The manufacturing sector and household users of electricity in the country can significantly reduce energy consumption, improve productivity and profitability, reduce pollution and cost of goods if adoption of energy efficiency is prioritized. With the development, energy experts, who gathered in Abuja, at an event organised by the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) linked the dismal contribution of the manufacturing sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to energy challenges. They insisted that while the over 2,800 manufacturing companies scattered across 10 sectorial groups in the country contributed less than 4 per cent to the GDP, about 80 per…
Author: Temitope N.
Capital market experts have rated the country’s democratic regime as one that has failed to create a competitive edge for the domestic investment market. Assessing Nigeria’s unbroken democracy since 1999, the stakeholders argued that the era delivered less than expected in terms of stimulating growth. They said the application of democratic practice has been below par. Vice President of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri, said Nigeria has suffered three severe recessions within the past 22 years, noting that the economy is largely import-dependent. Adonri said the parlous state of Nigeria’s infrastructure reflects inappropriate macroeconomic policies. He noted that the economy…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says $40 billion investment is needed to accomplish the nation’s gas plan. Yusuf Usman, chief operating officer for gas and power at NNPC, made this known at a virtual forum on Wednesday. President Muhammadu Buhari launched the ‘Decade of Gas in Nigeria’ on March 29, an ambitious plan by Nigeria to entirely power its economy with gas by the year 2030. Buhari said the declaration of the decade of gas will set the tone for the development of the gas industry in the next ten years. Speaking at the forum organised by the Association…
The African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), a pan-African organisation for the downstream oil sector in Africa, says Nigeria and other countries in the continent require $15.7 billion to upgrade 36 oil refineries. Founded in 2006, the ARDA is comprised of African oil refiners, importers, terminal operators, major marketers, distributors and regulators. In March, the federal executive council (FEC) approved the sum of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery. The repair, which will be executed by Tecnimont SPA, an Italian company, will be done in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months In a statement, Anibor…
In a move towards deepening transparency, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has secured the trust of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure that the terms of all contracts signed in the petroleum sector are open and totally accessible to Nigerians as required by the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji made the disclosure in Abuja at the end of a five-day knowledge sharing workshop for his staff in Abuja. According to him, a committee to resolve issues surrounding…
The Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), a financial sector development organisation that promotes financial inclusion in Nigeria, says 38 million citizens — 36 percent of adult population — remain completely financially excluded. In its 2012 National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had projected that 80 per cent of Nigerians would have access to financial services by December 2020. But the data released by the financial sector development organisation shows that only 64 percent of Nigerian adults were financially included by the end of 2020. Of the figure, 51 percent of Nigerian adults have access…
First Bank of Nigeria Limited has debunked reports that its branches in the South-East part of the country have been closed due to the rising insecurity in the region. “This is to inform the public that our South-East branches are fully open for business. Please disregard any news making the rounds that is contrary to this. Thank you,” Bank’s Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said in a statement on Wednesday. The bank noted that its branches in the South-East and in other parts of the country were “fully open for business.”
Shoprite, Africa’s largest food retailer, has sold its Nigerian operations to local investors 16 years after it opened its first outlet in the continent’s most populous country. The company sold its stake to Ketron Investment, a Nigerian company owned by a group of local investors led by property firm Persianas Investment, Ketron said in an emailed statement. Shoprite is changing its strategy “from an ownership model to a franchise model,” Ketron said. The acquisition has been approved by Nigeria’s federal competition and consumer protection commission. With the sale, Shoprite becomes the latest South African business to exit the West African…
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC ministerial meeting has reaffirmed its commitment to a stable global market in the mutual interest of producing countries. The meeting gave the assurance at the end of its virtual 17th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting on Tuesday. “In view of current oil market fundamentals and the consensus on its outlook, the meeting reaffirmed the existing commitment of the participating countries in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) to a stable market in the mutual interest of producing nations. “Also, the efficient, economic and secure supply to consumers; and a fair return on invested…
Nigeria has awarded the rights to develop marginal oilfields to 50% of the 161 firms shortlisted after they met all the conditions, the petroleum regulator said on Tuesday. Nigeria is looking to production from the fields to bolster state finances and increase local participation in the oil sector, which provides the bulk of the country’s foreign exchange. The award comes a year after the marginal field bid round in 2020 in which 591 companies applied to win 57 oil fields located onshore, swamps and offshore, said Sarki Auwalu, head of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Some of the indigenous…
The European Union is preparing sanctions on Belarus’ national airline and around a dozen top Belarusian aviation officials, three diplomats said, a stop-gap measure before economic sanctions following the forced landing of a passenger plane. The proposed asset freezes and travel bans are part of a package of new sanctions on Belarus from EU states, which are outraged that a Ryanair flight was pressed to land in Minsk on May 23 to arrest a dissident journalist and his girlfriend. EU governments, which described the incident as state piracy, say they are looking at targeting sectors that play a central role…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has directed all existing investment crowdfunding portals/digital commodities investment platforms to note the requirements and eligibility criteria for raising funds through and/or operating a Crowdfunding Portal and comply with the registration requirements or cease operations by the 30th of June, 2021. This was contained in a notice released by the Commission on Wednesday. According to the SEC, the rules governing Crowdfunding business in Nigeria came into effect on the 21st day of January, 2021, which was part of efforts by the Commission to ensure investor protection while encouraging innovation in the conduct of securities business.…
Henceforth, any organisation or individual seeking bank loans will provide sufficient evidence that the facility will be channelled into a venture that will not pollute or harm the environment in any way. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Mr Godwin Emefiele, who stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the celebration of the 2021 World Environment Day, themed “Ecosystem Restoration”, explained that the move was to keep a green and sustainable environment in the country. Emefiele, who planted trees alongside his deputies at the CBN headquarters, further noted that the Deposit Money Banks will adjust their lending policies accordingly. ‘In…
Hosting the Olympics during the current state of coronavirus infections in Japan was “not normal”, Japan’s most senior medical adviser has said in one of the strongest warnings yet about risks from the troubled Games. Doctors have said the Olympics, due to start on July 23 after a postponement from last year, would strain a healthcare system already seeing record numbers in critical conditions. Japan has reported more than 750,000 cases of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, including 13,170 deaths as of June 2. Only 2.7 percent of Japan’s population has been fully vaccinated, and the…
The Dangote Cement Plc has announced that it has deeply invested in enlightening consumers on the different applications and the best optimal use of the product in furtherance to the measures put in place for more supply of cement to the market. The Group Sales Marketing Director, Dangote Cement, Rabiu Umar, stated this at an interactive session with ‘Building and Industry Professionals’ in Kano at the weekend. He said prices of Dangote cement have not increased at factory level, but the forces of demand and supply are driving the prices up. Umar assured Nigerians that appropriate measures have been…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has moved to explain its recent bid to acquire 20 percent stake in the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery in Lagos, citing the need to ensure energy security for the country. The corporation in a statement its Group General Manager Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, stated that the move was in line with Federal Government’s policy. According to NNPC, the move was in “with a Federal Government policy directive which stipulates the mandatory participation of the Corporation in any privately-owned refinery that exceeds 50,000 barrels per day capacity in keeping with…
The governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, has said Nigeria’s economy is in stagflation, describing the GDP growth numbers as weak. Despite the improved gross domestic product, GDP, report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, for the first quarter 2021, Q1’21. In economics, stagflation or recession-inflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It presents a dilemma for economic policy, since actions intended to lower inflation may stagnate growth while exacerbating unemployment. It was against this backdrop that the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee,…
The consumer price index, which measures the rate of change in the price of goods and services, dropped to 18.12 percent in April from 18.17 in March. The last time it dropped was in 2019 when it slowed from 11.08 percent in July to 11.02 in August. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced this on Monday in its April consumer price index/inflation report. The food inflation also reduced to 22.75 percent in April from 22.95 in March. “The urban inflation rate increased by 18.68 percent (year-on-year) in April 2021, down by 0.61 the rate recorded in March 2021(1.60), while…
World Health Organisation Director-General, Dr. Tedos Ghebreyesus, says smokers have up to a 50 per cent higher risk of developing severe diseases and death from COVID-19. Ghebreyesus said this in a message to commemorate World No Tobacco Day, globally marked on May 31 annually, to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. According to him, quitting is best thing smokers can do to lower their risk from coronavirus as well as the risk of developing cancers, heart disease and respiratory illnesses. “We urge all countries to play their part by joining…
The Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Emeka Okonkwo, has disclosed that the bank released N350 million to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria in 2020. This, he added was in line with the bank’s sustainability finance policy that aimed to uphold the tenets of the Social Development Goals (SDGs) and the Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles (NSBPs). Okonkwo made this disclosure recently when he presented the bank’s 2020 Citizenship Sustainability and Innovation (CSI) report that gave detailed account of Union Bank’s continued efforts towards creating a more sustainable future by further embedding responsible…