The participation of the Nigerian leader in the Global Education Summit on Financing Global Partnership for Education (GPE) 2021 to 2025 in London, and the indictment by the United States District Court for the Central District of California of a senior Nigerian police officer are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Guardian reports President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria is open to support and assistance from the Commonwealth in diverse areas of needs and challenges,
He spoke during a bilateral meeting, yesterday, with Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, on the sidelines of the Global Education Summit in London, United Kingdom.
Saying Nigeria was doing a lot to address food security through heavy investment in agriculture and also acknowledging the security issues confronting the most populous black nation, President Buhari welcomed the offer of assistance by the Commonwealth scribe.
Baroness Scotland said the 54-member state political association had developed programmes on agribusiness, mostly value addition for young people to get involved, climate change, criminal justice reforms, police reforms and security, inviting Nigeria to benefit from technical assistance that could be provided.
She added that since President Buhari is the Champion for Anti-Corruption in Africa, the Commonwealth has developed anti-graft benchmark tools, and would like to work with Nigeria in both public and private sectors.
Other areas the group could assist, according to the scribe, include countering violent extremism, trade and modalities to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Vanguard says that the United States District Court for the Central District of California has indicted Commander of Force Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kyari in the ongoing prosecution of famous Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Raymond Abass, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
Consequently, US District Judge, Honorable O. Otis, has issued a warrant of arrest on Kyari and five others, to appear before it in the ongoing matter.
Kyari, however, dismissed the allegation on his Facebook page yesterday, saying he never collected money from Hushpuppi.
Meanwhile, social media was awash also yesterday, with Nigerians reacting to the development which many described as a rude shock
Hushpuppi was arrested on June 10, 2020, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, over multiple fraud charges, alongside 11 others, in an operation, tagged ‘Fox Hunt’.
‘’The suspects were accused of committing crimes outside the UAE, including money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, criminal impersonation, scamming individuals, banking fraud and identity theft,” the Dubai Police said.
The Punch reports that the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria has assured members of the public that Bureaux De Change operators are still providing foreign exchange services.
ABCON said while the dollar sale from the Central Bank of Nigeria had helped in enhancing supply, the fact remained that BDCs were empowered to source forex from other sources and also to provide various services to members of the public.
The President, ABCON, Aminu Gwadabe, said this in a statement on Thursday, adding that the recent pronouncement of the CBN did not stop BDCs from providing forex services as allowed by their operating licences.
He said the association would engage with the CBN to address and resolve all the issues that led to the stoppage of foreign exchange sales to BDC operators.
“BDCs are licensed to provide retail FX services, including buying from the public and also selling to end-users for allowable transactions, namely personal travel allowance, business travel allowance, payment of medical and school fees,” Gwadabe said.
The newspaper says that the Federal Government has said that the country need $2.3tn to address for its national integrated infrastructure masterplan.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said this in Abuja on Thursday at a town hall meeting themed: ‘Nigeria’s infrastructure revolution: Road to a new future’, organised by Business Hallmark.
According to him, the 23-year masterplan (2020-2043) is for the development of infrastructure including roads, railway network and maritime sector.
The event was chaired by a former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress and former governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
Mustapha said, “Conscious of the economic disruption caused by 2016 recession and COVID-19 as well as challenges of previous reforms, the Federal Government revised the 23 year (2020-2043) national integrated infrastructure masterplan that identified critical enablers.
“For the 23-year period, $2.3tn will be required, translating to about $150bn annually and the private sector and other partners have to provide 56 per cent, while Federal Government and state governments will provide 44 per cent of the share of the investment.
“The Federal Government has made important strides towards providing much of our infrastructure and has, in recent years, conducted several infrastructural reforms.
The Sun reports that the Federal Government, on Thursday said it has reviewed downward the price of gas-to-power from $2.50/mmbtu to $2.18/mmbtu for domestic supply obligation (DSO).
In his remarks at the 2021 Gas Sector Stakeholders’ Forum themed: Optimising the Economic Development Capacity of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano “AKK” Gas Pipeline Project, in Kano, Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said the decision for the downward review followed a robust negotiation between the Federal Government, Labour and other stakeholders.
“Let me use this medium to announce to this gathering that following the successful negotiation between the FGN and the Organised Labour Unions, and the detailed review of the gas pricing framework in Nigeria, the price of gas-to-power has been reduced from $2.50/mmbtu to $2.18/mmbtu(domestic supply obligation – DSO) with immediate effect.
The outcome of the negotiations and review have been communicated to the relevant stakeholders”. Sylva said the completion of the AKK gas project will further enhance government’s drive towards expansion of domestic gas penetration in the country.
ThisDay reports that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo has called for the sensitisation of the Medium, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enable them benefit from the continental market.
The minister, while commenting on a report on, “Continental Integration and the Nigerian Economy,” during a roundtable on AfCFTA agreement, which was organised by the Nigeria’s Employers Consultative Association (NECA) in Abuja, reiterated the need to fill the knowledge gap on the possible effects of AfCFTA on the economy.
The report was based on the surveys conducted for 1,800 MSMEs in five states, covering multiple sociocultural zones, to evaluate the awareness and preparedness of MSMEs for the implementation of the agreement.
Adebayo said: “The survey results disclosed that the majority of MSMEs are unaware of the existence of the trade agreement, especially smaller businesses. This is an important finding for the nation, as this lack of knowledge will prevent their successful utilization of the agreement.
GIK/APA