Aso Villa Reads for 3/09/18
Every day, we bring you the best stories the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
“The Presidency has disclosed that Nigeria and China are set to sign the National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase 11 (NICTIB 11) between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) at the cost of $328 million facility provided by the Chinese EXIM Bank. Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping will witness the signing. Shehu explained that the bank facility is for the development of NICTIB 11 project which is consistent with the current administration’s commitment to incorporating the development of ICT into national strategic planning under the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).” The Sun reported.
Punch reports that “the United Nations has said it will provide assistance to no fewer than 6.1 million people affected by the Boko Haram crisis in the North-East before the end of 2018. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon, stated this at a conference in New York tagged, ‘Strengthening the humanitarian and development partnership in the Lake Chad region’. Meanwhile, the Federal Government says it has developed a $6.7bn robust plan of action for the comprehensive reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of the north-eastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, represents an ambitious humanitarian cum development initiative on the part of a national government.”
“The Federal Government has set aside $1.3bn (about N468bn) from the National Sovereign Investment Fund to finance five critical infrastructure projects. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Sunday. The minister said the five ongoing projects to benefit from the funds included the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway construction, the second Niger bridge and the East-West road construction. The other two are the Abuja-Kano Expressway construction and the Mambilla power project.” According to Punch, “the minister said the administration had completed the reconstruction of the failed Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road which had been abandoned for over 10 years. The minister identified the 69 Federal Government ongoing projects in the South-East region, adding that the administration was miffed by the false allegation that the region was abandoned in infrastructure development.”
Business Day (Monday, 3rd September 2018, Page 19) reports that the “British Prime Minister Theresa May, who visited Nigeria last week took time to assure the Nigerian business community that the United Kingdom was ready to do business with Africa’s most populous country. But beyond the fanfare, May’s visit has some implications for the Nigerian business community, which is predicated on the fact that May’s entourage included executives of some of the companies willing to do business with Nigerian local firms. Some are private enterprises, while others are government institutions. This, according to those close to May, is an indication that the British government is ready to facilitate bilateral business between the two countries.”
“In recent weeks, a total of over N6 billion inflows to Nigerian Fintech start-ups has ignited hope and belief that the 80 percent financial inclusion goal of the Central Bank of Nigeria is not far fetched. The recent funding of credit start-up mines of about N3.96 billion, Pay stack of over N2.4 billion and Recycle Points impressive performance in a competition to spur financial inclusion innovation in Nairobi has been a step in the right direction with a positive ripple effect on financial inclusion in the country.” According to Business Day Newspaper (Monday, 3rd September 2018, Page 36), “a venture capital expert explains that the funding rounds and good performance will boost investor’s apathy in the Nigerian Fintech market and this will lead to the emergence of more start-ups who will look to tackle the problems of financial inclusion in the rural areas which is filled with a lot of opportunity.”
“Market share of foreign airlines operating in Nigeria has continued to increase over absence of code-share agreements and the governmrnt’s approval on multiple destinations” Business Day Newspaper (Monday, 3rd September 2018, Page 43) findings show that “In a recent data released by African Aviation Services Limited, foreign airlines operate over 300 frequencies weekly into and out of Nigeria, which shows an increase of about 22 percent from about 220 weekly frequencies foreign airlines operated two years ago.
“The recent visit of both the British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, may have opened several new investment opportunities for Nigerian local businessmen, especially in the micro, small and medium scale segment. Among the several benefits promised by the British government, in what has been described as a week of harvest for Nigeria, is the promise of partnership for the Nigerian Businessmen in a new investment portfolio worth £70 million, aimed at creating over 100,000 jobs in Nigeria, towards enhancing poverty alleviation. Theresa May used the opportunity of the visit to announce a new paradigm shift in spending relationships with Africa, beginning with Nigeria. The new policy will see more long-term spending in the areas of economy and security.” Business Day (Monday, 3rd September 2018, Page 45) reported this.
“In accomplishment of some of its core mandates, Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Services (FCT-IRS) has registered no fewer than one million unique taxpayers in Abuja. These include 10,130 taxpayers carried forward from the Joint Tax Board Tax Identification Numbers, 800,000 taxpayers based on data in National Identity Management Commission database and other sources such as work-in taxpayers based on Bank Verification Numbers. FCT-IRS has also issued over 11,000 Tax Clearance Certificates for enterprises and individuals and visited majority of the key taxpayers to create awareness and creating electronic files for submitted taxpayers.” So writes Business Day (Monday, 3rd September 2018, Page 47).
According to Business Day (Monday, 3rd September 2018, Page 47), “the Federal Government has inaugurated a 17-member National Addressing System (NAS) Committee considering its role towards national Planning and Development. Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu who inaugurated the committee stated that the establishment of a well articulated National Addressing System (NAS), which is simply overdue, is predicated on the importance and role it plays in National Development beyond the primary aim of mail delivery. While stating that the National Addressing Infrastructure is strategic for National planning and development, Shittu added that a standardized addressing infrastructure and database is indispensable in locating residents of the country.”
