Top News Update 05/07/2017
1. N3.57tn borrowed in 21 months to finance budget deficit –FG
2. FG enlists foreign firms to enhance Economic recovery
3. Etisalat appoints new CEO
4. Dangote, others gets N1.1b Afreximbank support
5. NLNG amendment is double taxation for investors’
6. NNPC cannot reduce price of petrol’
7. LASG trains workers in sign language
N3.57tn Borrowed In 21 Months To Finance Budget Deficit –FG
The Federal Government said on Tuesday that it borrowed N3.57tn between June 2015 and March 2017 to finance budget deficits. The government said this in response to an enquiry by The PUNCH, which sought to know what use it had put the funds being borrowed in the last two years from both external and local sources. The enquiry, which was addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, under the Freedom of Information Act, sought to ascertain the specific projects that the borrowed funds were used to execute.
FG Enlists Foreign Firms To Enhance Economic Recovery
The Federal Government is hiring the United States technology giants such as Oracle Corporation and Microsoft Corporation as it steps up efforts to save costs and fight corruption. An initiative led by Redwood, California-based Oracle, has helped the Federal Government to remove 50,000 ghost workers, or fake entries, from the payroll, according to a statement from the Presidency. This followed Oracle’s decision to open an office in Abuja in May. Other companies interested in taking on more work in Nigeria included IBM Corporation and Sweden’s Ericsson AB, the Managing Director of government-owned Galaxy Backbone, which provides technology services to the government, Yusuf Kazaure, said.
Etisalat Appoints New CEO
Embattled telecommunication company, Etisalat Nigeria, has appointed Boye Olusanya as its new after the former Chairman Hakeem Belo-Osagie resigned early this week. Etisalat Group took over Etisalat Nigeria as a result of the telecommunications firm’s inability to repay its debts reaching $1.72 bn (about N541.8bn). On Monday, the company’s CEO Matthew Willsher and Chief Financial Officer Olawole Obasunloye stepped down as part of its transition process.
Dangote, Others Gets N1.1b Afreximbank Support
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed agreements to provide financing facilities totalling $1.11 billion to support African entities engaged in intra-African trade, including $1 billion to the African conglomerate Dangote Industries Limited. The signing ceremonies, held as part of the ongoing activities marking the 24th yearly general meeting of the Bank, are in support of the Bank’s strategy to facilitate the growth of intra-African trade. The terms of the MOU with Dangote Industries Limited provides for credit facilities, “which may be granted by Afreximbank to Dangote Industries Limited and its subsidiaries in an aggregate amount of up to one billion dollars”.
NLNG Amendment Is Double Taxation For Investors’
Making amendments to the Nigeria LNG Limited, NLNG Act would lead to double taxation since gas suppliers to NLNG already pay the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) three per cent levy. The General Manager, Production, NLNG, Tayo Oginni, who made this observation at a news conference in Bonny, Rivers State, said the development is inimical to the progress of the petroleum industry especially when Nigeria should be developing its vast gas resources and attracting foreign direct investments into the country. He noted that after nearly 30 years of false attempts to start the LNG project, it was the enactment of the NLNG Act that made it possible to establish NLNG, and subsequently took the Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) for all the six trains.
NNPC Cannot Reduce Price Of Petrol’
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said that it is impossible for the corporation to bring down the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol due to the high demand of the product in the country. NNPC, which through its strategic intervention has successfully reduce the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) popularly called diesel by 42 per cent, noted that though the corporation has flooded the market with petrol, its hardly enough to bring down the price due to the high demand of petrol in the country.
LASG Trains Workers In Sign Language
The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) has organised training for its workers in sign language, saying people living with disabilities deserve same rights and privileges as those without any disability. The Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, stated this at the opening session of a three-day ‘Sign Language Workshop’ for government officials. She said the training was a way of bridging communication gap between hearing-impaired individuals and civil servants, who provided services to members of the public.
