Aso Villa Reads for 11/12/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
At a high-level segment during the on-going UN Climate Change Conference- COP25, the coalition of Finance Ministers for climate action launched the Santiago Action Plan that aims to accelerate their countries’ transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies. The coalition, co-led by Finland and Chile, comprises 51 countries including Nigeria that accounts for 30 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “We will not achieve our climate goals unless we have unity and cooperation on a global scale to tackle climate change which is an existential threat to all of us,” said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “Finance is at the heart of our economies and it must be at the very center of our efforts to transform them. It is the lifeblood of production and consumption worldwide and it must become the seed of a new global economy,” Espinosa said. “Without it, a sustainable, greener world will be impossible,” she added. The coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action was launched at the World Bank Group — IMF Spring Meetings in April 2019, with members endorsing six principles known as the ‘Helsinki Principles.’ Nigeria is among the countries that have endorsed the Helsinki Principles and the Santiago Action Plan. Business Day reports.
Business Day reports that Nigeria in the Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Asia chapter in collaboration with Kanryu Industry of Japan, has launched modular rice mills for smallholder farmers and small-medium enterprises to move the country towards self-sufficiency in rice production. The modular rice mill which was launched recently in Lagos and Abuja is a compact machine that has the capacity of processing 110kg of paddy rice per hour. Emenike Ejiogu, president of NIDO- Asian chapter, said during the launch that the move to introduce the modular rice milling machines was necessitated by the Federal Government’s appeal to Nigerian professionals and business owners in the diaspora to contribute to national development and nation-building. Ejiogu added that it was also necessitated to support the government’s self-sufficiency drive in rice production and put a stop to the era of foreign varieties by ensuring that Nigerians consume good and quality rice. “We are launching these modular rice milling machines to see how we can articulate and help in the area of technology, skills, and finance in driving economic growth and national development,” he said. “This modular small milling machines are very easy to maintain and affordable for smallholder farmers,” he stated.
According to Tribune, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that the establishment of an active infrastructure fund via the capital market as being pursued by capital market stakeholders would be immensely beneficial in closing the infrastructure gaps in the country. Acting Director-General of the SEC, Mary Uduk stated this at the annual conference of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN), in Lagos on Saturday. Represented by the Head External Relations Department of the SEC, Mr Sufian Abdulkarim, Uduk said international capital markets are the largest and deepest pool of financing in the world, and in conjunction with local capital markets, which represent an essentially untapped source of funds for infrastructure projects, they can make a huge contribution to economic development, if effective transaction structures are developed. Uduk said the government cannot be the sole provider/promoter of infrastructure projects, adding that private sector investment in infrastructure sector is also required. According to her: “Given the need to bridge the infrastructure deficit and the challenges of financing it, the county needs to leverage on alternative sources of infrastructure financing, such as the capital market. In view of the government’s bid to reverse the current growth trend, diversify the economy and develop infrastructure, there is no better time than now to leverage the capital market for sourcing of infrastructure development financing. “The capital market provides an enabling environment for private investments in infrastructure projects and the SEC is doing its part to foster this through the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan (2015–2025). The plan’s major objective is to transform the Nigerian capital market, making it competitive, while contributing towards the nation’s development through funds mobilization.
The Nigerian Air Force, through the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, has launched “Operation Rattle Snake” against terrorists’ elements in the North East. Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information announced this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. Daramola said the Air Interdiction Operation, which commenced on Tuesday would target selected locations within the North East to further degrade remnants of the terrorists as well as deny them safe havens and freedom of action. “On Day One of the Operations, airstrikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the neutralisation of several Boko Haram Terrorists and destruction of some of their structures at their tactical headquarters in Parisu as well as another settlement, Garin Maloma, both on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest in Borno State,” he said. Daramola explained that the attacks were executed following series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions, that showed the presence of a significant number of BHT fighters in makeshift structures/buildings under trees spread across the two settlements. Punch reports.
