Financing

The board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday approved Nigeria’s request for $3.4 billion emergency support to address the severe impact of the COVID-19.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Director for Africa, World Health Organisation (WHO), on Saturday said that Africa was falling short of the 2020 milestone of 40 per cent reduction in cases and deaths.

To mark the World Malaria Day, experts have reiterated the need for Nigeria to develop stronger and robust healthcare systems which can withstand pressure in the face of any pandemic such as COVID-19 through improved budget and invest­ment in infrastructure, espe­cially health research.

Nigeria, which is reeling from the twin hits of the oil price collapse and the new coronavirus pandemic, requested the emergency funding under the Fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument.

In Nigeria’s Benue state, the food basket of the country, Mercy Yialase, sits in front of her idle rice mill. Demand is high across the nation, but she already has mounds of paddy rice that are going nowhere amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

Nigeria and other African countries need an estimated $114 billion this year in their fight against COVID-19, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

In order to reduce the acute housing deficit in the country, some experts in the built environment have suggested that government should massively build and transfer houses either by low-cost scheme or another system.

The International Monetary Fund is looking to triple its concessional financing for the poorest countries to over $18 billion to help them respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, on Monday approved the disbursement of US$1 billion to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

Nigeria’s creative industry has been described as the fastest growing sector of the economy with $53 million and $51 million accrued last year from film and music respectively.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Olalere Odusote, has said the state administration is desirous of creating enabling environment for oil companies in the state in line with its campaign for ease of doing business.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill scrapping the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and replaced it with a Federal Road Authority charged with the rehabilitation and maintenance of all federal roads across the country. The House also moved to establish a National Roads Fund to generate funds for the maintenance of all federal roads with a view to ensuring motorable roads across the country and take such burden away from government.

President of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, will deliver the keynote address on the theme: “Financing South East economic development and improving the Ease of Doing Business in the South East”, on Friday at the 4th South East Economic Summit (SEES) holding in Enugu.

With the review of Nigeria’s International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) capacities to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats, a new average Joint External Evaluation (JEE) score of 46% for Nigeria has been announced. This is a 7% increase from the 2017 score of 39%.

A coalition of South East Youth Leaders has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ban the importation of new vehicles and cars into the country and to support Innoson Motors the only indigenous vehicle manufacturer in the country.

The Bangladesh High Commissioner to Nigeria, Shameen Ahsan, has called for the strengthening of its international relations with Nigeria to harness investment potential that abounds in both countries.

The on-going 2019 Abuja International Trade Fair (2019AITF) organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has been extended to Wednesday, October 2.

The National Social Investment Office (NSIO) has said that contrary to rumours, the office of Vice President was not involved in financial transactions or the disbursement of funds for the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIPs)