The suspension of the planned resumption of federal schools and the plan by Access Bank to buy Zambian bank are the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government has put on hold the planned resumption of federal schools. It also stopped students from participating in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations scheduled for between August 4 and September 5 this year.
Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu, disclosed these to State House Correspondents at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.
But the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Emeka Nwajiuba, had during the press briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday, announced that the
2020 WASSCE conducted by WAEC would hold between August 4 and September 5.
The newspaper also reports that the Nigerian Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sealink Promotional Company Limited on the use of Ajaokuta jetty landing port.
It said the MoU would enhance government’s bid to develop the economy and diversify the economy.
The Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development said it was executing the project in conjunction with the Nigeria Export Import Bank.
It disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Edwin Opara, which was entitled, “MMSD Signs MoU with Sealink on Ajaokuta Jetty as Landing Port.” The ministry said the project was geared towards utilising the commercial value of the jetty and effective usage of the waterway.
The Sun newspaper says that four domestic airlines resumed operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (2), Lagos and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) on Wednesday, June 8 amidst low passenger patronage.
The domestic airlines that operated included Arik Air, Air Peace, Max Air and Ibom Air, which flew on Lagos-Abuja routes with about 50 to 60 percent load factor, as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) also approved flight operations for Dana Air and Aero Contractors.Daily
Sun investigations showed the airlines kept to the flight distancing protocol of the NCAA with Arik Air Lagos-Abuja flight departing at 7:15am while Max Air left at 11am.
Most of the airlines flew with about 60 percent capacity as Arik Air carried 78 passengers on its Boeing 737 aircraft which normally carried an average of 150 to 200 passengers.
The newspaper also reports that Nigerian government has issued the first ever Nigerian National Standardisation Strategy (NNSS) 2020 – 2022.
The Strategy was developed by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to identify priority areas to focus on, based on national needs assessment.
In addition, its Governing Council also approved 168 new standards for publication and dissemination to various sectors of the economy in furtherance of the Federal Government’s economic diversification policy.
This came to light after the agency’s virtual meeting, in Abuja chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo. Sani-Gwarzo stated that the document is accompanied by a National Implementation Plan that gives orientation for national standardisation work within the three year duration.
THE Nation newspaper reports that Access Bank Plc has commenced an exclusive discussion towards full acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited, a Zambia-based financial institution.
According to the report, Access Bank is seeking to consummate the acquisition through its Zambian subsidiary, Access Bank Zambia Limited.
In a regulatory filing yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Access Bank stated that it has entered discussions to acquire 100 percent equity stake in Cavmont Bank Limited from Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia Plc, the sole owner of Cavmont Bank.
While the discussions on the merger have reached advanced stage, Access Bank stated that there is no certainty yet on agreement or terms of the transaction, urging investors to exercise caution when dealing on its shares.
ThisDay newspaper says that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) paid about N1.7 trillion to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), between February 2019 and February 2020.
The figures from its full monthly financial report revealed that the NNPC also remitted N148.53 billion to FAAC in February 2020. In dollar terms, the NNPC noted that it recorded a total export of $370.69 million in February, a decrease of 14.75 percent compared to the previous month.
It added that crude oil export sales contributed $281.14 million (75.84 percent) of the dollar transactions compared with $336.65 million contribution in the previous month; while the export gas sales amounted to $89.55 million in the month.
GIK/APA