The report that the number of Nigerians in extreme poverty now stands at about 102 million and the insistence by anti-SARS protesters on extensive police reforms and the prosecution of culpable officers of the disbanded police outfit are the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Vanguard reports that there are indications that Nigeria’s poverty level may have further deteriorated as the latest reports of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, shows a 10 percentage point rise in the number of the extreme poor in the country against the 2019 report of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
NECA’s report says that the number of Nigerians in extreme poverty now stands at an estimated 102 million, representing 50 percent of the Nigeria’s estimated population of about 205 million, as against the 40 percent reported by NBS in October last year.
This comes at the backdrop of the World Bank forecast that global extreme poverty is expected to rise in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years as the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the forces of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing down progress in poverty reduction efforts around the world.
Financial Vanguard’s findings from the data obtained from NECA revealed that the total number of people living in extreme poverty in Nigeria now stands at 15 percent of the total number of people living in extreme poverty world-wide.
ThisDay says that following the dissolution of the dreaded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, the #EndSARS campaigners have insisted on extensive police reforms and the prosecution of culpable officers of the disbanded outfit.
The IG has, however, promised to constitute a new investigation team that would involve Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and human rights groups in the conduct of investigations into human rights violations.
The IG, who spoke yesterday at a media briefing in Abuja where he announced the formal dissolution of SARS, said a new policing arrangement would be put in place to fill the gap created in order to reinvigorate the fight against armed robbery, kidnapping and other criminalities.
The dissolution followed widespread protests across the country over extra-judicial killings, extortion and general human rights abuse by the SARS police unit.
The Guardian says that gunmen, at the weekend, killed 12 persons and injured eight others in two separate attacks at Kidandan and Kadai villages in Giwa local council of Kaduna State in northern Nigeria.
The survivors said the assailants, who were in droves, cut down three lives and wounded four on Friday at Kidandan community before proceeding to eliminate nine others and inflict injuries on four the next day in Kadai settlement.
A source said: “Twelve people were confirmed dead, while eight were injured during the attacks.”
He added: “The attackers came in large numbers. They besieged Kidandan Friday afternoon, killed three people and wounded four, while on Saturday night, the gunmen killed nine at Kadai village and four were in critical condition.”
The Sun reports that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that the Nigerian banking sector issued N18.9 trillion credit in the second quarter (Q2), 2020, compared to N18.56 trillion in first quarter (Q1), 2020 and N15.44 trillion in Q2, 2019.
“This represents 1.82 per cent increase in credit quarter-on-quarter and 22.38 per cent year-on-year. While Lagos State recorded the highest credit by geographical distribution with N14.92 trillion, accounting for 78.94 percent, Yobe State recorded the least with N13.8 billion, accounting for 0.07 percent in Q2 2020.
According to the information obtained from NBS website, in Abuja, the total number of individuals who registered for National Housing Fund (NHF) in 2019 stood at 220,935, while a total amount of money given out as mortgage loans stood at N77.61 billion in 2019.
Similarly, the bureau said that a breakdown of borrowers in the banking industry showed that the total number of borrowers increased by 47.35 percent to 2.59 million in 2019 from 1.76 million recorded in 2018, while the number of credit facilities increased by 55.54 percent to 3.18 million in 2019, from 2.04 million recorded in 2018.
The Punch says that the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has identified four shipping companies responsible for the gridlock caused by heavy duty trucks on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
The organisation said the action of the companies had severally led to negative economic consequences at the Tin-Can and Apapa Ports.
The MWUN specifically accused the companies of deliberately keeping their trucks and their containers as means of attracting demurrage payment daily from their already overburdened members, truck owners and their drivers.
A statement issued on Sunday evening by the President-General of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, therefore issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal and Lagos State governments within which they should call the companies to order.
The Nation says that the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) has inaugurated two new state-of-the-art Mobile Harbor Cranes (MHCs) and two Reach Stackers worth $15 million at the Onne Port, Rivers State.
With the acquisition, WACT boasts of four MHCs. At the inauguration, WACT Managing Director, Mr. Aamir Mirza, said the equipment were acquired as part of the terminal’s $100 million investment.
“Our equipment and infrastructure upgrade are the key enablers for WACT to better serve her customers. Our cranes shall offer improved and higher productivity, which means shorter port stay of vessels, resulting in saving to our liner customers. We are able to handle the next generation and larger gearless vessels.
“This investment will include the deployment of reefer racks having 600+ plugs, a new workshop, larger powerhouse and 20 Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes. All of this will result in more efficient operations and shall enable customers to take delivery of their cargo much earlier,” he said.
GIK/APA