Aso Villa Reads for Wednesday, Mar. 31, 2021
Every day, we bring you the best stories that the Media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria
The federal government has declared Friday, April 2, and Monday, April 5, as public holidays to mark the 2021 Easter celebrations. The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration urging Christians to emulate the attributes of forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, humility, love, peace and patience, which were demonstrated by Jesus Christ. The minister appealed to them to use the occasion of this year’s Easter Celebration to pray for the Peace, Unity, and Progress of our country.[Guardian]
The Federation Government is set to create 30,000 jobs through the Community Safety and Human Security Programme (CSHSP) initiative to reduce crimes and violence across the country. Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, George Akume, yesterday, made the disclosure at the inauguration of a 22-man committee of CSHSP, Nasarawa State chapter.[Sun News]
The Federal Government, Tuesday, disclosed auctioning of bitumen blocs across the country to investors in the third quarter of 2021.
This was made known by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite. According to Adegbite, after adequate data have been gathered from some bitumen sites government will go for auctioning of the mineral in the third quarter of the year, which will give opportunities to investors to locally develop the bitumen industry. [Vanguard]
Minister of interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has launched a new automated fast passport processing centre aimed at eradicating challenges citizens face in the acquisition of passport in Nigeria. The centre, Maitama Passport Express Centre (MPEC) in Abuja which was established in partnership with IRIS Smart Technology is to run on premium service delivery to Nigerians who desire to obtain passport within 24hours after successful applications. While commissioning the centre, Aregbesola said the establishment of the passport processing centre was in accordance with the Executive Order 1 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017 designed to aid ease of doing business in Nigeria and in response to the yearnings of Nigerians to ease the stress of passport processing and administration. [Leadership]
As part of efforts to ensure Nigerians are aware of the deadly Tuberculosis (TB) disease, especially the fact it is curable and treatment and test is free, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) of the Federal Ministry of Health, held a medical outreach programme in Lugbe community of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The outreach was to commemorate 2021 World Tuberculosis Day, Chairman of 2021 Tuberculosis Day Committee, Dr Ayodele Awe, said: “We are here to increase awareness on TB. No one needs to die from TB. We are here to tell everyone about the signs and symptoms of TB. Any cough for two weeks is suspected to be TB. [The Nation]
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Federal Government is leveraging the innovative capacity of Fintechs to accelerate interventions, especially those under its Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP). Prof. Osinbajo stated this at the weekend during the official launch of the Nigeria Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Fintech Hackathon organized by Financial Centre for Sustainability Lagos (FC4S Lagos), Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC), Access Bank, and AfricaHacks. According to the Vice President, “this is incredibly powerful for our efforts at resolving the climate crisis; transitioning to cleaner energy but also it introduces a tremendous opportunity for Fintech companies for payments systems.[Daily Times]
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday launched ‘The Decade of Gas in Nigeria’, and announced a full commitment to gas revolution for economic diversification and industrialisation. He also commended Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) which has over the years generated $114 billion in revenues, $9 billion in taxes, $18 billion in dividends to the Federal Government and $15 billion in Feed Gas Purchase. [Business Day Pg7]
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda has described the non-interest capital market sector in Nigeria as one that is unique and full of potentials to facilitate the objective of deepening the financial system and spurring the growth of the Nigerian economy. Yuguda, according to a statement by SEC on Monday stated this in an opening remark during a 4-day Executive Programme on Non Interest (Islamic) Capital Market Products and Basic Accounting Treatment organised by Islamic Financial Services Board, IFSB, based in Malaysia, and the Auditing and Accounting Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, AAOIFI, based in Bahrain. [Vanguard]
President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, ordered the security chiefs to identify bandits, kidnappers and their sponsors with a view to bringing them on their knees. He warned that a situation where criminals dictate the pace during engagement would no longer be tolerated by his administration. Briefing newsmen after an emergency meeting with the President, intelligence chiefs, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), disclosed. [Guardian]
The African Union and Johnson & Johnson have agreed on a supply agreement that could provide Nigeria and other African countries an alternative to COVAX supplies now threatened by India’s ban on the export of AstraZeneca vaccines. The deal announced on Monday would bring 400 million doses of J&J single shot to the continent starting from the third quarter of 2021, apart from earlier arrangements with other pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca Plc, Pfizer Inc. and Russia’s Sputnik vaccine makers.[Business Day]
