Fed Govt okays N148b refund to Osun, others

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the refund of N148, 141,987,161.25 to five states as the cash they disbursed in fixing federal roads in their domains. Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed, who dropped the hint in a chat with State House reporters after Wednesday’s virtual FEC meeting, listed the beneficiaries as Cross River, Ondo, Osun, Bayelsa and Rivers states. The minister said the memo for the refund was presented by Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fasola. According to Mohammed, the virtual meeting, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, considered claims of the five states in the approved memo. A breakdown of the refunds shows that Cross River will get N18,394,737,608.85; Ondo (N7,822,147,577.08); Osun (N2,468,938,876.78); Bayelsa (N38,040,564,783.40) and Rivers (N78,953,067,518.29). Mohammed, however, noted that the Council had warned that there would be no more of such refunds in future, should any state government venture into projects without first getting a mandate from the federal government.

He said: “You will recall that in 2016, 36 states of the federation sent a very huge bill to the Federal Government, asking for compensation for money that they have expended on federal roads. “This prompted Mr. President to set up a committee to go and verify the claims of these 36 states, whether indeed these projects were actually constructed, were they completed, in line with the federal government standards. “At the end of that exercise by an inter-ministerial committee, chaired by the Honorable Minister of Works and Housing, but also had ministers of Education, Transportation, Finance, Minister of State for Works, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Director-General  and the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office as members. “At the end of that exercise, the committee recommended that the federal government should refund N550,364,297.31 billion to 31 of the 36 states, after they were convinced that, yes indeed, the projects were completed and there were federal government roads. “But, the claims of five other states – Cross River, Rivers, Ondo, Bayelsa and Osun failed on the grounds that they did not do proper documentation and the committee felt they needed proper documentation. “So, the committee went back with new terms of reference to ensure that the claims of the five states were in order. That is why the BPP is on the committee. So, at the end of the exercise, the committee now reported that the five states – Cross River with 20 roads and one bridge will get a refund of N18,394,737,608.85, Ondo with six roads to get a refund of N7,822,147,577.08, and Osun with two roads and one bridge to get a refund of N2,468,938,876.78. “Others are Bayelsa with five roads and one bridge is to get a refund of N38, 040,564,783.40 and Rivers with three roads and three flyovers bridges is to get a refund of N78, 953,067,518.29.” The minister said the committees confirmed the roads and the bridges; that not only were they completed, they are in substantial good form, adding that some of the bridges and roads were built about 10 years ago. However, Mohammed said the FEC placed a caveat on similar circumstances as gave rise to the demand for refunds, saying “the Federal Government will pay the states but however, henceforth, if any state takes on federal road, it will not be paid, they will not get any refund. “Even if you want to pay from your own pocket, you will still need the permission of the federal government and it will be supervised by the federal ministry of works and housing.” He said the modalities of refund  was being worked out, while payment would be made over a period of time, even as he said 31 states were earlier paid the sum of over N500 billion.

The Senate approved Buhari’s $5.513b loan request

The Senate on Tuesday approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s $5.513 billion external loan request to finance the revised 2020 budget.

The approval followed the presentation and consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Clifford Odia (Edo Central) by the upper chamber.

Buhari had, in his letter of request, said the $5.513 billion external loan is to enable the Federal Government fund the 2020 revised budget.

However, the components of the external loan, which is to enable the Federal Government execute its priority projects and for projects to support state governments  in stimulating their economy, which has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, was stood down by the Senate due to lack of requisite details.

A lender for the Federal Government’s priority projects as approved by the Senate is the African Development Bank (AfDB) – $125million to strengthen healthcare system and improve response to COVID-19 and $23 million for financing smallholder farmers to mitigate food security impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Others are $600million from the Islamic Development Bank to support response to challenges posed by COVID-19 and $500 million from the African Export-Import Bank to provide critical medical supplies to combat COVID-19.

Also, the Senate  passed the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) of the Federal Government.

President Muhammadu Buhari had last Thursday, in a letter, urged the upper chamber to consider and approve the 2020-2022 MTEF/FSP.

The Senate approved the recommendation of the Senator Solomon Adeola-led Senate Committee on Finance that the price of crude oil put at $25 per barrel by the Federal Government, be increased to $28 per barrel.

The upper chamber also approved that the proposed daily oil production benchmark of 1.9 million barrel per day be reduced to 1.8mbd.

The Senate also backed the proposed exchange rate, which was moved by the Federal Government from N306 to one dollar to N360 per dollar.

This development invariably shows that the Senate has thrown its weight behind the devaluation of the naira.

However, other critical parameters like the exchange rate of N360 to a US dollar,  14.43 inflation growth rate and 4.42 GDPgrowth rate were retained.

Other assumptions retained are N5.09 trillion Federal Governmnet’s revenue, N10.51 trillion, N4.95 trillion fiscal deficit and N4.17 trillion new borrowings (including foreign and domestic borrowing).

Others are N398.5 billion as statutory transfers, N2.68 trillion for debt service, N272.9 billion as sinking fund and N536.7 billion for Pension and gratuities.

The Senate also retained other components of the proposal in the MTEF/FSP includingN10.51 trillion as total expenditure, N4.93 trillion as total recurrent, N2.83 trillion for personnel cost and N2.23 trillion for capital expenditure.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola in his report, said the increase in the oil price benchmark from the proposed $25 to $28 was as a result of the recent upward trend of the price of crude oil in the international market.

According to him, the price oil per barrel is now $38 with a very strong indication that the price will rise to $40 or $45 per barrel.

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, in his remarks after the passage of the MTEF/FSP, urged the Senate Committee on Privatisation to laise with the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) in ensuring that the projected N260billion from proceeds of privatised agencies are realised and used to fund critical projects in the revised 2020 budget.

He faulted some special accounts being operated by the executive particularly the Natural Resources Development Accounts.

According to him, such accounts at this time of scarcity of funds, are not all necessary.

“Keeping monies in Natural Resources Development Accounts is more of waste than serving critical purposes,” he said.

He thereafter adjourned sitting to next week Tuesday for consideration and possible passage of the revised N10.509 trillion 2020 budget.

However, the intention of the Federal Government to borrow Euro 995million from the Export-Import Bank of Brazil to support Green Imperative and enhance the mechanisation of agriculture and agro-processing in the country, was put in abeyance by the upper chamber.

Also, the ongoing negotiation by the Federal Government with the World Bank for between $500million – $750 million for COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme to support state-level efforts to protect livelihoods, ensure food security and stimulate economic activities, has not been approved.

Additionally, $500 – $750 million also being negotiated with the World Bank for State Fiscal Transparency and Sustainability Programme to provide fiscal support to the States was not approved.

The Committee said that it would consider the proposals when it gets requisite details on what the loans would be used for from the Minister of Finance, Budget National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.

Federal Govt says 812 health workers infected till date

The Federal Government on Tuesday said no fewer than 812 health workers have been infected with the COVID-19 virus in the line of duty.

It reiterated that the protection of health workers, especially those in the frontline of the pandemic are its priority, and will ensure the constant provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs), to shield them from exposure.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, in Abuja.

He said: “As we go further in the easing of the restrictions, I just want to remind all of us that the easing of the restrictions doesn’t mean the easing of the response. In fact, the public response is being strengthen.

“Crossing the 10,000 mark was quite a significant event, and every night when we work so hard to bring out those numbers, sometimes numbers begin to feel like what they are, that we forget that they are people behind each number.

“We have had 812 healthcare workers infected. They are not just numbers. Twenty-nine (29) of these work for the NCDC. They are people I know who have families, wives and children. About eight (8) of them right now are in the Idu treatment center. They are not just numbers but they are people and they matter and we must remember.

“We have distributed over 40,000 pieces of complete PPEs and will continue to do this. By this weekend new consignment will be going out to every state, every Federal Medical Centres in the country.

“We now have the third highest number of confirmed cases on the continent just after South Africa and Egypt. It means that there is an added responsibility for us to work harder everyday.”

He added: “We have increased our testing capacity. We have now tested over 65,000 samples and increase our lab network to 30; having been just activated the laboratories in Bauchi State and Abuja.

Worship centres stay shut, say Lagos, Oyo, Kwara, Kaduna

LAGOS, Kaduna, Oyo and Kwara states are not about to unlock religious centres in spite of the window for reopening provided by the Federal Government.

Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs Prince Anofiu Elegushi said as a result of disagreement at a meeting of religious leaders with the government, the reopening of religious centres was put in abeyance.

He said during the ministerial briefing on the activities of the state government yesterday that: ‘’Even before the pronouncement by the Federal Government, we have been having meeting with the religious leaders, we even had one with the Safety Commission. Looking at the possibility of reopening of religious houses.

‘’We also had one with the leaders of the two faiths and I want to tell you categorically that at that meeting, the possibility of reopening religious houses was ruled out totally.

‘’They claimed that they cannot take such responsibility of ensuring that only 20 or 50 people are praying behind them. Like an Imam said he doesn’t know what is going on behind him whenever he is leading a prayer. He said if more than 20 or 50 people are staying at his back, he is not going to take responsibility for their presence.

‘’So, the meeting, we ruled out in totality the issue of reopening the religious houses until we have a clear coast for us to do so. The Federal Government mentioned it, but it never ruled out the states in achieving that pronouncement, so all states will have to look at the possibility of doing so in their respective states.

‘’We all know Lagos is still having more figures.”

Special Adviser to the Kaduna State governor on Media and Communication, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye said markets and places of worship will remain closed in the state until government’s engagements with religious leaders and business community are concluded.

The statement said: “As announced last week, relevant government agencies will engage business, community, and religious leaders to discuss and agree on the protocols for the safe opening of businesses and market, and resumption of congregational worship.

“Government has started engagements with business leaders, and began receiving recommendations from some religious leaders on the subject of safe re-opening of places of worship. However, these consultations have not been concluded.

“Until these consultations result in a formal announcement authorising businesses, markets and places of worship to reopen, it will be a violation of subsisting Quarantine Orders to reopen any unauthorised facility, market or places of worship or to conduct congregational worship of any sort. Places of worship in Kaduna State were not closed by the Federal Government.The decision to close places of worship in Kaduna State was taken and enforced in March 2020 by the state government as part of the proclamation of the Quarantine Orders in the state.

“Kaduna State has its own well-articulated roadmap for reopening, and this was published last week as a public document for the views and inputs of the citizens of the State. That is why when it extended the Quarantine Orders by two weeks on 26th May 2020, it also announced steps to ease some of the restrictions. These included increasing lockdown-free days to three and allowing approved businesses and facilities to open on those three days.

Kwara Commissioner for Health  Dr Raji AbdulRazaq said the state had not lifted ban on religious activities.

AbdulRazaq who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin, said the Federal Government hinted on lifting ban on religious activities, and gave modalities to the states on how best to go about it.

He added that the state government would deliberate and come out with what was  best to protect the people.

The commissioner warned that the government had not lifted any ban and no religious house should disregard the directives on social distancing.

Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force led by Governor Seyi Makinde said it is yet to relax the ban on religious activities and the curfew.

Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Taiwo Adisa, Governor Makinde said the decision was reached after a meeting of the Task Force.

Makinde said: “The Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force wishes to alert the public that the ban on religious gathering remains in force in the state. The 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew earlier imposed on the state as a result of the ravaging pandemic, will also remain in force until further notice.

“This is because the Task Force is awaiting a risk, situation analysis report by a team of experts earlier commissioned to do so.

“The report is expected at the end of the week and it is only after the report has been analysed by the Task Force that it can be in a position to make further clarifications.

“The Task Force will always make its decisions in relation to the behavioral patterns of the novel Coronavirus in its domain, relying on science, logic and data.

“We assure residents that the state is leaving no stone unturned in curtailing the spread of the dreaded virus.”

Federal Govt: if you’re 55 and above, avoid mosques, churches

 The Federal Government on Tuesday came an advisory to Nigerians: If you are 55 years old and above, avoid churches and mosques.

Those with health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, HIV, among others, are also enjoined to stay at home to worship, the government added.

It noted that the advice was necessary because places of worship have been recognised as a major avenue of potential spread of Coronavirus.

The government stated this through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 Control. It released the guidelines for states to follow in discussions with religious leaders before the reopening of churches and mosques for worshippers.

The government said the protocols made available would be the baseline which the states are not expected to go below while firming up agreement with religious leaders.

Nigerians have been pressuring the government to reopen worship centres in spite of the spike in COVID-19 positive cases, leading to easing of restrictions on religious centres.

The PTF National Coordinator, Dr. Aliyu Sani, who announced the guidelines said religious centres should keep a record of attendees.

Dr. Sani said this would allow for contact tracing in the case of virus spread.

He urged worshippers experiencing common symptoms of COVID-19 to stay away from churches and mosques.

He said: “We are strongly advising vulnerable individuals such as those with underlying conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV, cancer and those above the age of 55 years to please stay at home and consider remote participation or non-contact attendance.

“When we look at the death rate for persons who have died from COVID-19 in Nigeria, the case fatality rate; more than half of those that died were above the age of 50.

“Secondly, the case fatality rate if you are above the age of 50, is 17 per cent. If you are above the age of 55, it is 18 per cent. It is almost a one in five chances of dying if you catch COVID-19 and you fall within that group.

“Worshippers should be reminded not to attend in person if experiencing common symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough and shortness of breath or have had close contact with an infected person in the last 14 days.

“All worshippers noted to have temperature or are symptomatic should be turned back and not allowed admission.

“Places of worship should ideally keep up to date record of their staff including contact details and if possible, a record of attendees of church services for instance or a even small mosque to enable contact tracing in the event that somebody comes up positive.

“Considering the dangers posed by the pandemic, we strongly recommend that religious visits to homes by religious clerics should be discouraged.”

The national coordinator said: “It is important to note that due to the nature of religious congregations, places of worship are particularly recognised to have a major potential for spreading COVID -19 infection among worshippers and this has been clearly demonstrated in several outbreaks globally linked to religious gatherings.

“Places of worship that are unable to comply with these measures should not be allowed to operate by state governments.

“Churches are to open from 5am and close by 8pm. Each service should be for a maximum of one hour with an interval of 20 minutes in-between services to allow time for disinfection.”

He said the task force will not hesitate to shutdown religious centres if they fail to comply with the protocols developed for their reopening.

“These guidelines provide a baseline for the states to then develop their own policies specific to their areas depending on the prevalence of COVID-19, depending on whether or not people are likely to follow and comply fully.

“But we will be reviewing these guidelines from time to time and we will definitely review them if it looks like we are having issues with regards to this relaxation and I plead with the public to understand with us but more importantly, continue to stay safe.

“It is better to stay at home and worship than to go into a place of worship,” he emphasised.

Sani reminded Nigerians of the dangers posed by the virus, noting that now is not the time to relax measures against the pandemic.

“Let me make some clarifications because I understand there has been a lot of concern nationwide about the opening of places of worship.

“There is no doubt that COVID-19 is still around, there is no doubt that it is safer for you to stay at home and there is also no doubt that it is safer for you to worship at home.

“The PTF is providing safety advisory or guidance in the event that you need to upgrade your spiritual needs and you cannot do it at home but we are not making recommendations that people should go to places of worship but if they chose to, we are providing advisory to enable them to do so safely.

“COVID-19 has not gone away. You only need to look at the numbers. We are in the exponential stage of the illness. We have moved as a country right up to the third position in Africa and because of our population we could also move to the second position or even the first.

“So now is the time to continue to take precautionary measures. Now is not the time to relax. I hope I have made that clear.

“In view of the widespread community transmission of COVID -19, it is important that places of worship operate in a safe manner to ensure the protection of public health, avoid outbreaks and safeguard the health of vulnerable members of the population.”

Federal Govt hands over COVID-19 battle to states

The Federal Government has pushed the battle to contain Coronavirus to states and communities, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the pandemic, Mr. Boss Mustapha, said on Sunday.

According to him, the Federal Government will henceforth only provide supervision and coordination.

Mustapha, the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), spoke on Sunday at the State House after members of the PTF briefed President Muhammadu Buhari and discussed their recommendations on the next phase of the battle.

With him at the briefing were Minister of Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire; National Coordinator of the PTF Dr. Sani Aliyu; Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. Chikwe Ihekwaezu, and Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola.

Mustapha said: “The ownership of the next stage will be the responsibility of the states  because we have gone into community transmission.

”Where are the communities? The communities are in the states. So, the ownership of the next stage will be the responsibility of the states, the local government, the traditional institutions, the religious leaders at the different levels of our communities, because that is where the problem is.

”Like we’ve kept saying, 20 local governments out of 774, account for 60 per cent of confirmed cases in Nigeria today. So where are these 20 local governments? They are in communities. It means we have reached the apex of community transmission and we must get the communities involved.

”So, the issues of places of worship, the issues of schools, the issues of some certain businesses that were not opened hitherto are part of the packages that we have looked at and  we have made the appropriate recommendations, but you know that Mr President is the only one that can take decisions in respect of these.

”In the framework, the states are subnationals, they have their own responsibilities too, so it is in the exercise of those responsibilities that they had meetings with those religious bodies and agreed on the guidelines and protocols on how they can open up, but in the framework of the national response, we are taking that into consideration”, he said.

According to him, Nigeria had reached the critical stage of community transmission, adding that communities were under the supervision of the council areas, under which structure the communities fall.

He said there would also be the full involvement of traditional and religious institutions, adding that managing the health crisis at this point had melted down into the more complex community level.

The PTF chairman said the advice on the reopening of the economy and worship centres had been delivered to President Muhammadu Buhari who will take the decision likely to be communicated to Nigerians today.

”That’s part of what we have considered in its totality. We would await Mr President’s decision on that, once I receive his approval, going forward, as to certain recommendations we have put in place, we will see how that happens.

”The issue of easing up, you know we are in the first phase, we had an extension of two weeks for the first phase, the next phase should be the second phase and along with that will come in with a lot of recommendations, which we expect Mr President to consider.

On total reopening of the economy, he said it was a process that had since been ongoing, noting:

”We have started, even in the first phase and the extension that came with it. Essential parts of the economy was opening up by way of allowing agricultural production, people that produce fertilizers.

”The oil and gas industry was never closed for one day and some aspects of the financial sector were opened. After we receive Mr President’s approval tonight (yesterday) or tomorrow (today) morning, we will now know which segment of the economy he has allowed to open”, he said.

He added: “We are winning. As a matter of fact, you juxtapose the rate of cases with our fatality rate, which is basically about three per cent, in other countries and other climes, it’s over 10 per cent, but the most important thing that you will realise, when we started this exercise, we had only five testing stations, now we’ve ramped it up to 28, without correspondent increase in the number of deaths. We’ve gone beyond 60,000 tests now, that reflects in the number of confirmed cases

”We’ve not reached the peak yet and I won’t want to fool Nigerians by telling them that we are out of the woods. No, we are not out of the woods.

As we even open up and accommodate more enterprises, because we are trying to have a balance between livelihoods and life, there’s a likelihood of increase in transmission in cases.

”But that should not be a source of despair. Like we’ve always said, the experts will tell you over 80 per cent will contact Coronavirus and will not even notice that they have and that accounts for what is happening at the isolation centres when you see young men saying they are not sick and asking why they are being kept there. They are asymptomatic, they don’t show symptoms and they will wear it out.

”There’s a 20 per cent  that is critical by virtue of certain factors, indices: age, underlying health conditions and vulnerability.

That’s the percentage we are trying to protect and if we don’t do something in terms of management, in terms of putting in non-pharmaceutical intervention and guidelines to protect that 20%, about five per cent of them can fall critically ill and eventually become fatalities in the numbers and that’s what we are trying to avoid.

”So everything we are emplacing is to ensure we protect this vulnerable 20 per cent. Eighty per cent will wear it out so the figure isn’t a thing of major concern.

Yesterday when I saw the 553 I called the governor of Lagos, I thought he was going to be under intense pressure, but surprisingly, he said no, that it was expected because testing has been ramped up and as you ramp up your testing, it reveals what is happening in your community that prepares better for the kind of management care you will put in place.

”We are not worried about it as to whether the numbers will increase? They will increase”, he said.

On Kogi and Cross River states, the SGF pointed out that steps would be taken to correct the disagreements.

He said: ”We discussed challenges generally and I believe that in the context of those discussions, certain steps will be taken. We are doing everything to ensure that the entire nation is on the same page with one response and it is very important that we realise that no state is an island unto itself, when you deal with public health matters.”

FG to engage 774,000 youths within six months

Federal government is to engage 774,000 youths under the newly introduced Buhari Young Farmers Network (BYFN) through the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) in the next six months.

The scheme is part of the three-prone federal government efforts at ensuring a post-Covid-19 national food security. Other projects are Back to Farm and Providing farm inputs.

The Executive Secretary of the just revived NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne who disclosed this on Monday in Abuja said the young farmers will be drawn from the 774 Local Governments in the country, with a pilot number of 100 per local Government.

Ikonne said the Buhari Young Famers Network is inject the youth into Nigerian farming business across the nation in different farming activities ranging from crop farming to animal husbandry.

According to NLADA Executive Secretary, the authority will partner with the 36 State Governors for the provision or donation of land that will create employment for the young farmers and ensure adequate food production.
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“The Buhari Young Farmers Network, we intend to have 77,400 young farmers injected into Nigerian farming business across the nation in different farming activities ranging from crop farming to animal husbandry.

“These young farmers will be drawn from the 774 Local Governments, with a pilot number of 100 per local Government. In this initiative we will partner with Governors for provision or donation of land and other stakeholders as this will create employment and food production will be increased.

Under the “Back To Farm” project , the authority would encourage everyone to go back to farm by reaching out to various institutions in the country such as the military and paramilitary organizations, NASS members, civil and public servants, journalists, corporate bodies, religious organizations and individuals.

The Executuve Secretary said the choice of the institutions for the project was informed by the availability of land by the institutions that could be effectively used for farming.

“These organizations mentioned and some individuals have land that are not being put to use, so we intend to encourage them to use these lands for farming even if it is for personal consumption,” he disclosed.

He also said that NALDA will provide improved seeds, fertilizers, machinery, environmentally friendly crop protection agents, growth enhancers and trainings which will be given to already existing farmers and this will assist them during this farming season in order to improve their yield.

“These 3 programs are our starting point in order to meet the immediate mandate of Mr. President for providing food for all and we intend to achieve this within the next 6 months,” the Executive Secretary stated.

Buhari, Obasanjo, AfDB board back Adesina

The Federal Government and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo have faulted the call by the United States for an independent investigation of African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

Obasanjo and the government urged the bank’s Board of Governors to ignore the U.S.

Adesina was accused of favouritism but was absolved of the allegations by the bank’s ethics committee.

The letters were addressed to board chairman, Niale Kaba who is also Cote d’Voire’s Minister of Planning and Development.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed, whop wrote on  behalf of the Federal Government, said: “The call for an independent investigation of the president is outside of the laid down rules, procedures and governing system of the bank and its articles as it relates to the code of conduct on ethics for the president.”

Obasanjo, in his letter, said:  ”Unfortunately, the U.S. government, through the U.S. treasury secretary, has written a public letter (that was also distributed to the press globally) to disagree with the conclusions of the ethics committee of the board of directors and the chairman of the board of governors of the bank. Instead of accepting the exoneration of the president of the bank, they called for an independent investigation.

“This is outside of the rules, laws, procedures and governance systems of the bank. The US treasury secretary disparaged the bank and ridiculed the entire governance system of the bank, which has been in place since 1964.

“This is unprecedented in the annals of the African Development Bank Group. If we do not rise up and defend the African Development Bank, this might mean the end of the African Development Bank, as its governance will be hijacked away from Africa.”

Obasanjo said AfDB must remain an “African-focused development bank, rather than one which serves interests outside Africa”.

Also, the bank’s Board of Governors denied reports that Adesina was asked to resign. The board, in a statement by Kaba said no decision has been, taken on the complaint by some shareholders about the Ethics Committee report exonerating Adesina of allegations of ethical misconduct.

The Board pleaded to be allowed to do its work without interference.

The statement reads: “On Tuesday, 26 May, the office of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank Group held a meeting to examine the matter arising from a complaint from the Board of Directors of the Bank, and about that which I received from some shareholders expressing different points of view.

”Following this meeting, several publications in the international press were brought to my attention concerning the content of the deliberations of said meeting. This leads me to make clarifications to avoid any misunderstanding.

“The Office, which I chair, wishes to reassure the public that it has taken up the matter and is treating it with the greatest rigour and with all the seriousness that it deserves. However, the Office informs the public that no decision has been made as falsely conveyed in some publications.

“I must emphasise that there is no institutional crisis within the African Development Bank Group. Above all, in no case has the President of the Bank Group been asked to resign.

“Everyone must allow the Office to do its work and let the process of examining this case take its course. The opinion of all the governors will be sought for its successful outcome.”

Fed govt hands off Bash Ali’s never-ending fight

The ministry asserts that the proposed bout falls under the purview of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBBofC), being a professional category that is purely a business concern and acting on instructions from the Presidency, cannot interfere in a matter over which another organization has jurisdiction. .

A letter written to Ali’s lawyer read: “The Ministry under the directive of Mr. President in a letter, dated 10th March, 2020 made it clear that it is not the proper platform for your client to realize his pet project.”

It further said “And as a final note I am directed to advise your client to restrain from engaging in any act capable of creating a difficult atmosphere for the Ministry and its staff to carry out their functions.”

Fed Govt cuts 2020 budget by N71.5b as N47.9b is okayed for projects

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a revision of the 2020 Budget from N10.594 trillion to N10.523 trillion, reflecting a N71.5billion downward review.

Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who stated this while briefing State House correspondents after the virtual FEC meeting  at the State House yesterday, also said an amendment to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework(MTEF) for 2020-2022 was approved.

President Muhammadu Buhari in December signed the N10.594 trillion Appropriation bill into  law.

The minister also explained that FEC  also approved the recommendations with key parameters, including the price of crude oil  pegged at $25 per barrel, crude oil production at 1.94 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N360 to $1.

She said: “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.

“The Federal Government in this budget will have direct revenue of funding the budget of N5.158 billion. “The deficit to this budget N5.365 trillion and this will be financed by both domestic as well as foreign borrowing.

“The foreign borrowing we are doing for 2020 are all concessionary loans from the IMF which has already been approved and has crystallized, from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank  as well as Afri- EXIM bank.

“There will also be some drawdown of previously committed loans for major ongoing projects that we will be drawing from both existing 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 privatisation.

“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 also said that the council approved the purchase of three locally-manufactured boats for the Nigeria Customs Service for its surveillance and anti-corruption activities on the maritime waters.

Ahmed said that there was  a push to patronize made in Nigeria goods because of the Coronavirus pandemic and also boost the economy.

Her words: “On prioritization of made in Nigeria products, as you know the President(Muhammadu Buhari) has set up an economic stimulus committee chaired by the  Vice President(Prof. Yemi Osibajo). The work of the committee is to develop 12 months economic stimulus plan and we are at the final stage of that work.

“We have prioritised 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.

“Some of the FEC memos that were taken given today have been in council waiting in the queue for a couple of months now. The one for transport is not new, it didn’t just come today and council felt it should go because it’s been there for a long time.

“But, we have got approval from Mr. President that spending as much as possible should be made in Nigeria on goods and products that are produced in Nigeria, so that it saves our foreign exchange and also helps to grow the economy.”

Also, the minister said the request of $80 million loan from the Islamic Development Bank on behalf of the Ebonyi State government was  approved by FEC

The Finance minister said that the money would be used to finance the construction of the Abakiliki ring road project.

”While the Federal Government is the one borrowing from the bank, Federal Government will be un-lending this loan 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 road connects 13 local government areas  in the state  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.”

Also speaking at the briefing, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, said that FEC approved a loan facility of $1.2 billion to finance  the mechanisation of agriculture in the country. .

He said the planned mechanisation of agriculture would span across 632 local government areas.

Nanono  added: ”Today, we presented a joint memo with the Federal Ministry of Finance in which we seek the approval for a loan facility of about 950 million Euros translated probably to $1.2 billion .

”This loan is for the purpose of agricultural mechanisation in this country –that will cover about 632 local government areas plus 140 processing plants.

”This is going to be a major revolution in the agriculture sector, that we have never seen before.’’