Aso Villa Reads for 19/7/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
According to PUNCH, “The Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has expressed its readiness to supply 10 per cent of India’s crude oil demand in the face of competing demand for the product from other countries. NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, announced the country’s commitment to continue the supply of crude to the foreign country while speaking at the corporation’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday during a visit by the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur. Kyari stated that Nigeria, through the corporation, would continue to support India’s energy security, adding that the recent Memorandum of Understanding in the area of energy between Nigeria and India would be consummated to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. He said NNPC was desirous of growing the energy cooperation with India and that it was time to progress from just talking to walking the talk. According to him, India was a very important market and NNPC would ensure that the current volume of crude oil supply from Nigeria to India is secured for the collective interest of both countries. Kyari was quoted in a statement issued by the corporation’s spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, as saying, “We are ready to have a robust engagement with the Indian trade team to provide a win-win energy scenario between us. Every trade opportunity that is available will be fully explored.” He noted that there were lots of untapped investment opportunities in the nation’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas and expressed the willingness of the NNPC to aggressively improve LPG infrastructure and consumption across the country. The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria thanked the management of the corporation for the recent renewal of the crude oil term contracts for three Indian companies and called for increment in the crude oil supply in view of the increasing energy needs of India.”
According to THE SUN, “The Federal Government has offered for subscription by auction N145 billion worth of bonds in its July 24 auction, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). The offer circular obtained from its website on Thursday in Abuja, showed it would sell N40 billion of a five year re-opening issue maturing in April 2023 at 12.75 per cent. It would also sell N50 billion 10 year re-opening bond to mature in April 2029 at 14.55 per cent, and another N55 billion 30 year re-opening at 14.80 per cent to mature in April 2049. According to DMO, units of sale is N1, 000 per unit, subject to a minimum subscription of N50 million and in multiples of N1, 000 thereafter. It explained that the bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Nigerian Government, with interest payable semi-annually to bondholders, while bullet repayment would be made on maturity date. Nigeria issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market, create a benchmark for corporate issuance and fund its budget deficit.”
According to THE SUN, “The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Edet Sunday Akpan, has reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government in empowering youth through the establishment of the Trans-national border markets across the country. He disclosed this during a meeting with officials of Niger State Government and other relevant stakeholders on Babaana Trans-National Border market in Abuja. Mr. Edet revealed that the project when completed would bring about benefits to the national policy objectives such as job creation, wealth creation and integration of Nigerian economy to regional markets. “The Babaana Trans-national border market is a noble project which when completed will help in achieving many national policy goals as well as regional and international goals such as sustainable development goals “, he said. He further listed the benefits of transnational border and regional markets to include mainstreaming the informal trade into the national economy, reduction of the incidence of smuggling across borders, encouraging promotion of clusters of trade and services.
Mr. Akpan also stressed that the purpose of Trans-national border trade is to encourage and enhance the role of trade in regional integration, poverty alleviation, wealth creation and generation of employment in the border communities and source of revenue generation to government. The Emir of Borgu, Niger state, Alhaji Sani Muhammed Dantoro, represented by the Waziri of Borg’u, Alhaji Nuhu Saadu, stated that the project will create wealth for his entire community, improve inter trade relationship with border communities.
According to LEADERSHIP, “Federal Government will collaborate with European Union (EU) and UN to end violence against women and girls in the country, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Earnest Umakhihe, says. The permanent secretary disclosed this during Inception Workshop on EU-UN Joint Spotlight Initiative held in Abuja on Thursday. Umakhihe said the joint efforts would address the challenge of Gender Based Violence (GBV), to be steered by the ministry to guide the implementation of programme in alignment with national priorities. He added that “the Spotlight Initiative is a global initiative focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, with emphasis on achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, SDG 5 in particular.” According to him, the programme is vital to the socio-economic development of Nigeria, as encapsulated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). He said “violence against women and girls is endemic and cannot be ignored. It is expressed through harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation, early and forced marriages, coerced sex and psychological abuses, including bullying and harassment. According to him, the programme is vital to the socio-economic development of Nigeria, as encapsulated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). He said “violence against women and girls is endemic and cannot be ignored. It is expressed through harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation, early and forced marriages, coerced sex and psychological abuses, including bullying and harassment.”
According to PREMIUMTIMES, “The Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari, says the fund will train 13,000 Nigerians on 11 vocational skills in order to achieve the Federal Government’s policy on job and wealth creation. Mr Ari made this known in Abuja on Tuesday during a news conference. According to him, numerous vacancies still exist in several sectors of the economy that cannot be filled by Nigerians due to the absence of requisite skills. “In order to address the issue of unemployment and drive President Muhammadu Buhari’s job creation drive, ITF management came up with a list of implementable programmes for 2018. “The programmes are the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration (Training on Wheels), Designing and Garment Making, and Skill Training and Empowement Programme for the Physical Challenged (STEP-C). “Others are Post-Harvest Techniques and Project Development, Aqua-culture/Fish Farming, Manure Production, Crop Production/Greenhouse Technology, Poultry Farming and Training Programme Development on international Marketing,’’ he said. Mr Ari said the training programmes would last for a period of five months, adding that the 13,000 Nigerians that would be trained was like a drop of water in the ocean and called on state governments and other stakeholders to sponsor additional trainees. He said such stakeholders would be required to cover the monthly stipends of the trainees, as well as provide start-up packs for such additional trainees. According to him, they will also offset any allowances for the master-craftsmen that will be retained as a result of the additional trainees.”
According to DAILYTRUST, “The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in combating crime in the Nigerian capital market. The MoU is to also ensure that suspicious transactions are eradicated from the capital market, SEC said. The acting DG of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk who spoke in Abuja during the signing of the MoU with the NFIU, said the collaboration was necessary in order to close ranks in the face of insider dealings, re-awakening of Ponzi schemes, cybercrime and other fraudulent activities that have engulfed the market in the last few years. Uduk said the Commission was paying close attention to digital transactions and was in the process of amending its rules to capture such transactions. The Acting DG disclosed that the Commission already has regulations that prohibits shell companies from operating in the capital market and implored the NFIU to assist with solutions to track suspicious transactions as they occur. In his remarks, Director of NFIU, Mr. Modibbo Tukur, commended the SEC for the relationship that has existed between both organisations. To this end, Tukur disclosed that the NFIU is making efforts to ensure that the financial system is rid of shell companies adding that “
According to DAILYTRUST, “Lake Chad basin governors, the United Nations development programme (UNDP) and other multi-level partners have signed a $100m regional stabilisation facility aimed at ending the humanitarian crisis and scale up the range of stabilisation intervention in Lake Chad Basin. The four Lake Chad Basin countries have welcomed this joint initiative, as part of their own ongoing efforts to secure and stabilize the region. The project was formally ratified on Wednesday night in Niamey, Niger Republic at the ongoing three-day second meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum (LCBGF). The Facility will start operating on the first day of September this year for two years, till 21 August 2021 in the eight affected regions of the four countries of Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. It will serve as a rapid response mechanism to help the local authorities curtail the Boko Haram insurgency by restoring and extending effective civilian security, improve the delivery of basic services and livelihoods. Speaking at the event, the UNDP Regional Director for Africa, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, said: “With the Regional Stabilization Facility, we have a unique and time-bound opportunity and a collective obligation to restore hope to affected populations, especially women and youth who have been most affected by this scourge.” “If we respond appropriately to grievances and end the spiral of insecurity, forced displacements and conflict, the situation in the Lake Chad Basin can be stabilized, and the foundations of recovery and development established.” She also commended the donors for their pledges, saying the contributions show the confidence reposed in the UNDP to run the project and assured of the agency’s determination to make judicious use of the funds.”
According to DAILYTRUST, “The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ecobank on a N70billion portfolio commitment from the bank to Agribusiness projects initiated and de-risked by NIRSAL. The facility will be drawn down in series, with the MOU effectively kicking off an initial N15bn agribusiness financing provision by Ecobank, a statement said yesterday. Announcing the partnership in Lagos after a business meeting with the management of Ecobank, Aliyu Abdulhameed, Managing Director/CEO, NIRSAL Plc, said that Ecobank’s onboarding demonstrates the growing acceptance of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s proposition of NIRSAL as an innovative mechanism targeted at de-risking lending to the agricultural sector and providing a safe climate for highly profitable private sector investments. Abdulhameed stated that “this MOU Signing marks the beginning of collaboration between NIRSAL and Ecobank on NIRSAL’s agri-business initiatives and the development of products that will support lending to actors in the agricultural value chain in conformity with Ecobank’s risk acceptance criteria and credit process. With Ecobank’s commitment of a N70Billion portfolio to NIRSAL’s agribusiness initiatives, the bank and NIRSAL would jointly select and develop projects that will meet the financing needs of actors in NIRSAL’s focal commodity value chains”. Under this agreement, and in line with its Mapping to Markets (M2M) strategy, NIRSAL will identify and refer structured projects to Ecobank to support the Bank’s deal origination and financing operations in agribusiness. On its part, Ecobank will finance the projects leveraging NIRSAL’s Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) which is a further comfort for lenders to agriculture and agribusiness.”
