Alhaji Lai MuhammedMinister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that federal government would not allow coronavirus pandemic to stop or slow down the activities of the government.
The Nigeria’s Federal Government has revised the 2020 budget at a total of N10.523 trillion, a difference of just about N71.5 billion when compared to the approved budget. The government also approved $25 per barrel for crude oil as the production is at 1.94 million barrels per day with an exchange rate of N360 to $1
Minister of Finance, budget and national planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed who briefed newsmen today, May 13 at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, said that her ministry submitted a memo to council for approval of the amendments of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for 2020-2022 as well as amendment to the 2020 budget.
“The council has approved our recommendations and the approval has these key parameters.
The crude oil price is approved at $25 per barrel, crude oil production is at 1.94 million barrels per day and then an exchange rate of N360 to $1.
“The revised budget is now in the total sum of N10.523 trillion, a difference of just about N71.5 billion when compared to the approved budget. This is because, as we cut down the size of the budget, we also have to bring in new expenditure previously not budgeted, to enable us adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
She said that in the revised budget, the federal government will have direct revenue of funding the budget of N5.158 billion, adding that the deficit of N5.365 trillion will be financed by both domestic as well as foreign borrowing.
According to the minister, the foreign borrowing are all concessionary loans from the IMF which has already been approved and has crystallized, from the World Bank, Islamic Development as well as Afro EXZIM bank.
“There will also be some drawdown of previously committed loans for major ongoing projects that we will be drawing from both exiting facilities as well as some special accounts with the approval of Mr. President and the National Assembly, and also, revenue that we are expecting to realize from privatization. So the borrowing, the multilateral loans draw down coming from special accounts and coming from the privatization will fund the fiscal deficit of N5.365 trillion that we have in the proposed amendment of the 2020 budget.”
She said that her ministry requested, on behalf of Ebonyi state government, for a loan of $80 million from the Islamic development bank, for the construction of Abakaliki ring road project. “While the federal government is the one borrowing from the bank, federal government will be unlending these loans to Ebonyi State government. We have done our debts sustainability analysis that proves that Ebonyi state has the capacity to repay this loan which is provided on a basis of Libel plus and also long tenure for repayment.
“This Ebonyi ring roads connects 13 local governments in the states as well as the neigbouring cameroon republic. It is a major road that will provide access to the citizens in the state, to farmers, markets and will enhance economic activities in the state. And the neigbouring states will also benefit from this project.”
Zainab Ahmed said that her ministry also got approval for the Nigeria Customs Service to purchase boats which are manufactured here in Nigeria for its surveillance and anti-corruption activities on the maritime waters.
Om whether the government is going to purchase made in Nigeria goods following coronavirus pandemic, the minister referred economic stimulus committee, set up by President Muhammadu Buhari and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, adding that the work of the committee is to develop 12 months economic stimulus plan and that it is at the final stage of that work.
“We have prioritized spending in that plan to use and consume made in Nigeria. For example, some of the public works projects that will employ a lot of our youths is to be done using strictly our raw materials, so we don’t have to import bitumen for example to build our roads.”
The presidency has clarified that recently repatriated Sani Abacha loot, amounting to $311 Million will go towards three of the Federal Government’s five priority projects, excluding the Mambilla power and East-West road projects.
In an earlier statement, the presidency had said that the Mambilla was one of five priority projects to benefit from the $311 million Abacha loot under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
A statement today, May 13, regretting the error, by the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said that although the Mambilla and East-West expressway are regarded under the PIDF as priority projects, they are exempted from the agreement signed between the Nigerian, United States and British territory of Jersey governments.”
According to the document, only the second Niger bridge, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressway, and Lagos-Ibadan expressway will benefit from the repatriated funds. The funds are domiciled in the NSIA.”
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, new chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to serve the president to the best of his ability.
In a maiden brief interview with newsmen today, May 13 at the presidential Villa, Professor Gambari thanked the president for giving him the opportunity to serve him and the country.
Reminding Nigerians that he doesn’t What should Nigerians report directly to the nation, “I report directly to the president,” the chief of staff stressed that what he promised to give to the President are loyalty, competence and support.On what will be his guiding principle as the chief of staff, the experienced diplomat said: “to serve the president to the best of my ability.”
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the new Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, on his seat at a teleview Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting today, May 13, on assumption of duty.
Ibrahim gambari
President Muhammadu Buhari has formally announced Professor Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff, to succeed Abba Kyari who died from coronavirus complications a fortnight ago.
The President, who made the announcement before the commencement of the inaugural virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting today, May 13, also ordered a minute silence in prayer for Abba Kyari and other prominent Nigerians, including former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, late Chief Richard Akinjide, late Halilu Alhassan, former minister of health, Paul Wampana and Minister of State for Public Health during the Second Republic.
Professor Gambari was presented to council by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
Prof Gambari, who was Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), had arrived at the Presidential villa at about 10:40am and was received by Senior Presidency officials, including the Director of Protocol, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed and the Permanent Secretary State House, Mallam Tijani Umar.
Others include the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs, Office of the Vice President, Amb. Abdullahi Gwari as well as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mallam Garba Shehu who all ushered him into the Aso Chambers of the State House, Abuja.
Professor Gambari, who hails from Ilorin, Kwara state, was minister of external affairs under Buhari as a military head of state between 1983 and 1985.
He is currently the founder/chairman of Savannah Center External link in Abuja, a think-tank for research, training and public policy debate on the nexus between diplomacy (conflict resolution), democracy and development in Africa.
His last assignment at the United Nations was as the joint special representative of the secretary general and chairperson of the African Union Commission/head of the UN and AU hybrid mission in Darfur (UNAMID) from January 2010 to July 2012.
UNAMID under Gambari was the world’s largest international peacekeeping mission.
Those at today’s FEC meeting are Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo who offered the opening prayer, minister of Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, ministers of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, information and culture, Lai Mohammed, power, Saleh Mamma, and commerce, Niyi Adebayo.
National Security Adviser, Babagana Mungonu was also present at the Council chambers. Other council members attended the meeting in the various offices.
Shehu Garba
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu has said that he’s not aware of the President appointing Professor Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff.
Leader of an outlawed Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau has sought Allah’s support against a sustained bombardment of his rag tag fighters by Nigerian soldiers, led by General Tukur Yusuf Buratai.
Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni
The Yobe State Government has made it clear that 90 percent of strange deaths in different communities across the state were not caused by coronavirus.
The state commissioner for Health, Dr. Mohammed Lawan Gana, who spoke today, May 12 at a media briefing in Damaturu, th state capital, said that the preliminary report of the investigative team constituted by the state government had confirmed that 90 percent of the mass deaths had no “multiple case definition symptoms” of coronavirus.
According to him, the team arrived at the result after examining and interviewing relatives of the deceased persons and medical personnel who treated them at the hospital.
The commissioner said that 471 deaths were recorded from last week of April to second week of May in Potiskum, Nguru, Gashu’a and Damaturu, the state capital.
“At least 57 percent of the deaths had an underlying chronic illness which included fever, hypertension, diabetes, renal disease, maternal mortality and accident.”
“57 percent of people that died were older people within the aged bracket of 50 years and above and a majority of them were men.
“Relatives of 16 out of the 471 deceased had similar symptoms and all the 16 were investigated and referred to facility. Out of the number, three met the case definition of COVID-19.”.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has announced that it is developing a framework under which grants and long term facilities will be provided to researchers, science institutions and biotechnology firms to develop the Nigerian Vaccine for coronavirus.
This, according to the apex bank, is aimed at encouraging greater research and development in Nigeria of drugs and vaccines that would help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Bank’s Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who made these known today, May 12 at the opening of the Thisday Dome Treatment and Isolation Centre in Abuja, stressed: “if we are to wait for foreign countries to develop their own vaccines, we will be the last in the queue to receive curative remedies for our teeming population.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria today challenges Nigerian scientists at home and in the diaspora to go back to their laboratories and develop a Nigerian vaccine. Once validated by the Health Authorities, the CBN will step in and do the needful for the sake of over 200 million Nigerians now confronted by COVID-19.”
Emefiele said that the country’s inability to accurately predict the extent to which the coronavirus could spread, and how long it would last, required that “we build sufficient capacity within our health system in order to contain the spread of the virus, state by state, city by city and preserve the lives of vulnerable Nigerians. “This requires that we all come together to support the work of the Presidential Task Force in its determination to save lives and stem the pandemic. It is in this regard that I would like to commend the Nigerian private sector, who have come together under the Coalition against COVID-19(CA -COVID) to support the government, by raising funds to procure needed Isolation Centres, medical equipment, etc.
“So far, the CA-COVID-19 has raised up to N27 Billion to fund these initiatives. These donations are being used to build well equipped isolation centres across the 36 states of the federation. The THISDAYDome Testing, Tracing and Treatment Centre being launched today represents a part of the support being provided by the CA – COVID alliance.
“These measures will result in the addition of close to 4,000 hospital beds across the country and will serve as a significant boost towards our efforts at containing the spread of COVID-19. So, CACOVID has equipped and handed over Isolation Centres in Rivers, Enugu, Kwara, Ondo, and Borno States. It is expected that all other Isolation Centres will be handed over in other States of the country by May 23, 2020.
“In a bid to compliment the efforts of the government in providing palliatives to those affected by the containment measures put in place to prevent the spread of the virus, CA-COVID is also providing in-kind assistance in the form of food items to indigent Nigerians across the 36 states of the federation. These efforts are noteworthy as members of the Nigerian private sector havestood up to be counted when it mattered most to our dear country.
The CBN Governor commended the Management of THISDAY Media Group, and their partners, for putting together the team that set up the carecentre, which encompasses testing, tracing and treatment to helpin boosting Nigeria’s capacity to adequately contain the spread of COVID-19 in the Federal Capital Territory and beyond.
He acknowledged that the Buhari Administration has taken all necessary measures to contain the spread, adding that coronavirus has had an unprecedented effect on the global economy, impacting all nations big and small. “Institutions like the IMF have pronounced that the effect on the global economy will be akin to the slowdown experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Global growth is expected to contract to – 3 percent in 2020, down from a positive growth rate of 2.9 percent in 2019 which is effectively a 6% contraction.In Nigeria, our economy is exposed to triple shocks – asupplyshock, a demand shock and a revenue shock. Permit me to state that we are currently faced with a public health and economic crisis of unprecedented proportions, driven primarily by the 55 percent drop in crude oil prices between January and May 2020. This unparalleled shock requires that the Federal and State governments along with the organized private sector, work together to address these challenges in order to preserve lives and restore economic activity and reset the economy of our dear country.
“In a bid to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has implemented several initiatives such as the N50b intervention facility for small and medium scale enterprises affected by COVID-19; in addition to the N1 trillion facility for firms operating in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. We are also working with financial institutions to enable the continuous flow of credit to viable businesses, while putting in place provisions such as moratoriums and restructuring of existing loans under CBN intervention funds that have been provided to businesses. These measures are intended to cushion the effects of the slowdown in economic activity on businesses, while putting them in better stead to help resuscitate economic activity in the country.
Emefiele thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 ably led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, the Federal Ministry of Health led by Dr Osagie Ehanire and Senator Olurunnimbe Mamora, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, and health workers, who are all in the frontline, working day and night to help prevent the spread of the virus.
He also commended the work of the Minister of The Federal Capital Territory Administration, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, the Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu for effective leadership in containing COVID-19 in Abuja, saying: “your efforts are indeed commendable, and I can assure that the Central Bank of Nigeria will continue to work with you on solutions that can help our nation address this public health challenge.”
