Just so you stay ahead of people who don’t visit INFORMATION NIGERIA, we have put together 7 things that went down in the President Muhammadu Buhari government in the past week.
MON 11 – FRI 15 JULY: INVESTMENTS: A number of Nigerian Cabinet Ministers visited London to take part in a weeklong Nigeria Investment Roadshow organized by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in partnership with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC). The Ministers delivered speeches, took part in press conferences, and met with groups of existing and intending investors in Nigeria. Investment opportunities highlighted by the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, included the impending concession of the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano Airports (the four busiest in Nigeria), and the planned private-sector-led national carrier.
WED 13 JULY: LIGHTING UP NIGERIA: The National Council on Power met in Kaduna between the 11th and 14th of July. The Council, established in 2014, comprises is comprised of stakeholders in the electricity supply sector: Minister(s) of Power, Works and Housing, Permanent Secretary, State Commissioners of Power/Energy, CEOs of Power Companies (DISCOs, GENCOs, etc), Donor Agencies, Professional Bodies, Academics, Consumer Groups, and so on). On July 13 Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, accompanied by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, inspected the 215MW dual-fired (LPFO + Gas) power plant under construction in Kaduna. Originally due for completion in 2012, it will now be completed by June 2017.
TUE 12 JULY: AGRICULTURE: Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh received a courtesy visit from the Governor of Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku. During the visit the governor pledged his support for the Federal Government’s planned cattle ranches, aimed at developing the livestock industry and addressing the lingering herdsmen/farmers clashes across the country.
WED 13 – FRI 15 JULY: FOLLOWING THE MONEY: The Ministry of Finance organized a National Retreat on Revenue Generation, with the theme ‘Enhancing Revenue Generation for Sustainable National Development’ in Kano, to generate new ideas for boosting revenue generation to finance the federal budget and to upgrade national infrastructure. State Governors, Ministers, Chief Executives of government revenue-generating agencies, Directors of Accounts and Audits in MDAs, as well as Revenue Officers were in attendance at the Retreat.
THUR 14 JULY: SECURITY: President Muhammadu Buhari paid a one-day visit to Zamfara State to commemorate the 2016 Army Day Celebration. He spent the day in Dansadau, with officers and troops of the Headquarters of the 1 Brigade. He also took advantage of his time in Zamfara to commission a number of infrastructure projects, as well as launch a special army intervention to tackle the menace of cattle rustlers and armed bandits. Zamfara is the state worst hit by the activities of these bandits in Northern Nigeria.
TUE 12 JULY: DATA: The National Bureau of Statistics signed an MOU with the Nigeria Mortgate Refinacing Company aimed at providing NMRC data for evidence-based policy and decision making to support the government’s housing sector development strategy. The data will include numbers of mortgages, expenditure on mortgages, demand for mortgages, housing demand, percentage of home ownership, expenditure on rent, and so on.
THUR 14 JULY: HEALTHCARE: The Federal Ministry of Health presented cheques of $1.5m (~N420m) to each of the 36 States as part of the Saving One Million Lives Programme For Results Initiative. The Saving One Million Lives (SOML) Initiative aims to dramatically improve the health of mothers & children by focusing on the demonstrable improvement of health outcomes, and not on inputs. The Programme for Results component (PforR) supports SOML by providing financial incentives to Fed & State Govts based on results achieved. The States are expected to use the $1.5m primarily to achieve reduced maternal & child mortality, and increased quality of care at Primary Health Care facilities.
Culled from the 10th edition of AsoRock Newsletter
