Aso Villa Reads for 13/08/18
Every day, we bring you the best stories the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that investors who bought shares of the same company using different names during public offers have an extended deadline of December 31 2018 to consolidate their multiple subscriptions into a single account and equally regularise their shareholding. SEC’s Acting Director General, Mary Uduk, disclosed this at a post Capital Market Committee, CMC, press briefing in Lagos, saying all shares, which are not regularised at the expiration of the deadline, may be forfeited. Following the resolutions reached at the CMC, Uduk said that a market-wide Financial Technology (FINTECH) committee would be constituted to develop a FINTECH framework for the Nigerian capital market.” Vanguard reported.
The Sun reports that “the Federal Government said it is partnering with the Ogun State Government to boost the production of fisheries, stressing that the current 1.1metric tonnes is not sufficient to meet the demands of Nigerians. Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed this at the weekend, when he commissioned four projects built by the ministry in Eriwe, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. The projects commissioned at Eriwe fishing farm estate were, feed mill, cold room, fish market and the processing unit. In a statement signed by the minister’s media aide, George Oji, he said that the projects are all intended to make the estate a real fish farming cluster where the farmers will fully appropriate all the advantages of fish farming value chain.”
“The Nigerian Communications Commission has initiated moves to curb illegal activities of call masking, refiling and SIM boxing in the industry. It was gathered that the commission had given approval to five companies to present the evidence of the design of their software and equipment that could detect and prevent interconnect traffic bypass and SIM boxing activities.” According to Punch, “the telecom regulator had earlier in the year sanctioned telecommunication operators that were identified to be involved in call masking, by suspending the operating licences of some and issuing warning letters to others. The commission made this move after investigating complaints from service providers and consumers, regarding the high incidence of call masking, refiling and SIM boxing in the country. The NCC, through the Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, had also announced the barring of over 750,000 numbers assigned to several Private Network Links and Local Exchange Operator licensees that were discovered to be used in call masking.”
Punch reported that “the Federal Government has inaugurated a new initiative under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme to empower two million petty traders between now and the end of the year. The initiative called the ‘Trader Moni’ is meant to further enlarge the present administration’s financial inclusion agenda for all Nigerians regardless of social class and economic status. The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. Akande explained that the scheme, which was inaugurated in Lagos last week, would grant a minimum of 30,000 loans in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. He said the two million mark was expected to be attained on or before the end of the year, with petty traders in Lagos, Kano and Abia states set to be the first round of beneficiaries to draw the collateral-free loans.”
“The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the commencement of academic activities in University of Nigeria Nsukka’s Centre for Distance and e-Learning (CDeL). Notification for the approval was contained in a letter addressed to the Vice Chancellor of the university and signed by the Executive Chairman of the NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed. The letter dated July 16, 2018, stated that the approval is based on the validated status recommended by the panel of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Subject Matter Experts and NUC representatives that paid a pre-validation Assessment visit to the proposed Centre from 22nd to 25th April 2018. The approval granted the university the authority to commence Master’s degree programme in Business Administration (MBA) in four areas namely; Accountancy, Banking and Finance, Marketing and Management.” So writes The Sun.
“Pension Fund Administrators paid N4.97 billion to 12,772 Retirement Savings Account, RSA, holders who were disengaged from their jobs in the first quarter of 2018. The beneficiaries were the RSA holders who under the age of 50 years disengaged from work and were unable to secure another job within four months of disengagement. The money represents 25 percent of the total balance in their RSAs.” Vanguard reports that “for the first quarter of 2018 (Q1’18), the beneficiaries of this form of payment since inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, in 2004 is numbering 263,093 and they have received a total of N87.54 billion. Further analysis showed that the private sector accounted for 95.6 percent while the public sector accounted for 4.4 percent.”
“The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) yesterday said it was collaborating with the national assembly to set up a parliamentary group to coordinate legislative actions on implementation of remedial issues identified by independent audit reports of NEITI in the extractive industry. A press statement from NEITI said the decision to set up the parliamentary group, which would comprise relevant committees in the Senate and House of Representatives, was part of the resolutions reached at a retreat held in Lagos for members of the national assembly on EITI implementation in Nigeria. The executive secretary of NEITI, Mr. Waziri Adio, while addressing the retreat, said the proposed parliamentary forum would help to coordinate the work of the various committees in addressing remedial issues in NEITI Reports.” Leadership reported this.
“The Federal Government is currently in bilateral negotiations with the Brazilian government for a $1.1 billion agriculture package intended to lift the country’s present subsistence farming and create needed jobs. The package, proposed by Nigeria’s ministry of Agriculture on behalf of the Federal Government, is for Brazil to bring in agricultural machinery and equipment, which will be assembled in the country. The South American country known largely for tropical agriculture will also bring in inputs, including fertilizer, seeds, pesticides as well as services like training, project management amongst others to help agricultural output in the Africa’s largest nation. As contained in the project document prepared by the ministry, the project will be financed by the Brazilian Exim-Bank (BNDES).” Business Day (Monday, 13th August 2018, Front Page) reported.
“The Federal Government has agreed to the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) locally produced LPG from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company (NLNG). This action will make reduce the cost of locally produced LPG, making it more competitive against imported ones and also encourage investors to go into the manufacture of LPG in the country.” According to Business Day “the VAT imposed on the LPG from Nigeria LNG has made the product costlier than the ones imported from other countries. Billy Okoye, executive director, commercial of Petroleum Products Marketing Company, (PPMC) who disclosed this on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Nigerian Association of LPG marketers in Lagos said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have resolved the issue.”
This Day reports that “the Bank of Industry (BoI) has unveiled the Aba finished leather goods cluster-financing programme targeted at over 150,000 artisans in the cluster. This initiative is aimed at improving capacity of operators in the leather products manufacturing sector and intensify import substitution. According to the bank, the financing programme will see beneficiaries accessing up to N300,000 for the procurement of materials for expansion and to improve production. Speaking at the unveiling of the financing initiative in Aba, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the launch of the programme has essentially addressed some of the challenges of MSME financing. Enelamah, who was represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Edet Akpan, said the Aba leather cluster has been in existence for many years with trade passed on from one generation to the other and can be considered to be one of the oldest and most successful trade clusters in the history of the country.”
