The pledge by the Nigerian Government to ensure efficient service delivery to all Nigerians at home and Diaspora, including foreigners and the invasion of Damasak in troubled Borno state by Boko Haram terrorists and wreaked havoc are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
ThisDay reports that the Nigerian Government is now determined to ensure efficient service delivery to all Nigerians at home and Diaspora, including foreigners, the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has said.
The minister made the promise last Monday while delivering a remark tagged: ‘Doing better through self- appraisal’, when he chaired the maiden edition of the quarterly performance review meeting of service providers engaged by the ministry and its agencies in Abuja.Aregbesola said that such review meetings availed the ministry the opportunity to evaluate the achievements and challenges of the service providers, vis-à-vis, its mandate, and thereby strategically helping them to work better, efficiently and fruitfully in a mutually beneficial relationship.
The minister said the focus of President Muhammadu Buhari administration is firmly fixed on the tripod of addressing insecurity in the country, fixing the economy and tackling corruption.
“As you are all aware, the Ministry of Interior is saddled with the responsibility of maintaining internal security and citizenship integrity,” he said.
The Vanguard says that suspected members of Boko Haram on Tuesday evening invaded Damasak, the headquarters of Mobbar local government area of troubled Borno state and wreaked havoc without confrontation.
This time around, the armed insurgents razed down the Divisional Police Command, schools, shops and residential houses as they hoist their flags in strategic locations.
Last Sunday, a group of insurgents invaded Damasak and killed three soldiers, while 6 innocent civilians were killed by an airstrike while participating in a naming ceremony.
The insurgents also razed down most humanitarian hubs and facilities as they looted medical consumables at the General Hospital Damasak.
Damasak is a border community with the Niger Republic north and is about 180 km drive from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Confirming the latest Damasak attack and killings, the Chairman of Mobbar Local Government Area, Mustapha Bunu Kolo, told Vanguard that the latest attack was disturbing, as the remaining humanitarian hubs in the town were razed down, including Police Station, Market, shops and residential houses.
The Punch reports that the manufacturing sector’s intervention funds disbursed by the Central Bank rose to N803bn as of February.
Figures obtained from the CBN reports on the Monetary Policy Committee revealed this on Tuesday.
“Under the N1tn manufacturing intervention stimulus, the total of N803.36bn has been disbursed to 228 projects across various sectors in agro-allied, mining, steel production and packaging industries, among others,” it stated.
In May 2020, the CBN introduced guidelines for the implementation of the COVID-19intervention facility for the manufacturing sector.
It stated that the intervention facility was to support the Federal Government’s palliative measures to support beleaguered manufacturing enterprises in priority economic activities.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday announced a 37.21 per cent decrease in cases of pipeline vandalism across the country in the month of January 2021.
It announced this in a statement issued in Abuja by its spokesperson, Kennie Obateru. It said a total of 27 pipeline points were vandalised in January 2021, down from the 43 points recorded in December 2020.
The NNPC said it was continuously working in collaboration with the local communities and other stakeholders to reduce and eventually eliminate the pipeline vandalism menace.
To guarantee energy security, the corporation said it supplied a total of 1.44 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol in January 2021.
This, it said, translated to 46.3 million litres of petrol supplied daily across the country in the period under review.
The Sun reports that with over 186.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, Nigeria has Africa’s largest gas reserves and accounts for about 2.8 percent of the world’s total gas reserves.
This also places the country the ninth largest globally. According to a report on investment climate released to Daily Sun yesterday, the natural gas reserves are made of approximately 49 per cent associated and 51 percent non-associated located offshore and on shore.
“There is a gross potential of 11, 250 MW of large hydro power plants with only approximately 17 per cent harnessed. Likewise, only about 2 per cent of the resources have been harnessed.
Solar radiation intensity ranged from 4.0 kWh2/day in the south to 6.5kWh/m2/day in the north. Wind speed varies between 2m/s and 4m/s across the country with the lower speed experienced in the hinterland while the higher speed is experienced in coastal areas and the far north part of the country.
The Guardian says that the stakeholders in the and energy sector have raised concern about Nigeria’s energy outlook, insisting that unless the country addresses critical challenges that limit private sector investment, sustainable energy development may remain a mirage.
Nigeria faces a critical challenge in attracting investments that would have unlocked the enormous energy inadequate electricity, gas and refined petroleum products cripple economic growth and push millions into poverty.
But heads of key energy ministries/agencies, lawmakers and other stakeholders, who converged on an international energy summit in Abuja, yesterday, believe that energy sufficiency and sustainable economic growth could be achieved in the sector if the private sector plays its role.
Stakeholders in the and energy sector have raised concern about Nigeria’s energy outlook, insisting that unless the country addresses critical challenges that limit private sector investment, sustainable energy development may remain a mirage.
Nigeria faces a critical challenge in attracting investments that would have unlocked the enormous energy inadequate electricity, gas and refined petroleum products cripple economic growth and push millions into poverty.
|
|
|
GIK/APA
