The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • NIMASA to create 5,000 jobs in seafaring

    NIMASA to create 5,000 jobs in seafaring

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) plans to create over 5,000 jobs under the National Seafarers Development Programme, its Director-General Patrick Akpobolokemi, has said.

    The prospective seafarers are to be trained abroad under the auspices of the programme.

    Last Sunday, NIMASA desptached 525 cadets to the Philippines for training in Marine Engineering, Nautical Science and Naval Architecture.

    Speaking at the send-off party for them, Akpobolokemi said they were being sent abroad to boost the development of the country, assuring them that the agency would give them the necessary financial backing during the training.

    The training, he said, would not only solve domestic seafarers’ need of the country, but ensure that it becomes an exporter of seafarers in future.

    President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by the Transport Minister, Senator Idris Umar, said the training was in line with the government’s policy to create employment for the youth.

    He said the government was aware of the untapped resources in the maritime sector, adding that the government would step up the tempo to ensure that they are tapped to make the country compete favourably and earn foreign exchange like other maritime nations.

    Justifying the training, Umar, who said another 1,000 would leave in January 2013, noted the gap in the nation’s seafaring, adding that many seafarers in the industry are old and on the way out of public service.

    He charged the beneficiaries to see themselves as good ambassadors of the nation, face their studies with seriousness and stay away from any act that can mar the image of the country.

    Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty, Mr Kingsley Kuku, urged the cadets to face their studies, saying that they should count themselves lucky to be beneficiaries of the programme.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Maritime and Chairman of the occasion, Mr Leke Oyewole, said many of the beneficiaries did not know the objective of the training, adding that it and other initiatives of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan were designed to address manpower shortage in the sub-sector.

    He advised them to be of good behaviour and make the nation proud.

  • Lagos goes vertical to bridge housing gap

    Lagos goes vertical to bridge housing gap

    To meet the huge housing demand of the people, the Lagos State Government said henceforth all her housing estate would be built vertically to accommodate the a greater percentage of people who are desirous of owing houses of their own.

    Commissioner for Housing, Mr Bosu Jeje, said the estates built in several parts of the state, such as Sangotedo, Shitta in Surulere, Omole phase1 and 2; Magodo 1, Igbogbo in Ikorodu, Oba Adegboruwa; Micheal Otedola in Epe, Honourable and Alhaja Adeto Mustapha in Ojokoro, Mushin among others will henceforth be over four floors to maximise the limited land available in the state for housing development.

    Jeje revealed that many of the estates would be delivered in the first quarter of next year to kick off the planned mortgage programme targeted at first time home owners in the state and address the problem of affordable housing for the low income earners.

    The commissioner said people would have between 15 and 30 years to offset their mortgages through the programme. He said some of the houses would cost as low as N4million.

    According to him the mega city status of the state has presented the challenge of accommodation for the millions of residents which the state is trying to tackle by creating an enabling environment for the private sector to develop housing in the state.

    Jeje said the government sees it as part of its social responsibility to provide affordable housing to the teeming public in order to have a sane society.

    On how people can take advantage of the mortgage scheme, he said the government will soon come up with the modalities that will make it easy for people to be part of the innovative home ownership programme.

    He said: “We have not yet decided on the modalities for implementing the scheme. We are yet to decide whether people should come to the office to collect forms or they should fill the forms online. All these gaps are what we are working on right now and as soon as we done we will go public.”

    He said N20 billion was budgeted for the ministry but because they have executed all their projects the budget has gone beyond it.

    On the house types, the housing ministry boss said all the estate have one, two and three-bedroom apartments. According to him the aim is to close the gap between the rich and the poor where all classes of people would live together thereby eliminating class distinction.

    On payment patterns, he said once you have a job the person will be qualified to be part of it. He said: “The scheme is comfortable for everybody, it requires 30 per cent equity contribution from subscribers and there will be banks on standby to take up that equity for the subscribers.

    It is noteworthy that besides the provision of housing for the people, we are also creating jobs because in any of our project sites, we have created jobs for 500-1,000 people and we have ensured that these workers are Nigerians.”

    He explained that once a subscriber buys, the name goes into the data and that makes it impossible for people to buy more than once. But in any case anybody that attempts to buy twice will be liable to criminal prosecution.

    “People will be swear an affidavit that they have not bought before and once you do that it becomes a criminal offence if you are found to have lied. We will try our best that money bags don’t hijack the houses. However, anybody who will come to subscribe to the scheme, must be employed and paying taxes to the state government,” he said.

  • NNPC will meet 250,000 bpd target, says GMD

    NNPC will meet 250,000 bpd target, says GMD

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said its aspiration to attain 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) production by 2015 is on.

    He said it would government’s policy to unbundle the NNPC as provided in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) now before the National Assembly.

    The production target would be achieved through NNPC’s subsidiary in charge of exploration and production (E&P), National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

    The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, had on assumption of office assured he would ensure aggressive transformation of the corporation and its subsidiaries to be globally competitive and carry out its operations in line with global best practices.

    Yakubu during his inaugural town hall meeting with management and staff of the NNPC said the management team under his watch would introduce new business models in all its Strategic Business Units (SBUs) and Corporate Service Units (CSUs) to ensure the commercial viability of the corporation in order to remain competitive in the global oil and gas industry. Yakubu stated that the management team would reposition the NNPC to become a commercially focused and profit-driven organization that is governed by best management practices using current technology, pursue and maintain competitive operational and business efficiency, cost effectiveness, input/output optimization, revenue maximization and profitability.

    Before 2010, the NPDC was producing about 65,000bpd but by 2010, the company was given a target to attain 250,000 bpd production by 2015. In compliance with this directive, the company has ever continued to rev up production and currently stands at 130,000 bpd.

    According to the NPDC, the bulk of the recent production level is from the oil mining leases (OMLs) assigned to the company following the divestment of by some of the Joint Venture partners such as Shell. This kind of growth was described by the Managing Director of NPDC, Mr. Victor Briggs, as “not being organic,” thus the need for NPDC to commence aggressive drilling programme to grow its production in an organic fashion.

    In view of the desire to attain the target, Briggs said the NPDC has activated a plan to drill 40 wells in the next five years, which is an average of eight wells per year. This plan is significant and ambitious considering that through the last five years NPDC drilled only 10 years, an average of two wells per year, he added. He said the aggressive drilling programme has commenced with the drilling of Okono 6 and 7 wells in OML 119, he said.

    Briggs said: “These two new wells are producing 12,000bpd. “The only way we can increase our production is really by going out there and do the work. It is either you are repairing a well that has gone down because there are technical issues or you are drilling a well. In the case of Okono, it is the latter because we know there are potentials and all we did was to go out there and drill. I consider Okono 6 and 7 a success because the two wells combined are delivering over 12,000 barrels per day and that by any standard is significant especially in an area where most of the wells around are producing an average of 2,000bpd to 3000bpd.

    “Under the able leadership of the former Managing Director who is now Group Executive Director Exploration and Production, Engr. Abiye Membere, our production grew from between 60,000bpd and 65,000bpd to about 130,000bpd. That is about 100 percent growth. For us to meet the 250,000bpd target by 2015, we will have to do another 100 percent growth from our current production. And that is what we are trying to do. First, we tried to repair some of the wells to restore their production capacities. For instance, in OML 26, between when that asset was handed over to NPDC in June and now the production of that field was doubled. All of these have added up to the 130,000bpd production that we are talking about today.

    “To meet the 250,000bpd target by 2015 means doubling our production as I said earlier, but I am confident that we will meet the target because the resources are there and the reserves are there, and we have the people. Everything is therefore set for us to meet the target. For example, in the last five years NPDC drilled 10 wells, but we have a target to drill about 40 wells in the next five years. We have two rigs on site today, one offshore and the other one onshore and by the middle of next year we will bring in one more rig and towards the end of the year we will bring in the fourth rig. I believe we shall keep those rigs for the next two years.”

    The company said that the drilling of Okono 6 and 7 wells is significant in that it represents a realistic step towards growing the company’s production as well as national production positively. In furtherance of this plan, NPDC has two rigs in site as at today, one is working on Okono 8 while the other is a drilling at Oredo in OML 111.

    More rigs will be deployed by next year and also key to this programme is efforts to grow reserves, Briggs said. He noted that while the company is drilling to increase production, the management is also working hard to boost reserves because it is the only way to ensure sustainability. For instance, he said that in one of NPDC’s wells in Okono, the company is drilling deeper to assess its potential. That drilling is going on very well as at today; and if we find what I think we will find, and I think we will find it, that will give us more reserves in that field, Briggs added.

    NPDC is also breaking grounds in keeping with its vision to play a leading role in meeting the Federal Government’s aspiration to provide enough gas for domestic use especially in power generation. The Phase 1 of the Oredo Gas Handling Facility situated near Ologbo within the OML 111 has been completed. It currently supplies 65 million standard cubic feet (mmscf) per day of gas to the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) for onward transmission to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) Power plants.

    The facility was originally designed to gather and process gas from the very prolific Oredo field (OML 111) and supply to the Ihonvbor Power Plant, but the plant has not been completed. The second phase is billed to come on stream by the end of the first quarter of 2013. That will bring an additional 100mmscfd from the plant.

    The Phase 2, according the company, would also see the completion of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) component of the gas plant, which will deliver about 4000 metric tons of LPG to enhance the drive to get every home to adopt LPG as its domestic cooking fuel as a way to combat deforestation and environmental pollution arising from the use of firewood and kerosene.

    The support of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan has been instrumental to these achievements, Briggs said, adding that under President Jonathan and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, the trend of asset stripping that was the norm under previous administrations has been halted. In fact, assets have rather been handed over to it which is partly responsible for the achievements. The future of NPDC is very rosy and it is well on its way to actualizing the vision of its founding fathers as a major player in the upstream sector of the oil and gas sector.

  • Kogi to partner FHA in housing delivery

    Kogi State is to partner with the Federal Housing Authority towards accelerated mass housing delivery in the state.

    Governor Idris Wada announced this in Lokoja at the weekend while receiving the Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Mr Terver Gemade who paid him a courtesy call in Lokoja.

    He said his administration was eager to fast-track the amelioration of the housing challenges facing the people of the state.

    Wada said the state was determined to leverage its strategic position as a gateway to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to boost the economy of the state.

    He said the state envisaged a time when some of those working in Abuja would decide to reside in Lokoja and commute to and from Abuja daily.

    With the dualisation of the Lokoja-Abuja road nearing completion and the proposed Ajaokuta-Abuja standard gauge rail line, he said it would not be too long for that to become a reality.

    Wada said his administration would create a safe and conducive environment that would make the state attractive to all Nigerians.

    He said housing delivery was a key component of his administration’s development and transformation agenda, adding that already the state government was building 350 housing units in Lokoja.

    The governor said the state government was willing to take advantage of the strength, competence and experience of the FHA in housing delivery.

    He directed that the title for the 100 hectares of land allocated to FHA, a Kungbani village on the Abuja-Lokoja road, be released to the Authority immediately while efforts would be made to allocate more land to the Authority in other parts of the state.

    Earlier, Gemade who led an eight- member team of his management to the Government House, told his host that lack of titles for the land had hamstrung the Authority in its bid to start the development of the estate.

    He said the Authority requested for 300 hectares of land, but was given 100 hectares and appealed to the governor to expedite the release of the allocation papers for the remaining 200 hectares.

    He said the FHA’s new housing estates in Kaduna, Calabar, Gombe, Makurdi, Lagos and Yenagoa were nearing completion and would be inaugurated soon.

    Gemade said the Authority wished to be a key player in the development of the state and urged the governor to accord priority attention to housing because of its huge potential to energise the economy.

    He urged the governor to also take advantage of the FHA’s public-public partnership delivery model, which he said, would relieve the government of the stress of housing delivery.

    He said the government would be required to bear the cost of infrastructure at any site provided for the FHA which would be redeemed with the allocation of a commensurate number of houses to the state government on the completion of the estate.

    The FHA boss expressed sympathy over the flood in the state and praised the governor for the prompt and adequate steps taken by the state government to provide relief for the victims.

  • Ministry proposes roads fund

    To effectively compete with the developed economies, there is need for adequate investment in the infrastructural sector of the nation’s economy, the Minister of works, Michael Onolememen, has said

    To this end, he has called for a legislation that would create a national roads fund and a federal roads authority in the funding method of road projects that is from public sector to private sector driven. This, he said would be guided by independent boards to be constituted

    The body when constituted, he said, would strengthen the efforts to drive road development in Nigeria through the public-private partnership initiative and other funding models that would meet international standard in the road sector development funding challenges.

    He has also advocated for the formation of government yearly budgets, multilateral agencies funding, five percent petroleum tax, private sector fund, road bonds, toll charges among others into the national road fund for the development of roads infrastructure in Nigeria.

  • IRS, Turkish Airlines sign pact

    As part of its expansion program and to ensure professionalism and quality service are woven deeper into the service offerings from IRS Airlines, especially at this crucial expansion phase, the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkish Airlines.

    The MoU, which has the support of the government of both countries agrees bilateral relationships between IRS Airlines and Turkish Airlines that will see Turkish airlines sharing its experience and cooperating with IRS Airlines in the following areas; training and personnel development, maintenance and repair, Cabin interior, bilateral interline traffic agreement and special proration agreement.

    Both companies agreed to promote economic relations between Nigeria and Turkey using Civil Aviation means.

    The MoU was signed at Istanbul Turkey by Alhaji Rabiu I. Rabiu, Chairman/CEO for IRS Airlines and by Dr Temel Kotil, President/Chief Executive Officer for Turkish Airlines.

    IRS Airlines is a Nigerian licensed domestic and regional airline with eight major destinations and hubs in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria.

    Turkish Airlines is a major European Carrier and the world’s fifth largest airline with a worldwide network including 205 cities in 90 countries and over 200 aircraft in its fleet. Turkish Airline has been voted best airline in Europe for two consecutive years.

  • Use of old vessels detrimental to Cabotage Act

    Why are Nigerians not benefiting from the Cabotage Act? It is because of the acqusition of single haul vessels by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), says Executive Chairman, Blessed Agencies and Shipping, Mr Raymond Oluwa.

    He said the Federal Government should be blamed for the influx of old vessels on the territorial waters.

    “If you allow ship owners to bring old vessels into the country and you register them as cabotage vessels, then you must be ready to give them jobs; forget about IMO laws and the other laws because you have collected money from the owners for registration,” he said.

    Oluwa called on the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to ensure that indigenous ship owners are given jobs by the oil firms since they were registered by NIMASA under the Act.

    A maritime lawyer, Mr Festus Olayinka, said the payment of fees while applying for waiver under the Act is responsible for the circumvention of the law.

    He alleged that waivers are granted “before approval because those who apply for waivers are made to pay while their applications are still being processed.”

    He added: “The Act stipulates 100 per cent for rating; 60 per cent of officers or Nigerians and 40 per cent for foreigners. But the foreigners come in with a waiver clause that the country does not have qualified hands to man the industry.

    “Also, if you want a waiver to be granted, you apply to NIMASA and your file would be taken to Abuja for ministerial approval. Before the approval comes from Abuja, you must have paid money to NIMASA.

    “After collecting my money, it is as good as saying that you have granted me the waiver because it would be difficult for you to return my money because by the time the file leaves for Abuja, the job would have been done.”

    He said the influx of old vessels in the territorial waters was due to illegal bunkering.

  • Medview Airlines to acquire more aircraft

    Medview Airlines is set to acquire more aircraft in its bid to boost its operations.

    A source told The Nation that the resolve to expand its fleet- size comes on the heels of the passenger capacity, which is steadily rising ahead of the yuletide.

    Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren a few months ago charged the managers of the airline to carry out safe flights as the industry is set to pursue zero fatality among airlines.

    Demuren, who spoke at the inaugural flight of Medview Airlines at the new Domestic Terminal Two of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, affirmed that the pursuit of air safety is a collective responsibility involving concerted efforts from the airline, industry regulator and other aeronautical service providers.

    He urged the carrier to offer premium services that would fill the gap created by the crash of Dana Air, which has led to a has reduce the number of domestic operators.

    He said passengers were finding it difficult to secure seats on airlines after the steps taken to reposition the industry for profitability, adding that the commencement of flight by Medview Airlines offers alternatives for passengers who have been constrained to fly only a few carriers.

    Demuren explained that it took a rigorous process for the NCAA to issue an air operators certificate to Medview Airlines, after the authority scrutinised the manuals to ensure that its operations are safe.

    He said the airline carried out 50 hours and 45 minutes of demonstration flights without carrying passengers to ensure the safety and competence of the airline.

    He further explained that it took 18 months for NCAA to look at the books of the airline before giving its nod for the operations, which he affirmed, would now reduce the burden of passengers in the sector.

    The inaugural flight also had in attendance the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, who urged the managers of the airlines to adhere to safety procedures during their operations of the firms.

    Chairman of Medview Airlines Alhaji Muneer Bankole, solicited the cooperation of industry players to keep the operations afloat, saying that it was easy for them.

    He assured passenges of prompt and reliable services.

  • Flour Mills donates N200m, foods to flood victims

    FOOD giant, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, has donated N200 million to the Flood Relief Committee of the Federal Government for people affected by flood.

    In addition, truck loads of food items produced by Flour Mills worth N72 million have been despatched to 14 states.

    The trucks loaded with bags of rice, Semovita, Goldenvita, Spaghetti and Noodles are distributed to government officials in state capitals.

    In a statement, Flour Mills Group Managing Director, Chief Emmanuel Ukpabi said the firm regretted the devastation caused to people, homes, farmlands and structures by the disaster which affected many states.

    He praised the Federal, state and local governments for the considerable efforts and resources deployed towards providing relief to victims and families in distress.

    Chief Ukpabi stated that in the spirit of corporate citizenship and in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility, Flour Mills has decided to support and complement Government’s efforts in caring for the needy and the homeless.

  • HP wins award for crime-fighting mobile technology

    HP wins award for crime-fighting mobile technology

    HP’s mobile authentication tool has been awarded a Records and Information Management Awareness (RIMA) Award which recognises information security as a critical aspect of business in Africa.

    The award-winning technology uses a unique code on security labels to tell customers within seconds if ink and toner supplies are genuine HP products or illegal counterfeits. This empowers HP customers to spot suspicious printing supplies – turning smartphones into crime-fighting equipment and deterring criminal gangs.

    Each code can be validated using a QR code reader downloaded as a smartphone ‘app’ or entered into the HP Mobile Authentication website. An invalid response indicates that the product may not be genuine and automatically gives the user instructions on what to do next.

    Responding to the award, Rita Amuchienwa, the Supplies Country Manager, Printing & Personal Systems, English West Africa, said the HP Anti-counterfeiting Programme works hard to protect partners and customers by making it difficult to produce, distribute and sell counterfeits.

    “This recent innovation in labels and packaging is an example of HP using technology to stay one step ahead of fraudsters, especially in Nigeria where counterfeiting is a serious issue. We are honoured that this RIMA award recognises our efforts in this area and celebrates the innovation and authenticity which is integral to our brand and products.”Amuchienwa stated.

    Oyewole Oyedokun, the President, RIMA explained that the Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation  created the awards to promote the proper management and security of records and information.

    “We are delighted to name HP winner of the Mobile Information Management category for its vision in creating a technology which uses information and software to protect businesses from illegal counterfeiting.” he said.

    In HP’s fiscal year 2012, 1.3 million illicit items were confiscated by law enforcers in the Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa regions, supported by HP’s investigations teams. These illegal counterfeit goods are manufactured by criminal gangs and investigation and prevention of this issue take up the valuable time of government officials.

    Counterfeiting is an important issue in Nigeria where fraudsters trick consumers and local businesses into buying sub-standard print supplies using unknown chemicals. According to research conducted by Forrester in 2012, 50 per cent of respondents in Nigeria said they had either been offered or purchased counterfeit or suspect cartridges – the highest number of organisations interviewed in Africa.