Aso Villa Reads for 26/11/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
As reported by Guardian, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday received Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, at State House, Abuja. The two leaders immediately went into a closed-door meeting at the President’s mini-conference office. A number of treaties were expected to be signed at the end of bilateral consultations between the delegations of Nigeria and the Netherlands. Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Oji Ngofa, had told NAN that the visit would provide an opportunity to attract more Dutch investments to the country, particularly in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. He said that the Rutte would be accompanied by a trade delegation made up of Chief Executive Officers of Dutch companies already operating in Nigeria as well as prospective investors. “This visit affords us the opportunity to assess the state of our bilateral relations which I believe is very cordial and to also look at all the areas that we have agreed to partner for mutual benefits. “Having this visit for me at this level is very gratifying. It is the best thing to happen to us as a country. “The Dutch have a very powerful and competitive economy; they are the second-largest producers of food and agricultural products in the world.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has started the process to declare Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructures as critical national assets by preparing an Executive Order to stop the lingering issues of multiple taxation and base station site closures amongst other issues which are slowly crippling the sector. Speaking during the demo launch of MTN Nigeria’s 5G technology in Abuja on Monday, Isa Ali Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, said that a draft letter has been prepared, signed by him and sent to the Attorney General of the Federation to review. “The federal government of Nigeria, under the administration of president Muhammadu Buhari is passionate about ICT. Considering the increasing contribution of ICT to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it is only normal that every country values its most important and critical sectors. Today, ICT is one of the most critical sectors we have in Nigeria and the government recognises the situation and challenges that the player are facing. So the president has directed us to take action, and we are making progress in alleviating and removing the challenges,” Pantami said. Stating the steps being taken by the ministry to ensure an enabling environment for players, increased investment in the sector and a level-playing field for all operators, the minister said: “We are working on an Executive Order to declare telecoms infrastructure as critical national infrastructure. “I have sent a signed letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation to review the draft and this is what I call a short- term solution. For the long term, the President has also directed us to facilitate the process of having legislation in place and this is also in the pipeline. We are working to ensure that the environment is very conducive for telcos to do business,” he said. Business Day reports.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday sought the support of the United Nations for the urgent rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons in the country. He said children in particular needed urgent help to be reunited with their parents, else the future would be under threat. Buhari made the call in Abuja when he received visiting President of the UN General Assembly, Prof Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, at the State House. “Most of the displaced children do not know their parents, or where they come from. We have to look at the issue now, properly rehabilitate them, otherwise, we will have a problem on our hands in the future,” the President told Muhammad-Bande. Buhari added that he had confidence in Muhammad-Bande’s “hard work and competence” to deliver on his mandate. According to Punch, the Nigerian President assured the UNGA President that on its part, Nigeria would continue to promote education and provide healthcare services to the population. Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with Buhari, Muhammad-Bande expressed gratitude to the President for also fulfilling his promises to support his office. “Everything that was promised to me in terms of personnel and funds has been given and I therefore have every reason to make sure that at the end of the day, what we promised to achieve, we have achieved them.
The Federal Government has listed higher import revenue, lower domestic fuel consumption and increased rice production by local farmers among the gains of the closure of the country’s land borders in four geo-political zones of the country. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the gains when he visited the Seme Border on Monday, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning Clement Agba, National Security Adviser Babagana
Monguno and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service Muhammed Babandede He said since the closure, the monthly import revenue has increased by 15%, instead of dropping as expected in many quarters, while the local consumption of fuel has dropped by 30%, apparently due to reduced smuggling of the products to neighbouring countries Alhaji Mohammed also said the closure has so far curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, in addition to other prohibited
items. ”There has been an enhanced production and milling of Nigerian rice.
Patronage of Nigerian rice has also increased and farmers are expanding their farms as well as engaging more hands,” he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for a strong, effective and proactive regulation of the electricity market across member states of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by their respective power sector regulatory agencies. He said independent power sector regulators were necessary to ensure quality performance from electricity service providers within the ECOWAS countries. A statement from the ministry of power quoted Buhari to have said this in his address at the 14th Session of the General Assembly of the West African Power Pool (WAPP). The meeting had as its central focus the future prospects in the ECOWAS power market. He was represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the Government of
the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, and explained that for the electricity industry to be taken seriously, regulatory penalties must be applied when necessary to instill discipline in the market. “One major area I would also want to highlight regarding electricity and going forward is regulation. Local and regional regulators in the industry must be strong. It must be firm, effective, proactive, technology and knowledge driven. This is the sure way of deriving quality performance from service providers. Regulation must be taken seriously, and penalties applied when necessary to instill discipline in the entire market,” Buhari said. According to him, ECOWAS countries must also harness, develop and share energy resources within the region with the primary objectives of improving access to steady and affordable electricity for the people living within the region. This Day reports.
Sun News reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved new securities worth N154.62 billion in the third quarter of 2019. The commission disclosed this in its current Nigerian Journal of Securities Market made available to journalists in Lagos on Monday. A breakdown of the figure showed that a total of 15 new securities were approved during the period under review. These, according to SEC, consist of three right issues, one private placement, one offer for subscription, five new offers for registration and five corporate bonds. The commission noted that this was contrary to one right issue, six new offers for registration and three corporate bonds valued at N123.5 billion approved in the second quarter. It added that a total of nine Federal Government bonds valued at N201.86 billion were allotted by the Debt Management Office (DMO) during the period. The commission explained that the figure was inclusive of allotments done on non-competitive basis. “While equal number of bonds were issued in Q2 2019, the amount allotted was N305.55 billion, indicating a decline of 33.93 per cent in value of bonds issued in Q3,” it said.
Guardian reported that the Federal Government yesterday launched ‘The Nigeria Sexual Offender’s Register’ as part of measures to curb gender-based violence in the country. The project, initiated by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), had been endorsed by the European Union (EU) and the British Council. The register allows for documentation of reported, tried or convicted cases of sex violations or abuses nationwide.Sexual violence cases include any conduct that violates, humiliates or degrades the integrity of a person, including assault, exploitation, harassment and intimidation. Yesterday’s event marked the beginning of a 16-day activism against related violent acts in Nigeria.
