Aso Villa Reads for Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2021
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
The federal government intends to end the current subsidy being paid on electricity by the end of the year, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Zakari, has said. He also said that following the recent intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the government was expecting collections on electricity tariffs to hit N100 billion in the short to medium term, adding that the amount it pays monthly to subsidise the sector was gradually reducing. [This Day]
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has taken a step further to achieve the $10 per barrel oil production cost benchmark with the development of the five-levelled Upstream Cost Efficiency Transformation Framework. The model developed by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), the upstream investment arm of the NNPC, detailed a-step-by-step method of driving down the unit operating cost in the oil exploration and production activity. [This Day]
As part of efforts to boost Nigeria’s economic recovery and sustainable growth, the Bank of Industry (BoI) under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has concluded a $1billion syndicated term loan in conjunction with international partners to further support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) in the country. [Sun News]
The Federal Government disclosed a plan to commit $3 billion to the power sector in the next two years. The spending is expected to raise the current 4,900 megawatts (MWs) to at least 7,000MWs. This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Infrastructure, Ahmad Zakari. He noted that besides the $500 million loans the government secured from the World Bank earlier this year, it is expecting another facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB), saying that the gestures are a demonstration of confidence in the reforms of President Muhammadu Buhari administration. [Guardian]
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the list of 47 International Money Transfer Operators (IMYOs) approved to receive foreign exchange remittances from Diaspora Nigerians. According to the list posted on the bank’s website yesterday, 17 of the IMTOs were based in the United Kingdom; 14 in Lagos; 8 in the United States of America; 3 in Abuja;2 in Senegal and 1 each in Ibadan, Morocco and Belgium. [Vanguard]
The National Productivity Centre (NPC) is developing a strategic development plan that will encapsulate the directions of its operations within the next five years. Inaugurating the committee that is saddled with the onerous task of developing the details of the plan in Abuja, the Director-General of NPC, Dr. Kashim Akor, said periodic strategic planning was at the core of the Centre’s mandate. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has inaugurated the reconstituted National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) award committee. [Guardian]
The federal government has paid N1.301 trillion on its power sector Assurance Guarantee in the last four years, LEADERSHIP can now reveal. This is aside the N50 billion monthly electricity subsidy, translating to N600 billion annual subsidy, paid by the federal government to subsidise electricity across the country. Although, the power sector is largely privatised, Leadership learnt that the N1.3 trillion payment assurance guarantee was a deliberate federal government policy to bridge the gap between the cost-reflective and allowable tariffs.
The Federal Government has assured that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery would be functional within 18 months. Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, who gave the assurance, also informed that the government planned to rehabilitate other refineries in the country, insisting that the move was not a waste of funds as believed in some quarters. [Daily Times]
In a bid to curb the rising insecurity situation, President Mohammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi to reintroduce Cargo Tracking Notes, CTN, following the proliferation of arms and increase in banditry across the nation. Buhari, who is shopping for ideas to beef up security in the country, has been convinced that CTN could play a crucial role in enabling the nation address the growing spate of banditry, kidnappings and restiveness fueled by easy access to guns. [Vanguard]
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