Aso Villa Reads for 25/08/2020
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has declared a renewed commitment towards furthering the interest of stevedores as captured in the 2014 Stevedoring Regulation, This Day reports. Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this in Lagos during a courtesy visit by the leadership of the National Association of Stevedoring Companies (NASC). Jamoh pledged to work more closely with the NASC to improve the working conditions of dockworkers in the country. He sought closer partnership between the agency and NASC, and greater involvement of the stevedoring companies in the ongoing effort to amend the NIMASA Act. “We understand our responsibility towards the dockworkers and we are committed to ensuring that their rights and welfare are safeguarded at all times. Our recent directive to registered stevedoring companies, via a marine notice, to mobilise to their work locations and commence operation is in line with that commitment. NIMASA is, as always, willing and available to assist dockworkers. We remain committed to facilitating an enabling environment for stevedores to operate, and thrive. As an agency, we need deeper partnership with the stevedoring companies and, indeed, more participation from you in the current effort to amend the NIMASA Act and realise a more robust law that works for all of us. But we also urge the NASC to be more proactive in communicating challenges you face to facilitate more timely interventions by the Agency.”
The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, a company under the federal ministry of communications technology, incorporated for the provision of fixed satellite services has been under severe pressure in the last few years and has been rendered useless and unprofitable, however the federal government is still holding on to it with no plans yet to privatise the company and allow it to adequately revolutionise ICT in Nigeria. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Nigeria’s minister of communications and digital economy, has said that due to security factors, the government is reluctant to privatise the company. “NigComSat was playing a significant role in the security strategies of battling threats to the country including the war against terrorists,” Pantami said. NigComSat’s efforts to be the leading satellite operator and service provider in Africa by exploiting the commercial viability of the country’s communication satellite(s) for its socio-economic benefits has been futile, as it hasn’t generated expected revenues and telcos operating in Nigeria still spend billions of dollars on satellite services from foreign companies. Business Day reports.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced a total crude oil and gas export receipt of $378.42 million in June 2020 as against $133.16 million it posted in May 2020, signalling a marked improvement in revenue earnings apparently following the ease of the COVID-19 pandemic global lockdown and the subsequent increased demand and firmer prices for the black gold in the international market. The NNPC in a release by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Kennie Obateru, on Sunday explained that petroleum receipts for the month reflected crude oil earnings of $230.65 million, with gas and miscellaneous proceeds standing at $75.97 million and $71.80 million, respectively. According to Business Day, the corporation explained that details of the earnings were contained in the June 2020 Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) of NNPC, which it noted,is the 59th edition in the series. The report puts total crude oil and gas export receipts for the period June 2019 to June 2020 at $4.60 billion. According to the monthly report of the downstream sector, in order to ensure continuous supply and effective distribution of petroleum products across the country in June 2020, 1.34 billion litres of white products were distributed and sold by NNPC’s downstream subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a figure significantly higher than the 950.67 million litres of white products sold and distributed in May 2020, again an apparent reflection of the gradual ease of the lockdown in the country and the pick-up of business activities. A breakdown of the June 2020 figures indicated that over 1.3 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 5.10 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and 1.65 million litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) were sold and distributed during the period. White products sale for the period June 2019 to June 2020, the report disclosed, stood at over 19.104 billion litres, with PMS accounting for over 18.9 billion litres or 99.36 percent.
Managing director of Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Adesoji Adesugba has emphasised the need for effective collaboration between the government and private sector towards the promotion of investments such as the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) operated by the Tolaram Group, Business Day reports. Adesugba stated this during NEPZA’S visit to the zone, which is the first privately owned special economic zone in Nigeria with an integrated deepsea port. The LFZ is home to several brands including Kellogg’s, Dano Milk, Power Oil, Colgate, BASF. The NEPZA’S visit started with a detailed presentation by the LFZ business development and marketing manager, Chinju Udora, before progressing to site visits of the Lekki Deep Sea Port and the Power Oil manufacturing plant. Lekki Port, which is set to be fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2022, is seamlessly integrated within LFZ to connect it to regional and international routes. Lagos free zone remains committed to enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria. The central processing centre that currently hosts agencies including the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and NEPZA facilitates a single window system to meet all registration and day-to-day operational needs of businesses. Critical ancillary facilities such as ready-built standard industrial facilities, warehouses, emergency response medical facility, dedicated truck pack and logistics support enable a cost-effective and hasslefree operational environment for businesses.
The attention of the Debt Management Office (DMO) has been drawn to a report in the Vanguard of Saturday August 22, 2020 titled “Alleged N1.08bn corruption scandal hits DMO”. The DMO hereby states unequivocally that the story is false, full of lies and the documents referred to in the Vanguard’s report have been twisted and distorted with the intention to misinform the general public and discredit the institution. The Vanguard story is not a true representation of the dealings in the DMO. It should be noted that the DMO is an accountable, transparent and responsible organization that works in accordance with laid down civil service procedures and it is highly regarded by Multilateral Agencies and financial institutions as a reputable Government Agency. The sponsors of the story are disgruntled elements who have not only breached the Civil Service Rules but have also contravened laid down procedures for dealing with official matters. These officials have resorted to illegally leaking official documents due to their recent redeployment, have colluded with other disgruntled persons who have failed in their attempts to control the running of the affairs of the DMO, which has blocked their ability to pilfer public funds. The story referred to documents that, on their own, are incomplete and do not reflect the whole story or the purpose of any transaction. The claims that events and travels by officials of the DMO either did not take place or did not hold are false and an attempt to discredit the impeccable records of the organization. These speak to their desperation to give the institution a bad name.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who is also the Visitor to the University of Lagos, has appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Channels Television, Mr. John Momoh, as the acting chairman of UNILAG Governing Council. This is contained in a letter dated August 21, 2020 and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono. The letter titled, ‘Emergency Meeting of the Governing Council of University of Lagos’ with reference number FME/PS/606/C.1/III/129, called on Momoh to convene an emergency council meeting with a view to approving the nomination of the Acting Vice-Chancellor for the university. The letter read in part, “I am directed to request you to convene an emergency meeting of the governing council to consider and, if found suitable, approve the Senate nomination of the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos in line with the enabling Act. You are to preside at the meeting in the absence of the substantive pro-chancellor/chairman of council who has had to recuse himself in line with the visitor’s directives. You are to also submit a report on the decision of the council to the visitor through the honourable minister of education immediately thereafter.” A spokesman for the Minister of Education, Mr. Ben Gong, also confirmed the authenticity of the letter to The Punch.
The Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, says the Federal Government has started considering full reopening schools. Nwajiuba said this during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja, monitored by our correspondent(Punch). Though he said no date has been fixed yet for full schools’ resumption, the minister urged protesting students to “be patient with FG”. He explained that the government had continued to engage stakeholders, some of whom have expressed readiness to resume fully. Secondary and tertiary institutions in Nigeria were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 19, 2020. The minister expressed optimism that the date for resumption was “around the corner”. He disclosed that he and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, met some stakeholders in tertiary education on Monday on the issue. Nwajiuba said about 78 privately-owned universities were insisting that they were ready for resumption while the response from government-owned universities was still “50–50.” He said that after aggregating opinions, he would return to the PTF to review the situation and then go ahead to make a pronouncement.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria on Monday announced that it had created two new work centres, one each in Katsina and Jalingo under TCN’s Kaduna and Bauchi regions respectively. It said the work centres were created to further decentralise its services to improve the company’s operational efficiency and ensure more proactive solutions to interface issues within the Kaduna and Yola Distribution companies’ franchise areas. The General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Ndidi Mbah, said the new Katsina Work Centre had three transmission substations. “The work centre equally has a proposed 2x60MVA 132/33kV transmission substation at Mashi LGA, which is yet to commence. Katsina Work Centre receives supply through the Kano 132kV lines 1 and 11,” she stated. The TCN officials said the new Jalingo Work Centre in Taraba State, on the other hand, receives supply through the Yola sub-region transmission substation at 132kV level. Punch reported.
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