THE Federal Government told the Senate that President Muhammadu will present before the joint National Assembly, the 2021 Appropriation Bill.
Disclosing this year in Abuja while briefing principal officers of the Senate and House of Representatives led by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the Ministry to expedite action on next year’s budget estimates to enable him to present the 2021 budget proposal
The Minister met with the leadership of the National Assembly on plans to submit the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) later this month.
Ahmed further disclosed that in keeping strictly with the January – December budget cycle, the President will today sign into law, the revised N10.8 trillion budget for the year 2020 passed by the National Assembly in June.
The Minister said, “This for us is a journey towards ensuring that the progress that we have made as a collective to return the fiscal year to January – December is maintained for the 2021 budget as well.
“The President has directed that we must deliver the budget to the National Assembly by the end of September,” the Finance Minister said.
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra has called a general election for April 11 of next year when he will step down as his country’s leader.
His announcement formally marks the beginning of the process to hold presidential and legislative elections.
“Fulfilling my commitment, here is the decree calling a general election for April 11, 2021,” Vizcarra said in a televised address from the government palace.
Re-election is not permitted in Peru and presidential terms last five years.
Previously the vice-president, Vizcarra came to power in March 2018 after Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was forced to resign as president over a corruption scandal related to millions of dollars in bribes paid by Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.
Vizcarra stressed that the presidential term could not be extended by “political crises, or the pandemic, or any other factor.”
If no presidential candidate gains an absolute majority in the first round of voting, there will be a run-off between the top two candidates.
Vizcarra said the announcement would be published Thursday in the official government gazette.
“We are within the terms of the law. From now, in a little more than nine months we will have a change of authorities,” he added.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva , has said the Federal Government did not at any time promise to keep the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit ( petrol ) permanently low .
Sylva also said the government had concluded that it could no longer bear the burden of petrol subsidy .
The minister said these in a statement published on the ministry ’ s Instagram page, with the title ‘ Deregulation : The facts and the reasons behind the policy ’ .
“ After a thorough examination of the economics of subsidising PMS for domestic consumption, the Federal Government concluded that it was unrealistic to continue with the burden of subsidising PMS to the tune of trillions of naira every year , more so when this subsidy was benefiting in large part the rich , rather than the poor and ordinary Nigerians , ” he said .
According to him , deregulation means that the government will no longer continue to be the main supplier of petroleum products but will encourage the private sector to take over the role of supplier of the products .
“ This means also that market forces will henceforth determine the prices at the pump . In line with global best practices, the government will continue to play its traditional role of regulation to ensure that this strategic commodity is not priced arbitrarily by private sector suppliers, ” Sylva said .
He likened the regulatory function to the role played by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the banking sector , “ ensuring that commercial banks do not charge arbitrary interest rates ”.
The minister said , “ Petroleum products are refined from crude oil. Therefore , the price of crude ( the feedstock ) for the refining process will affect the price of the refined product .
“ When crude oil prices were down , government , through its regulatory functions , ensured that the benefits of lower crude oil prices were enjoyed by Nigerians by ensuring that PMS was lowered . At that time , we indicated that an increase in crude oil prices will also reflect at the pump . ”
He said one of the reasons the country had been unable to attract the level of investments desired into the refining sector had been the burden of fuel subsidy .
Sylva said , “ We need to free up that investment space so that what happened in the banking sector , aviation sector and other sectors can happen in the midstream and downstream oil sector .
“ We can no longer avoid the inevitable and expect the impossible to continue. There was no time government promised to reduce pump price and keep it permanently low . ”
Banks have advised customers to remove their face masks when carrying out transactions through Automated Teller Machines to ensure that their faces are properly recognised .
Findings revealed that some banks have installed face detection features in their ATMs which can prevent an ATM from dispensing cash if it is unable to recognise the face of the user .
While the banks have introduced the wearing of face masks as a condition to enter the banking halls , they have also advised customers to remove it when they want to withdraw money from ATMs .
In an email to its customers on measures to keep transactions protected , Fidelity Bank said , “ Wearing of face masks is a safety and precautionary measure we must all adhere to in this period of the COVID- 19 pandemic .
“ However , we advise that you remove your face mask while making withdrawals or carrying out ATM transactions to allow our ATM properly recognise you .
“ Fidelity Bank ATM machines have face detection features installed to curb incidences of fraudulent ATM withdrawals .
“ Consequently , you may not be able to carry out any transaction if our ATMs are not able to properly recognise you . We apologise for the inconvenience that this may cause you . ”
As lockdown continues to ease gradually , banks have continued to expand their operations.
In an email to its customers , Guaranty Trust Bank Plc listed its branches that would be accessible to customers .
It said , “ When visiting any of our branches , kindly protect yourself by wearing a face mask at all times . It is also very important that you keep a safe distance when in a queue inside or outside the branch.
“ Before visiting any of our branches , please remember that you can withdraw up to N 150 , 000 at all our ATMs and that you can do most of your banking from the safety of your home . ”
GTBank said the customers could bank through its e – payment platforms .
The Federal Government has put on hold the planned resumption of federal schools .
It has also stopped students from participating in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations earlier scheduled for August 4 to September 5 .
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu , disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ).
The minister said federal schools would remain closed until it is safe to reopen them.
He also urged state governments that have announced school resumption plans to rescind such .
Adamu stated that the West African Examinations Council could not determine the resumption date of schools for Nigeria .
He said he would prefer that Nigerian students lose an academic year than to expose them to heath dangers amid the coronavirus pandemic .
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), South West has suspended its planned industrial action over what it described as incessant price increments as well as inconsistency in pricing regulations without consultation with stakeholders by the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).
IPMAN Zonal Chairman, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, who spoke with journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, said the suspension of the planned strike followed the intervention of the Director or Department of State’s Security Service (DSS), David Tuska who promised to intervene and get their grievances addressed positively.
Tajudeen, who was flanked by other members of the zonal executive, which included: the Zonal Assistant Secretary, ‘Molara Olagunju, the Zonal Legal Officer, Abdul Majeed, the Mosimi Unit Chairman, Otunba Femi Adelaja as well as the former chairman of Mosimi Depot, Alhaji Surajudeen Adebisi Bada among others, explained that the DSS Director, Tuska had earlier invited the IPMAN Zonal Executive Committee in South West for a meeting wherein the entire Executive Committee agreed with him to put the strike on hold till after the Sallah.
According to him, the State’s Security boss had pleaded with IPMAN Zonal executives to shelve the planned strike “in the interest of the nation” and as a way of honouring him and his office, the association agreed to listen to him.
Tajudeen further explained that the association tabled some demands before the DSS Director which he promised to table before the federal government and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which are expected to guarantee the seamless operation of petroleum distribution and dispensing across the South Western geopolitical zone.
“Parts of our demands included that IPMAN members must be included in the board of PPPRA and that of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF). This will enable us to be carried along in decision making as one of the critical stakeholders in the petroleum distribution and dispensing sector”.
“Aside from that, NNPC through PPRA must immediately, stop preferential treatment being accorded major marketers in the distribution chain of the petroleum products. The agency has over the years, being granting credit facilities to some ” anointed ” dealers. That must stop. It is disheartening to hear that NNPC will ask our members to pay before loading our trucks, yet two months after, they would not process our papers”.
“NNPC and its allied agencies have turned our business to a mono-product. The corporation must as a matter of urgency, make available to us, other products such as AGO and DPK. Also, we want NNPC to immediately embark on the rehabilitation of its facilities at Ore Depot which has over the past 20 years been moribund”.
“We also demanded that the DSS Director should help us instill on the hearing of the appropriate authorities that harassments of our members by operatives of the security agencies must stop. These were brought to the notice of the DSS Director and he has assured us of quick intervention”.
Tajudeen further told journalists that his association was dissatisfied with the situation of infrastructural facilities at all NNPC Depot, particularly at the Mosimi Depot in Ogun state which he said was responsible for making their trucks involved in several accidents recorded in the area.
IPMAN however, demanded that the corporation should commence an immediate rehabilitation on the Sagamu-Mosimi-Ikorodu road to avert further wrath of the association.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) says the passing-out of the 2019 Batch “B” Stream 2 corps members has been fixed nationwide for July 16.
The NYSC disclosed this in a statement by its Director, Press and Public Relations, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, in Abuja.
”Arising from the threat posed by COVID-19 pandemic, and as a precautionary measure, the event will be low-key, with qualified corps members collecting their Certificates of National Service (CNS) at the Local Government level.
“Accordingly, the distribution of the certificate of national service shall be staggered for a period of 10 days in the first instance, in keeping with the safety measures established by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC),” the statement said.
The statement quoted the Director-General of the scheme, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, as giving kudos to the outgoing members for their service to the nation, and in particular for standing out to be counted in this time of national emergency.
It said Ibrahim charged the corps members to remain steadfast in rendering service to the nation and humanity, even after they have concluded their national assignment, as that was the hallmark of the corps.
The director-general also enjoined them to remain good ambassadors of the scheme in their future endeavours.
“All corps members and NYSC stakeholders are advised to stay vigilant, in order to guard against the contraction of COVID-19.
“Therefore, all must ensure strict observance of the safety protocols, predicated on consistent use of face masks, proper washing of hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, use of alcohol-based sanitiser, and observing social/physical distancing,” Ibrahim said.
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