Scorecard for a Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 thisdaylive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisdaylive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) a leading economic statistics indicator, has confirmed Nigeria slipped into its second recession in July, the third quarter of 2020. This was caused by dwindling oil revenues and the corona virus pandemic. In quarter 2, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the economy contracted by 6.1 percent. An economy is said to be in a recession when output contracts for two straight quarters. The average PMI for July, August, and September- the third quarter, was 45.3 points. Whenever PMI is below 50 points, it is a sign of contraction; while a reading above 50 points signals expansion.
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There’s a new clause in Nigeria’s Finance Bill for 2021 that will drive down import duties on foreign vehicles from 35% to 5%. Divisive opinions from investors and industry players have met the proposed policy as it could potentially limit the demand for locally produced vehicles.
At the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) conference, Chidi Ajaere, CEO of GIG Group, parent of GIG Mobility and GIG Logistics voiced his concerns on how the policy affects investors who have put billions of naira into the local production of vehicles.
“We have invested all that money. What is going to happen to us (the investors in that vehicle assembly plant) now with the policy somersault? Will the federal government come to our aid with incentives for the monies already sunk into the investment?”
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
CHAIRMAN, Presidential Task Force, PTF on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha yesterday said that the evacuation of Nigerian citizens all over the world should become a significant policy issue of government.
The SGF stated this in his End of Year COVID-19 Report submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
While reeling out the challenges encountered by the PTF and the lessons learnt, he said there were immense benefits derivable from multi-sectoral collaboration to address issues.
He said, “Your Excellency, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has led the execution of interventions geared towards achieving epidemic control of COVID-19 in Nigeria since March 2020, when it was inaugurated.
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