The confirmation by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, that the construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge is now completed and may be released to commuters by December is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has confirmed that the construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge is now completed and may be released to commuters by December.
He stated this at a press briefing to unveil an end-of-term series entitled “PMB Administration Scorecard 2015-2023.”
The scorecard is designed to showcase the achievements of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, retd,’s administration.
According to him, the only factor delaying the inauguration of the road is the construction of the link road which the recent surge of flooding has impeded.
He said, “I can confirm that the Second Niger Bridge itself is finished. People can walk through the bridge now unimpeded. What remains is the four-kilometre link road on the Asaba side.
“Right now, our dredger is in place, we have to rebuild the road by reclaiming sand, the recent surge of flood has slowed us down. On the Onitsha side, there is a seven-kilometre road that links the bridge and the Onitsha-Owerri interchange.”
“The commitment I made about the second Niger bridge at the retreat was that before this administration goes, it will be fully operational.”
The minister, who showed reels of footage from the bridge reiterated his promise to ensure that the bridge is opened in December due to the high influx of commuters during festive periods.
“What I am targeting is to see if the road can be opened to the public before Christmas and I hope this will be achieved. Opening the road before Christmas will give relief to a large number of travellers who embark on journeys during that period.
Speaking on the impact of the projects, the former Lagos State governor noted that about 339,955 jobs were created in the built sector in the past seven years with 8,352.94km of roads completed while 250,583 road signs have been installed.
The newspaper says that Nigerian students and their dependants in the United Kingdom have contributed an estimated £1.9bn to the economy of the UK in one year, according to an analysis by SBM Intelligence.
The data covered the 2021/2022 academic session.
In the data made available to our correspondent on Wednesday, it was estimated that a sum of £680,620,000 was reportedly paid as school fees with a total of £54.3m paid in taxes by working spouses of the students.
Further analysis of the data also revealed an estimated sum of £41.7m paid as health insurance; £408.37m was paid as rent while a total of £151.26m was paid as national insurance.
The PUNCH had earlier reported how foreign universities abroad profited from the gross underfunding of tertiary institutions in the country.
For instance, Nigerians spent $609.5m to acquire foreign education between January and August 2022. This was based on data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The PUNCH reports that Nigerians have continued to troop in their numbers in pursuit of foreign academic qualifications; for many of them, it is a means of leaving the country.
Recent data released by the Home Office of the United Kingdom revealed that the number of study visas released to Nigerians increased by 222.8 per cent to 65,929 in June 2022 from 20,427 in the same period of 2021.
The PUNCH reports that education in Nigeria, especially in tertiary education, has been marred by industrial actions.
It also reports that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation observed that about 76,338 Nigerians were studying abroad as of 2018, the highest from an African country.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian Government has directed mobile network operators (MNOs) to reverse the 10 per cent hike in tariffs, especially on data services, which they implemented recently.
In a statement, yesterday, signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Reuben Muoka, the telecoms regulator said its board didn’t give final approval for the price adjustment.
Recall that MTN and Airtel had, a fortnight ago, announced a 10 per cent hike in some of its packages, citing rise in cost of doing business in the country and circumstances beyond its control.
For example, 10GB of data, which usual cost N3,000, was adjusted to N3,300.
However, NCC in the statement, said: “The attention of the NCC has been drawn to media reports of unilateral implementation of the recently approved 10 per cent upward tariff adjustments for some voice and data services by the service providers on their networks.
“The consideration for 10 per cent approval for tariff adjustments for different voice and data packages was in line with the mandates of the commission, as provided by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and other extant regulations and guidelines, as this was within the provisions of existing price floor and price cap as determined for the industry.
“The decision was also taken after a critical and realistic review and analysis of the operational environment and the current business climate in Nigeria, as it affects all sectors of the economy.
“Further, even though the tariff adjustment was proposed and provisionally approved by the management, pending the final approval of the board of the commission, in the end, it did not have the approval of the board. As a result, it is reversed.”
According to NCC, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has maintained that his priority is to protect the citizens and ensure justice to all stakeholders involved. As such, anything that will bring more hardship will not be accepted.
The Nation says that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo, has restated the government’s commitment to pursuing the five pillars for the implementation of Nigeria’s National Development Plan (NDP 2021-2025).
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had, to promote sustainable growth, launched the NDP 2021-2025, a medium-term blueprint envisioned “to make Nigeria a country that has unlocked its potential in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable, holistic, and inclusive national development.”
The Plan, which succeeded the Vision 20:2020 introduced in 2009 and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) introduced in 2017, which expired in 2020, was focused on stimulating growth, and investing in Nigerians.
It was also focused on making the economy globally competitive, diversification of the economy, and promoting Micro Small &Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Speaking at the Second Adeola Odutola Lecture/Presidential Luncheon organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos, Adebayo said as one of the key ministries charged with driving the implementation of the NDP, his was committed to pursuing the NDP’s pillars.
He identified the pillars to include creating an enabling environment for industry, trade and investment in Nigeria, intensifying the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), and attracting long-term local and foreign investments.
He said the theme took cognizance of the Federal Government’s cardinal objectives of industrialising and diversifying the economy with a view to increasing manufacturing processing and creating job opportunities.
Adebayo stated that the Ministry remained “a willing partner in ensuring the necessary enabling environment that will further stimulate industrialisation, accelerate domestic and foreign direct investments, as well as ensure that a coordinated and integrated approach to Nigeria’s trade and industrial policy is entrenched.’’
He also said since assumption of office, he has received briefings from departments and agencies under the Ministry, which strengthened his conviction that the Ministry was at the centre of the economy recovery, growth and development.
GIK/APA