The extension of the partial lockdown by two weeks and the negative impact of Nigeria’s compliance with the oil production cut by OPEC are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Vanguard writes that the Nigerian Government has announced an extension of the current partial lockdown of the country, saying the time is not ripe for it to relax its containment protocols against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, who announced this on Monday in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Taskforce said that “the reality is that in spite of the modest progress made, Nigeria is not yet ready for full opening of the economy and tough decisions have to be taken for the good of the greater majority. Any relaxation will only portend grave danger for our populace“.
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The Punch reports that a global credit ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, has said Nigeria’s compliance with the oil production cut deal led by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will lead to deeper economic contraction and fiscal deficits.
It also said the development would compound pressures on external finances as a result of the slump in oil prices. The ratings agency stated on Monday that the country’s foreign exchange reserves would fall to $23.3bn by the end of 2020 from $38.6bn in December 2019.
The newspaper also said that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have agreed to spend over N1 billion on the quarantine and feeding of over 3,000 Nigerians awaiting evacuation in foreign countries.
The two organisations are expected to share the over N1 billion cost of hotel accommodation and feeding of the returnees for 14 days on arrival in Nigeria amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Punch also reported the Nigerian government says it is targeting about five million jobs for farmers through the €995m agricultural mechanisation programme. The initiative was aimed at boosting food security for the country. Under the initiative, it added that facilities comprising tractors and other agricultural machineries were expected to be leased out to Nigerian farmers.
ThisDay reports that the Nigerian government has said that for now, the Covid-19 has not affected the demand for gas, and that the final impact of the virus was still uncertain. The government, however, noted that outbreak which has impacted oil demands and prices offered Nigeria an opportunity to prioritise its gas market, adding that if stakeholders worked hard, gas could replace oil as the country’s main foreign exchange earner.
The Nation newspaper says that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated N338.94 billion was generated as Value Added Tax (VAT) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020. The NBS made this known in its latest Sectoral distribution of VAT data for Q1, 2020 released yesterday.
It stated that the amount recorded in Q1 was more than the N308.48billion generated in Q4, 2019 and N293.04billion in Q1 2019, representing 9.87 per cent increase Quarter-on-Quarter and 15.66 per cent increase Year-on-Year.
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GIK/APA
