Aso Villa Reads for 22/09/2020
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu said the PTF had released N1bn each to 32 state governments for the purposes of driving the COVID-19 response. Aliyu, at the briefing of the PTF in Abuja urged the benefitting states, which he did not name, to use the fund for the intended purposes. He said: “We’ve released money to 32 state governments recently; each state government was given N1bn, for the purpose of driving COVID-19 responses, and we’re asking them to please prioritise testing in addition to surveillance activities linked COVID-19. We urge state governments to please publicize their sample collection locations so that people can access them.” Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the NCDC, the Nigeria Institute for Medical Research and their partners would conduct anti-bodies household surveys in Lagos, Gombe, Nasarawa and Enugu States to broaden the understanding of the burden of COVID-19 infection in the country. Ihekweazu said the survey would provide the best evidence yet, on the extent of COVID-19 infection in Nigeria. Daily Trust reported.
The President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government on Monday opened the portal for its Survival Fund Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, supportive initiatives. The Federal Government said it was set to spend N2.3 trillion to manage the economic fallout of COVID-19 which will help prevent the country from going into a deep recession. The Survival Fund is part of the government’s Economic Sustainability Plan. To register for this initiative, the Federal Government has also provided a portal for entry. Potential beneficiaries are advised to log on to https://survivalfund.ng to complete their registration. The beneficiaries are expected to provide personal registration details; activate their account; register their organization after they have successfully activated their account. CAC Number, SMEDAN Number, Tax ID (optional) and the organisation’s bank account details will be needed. Completing the Payroll Support Registration, beneficiaries’ first name, last Name, Email, mobile number and Password will be required. Also, their Date of Birth, residential address and residential LGA will also be provided.[Daily Post]
The Federal Government says there is nothing new about the National Water Resources Bill now generating controversy across the land, Vanguard reports. Information Minister, Lai Mohamed, made the declaration at a joint news conference with his Water Resources counterpart, Suleiman Hassan in Abuja. Mohammed said the bill contains nothing new but an amalgamation of existing water laws to make it relevant to modern dynamics. The government, he said, has no hidden agenda regarding water resources management and should be seen as such.
The Federal Government says it is reforming and commercialising the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) to address the agency’s teething challenges and reposition it for improved performance. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this known on Monday in Abuja while inaugurating a Steering Committee for the Reform and Commercialisation of the Corporation. He said the federal government has engaged the services of a Business Development Consultant to conduct due diligence on the corporation and sector and recommend a strategy that is suitable for its reform and commercialisation. Mohammed said the NFC, which was established with a mandate to plan, promote, organise and coordinate the development of the Nigerian motion picture industry, has not been able to meet up with its statutory functions. The minister noted that the reform of the corporation will help in the efforts of the government to reposition the nation’s film industry, Nollywood, and make Nigeria the capital of entertainment in Africa. Relying on International Monetary Fund data, Mohammed said Nollywood is the second largest employer of Labour and contributed N893 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015. He said the steering committee is chaired by the minister would consider and approve the recommendations submitted by the project delivery team for the commercialisation of the corporation.[Vanguard]
Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, yesterday said the Federal Government had put in place mechanism to sanction erring violators of safe school reopening guidelines. Nwajiuba disclosed this during a one-day stakeholders meeting with stakeholders from the Northwest zone on the readiness for safe re-opening of schools organised by United Nations Childen’s Fund, UNICEF, with support through UNICEF Girls’ Education Project Phase 3, GEP 3, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO. He said: “Accordingly, the Federal Ministry of Education developed the safe school readiness template for an integrated approach to safe school re-opening which comes with many lessons. The template requires the full engagement of all stakeholders which is considered a sine qua non for successful implementation. It is in view of the above, that the Ministry considers it expedient to hold this stakeholders’ meeting at this time to plan and address the eventual safe re-opening of schools and learning facilities, nationwide. We all know that great accomplishments are made based on synergy. It is on this premise that we are all here to deliberate and adopt the template for safe re-opening of schools and learning facilities. The template has some key roles and shared responsibilities to be played by the stakeholders at National, State, LGA and the school levels.” He added, “We have already put in place a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to check erring states or schools.”[Vanguard]
The Federal Government yesterday said it was spending a total of $49billion about (N1.9trillion) on major ongoing projects across the country with Lagos-Calabar Railway, Eko Atlantic and Lagos Light Rail taking the largest chunk of US $30 billion. According to a report, Lagos-Calabar Railway which is about 1,400 kilometres long, is one of Africa’s most ambitious projects. Others projects include the World Trade Centre costing about $1billion, Lekki Free Trade Zone, $1.2 billion and Mambilla Hydroelectric Power project, $5.8 billion. Apart from these priority projects, other infrastructures slated for completion in the life of the Muhammadu Buhari administration include the 2nd Niger Bridge, Loko-Oweto Bridge across River Benue, Ikom Bridge, the 3rd Mainland Bridge in Lagos, the Murtala Mohammed Bridge in Koton Karfi, Isaac Boro Bridge in Port Harcourt, Chanchangi Bridge in Niger State, linking Niger and Ilorin and the Tambuwara Bridge in Kano among 37 other bridges across Nigeria.[Sun News]
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