Aso Villa Reads for 18/06/2020
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
Determined to check the importation of fake and substandard products into the country in line with established protocols, the Federal Government is concluding plans to operationalise the National Single Window project as well as deploy scanners at the nation’s seaports before the end of the year. The Single Window, a port community portal and functional scanners at the ports, would ensure that lead agencies such as Nigerian Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority and Nigerian Police Force would be brought under one platform, and there would be little or no need for routine physical examination of cargo by additional agencies at the ports. Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, stated this on Monday at an investigative hearing on the incessant influx of fake, substandard and counterfeit products into the country, organised by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Commerce; Industry; Information; National Orientation; Ethics and Values. According to him, this will significantly improve cargo turnaround time at our ports, promote efficiency and transparency, thereby removing the corruption opportunities that fuel the entry of substandard goods into the country, and enhance Nigerian ports’ competitiveness in the West African region. Business Day reports.
The Federal Government has perfected a plan to concession 10 major highways in the country. The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, stated this on Wednesday while presenting details of the plan to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works. He told the lawmakers that the project titled, “Highway Development and Management Initiative,” was anchored on a private sector engagement. According to Punch, the minister said investors would carry out the development and management of the road networks. He said the rationale behind the private sector engagement was to provide an avenue to mitigate paucity of funds. Fashola said the first phase of the project would attract a capital investment of N163.32bn at a cost of about N16bn per each of the 10 roads. He also said about 23,322 jobs would be created in the first phase. The roads are Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kaduna-Kano, Onitsha-Owerri-Aba, Shagamu-Benin, Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga, Kano-Maiduguri, Lokoja-Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba. He said the investors are expected to provide streetlights, toll plazas, rest areas, and weighbridge stations.
The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee on Wednesday at its virtual meeting shared to the three tiers of government a total sum of N547.31bn as federation allocation for the month of May. FAAC’s virtual meeting was chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, according to a statement issued by the ministry in Abuja on Wednesday night. The ministry stated that from this amount, inclusive of Value Added Tax, exchange gain and excess bank charges recovered, the Federal Government received N219.8bn; states, N152.44bn; Local Government councils N114.1bn. Oil producing states received N37.02bn as derivation (13 per cent of mineral revenue). “However, cost of collection/Federal Inland Revenue Refund/Allocation to North-East Development Commission was N23.958bn,” the statement added.” The statement added that the distributed statutory revenue of N413.95bn received for the month was higher than the N370.41bn received for the previous month by N43.54bn. Punch reports.
President Muhammadu Buhari has told the Service Chiefs that their “best is not good enough” in view of the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria. The National Security Adviser, retired Major General Babagana Monguno, who briefed State House reporters on Thursday after a meeting with service chiefs, said President Buhari was concerned over the current security situation. Monguno said the President told the service chiefs that his administration came to power on the promise to tackle the security challenge, revive the economy, and deal with the scourge of corruption. He said the pursuit of economic growth and the war on corruption would be an “exercise in futility” without security. He said the President had told the security chiefs that he would not accept any further escalation of the current situation as no one among them was forced on him. Monguno said the President said it was left for the service chiefs to live up to expectations. Daily Trust reports.
The Federal Government has begun the disbursement of the April and May hazard and inducements allowances to healthcare workers apparently to persuade members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to suspend the indefinite nationwide strike they embarked upon on Monday. According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Deputy Director and Head of Press and Public Relations, Charles Akpan, Minister for Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, stated this in Abuja at the end of a meeting between the Federal Government and members of (NARD). He disclosed that the meeting ended on a positive note as the government side had shown evidence to the Association of the payment of the hazard and inducement allowances. The Minister said, “We have paid those allowances since last night and it was directly paid into the account of recipients. So, we are hopeful that between the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) office and the Central Bank, before the end of 24 hours, the accounts of the health care workers would all be credited for April and May. “The payment is not for only Resident Doctors, but also for consultants, nurses, pharmacists, physiologists, mortuary attendants, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) centres attendants, and all health care workers in COVID-19 designated hospitals and all Federal Medical Centres in designated states”. Business Day reported.
