Aso Villa Reads for 9/07/18
Every day, we bring you the best stories the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria.
“The Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, has upgraded its National Database of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (ND-CCSP), in line with the Ease of Doing Business Executive Order 01. An e-Government document released by the organisation in Abuja weekend, indicated that the initiative would make government contracts more competitive and save time in procurement process. According to the document, the system helps in verifying the credibility and competence of contractors, consultants and service providers, CCSPs, doing or intending to do business with Federal Government of Nigeria. It also helps in categorising and classifying consultants, contractors and service providers based on their capability.” Vanguard reported.
The Sun reports that “the Federal Government has approved the sum of N12.7 billion for mineral exploration data generation for investors and operators in the mining sector. Speaking during an interview with newsmen in Abuja, Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bwari, said the approval was geared towards the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s mandate to create jobs, raise the sector’s contribution to the GDP and promote sustainable mining. Bwari maintained that continuous collaboration with knowledgeable stakeholders in the mining sector would no doubt make the government’s journey on the road to shared mining prosperity faster and more productive. He added that the amount approved cannot cover all the states in the country for mining data generation, which will lead to selection of states for exploration activities based on the approved N12.7 billion by the government.”
“The Federal Government yesterday said the proposed national airline for the country would be unveiled in December, 2018. The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said this in a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Media and Public Affairs, James Odaudu. The minister, according to the statement, made this commitment while receiving the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance from the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Chidi Izuwa, in Abuja. Sirika also expressed satisfaction with the way the Transaction Advisers had carried out their assignments with utmost diligence and timeliness. He assured that the National Carrier that would be delivered would be world class in operation and management. The minister also gave an assurance that the national carrier would not kill the domestic airlines operating in the country.” Thisday reported this.
“The Federal Government, at the weekend, disclosed that all has been put in place to prosecute all illegal commercial water users in the country upon refusal to obtain water use licenses. The Executive Director, Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission, NIWRMC, Reuben Habu, stated this in Abuja, following high revenue loss in the sector.” According to Vanguard “the commission’s boss issuance of Water-Use Licenses to eligible persons and corporate entities for various purposes, in line with the provision of the existing Water Resources Act and Regulations has commenced. Habu stressed that refusal or failure to obtain a water-use license by any eligible person or corporate entity is a clear violation of the law of the land and, constitutes an offence, liable to prosecution in a court of competent jurisdiction.”
“Nigeria’s Cassava output is set to increase threefold as a result of rising demand from China for cassava products, used in food and pharmaceuticals and as a bio-fuel, according to the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association (NCGA). The NCGA plans to increase output to 200 million tons annually on 5 million hectares (12 million acres) by the end of 2021, using a new growing technique and a crop variety that yields an average of 40 tons a hectare, its president Segun Adewunmi said.” Businessday Newspaper (Monday, 9th July 2018, Page 2) reported that “about 60 percent of global exports of cassava products now go to China, after it overtook the EU in 2007 as the leading importer of the source of animal feed, ethanol, industrial starch and syrup used in sweeteners, according to the World Bank.”
According to a report by Businessday Newspaper (Monday, 9th July 2018, Page 42), “trade between Nigeria and the United Kingdom is currently estimated at £4 billion, but the Nigerian-British Chamber (NBCC) expects it to hit £8bn by 2020. Speaking at the annual general meeting of the chamber, Akin Olawore, president of the NBCC, said the chamber was determined to expose Nigerian businesspeople to opportunities in the UK. He pointed out that Nigerian firms had what it would take to compete with UK firms in the own country, stressing the need to improve the business environment in Nigeria to attract more investors. Olawore stressed the need to make processes easier for businesses in Nigeria, especially for new investors, adding that this would boost the confidence of the business community. He stated that the chamber created a strong partnership with the NIPC in 2017, assuring members that the NBCC would continue to provide value for them.”
“Federal Government is considering a law and/or an executive mandate to enable it operationalize a trade remedy infrastructure and contain those key risks that the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) could possibly throw up if Nigeria finally signs the trade deal. Chiedu Osakwe, Nigeria’s Chief Trade Negotiator who disclosed this said that the trade remedies infrastructure was necessitated by concerns raised by stakeholders, particularly industry operators on efficient safeguards that protect the local industries before going ahead to sign the AfCFTA. He also explained that an investigating authority would be key and would be responsible for inspecting, analysing the products coming into it, another component was that government would be scaling up the infrastructure for implementing the rules of origin/agreement for the AfCFTA. Osakwe added that there was a significant nationwide support that Nigeria should go ahead with the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area.” Businessday Newspaper (Monday, 9th July 2018, Page 47) reported.
“The largest indigenous industrial conglomerate in Sub-Saharan Africa Dangote group has announced plans to have an Initial Public Offering (IPO) listing of both its fertilizer and refinery plant. The IPO is the first of its kind in Nigeria and if successful could set the stage for other companies to test the market. The listing of the $2.5 billion fertilizer plant and $10 billion refinery capacity will be done differently as it will cut reliance on international markets for Africa’s largest oil producer, who imports more than 90 per cent of its fuel needs. The IPO is scheduled to commence after next year’s general election (early 2020).” According to Businessday Newspaper (Monday, 9th July 2018, Front Page), “Dangote Refinery is expected to generate revenue of about N3.1 trillion from petrol in a full operating year which was arrived at by multiplying the expected production of 50 million litres a day of petrol by landing cost of petrol of N171 by 365 days.”
