Aso Villa Reads for 29/4/2019
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
Punch reports that the “Nigeria Immigration Service on Monday began the issuance of Nigeria passport with 10-year validity. The enhanced polycarbonate passport with 64 pages, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 15, 2019, was embedded with the National Identity Number and costs N70,000. Conducting journalists round the passport office in Abuja on Monday, the NIS Public Relations Officer, DCI Sunday James, said the new document was part of the passport reform approved by the Federal Government to improve the quality and security of the travel document as well as reduce the incidence of damage, counterfeit, and forgery. He explained that it was compulsory for passport applicants to have the NIN, adding that the NIS management had set up a desk at the passport office where individuals could register for NIN. James stated, “The National Identity Number is compulsory for all applicants of the new document. To make it easy for applicants, the Nigeria Immigration Service has provided space for National Identity Management Commission at the service headquarters, Abuja to register applicants and issue to them the NIN. The public are advised not to rush for the new booklet as the new enhanced passport will run concurrently with the old one.”
“The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has approved the construction of a one-million-barrel capacity onshore terminal for Green Energy International Ltd (GEIL), the operator of the Otakikpo marginal field in OML 11 in Rivers State. The issuance of the Approval to Construct (ATC) was sequel to DPR’s review of the detailed engineering design for the onshore crude oil storage facility to be built in the proposed Industrial Park in Ikuru Town, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.” According to Daily Sun “the letter conveying the approval dated April 23, 2019, the regulator (DPR) stated that, “we hereby communicate the approval of the Department of Petroleum Resources to you for the detailed engineering design of one million barrels onshore crude oil storage facility project. You may therefore proceed to the construction and installation phase of the project.”
“The federal government has disclosed that it is set to take delivery of the first batch of 10 coaches, out of the 64 coaches expected from China in June 2019, to reduce the congestion at the Abuja-Kaduna rail line. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, made this known, Monday after leading a delegation to China to inspect the pace of work at the Chinese Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Tangshan Company Ltd.” This Day reports that “a statement by the Director of Press, Ministry of Transportation, Muhammad Idris, in Abuja, said that the minister requested that 10 coaches be delivered to Nigeria latest June to relieve the burden on the Abuja-Kaduna line as well as the Lagos-Ibadan line which will soon be ready. According to him, “We need coaches by June latest. We need coaches that can carry men from one point to another and we need a minimum of 10 coaches now out of the 64. I requested 10 coaches now because we need to improve on Kaduna-Abuja line. If the 10 do not come, there is nothing I can do but it has to come because they have to manufacture for us to use in Kaduna-Abuja and again, Lagos- Ibadan will soon be ready. We also have to ensure that we get coaches that we can be using, pending when they finish the construction of the 64 coaches.”
According to Vanguard “the Federal Ministry of Health with support of the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation and Palladium has inaugurated the Health Facility Registry of Nigeria (HFR) to enhance the quality of healthcare services in the country. The minister said that HFR was an electronic information system that would allow the general public to have access to up-to-date information on health facilities as contained in the Master Facility List (MFL). He said that a master health facility list was a complete listing of all the health facilities in a country with information on the signature and service domain elements. He said that the signature domain provides information on the health facility by location and unique identifier, while the service domain elements indicate the kind of services provided by the health facility.”
“As the Lagos-Ibadan railway line nears completion, real estate investment analysts say there are potentials for expansion and investors are already taking position to tap from the opportunities of capital appreciation of existing investments along that corridor and the door of new estate developments to open on back of the project. Business Day (Tuesday 30 April 2019, page 19) writes that “hinging the prospects of an additional market on the rural-urban migration of professionals, job-seekers and entrepreneurs’ attraction from other states to the heavy commerce commanded by Lagos, the industry stakeholders project that the rate of estate developments along the inter-state rail track will double in the next five years, especially in value. They also bank on the capacity of the infrastructure to give a new lease of life to businesses, entertainments, culture and life that can stimulate high-density development of properties along the line. The toast of real estate industry on the route would be in locations such as Isherri towards Arepo, Asese, Ogere in Ogun state further down towards the big city of Ibadan.”
“The Federal Government has successfully secured the release of Zainab Aliyu the Nigerian student who was arrested in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking”. According to OAK TV, this was revealed “at a news conference by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Abuja on Tuesday. He said the government has been able to establish the innocence of Zainab and the second Nigerian involved in the case, Ibrahim Abubakar. According to him, they will be released tomorrow to the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia. There had been several calls for her release with President Buhari directing the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to swiftly intervene and secure her immediate release. Following the President’s directive, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Affairs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, assured Nigerians that they were making good progress and she will be back, along with 2 others in the same situation. Zainab who is a student of Maitama Sule University, Kano, was arrested after a banned drug, tramadol, was found in her bag.”
Business Day (Tuesday 30 April 2019, page 39) reports that the “Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it would release the report of the 2019 General Election before the end of August this year. Consequently, the electoral body would commence review meetings with various election stakeholders from May. Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this in Abuja on Monday at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Stakeholders Forum on Future of Elections in Nigeria. This, according to the INEC chairman, will include review meetings of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Elections Security, the media, political parties, civil society organisations; retreat with its Assistant Electoral Officers and heads of departments in each of the six geopolitical zones in May. He explained that in June, the Commission would hold retreats for INEC National Commissioners, Electoral Officers and debriefing of selected Collation and Returning Officers as well as meet with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries of the Commission. Yakubu was represented by INEC national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.”
“As part of its efforts at easing the notorious gridlock in Apapa, Nigeria’s busiest port city, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it is perfecting plans to put Lilypond Terminal and Tin-Can Trailer Park into use as temporary parking spaces for trucks coming to both Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports. The Lilypond Terminal, which will be made available to service trucks carrying containers that have business to do in Apapa port, will be open for Business on Thursday, May 2, 2019 while the trailer park, billed to service trucks going to Tin- Can Island Port, will be opened on Friday may 3, 2019. The senate committed on works had, at an expanded stakeholders meeting last weekend, committed to ending the congestion and gridlock in and around Apapa, raising expectations among the traumatised and disillusioned residents, business onwers and port community that a breath of fresh air was undeny.” This is according to Business Day (Tuesday 30 April 2019, page 4).
