As the President Buhari-led administration continues to implement its change agenda, major Nigerian dailies are focusing on a number of issues today, August 21.
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that Boko Haram insurgency will soon be a thing of the past, Daily Sun reports.
Speaking during a visit by Mr Mousa Faki Mahamat, Chadian minister of Foreign Affairs and special envoy of President Idris Deby, Buhari reaffirmed the determination of his administration to end insurgency in the country.
Daily Sun front page, August 21, 2015.
He explained that with higher morale among troops on the frontline against Boko Haram and their improved logistics, equipment and training, a rapid end to the insurgency could be expected.
Buhari added that to make this a reality, Nigeria and Chad must be willing and prepared to make more sacrifices.
“We will sustain our effort, and the insurgents will be defeated soon,” he vowed.
The special envoy of the Chadian president said he was there to reaffirm their full commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.
Vanguard reports the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu has called for speedy deregulation of the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The NNPC boss, who was represented by Mrs Bolanle Ashafa, Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), said, deregulation will also provide a fair deal for Nigerians from the abundant petroleum resources, through fair product prices for consumers, full cost recovery, and reasonable margins for operators.
Vanguard front page, August 21, 2015.
He added that the fuel subsidy was an unsustainable drain on the economy.
Kachikwu made this known yesterday, August 20, while presenting a keynote address titled “Energy Crisis and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: The Way Forward”, at the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) Conference held at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The NNPC chief also has assured Nigerians that the corporation has enough stock of petrol to service the country for 25 days at a consumption rate of 40 million litres daily, The Guardian reports.
He, however, said that the reserve will not be available in all the 21 depots across the country in view of the challenges facing the pipeline network.
The Guardian front page, August 21, 2015.
Meanwhile, the United States and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have said they are ready to work with the new management of the NNPC to achieve the federal government’s reform agenda in the oil and gas industry.
In other new, the federal government has approved the conversion of states’ loans in commercial banks to federal government bonds, The Punch reports.
At the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday, August 20, it was learnt that federal government bonds had been issued to 14 banks on behalf of 11 state governments as part of the plan to restructure states’ loans in commercial banks.
The Punch front page, August 21, 2015.
The 11 states, which are beneficiaries of the FGN bonds issued to the 14 banks, were among the 22 states who had applied for their commercial loans to be converted to FG bonds as of August 19.
According to The Nation report, states that have not been able to pay their workers’ salaries for some months now, will soon be able to so as the federal government has approved the restructuring of the loans holding down their financial capacity.
Out of the 22 states that applied for the rescheduling of their loans, 11 have been cleared.
The Nation front page, August 21, 2015.
Speaking after the 60th NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, the governor of Kwara state, Abdulfatah Ahmed said the remaining 11 states would be cleared after the verification of their documents.
Complete Sports front page, August 21, 2015
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