The report that the Nigerian Government on Tuesday announced its readiness to use gas to fast track Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda and the approval granted to MTN to takeover of the construction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway at over N202.8bn under the road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government on Tuesday night announced its readiness to use gas to fast track Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, announced this at a dinner with the diplomatic community in Abuja, as he noted that gas was the only single energy source that could help Nigeria diversify the economy.
Nigeria has a proven gas reserve of 206 trillion cubic feet with a potential upside of up to 600TCF.
Sylva said, “Energy is the basic resource for national socio-economic development and it must be secured at all times.
“As a result of its rising impact on national security and economy, the need to safeguard energy and ensure availability, reliability and affordability has made energy diplomacy an essential part of every country’s foreign cooperation.
“It is important to stress that Nigeria’s vehicle of choice on the energy transition journey is natural gas. Much has been done towards harnessing this huge potential to provide the energy needed for our growing population in terms of power generation, transport, feedstock for industries and clean cooking solutions.”
The minister stated that Nigeria’s energy poverty amidst enormous natural resources in the oil, gas and mining sectors was disheartening
The newspaper says that The Federal Executive Council, on Wednesday, approved MTN’s takeover of the construction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway at over N202.8bn under the road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this to State House correspondents shortly after this week’s council meeting chaired by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to Fashola, the approval followed Executive Order 7 signed by the President in January 2019.
This, he said, would enable the telecom giant to complete the dualisation of the 110-kilometer road.
Under the same scheme, the Council approved the Umuchi-Ususu-Umueme Road in Abia State for construction by GZ Industries at N4.2bn.
He explained that “the Ministry of Works and Housing presented two memoranda and they are largely PPP based memoranda. In January 25, 2019 specifically, President Buhari approved Executive Order 7, which was the road infrastructure tax credit scheme, to allow private sector to invest tax liabilities in advance in infrastructure, and that policy has helped us to finance roads like or by Obajana to Kaba, Apapa-Oshodi, Oshoki-Ojota Expressway, the Bodo-Bonni expressway in Port Harcourt, about 1000 kilometers covering 21 roads under the NNPC investment. So, there is an increased optic for that policy. Today, we have two more.
“The first that was approved is the one by MTN Nigeria Plc to take over and complete the ongoing Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. That road is 110 kilometres, which is being dualised. So, you have 110 kilometers times two.”
The Punch also reports that the Nigerian Debt Management Office, DMO has offered three Federal Government Bonds, which are valued at N225 billion for subscription.
This disclosure is contained in a circular on the website of the DMO’s office.
The bonds include; 14.55 per cent, April 2029 FGN Bond, a 12.50 per cent, April 2032 FGN Bond and a 16.24 per cent, April 2037 FGN Bond.
The Debt office said the bonds opening date for the auction is slated for Oct.17 and the settlement date is Oct.19, with original tenors of 10 years, 10 years and 20 years
The office explained that “The bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum subscription of N50 million , and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.”
“They qualify as government securities within the meaning of Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act; and for Tax Exemption for Pension Funds Administrators, among other investors,” the DMO added.
They are qualified as assets for liquidity ratio calculation for banks, therefore, listed on NGX Limited and FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
The Guardian says that the Federal Government has expressed concern over recent statistics by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), showing that 19.4 million Nigerians across 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory are food insecure.
The analysis carried out by FAO at the beginning of the year also revealed that two million children across the country suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, disclosed this in Abuja at a media briefing to kick-start the World Food Day celebration.
He stressed the need to be concerned over the current indices but urged Nigerians not to panic, saying the Federal Government is doing all it can to mitigate the food challenge.
He attributed the crisis to COVID-19 lockdowns, the Russia-Ukraine war, which has slowed the movement of raw materials, especially fertilizer, and flooding occasioned by climate change.
The minister said: “Some of you might think COVID-19 is gone but the havoc it wreaked in the last few years is still here. Up till today, a lot of supply chain routes have not opened up.
“I just came back from the United States. I have been to different supermarkets; you will see empty shelves because up till now, they have not been able to get all the raw materials they need.
“I flew over Panama in South America when I went to Brazil about five weeks ago. I saw tons and tons of ships at the Panama Canal, waiting to pass through to deliver supplies. So, the havoc caused by COVID-19 is still there.”
He, nevertheless, affirmed that there is no food shortage in the country, saying: “We know that we have some issues of insecurity. Production has dropped. But it is not significant enough that we should have a shortage of food. We don’t have shortage of food in Nigeria at this point. I want to make sure there is no shortage. But prices have risen.”
The newspaper reports that the Federal Government, yesterday, debunked the report released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), saying Nigeria has one of the highest figures for out-of-school children globally. UNESCO had in a report last month, revealed that Nigeria, with the challenge of insecurity and kidnapping of school children, has 20 million out-of-school children.
But Director, Senior Secondary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, faulted this claim, yesterday, during an annual summit of the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN), saying efforts put in place by the government, such as the Basic Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), among others, have contributed to the drastic reduction of the alleged 20 million figure.
Quoting the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, Abdulkadir disclosed that only 2.8 million school learners are out-of-school.
“The security situation in the country has had a domino effect on the literacy level of Nigerians as insurgency also destroyed 497 classrooms and left 2.8 million school learners in need of education-in-emergency support.”
Representative of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Tokunbo Wahab, who is the Special Adviser on Education, sought collaborative efforts in addressing the challenges making children drop out of school.
The Chairman of EWAN, Mojeed Alabi, said the theme, ‘Towards Safe Schools in Nigeria’, was chosen to draw attention to the importance of safety of stakeholders in schools.
Meanwhile, over 100 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists eight years ago in the Northeast have been neglected by the government, Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), also known as Chibok Community, has said.
The community said the release of the remaining Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims last week showed that government has abandoned them, including their children that were abducted in school.
GIK/APA