipreye Sylva, while speaking at the ongoing 24th World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday. He said his vision was to bequeath a vibrant petroleum industry which would guarantee long term strategic investments and prosperity to Nigerians. The President was quoted in a statement issued by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in Abuja as saying, “My plan is to ensure that during my tenure, four Final Investment Decisions are taken.
The Federal Government said on Tuesday that construction activities on roads and other infrastructure across the country were being slowed down by rains. It also announced that the first set of weigh bridges would be rolled out nationwide to protect Nigerian roads by guarding against excess cargo weights. The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this when he received board members of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, led by the agency’s Chairman, Babatunde Lemo. Fashola urged the FERMA board to pay more attention to the protection of roads while carrying out maintenance works on them. He also warned road users against damaging Nigerian roads through overloading. Punch reported.
As reported by Vanguard, no fewer than 2,200 flood victims in Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State have received relief materials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as part of its effort to provide temporary relief to the victims. Reports have it that about 3,500 households had been affected by flood due to a recent heavy downpour which lasted for about 14 consecutive hours. Alhaji Aminu Nadari, Chairman of the local relief distribution committee told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Daura on Tuesday, that all the affected victims had been provided with relief materials which included bags of rice, beans, maize, blankets, mattresses, cooking oil, roofing sheets, ceiling and rubber mats. He added that the level and degree of damaged suffered by an individual victim determined the number of relief materials he received. “We are meticulous in the entire process as no one is left out.’’
