Buhari Bars Release of Forex for Food, Fertiliser Imports Says govt averted food crisis amid COVID-19
Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to release "a kobo'' from the
country’s reserves for the importation of food items and fertilisers. He said at the National Food Security Council meeting yesterday at the State House,
Abuja, that he would soon communicate the directive, which he had previously issued orally to the CBN, in writing to the apex bank that ''nobody importing food
should be given money.'' He also said the federal government averted food crisis despite the outbreak of COVID-19, which disrupted the global economy, including
the agriculture value chain, through its proactive policy. A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu,
quoted the president as saying that instead of releasing fund from the foreign reserves for fertiliser importation, the Continued on page 9
UK Court Orders P&ID to Pay Nigeria £1.5m Cost...
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FG Projects N1tn Petrol Subsidy Savings, Targets Economic, Infrastructure Devt MAN: Removal of subsidies good for economy Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos The federal government yesterday estimated that it
would save over N1 trillion yearly from the removal of fuel subsidy following the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
The extra cash, Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva, told journalists yesterday in Abuja, would be used to fund infrastructure development and to grow
the nation's economy. He urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be fooled by critics of deregulation to create anarchy and chaos. The subsidy removal
policy got the support of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) yesterday even as it lamented that its members spent N67.38 billion, which is 38 per cent of their operating
costs, to self-generate electricity in 2019, while the unsold inventory of manufactured goods stood at N402. 4billion. Continued on page 9
Bank CEOs: Why We Resigned from Economic Summit Group Board Say our position was no longer tenable Obinna Chima Two of the bank chief executive officers (CEOs) who resigned from the board of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) have said they were never "threatened or forced to resign" as suggested by a business publication yesterday. The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of United Bank of Africa (UBA), Mr. Kennedy Uzoka; his counterparts at Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, and First Bank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Adesola Adeduntan, resigned from the NESG Board on Wednesday. This followed a squabble between the NESG and the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). But speaking in separate interviews last night, they cited the failure of corporate governance at the NESG, given the fact the group made such a major announcement without input from all its directors. Instead, the economic summit group selected to work with few members of the board one of whom is a publisher. The CEOs who pleaded to remain anonymous as they do not want to be drawn into the controversy while wondering how such a major statement on the economy was made without input from all board members. They stressed that contrary Continued on page 9
5,100 Card Readers Gone as Fire Guts Ondo INEC Office... Page 8
DEVELOPMENT BANKER... Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) (left), and President, African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, during his thank-you-visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja…yesterday