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Tag: 000 jobs

  • Sibanye-Stillwater may cut 6,000 jobs

    THE Kenya Electricity Generating Company plans to raise funds from the market later this year and may opt to issue the country’s first green bond, its chief executive said.

    KenGen has a 1,631 megawatt annual capacity and supplies 70 per cent of the East African nation’s electricity. Private investors hold 30 per cent of the company while the rest is held by the state.

    Rebecca Miano, KenGen’s CEO, said the company would go to the market once it redeems its 10-year, 25 billion shillings ($250 million) bond in October.

    The bond was heavily oversubscribed when it was issued in 2009.

    “Our finance people are burning the midnight oil to look at the possibilities,” she told Reuters in an interview late last Wednesday, without giving a figure for the target amount.

    “The team is looking at asset backed securities, they are also looking at green bonds.”

    The so-called green bonds help to finance projects in the renewable energy, energy-efficiency, green transport and wastewater treatment sectors.

    Kenya’s capital markets regulator is set to unveil regulations for private issuance of green bonds next week, paving the way for the first issue.

    Although Kenya has high consumer electricity tariffs compared with countries like Egypt and South Africa, the government’s policies had boosted investment in the sector, Miano said, helping it to avoid blackouts or schedule cuts.

    “Kenya was among the first countries in Africa to liberalise generation and it has its own advantages. You have many players and it brings competition… you have adequate power,” she said.

    KenGen has shifted its strategy in recent years to focus on renewable energy in order to reduce the risk posed by its hydro generation dams, which are normally susceptible to a drop in production when the rains fail.

    Geothermal steam, hot underground steam found in the Rift Valley, which is used to drive turbines for electricity production, accounts for nearly a third of the firm’s annual production, Miano said.

    “Our geothermal-led strategy is bearing fruit,” she said, adding the company was developing capacity for an extra 720 MW in the next four years to 2022.

    The new plants being developed are mainly in geothermal with one plant, with a capacity for 80 MW, being in wind.

    KenGen paid a dividend to shareholders for its year ended last June, breaking a two-year dividend drought associated with the costs of building the new geothermal plants and installing additional capacity in existing plants.

    Miano said shareholders might secure additional dividends in the future.

    “The outlook is positive because we have projects that we are implementing that will increase our business and we do hope that the board will continue (recommending a dividend),” she said.

  • Adewale promises to create 14,000 jobs

    A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Otunba Segun Adewale,  said his vision is to turn around the economic fortunes of the state for good and stamp out poverty.

    Adewale, an entrepreneur, philanthropist and a grassroots politician has expressed confidence that his government when voted into power will not fail the people.

    He has assured that all salary earners and pensioners will first be taken care of, by settling all the money owed to them by the Fayose’s government, stressing that Ekiti as presently constituted is a salary powered economy.

    Adewale said Fayose is not doing the workers any favour by paying their salaries. He argued that it’s their right and not a privilege and that prompt payment of salaries and pensions will enable a free flow of cash in the economy. He said: “The purchasing power of the people will increase, the local economy will boom and government will not find it difficult to apply fair taxes where necessary.”

    The aspirant said he will create not less than 14,000 new business owners through entrepreneurship training yearly. He believes that the 14,000 business owners will also employ at least five people each which will have a multiplier effect on job creation and take the youths out of the streets.

    Adewale has spoken passionately about the lessons that every state should learn from China, by focusing more on creating village-level enterprises, quality health services and educational facilities. He says that he is passionate about small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) because, for him, that is the bedrock of any economy.

    He has also promised to set up vocational skill acquisition centres in each of the three senatorial districts where any person of 20 years and above, irrespective of their educational status, can receive training in a specific career field. Adewale who is sure of picking up the ADP ticket said he is going to think outside the box, because his government would not employ everyone, but can equip everyone to succeed in their own unique way.

    Explaining further, he said it will not be business as usual, “because to take the people out of poverty and unemployment, there has to be a radical approach applied; thus all the trainees will be fully supported from day one.”

    Adewale said the over N14b the Fayose-led government wasted on a 1.5 km bridge should have been invested directly into the lives of Ekiti people especially the youth.

    The ADP aspirant said he will make Ekiti a leading state by converting the skills of the people into a resource that is capable of making it one of most economically viable in the country.

    He said international organisations such as the United Nations, the Ford Foundation and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are ready to support the entrepreneurship drive of the state and that his government will tap into every available opportunity to make Ekiti a model state.

  • Aspirant promises 25,000 jobs

    All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Muyiwa Coker, has said promised to create 25,000 jobs through mechanised farming.

    Coker said 200,000 hectares of land are needed for the project.

    The Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and stock market trader, said he is contacting some partners working with the United Nations on the establishment of an integrated agricultural initiative specially tailored for Ekiti.

    “We plan to establish mechanised farms which would process farm produce for consumption by our people and create employment and wealth. We hope to provide jobs for at least 25,000 youths immediately the project kicks off across the State,” he said.

    He planned to revive the educational sector of Ekiti State with massive investments from partners in the United Kingdom.

    “We need to think of how we can make money for Ekiti without depending on allocation from the Federal Government.  There are lots of resources in Ekiti that can spin lots of money for the general well-being of the people. All we need to do is work together with one mind.  The time to work is now. We need to use our votes to change the way things are in Ekiti. Politicians will come with money to induce you. You must always remember the future of our state and of our children.  Use your votes and use them right, vote for credible candidates,” he said.

    Coker said his coming into politics “is to harness the vast resources scattered all over Ekiti for the benefit of our people. As far back as 2015, I made up my mind to do all I can to help the party and the state. I have been in the fore front of covering the nakedness of the party at a time no one was there for the party in the state. It is now time to move the state forward.

    “We only need to think out of the box. We need leaders who have the knowledge of managing resources. That is what I am bringing into government. I am an accountant and a trained stock exchange trader. I work with Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun as a Senior Special Assistant. I have been part of the team since inception of his administration in Ogun State. I have developed templates to work with in Ekiti State based on my relationship with the government.

    “We only need to put them to work in Ekiti. Take for instance the huge debt of Ekiti, we can spread it. We can restructure the finances of the state. As a trained stock exchange trader, there are lots of instruments that we can play with to offset our debt that will benefit the state on the long run. There is need to restructure the finances of the state for it to become attractive to investors. It is my field, I know what to do and I am requesting for the necessary support to get there”.

  • APC governorship aspirant to generate 50,000 jobs

    A member of the 7th House of Representatives, Bamidele Faparusi, has said he will make Ekiti State the food basket of Southwest, if elected governor.

    Faparusi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said his government would generate 50,000 jobs through agriculture as well as industrialise the state through what he called rice revolution and cottage industries.

    He said he would establish farm settlements in the three senatorial districts, to complement the one in Orin-Ekiti established by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo administration in the defunct Western Region.

    “I want to employ youths and make them relevant in the scheme of things.”

    Faparusi , who spoke yesterday in Ado- Ekiti while interacting with party leaders who visited him at Easter, slammed Governor Ayo Fayose for relegating agriculture.

    He said it was disheartening that the governor could fold his arms and allow Lagos State to enter into partnership with Kebbi in the production of LAKE Rice, adding: “This shows the government is bereft of ideas on how to develop the economy.”

    The aspirant said:  ”We thank God that the Southwest regional integration, which is being driven by APC governors, has opened Fayose’s eyes to rice production.

    ”At their recent meeting in Lagos State last week, each state promised to donate 1,000 hectares to Lagos for rice production.

    ”Under normal circumstances, we expected Ekiti to have keyed into this for long, having realised the success Lagos and Kebbi made in the production of Lake Rice.

    ”Ekiti is lucky in this regard because we already had a brand, called Igbemo Rice. All we need to do is rebrand the package through mass production. This will have a multiplier effect on our economy by producing jobs for our youths. This will increase the state’s GDP, which will in turn increase our internal revenue and wean the state from reliance on federal allocation.

    ”We will create at least 50,000 jobs in four years through the establishment of integrated agricultural hubs across the state to cultivate and process our farm yields to finished product that can meet international standard.

    ”We will establish an egg village, which will contain two feedmills and poultry, while we will make impact by building gas power plant, housing estate, schools, hospital and supermarket. Other initiatives include palm centres, starch mills, rice mills, fish beds and snail havens.

    ”At a time in Ekiti, a bag of rice was as high as N25,000. This was uncalled for. If the Igbemo Rice has been repackaged, it could have reduced the price and make it affordable for the people.

    ”There is hunger in the land because we have a government that has no interest in farming. Even Lagos that is making as high as N41 billion IGR monthly and without comparative advantage in terms of land availability and atmospheric condition is showing interest in line with the diversification programme of the President Muhammadu Buhari government.

    “Our intention is to ensure that over 20,000 graduates are doing well in farming under our government. They will be doing this in farm settlements built by the government with modern facilities to arouse their interest to practise farming as in the USA, China and Thailand.”

  • Fed Govt: Housing programme created over 4,000 jobs in Oyo

    The Federal Government’s National Housing Programme (NHP) in Oyo State has created 4,090 jobs within a year, the Director of Architectural Services in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Mosunmade Odusanya, has said.

    The ministry’s official spoke yesterday during an inspection of a project site at Onidundun village in Kilometre 17 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Akinyele Local Government Area.

    Those engaged include 13 contractors, 110 professionals, 3,832 skilled and unskilled labourers and 40 food vendor.

    Others are: 55 suppliers, 35 block moulders and five security guards.

    Odusanya, who is also the Project’s Team Leader, said the project was mainly to meet the state’s housing demand and address affordable home deficit in the land.

    He noted that the project had attained 70 per cent completion with the expectation that the remaining 30m per cent would be achieved before end of the year.

    The 72 units of flats consists 28 units of two-bedrooms, 20 units of three-bedrooms and 24 units of flats in the condominium on a 10-hectare land.

    Odusanya said: “The total number of condominium in the vertical structure is the same number of total units spread around the bungalow. The essence of that is to arrest incessant building collapse. So, that is why we are demonstrating these structures in the states to determine the factors that are responsible for unoccupied houses.

    “The condominium will accommodate the physically challenged on the ground floor. There are ramps to support them.”

    He assured the residents of the affordability of the project, saying the Federal Government would determine the modalities for its allocation after completion.

    The Federal Controller, Mrs. Sarah Alawode, restated government’s commitment to addressing housing shortage in the country.

    Alawode, who was represented by an Assistant Director in the ministry, Bola Adesanya, said the state government had approved additional 10 hectares of land for second phase of the project.

    Alhaji Sulaiman Adegoke, a carpenter and Alfa Sikiru Orelope, a welder, were excited about the project.

    They were among those who supplied planks and got iron fabrication jobs for the project.

    The artisans called for urgent kick-off of the second phase.

    One of the contractors, Mr. Olanrewaju Balogun, hailed the Federal Government for the project but appealed for timely release of funds to ensure prompt delivery of the project.

    Balogun noted that 15 per cent threshold released for the project execution was insufficient, thus the need for the government to reconsider it.

     

     

  • ‘Outsourcing ‘ll create 250,000 jobs’

    ‘Outsourcing ‘ll create 250,000 jobs’

    Experts have urged the Federal Government to grow the economy through Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO).

    They say the sub-sector can generate foreign direct investments (FDIs) that would, in two years, address unemployment and grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Speaking at a workshop with: Improving process efficiency, service delivery, and cost effectiveness in the Nigeria business sector through Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services” as focus, the experts urged the Federal Government to encourage the growth of BPO.

    The Nigeria Association of Information Technology Enabled Outsourcing Companies President, Mr. David Onu, said outsourcing services needed to be backed by law and embraced by domestic companies before gaining international investors into the country.

    “We estimate that domestic outsourcing alone can create a minimum of 250,000 jobs within the next 18 months. There are 23 major banks in the country, on the average they have about 3,000,000 customers on their books, and most of these telcos and banks do not have call centres that have about 100 seats. What that means is that if you have 3,000.000 customers, how many people can 100 customer care attend to efficiently? That is a problem.

    “Just by speaking to that need, the bank will increase customer needs and customers satisfaction and also increase profits, because if you are happy with your bank you will surely do more,” he explained.

  • Obaseki inaugurates Agric committee, targets 80,000 jobs

    Obaseki inaugurates Agric committee, targets 80,000 jobs

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo yesterday inaugurated an ad hoc committee under the Agriculture Empowerment Initiative to revamp agriculture in the state.

      Obaseki, while inaugurating the committee at the Government House in Benin, said that the ad hoc committee was to kick-start reforms in the agricultural sector of the state before a full committee would be formed.

    The committee is a product of the Public Private Partnership between the State and private sector partners.

      The partnership between the state government and private sectors comprise Saro AgroSciences, a leading company in the agribusiness space of Nigeria with expertise in crop production and protection and Afrinvest W.A. Ltd a leading financial advisory service provider in Nigeria and West Africa.

    Governor Obaseki explained that the ad hoc committee would help the government implement specific projects, which would create between 50,000 to 80,000 agricultural jobs before the end of the year in five Local Government Areas.

    Revealing the mandates of the ad hoc committee, Obaseki said, “We want to ensure that we begin some agricultural activities before the next cropping season. We want to cultivate 5,000 hectares of maize located in 5 Local Government Areas of the State producing at least 25,000 metric tons of maize in the first year.

      Besides, there would be another 1,000 Greenhouse Farm producing 4,000 metric tons of tomatoes yearly, piggery producing 30,000 animals annually, Golden Cocoa Program primed to turn the State into a major cocoa producing state in the country by improving yield by more than 50% in the first year of implementation.

      The Governor said the partnership will achieve the following objectives through the 4 projects: Generation of employment for the teeming youth population of the State, wealth creation through agricultural activities that will lead to the creation of 2000 millionaire Agripreneurs who will in turn generate jobs for at least 30,000 youths across each units of the state and food security for the over 4million people of the State.

      He added that the Ministry of Agriculture would serve as the secretariat while the Secretary to the State Government would give the committee the necessary support, while the committee will, on a weekly basis, submit reports on the level of progress being made.

    In his remarks, the chairman of the ad hoc committee, Chief Osaro Idah, commended the governor for the opportunity to serve.

      He assured the governor of the committee’s commitment to achieve its mandate of employment creation and increased agricultural productivity in the state.

      Other members of the eight-man committee include Oluwole Adeyegbe as Deputy Chairman, Mr. B. S. Kadiri as Secretary, and Dr. Tunde Faturoti, Mr Olumide Ogunedojutimi, Mr Walter Obaseki, Surveyor Godwin Osayande and Mr Victor Ndakauba as members.

  • N25bn ETF: Lagos targets 900, 000 jobs by 2019

    N25bn ETF: Lagos targets 900, 000 jobs by 2019

    The Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) on Friday distributed offer letters to some of the beneficiaries of the pilot scheme of the N25 billion Employment Trust Fund (ETF), with a pledge to create at least 300, 000 direct and 600, 000 indirect jobs by 2019 through the initiative.

    Speaking at the distribution ceremony, Executive Secretary of LSETF, Mr. Akin Oyebode said the award of the offer letters was in fulfilment of one of the cardinal promises of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration to set up a fund to drive the growth of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in recognition of their critical role as the engine of growth and leading creator of jobs in any economy.

    Oyebode, who said the award of the offer letters was also an eloquent testimony of the readiness of the State Government to support the thriving youths and residents of the State, said a total of 1,000 MSMEs have been earmarked to benefit from the pilot scheme, out of which 281 micro enterprises have so far been approved.

     He said out of those approved, 150 beneficiaries have collected their offer letters, while the process for approval for others in the pilot scheme is ongoing.

    To ensure transparency and unbiased process, Oyebode said the LSETF engaged partners to help with the selection, verification and disbursement of the loans to beneficiaries.

    “These partners include Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) who verified all the applications and audit the processes. Others include organizations such as the Fate Foundation, LEAP Africa, Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), National Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) and Co operative Societies, who provided applicants for the pilot scheme through their membership,” Oyebode said.

    He added that application process is still ongoing and that once completed, a full list of beneficiaries would be made available to the public.

     While disclosing details of the loan, Oyebode said the beneficiaries of the micro enterprise pilot scheme were given loan approval ranging from N300, 000 to N500, 000, with an annual five percent interest rate, which is the lowest anywhere in the country.

    He said the LSETF was in the process of rolling out the N5million SME loan programme which will provide fund for the sector for up to two years, adding that the N6.25billion to be disbursed annually through the ETF has already been approved.

    Besides, Oyebode expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for their support so far, and expressed readiness for greater cooperation in the coming months and years.

    Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Mr. Chike Charles Obi expressed appreciation to the State Government, especially Governor Ambode for fulfilling his promise, saying that most of them did not initially believe that the offer was real, but just applied.

    He said the development was a confirmation that Governor Ambode has brought real change to governance, and thanked the LSETF for being transparent and unbiased especially in choosing the beneficiaries.

     Another beneficiary, Mrs. Modupe Shukurat Alausa urged her co-beneficiaries to encourage government by using the fund for the purpose meant. She also thanked Governor Ambode for running an all-inclusive government.

  • Rivers to create 10,000 jobs

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has said the state has started the creation of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths through agricultural projects.

    Speaking at Elele during a reception to mark the coronation and thanksgiving   in honour of Chief Mike Elechi as the Obua Weze, the governor said the 10,000 would be generated via the expansion of the Resonpalm Ltd, Ubima.

    Represented by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chukwuemeka Woke, Wike said his administration was partnering Siat Ltd to plant new nurseries at the Oil Palm Plantation in Ubima in the extensive expansion scheme.

    He added that the administration was in the process of reactivating the Delta Rubber Ltd in partnership with investors to ensure that more jobs were created.

    The governor said: “Besides our infrastructural development across the state, we are working with investors to create 10,000 jobs through key agricultural projects.”

    He urged the Elele people in Ikwerre Local Government to support his government to improve their standard of living.

    Wike congratulated Chief Elechi on his coronation, noting that the traditional recognition was a call to service.

    The monarch thanked the governor and top government officials for their support.

  • 600,000 jobs coming with liberalised oil sector, says govt

    600,000 jobs coming with liberalised oil sector, says govt

    Information Minister Lai Mohammed yesterday gave more insight into how fuel price was raised from N86.50 to N145 per litre.

    He said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has not let down Nigerians with the new price, adding that it had no choice than to deregulate the petroleum sector.

    The facts, according to Mohammed, are that:

    • in 2015, the Federal Government paid N1trillion as subsidy, which amounted to one-sixth of this year’s budget;
    • it cannot afford such a huge amount of subsidy again;
    • the liberalisation policy will lead to the creation of 600,000 jobs; and
    • labour leaders were not deceived or tricked on the new pump price.

    Mohammed, at a news conference in Abuja, gave reasons for the new deregulation policy. They are to end the crippling fuel scarcity, tackle the drastic fall in the price of crude oil and no funding or appropriation for N16.4 billion monthly subsidy.

    There are the renewed insurgency and pipeline vandalism which have reduced oil production from 2.2m bpd to 1.65m bpd.

    Besides, foreign reserves have fallen.

    The Minister said: “Many have also tried to compare what happened in 2012, when the last administration increased fuel price, with the new price regime of 2016. Our answer to that is that there is no basis for comparison.

    ”The truth is that the NNPC does not have the resources for, nor is it designed to meet, this increase in supply. The result is the crippling fuel situation across the country. Pushed to supply 90% of the products required for domestic consumption, the NNPC has continued to utilise crude oil volumes outside the 445,000 barrels/day allocated to it, thereby creating major funding and remittance gaps into the Federation account.

    “Also, the renewed insurgency and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta have drastically reduced national crude oil production to 1.65 million barrels per day, against 2.2 million barrels per day planned in the 2016 budget, further reducing income to Federation account and also affecting crude volumes for PMS conversion and impacting Federal Government’s forex earnings.

    “Let me also note that the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.”

    Mohammed debunked the insinuations that the Buhari administration has let down Nigerians who voted for change in last year’s presidential election.

    He also insisted that the conditions which made Nigerians to oppose deregulation in 2012 were not the same as today’s situation.

    He added: “On the question that have we not let down Nigeria? The answer is no. We have not let down Nigerians. I think, we have just been courageous enough to let Nigerians know that we have to take this measure.

    “Governance is not about popularity. There are times in life you have to take a very hard decision and this decision we are taking is for the long term and for the benefit of everybody.

    “The conditions in 2012 were vastly different from the conditions now. Then, oil was selling for over $100 a barrel, compared to just a little over $40 a barrel now. Then, the country was awash in forex, thanks to the high earnings from oil. Then the foreign reserve was high. The situation today is dire: Earnings from oil have fallen drastically. Foreign reserves have fallen. The new price regime is simply inevitable.

    “With the drastic fall in the price of crude oil, which is the nation’s main foreign exchange earner, there has also been a drastic reduction in the amount of foreign exchange available.

    “The unavailability of forex and the inability to open letters of credit have forced marketers to stop product importation and imposed over 90% supply on the NNPC since October 2015, in contrast to the past where NNPC supplies 48% of the national requirement.”

    Reacting to a question, the Minister said the Federal Government did not deceive or trick labour leaders on the new fuel price.

    He said: “I think number one, we did not deceive anybody. There was nowhere in our manifesto that we ever told anybody that we were going to continue with the regime of subsidy.

    There was no truth that we deceived anybody. Because I was there at that meeting on Wednesday and in all of the meetings, everybody, especially the labour leaders, were asked to comment.

    “Nobody faulted the template. The only thing they told us was that ‘we have heard and we are going to go back to report to our organisations’. So the issue of deception does not come in at all.”

    The minister insisted that the new price regime does not amount to removal of subsidy.

    He said: “No. There is no subsidy to remove because no provision was made for subsidy in the 2016 budget. Last year, the government paid out N1trillion in subsidy, and that’s one-sixth of this year’s budget. We can’t afford to pay another N1trillion in subsidy

    “As I said earlier, there is no provision for subsidy in the 2016 Appropriation. The erstwhile PMS price of N86.50 gives an estimate subsidy claim of N13.7 per litre, which translates to N16.4 billion monthly. There is neither funding nor appropriation to cover this.

    “In the absence of available forex lines or crude volumes to continue massive importation of PMS, it is clear that unless immediate action is taken to liberalise the petroleum supply and distribution, the queues will persist, diversion will worsen and the current prices will spiral out of control.

    “Under the new price regime, the PPPRA and DPR will be further empowered to ensure a level playing ground and strict compliance with market rules by all stakeholders and consumer protection.

    “The liberalisation of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.”

    Mohammed claimed that the deregulation will fetch 600,000 new jobs nationwide.

    He said the new pricing regime would:

    • solve the recurrent fuel scarcity by ensuring product availability across the country;
    • reduce hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products substantially and stabilises price;
    • ensures market stability and improve fuel supply situation through private sector participation;
    • create labour market stability, as this will potentially create additional 200,000 jobs through new investments in refineries and retails and prevent potential loss of 400,000 jobs in existing investments

    Said Mohammed: “We are therefore seeking the understanding of all Nigerians, and appealing to the organised labour to sheathe their sword. This is not the time for any action that will further worsen the economy. The situation is dire, not just in Nigeria but elsewhere around the world.

    “For instance, the United Arab Emirates, the third-biggest oil producer in OPEC, has become the first country in the oil-rich Persian Gulf to remove transport fuel subsidies. In addition, the country has announced that with effect from 1 Aug. 2016, fuel prices will be deregulated. Also, in response to fiscal pressure caused by the fall in crude oil prices, OPEC’s top oil producer Saudi Arabia has announced a plan to raise fuel prices. You can now see that this is indeed a global problem.”

    Mohammed said since the 2016 Budget was already designed with in-built palliatives, there will be no new ones because of the new pump price regime.

    He said: “Many people have asked if the government is planning any palliatives in the wake of the new price regime. Our answer is that the entire 2016 budget is packed with palliatives. Some N500,000 billion has been set aside for social intervention that will touch the lives of millions of Nigerians and lift millions more out of poverty. He listed some of these intervention programmes:

    • 500,000 graduates are to be employed and trained as teachers;
    • 370,000 non-graduates (artisans, technicians) to be trained and employed;
    • 1 million people (farmers, market women, etc) to be granted loans to set up small businesses;
    • Conditional Cash Transfer to be made to the most vulnerable people (not unemployed graduates);
    • • School Feeding targeting 4.5 million pupils; and
    • Bursaries/Scholarships for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students.