News In Brief Today - 6/5/2016

Good Morning *Yawaning*

1- Adeosun: N165bn Monthly Civil Service Wage Bill Not Sustainable

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun has said that the N165 billion civil service monthly wage bill is over-bloated and can no longer be sustained by the federal government.

The minister spoke on Thursday in Lagos at a meeting with the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN). Adeosun, who provided details on the economic reform agenda of the federal government, said the N165 billion being paid to federal civil servants monthly represented 40 per cent of the total spending of government, reported the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

2- Calabar-Lagos rail project included in revised budget details transmitted to president

The N60 billion Calabar-Lagos rail project, which first set off the impasse between the presidency and the National Assembly over the 2016 Appropriation Bill has been included in the budget details transmitted to President Buhari yesterday afternoon, sources in the presidency have revealed.

3-Adeosun Faults Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for blaming the inability of the immediate past administration to save on Governors

Finance minister Adeosun has also faulted the position of her predecessor, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who had blamed the inability of the immediate past administration to save for a rainy day on the state governors.

The governors, the former finance minister said, had insisted that all revenues accruing to the federation must be shared, effectively eroding the fiscal buffer that would have shielded the economy from external shocks.

But countering this position, Adeosun pointed out that 52 per cent of the Federation Account allocation goes to the federal government, so if the federal government under former President Goodluck Jonathan had the will to save, it would have saved its own portion of its allocation.

4- Again, Militants Bomb Chevron Facility in Escravos

Militants in the Niger Delta on Wednesday night attacked Chevron’s valve platform, an offshore oil facility located near Escravos in Abiteye, Warri South West Local Government of Delta State, forcing the company to shut in crude oil output from some fields in the western Niger Delta and critical gas supply to thermal power stations in the country.

5- Troops Kill 18 Cattle Rustlers, Recover Weapons in Zamfara State

Troops of 223 Battalion, 1 Brigade Nigerian Army have averted another attack on Dansadau town of Zamfara State by suspected cattle rustlers and armed bandits, killing 18 of them in the process.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, said that the troops who were on patrol were alerted by well-meaning individuals on seeing the bandits. “The troops killed 18 and wounded several armed bandits. They also recovered 11 AK-47 rifles, a G3 rifles, locally made pistol, 11 magazines of AK-47 rifle, a magazine of G3 rifle and 161 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunitions. The troops went further and destroyed the bandits’ camp at Babban Doka general area,” he stated.

6- We Wont Tolerate Any Excuse for Killings, Military Warns Herdsmen

In response to the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to deal decisively with the rampaging Fulani herdsmen, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has vowed not to tolerate excuses from any armed group to unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, gave this warning yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the leadership of Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association.

7- Zimbabwe to Start Printing US Dollar Equivalent

Zimbabwe is set to print its own version of the US dollar in order to ease a cash shortage in the country.

Zimbabwe’s Central Bank Governor John Mangudya said the cash, known as bond notes, will be backed by $200 million (£140 million) support from the Africa Export-Import (Afrexim) Bank.

8- Power: FG to Decentralise, Concession

Nigeria is seriously considering the decentralisation of its power transmission network into segments which could be concessioned to private operators to invest in, manage and charge transmission fees, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said.

Fashola said yesterday in Lagos that due to the current challenges of the country’s transmission network, a proposal on the ‘technical

possibilities’ of decentralising the huge transmission grid was already on the table of the government.

9- Ukraine Expresses Readiness to Invest $1bn in Ajaokuta Steel Plant

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Nigeria, Valeriy Aleksandruk, has revealed his country’s readiness to invest $1 billion towards the resuscitation of the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company.

Speaking in Abuja during a courtesy call on the acting Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Vincent Akporaire, the envoy added that the Ukrainian company that built the plant, Tiajpromexport (TPE), had already made a proposal to the federal government on its willingness to revive the plant.

10- WHO: Malaria Hampering Nigeria’s Economy

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the high prevalence of malaria in the country was hampering the Nigerian economy in various dimensions, resulting to the loss of about N132 billion annually to malaria related projects.

This was made known in Abuja during the sensitisation programme on Malaria prevention organised by Africare, through the Power Forward Programme at Government Day Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja.

-This Day

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