Aso Villa Reads for 23/8/18
Every day, we bring you the best stories the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria.
This Day reports that “Vice-President, Professor, Yemi Osinbajo, has called for increased financing in the power sector to improve the number of prepaid meters that the Distribution Companies (Discos) need to deploy in Nigeria’s households as well as the economy”. According to Vice President Osinbajo, “there is need to bridge the financing gap which he said has to change so that the local meter manufacturers, the discos and the end users can benefit maximally. He expressed confidence that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is putting measures in place to bridge the funding gap in the deployment of more prepaid meters to household, “and without a doubt, it is not just a potential anymore, we are faced with the pleasant realities. But in metering, we are way ahead in manufacturing locally.”
“The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 12,939 victims across the country since its establishment in 2003. The Head of Press and Public Relations of NAPTIP, Mrs Stella Nezan said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, that the figure was released by NAPTIP Director General, Ms Julie Okah-Donli.” Daily Trust reports that “Okah-Donli who said that the figure was as at June 2018, made the revelation in a paper titled “Mass Exodus of Youths and National Development: A Case of Nigeria — Libya — Europe Migration Trend.” The paper was presented at the 16th Ika Ka Mma Annual Lecture organized by the Onu Ika Socio-Cultural organization, an umbrella organization for the Ika nationalities of Delta. She noted that out of the number, 822 were from Delta, with many from Ika community. “This figure comprises of 84 from Ika South and 48 from Ika North East. From NAPTIP’s record, Ika South has the highest number of rescued victims in Delta state, followed by Ugheli North”.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has pledged to increase its production to 20,000 megawatts by 2021. Mr Usman Muhammed, TCN Managing Director/CEO, gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the installation of a 1×60 MVA transformer at the 132/33kV Transmission Substation in Akure. NAN reports that the capacity of the substation prior to this installation was 120 MVA. The additional transformer has raised the capacity of the substation to 180 MVA, with many communities in Akure and its environs expected to experience a remarkable improvement in power supply. Mohammed said that the installation of the transformer was in line with the policy of the Federal Government to expand and stabilize electricity in the country.” Business Day (Thursday 23 August 2018, page 7) reported this.
According to Daily Trust “the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Europe (NIDOE), Mr Kenneth Gbandi says the organisation will partner with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for the registration of its members. Gbandi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that the partnership was to create a database for Nigerians in Diaspora”. According to the Chairman, “they want to register all Nigerians in Diaspora and were keying into NIMC, which is the agency mandated to register Nigerians. He said the purpose was to know the number of NIDOE members, their professions and locations to create a human resource pool needed for homeland development.”
“President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday expressed delight over Nigeria’s steady progress toward food sufficiency. The president made his feelings known when he fielded questions from newsmen at his private residence in Daura, Katsina State, where he is celebrating Eid-el-Kabir”. Business Day (Thursday 23 August 2018, page 6) reported that President Buhari thanked Almighty God for the bumper harvest being recorded across the country. “I hope the rainy season will be as good as the previous ones so that there would be plenty of food so that we may even completely stop importation of food items,’’ he said. According to Mr President, “the development is a major boost to the agricultural policies of his administration.”
“Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and German Equipment Manufacturers Association (VDMA) have formally opened the Train-the-Trainer (Didactic & Rhetoric) Course (ToT) under the Dangote VDMA Initiative on Technical Education & Vocational Training (TVET). The programme which took place in Dangote Acadamy Complex, Obajana, Kogi State, is a culmination of a project, which started on February 10th, 2016 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DIL and VDMA, a statement from Dangote Group said yesterday. Daily Trust reported that “the statement said the two parties had expressed their desire to promote and enhance technical vocational education and TVET in order to develop a skilled workforce in Nigeria.”
Business Day (Thursday 23 August 2018, page 7) reported that “he Federal Government has given the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) permission to provide electricity to rural areas, using hybrid solar systems, which would be procured using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Chidi Izuwah made this known in a statement. According to him, the commission has issued an Outline Business Case (OBC) and Full Business Case (FBC) compliance certificate for the project. Izuwah said that the compliance certificates issued by the ICRC meant that the project proposal as presented by the REA was economically viable and of huge benefit to the country. “In support of this noble objective of government, we in the ICRC today issued a joint OBC and FBC compliance certificate to enable the REA commence a pilot long term PPP. “The focus will be on providing affordable and economically rewarding hybrid solar power to some rural communities.”
