Skip to main content

Newsspecng

FG boost Gombe Primary Healthcare Delivery with medical equipment, commodities

FG boost Gombe Primary Healthcare Delivery with medical equipment, commodities

Releated Post

CBN Cuts T-bill Rate Amid N3.63tn Demand Investors are increasingly positioning for longer-term returns in Nigeria’s fixed-income market, with the latest treasury bills auction showing an overwhelming preference for the one-year government security. At the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) primary market auction on Wednesday, investors submitted N3.63tn for the 364-day T-bill, representing 95.9 per cent of the N3.79tn total bids received across the three maturities. The demand came despite the CBN lowering the stop rate on the one-year instrument by 44 basis points to 17.15 per cent, from 17.59 per cent at the previous auction. The auction results point to a significant shift in investor appetite towards longer-dated government securities, even as demand for shorter-tenor instruments remained subdued. The CBN had offered N700bn across the three maturities, comprising N100bn each for the 91-day and 182-day bills and N500bn for the 364-day bill. However, total subscriptions reached approximately N3.79tn, more than five times the amount offered. The 364-day instrument was the clear outlier at the auction, receiving bids equivalent to 7.26 times the amount offered. The CBN ultimately allotted N638.19bn, exceeding the N500bn offer by N138.19bn. Despite the additional allotment, only about 17.6 per cent of total bids submitted for the instrument were accepted. Investors quoted yields between 16.00 per cent and 19.05 per cent, but the CBN settled at 17.15 per cent, suggesting that the level of demand allowed the regulator to reject more expensive bids. The development is significant because the CBN achieved a lower borrowing rate even after receiving exceptionally strong demand for the security. The contrast was stark at the shorter end of the curve. The 91-day bill attracted N103.32bn in subscriptions against N100bn offered. The CBN allotted N89.10bn at an unchanged stop rate of 16.30 per cent. The 182-day bill performed even more weakly, attracting only N52.93bn against N100bn on offer. The CBN allotted N35.59bn, while the stop rate remained at 16.50 per cent. Secondary-market yields for the three instruments stood above their respective auction stop rates, at 17.45 per cent for the 91-day bill, 17.05 per cent for the 182-day bill and 17.24 per cent for the 364-day bill. According to a financial sector analyst, Jimbe Asalor, the concentration of bids in the one-year instrument suggests investors may be placing greater value on locking in relatively attractive yields over a longer period rather than repeatedly rolling over shorter-term securities. He noted that the latest auction also demonstrates “the CBN’s ability to borrow more cheaply when demand is concentrated around a particular maturity.” He added that by accepting N638.19bn on the 364-day bill at 17.15 per cent, the CBN borrowed above its initial offer while simultaneously cutting the rate by 44 basis points. “The nine-basis-point difference between the auction stop rate and the 17.24 per cent secondary-market yield also indicates that the one-year segment is now trading relatively close to market expectations.” A Lagos-based consultant economist, Chukwunonso Iheoma, said if the preference for longer-dated treasury bills persists, the development could provide further support for a gradual decline in government borrowing costs while strengthening expectations of eventual interest-rate cuts.

 

By Danjuma Attah, Gombe

 

 

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate has handed over reproductive health equipment and commodities to the Gombe State Government with the aim of enhancing healthcare delivery across Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the state.

Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, explained that the intervention by the Federal Government was designed to complement the efforts of the Gombe State Government in strengthening primary healthcare delivery.

The Minister said Gombe State Government has done a lot in expanding access to primary healthcare but that, as part of the sector-wide approach, the Federal Government is also contributing its share to ensure that PHC’s deliver quality care for women, children and vulnerable populations.

He said, “these equipment and commodities are meant for primary healthcare centres across all the local government areas of Gombe State”, and went further to commend Gombe State of for its investments through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the contributory health scheme (Go-Health).

He noted that the Federal Government is committed to working in synergy with the State to achieve the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the health sector.

“This initiative is being implemented across the 36 States of of the federation, but we are beginning with Gombe. Other states will follow, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the health sector”, he added.

Governor Inuwa Yahaya, while receiving the items on behalf the Gombe State Government, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his administration’s continued support to the State’s healthcare sector, describing the intervention as timely and critical to the realization of his Government’s health agenda.

He noted that Gombe State had prioritized healthcare reforms, including the revitalization of PHCs, recruitment of health workers among others, emphasizing that the additional support from the Federal Government would further strengthen the system and complement state-level initiatives.

Speaking earlier, the State Coordinator of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the agency through which the items were provided, Mr. Abba Ibrahim Musa, explained that the intervention was intended to strengthen maternal and child health services, improve access to reproductive healthcare, and ensure that frontline facilities are better equipped to meet the needs of the people.

Items provided include delivery beds, portable ultrasound with foetal doppler, workstation for resuscitation of babies, hospital beds and mattresses, baby cots, suction machines, microscopes and other laboratory equipment and supplies, weighing scales, diagnostics sets, BP machines and other diagnostic tools and 25 sets of Solar Direct Drive for vaccine storage.

Other items include 60 essential medicines in bundled packs containing Analgesics; Anti-microbials; Anti-malaria; Cough and cold medicines; medicines to prevent bleeding after delivery, and for treating high blood pressure and family Planning commodities among others.

End.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Related Posts

CBN Cuts T-bill Rate Amid N3.63tn Demand Investors are increasingly positioning for longer-term returns in Nigeria’s fixed-income market, with the latest treasury bills auction showing an overwhelming preference for the one-year government security. At the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) primary market auction on Wednesday, investors submitted N3.63tn for the 364-day T-bill, representing 95.9 per cent of the N3.79tn total bids received across the three maturities. The demand came despite the CBN lowering the stop rate on the one-year instrument by 44 basis points to 17.15 per cent, from 17.59 per cent at the previous auction. The auction results point to a significant shift in investor appetite towards longer-dated government securities, even as demand for shorter-tenor instruments remained subdued. The CBN had offered N700bn across the three maturities, comprising N100bn each for the 91-day and 182-day bills and N500bn for the 364-day bill. However, total subscriptions reached approximately N3.79tn, more than five times the amount offered. The 364-day instrument was the clear outlier at the auction, receiving bids equivalent to 7.26 times the amount offered. The CBN ultimately allotted N638.19bn, exceeding the N500bn offer by N138.19bn. Despite the additional allotment, only about 17.6 per cent of total bids submitted for the instrument were accepted. Investors quoted yields between 16.00 per cent and 19.05 per cent, but the CBN settled at 17.15 per cent, suggesting that the level of demand allowed the regulator to reject more expensive bids. The development is significant because the CBN achieved a lower borrowing rate even after receiving exceptionally strong demand for the security. The contrast was stark at the shorter end of the curve. The 91-day bill attracted N103.32bn in subscriptions against N100bn offered. The CBN allotted N89.10bn at an unchanged stop rate of 16.30 per cent. The 182-day bill performed even more weakly, attracting only N52.93bn against N100bn on offer. The CBN allotted N35.59bn, while the stop rate remained at 16.50 per cent. Secondary-market yields for the three instruments stood above their respective auction stop rates, at 17.45 per cent for the 91-day bill, 17.05 per cent for the 182-day bill and 17.24 per cent for the 364-day bill. According to a financial sector analyst, Jimbe Asalor, the concentration of bids in the one-year instrument suggests investors may be placing greater value on locking in relatively attractive yields over a longer period rather than repeatedly rolling over shorter-term securities. He noted that the latest auction also demonstrates “the CBN’s ability to borrow more cheaply when demand is concentrated around a particular maturity.” He added that by accepting N638.19bn on the 364-day bill at 17.15 per cent, the CBN borrowed above its initial offer while simultaneously cutting the rate by 44 basis points. “The nine-basis-point difference between the auction stop rate and the 17.24 per cent secondary-market yield also indicates that the one-year segment is now trading relatively close to market expectations.” A Lagos-based consultant economist, Chukwunonso Iheoma, said if the preference for longer-dated treasury bills persists, the development could provide further support for a gradual decline in government borrowing costs while strengthening expectations of eventual interest-rate cuts.

Thanks for subscribing to our newsletter