Aso Villa Reads for 26/09/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
Daily Times reports that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has said that the commission is resolute in strengthening relations with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other agencies of the United Nations in deepening Nigeria’s electoral process and participatory democracy. Acknowledging previous interventions of the UNDP in Nigeria’s democratic process, the chairman said INEC will continue to provide enabling environment for the global agency to actualise its numerous programmes aimed at promoting democratic norms including conduct of credible elections in the country. Yakubu disclosed this on Wednesday while receiving a team of the UNDP led by the Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Yahaya at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. He said the UNDP has contributed immensely in different activities to build both human and technical capacities in engendering electoral processes in Nigeria, adding that INEC values the UNDP partnership in promoting good governance and participatory democracy. The chairman promised the UNDP resident representative the cooperation of the commission in the discharge of his duties as INEC has always done with his predecessors at UNDP mission in the country. Earlier, the UNDP Resident Representative, Mohammed Yahaya said the visit is to introduce himself to the electoral commission and to seek Prof. Yakubu’s support.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday disclosed that the Federal Government will soon step up advocacy on the issues of hygiene and clean water in the country. The President stated this at a side meeting with former Australian Prime Minister, Hon. Kevin Rudd, at the ongoing 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Buhari recalled that a state of emergency was declared on water and sanitation in November last year, adding: “We have demonstrated the political will. We will step up with advocacy. Increased access to water for everyone is a target.” According to him, Nigeria will have another launch in November this year, to scale up efforts on water, sanitation, and discouragement of open defecation. President Buhari said Nigeria had demonstrated political will on water and sanitation, and would soon step up advocacy on the issue. Hon. Rudd is Global Chairman of Water and Sanitation for All. The President said that at Nigeria’s stage of development, clean water and sanitation were very important for a big country with vast population, “as lots of diseases are water-borne. That is why we spend so much on healthcare and infrastructure.” Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, in a statement said Hon. Rudd told Buhari that his organization supports countries to deal with challenges of clean water and sanitation. “We value the political commitment you have to Sustainable Development Goal 6, and will do all we can to support you,” he added. New Telegraph reported.
President Muhammadu Buhari has warned international criminal gangs to stay clear of Nigeria as his administration will tackle corruption headlong. As the fifth speaker at the ongoing 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA74) in New York, United States of America yesterday, the President said his government will vigorously prosecute a recent attempt by an international organisation, Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID), to obtain $9.6 billion from Nigeria as a judgement debt awarded it by a London court. Already, senior government officials led by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami are in London, United Kingdom to appeal the $9.6 billion P&ID judgement against Nigeria. According to Peoples’ Daily, he said “Organised criminal networks, often acting with impunity across international borders present new challenges where only collective action can deliver genuine results. “This is true in the battle against violent extremism, against trafficking in people and drugs and against corruption and money laundering. The present Nigerian government is facing the challenges of corruption head-on. We are giving notice to international criminal groups by the vigorous prosecution of the P&ID scam attempting to cheat Nigeria of billions of dollars.”
According to Punch, the Nigerian Ports Authority has said that it would partner the Ministry of Works and Housing and other relevant agencies to rehabilitate port access roads to stop gridlocks around the seaports. The NPA Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Usman said this on its ‘Special Day’ at the 2019 Abuja International Trade Fair organised by Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In order to assist the Terminal Operators, Usman said that one of the primary infrastructural requirements for efficient operations at the ports in terms of movement of cargo and economic activities was port access roads. She said that in recent times, the issue of port access roads became very challenging and in order to deal with it the management has been working with relevant agencies and stakeholders. Hadiza, represented by Mr Adams Jatto, NPA General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, described the NPA as a trade facilitator and gateway to the nation’s economy. She said that over 85 per cent of cargo coming into Nigeria and by extension other landlocked countries around came through its seaports. In view of promoting trade and enhancing Small and Medium Enterprises, she said that NPA had remained resolute in its drive to ensure safety, security and customer satisfaction while delivering efficient services. In order to reposition the ports for increased efficiency, the Federal Government in 2006 initiated port concessioning. So far, a total of 23 terminals were concessioned to private terminal operators with lease agreements ranging between 10 to 45 years.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has signed a novation agreement with Nigerian Agip Oil Company on Oil Mining lease 60,61,62 and 63. Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited operates in the Niger Delta, under a joint venture arrangement with NNPC (60 per cent), NAOC (20 per cent), and Oando (20 per cent). According to a report from Punch, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari said at the signing agreement in Abuja, on Wednesday that the agreement will strengthen relationship with its partners. A novation agreement transfers the contractual obligations of one party to a third party or replaces a contractual obligation with another one. All parties involved in this type of contract must consent to the changes. He said that by the agreement the NNPC had transferred its stake to its subsidiary, the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company. “The federation divested its interests in the NAOC/NNPC joint venture and that means we transfer those interests to Nigerian Petroleum Development Company. “The meaning of that is to grow NPDC to become a medium size upstream company that the federation and the NNPC will be proud of,’’ said Kyari. He added that part of the requirement for the agreement was to have the divestment authorized by the Minister of Petroleum Resources adding that a novation agreement was needed to do so. He said that the corporation had issues of lack of assurance that it could deliver on its responsibilities to its partners. He noted that the signing of agreement was a clear sign to convince the partners that NPDC would deliver on its responsibilities.
Punch reports that the Federal Executive Council presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday approved N109.4billion for the construction of Ibadan–Ilesha–Ife and Kano–Katsina (Phase two) dual carriageways. The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this when he briefed State House Correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting held at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa. He said N79.8billion of the amount would be expended on the Ibadan-Ilesha–Ife dual carriageway, while the remaining N29.6billion was for the construction of phase two of the Kano–Katsina dual carriageway, starting from Gidan Mutun Daya to Katsina Rolling Mill, Katsina State. He said the Ibadan –Ilesha–Ife road project when completed would connect Oyo and Osun states. “Ministry of Works and Housing presented three memoranda and they were approved — one, the construction of the Ibadan- Ilesha-Ife dual carriageway that connects Oyo and Osun states for N79.82billion. “The third approval was for phase two of the Kano-Katsina highway from the point known as Gidan-Mutun Daya all the way to where Katsina Steel Rolling Mill is located.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, signed an agreement with Nigeria Agip Oil Company, NAOC, and Oando, for the transfer of NNPC’s stake in three oil wells, Oil Mining Lease, OML, 61, 62 and 63 to its upstream subsidiary, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC. In a statement in Abuja, the NNPC disclosed that the transfer, which was a significant milestone, was geared towards meeting the NNPC’s target of growing the national reserve to 40 billion barrels and improving crude oil production to three million barrels per day by 2023. The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari; Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, NAOC, Mr Fiorillo Lorenzo, and Deputy Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Mr Omamofe Boyo signed the agreement. Explaining the details of the agreement, Kyari stated that the NNPC sought and got the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources for the divestment and transfer of its interests to the NPDC, while all parties signed a Novation Agreement which transferred all the rights and obligations that was formally held by NNPC to the NPDC. He said: “The Federation divested its interests in the NAOC, NNPC joint venture and that means we transfer those interests to NPDC. The meaning of that is to grow NPDC to become a medium-sized upstream company that the Federation and the NNPC will be proud of.” This is reported by Vanguard.
Having received federal government’s nod to join the Coalition of International Identity Day, a report from This Day showed that the National Identity Management Commission, last week led Nigeria to become the first country in the world to formally adopt September 16, as her National Identity Day, writes Emma Okonji Nigeria made history last week, when she celebrated her first National Identity Day(ID-Day) with glamour in Abuja, which was attended by stakeholders from the public and private sectors, including international bodies. According to This Day, the essence was to create awareness among Nigerians on the importance of identification as a modern tool for national development and social cohesion. The ID-Day campaign was initiated at the 4th annual meeting of the ID4Africa Movement on 24 April 2018, in Abuja, as a global coalition calling for the recognition by the United Nations of September 16, otherwise known as 16.9, as International Identity Day(IID), since identity plays an increasingly important role worldwide in developed and developing economies. Before the campaign, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had commenced national identity enrollment and issuance of national identity cards to Nigerians and non-Nigerians with legal residents. Explaining the importance of national identity system, the Director General of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz said: “The purpose of IID is to raise awareness about the important role identity plays in empowering individuals to exercise their rights and responsibilities fairly and equitably in a modern society.”
A British court says Nigeria can appeal against the enforcement of the judgement granting Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) the fiat to size the country’s assets worth $9.6 billion. The court gave the order on Thursday. Nigeria had asked for permission to appeal against the enforcement of the judgement. It also asked for a stay of execution of the arbitral award. But the court is yet to rule on the second request. If the court grants the request for stay of execution — without conditions — Nigeria could have its head above water. Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), led a delegation to the UK to seek a legal solution to the matter on Sunday. This was after building up a case against P&ID in Nigeria. A federal high court in Abuja convicted representatives of the company of economic sabotage and ordered the forfeiture of assets linked to the firm. The judgement of the high court formed part of the grounds of the country’s suit. P&ID had claimed it entered an agreement with the Nigerian government to build a gas processing facility in Calabar, Cross River, in 2010, but that the government breached the contract. It then sought judicial remedy, securing an arbitral award against Nigeria in January, 2017. But the contract has been described as a scam. Michael Aondoakaa, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), said it was not approved by the federal executive council (FEC) under the Yar’ adua administration. The Cable reported.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, SEPLAT, operator of the NNPC/SEPLAT Joint Venture, says its intentions in host communities and other communities in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment, among others, are in line with its mandate to support the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs of the United Nations. To this end, the joint venture, last week, brought succor to community members of its areas of operation and to other indigenes of Imo State, as it holds the 2019 edition of its Eye Can See and Safe Motherhood programmes, the company’s signature Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR health programmes. Speaking at the opening ceremony which took place on September 19th at the Medical Health Centre at Izombe, Imo State, the wife of the Imo state governor, Lady Ebere Ihedioha who flagged the medical outreach open said: “If all the corporate organisations were to tow this route of SEPLAT petroleum today, the burden of underdevelopment and social restlessness particularly in the oil producing areas in the state would be greatly reduced. This programme therefore places SEPLAT Petroleum at the top of the Corporate Social Responsibility in the state, and by extension have won the hearts of our people.” Sweet Crude reports that the Eye Can See and Safe Motherhood Programmes are Seplats CSR initiatives executed annually across the Company’s host communities, with focus on providing comprehensive, quality and free healthcare to members of the host communities and states. These programmes align with the Sustainable Development Goals 3, Health for All and the respective state governments’ aspirations of providing good health for their people.
Guardian reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has sent the 2020–2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper to the Nigerian Senate. Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, announced receiving the framework during Wednesday’s plenary. The proposed expenditure for the 2020 budget is N9.79 trillion. Lawan has also promised early passage of the budget if submitted early to lawmakers. “The documents were received on Wednesday morning and with this, preparation for the 2020 Appropriation Bill is in the top gear,” Lawan said. Some of the highlights of the 2020–2022 MTEF/FSP documents released by the Nigerian Government pegged the projected budget profile for 2020 at N8.7trillion, $55 oil price benchmark as against $60 used for the 2019 budget and 2.1 million barrels of oil production per day as against 2.3 million BPD approved for 2019.
The shadow fighting over right to operate the 35,000bpd Kula oil field known as Oil Mining License (OML) 25 is over. Now, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, is to flag-off the shut down of the flow station located at Belema town. OML 25 is located 50km (of water travel) southwest of Port Harcourt in the on-shore eastern delta and is part of the NNPC/Shell Joint Venture (JV). SPDC and Belemaoil reached deals on September 17, 2019, in Abuja at the instance of the new Petroleum Minister, Timipre Sylva, after the groundwork had been done by Kyari, all to resolve the dispute and plug the daily loss of about $1.9m. Shell got reaffirmation of their licence, which was renewed in November 2018 while Belemaoil got the right to maintain the oil field including right to jobs and contracts; and the communities got huge pay-outs and community development projects. This has led to jubilation in all quarters especially in the community. This is according to Business Day (September 26, 2019 page 35).
