Aso Villa Reads for 17/01/2020
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and security chiefs met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting held a few hours to the take-off time of Buhari’s UK trip today, and it is believed that the key issue on the agenda, is to give an update on the security situation in the country. Buhari will travel to London later in the day to participate in the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit. The summit itself opens on Monday, January 20, but Buhari jets out of Abuja today. Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Thursday, next week. Punch reports.
According to Punch, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has nominated Dr Kingsley Obiora as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, according to a State House statement on Thursday. The nominee’s name has already been forwarded to the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, for confirmation by the Senate. The statement reads, “President Muhammadu Buhari has sent the name of Dr Kingsley Obiora to the Senate for confirmation as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. “In a letter to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, President Buhari said the nomination was in accordance with the provision of Section 8(1) (2) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2007. Obiora, upon confirmation by the Senate, replaces Dr Joseph Nnanna, who retires on February 2, 2020.” It added, “Obiora holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Benin, a Master’s in Economics from the University of Ibadan, and a Doctorate in Monetary and International Economics, also from the University of Ibadan. “He is currently an Alternate Executive Director in the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, United States of America.”
The Federal Government will from February 1 begin the implementation of 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax espoused by the finance law. The law, according to the government, will take effect after all the necessary administrative procedures must have been completed, especially the gazette of the Act by the Federal Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, confirmed the development on Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of the board of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. She said the February 1 commencement date had put to rest every speculation regarding the take-off date of the new VAT regime. As reported by Punch,the minister said once a bill is signed into law, it takes effect immediately, but noted that there were certain administrative procedures and formalities to be finalised before commencement. The VAT increase which is meant to help government achieve its revenue projections for the 2020 budget is a part of the tax reforms included in the 2019 Finance Act. She said with the Act, there would be more revenue to finance key government projects especially in the areas of health, education and critical infrastructure.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced the inclusion of three new laboratories to national yellow fever, measles, and rubella laboratory network. Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general, NCDC, announced this in Abuja. He said before 2019, the center had only four laboratories in the network with no laboratory in the south zone and southeast zone, which affected the efficiency of the center and made disease surveillance a difficult task. He also recalled that in 2017, Nigeria recorded an outbreak of yellow fever in Kwara, 21 years after the last case had been detected in the country and have since continued to record clusters of cases across the country. The DG expressed confidence that the new laboratories will build the capacity of Nigeria in line with global best practices. The three new laboratories according to him are the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu and NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja which will provide primary testing for yellow fever, measles, and rubella. Business Day reports.
The Federal government through the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is to partner the University of Dundee, Scotland to develop a technical committee that will focus on the study of Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Forensics and Information Communication Technology (ICT) for mutual benefits. The Minister of State for Science and Technology, Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi said this on Thursday, when he received the Associate Dean of the University of Dundee, Prof. Mceleavy and the Nigerian chapter of the University’s Alumni association in his office in Abuja. The Minister praised the University for being a top destination of study for Nigerian students from the Undergraduate levels to Doctorate levels. Barrister Abdullahi said the Ministry will tap into the University’s trove of knowledge, because Science, Technology and Innovation is the key to the future. He said that the Ministry would sponsor its scientists to study at the University, which would be of huge benefits to both parties. Vanguard reports.
