Aso Villa Reads for 19/02/2020

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

Vanguard reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Prof. Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei as the Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Professor Pondei is taking over from the present Acting Managing Director, Barrister Joi Nunieh This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina in Abuja on Wednesday. The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the enlargement of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from three to five. The five members of the committee are now: Professor Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei, who is the Ag. Managing Director, replacing Barrister Joy Nunieh; Dr Cairo Ojougboh, Ag. Executive Director (Projects); Mr Ibanga Bassey Etang, Ag. Executive Director (Finance and Administration); Mrs Caroline Nagbo (Member); and Cecilia Bukola Akintomide, OON, a former Vice President with African Development Bank, (Member). “Prof K.D Pondei, the new Ag. Managing Director, is a Professor of Medicine at the Niger Delta University, and former Provost, College of Health Sciences of the institution.” President Buhari had earlier approved that the Interim Management Committee would be in place till the forensic audit of the NDDC was concluded.

The United Kingdom has expressed its readiness to deepen and strengthen relationship with traditional partners in the commonwealth after exit from European Union. The UK High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Catriona Liang, expressed the country’s desire when she paid a courtesy visit to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje at the Government House, Kano. “I think we are in a very good period at the moment because with the new government in the UK under Prime Minister Boris Johnson we are in a journey of re establishing and strengthening relationship with traditional commonwealth partners in Africa particularly Nigeria. “Nigeria is always important to relationship in Africa, we put our money where we have our biggest mission, we have 500 people working for us, 300 in Abuja and 200 in Lagos and another 30 or so in places like Kano,” she said. According to her, the previous Prime minister visited Nigeria few years ago and that she has been given clear instructions to deepen and strengthen the relationship and partnership. Liang said that one of her major jobs was to follow up to the UK -Africa summit, with focus on commerce and economic side of it. Vanguard reported.

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday his administration would ensure the release of all persons currently in the captivity of Boko Haram and other terror groups across the country and beyond. According to Vanguard, The President stated this in a message he personally signed as part of activities marking the second anniversary of the abduction of 110 students of Government Girls’ Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. President Buhari said: “Two years ago, 110 innocent children from the town of Dapchi were taken, against their will, by terrorists of Boko Haram, 107 survived the ordeal. Today all but one — Leah Sharibu — are returned to their families. “Now aged 16, Leah remains in the hands of the terrorists — they say because she refuses to renounce her Christian faith. “We say, as the government for and of all Nigerians, that no person has the right to force another to change their faith against their will and that all life is sacred. This government continues and seeks to secure the release of all children and captives of terrorists — and we do so regardless of their creed or the name of their creator. As we redouble our efforts for Leah’s return, we can never allow the terrorists to divide us — Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Christian. We are all Sons of Abraham. And all Nigerians have the same worth and rights before the law, and before God.”

Bauchi State Government will soon receive N6bn as 50 per cent release from the Federal Government for the construction of 2,500 units of houses in the state. The state Commissioner for Environment and Housing, Hamisu Shira, stated this while answering questions from journalists on the recent visit of Governor Bala Mohammed to the Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, in Abuja. Shira said according to the Minister of Finance, efforts were on top gear by the ministry to release N6bn out of the needed N12bn to ensure the commencement of the project. He said, “So far, about 90 per cent of the preparations for the take off of the project have been completed.” He noted that the construction of the 2,500 housing units was in line with the policy trust of the administration of Mohammed to the provide affordable accommodation to common the man and civil servants. Punch reports.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said very soon, no government financial transactions will be done in secret as his regime implements various reforms to curb corruption. As reported by Punch, he spoke on Tuesday in Kaduna at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Detective Inspector Course Five Passing-Out Parade. “My resolve is to ensure that the reforms are deepened such that there will be no hiding place for corrupt persons and proceeds of corruption. My aim is to ensure that no government financial transaction is done in secret and all are subjected to public scrutiny. “The objective of this administration is to institute a level of transparency in governance through mainly information technology platforms. Just as advanced democracies and some developing countries, I am determined that within a short period, citizens would be able to follow core government operations online,” his media aide, Mr Garba Shehu, quoted the President in a statement. Giving an instance on how his regime made progress on fiscal transparency, Buhari said the appropriation bill could be accessed online within hours of its presentation in the National Assembly. “The Budget Office of the Federation has been engaging interest groups in the budget cycle. A pilot scheme of 10 Ministries, Departments and Agencies has been test-running online display of their budgets and expenditure movements,” he added.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Monday, disclosed that together with its Joint Venture, JV, partners, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Total Exploration and Production of Nigeria, TEPNG, and Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, it has disbursed $360 million for the clean up of Ogoniland. In a statement in Abuja, the NNPC explained that the disbursement of the fund followed the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP. Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who stated this at the National Assembly, during a presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Environment and Habitat, stated that funding was not a challenge to clean-up of Ogoniland. Kyari, who was represented NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Mr. Roland Ewubare, stressed that NNPC and its JV partners were up to date in their financial remittance to the clean-up project fund based on the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, framework. He said, “Ogoni clean-up is a massive issue and NNPC and its JV partners are ready to fund the project as prescribed by the UNEP Report. We have so far disbursed $360 million out of the $900 million recommended. The disbursement was based on the standards set which required that we release funds based on the implementation parameters of the clean-up exercise.” He noted that though NNPC and its JV partners were not responsible for the implementation of the clean-up, all stakeholders must come together to ensure that the project was carried out successfully. Kyari added that the implementation of the clean-up was very important as the exercise would enable the restoration of land, water and the economic well-being of the people in the area. He decried the misinformation about the Ogoniland clean-up and urged the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, to ensure that the narrative was corrected for the effective implementation of the project. Vanguard reported.

The ongoing border closure by the Federal Government has trigged a higher demand for palm oil in the country, farmers say. Since the shutdown of the country’s land borders in August 2019, farmers and processors of palm oil have seen increased demand for their products. Also, importers of crude palm oil who usually import to neighbouring West African countries owing to lower tariffs and bring it into the country through the land borders under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) are now compelled to import directly into the country, experts say. “The border closure has impacted the palm oil industry positively. Demand from farmers and processors as increased as they are now getting orders from those that ordinarily would not buy from them,” said Fatai Afolabi, executive secretary, Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON). “It has also increased revenue for the government as some manufacturers who import CPO to Ivory Coast and others to bring into the country because of lower tariffs are now importing directly into Nigeria,” he said. The country’s 2019 import data from Malaysia also confirms Afolabi’s statement, as imports for the period have risen by 18.4 percent from 2019 from 242, 388 metric tons (MT) in 2018 to 286,964 MT in 2019, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC). While imports from data from Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo all decrease by 50, 36, 74 and 39.3 percent respectively, the data shows. “The border closure has reduced smuggling of refined vegetable oil by 80 percent, though very little still come in,” Henry Olatujoye, president, Palm Producers Association of Nigeria. “Demand for palm oil since the closure has increased tremendously as manufacturers who use it as a by-product for production are now sourcing locally,” Olatujoye said. Business Day reports.

The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, at the weekend laid the foundation stone for the Institute of Transport and Logistics at the Gregory University, Uturu (GUU) in Abia State. This Day reports that the institute upon completion, will offer specialised transportation courses and is expected to provide specialised laboratories for maritime and oceanography, aviation/aeronautic, designing and construction suites, aerospace engineering, central machining tools centre, railway engineering and simulation rooms. Amaechi said as transport minister, he would be willing to partner and encourage the university in its initiative to educate Nigerians in the transportation and logistics field, taking advantage of the federal government’s development strides in transportation, particularly the rail and maritime sectors. “We will see how we will partner the university in the Ministry of Transportation, especially when we start the construction of the Bonny-Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line. “We are very particular about localising railway technology; that’s why we are training our people in China and even made them to build a transportation university and a wagon Assembly plant here in Nigeria,” Amaechi said.