Aso Villa Reads for 14/10/2019

Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria

Guardian reports that the Federal Government plans to deploy indigenous technologies to tackle climate change in the country. The Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr. Peter Tarfa made this known at a two-day School of Ecology organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation and ETC Group in Abuja. The event attracted civil society, scientists, legal practitioners, faith-based organizations. The African countries represented included Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Togo, South Africa, Eswatini, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Cameroon. Tarfa said that the government will undertake an assessment of technological needs of the people and utilise climate funds for its development. He told The Guardian that the ministry will embark on a scooping mission to know available indigenous knowledge and technology, which can be applied, based on some traditional long-time observations. On the youth involvement in climate matters, Dr. Tarfa said, the government has already put structures in the six geopolitical zones, adding that 60 youths are expected in Abuja as part of the programme. “We see them as strategic stakeholders, and we would want to tap their energy, inventive and creativity to bring on a platform. Mr. President wants them to be in environmental or climate owners.”

Guardian reports that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and stakeholders in the food industry have developed a standard that would save Nigeria foreign exchange used in the importation of plastics. The new standards would improve production processes of plastics, ensure safety and the quality of products, leading to an increase of its use, which in turn provides opportunities for employment rather than expending the nation’s hard-earned resources on importation. The standards body stated that the need to develop the standard was also coming on the heels of recent coordination by the Federal Ministry of Environment to develop a national policy for the lifecycle of plastics in the country. Already, Nigeria is the third-largest importer of plastics in primary forms after Egypt with just 30 per cent capacity to produce locally while the remaining 70 per cent is currently being imported. The Director-General (SON), Osita Aboloma said at a technical committee meeting on polymer and related products, explained that there have been lots of demand for the standard for recycled plastics by stakeholders, the private sector and manufacturers, stressing that for the national policy of the federal ministry of environment to gain ground, it must be backed by standards.

To demonstrate its diversity of engagement in transforming the sector, the European Union recently announced a €30 million sustainable energy investment fund for off-grid solution development in the country. According to Guardian, the world is not on track to meet the 2030 global energy targets, set as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, but real progress is being made in certain areas — particularly expansion of access to electricity in developing countries, especially Nigeria and ensuring renewable energy penetration. The adoption of renewable energy is gaining traction in the electricity sector, although this is not being matched in transportation and heating — which together account for 80 per cent of global energy consumption. While global trends are disappointing, recent experiences in Nigeria offer encouraging signs. There is mounting evidence that with the right approaches and policies, the country can make substantial progress in clean energy and energy access, and improve the lives of millions of its people.

The Regional Off — Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP) will support Nigeria and 18 other countries in West Africa and the Sahel to accelerate access to electricity through the use of Standalone Solar Photovoltaic systems. This was made known by the Ag. Director of the Renewable and Rural Power Access Department in the Ministry of Power, Faruk Yusuf (Engr), while speaking in a workshop organized by the Ministry and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Abuja on Monday October 7, 2019. According to Yusuf, ROGEP which is aimed at providing Nigeria the opportunity to realize its universal electricity access goals is in tandem with the aspirations of the Federal Government as contained in its vision EV 30:30:30 on achieving 30 percent renewable energy contribution to the country’s energy mix by year 2030. Yusuf, who was represented at the event by Samuel Ben Ayangeaor (Engr) said that due to the strategic importance which electricity plays in achieving national development and poverty reduction in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Sahel region, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREE) designed ROGEP with the target to increase access to sustainable electricity services in the ECOWAS region for households, commercial enterprises, public health and education facilities. He stated that the project is funded by the World Bank with co-financing from Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Directorate — General of the International Corporation (DGIS) of the Government of Netherlands with the aim of providing universal electricity to the region by year 2020. The Nigerian Television Authority reports.

According to the Nigerian Television Authority, a 300MW renewable energy power plant has been established and ready to generate power in Lagos. This was revealed when the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Fahad Obaid Al Taffaq, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, in his Office on Tuesday, 8th September, 2019. While speaking during the visit, Mamman reiterated government’s openness to genuine investors especially in the Power Sector. He assured that the Ministry would collaborate with the United Arab Emirates in its areas of investments in Nigeria. While speaking, the Ambassador revealed that the power project is part of the United Arab Emirates’ investment activities in Nigeria, therefore, the 300MW power plant which has the capacity for expansion within a few months to about 1,000mw is ready for take-off in Lagos, to supplement the National grid. Al Taffaq explained that the company had concluded all agreements with Shell Petroleum Development Company for the supply of gas to the plant, he however requested the assistance of the Minister in securing a generation license and tariff, from the Lagos State Government.

Top Celebrities reports that theMinister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has charged the management of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) led by Mr. Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer to do everything with the powers of its newly amended Act to recover the huge debt owed the Corporation by a few individuals and organisations in the country. Similarly, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr Mamman Ahmadu has declared BPP’s willingness to collaborate with AMCON in the quest to recover the debt, which he said will help liberate the economy as well as improve the commonwealth of the nation. The BPP boss said, the bureau has intensified its due diligence process and will ensure that those seeking contract from the government are scrutinised to establish the fact that they are not on the list of AMCON debtors before contracts are awarded. The Finance Minister who made the call in Abuja at the weekend during the quarterly briefing of the Ministry of Finance, attended by agencies under the supervision of the Ministry, while commending AMCON on the national assignment however said she expects a lot more from the Corporation especially now that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the amended 2019 AMCON Act into law, which gives additional powers to AMCON to deal with the obligors. “AMCON must ensure that the debts are recovered before the sunset, which is around the corner. If AMCON at sunset AMCON fails to recover the huge bad loans, the debt will become government problem, which the government is not willing to carry. Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that AMCON recovers the debt from the obligors because it will have a huge positive impact on the economy,” the minister said.

Business Day reports that the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has said the Federal Government will increase its effort at combating piracy in the entertainment industry. A statement issued on Friday by Assistant Director Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Rhoda Iliya, said Keyamo stated this when he received in audience the Abuja Chapter of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), led by its chairman, Prince Alvin Ahmed. He expressed deep concern at the rate artistes lose their intellectual properties through piracy, noting that if left unchecked, the scourge would stunt the growth of Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, the statement said. He assured the Nollywood members that the Ministry of Labour and Employment would collaborate with other government agencies to tackle piracy. By so doing, the intellectual properties would be protected, the industry would grow and more employment would be created. Acknowledging the socio-economic importance of Nollywood to the nation, and its huge capacity at generating employment, the Minister assured the AGN of government’s effort at promoting the industry. He stated that government had made available funds for the industry, and encouraged them to access the funds so long as they could fulfil the conditions attached.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has challenged shareholders of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to work very quickly towards expanding the production capacity of the company beyond Train 7 to take advantage of developments in the global LNG market. According to Premium Times, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, gave the charge Friday in Abuja, during the signing ceremony of a $2.5bn pre-payment agreement between NNPC and NLNG for Upstream gas development projects to supply gas to NLNG Trains 1–6. Kyari said the agreement would help to resolve the issues around gas supply to Trains 1–6, stressing that there was need to fast-track action on the process of bringing more trains on stream. “Here at NNPC, we are thinking beyond Train 7; if your ambition is Train 7”, Kyari challenged the shareholders. He noted that though NLNG has been a huge success as a company, it must go beyond its current achievements and initiate other viable projects capable of generating better return on investment.

The United Kingdom-Nigeria Economic Development Forum has said it is committed to the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Punch reports that the pledge was made in a communiqué jointly signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, and the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for International Trade, Conor Burns, shortly after a bilateral meeting in London on Thursday. According to a statement signed by the Special Assistant to the minister on Media, Julius Toba-Jegede, the two countries promised to work together to promote positive actions in the areas of trade standards, exchange of national goods and services in their respective markets.

In a bid to improve content development of higher institutions in the country, the Executive Secretary of the tertiary education trust fund, Prof Suleiman Elias Bogoro says the Fund is to begin funding and sponsorship of TETFund Centers of Excellence” from the year 2020. Prof Bogoro who stated this during an interface with journalists in Abuja said having provided more infrastructural development in the institution, it was agreed that the fund should sink more resources on the content component of the institutions which include research, library development and journal publication He said National Research Fund of TETFund which has a grant of N50 million is the largest research granting platform in Nigeria, noting that six African countries have come to Nigeria to copy what TETFund is doing in the areas of infrastructural development. TETFund boss also said the students’ population of public institutions is 94 per cent while the private population in private institutions is less than six per cent, a reason he said the government is funding public institutions where there are the majority of Nigerian students, especially children of the less privileged. Galaxy TV reports.

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is to partner with Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) in the development of infrastructure, provision of health facilities and employment creation in the Niger Delta Region. The Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio, CON, said this when the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission Engr. Chidi Izuwah paid a courtesy call to the Ministry on Thursday, 10th October, 2019 in Abuja. According to Senator Akpabio, the collaboration will chart a new future for the region and ensure that the Niger Delta youths do not go back to the Creeks. Adding that it will also help in the reconstruction of accessible roads in the region. The Minister noted that Water Hyacinth has brought a great menace to the people of Niger Delta by killing their aquatic lives, increasing poverty in the region and making it impossible for vessels to navigate the water ways. He added that it has also affected the Education and Security of the region. Akwaibom loaded reported this.