Aso Villa Reads for 13/09/18
Every day, we bring you the best stories the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
Business Day (Thursday 13 2018, page 2) reports that “among all airports in Nigeria, Abuja airport recorded the highest number of aircraft traffic of 32,011 in the first half of 2018 as airlines dump Lagos for Abuja as passage volume increase. This figure is slightly higher than the Lagos airport which recorded aircraft traffic of 31,037. In Q1 2018, aircraft movement at Abuja airport was 16,402 which exceeded that of aircraft movement in Lagos which was 15,866. It maintained the marginal dominance over Lagos airport in the second quarter of 2018 that is, 15,609 at Abuja compared with 15,171 at Lagos as compiled from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) air transportation data released in September 2018”.
“The Federal Executive Council at its meeting on Wednesday approved a fresh bill for the amendment of the Electoral Act and another bill seeking the establishment of a proposed Electoral Offences Commission. This was despite an ongoing controversy between the Presidency and the National Assembly over President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to withhold assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill (2018), which was proposed by the legislature.” Punch reported that “the FEC also set up a ministerial committee to investigate the tremors experienced in some parts of Abuja last week. These came even as the FEC at its meeting presided by President Buhari also lamented dwindling revenues from oil and agricultural sectors. The council’s meeting was the first after the one presided by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo last week while Buhari was away in Beijing, China, for the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation.”
“Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has urged financial institutions in the country to fund operators of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to achieve financial inclusiveness. Emefiele made the call at the ongoing 11th Annual Banking and Finance Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja, with the theme “MSMEs: The Game Changer for Economic Growth and Development.” Business Day (Thursday 13 2018, page 4) reported this.
According to Premium Times “petty traders are not required to provide their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) before benefitting from the TraderMoni scheme, the presidency has said. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, made this clarification on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Akande, who gave an update on the microcredit scheme, explained that to qualify for the TraderMoni scheme, no documentation of any kind was required. He spoke against the backdrop of claims that PVC was a requirement for the loans. The spokesman said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would intensify its efforts to empower more Nigerians economically as it continued to inaugurate the Trader Moni N10,000 collateral-free loans to petty traders across the country.” Akande emphasized that “the petty traders are not required to show PVC, or any document for that matter, they are only expected to show they are petty traders and this is why the enumeration is done in the markets and wherever the traders ply their trades.”
“Traders in the popular Watt market in Calabar, Cross River State have lauded the federal Government for its National Social Investment Programme scheme geared towards boosting financial and medium enterprises (SMEs). They observed that through the Trader-Moni initiative massive potential in the informal economy will be unblocked which, in turn will support government’s agenda on poverty alleviation, job creation, financial inclusion and prosperity of all Nigerians irrespective of their educational qualification or background”. Business Day (Thursday 13 2018, page 17) writes that “a cross section of traders made this known after Vice President Yemi Osinabjo unveiled the Federal Government Programme tagged: Trader-Moni, in Cross River State where several traders were given 10,000 each to payback in six month”.
“In a joint statement released in Abuja, on Monday September 10th 2018, the NCC and the CPC said as regulators, they are constitutionally bound to ensure the consumer’s happiness, hence, the probe. As a nation, we take a very important step with respect to protecting consumers and ensuring that the telecommunication industry remains robust, continues it leading role in in our economic growth and expanding prosperity to citizens.” According to The Sun “the telecommunications industry has become one of the most vital to our economy, and in particular inclusiveness for a large and vast nation such as ours. As such, it is a matter of utmost importance and urgency that we pay the appropriate attention to growing the industry and protecting consumers. These two crucial objectives are not mutually exclusive. At the end of the day, we are regulators, and operators in the industry have a unified mutual objective, and that is to ensure service that consumers are happy with, and happy to pay for.”
According to Business Day (Thursday 13 2018, page 13) “Julie Okah-Donli, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says “the agency has rescued more than 13,000 victims from human traffickers. Mrs Okah-Donli, who made the disclosure on Monday at an interactive session with journalists in Sokoto, also said 6,000 victims had been rehabilitated since 2014. She said three females out of those rehabilitated were trained to university level and were now employees of the agency. “It may interest you to know that three of the victims that were rescued by NAPTIP were sponsored in school and are now graduates working with NAPTIP. So we do not only train our victims but we also give them employment. We partner with sister agencies to train and ensure that they are empowered,’’ she said.”
“The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, says the federal Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) has provided technical assistance to 2,000 youth in the country. Mr Enelamah, who announced this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the gesture was part of the broader social intervention programme of government.” Premium Times reports that the Minister said more than 350,000 micro enterprises had also benefited from GEEP and MarketMoni Scheme. According to him, the Federal Government Social Intervention Programme (SIP) will also provide interest-free loans to Micro Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSME). He said very important agreement was signed with Volkswagen during the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Nigeria to make the country an automotive hub. “They believe we can sell up to two million cars a year, if we create an environment for Nigerians to drive new cars. They want to work with us to make it happen.”
“Pension regulator, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) says the planned micro pension scheme aimed at expanding the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) into the informal sector will take-off in January 2019. The Commission says the necessary infrastructure needed to enable implementation of the micro pension scheme is almost completed, and whatever left will be ready by end of this month (September). Aisha Dahir-Umar, acting director-general, National Pension Commission made the disclosure at the 6th Conference for Directors of Pension Operators organized by the Commission in Lagos.” This is according to Business Day (Thursday 13, 2018 page 16).
