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Osinbajo briefs Buhari

Osinbajo briefs Buhari on implementation of economic sustainability plan

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By Tanko Mohammed

President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, received  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who updated him on the progress so far in the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

Osinbajo’s spokesman Laolu Akande in a statement said it was the duo’s first official meeting for the year.

Buhari had in 2020 mandated Osinbajo, as chair of the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC), to coordinate the implementation of the ESP aimed at cushioning the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vice president said that three months into the implementation of different components of the ESP: MSMEs Survival Fund; Social Housing Scheme, and Solar Home System, among others, Nigerians across different sectors had been impacted.

He said that under MSMEs Survival Fund, more Nigerians had received Payroll Support payments, Artisans and Transport Grants.

“For the Payroll Support track of the Survival Fund, a total of 277,628 beneficiaries drawn from 56,575 businesses have now been paid.

“This total number includes the batch of 20,614 beneficiaries recently paid for October, and 257,014 beneficiaries that were paid for November and December.

“A breakdown of the 257,014 beneficiaries shows that N30, 000 each was paid to 222,466 beneficiaries as November and December payments while N50, 000 each was paid to 34,548 beneficiaries as November and December salaries.

“Out of the total number, three per cent are beneficiaries with special needs, while 43 per cent are female employees/beneficiaries.’’

Osinbajo said that the enumeration of prospective beneficiaries for the Transport Support Track, which was launched in Dec. 2020, was still ongoing.

According to him, payment of N30,000 each one-time grants to 333,000 artisans across the country is in progress with payments already made to verified beneficiaries in states under streams 1, 2, and 3.

He listed the states as FCT, Lagos, Ondo, Kaduna, Borno, Kano, Bauchi, Anambra, Abia, Plateau and Delta under stream 1.

Others are Taraba, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Edo, Ogun, Ekiti, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Enugu, and Ebonyi under stream 2.

Also, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Niger, Imo, Oyo, Osun, Jigawa, Gombe and Benue under stream 3.

The vice president said that the Solar Home System aimed at connecting five million households in off-grid and underserved communities to electricity was ongoing.

“The process of installing N140 billion Solar Home System that will cover up to five million households has begun and serve about 25 million individuals in rural areas and urban communities has begun with the enlistment of solar assembling companies and components manufacturers as well as solar servicing firms.

“Under the scheme, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will make available funds to private companies involved in the manufacture, installation, servicing of the solar systems, at rates ranging between five and 10 per cent.

“An important aspect of the scheme is the option of outright ownership by beneficiaries at a cost ranging from N1,500 per week to N4,000 monthly depending on the capacities, for a period of  years.’’

He said that construction, under the Social Housing Prototype Units launched in FCT, was set to start in 12 states.

According to him, the plan by the Federal Government to support 1.5 million Nigerians to acquire low-cost houses Under the Social Housing programme of the ESP was on course.

He said that the portal for application by prospective beneficiaries was launched in December 2020 alongside the prototype 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units.

More so, the vice president, held a virtual meeting with management of the North East Humanitarian and Innovation Hub (NEHIH).

Osinbajo pledged the support of the Federal Government and the National Economic Council (NEC) in the establishment of a Social Innovation and Research Institute (SIRI), an initiative of NEHIH aimed at developing skills and building capacity for social innovation.

The vice president said that the idea of establishing a centre for social innovation as conceived by the NEHIH was commendable.

“I don’t think there is enough attention being paid to the local needs of social innovation.

“ I really think that this proposed institute can do enough in terms of capacity building and leveraging on ideas, and also making a lot of the innovations relevant to our demands and needs here in Nigeria,” he said.

Other participants at the meeting included the coordinator of the Hub, Mr Ahmad Moddibo, the SIRI project coordinator at the hub, Nguveren Mary, among others.

President Buhari in New broadcast

Our socio-economic challenges will be faced head-on, Buhari assures Nigerians

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Tanko Mohammed

 President Muhammadu Buhari has again assured Nigerians that the country will survive and thrive in spite the ongoing socio-economic challenges facing the it.

He said the challenges would be faced head-on with renewed determination and urgency required.

Making this known while addressing the nation via a New Year broadcast in on Friday in Abuja the president maintained that as elected President and Commander-in-Chief he had no option but  to ensure the safety of lives and property of all citizens.

He also pledged to continue to listen to viable advice and suggestions on how best to address these challenges for the nation’s progress.

He said: “In the midst of all these challenges, I had initially pledged that as your elected President and Commander-in-Chief, I would ensure that these ongoing challenges will be faced head-on with renewed determination and with all the appropriateness and urgency required.

“Your voices have been heard and we would continue to listen to you, and all the key stakeholders who are committed to the unity of Nigeria to ensure that every region of this nation is safe for us all, while guaranteeing that the future is also secure for the coming generation.’’

The president, who saluted the courage of the nation’s youth, reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to securing the future of the youth.

He noted with delight that many of the young people had been excelling in various spheres of life including sports, entertainment, information and communication technology, commerce and globally recognised as achievers.

“I wish to also use this occasion of New Year to reaffirm my commitment to the people of Nigeria, especially the youth who need our collective encouragement and support.  In securing this nation we need to secure the future of our youth.

“Our young people are our most valuable natural resource, at home and abroad. Their ingenuity, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit is evident to all.

“Many of our young people are excelling in various spheres of life including sports, entertainment, information and communication technology, commerce and are globally recognized as achievers.

“As a Government we are committed to actively engaging with the creative energies of our young people,’’ he said.

Buhari said the executive arm would continue to partner with the legislature to develop an enabling environment to turn the youths passions into ideas that could be supported, groomed and scaled across the country.

According to him, this will create vast opportunities in fintech, agriculture, business process startups and in the entertainment industry.

“The year 2021 will indeed be a year where we will work to reinforce the hopes of fellow Nigerians in the vision of a united and progressive Nigeria,’’ he further emphasised.

He said the administration would continue focusing on delivering key strategic priorities under its “SEA”  — Security, Economy and Anti-Corruption — Agenda.

He, however, urged the citizens as they celebrate the new year 2021 to also “acknowledge the passing away of our brothers and sisters who did not make it into this New Year

Oil-and-Gas

Nigeria now self-sufficient in gas – Buhari

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By Tanko Mohammed

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria has moved a step closer to the nation’s dream of full utilisation of the nation’s abundant gas potentials.

He spoke on Tuesday at the commissioning of the Integrated Gas Handling Facility and LPG Processing and Dispensing Plants built and operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, an Upstream Subsidiary of NNPC in Oredo, Edo State.

President Buhari said: “The Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility and its associated NGLs depot will be delivering 240,000 metric tons of commercial grade Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Propane. It will also deliver about 205 million standard cubic feet per day of lean gas to the domestic market.

“In addition to its import substitution benefits that brings us a step closer to self-sufficiency in LPG production and also supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises in the host communities, this project will create hundreds of direct and indirect employment opportunities for our teeming youths (both skilled and unskilled).”

“Apart from being the largest onshore LPG plant in Nigeria with the potential of supplying about 20% of Nigeria’s LPG demand, the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility was carefully situated at a corridor proximate to over 80% of Nigeria’s LPG demand source,” he added.

The President remarked that the project was a follow-up to the commitment of the administration towards making Year 2020 as Nigeria’s Year of the Gas:

“At the turn of the Year 2020, this Administration made solemn declarations to the Nigerian public over its plans to expand the gas sector footprints by scaling-up the development and utilisation of Nigeria’s abundant Natural Gas Resources to help spur industrialization, provide clean and efficient energy for transportation and household use while increasing our exports into the international market. It is on the backdrop of this commitment that the Year 2020 was dedicated and embodied as Nigeria’s Year of Gas.”

“Since then, we have followed through with actions that have translated those plans into tangible projects with monumental value additions to the Nigerian Economy.

We accomplished key gas infrastructure projects like the OB3 and ELPS 2 and flagged-off the Construction Phase of the 614 km AKK Pipeline Project,” President Buhari added.

The President noted that “It was indeed not a coincidence that the completion and commissioning of the aforementioned gas infrastructure projects in this Year 2020 followed the wrap-up of Year 2019 with the Final Investment Decision (FID) for NLNG Train 7.

We are exiting Year 2020 with yet another milestone of commissioning the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility LPG Processing and Dispensing Plants which will also support the on-going drive towards providing alternative auto fuel under the National Gas Expansion Program initiative.”

In his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, noted that the project highlights the commitment of NNPC in eliminating gas flares while increasing Nigeria’s value realisation from gas.

He added that the entire LPG and propane production is “targeted at the Nigerian market, further affirming the conscious efforts of NNPC and the Nigerian government in growing its participation in the LPG value chain to boost domestic supply, lower prices and deepen LPG penetration to safeguard our environment.”

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, said the President’s clear directives to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC were that “we must deepen domestic gas utilisation and monetisation and provide a platform where Nigerians can benefit from the enormous gas supplies that we have so that job and prosperity can be created and by implication, bring peace to the country.”

He added that “the facility was designed, constructed and delivered with the highest application of Nigerian content and the contractor is a wholly Nigerian company which demonstrated the capacity of Nigerian companies to handle ‘complex’ projects.”

President-Muhammadu-Buhari

Buhari blames COVID-19 for Nigeria’s economic recession

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By Tanko Mohammed

As Nigeria slips into recession for the second time in five years, President Muhammadu Buhari, says it came about because of the severity of the global downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said this on Monday in Abuja, while declaring open the 26th Nigerian Economic Summit with the theme: “Building Partnerships for Resilience’’.

The summit was organised jointly by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

Buhari, who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said that the decline in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) came after 12 successive quarters of positive growth.

He said the downturn caused by the pandemic included lockdowns, disruption in global supply chains, business failures and rising unemployment.

“We can all recall that during the lockdown, farming did not take place, businesses were closed; schools were closed as were hotels and restaurants.

“Also, airlines stopped flying, while inter-state commerce was disrupted.

“The economy only began to recover when these activities resumed and if we are able to sustain the nearly three percentage point increase from the second quarter decline of minus 6.1 per cent, the performance in the fourth quarter could take us into positive territory,’’ he said.

Buhari said that it was to mitigate such impact that the Federal Government introduced the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

According to him, all the programmes in the ESP are reliant on the private sector playing a key role in creating and conserving jobs and the production and delivery of services in agriculture, housing, solar power and digital technologies.

He added that the speedy pathway out of the current recession was to quicken the implementation of the ESP.

“Of course, an improvement in global economic conditions, including the restoration of global supply chains and resumption of exports and remittances, should enable a V-shaped recovery.

“We expect, in the same spirit of partnership, that the private sector will complement these efforts by making maximum use of the provisions of the ESP and the Finance Bill when it is passed by the National Assembly and also by retaining and creating jobs so as to keep people at work.

“In a similar spirit of partnership, private sector enterprises should also pay their due taxes,’’ he added.

Speaking on the theme of the summit, he said that partnerships remained essential to attract the resources for building a solid national infrastructural base.

Buhari said that as was evident when the nation was combatting COVID-19, partnerships were essential and also necessary for framing medium and long-term development plans.

He added that the government had always emphasised that the private sector had a key role to play in the efforts to build a more resilient and competitive economy as expressed in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

Buhari said that private companies in design, construction, logistics and finance were very much engaged in the nation’s infrastructural projects in power and rail as well as road and bridges.

“I am pleased to inform in this regard that we are working actively with the CBN, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and state governments under the auspices of the National Economic Council to design and put in place a N15 billion Infraco Fund, which will be independently managed.

“The Infraco Fund will help to close the national infrastructural gap and provide a firm basis for increasing national economic productivity and growth,’’ he said.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said that the current recession would be a short one, as government and key stakeholders were proactively working together to put in place sustainable measures to curtail and improve the situation.

She added that in spite of the recession, Nigeria had out-performed many economies in terms of economic growth.

Ahmed said that the Federal Government, in partnership with the NESG had been working together on the national implementation plans as well as the regional and local development plans.

“Since the inception of the NESG 25 years ago, it has become one of the largest annual gatherings dedicated to finding solutions to the challenges facing the Nigerian Economy.

“It has helped to shape government policies, reforms and sector transformations,’’ she said.

Mr Asue Ighodalo, the Chairman of the NESG said the summit must be different as it must emphasise the execution of endless dialogues.

He said that the summit was about building partnerships as sectors could no longer succeed independently.

“We come to the table each year with clear and defined obstacles in search of solutions. The NESG and the private sector must do more to address policy needs

“Let this 26th summit be the one where we collectively resolve to shun greed, nepotism and corruption.

“It is time that we are brave with facing our realities with strength, sense of purpose, and integrity.

“Our reflections would be incomplete if we did not also examine many more policy recommendations that have not been acted upon over the years and acknowledge those that have been actioned,’’ he said.

Buhari-Admits-Security-Situation-Very-Disturbing-768x576

Buhari explains crisis of petrol, electricity pricing to douse tension

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By Tanko Mohammed

President Muhammadu Buhari says there will be negative consequences if the government continued with the business of fixing or subsidising the prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and electricity.

Buhari, represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, gave this explanation on Monday while declaring open a 2-day First Year Ministerial Performance Review Retreat at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

The president said that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a severe downturn in the funds available to finance the nations’ budget and also severely hampered government’s capacity.

He said that one of the steps taken by government at the beginning of the crisis in March when oil prices collapsed at the height of the global lockdown was the deregulation of PMS.

Buhari assured, however, that government was working towards mitigating the impact of the deregulation on the citizens.

“There are several negative consequences if government should even attempt to go back to the   business of fixing or subsidising PMS prices.

“First of all, it would mean a return to the costly subsidy regime; today we have 60 per cent less revenues; we just cannot afford the cost.

“The second danger is the potential return of fuel queues – which has, thankfully, become a thing of the past under this administration.

“Nigerians no longer have to endure long queues just to buy petrol, often at highly inflated prices; also, as I hinted earlier, there is no provision for fuel subsidy in the revised 2020 budget.

“Simply because we are not able to afford it, if reasonable provisions must be made for health, education and other social services,’’ he said.

The president said that government was extremely mindful of the pains that higher prices meant at this time.

He said that the government did not take the sacrifices that all Nigerians had to make for granted.

“We will continue to seek ways and means of cushioning pains especially for the most vulnerable in our midst.

“We will also remain alert to our responsibilities to ensure that marketers do not exploit citizens by   raising pump price arbitrarily.

“This is the role that government must now play through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

“This explains why the PPPRA made the announcement a few days ago setting the range of price that must not be exceeded by marketers.

“The advantage we now have is that anyone can bring in petroleum products and compete with marketers, that way the price of petrol will be keep coming down.’’

Buhari said the recent service-based tariff adjustment by the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) had also been a source of concern for his government.

The president said that like many Nigerians, he had been unhappy with the quality of service given by the Discos, but there were many constraints including poor transmission capacity and distribution capacity.

Buhari said he already signed off on the first phase of the Siemens project to address many of these issues.

“Because of the problems with the privatisation exercise, government has had to keep supporting the largely privatised electricity industry.

“ So far to keep the industry going we have spent almost N1.7 trillion, especially by way of supplementing tariffs shortfalls.

“ We do not have the resources at this point to continue in this way and it will be grossly irresponsible to borrow to subsidise a generation and distribution which are both privatized.

“But we also have a duty to ensure that the large majority of those who cannot afford to pay cost reflective tariffs are protected from increases.’’

According to the president, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the industry regulator, had approved that tariff adjustments had to be made but only on the basis of guaranteed improvement in service.

He said that under the new arrangement, only customers who were guaranteed a minimum of 12 hours of power and above could have their tariffs adjusted.

Buhari said that those who got less than 12 hours supply, or the Band D and E Customer must be maintained on lifeline tariffs, meaning that they would experience no increase.

“This is the largest group of customers; government has also taken notice of the complaints about arbitrary estimated billing.

“Accordingly, a mass metering programme is being undertaken to provide meters for over 5 million Nigerians, largely driven by preferred procurement from local manufacturers – creating thousands of jobs in the process,’’ he said.

He said that the N2.3 trillion Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), consists of fiscal, monetary and sectoral measures to enhance local production, support businesses, retain and create jobs and provide succour to Nigerians, especially the most vulnerable.