The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Schneider Electric promotes access to energy

    Schneider Electric, global specialist in energy management, has donated a 300KVA distribution transformer to the Institute for Industrial Technology (IIT) in Lagos.

    Schneider Electric made the donation to the institute under its corporate social responsibility initiative.

    Prior to this donation, the institute and its environs were not connected to the national grid, thereby resulting in arbitrarily high costs of running the institute on generators.

    In 2008, Schneider Electric embarked on an access to energy programme, which included the provision of sustainable renewable energy solutions to people at the base of the pyramid and strong investments in electrical technical training.

    Speaking at the inauguration event, Country President, Mr Marcel Hochet, said: “We are not only here to do business but to also contribute to the development of the people and society. We are, especially, concerned about technical education and are committed to increasingthe levels that exist today in the country. Standard technical training isessential to real economic development and we will continue to invest intraining and maintain our partnership with IIT.”IIT, is a world class, non-profit, single sex, technical – vocational school, known for its high technical and moral standards.

    “IIT offerstop-quality hands-on practical skills training to Nigerian youths andadults mainly from the lower income stratum of society. The extremely highquality training received has enabled its students become easilyemployable and to advance rapidly in their careers. This empowers studentsto improve their family income, hence their socio-economic conditions. Programmes include courses in electromechanics, mechatronics, modular programmes (welding, electrical installation, bricklaying, refrigerationand air conditioning, pipework, tilling) and pneumatics & valves. In his appreciation speech also at the event, current

    Director of IIT, Mr Olumide Akinjo, said the gesture by Schneider Electric could not have come at a better time, when the school was in dire need of a regular source ofelectricity supply. He added that the provision of grid electricity hasgreatly reduced the cost of running the school.

    He thanked the managementof Schneider Electric for its support in educational and training materials over the last four years and expressed the institute’s interestto continue and grow the partnership between the two.

  • Building materials’ traders decry poor sales

    A Building materials seller in Odunade, Agic and Coker area of Lagos, has lamented the loss of patronage by contractors because the latter do not have jobs.

    The traders sell plumbing materials, sanitary fittings, jacuzzi, swimming pool and steel.

    One of the traders, who didn’t want to be mentioned, decried the loss of business which he attributed to lack of patronage from contractors who get government’s contracts to either supply building materials or build houses.

    He said traders have even reduced prices on the building materials but that the gesture is yet to attract big time buyers to them.

    On the quality of the products sold in the market, he said they have sanitised their unions by discouraging the sale of substandard products. He confirmed that most of their products come from United Kingdom, China and Dubai. He said the traders have a good working relationship with the Standard Organisations of Nigeria (SON) as they comply with the provisions of the agency.

    The Chairman of Glonnamas Technical CO, Mr Henry, said their business has not been growing because fewer customers come to them to buy building materials.

    He blamed the lack of patronage of contractors by the government as a key factor in their poor sales. He pleaded with the government to give out contracts and pay her contractors so that it would rob off on the traders.

  • ‘Oando’s LPG programme can save Nigeria N5b yearly’

    ‘Oando’s LPG programme can save Nigeria N5b yearly’

    Oando Marketing PLC’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) programme, under which the company introduced OGAS 3-kilogramme cooking stove for low income households, is capable of solving the perennial problem of deforestation in Nigeria.

    This was one of the high points of the presentation and discussion during an Oando/ACCESS AFRICA – Agriculture, Climate Change and Entrepreneurship Support Services summit in Abuja, which has as theme, ‘LPG as a climate control tool in Africa: The Sustainability Agenda.’

    According to the discussants, the clamour for the use of LPG for cooking was premised on the fact that it would check uncontrolled felling of trees for firewood, with its attendant deforestation and indoor air pollution consequences.

    This year’s summit, the first edition, which was chaired by a former First Lady and Founder, Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative, (WRAPA), Justice Fati Abubakar, noted that over 90 per cent of households in Nigeria use firewood or Kerosene despite harmful effects.

    The summit acknowledged that though deforestation was a global challenge, it noted that a situation where three million cubic feet of wood was cut annually for firewood in a country, which ranked as sixth largest producer of natural gas in the world was unacceptable.

    Chief Executive Officer, Oando Marketing PLC, MrYomi Awobokun, in a lead presentation, remarked that “annually, the country spends about N5billion to tackle desertification through the national afforestation programme. This cost is avoidable.

    “If the government at all levels adopt the use of LPG as the preferred cooking fuel, and avail the people, especially those in rural Nigeria, an affordable cooking stove like the OGAS 3-kg stove, we will be making tremendous saving that can be committed to other important areas of our national life”.

    Citing statistics from relevant national and global bodies, the Operations Director of Access Africa, Mr. Jerome Okolo in his presentation, said Nigeria lost 55.7per cent of its primary forests between 2000 – 2005.

    With the country also losing 351,000 hectares of landmass to desert encroachment, according to statistics, Okolo said the rationale behind the proposal for a switch from firewood to LPG was also to save the country from drought.

    He stated that the N760billion spent annually on kerosene by the Federal Government , is equivalent to 16 per cent of the country’s annual capital budget, adding that Nigeria requires only an estimated 20million cylinders to switch from Kerosene to LPG, thereby saving the government over N760 billion annually.

    The Oando’s initiative, which brought together many national and international stakeholders, including the British Department for International Development (DFID) to mobilise commitment towards the adoption of LPG as the preferred cooking fuel, was a boost to the United Nations collaborative programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (UN-REDD) in developing countries.

    Oando plans to switch 5million homes from the use of dirty cooking fuels to LPG, a clean, safe, convenient, environmentally healthy, and affordable cooking fuel option through its OGAS 3kg initiative to address the menace of deforestation and other problems associated with the use of dirty fuels.

    UN-REDD programme is a global effort anchored by the United Nations to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Nigeria is one of the 46 partner countries of the UN-REDD programme across Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.

    The programme was launched in 2008 and builds on the convening role and technical expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

    The programme supports nationally-led REDD+ processes and promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities, in national and international REDD+ implementation.

    Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia, said the UN-REDD Programme’s invaluable support has enabled the country “to leap-frog from observer to full REDD+ participating country”.

  • NEMA warns against fire

    As the dry season sets in, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged Nigerians to be careful with fire.

    It also cautioned against indiscriminate bush burning which destroys the eco-system and contributes to climate change.

    The Coordinator, NEMA, Abuja Operations Office, Ishaya Chonoko, gave the advice in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at a forum on fire prevention, mitigation and preparedness organised by NEMA.

    He added: “This event is, therefore, aimed at sensitising all and sundry to be extra careful this dry season in their dealings with fire. Indiscriminate bush burning, such as for hunting purposes should be avoided as this could extend to neigbouring farmlands/houses; destroy the ecosystem and also contribute to climate change.

    “Naked fire should not be left unattended. Bushes close to our surroundings should be cleared. Fire extinguishers should be refilled and kept in handy positions. Dried leaves and papers should be disposed of properly.

    “Electrical appliances should switched off and unplugged when not in use. Observing the would go a long way to check the outbreak of fire as well as mitigate its impacts.”

    The coordinator who was represented by his assistant, Mr. Slaku Bijimi said fire is one of the disasters commonly associated with dry season.

    Chonoko added: “This disaster has caused great losses, including loss of lives, damage and destruction of property worth millions of Naira. These losses are irreplaceable. This cannot be allowed to continue.

    “It has been found out that disaster risk reduction is cheaper and safer than disaster response which is why there is a paradigm shift from disaster response to disaster risk reduction. It is in this light that NEMA is carrying out this programme.”

    The Assistant Chief Superintendent, Kwara state Fire Service, Falade Olumuyiwa, said fire outbreaks occur out of carelessness and ignorance.

    He urged all to be at the vanguard of managing fire outbreaks, saying within a twinkle of an eye fire could consume years’ investments.

  • Truck leaders sign for TRACCON-Africa

    Titans of the truck industry have confirmed to showcase products in the annual two-day Truck, Tyre, Logistics and Fleet Conference and Exhibition (TRACCON-AFRICA) slated for November 29 and 30th.

    In a statement signed by the publisher of On Wheels magazine, Jabez Aina-Scott, the organisers of the event said the logistics industry major players, including Mobil Oil Plc, Mercedes Benz, TaTa, Bukke-Have’s Renault, Iron Products Industries (IPI), and Richbon’s Sino trucks and some others have signed-on to participate in the event.

    Others who have also shown interest to participate fully, according to the statement, are Lanre Shittu Mack trucks, ATC Nig Ltd-Volvo trucks, GM’s Isuzu, Prolong Lubricants and Oando Oil.

    The statement said:“This year’s edition, is supported by Mobil Oil through its high grade Delfac engine oil. With the exhibition targeting the haulage, logistics, trucks, fleet operations, lubricants and the tyre sectors as major participants, the vent is designed to also feature a conference and workshop for the practitioners with lectures and paper presentations from seasoned and experienced industry experts.”

  • Wanted: Monitoring engineers for building failures

    Wanted: Monitoring engineers for building failures

    THE Nigerian Institution of StructuralEngineers (NIStructE) has called on the National and state Assemblies to enact a bill that will make it mandatory for ministries to appoint their members from the private sector as “monitoring engineers”to reduce or eliminate building collapse.

    They said such bills would help fish out quacks who, they said, have infiltrated the building and construction industry.

    Besides, they want government agencies to desist from approving structural engineering drawings without the NIStructE seal alongside that of the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) to eliminate quacks and unregistered engineers.

    Its President, Mr. Busola Awojobi, who stated this at the 25th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the institution in Abuja, noted that findings of investigations carried out by probe panels on collapsed buildings confirmed that the main causes of failure were either one or a combination of factors, including, faulty structural engineering design calculations and/or drawings; use of sub-standard building materials; constructions not in compliance with approved drawings and specifications and incompetent building contractors.

    He said incidents of buildings collapse could, however, be reduced, if not eliminated, if state and federal governments’ ministries in charge of giving approvals engage the services of experienced structural engineers from the private sector, as monitoring engineers to participate in the processes leading to approvals of buildings proposed to be built anywhere in the country.

    Awojobi said: “The Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers had made it known on several occasions that the incessant collapse of structures in Nigeria can be avoided if only the approving authorities will give the most-needed recognition to the seal of the institution, when it is applied concurrently along side the COREN seal for civil engineers.

    “As a matter of professional responsibility, the institution has made a remarkable improvement in the admission of membership. This, we have done by ensuring that only candidates, who satisfy the seven hour test of professional practice are admitted as corporate members of the institution and are accorded the privilege and use of the NIStructE seal.”

    The NIStructE boss said the various ways to eliminate building collapse would only be possible if the state and federal governments agree to engage registered structural engineers as monitors, who would check designs, drawings and specifications submitted for approval; and later monitor the works during construction on site.

    He added that the engagement is obviously at no cost to any government; as the developer would have paid when the drawings were submitted for approvals.

    According to him, the engagement of the monitoring engineers would also relieve the ministry’s engineers of the pressure of approving some designs and drawings which they would otherwise not have if there were enough registered structural engineers in the ministry.

    In his presentation on minimising building collapse through quality management of design and construction, President, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Chuks Omeife, noted that since 2006, the industry has been undergoing transformation with the enactment of the National Building Code (NBC), adding that Section 2:32 of the Code spells out that the project quality management plan shall form part of the contract documents.

    According to him, a major amendment to be considered is the inclusion of the template for design quality management, adding that quality management is a potent tool in dealing with building collapse, which could be defined as the worst case scenario of poor quality projects.

    Omeife said a building is erected not to collapse but to stand for many years. He urged built environment professionals on the need to shift their practice orientation from mere detection of problems to prevent non-conformance with quality.

    He, however, suggested that the NBC could be improved to express the vision of the country on how building integrity could be achieved, and specify clearly the required quality templates and responsibilities for each member of the built environment.

    He stressed that buildings would continue to collapse if two important processes in a project lifecycle is not well-managed, particularly, the design stage which is primarily by architects, engineers and quantity surveyors and the construction phase which involves builders who play a key role to ensure that the wishes of the client are translated into workable drawings by the design team.

    According to him, the NIOB data based on collapsed buildings in Nigeria since 1974, indicated 76 major cases while many cases remained unreported.

    He said: “The suspected causes of collapse for the 76 cases ranged from natural disasters, faulty designs, contractor incompetence, and outright absence of structural designs, use of substandard materials, poor workmanship, overloading existing structure, and non-compliance with specifications among others.”

    Chairman, Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Mr. Kunle Awobodu, a builder, who spoke on built environment professionals and incessant building collapse, said the guild has proposed a pragmatic approach to install due processes in building procurement. He said professional bodies in the built environment have submitted names of their active, financial members to be published on the BCPG website, noting that with adequate publicity, inquisitive clients would conveniently check the status of individuals they want to engage in their projects.

    He said such development would reduce quackery in building projects, while false claims would easily be detected.

  • MAN partners Imo, Abia

    The Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria(MAN) Imo / Abia Branch has called for a synergy among Imo and Abia governments and the association to promote economic activities in the two states.

    It made the call in Aba,the Abia State capital during its 25th Annual General Meeting (AGM).

    It said without an understanding among them, economic activities will not thrive.

    They called for a level playing ground, which will help to promote the production capacity of manufacturers in the two states.

    The members of the group said to promote employment for job seekers, customers for local goods and dependency on imported goods, the government should support manufacturers to help keep youths off the streets and assist the government in creating job opportunities for undergraduates.

  • Hidden truths about commercial motorcyclists

    The ban on commercial motorcyclists (okada riders) in some parts of Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Plateau states have elicited some reactions from members of the public, accusing the government as wicked and irresponsible.

    Many are of the opinion that commercial operation of motorcycles is a fall-out from the government’s failure to create jobs for the teaming unemployed youths.

    My research, however, reveals that it is not all okada riders that go into the job because of the rate of unemployment. Some of them are plumbers, motor mechanics, farmers, welders, and fashion designers among others.

    There is an unfortunate trend in this generation of youths in Nigeria. They want to run before crawling. Wise men built up wealth overtime but they want to acquire wealth overnight. A 20–year old boy is already eyeing a Murano car.

    I know of one okada rider who was working in a business centre earning N20,000 per month. When I requested to know why, he told me that as an okada rider, he earns N20,000 within one week as against his former N20,000 monthly salary. This urge for quick income is the hidden truth about the rush into okada riding, though some people are into it because of other reasons.

    This singular reason of moving on the fast lane by the youths of today is responsible for drug abuse and the recklessness of most of these okada riders (the rush for trips).

    Bricklayers, carpenters, fashion designers and several other professionals are complaining of not having enough apprentices because they have rushed into okada riding.

    There are some small scale business owners that are in need of staff that can be earning N10,000 to N20,000 per month as the starting point but most of the youths of today don’t want to start small and grow. They want to use blackberry within one month of employment.

    Okada riders should be law-abiding for the safety of lives.

    How many okada have or use side mirrors?

    How many okada riders have reflective jackets?

    How many okada riders have good crash helmets for self and passengers?

    How many okada riders had thorough training on how to ride, hazard perception and defensive riding?

    Their association should commit more energy to capacity building programmes for their members (the okada riders).

     

  • Local Content Act: How far can it go?

    Local Content Act: How far can it go?

    The Local Content Act designed to cede 70% of oil contract jobs to Nigerian firms, is seen as one strategy to push sustainable growth, create employment, value-addition and technology transfer. The initiative, when fully implemented, is expected to drive the economy, Daniel Essiet reports.

     

    To ensure oil and gas resources generate large, long-term economic benefits for the nation, including, skilled employment for Nigerians, the government promulgated the Local Content Act.

    As a result, the industry’s activities are coming under increased scrutiny to guarantee Nigerians access to its operations.

    Some positive outcomes have been achieved in the past two years. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke said the Nigerian Content implementation has attracted foreign direct investments worth over $500million in the manufacturing of equipment components for the oil and gas industry.

    The minister spoke at the opening ceremony of the Practical Nigerian Content in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital. She said the equipment components manufacturing initiative is an effective way to drive industrialisation of the economy, adding that the initiative has already created over 1,000 skilled jobs.

    Mrs. Alison-Madueke, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa, explained that the initiative which mandates original equipment manufacturers to partner with their representatives to set up facilities to manufacture or assemble equipment components in Nigeria, will also ensure the retention of spend within the economy on critical industry equipment, such as valves, pumps, electrical and instrumentation products.

    She expressed confidence that the initiative will ensure that about 30 original equipment manufacturers would have set up fully in Nigeria within the next five years. She described the Nigerian Content Act as the most important development in the Nigerian oil and gas , noting that the impact of the Act is being felt in several sectors of the economy.

    She said: “Nigerians now own land, swamp, jack up rigs and some proportion of deep offshore rigs. More Nigerians are acquiring anchor handling tugs, dynamic positioning platform vessels, line handling tugs and other larger vessels otherwise called category two vessels.”

    The Minister directed the Local Content Board to lead the industry to establish vessel and rig maintenance facilities so that the Nigerian economy will realise maximum economic benefits from asset ownership.

    In training and employment, Mrs. Alison-Madueke indicated that the Board has also introduced guidelines that will ensure that investments in the industry lead to employment generation and training opportunities.

    She said: “In the last two years, over 5000 Nigerians have been provided training and employment opportunities under the project based training scheme of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB),” adding that the developments has always impacted other sectors of the economy.

    Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has pledged to partner with the NCDMB in the oil and gas industry to ensure that the 70 per cent target set by the Federal Government, especially in the complex deep offshore operation is attained..

    The Group Managing Director, Andrew Yakubu said the participation of Nigerians in the industry, especially in the upstream sector, has substantially increased from a merger 10 per cent before the enactment of the law to more than 30 per cent, citing the recent USAN Deep Offshore Field development as one significant milestone in this respect.

    He said: “These percentages are even higher and in some cases have attained 100 per cent. The Utorogu Gas Plant Expansion Project, is an example,” he stated.

    The GMD listed other projects with high local content value to include the OB3 Pipeline Project, Escravos Lagos Pipeline Phase 2 and the Aba Depot and Okirika Jetty Rehabilitation Project.

    He explained that windows of opportunities to grow Nigerian Content exist in the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the oil and gas value chain.

    Yakubu advised Nigerians to set up medium sized companies in both exploration and production in areas like well services engineering, measurement, mud and logging engineering services.

    He said the monetisation of the country’s natural gas endowments presented other opportunities for growing local content, just like the revamping/rehabilitation of existing downstream infrastructure, adding that the enactment of the Nigerian Content Law has positively impacted on the sector. He said the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill will further enhance benefits from the Nigerian Content Act.

    Speaking during the signing of the MoU, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB,Ernest Nwapa, said the service companies would now be required to submit a pupilage programme committing to employ Nigerians as a precondition for participation in tenders.

    He said: “To qualify to play in the industry, you must demonstrate that you are running an employment programme. Companies will employ young Nigerians and put them through pupilage before the contracts are awarded, so they can work when the contract is awarded.”

    Nwapa explained that PETAN was chosen for this programme because its members were the most enterprising players in the service end of the sector and they were partnering voluntarily with NCDMB on the programme.

    He added that the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) will also be involved in the programme.

    The availability of sufficient skilled labour to support the growth of the oil and gas industry continues to be of concern and hence a high value-adding priority in the local content act. The areas of greatest concern are in the supply of trades and skilled labour for building new projects and supply of adequately trained and experienced technical staff to operate new and existing projects over the longer term. Nwapa said the board is committed to providing full and fair opportunity to local suppliers.

    These include processes for identifying industry capability and for working with suppliers to enhance their competitiveness and maximise their participation. The industry, government and training providers have made a solid start at developing a suite of measures for responding to the expected growth in the industry’s skilledlabour requirements. However, much remains to be done in developing and implementing a number of these programmes.

     

    Challenges

    Some of these obstacles include the lack of capacity, in terms of human resource and infrastructure, to meet the challenges in the industry which is capital intensive, requires a great deal of infrastructure and a highly skilled labour force.As new projects have started construction, expectations have risen as to the volume of work likely to flow to local industry. Delays to contract awards or disappointment at not winning work considered to be within the capability of local companies, have prompted criticism of the industry and generated calls for government intervention.

    The phase of industry growth provides the opportunity for suppliers of goods and services to the resources sector to grow their businesses. However, suppliers need to ensure that they are internationally competitive and understand and meet projects’ requirements for cost, schedule and deliverability. Suppliers face the same cost pressures and skilled labour shortages as project proponents and are further disadvantaged by the high dollar.

     

    Funding

    One of these challenges is that local businesses servicing the oil and gas industry require a sound capital base because of the capital intensive nature of the industry. However, many local companies may not be in the position to afford this and the only way out is to source funding from banks which could affect the quality and efficiency of goods and services provided. Another option is to partner foreign companies to boost their financial capabilities but this will in a way defeat the purpose of the policy itself which seeks to encourage indigenous businesses to take up the challenge of providing goods and services for the oil and gas industry.

     

    Prospects

    The NCDMB and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will make creating employment for young and qualified graduates part of the conditions for winning oil and gas contracts.

    The two organisations signed the agreement dubbed-NCDMB-PETAN Capacity Building Internship Programme during the opening ceremony of the conference in Yenagoa.

    Nwapa signed for the Board, while PETAN Chairman, Mr Emeka Ene, signed for the service companies association.

    Under the MoU, PETAN companies will make commitments in the form of plans that they will recruit Nigerian graduates.

    The NCDMB will issue certificates to the service companies on receipt of the plans and the commitments will count alongside other variables in the evaluation of bids by service companies for industry contracts.

    Thereafter, NCDMB and PETAN will recruit qualified Nigerian graduates and expose them to various training and skills development workshops and on-the-job training to prepare them to work in the course of the contracts and gain employment.

    PETAN companies will then absorb the trainees once they win the contracts and retain them after the internship phase based on their performance.

    Part of the MoU reads: “PETAN Companies will recruit qualified Nigerian graduates as trainees attached to a contract for a period of one year.

    “PETAN companies will absorb the candidates after the programme based on their performance and available vacancies.”

    Growth in gas demand is being matched by equally strong growth in the gas resource base.

    Unconventional gas resources are now estimated to be as large as conventional gas resources .

    Investment in other forms of unconventional gas is gathering pace, made possible by new developments in technology.

  • Lagos to provide car parks for physically-challenged

    The Lagos State Government is to provide designated areas for the physically-challenged at public and private car parks.

    The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Toyin Ayinde, made this known when board members of Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs visited him.

    In a statement signed by Mrs. Bunmi Olowu-Adekoya, he assured that the state government has ensured the protection of the physically challenged in the 2010 Physical Planning Law, especially as it relates to building structures and regulations.

    Ayinde further said owners of petrol stations in the state have been advised to provide additional toilet facilities for physically challenged persons.

    He said the Ministry has proposed that any building above four floors should have a lift and convenient walkway or ramp for the physically challenged.

    He cited the recently renovated walkway of the Ministry, adding that it is good for the disabled.

    The Commissioner said his ministry will continue to ensure that buildings comply with the Physical Planning and Urban Development Law of 2010. He advised the Board members to acquaint themselves with the content of the Law, especially as it affects them if they have not done so.

    Chairperson of the Board Mrs Animashaun Tolulope, who praised the state government, said from indications, the administration has the interest of the physically challenged in mind.