The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fed Govt

  • Fed Govt will review PSC plans to stem losses, says Kachikwu

    Fed Govt will review PSC plans to stem losses, says Kachikwu

    The Minister of State for Petroleum resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has warned oil companies against bogus projects that do not add value to the economy.

    The minister said the Federal Government would review the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement of oil production because the nation had lost huge revenue under the current arrangement.

    Kachikwu, who was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, among others, spoke during his visit to Total’s Egina floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) at the SHI-MCI Ladol shipyard in Lagos.

    The FPSO berthed there so that integration of six modules of the vessel’s topside fabricated in Nigeria would be carried out.

    Kachikwu said: “When I joined the current administration, price of oil was very low but we began to move the mantra and OPEC was able to curb production. I’m happy today that the efforts have yielded substantial results and the figures have gone from low $20s to very high $60s and hit 70, hopefully we can get back there. What that does is that companies that invested and took the risk like Total did, and continued the trend during that period, this is the time to hopefully reap from that. Oil is never going to be $100 a barrel again except there is a huge calamity in the any major part of the world. So, we are likely going to stay in the frame of $60 to $70 per barrel.

    “But even at, it is huge movement coming from where we were. But what this means, is that Nigeria will begin to look at its priorities differently. We will begin to look at what is the next value for the country in these huge projects. We are not as a country very impressed with a lot of the PSCs that we have put together. We lose a lot of money in the process. We will like to see a lot of movement in those areas.

    “Another issue is rationing of production. I have done everything I can to make you people (oil firms) produce under OPEC and played all kinds of jingles around it but at some points you catch up with me. But as you begin to ration those numbers, we will begin to pay more emphasis on where we make more money that is fair. As you look at your numbers and the terms under which you want to develop these fields, please spend a good amount of time in checking the bottomline and what goes to federation account.

    “There is no need building a huge $70 billion facility without commensurate value addition. Those kinds of things wouldn’t happen anymore. So the terms will change and basis on which you will proceed will change, but Nigeria will continue to be a prolific economic return model for any country in the world in terms of oil production and we will improve our speed and the terms and make sure the oil companies get away from here with a huge amount of reward. We will make sure that the local content will continue to build the service and it is one of agencies I’m proud of.”

    He praised Total and partners for a job well done. “Six modules were fabricated in Nigeria by Nigerians. It was a fantastic piece of work. It serves as a very unique benchmark. So congratulations Total not just for the feat and this piece of engineering but for the psychological boost and urgency it puts into anybody who looks at this,” he added.

  • Fed Govt releases guidelines for VAIDS

    Fed Govt releases guidelines for VAIDS

    The Ministry of Finance yesterday explained the process of participation in the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to those not remitting appropriate taxes.

    According to the VAIDS office in the ministry, the first step for new taxpayers is to apply for a Tax Identification Number (TIN). The existing taxpayers are to register for VAIDS by filling the declaration form, obtainable from relevant tax authorities and available online.

    The tax authority can help to calculate a taxpayer’s liabilities. Besides, the VAIDS office has also trained professionals in tax advisory services to educate taxpayers on their obligations.

    VAIDS, which provides a time-limited opportunity to regularise tax status, is open to every taxpayer liable to pay tax in Nigeria.

    “It covers Nigerian residents, who had taxable undeclared income outside Nigeria and non-residents, who earned undeclared income derived from or accruing from Nigeria”, the VAIDS office explained.

    Nigerians in the Diaspora can declare online or appoint a local agent to declare on their behalf.

    The tax authority will, however, review the tax information provided by declarers to ensure they are accurate. The ministry assured that every information provided by declarers will remain confidential and strictly for use under VAIDS.

    The office warned that tax debtors who fail to declare at the expiration of the window in 31 March will face a variety of sanctions, including payment of interests and penalties as well as prosecution.

  • VAIDS: Fed Govt under pressure to extend tax amnesty deadline

    VAIDS: Fed Govt under pressure to extend tax amnesty deadline

    Nigerians owning property in the United Kingdom (UK) have inundated the Federal Ministry of Finance’s Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) hotlines with calls in the last 72 hours, asking for extension of time to complete their declaration forms.

    Sources confirmed to The Nation yesterday that the unprecedented level of calls was not unconnected with the new UK regulation with regard to Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).

    “Most of the calls received are from high net worth individuals, including company executives, bankers and even a governor. All seem to be in panic over the prospect of losing their investments,” said a source within the VAIDS Office.

    The official noted that some of the apprehensive Nigerian property owners stormed the Federal Ministry of Finance last Friday without appointments, requesting to see the minister and the Head of the VAIDS Office.

    The source said: “Most of the enquiries are about seeking assurances from the Federal Government that the VAIDs programme can protect them from potential asset forfeiture to the UK Government. Others requested to know if their names had appeared on the lists from overseas.”

    The sources added that the confidential hotlines that were provided to enable the booking of appointments had received massive calls and frantic requests from tax payers leading to the crash of the communication lines.

    The VAIDS source stated that “concerted efforts are ongoing to restore the hotlines following the crash on Friday”.

    The UK Government had last week introduced a new law that requires foreign owners of properties to explain the source of their funds or risk forfeiting them to the government under UWOs.

    According to the new law, the UWOs can be obtained for any property or combination of properties valued at just £50,000 (about N25 million) or more, for which the owner is unable to explain legal source of funds.

    The Nation learnt that data already in the possession of the VAIDS Office in Federal Ministry of Finance reveal that many UK property owners have underpaid their taxes before transferring funds overseas to buy property.

    Efforts made by The Nation to speak with the spokesman of the Minister of Finance, Oluyinka Akintunde, were unsuccessful.

    Text messages sent to him were yet to be responded to as at the time of filing this report.

    The UWO law, coupled with the revelation that many foreign governments are automatically sharing bank and property information with Nigeria, has resulted in an upsurge in enquiries about the VAIDs programme.

    VAIDS allows Nigerian tax payers to restate their income and assets without limit and thus could potentially allow those who own property that cannot be explained by their previously declared income to regularise by declaring and paying the correct taxes.

  • Fed Govt directs NNPC to fix depots

    The Federal Government has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to repair all the 21 state-owned depots across the country, it was learnt at the weekend.

    The depots are in Aba, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Ibadan, Ore, Mosimi, Ejigbo, Ilorin and other cities.

    The idea is aimed at repositioning the depots for better performance and to further improve activities at the downstream segment of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

    NNPC Group General Manager, (Group Public Affairs Division), Ndu Ughamadu said one of the loopholes identified at the depots is poor pipeline network, adding that efforts are being made to solve the problem.

    He said NNPC was deploying a new technology to protect the pipelines from attacks.

    In an interview with The Nation at the weekend, Ughamadu said the technology would enable NNPC to detect any attack on pipelines and ward it off.

    He said through monitoring, NNPC would be able to ascertain the capacity of the pipelines to deliver fuel promptly to marketers at the depots.

    He, however, refused to disclose details of the technology, such as its manufacturer, date and where it was produced, on the ground of keeping what he described as a management confidential issue.

    Ughamadu said: “The issue of the identity of the owner of the technology, which NNPC is deploying to secure the depots, is a purely business one. The corporation is withholding the identity of the manufacturer of the technology to the public in order to focus on its goal of ensuring that the depots are fixed.

    “It is not right to disclose the identity of the firm that produces the technology since the process of transforming the depots from the weak and inactive ones to the ones that promote efficiency is still on-going.”

    According to him, the issue of protecting the pipelines with a technological device was part of efforts introduced by NNPC to make the depots more functional.

    He said activities in many of depots have suffered due to poor facilities, adding the issue would soon be a thing of the past. He said Ibadan depot has been rehabilitated and commissioned by the Oyo State Governor, Senator Ajimobi, adding that depots that are located in the Northern part of the country would follow suit.

    “The issue of deploying new technology to the pipelines among other initiatives that are being carried out by the NNPC would help the country to improve fuel supply soon. That is the reason the NNPC is seeking the support of stakeholders in the value chain on the issue of helping to improve activities in the downstream sub- sector for the growth of the industry.” he added.

  • Ekiti miners to benefit from Fed Govt, BoI N5b loan

    Ekiti miners to benefit from Fed Govt, BoI N5b loan

    Mining activities in Ekiti State have received a boost as small scale miners in Ijero-Ekiti axis will benefit from a N5 billion intervention fund from the Federal Government.

    The Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the Bank of Industry (BoI) are making available N2.5 billion each for the intervention fund to assist the miners.

    The miners will access the cash through cooperative societies to empower them and stop illegal mining in the state.

    The Programme Director of African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Mr. Monday Osasah, broke the news yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, at policy dialogue on Mining supported by Open Society for West Africa (OSIWA).

    He said the N5 billion intervention fund for artisanal and small scale miners was a conscious effort to grow and develop the Mining sector and make it contribute to government revenue.

    Osasah said qualified artisanal miners would be allowed to access between N100,000 and N10 million while small scale miners could get between N10 million and N100 million.

    The Owa Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole, who described his kingdom as “the mining centre of Ekiti,” urged Federal and state governments to show more interest in the sector.

    Oba Adewole expressed dismay that gem stones and feldspar mined in the community were taken away and turned into finished products.

    He said: “If government shows more interest in mining in Ijero Kingdom, it can lead to a glass industry and this will create more jobs.”

    Also, LSD Campaign and Research Officer Mr. Omaojor Ogedoh said the advocacy for effective natural resource governance was being implemented in Taraba, Ebonyi and Ekiti states.

  • Fed Govt arraigns director, brother over undeclared assets

    Fed Govt arraigns director, brother over undeclared assets

    The Federal Government yesterday arraigned a Director of Finance and Account in the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing, Ibrahim Tumsah and his brother, Tijani Tumsah, before a Federal High Court, Abuja for allegedly refusing to declare their assets.

    Ibrahim and Tijani (Vice Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on North East) were arraigned on a two-count charge filed by the Okoi Obono-Obla-led Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property

    Tijani is also said to be a former Interim National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Before yesterday, the Obono-Obla panel had on December 6, 2017 obtained an ordered of interim forfeiture on property allegedly owned by the two brothers.

    Justice Muawiyah Idris of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Apo gave the order attaching 86 luxurious vehicles, four houses and a quarry plant in Abuja, all of which the panel allegedly seized from the two defendants.

    After pleading not guilty to the charge yesterday, trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, granted the defendants’ bail application at N20 million and two sureties.

    Prosecution lawyer Festus Keyamo (SAN) did not object to the bail applications by defence lawyers – Abdul Mohammed (for Ibrahim) and Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) – for Tijani.

    The court, which adopted the bail conditions agreed upon by the prosecution and the defence lawyers, said the sureties must either be a businessman or a public civil servant not below the rank of grade level 15.

    In addition, the sureties, the judge said, must have landed properties anywhere in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The defendants are to deposit their international passports with the court and should not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.

    Justice Dimgba warned that he will order the defendants’ remand in Kuje prison should they fail to comply with the stated conditions within three days.

    He adjourned to March 1, 2018.

     

  • Fed Govt, Africare sensitise communities on LPG usage

    Fed Govt, Africare sensitise communities on LPG usage

    The Federal Government and Africare Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, have embarked on sensitisation campaigns in various communities to promote the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly known as cooking gas.

    Speaking on behalf of the government at a community outreach programme on the importance of using cooking gas in place of firewood, kerosene or charcoal, in Abuja, the Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Plan at the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Dayo Adeshina, said several initiative was taken to increase the distribution of cooking gas.

    He said: “This is a programme that is quite important and has been going on for over a year and we are going to expand it nationwide. The idea is to ensure that everyone switches to gas and several initiatives are being taken in both the supply and distribution of gas.

    “This government has bought into the programmes of the LPG association and you can see that the President has signed onto 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. There is a lot of deforestation and about 19 states are suffering this because people are cutting down trees for firewood. And this needs to stop.

    “Now, the only way to stop that is by the increased usage of the LPG. Well over four million people die yearly worldwide as a result of inhaling fumes from bad fuels like kerosene, firewood and charcoal. So right now, the LPG production is widely available in Nigeria but supply and distribution are areas we need to focus on.

    The Country Director, Africare Nigeria, Orode Doherty, said the benefits of using the LPG were far higher than the use of charcoal, kerosene and firewood.

    This, she said, was why the NGO decided to take the sensitisation campaigns to various communities in Nigeria.

  • Fed Govt backs SON on introduction of PAM

    Fed Govt backs SON on introduction of PAM

    The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, has thrown its full weight behind the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s (SON) plan to introduce Product Authentication Mark (PAM) this year.

    Confirming this during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by SON in Lagos to introduce PAM to members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar described the move by the agency as germane to actualising the federal government’s diversification efforts towards increasing patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods and services as captured in the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), Executive Orders 001 and 003.

    Abubakar explained that other countries have adopted such measures to protect their domestic market, stressing that the planned introduction of PAM was part of the measures being adopted by SON to guarantee the quality of products on sale in the Nigerian market.

    “We shall continue to provide the necessary support needed for parastatals under our supervision to ensure their effective delivery of their mandate to Nigerians in furtherance of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan,” she said.

    She commended SON and National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) for organising the stakeholders’ sensitisation forum, which she said serves as an avenue to receive feedback from critical stakeholders towards the smooth take off of the PAM.

    “We believe that the PAM would complement the existing Nigerian quality mark (NIS), Nigeria Quality Award (NQA), MANCAP and SONCAP in ensuring that consumers are protected from the menace of substandard, cloned and counterfeited products,” she said.

    Earlier, the Director General, SON, OsitaAboloma, added that PAM is an added quality assurance mark in furtherance of its role in creating an enabling environment for diversification of the economy and SON’s attempt to ensure necessary control on the goods consumed by Nigerians.

    He stated that the major challenge hindering the sale of goods in Nigeria is the issue of cloning and faking of successful products.

    In his words, “We had to think outside the box to tackle this menace headlong. Cloning has exposed the lives of Nigerians to serious health and commercial trauma. It has also discouraged a lot people from investing in Nigeria. We had to bring the PAM to harmonise the existing products we have. It is also an attempt to accelerate technological innovations in effective service delivery so that our MANCAP and SONCAP can be codified and made simpler for the consumers to identify the genuineness of a product before purchase.”

    In her own speech, the national president, NACCIMA, IyalodeAlaba Lawson, said standards give manufacturers a competitive edge for their products while to consumersit gives confidence on the quality of the products consumed.

    She said NACCIMA anticipated that the introduction of PAM would enhance the authenticity of locally manufactured goods, promote export and effectively curtail the influx of substandard products into the Nigerian market.

    According to her, the PAM initiative is also another step in supporting the rising interest in healthy living through ensuring that consumables meet acceptable local and international quality standards thereby stamping counterfeit products from the Nigerian markets.

    “It will also go a long way in increasing the competitiveness of locally manufactured products and increase the confidence they exhume locally and internationally,” she stated.

    “The forum is evidence of SON’s intent to increase engagement with the private sector especially in establishing quality standards in all aspects of global and local businesses,” she added.

    She stated further that the stakeholders’ forum also provided an opportunity for manufacturers, suppliers, exporters and importers to convey their views on different issues concerning standards while commending SON for such initiative.

    She also stated that standards are very essential to boosting the productivity and performance of a country’s domestic and international trade.

     

  • Fed Govt: we’ll invest N1.3tr yearly on infrastructure

    In order to attract investors to the country, the Federal Government has said it will continue to invest about N1.3trillion yearly on capital projects to bridge the infrastructure gap.

    Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who spoke in Abuja when  a consortium of 20 international investors led by a former Minister of Finance, Shamsudeen Usman, visited her, said government invested about N1.3 trillion on capital projects last year to develop roads, rail, power, housing and all the infrastructure government thinks would be needed to unlock this huge economy. “Hopefully, the figure would be around the same for 2017 and 2018,” she said.

    She said government’s commitment to solving the infrastructure challenges in the country was firm given that one of the cardinal focus of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is to address the infrastructure deficit in the country through targeted spendings at projects that would unlock the economic potential of the country.

    The visiting consortium was made up of representatives of investment, capital and equities firms from London, New York, Miami, Johannesburg and others some of which buy Nigerian bonds and equities as well as those providing advisory services to clients on foreign direct investments (FDIs).

    Adeosun described the level of interest from foreign investors in the economy as huge, adding that very soon, these interest would translate into massive investments that would create jobs and reduce the level poverty in the country.

    She said a lot of the projects currently being handled by government were abandoned for over 10 years, pointing out that Nigerians were beginning to feel the impact of government efforts in terms of infrastructural development.

    She said this is “a great time for investors to be in Nigeria. For us this are better times now than last year because finally we think that we are beginning to address through deliberate policies some of the most stubborn problems that have held back Nigeria’s growth.”

    Apart from undertaking difficult adjustments in fiscal policies, she said the Finance Ministry was focusing on revenue, particularly on how to move the country’s tax to GDP ratio from six per cent to an initial target of 10 per cent and in the medium to long term to between 15 and 20 per cent.

    With the seriousness demonstrated by government to develop infrastructure in order to unlock the potentials of the economy, Mrs Adeosun said several companies have been coming to inquire about the prospects of opening factories and land for agriculture.

    economy and what the outlook and investment climate is going forward.”

    He said there is a lot of optimism in the global market about Nigeria and investors have for long been waiting for positive changes in the country’s economy, it appears that the right moment has come, with investment flows rising and reserves looking up.

     

  • Fed Govt steps up efforts to improve airport security

    Fed Govt steps up efforts to improve airport security

    THe Federal Government has evolved new measures to improve security at airports.

    Part of the measures is the deployment of surveillance and intelligence equipment at critical areas of the airports, including runways, taxiways and the apron.

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that an image capture network, including Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, is being deployed in the airside to monitor workers.

    The government, it was learnt, also sent some officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies to some airports in the Middle East to study the procedure for the deployment of intelligence equipment.

    Workers in the airside and other areas classified as vulnerable spots are being profiled.

    Also being profiled are FAAN workers and their colleagues who provide ancillary services.

    A source hinted that the measures were part of the redesign of the security architecture to forestall the pilferage of bags on taxiing business jets on the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

    Experts said without security and perimeter fencing at many of the major airports, trespassers, miscreants and bandits could gain access to the airside.

    FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said the authority had begun the evacuation of abandoned planes at airports, including the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    She said the removal of such disused aircraft would pave the way for the authority to install airside surveillance equipment.

    The authority, she said, had begun the installation of CCTV at strategic locations around the airport airside to forestall  poaching.

    Investigations  revealed that over 13 abandoned aircraft have been evacuated from the airport.

    She said:“As far as security around airports is concerned series of steps are being taken. In our redesign of airport security architecture, we have commenced the removal of abandoned aircraft at the Lagos Airport airside.

    “The reason for this is to make sure such abandoned aircraft is not used by unauthorised persons to do whatever they want.”

    She said FAAN has embarked on grass cutting at the airside to ensure improved safety.

    She said FAAN has also procured some airside patrol vehicles to monitor aircraft as they taxi to the runway for take off.

    Yakubu said: “What we had in the past was that the ‘Follow Me’ vehicle, which  used to be in the front of aircraft.

    “But, we have decided to reverse the order. The vehicles are now at the back of the aircraft to ensure that the aircraft go to parking bay without any incident or aircraft poaching.”