The report that the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) has dismissed fears that more Nigerians might face food insecurity is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Guardian reports that the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) has dismissed fears that more Nigerians might face food insecurity.
They pointed out that Nigeria was doing well in the area of agriculture
The National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria, Gloria Akobundu, made the clarification, yesterday, in Abuja, at the closing of a national workshop on the application of Juncao technology and its contribution to the achievement of lasting agriculture and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
The event was organised by AUDA-NEPAD in collaboration with the Division for SDGs of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DSDG/UNDESA), as well as the National Engineering Research Centre for Juncao Technology of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) of China and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
The newspaper says that with a decline in investment inflow and domestic food production challenges aggravated by rising security concerns, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has asked the Federal Government to address insecurity issues for the economy to thrive.
According to the chamber, Nigeria is currently facing a risk of decline due to the perception of Nigeria as having an investment climate that is unfriendly to business.
Citing recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the decline in foreign investment by as much as 81 per cent, NACCIMA noted that a loss of Foreign Direct Investment is just one dimension in which the economy is affected by insecurity.
NACCIMA President, Ide Udeagbala, yesterday, stated that domestic food production is at risk and there is a dimension of insecurity that is contributing to rising production costs and reduced consumption of goods and services.
According to him, the security situation in the country demands urgent and serious attention.
Udeagbala stated that these are uncertain times, necessitating the need for the Federal Government to quickly address the increasing insecurity challenges, poor infrastructure, irregular power supply and increasing inflation rates which have remained a threat to businesses and investments in the country.
Addressing the issues, according to him, will hopefully help to project the country as a safe destination for investment.
The chamber noted that while the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria to raise the Monetary Policy Rate from 13 per cent to 14 per cent is welcomed, it stated that the measure is majorly an inflation management measure and does not address the root cause of the inflation itself, which is rising food prices brought about by a number of factors, including the devaluation of the naira and the cost of energy which has affected production and transportation.
Udeagbala stated that as the private sector awaits the progress of the Presidential Power Initiative, immediate intervention is required in the oil and gas sector which the private sector depends on for production and transportation needs.
The Punch reports that amid a projection by the Federal Government to spend a whopping sum of N6.7tn on fuel subsidy next year and a major shortfall in government oil revenue this year, economic and energy experts have predicted tougher days ahead for the economy, states and Nigerians.
The Minister of Finance, Zainad Ahmed, had on Thursday released the four-month fiscal report of the economy during a public consultation on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework/FSP.
“Crude oil production challenges and PMS subsidy deductions by NNPC constitute significant threat to the achievement of our revenue growth targets, as seen in the 2022 Performance up to April,” Ahmed said.
“Bold, decisive and urgent action is urgently required to address revenue underperformance and expenditure efficiency at national & sub-national levels,” she noted.
Economists and petroleum experts projected that Nigerians, state govts and the economy would experience tougher days ahead going by the numbers.
The gross oil and gas federation revenue for the first four months of 2022 failed to meet the expected target, falling from N3.12 trillion to N1.23 trillion, representing a 39 per cent performance, according to the Overview of 2022 Fiscal Outcomes and Update on 2022 Federation Revenue Performance presented by the finance minister.
Ahmed said the subsidy projection was based on business-as-usual or reform scenarios, noting that the first scenario assumed that subsidy would be retained and fully provided for.
The newspaper says that Super Falcons and Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala on Thursday beat Zambia’s Grace Chanda and Ajara Nchout Njoya of Cameroon to claim the CAF Women’s Player of The Year Award for a record fifth time, while Senegalese superstar Sadio (Senegal/Liverpool) retained his men’s title at the awards ceremony held in Rabat, Morocco, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The award ceremony took place in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday.
Oshoala is now the sole record holder for the most award wins, thus stamping her authority on the continent.
The 27-year-old equaled countrywoman Perpetua Nkwocha’s fourth CAF Women’s Player of the Year Award at the 2019 Awards Gala.
After receiving her record-breaking award, an elated Oshola dedicated the award to her teammates.
“It’s a record-breaking night for me as an Individual and for Africa as a whole. I’ve got five, FIVE!
“I want to thank everyone who helped me out in my career. The 2021/122 season was really tough for me.
“This year made me realise if you don’t fall, you don’t know the power of comeback. Special thanks to my teammates at FC Barcelona and the national team, the best team in the world Super Falcons.
“Also, thanks to my (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick, for always helping us and making sure we can do our stuff on the pitch. I want to dedicate this award to the Super Falcons team, who showed the world their hard work even though they were two women down.”
The Falcons striker was the only Nigerian nominee at the 2022 CAF awards after Falcons’ coach Randy Waldrum, who was originally nominated for Coach of The Year, was dropped from the final shortlist along with Monday Gift, and Super Eagles duo Moses Simon and Akinkunmi Amoo.
GIK/APA